Investigating the Effectiveness of Collaborative Vocabulary Learning via BlackBerry Messenger among the Indonesian Learners

• Main Author: Ike Irawati
• Other Authors: Min-Tun Chuang
• Format: Others
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/22151279995791500597

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 外國語言學系研究所 === 102 === The utilization of mobile technology has given birth to a new form of learning called mobile learning, which can facilitate students in learning English vocabulary words. Vocabulary learning through mobile phone allows learners to have spaced repetition on vocabulary items which could be more effective than the massed repetition through paper medium. Whereas the penetration of BlackBerry Phones in Indonesia keeps climbing, little research has explored the application of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) in vocabulary learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary learning via BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). There were fifty students from two classes of English Teaching Program from Sebelas Maret University in Indonesia that were assigned to two groups: The collaborative learning group (the experimental group) and the non-collaborative learning group (the control group). Each group consisted of twenty five students. They had to learn 75 words during 25 days of treatment. The control group studied three vocabulary words via BBM twice a day on a daily basis while the experimental group worked on the same number of words once a day through a different learning method. The control group passively participated in learning the words since they received all the words, its meaning, part of speech, and the application while the experimental group should be actively participated through a discussion to get the meaning of the words, and its part of speech by themselves, as an application of collaborative learning. After 25 days of treatment, both group had to take a post-test. As a final step, both groups had to write a written reflection on the advantages and disadvantages of learning vocabulary through the BBM based on the learning method that they used. As a result, from the two-tailed independent-samples T test, it was found that the experimental group outperformed the control group. Then, from the written reflection, it was indicated that the experimental group showed more positive attitudes toward the collaborative vocabulary learning via BBM while those in control group showed more neutral attitudes toward the non-collaborative learning via BBM. Based on those facts, it could be concluded that the collaborative vocabulary learning via BBM was more effective than the non-collaborative one.