平板電腦在台灣國中英語單字教學的應用

全文

(1)國立台灣師範大學英語學系碩士論文 Master Thesis Graduate Institute of English National Taiwan Normal University. 平板電腦在台灣國中英語單字教學的應用 Applying Tablet PCs to English Vocabulary Teaching and Learning in Taiwan Junior High School. 指導教授：陳浩然博士 Advisor: Dr. Hao-jan Howard Chen 研究生. ：霍淑湄. 中華民國九十七年六月 June, 2008.

(2) 摘要現今行動學習運用於教育上已成為一項趨勢，行動學習有許多優點，而平板電腦是現今最受歡迎的行動輔具之ㄧ，但在過去的研究中，鮮少有人把平板電腦運用於英文單字教學上，故本研究在檢驗平板電腦在台灣國中英文單字教學上的效用。本研究的目的有二:(1)檢驗台灣國中生透過平板電腦來學習英文單字，在英文單字學習上的成效如何。(2)調查台灣國中生對於使用平板電腦學習英文單字的心得。研究中邀請了共六十三位來自台北市中崙國中一年級的學生參與本實驗。實驗組有三十二人;而控制組有三十一人。實驗時間為十二節課。兩組學生皆需接受前測，前測內容為四課單字的選擇及填空題。前測結果為這兩組在選擇及填空題上實力都相當。接著實驗組使用平板電腦來學習單字;而控制組則使用傳統紙筆的方法來學習單字。每課單字使用三節課來教學。實驗結束，兩組均需接受後測。另實驗組需填寫一份問卷，最後，研究者從實驗組中找出兩男兩女來作訪談。研究結果顯示：兩組在後測的選擇及填空題上均無明顯差異，但實驗組在後測的選擇及填空題，與前測比較均有顯著進步;控制組則只有填空題有顯著進步。本研究有以下幾項結論:(1)平板電腦能引起學生學習英語的興趣及對英語學習有幫助。(2)平板電腦除單字教學以外，亦可運用於其他方面的英語教學。(3) 老師可以使用其他行動輔具或科技產品來教英語。(4)在使用各項行動輔具或科技產品來教學前，老師要先熟悉該項工具，且學校要多給予老師硬體及軟體上的支援。. i.

(3) Abstract Applying mobile devices to education becomes a trend nowadays and there are many advantages about mobile learning. A Tablet PC is one of the most popular mobile devices in the world now, but there were few studies on applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning before. So the aim of this study was to examine the effect of applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning in Taiwan junior high school. There were two purposes in this study: (1) To examine the gain made in Taiwan junior high school students’ vocabulary learning by applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching. (2) To investigate Taiwan junior high school students’ perceptions of using Tablet PCs during English vocabulary teaching and learning. The participants were sixty-three, seventh grade students from Zung Lung Junior High School. There were thirty-two students in the experimental group and there were thirty-one students in the control group. The duration of the experiment was twelve sessions. The two groups took the pre-test before the study. There were no significant differences between the two groups both in the multiple-choice questions and the cloze questions in the pre-test. Then the experimental group used Tablet PCs to learn vocabulary, while the control group used paper and pens to learn vocabulary. The teacher spent three sessions teaching the words in one lesson. After the study, the two groups took a post-test. Then the experimental group had to finish a survey. Finally, the researcher chose two girls and two boys from the experimental group to interview. There were no significant differences between the two groups both in the multiple-choice questions and cloze questions in the post-test. But the experimental group had significant improvement both in the multiple-choice questions and cloze questions. The control group only had significant improvement in the cloze questions. There are four conclusions of this study: (1) A Tablet PC can motivate students to learn English and it is helpful for students in learning English. (2) Teachers can use Tablet PCs to teach other aspects of English. (3) Teachers can use other mobile tools or technological equipments to teach English. (4) Teachers have to get familiar with the tools they use before teaching and schools should give teachers support with both hardware and software.. ii.

(4) Acknowledgements. First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Hao-jan Howard Chen.. If it was not his patient guidance, insightful advice and. careful correction, this thesis could not have been accomplished. I am also grateful to my committee members: Dr. Mei-chen Angela Wu and Dr. Zhao-ming Gao, for their careful reading of my earlier draft as well as their insightful comments and valuable suggestions on it. I would like to greatly acknowledge Dr. Chiu-pin Lin, who supplied me with several important theses for reference. And I would like to thank everyone who has ever helped me on my thesis. Finally, my family deserves my utmost love and appreciation for tolerating my long absence in my family as a wife, a mother and a daughter under the pressure of writing this thesis. My deepest thanks go to my husband, my mother and my son for their love, understanding and support.. iii.

(5) TABLE OF CONTENTS CHINESE ABSTRACT…………………………………………………….……….i ABSTRACT………………………………………………...……………..………..ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………….…….. …………..……….iii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………..………………………….………iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………….………vii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………….………...……..viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and Motivation………………………………….………..………1 1.2 Purpose…………………………………………………………………..…….5 1.3 Definition of Terms………………………………………………………..…..6 1.4 Organization…..…………………………………………….……………..….11 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Research on Applying Mobile Devices to Non-language Teaching and Learning……..………………………………………………….…..………....13 2.1.1 Research on Applying Mobile Phones to Non-language Teaching and Learning……………..….……………………………………………..14 2.1.2 Research on Applying PDAs to Non-language Teaching and Learning………………….………………………………………….…15 2.1.3 Research on Applying Tablet PCs to Non-language Teaching and Learning………………….…………………………………………….18 2.2 Research on Applying Mobile Devices to Language Teaching and Learning……………………………………………………………………..….21 2.2.1 Research on Applying Mobile Phones to Language Teaching and Learning…….………………………………………………….……….21 2.2.2 Research on Applying PDAs to Language Teaching and Learning…..…..22 2.2.3 Previous Research on Applying Tablet PCs to Language Teaching and Learning…………………………………………………………..……24 2.3 Research on the Advantages of Mobile Learning…………………………..…..26 2.4 Research on CALL in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning…………….….….…29 iv.

(6) 2.5 Research on Tablet PCs in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning……………..…..32 2.6 Research Questions…………………………………………………………..….33 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.1 Participants…………………………………………………………………....34 3.2 Instruments…………………………………………………………………....35 3.2.1 Pre-test………………………………………………………………...35 3.2.2 Software Program: Visual Classroom………………………………….35 3.2.3 Platform: Moodle……………………………………………………...36 3.2.4 Software Program: Hot Potatoes……………………………………….36 3.2.5 Post-test..……………………………………………………………....36 3.2.6 Questionnaire……………………………………………………….…37 3.2.7 Interview ……………………………………………………………...38 3.3 Procedures……………………………………………………………………..39 3.3.1 Pre-test………………………………………………….……………..40 3.3.2 The Experimental Group and the Control Group……………………..40 3.3.3 Post-test……………………………………………………………….51 3.3.4 Questionnaire.…….………………………………………………..….52 3.3.5 Interview………………………………………………………………52 3.3.6 Data Analysis………………………………………………………….53 3.4 Data Analysis……..…………………………………………………………...53 3.4.1 Pre-test…………………………………………………..…………….53 3.4.2 Post-test…………………………………………………..…………...54 3.4.3 Questionnaire……………………………………………..…………..54 3.4.4 Interview…………………………………………………..………….55 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS 4.1 Results of the Pre-test and the Post-test…………………………….………….57 4.2 Results of the Questionnaire………………………………………….………..61 4.2.1 5-point Likert Scale Questions about Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs..……………………………………….…………………………..61 4.2.2 5-point Likert Scale Questions about Students’ Motivation to Learn English because of Tablet PCs.……….……………………………….63 4.2.3 5-point Likert Scale Questions about Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs.64 4.2.4 Multi-multiple-choice Questions about Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs..…………………………………………………………..65 4.2.5 Multi-multiple-choice Questions about Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs..………………………………………………………………….69 v.

(7) 4.2.6. 4.3. Multi-multiple-choice Questions about the Future Use of Tablet PCs in English Teaching …………………………………………….70 4.2.7 Open-ended Questions ………………………………………………72 Results of the Interview………………………………………………………..75. CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION 5.1 The Gain of the Two Groups’ Vocabulary Learning …………………………..78 5.2 The Perceptions of the Experimental Group…………….……………………..81 5.2.1 The Perceptions of the Experimental Group in the Questionnaire………..81 5.2.2 The Perceptions of the Experimental Group in the Interview………….…89 CHAPTER SIX CONCLUSIONS 6.1 Summary of the Findings………………………………………………………91 6.1.1 The Gain of the Two Groups’ Vocabulary Learning………………..…91 6.1.2 The Perceptions of the Experimental Group……………………...…..92 6.2 Pedagogical Implications………………………………………………………94 6.3 Limitations of the Thesis…………………………………………………..…..95 6.4 Suggestions for Future Research…………………………………………..…..97 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………….98 APPENDICES Appendix A English Book One Lesson Three Worksheet of Vocabulary…….103 Appendix B PowerPoint of Making Sentences for L4 Vocabulary…………….....106 Appendix C English Book One Lesson Five Worksheet of Making Sentences…..107 Appendix D L6 Vocabulary Test…………………………………………….….108 Appendix E-1 Pre-test of Multiple-choice Questions………………………….…112 Appendix E-2 Pre-test of Cloze Questions…………………………………….….115 Appendix F-1 Post-test of Multiple-choice Questions…………………………....116 Appendix F-2 Post-test of Cloze Questions………………………………………119 Appendix G Questions of Survey…………………………………………………120 Appendix H Questions of Interview………………………………………………123. vi.

(8) LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Means of the Participants’ Pre-test & Post-test……………………………… ...58 2 Independent Samples T-test Results of the Participants’ Pre-test & Post-test ….59 3 Paired Samples T-test Results of the Participants’ Pre-test & Post-test.……….. 60 4 Means of Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs……………………………..…62 5 Percentages of Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs………………………..…62 6 Means of Students’ Motivation to Learn English because of Tablet PCs…….....64 7 Percentages of Students’ Motivation to Learn English because of Tablet PCs.....64 8 Means of Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs..……………………………………..65 9 Percentages of Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs..………………………………..65 10 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question A about Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs.…………………………………………………….…………...66 11 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question A about Students’ Reasons for Satisfaction with Tablet PCs……………………………………………………67 12 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question B about Students’ Satisfaction with Tablet PCs.…………………………………………………………………68 13 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question B about Students’ Reasons for Satisfaction with Tablet PCs……………………………………………………68 14 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question A about Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs...…..…………………………………………………………………..69 15 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question B about Difficulties of Using Tablet PCs………………………………………………………………………...70 16 Percentages of Multi-multiple-choice Question about the Future Use of Tablet PCs in English Teaching…..………….……………………………………………….72 17 Percentages of Open-ended Questions about Students’ Thought about Using Tablet PCs in English Vocabulary Teaching……………………………………………..74 18 Percentages of Open-ended Questions about the Future Use of Tablet PCs in English Teaching………..……………………………………………………..…75. vii.

(9) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Tablet PC……………………………………………………………………………………… .6 2 Visual Classroom………………….………………………………………………7 3 Moodle…………………………….………………………………………………8 4 Hot Potatoes……………………….………………………………………………9 5 Interactive Whiteboard…………….…………………………………………..…10 6 Flowchart of the Procedure………….…………………………………………...39 7 Sending a Message to Students through Visual Classroom……………………....42 8 Opening a Chatroom for Students to Ask Questions or Share their Opinions…...42 9 Broadcasting One Group’s Screen to the Other Groups………………………....44 10 Five Questions of JCross in Hot Potatoes………………………………………...45 11 Five Questions of JMatch in Hot Potatoes………………………………………..46 12 Five Questions of JCloze in Hot Potatoes………………………………………...46 13 Five Questions of JQuiz in Hot Potatoes…………………………………………47 14 One Question of JMix in Hot Potatoes……………………………………………47 15 One Student’s Score and Time of the Test on Moodle……………………………48 16 Showing the Right Answer of Each Item on Moodle…………………………….48 17 The Participants, Time and Scores of the Test on Moodle………………………..49 18 The Statistics Data such as Correct Facility on Moodle…………………………..49 19 Means of the Multiple-choice questions…………………….……………..……..78 20 Means of the Cloze Questions…………………………………………………….78. viii.

(10) CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background and Motivation Since the 1980s, the application of technology such as radio, film, television, language labs with audio and videotapes, computers and interactive videos has been used in language teaching and learning (Cunningham, 1998).. Gradually. computer-assisted language learning (CALL) became popular in the 20th century (Iandoli, 1990).. But the majority of CALL applications were limited to. drill-and-practice exercises.. As this technology advanced, interactive applications of. CALL as well as integration of various media increased (Pusack & Otto, 1990). From 1990 to 2000, CALL had become common in language teaching and learning. The multimedia capabilities of providing authentic learning situation and local or distant networking such as e-mail, synchronous and asynchronous exchange appeared.. The use of the World Wide Web in language classrooms had also. increased (Liu, Moore, Graham & Lee, 2003). In the 21st century, a big revolution in language teaching and learning is taking place.. Mobile devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs),. portable media player iPods and Tablet PCs are being applied to language teaching and learning.. There are some studies showing that mobile devices used for language. 1.

(11) teaching and learning around the world to be increasing. (Chinnery, 2006) In comparison with language teaching and learning, there were more studies applying mobile devices to teaching and learning about other subjects (non-language teaching and learning). McGuire (2005) and Lim & Wang (2005) applied mobile phones to non-language teaching and learning. Facer, Joiner, Stanton, Reid, Hull & Kirk (2004), Mckenney (2004), Klopfer, Yoon & Rivas (2004), and Corlett, Sharples, Bull & Chan (2005) all applied PDAs to non-language teaching and learning.. Lee. (2004), Horng (2004), Chou (2004) and Hsin (2006) applied Tablet PCs to non-language teaching and learning.. But there were fewer studies applying mobile. devices to language teaching as well as learning.. Thornton & Houser (2005) applied. mobile phones to language teaching as well as learning.. Wu (2003), and Hsu (2005). applied PDAs to language teaching as well as learning. Huang (2003), Chen (2004) and Lin (2007) applied Tablet PCs to language teaching as well as learning.. Because. there were fewer studies applying mobile devices to language teaching and learning than to non-language teaching and learning, more studies on applying mobile devices to language teaching and learning are needed for examining the effect of mobile devices on language learning. The reason for a mobile learning trend in education is that there are many mobile device advantages.. Koole (2006) stated that there are several cognitive and. 2.

(12) social advantages of mobile device use. “Access to information anytime, anywhere combined with the flexibility to move or study within different environments can have additional benefits beyond merely accumulating information.” (Koole, 2006) Mobile devices allow learners to connect socially with instructors as well as other learners thus impacting on their ability to effectively navigate information. Among all the mobile devices, a Tablet PC is one of the most popular products available. It is a kind of computer that enables users, with the aid of a stylus, to write words or draw pictures directly on the screen; in some designs, the screens can even be turned around 180∘.. Willis and Miertschin (2004) mentioned that a Tablet. PC has several unique features which are suitable for academic environment by being mobility, portability and accessibility.. They become helpful in note taking,. presentation giving, document making and information managing.. Mock (2004) also. suggested that a Tablet PC is an effective tool for grading students, preparing lectures, and delivering classroom presentations. Hence, a Tablet PC is a potential tool for teaching as well as learning and has been chosen for my study as a tool to help students learn a language. Nowadays, English is still the most important international language in the world.. It is also the most popular foreign language in Taiwan, where students have. learned English since the third year of elementary school. However some of these. 3.

(13) students are not so motivated in learning English. It is therefore a good idea to use a great tool such as a Tablet PC to motivate students to learn. English now becomes a wonderful element for us to examine the effect of Tablet PC on language teaching and learning. The goal of English teaching in Taiwan’s elementary school is to arouse students’ interest in English.. However, English education in these schools focuses. only on listening and speaking.. When students attend junior high school, they have. to enhance their ability in reading and writing, and the lack of reading and writing training has frustrated many of them.. Saville-Troike (1984) said that vocabulary is. the most important factor in second or foreign language achievement.. Therefore,. vocabulary is the essential element to improve their English reading and writing skills. As such for this study, vocabulary was chosen to examine the effect of Tablet PCs on English teaching and learning. Some CALL studies in vocabulary teaching and learning were done (Tozcu & Coady, 2004; Zapata & Sagarra, 2007; Stockwell, 2007; Lan, Sung & Chang, 2007), but there were far few studies involving Tablet PCs in vocabulary teaching and learning (Lin, Liu & Niramitranon, 2008).. In Lin, Liu and Niramitranon ’s study, the. researchers investigated the effect of collaborative learning with Tablet PCs on English vocabulary learning in elementary school.. 4. This study had only twenty, fifth.

(14) grade students with ten females as well as ten males and did not include a control group.. The researchers spent a total of eight-two minutes with the subjects from the. pre-test to the interview.. Because of the different level of the subjects, the limited. number of participants, the lack of a control group and the short period of the experiment time in Lin, Liu and Niramitranon’s study, this thesis will focus on investigating the effect of Tablet PCs on vocabulary teaching and learning in Taiwan junior high school.. There were thirty-two students in the experimental group and. thirty-one students in the control group.. The experiment period was about two. months (twelve sessions), and each session was fifty minutes. According to the previous reasons and literature reviews, this thesis focuses on applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning in Taiwan junior high school.. 1.2 Purpose There are two main purposes in this study: 1.. To examine the gain made in Taiwan junior high school students’ vocabulary learning by applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching.. 2.. To investigate Taiwan junior high school students’ perceptions of using Tablet PCs during English vocabulary teaching and learning.. 5.

(15) 1.3 Definition of Terms. Tablet PC: A Tablet PC refers to a notebook- or slate-shaped mobile computer. Its touchscreen or digitizing tablet technology allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse. offers a more mobile way to interact with a computer.. This form. Tablet PCs are often used. where normal notebooks are impractical or unwieldy, or do not provide the needed functionality(see Figure 1).. (Wikipedia, 2007). Figure 1. Tablet PC. Virtual Classroom: Virtual Classroom refers to a software program used in a Tablet PC.. A teacher can send a file or a message to students and open a chatroom for. discussion. He can observe and control students’ screens with his own Tablet PC. He can also broadcast a student’s screen to other students for sharing information (see Figure 2). 6.

(16) Figure 2. Visual Classroom. Moodle:. Moodle refers to a free e-learning software platform (also known as a. Course Management System (CMS), or Learning Management Systems (LMS), or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)).. It has a significant user base with 25,281. registered sites with 10,405,167 users in 1,023,914 courses (as of May 13, 2007). Moodle is designed to help educators create online courses with opportunities for rich interaction.. Its open source licence and modular design means that people can. develop additional functionality.. Development is undertaken by a globally diffused. network of commercial and non-commercial users, spearheaded by the Moodle company based in Perth, Western Australia (see Figure 3). (Wikipedia, 2007). 7.

(17) Figure 3. Moodle. Hot Potatoes: The Hot Potatoes software suite includes five applications that can create exercises for the World Wide Web. The applications are JCloze, JCross, JMatch, JMix and JQuiz.. There is also a sixth application called The Masher, that. will compile all the Hot Potatoes exercises into one unit.. Hot Potatoes is not. freeware, but it is free of charge for publicly funded, non-profit, educational users who make their pages available on the web. Other users must pay for a licence.. Hot. Potatoes was created by the Research and Development team at the University of Victoria Humanities Computing and Media Centre. Commercial aspects of the software are handled by Half-Baked Software Inc(see Figure 4).. 8. (Wikipedia, 2007).

(18) Figure 4. Hot Potatoes. Interactive Whiteboard: An interactive whiteboard is an electronic device that interprets a projected two-dimensional surface that interacts with a computer's desktop generally on an interactive computer screen.. Interactive whiteboards. typically require a computer to generate the display via a projector. Typically software mimics the computer's mouse and keyboard.while some models have basic whiteboard functionality present within the physical whiteboard.. They are used in. many settings including classrooms, business presentation and work group (see Figure 5). Uses include:. 9.

(19) 1. Operating directly on a large display, use of software that is loaded onto the connected PC, including internet browsers or proprietary software. 2. On a large display, use of software to capture notes written on a whiteboard or whiteboard like surface. 3. The ability to control (click and drag), mark-up (annotate a program), or use Optical Character Recognition on a computer-generated image displayed on or behind the touch surface.. Figure 5.. Interactive Whiteboard. 10.

(20) 1.4 Organization This thesis consists of six chapters.. The first chapter is the introduction. It. includes the background as well as motivation, purpose, and definition of terms. The second chapter is the literature reviews. Five aspects of literature are reviewed in this chapter.. First, previous research on applying mobile devices to non-language. teaching and learning are reviewed.. Second, previous research on applying mobile. devices to language teaching and learning are written. the advantages of mobile learning are mentioned.. Third, previous research on Fourth, previous research on. CALL in vocabulary teaching and learning are described. Fifth, previous research on Tablet PCs in vocabulary teaching and learning are presented. five aspects of previous research, the topic is decided. questions in this thesis.. According to these. There are two research. The third chapter is the methodology.. Here the. participants, the instruments, the procedures and the data analysis of this thesis are described. The fourth chapter is the results. It consists of results of the pre-test and the post-test, results of the students’ questionnaires, and results of the students’ interview. The fifth chapter is the discussion. It discusses the differences between the experimental group and the control group on the segmental improvement between the pre-test and the post-test, the response of the experiment group in the questionnaire, and the feedback of the experiment group from the interview.. 11. The.

(21) sixth chapter is the conclusions. It concludes the summary of the findings, the pedagogical implications, the limitations of the study and the suggestions for future research.. 12.

(22) CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews five aspects of literature which are relevant to this research.. First, previous research on applying mobile devices to non-language. teaching and learning are summarized.. Second, previous research on applying. mobile devices to language teaching and learning are reviewed. research on the advantages of mobile learning are described.. Third, previous Fourth, previous. research on CALL in vocabulary teaching and learning are presented.. Fifth,. previous research on Tablet PCs in vocabulary teaching and learning are written. Based on these literature reviews, two research questions are posed for investigating the effect of applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning.. 2.1 Research on Applying Mobile Devices to Non-language Teaching and Learning Many researchers explored the effect of mobile devices on education. There have been many studies applying mobile devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and Tablet PCs to non-language teaching and learning in recent years.. 13.

(23) 2.1.1 Research on Applying Mobile Phones to Non-language Teaching and Learning McGuire (2005) discussed a pilot study of an innovative project called eVIVA. EVIVA took advantage of mobile phones and the Internet to support formative assessments.. The eVIVA pilot study initially ran from June 2002 until July 2003 and. extended until July 2004.. There were ten universities in UK joining this project.. Each school was asked to involve one teacher and twenty students in the pilot project. Students were asked to compile an online portfolio to provide annotated evidence of their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) learning milestones.. Once. each ‘digital portfolio’ was ready, students were expected to participate in a telephone viva (oral test) in which they answered a number of pre-selected questions about both their working processes and their learning journey. very positive.. The feedback of teachers was. Teachers considered that it increased students’ motivation and. self-esteem.. It improved teachers’ awareness of students and teacher-student. relationships.. Students took more responsibility for their own learning and became. independent.. Teachers and students both recognized the value of oral practice.. Students’ feedback was also positive. system.. The majority of students enjoyed using the. They said it was a better way to take a test with a mobile phone.. They. thought it was good to know the questions in advance and it enhanced their. 14.

(24) self-confidence.. It stimulated students’ learning and students had fun recording the. voice files and messaging. Lim and Wang (2005) tried a collaborative handheld educational game named EcoRangers on mobile phones.. EcoRangers was designed to help students practice. skills relevant to ninth and tenth grade social studies found within Singapore’s education system, specifically through the pedagogical strategy, and structured academic controversy.. The training was done in three secondary schools among. fifty, ninth grade students. Students were able to debate open-ended questions from a variety of perspectives concerning social studies by using their mobile phones. Students gave a positive feedback about the EcoRangers game.. They thought that. the game gave them an understanding of topics taught in both social studies and geography.. It helped them see different points of view and was helpful in. broadening their understanding of social studies.. It not only improved their debating. skills, but also gave them the opportunity to apply geographical and sociological concepts that they had learned.. 2.1.2 Research on Applying PDAs to Non-language Teaching and Learning Facer, Joiner, Stanton, Reid, Hull and Kirk (2004) used PDAs to develop a mobile game which was designed to encourage the development of children’s. 15.

(25) conceptual understanding of animal behavior. Ten children with five boys and five girls, aged from eleven to twelve years, played and explored the game.. Children. could have direct physical interaction with space and with other players.. The game. was combined with principles of engagement and self-motivation to create a powerful and engaging learning experience.. They found that the mobile game might be. employed as a tool for supporting learning. Mckenney (2004) started a handheld program by PDAs at the Ohio State University Medical Center in 2001.. Two hundred and ten, third and fourth year. medical students and residents joined this program.. Medical students were required. to do a twelve-week ambulatory clerkship in their third year.. Mckenney examined. students’ use in taking traditional materials and delivering them in a personal digital assistant-friendly format.. The students gave positive feedback about the learning. experience. But the project team also faced three basic challenges: (1) The team tried to make the images on the PDA display at the same level of “desktop” quality. (2) The team tried to replicate display tools that would normally be seen when viewing an image on a desktop computer and then put them on the PDA.. (3) The. team looked at how the materials submission process could be streamlined and still remained suitable for both desktop and PDA displays. Klopfer, Yoon and Rivas (2004) applied PDAs to engage students in. 16.

(26) Participatory Simulations for learning science. This study employed two simulations: Virus, an epidemiological simulation and LLAP, a simulation of the Mendelian genetic inheritance.. One private middle school was selected for the Virus game.. The study group included eighty-two students from five different classes, ages ranged from eleven to thirteen years old. They played the game, Virus, in their science classes.. One public school and one private high school were selected for the LLAP.. There were seventy-one students in the public school, and one hundred as well as seventeen students in the private school. fourteen to sixteen years old.. The ages of both groups were from. They played the game, LLAP, in their biology classes.. This study showed Participatory Simulations on Palms was as capable as the original Tag-based. simulations. problem-solving task.. in. engaging. student. collaboration. in. a. complex. For students, this inexpensive Palm technology not only. motivated them, but also helped them to understand the relationship between science and technology.. For teachers, this type of activity served to identify what. misconception their students still retained even after instruction. Corlett, Sharples, Bull and Chan (2005) provided seventeen students in the Human Centered Systems MS class with a PDA, a mobile learning organizer, to manage their learning in the Department of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Birmingham for ten months during the academic. 17.

(27) session 2002/2003.. The primary uses of the organizer were communication,. time-management and access to content.. Timetable, web browser, instant messaging. and e-mail were the functions in a PDA which students used most. However, there were also several problems students using the organizer had including weight, screen size, limited memory and short battery life. There were four significant conclusions derived from students’ attitude: (1) Students considered that using a PDA did not hinder learning. problem.. (2) Students thought that battery life of a PDA was a significant. (3) Students did not feel unsure about using a PDA without prior. knowledge of how to use it. (4) Students concluded that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of taking part in the trial.. 2.1.3 Research on Applying Tablet PCs to Non-language Teaching and Learning Lee (2004) conducted an action research on mobile project-based learning in elementary school science education. Design Model used on a Tablet PC. grade elementary students.. He looked at the Instructional Systematic. The subjects were twenty-four, fourth and fifth. The aim of the research was to provide a teaching and. learning model for mobile project-based learning.. This research attempted to design. lesson plans, teaching materials and web sites with the ADDIE Instructional Systematic Design Model.. Tablet PCs and the wireless network technology were. 18.

(28) used to design lesson plans, develop teaching materials and construct web sites for an observation learning course on butterfly ecological gardens. The conclusions of the research were: (1) Researchers should keep the ADDIE Instructional Systematic Design principles in mind when developing teaching and learning materials for mobile project-based learning model.. In addition, they must follow the analysis,. design, development, implementation and evaluation procedure closely.. (2) When. designing, researchers must always center a mobile project on students’ learning. They should try to provide room for students’ active exploration.. They should try to. meet students’ needs such as searching for information, investigating or surveying problems, lab practice, interviewing experts and discussion.. (3) Proposed. suggestions for professional development in the areas of teaching preparation, teaching strategies and action research reflection were made. Horng (2004) explored the potential and usability of mobile e-learning tools and the extent to which mobile e-learning could support learning interest in a more effective and efficient manner with cerebral palsy (CP) students through the use of Tablet PCs.. One male and one female third year senior high school CP students. were the subjects.. They used Tablet PCs and traditional desktop computers to. conduct tasks such as emailing, drawing and typing.. The aim of the project was to. identify the limits of mobile e-learning tools for the sake of CP students. Results. 19.

(29) showed the importance of computer learning to the CP students.. It not only provided. the students opportunity to obtain skills in computer use, but also helped students build confidence in themselves. Chou (2004) integrated a Tablet PC and a wireless network into a digital classroom environment.. It offered communication and scaffolding aids to hearing. impaired students, mitigated their learning load and promoted the effects of learning. The subjects were seven, second year junior high school students with hearing impairments.. They used Tablet PCs in a digital classroom environment in their. mathematics classes.. The results of their mathematics learning indicated that the. digital classroom environment enhanced the communication between the teacher as well as students and promoted problem solving.. The teacher and students both. confirmed the worth of digital classroom environment in deaf education. Hsin (2006) developed game-based learning software program through a Tablet PC to evaluate the learning effects on spatial ability for one hundred and two, second grade elementary school students.. There were fifty-seven boys and forty-five. girls around the age of eight. The activities in the software program included games that included training on egocentric orientation system of reference, fixed system of reference and coordinated system of reference. The experimental results showed the software program had a good effect on motivating students’ learning.. 20.

(30) Based on the previous reviews, there were a lot of studies applying mobile devices to non-language teaching as well as learning.. They showed that mobile. devices had educational potential.. 2.2 Research on Applying Mobile Devices to Language Teaching and Learning For comparison purposes fewer language teaching and learning studies were available than non-language teaching and learning.. The following studies are. previous research done applying mobile devices such as cell phones, PDAs and Tablet PCs to language teaching and learning.. 2.2.1 Research on Applying Mobile Phones to Language Teaching and Learning Thornton and Houser (2005) presented three studies on applying mobile phones to English teaching and learning.. In the first study, they polled three hundred. and thirty-three Japanese university students about their use of mobile phones. hundred percent reported owning a mobile phone. sending e-mails on their mobile phones.. One. Ninety-nine percent reported. This confirmed that a mobile phone was. potentially a great media and tool for learning in Japan because of the high frequency of students’ owning and using them.. In the second study, they e-mailed. one-hundred-word long English vocabulary lessons at 9:00, 12:30, and 17:00, three. 21.

(31) times a day, to forty-four female Japanese university via their mobile phones.. These. students were compared with students who learned the same material on paper or over the Web. It was found that students who studied on mobile phones learned more English words.. In the third study, they created a web site teaching English idioms.. Student-produced animated films showed the literal meaning of the idioms, a video showed the idiomatic meaning, and the textual materials provided an explanation, script as well as quiz. Thirty-one sophomore students evaluated the site by using video-capable mobile phones.. They had few technical difficulties using mobile. phones and its educational effectiveness was highly rated.. 2.2.2 Research on Applying PDAs to Language Teaching and Learning Wu (2003) built an English PDA learning environment with a Windows CE-based platform.. This platform system was used in Compaq as well as HP PDA. and offered improved Windows compatibility, combined with real-time processing support.. The purpose of this environment was to share knowledge and assist in. learning combining the process of a game with the analysis and estimation of the users’ vocabulary.. At first, a user had to take a Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT).. According to the user’s ability, the computer opponent, with the proper artificial intelligence grade level, was produced.. 22. The computer opponents provided.

(32) appropriate learning materials for the user and adjusted the difficulties of materials when the user’s ability changed.. Through the game playing process and the. mechanism of the knowledge feedback, the user’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) would be built. The ZPD is the difference between what a user can do with help and what a user can do without guidance.. With this game the user would. gradually upgrade his or her own ability by acquiring more related knowledge, likewise the computer opponent’s grade was adjusted according to the estimation of the users’ vocabulary.. When the ability of the users’ vocabulary changed, the. computer adjusted the difficulty level of the learning materials within this stimulation. The users’ vocabulary would increase. Hsu (2005) presented a personalized intelligent m-learning system (PIMS) on PDAs.. Sixteen juniors in a university joined the experiment.. This system could. recommend appropriate English news articles to learners according to the learners’ reading ability which had been evaluated by the proposed fuzzy item response theory (FIRT) for non-native English speakers. Learners’ new or unfamiliar vocabulary could be automatically discovered and retrieved from the English news articles by the PIMS system for enhancing learners’ vocabulary learning ability.. There were three. conclusions from this study: (1) A database of English news articles could help English teachers produce English reading materials.. 23. (2) Learners could read English.

(33) news articles at any time and everywhere with the PIMS system.. (3) The PIMS. system enhanced learners’ motivation and time spent on learning English.. (4) It. improved learners’ reading ability.. 2.2.3 Research on Applying Tablet PCs to Language Teaching and Learning Huang (2003) developed wireless formative assessment software program for both Tablet PCs and PDAs to help teachers conduct formative classroom assessment and he also tried to evaluate their learning effects on students. One senior high school English teacher and two classes participated in this evaluation experiment. The experiment group consisted of twenty female and twenty-two male first year senior high school students.. The control group consisted of twenty female and. nineteen male first year senior high school students.. It reached three objectives: (1). The formative assessment software program for Tablet PCs and PDAs assisted teachers to conduct formative assessments in the classroom while offering a wireless environmental support to forty students using wireless networks.. (2) The English. learning performance difference between the experimental and control groups was reduced while the achievement increases of the experimental group’s were more stable than the control group’s after long-term use of his software program.. (3) The. author explored and documented the advantages and limitation of using mobile and. 24.

(34) wireless devices in classroom teaching activities. Chen (2004) discussed the use of Tablet PCs in English teaching. The author tested the hardware and software on a Tablet PC, and investigated several English teaching programs.. Twenty-four English teachers had operated Tablet PCs for. fifteen hours, and then finished a questionnaire. Through the survey, Chen analyzed the potentials and limitations of Tablet PCs.. At the same time, he discovered some. valuable and potential language learning software programs, and then he tried to develop and propagate the use of Tablet PCs in English teaching at schools of all levels.. The results showed most users gave positive feedback on the use of Tablet. PCs in language learning.. They also gave high evaluation marks on the use of Tablet. PCs in their formative assessments.. But the high price and the lack of knowledge as. well as the technical support were obstacles for English teachers using Tablet PCs. Lin (2007) constructed a computer supported collaborative learning environment and examined the feasibility and efficiency of integrating mobile learning devices in an English classroom scenario.. The participants were ten, third. year junior high school students. They practiced relative clause grammar exercise on a platform with Tablet PCs.. There were three conclusions drawn from this study.. First, constructing a classroom using Tablet PCs to support collaborative learning was feasible. Well designed learning activities would be a benefit to both a teacher and. 25.

(35) students.. Second, it upgraded teaching benefits.. The teacher was able to get. immediate feedback on the students’ learning status with the supporting functions of recording and analysis of the system.. The teacher was encouraged to manage. teaching activities and groupings with convenience and efficiency in mind.. The. teacher was also encouraged to design questions before class began and manage questions according to students’ learning status as necessary.. The teacher was thus. able to manage learning activities on the platform with feasibility and convenience before and during the class. collaborative learning benefits.. Third, it improved students’ learning interest and The students were able to construct their own. knowledge comprehension while promoting learning and interest in grammar through their peers’ collaborative learning. The students felt more interested and confident in learning with the convenience and immediate feedback of mobile learning.. The. students’ abilities in communication, collaboration, coordination were improved and the interaction between the teacher and the students became closer. With the evident lack of studies, more studies are needed to examine the effect of mobile devices on language teaching and learning.. 2.3 Research on The Advantages of Mobile Learning Mobile learning is a trend in education because there are many advantages. 26.

(36) obtained by applying mobile devices to teaching and learning. The following studies reviewed here demonstrate these advantages. Koole (2006) stated that mobile devices offered several cognitive and social advantages. He proposed six benefits that mobile devices offered to teaching and learning.. First, mobile learning permitted learners to discover new concepts,. procedures and challenges.. They could generate new information as they moved. with their mobile devices through their physical and virtual space.. Second, learners. had the opportunity to integrate their perspectives with those of others in equally unique situations.. Concepts and procedures developed for specific purposes could. be applied to new situations.. Third, technology could become a tool for the access,. exchange, and creation of appropriate information.. Devices which offered the most. flexible ways to connect with a variety of systems assisted learners in locating and sharing information permitting them to solve a variety of problems.. Fourth, the. development of instructional methods which encouraged learners to share and discuss their thoughts with instructors and other learners could lead to more effective collaboration and co-construction of knowledge.. Fifth, increased social interaction. could help learners cope with the abundance of knowledge which was characteristic of today’s Internet culture.. Sixth, learners could not only access information more. quickly and efficiently, but they could also reach other learners as well as subject. 27.

(37) experts.. They could seek the assistance of others when they need to evaluate,. organize, or locate appropriate information. Through the above review, we know that there are a lot of merits of applying mobile devices to teaching and learning. A Tablet PC is one of the most popular mobile devices nowadays.. Several scholars have mentioned its merits for teaching. and learning. Willis and Miertschin (2004) mentioned that a Tablet PC has several unique features which are suitable for the academic environment—mobility, portability and accessibility.. Professors from the College of Technology at the University of. Houston had used Tablet PCs for one year. The paper described these experiences and the possibilities of new ways of teaching and learning. It proved that a Tablet PC is helpful in note taking, document markup, participating in presentations, teaming as well as collaboration, and information management. Mock (2004) suggested that a Tablet PC is an effective tool for grading students, preparing lectures, and delivering classroom presentations. Mock used a Tablet PC to conduct a course with a Classroom Presenter System which was extended by Simon, et. al. (CS1) and a software engineering (SWE) course.. The CS1 course. consisted of hand-written materials and the SWE course consisted of PowerPoint lectures.. A Tablet PC was used as a digital whiteboard by connecting it to a data. 28.

(38) projector in the classroom. blackboard with a Tablet PC.. There were several advantages of replacing the (1) The lecture could be conducted entirely by. drawing in digital ink without preparing materials in advance.. Additionally,. materials could be prepared in advanced and annotated during the lecture.. (2) The. instructor could re-display previously covered materials which would normally have been erased on a blackboard.. (3) Users could use multiple pens in different colors,. widths and styles. (4) It was easy to switch to other applications such as telnet and web browser.. (5) Digital ink could be saved and viewed later through a web browser.. (6) By standing off to the side, the instructor never occluded the screen and could maintain eye contact with the audience while lecturing. Outside of the classroom, a Tablet PC proved to be a useful tool for grading, working with lecture material and capturing meeting notes. According to the two studies above, there were a lot of good qualities of applying Tablet PCs to teaching and learning.. 2.4 Research on CALL in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning Some researchers tried to examine the effect of CALL on vocabulary teaching and learning.. There were some studies of CALL in vocabulary teaching and. learning.. 29.

(39) Tozcu and Coady(2004) investigated the effect of direct vocabulary learning using Computer Assisted Language Learning(CALL) in vocabulary knowledge, reading comprehension, and speed of word recognition.. The subjects were fifty-six. intermediate level students who were studying English full time for university academic preparation located at two different sites.. Twenty-eight students were in. the experimental group and twenty-eight students were in the control group.. The. two groups were given pre- and post-tests in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and reaction time.. Students in the experimental group studied as many as two thousand. words in the Computer lab for three hours per week for eight weeks for a total of twenty-four hours.. Students in the control group were each required to do two,. two-page articles per week, and answer four comprehension questions based on these articles.. Both groups showed increases in vocabulary gain and reading. comprehension, and a decrease in reaction time for frequent word recognition, with the experimental group showing significantly greater gains than the control group. Zapata and Sagarra (2007) examined the effects of an online workbook and a paper workbook on L2 vocabulary acquisition. Two hundred and forty-five students completed their homework with an online workbook, while three hundred and four students finished their homework with a paper workbook.. They received four hours. of classroom instruction per week and worked with an online or a paper workbook. 30.

(40) once a week during their two semesters. vocabulary tests.. They completed a screening test and four. There was no significant difference between the two groups after. one semester of instructional treatment. But the online group proved better than the paper workbook in the second semester. Stockwell (2007) investigated the use of a prototype mobile-based intelligent vocabulary tutor system with students in an advanced EFL class. There were only eleven students in this study.. Students used the tutor to complete vocabulary. activities through either their mobile phones or through computers. achieved better scores when using a computer.. Students. There were reasons for the result.. The first one was the technological problem. Students were concerned about the small screen size and cost of a mobile phone. problem.. The second one was the psychological. Students could not accept a mobile phone as a learning tool.. Lan, Sung and Chang (2007) explored the potential application of mobile technology for elementary EFL reading instruction.. The subjects were fifty-two,. third grade students from an elementary school in Taipei. This research included two studies.. In Study One, the weaknesses of collaborative learning in a traditional. EFL setting were observed.. In Study Two, a mobile-device-supported peer-assisted. learning (MPAL) system was developed for the purpose of addressing the identified weaknesses. This research showed that MPAL reduced anxiety in elementary EFL. 31.

(41) learners, promoted motivation to learn, and enhanced oral reading confidence. This research also provided evidence that a mobile-device-supported EFL reading program was a portable and potential solution that could provide students with adaptable and ubiquitous support for collaborative EFL reading activities at any place and time. There were some studies of CALL in vocabulary teaching and learning, but there were few studies concerning a Tablet PC in vocabulary teaching and learning.. 2.5 Research on Tablet PCs in Vocabulary Teaching and Learning There were few studies concerning a Tablet PC in vocabulary teaching and learning. Lin, Liu and Niramitranon (2008) deployed a computer supported collaborative learning scenario by using a Tablet PC with Group Scibbles.. There were ten female. and ten male fifth grade elementary school students used in their study.. The. researchers designed a collection of vocabulary activity software to facilitate students engaging in collaborative learning English. The students had to fill in blanks with ten words and some prepositions by using the stylus of their Tablet PCs and then they could discuss it with their classmates. But, there was no control group and the experimental period was a short eight-two minutes.. The results showed that a Tablet. PC enhanced instructional design while arousing students’ motivations and improving. 32.

(42) students’ mutual interactions. In Lin, Liu & Niramitranon’s study (2008), the subjects were twenty, fifth grade elementary school students, there was no control group and the experimental time was only a short eighty-two minutes.. Therefore my thesis investigated the effect of. Tablet PCs on vocabulary teaching and learning of seventh grade students in junior high school.. There were thirty-two students in the experimental group and. thirty-one students in the control group.. The experiment period was twelve sessions,. and each session was fifty minutes.. 2.6 Research Questions On the basis of the studies above, two research questions are posed to investigate the effect of applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning in Taiwan junior high school. 1. Do students learn more words by applying Tablet PCs to English vocabulary teaching and learning? 2. What are students’ perceptions when they use a Tablet PC to learn English vocabulary?. 33.

(43) CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY. The participants, the instruments, the procedures and the data analysis of the study are presented in this chapter.. 3.1 Participants Two classes of seventh grade junior high school students were invited to join the experiment.. One class was the experimental group and the other class was the. control group.. There were thirty-two students in the experimental group, with. seventeen male and fifteen female students.. There were thirty-one students in the. control group, with eighteen male and thirteen female students. These students’ age ranged from thirteen to fifteen years old.. All of them had to take an English. vocabulary pre-test taken from Lesson Three to Lesson Six in Han-lin Version Book One.. The aims of the pre-test were to assess the sixty-three participants’ English. vocabulary proficiency within a limited scale and to see whether there was any significant difference between the two groups before the treatment. was their teacher.. 34. The researcher.

(44) 3.2 Instruments The instruments in this study included one pre-test, the software program: Visual Classroom, the platform: Moodle, the software program: Hot Potatoes, one post-test, one questionnaire, and one interview.. 3.2.1 Pre-test A pre-test of English vocabulary from Lesson Three to Lesson Six in Han-lin Version Book One was performed in this study.. The aims of the pre-test were to. assess the sixty-three participants’ English proficiency using words from selected text and to see whether there was any significant difference between the two groups before the experiment.. The pre-test consisted of forty multiple-choice usage questions. testing forty different words and twenty-five cloze questions testing the spelling of twenty-five different words selected.. 3.2.2 Software Program: Visual Classroom Virtual Classroom is a software program which can be used in a Tablet PC.. A. teacher can send a message or a file to students and open a chatroom for discussion. He can observe and control students’ screens with his own Tablet PC. He can also broadcast a student’s screen to other students for sharing information.. 35.

(45) 3.2.3 Platform: Moodle Moodle is a teaching and learning platform. post messages on it.. Teachers can open a lesson and. They can also upload different exercises as well as tests on the. platform, enabling students to practice on line. Students can also take tests. Then after they finish the test, they can submit it immediately and Moodle can show students the answers as well as the scores.. The scores are recorded and are sent to. the teacher. Moodle can then analyze the scores and produce statistical data for the teachers’ reference.. 3.2.4 Software Program: Hot Potatoes Hot Potatoes is a software program that produces five kinds of English exercises: word puzzle(JCross), matching(JMacth), filling-in-the-blank(JCloze), multiple choice(JQuiz) and unscrabbling words(JMix).. After students finish the. exercises, Hot Potatoes can correct their answers and show students their scores. The exercises can be loaded on Moodle for students to practice.. 3.2.5 Post-test A post-test covering the English vocabulary from Lesson Three to Lesson Six in Han-lin Version Book One was also performed in this study.. 36. The aims of the test.

(46) were to examine the grade improvement of the two groups and observe any significant difference between the two groups after the experiment.. The post-test. consisted of forty multiple-choice questions and twenty-five cloze questions covering instructed vocabulary.. The questions in the post-test were very similar to the. questions in the pre-test being different only in order of the options and order of the questions.. 3.2.6 Questionnaire A questionnaire was given to the students after the experiment.. The. questionnaires included three categories of questions—5-point Likert scale questions, multi-multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions.. In the 5-point Likert. scale questions, there were five questions about their satisfaction with a Tablet PC, three questions dealing with the motivation to use a Tablet PC and one question about difficulties found in using a Tablet PC to learn English vocabulary.. In the. multi-multiple-choice questions, there were two questions about their satisfaction, two questions about the difficulties and one question about the future use of a Tablet PC in English teaching as well as learning.. In the open-ended questions, there were two. questions about suggestions they would make about using a Tablet PC and the future use of a Tablet PC in English teaching as well as learning.. 37.

(47) 3.2.7 Interview There were four interviewees with two boys and two girls from the experimental group. in the interview.. The interviewer was the teacher.. There were three questions. The first one is “What are the advantages and disadvantages of a. Tablet PC?” The second one is “Do you think learning English is more interesting with a Tablet PC?”. The third one is “Do you think a Tablet PC is helpful for. learning English?”. Each interviewee answered the three questions during a. fifty-minute interview (one session).. 38.

(48) 3.3 Procedures The procedure of this study is presented by the following flowchart as in Figure 6.. Pre-test. The Control Group: Class One: Use a pen & paper to finish a worksheet about the words. Class Two: Use a pen & paper to make sentences for the words. Class Three: Use a pen & paper to take a. The Experimental Group: Class One: Use a Tablet PC to finish a worksheet about the words. Class Two: Use a Tablet PC to make sentences for the words. Class Three: Use a Tablet PC to take a quiz.. quiz.. Post-test. Questionnaire. Interview. Data Analysis. Figure 6. Flowchart of the Procedure. 39.

(49) In the study, the researcher took three sessions to teach the vocabulary of each lesson.. There were twenty words in Lesson Three.. in Lesson Four and Five.. There were twenty-nine words. There were thirty words in Lesson Six.. 3.3.1 Pre-test At the beginning of the experiment, the sixty-three students took a pre-test to assess their English proficiency with words from Lesson Three to Lesson Six of Han-lin Version English Book One and to check whether there was any significant difference between the two groups.. There were forty multiple-choice questions. about the word usage and twenty-five cloze questions about the word spelling.. 3.3.2 The Experimental Group and The Control Group The researcher divided the sixty-three students into two groups, an experimental group with thirty-two students and a control group with thirty-one students. In the study, the teacher taught four lessons from the Han-lin Version English Book One, from Lesson Three to Lesson Six.. The lessons moved in a cycle. four times. For the experimental group, in the first session of each lesson, the teacher gave each student a Tablet PC.. Through the software program,, Visual Classroom, she. 40.