Thesis Type: Doctorate
Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Approval Date: 2017
Thesis Language: English
Student: Şenol Bakay
Co-Supervisor: PERİHAN SAVAŞ, ÖMER DELİALİOĞLU
Abstract:The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a mobile device supported learning environment on English Preparatory School students’ vocabulary acquisition. Mobile devices were mostly used as content delivery tools in former research studies on English vocabulary learning and there is scarce research on active content creation and task-completion using mobile devices. This study aimed to design a web-based system that connects out of class activities to the vocabulary items covered in the curriculum. The sample of the study included the elementary level students of English Preparatory School at METU. Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies were used together in the research design. A quasi-experimental design was carried out in the quantitative phase in order to understand whether the mobile device supported learning environment has a significant effect on the students’ motivation and achievement in vocabulary learning compared to the traditional learning environment. Semi-structured interview sessions were carried out in order to understand the students’ and the instructors’ opinions regarding the mobile device supported learning environment and its usefulness for vocabulary learning. The results of the quantitative phase of the study indicated that the mobile device supported learning environment had positive effects on the students’ motivation and achievement in vocabulary learning. Qualitative data results revealed that the students favored the use of the mobile device supported learning environment but they also mentioned some challenges faced while completing the tasks. The results of the instructor interviews revealed that the method used had both benefits and challenges for the students.