Contextual enrichment through hypermedia technology: implications for second-language learning

摘要

The results of this study showed that learners knew how to access the different contextual aids provided. When the target words were less familiar to the learners, the access to the contextual aids increased significantly. When the words were unfamiliar, nearly twice as much video context was accessed. Word definition was the most frequently accessed contextual aid regardless of word familiarity. Although it appeared that the advanced-achievement group accessed more context-strong aids than the low-achievement group, there was no indication that the number of times the contextual aids were accessed was correlated with the performance scores.Such findings have important implications for second-language learning. While the word definition, a traditional and familiar method of vocabulary learning, still plays a vital role for second-language learners, the use of visual context and word relation with other words can be important for learning unfamiliar vocabulary. The hypermedia technology can help provide a more authentic and visual language-learning environment.