Mr. Nhon Dang, an ESL teacher from School of Humanities and Languages, Tan Tao University in Long An province, delivered a presentation at the eighth joint GLoCALL 2014 International Conference in Ahmedabad, India.
In his talk, he touched on vocabulary, one of the foundational components for learning a second language, and ways to help students acquire English vocabulary effectively, efficiently and engagingly. Mr. Nhon said that although researchers and educators have suggested many lexical acquisition strategies, learning English vocabulary is still considered daunting for EFL/ESL learners. However, with the advancement of computer-assisted language learning (CALL), students' vocabulary learning is becoming less laborious, but more fun and effective. He contended that it is vocabulary learning through multimedia activities that could explain why students are more interested and engaged in their learning process, and this in turn facilitates students in achieving a higher lexical retention and in developing autonomous learning. After presenting a set of e-Tools of Quizlet, Educaplay and VocabAhead effectively used in his Listening course, Mr. Nhon concluded that the digital tools would certainly bring additional power, but they are not the magic wands. Learners are, therefore, expected to develop regular practice and autonomous learning.