Dual coding elucidation booklets for confusing lexical item pairs¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Instructional booklets presenting 25 pairs of commonly confused lexical items drawn from Hancock's Is That What You Mean?, mostly high-frequency words (90% among the 2,000 most frequent items). The pictorial version contained "sentences with the target lexical items corresponding to cartoons depicting the incorrect and correct usages as well as written descriptions explaining the errors in the students' first language"; the verbal version contained the same sentences and L1 explanations without pictures. Students studied the booklets individually for 20 minutes before an intervening number task and posttests.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Target items should be unfamiliar to learners (verified by pretest and field testing) and, where possible, high-frequency to allow focus on conceptual differences

Constraints¶

• Designed for pairs of lexical items sharing similar L1 translations or similar forms with different meanings; assessed via error-correction only

Target Learners¶

• adolescent EFL learners (Korean middle school)

Target Learning Goals¶

• distinguishing correct from incorrect usage of confusing L2 lexical pairs

Affordances¶

• Dual Coding Theory L2 Lexical Application

Claims¶

• Dual coding elucidation raises adolescent EFL learners' awareness of lexical errors and correct usage more than verbal-only elucidation [+M]
• The advantage of dual coding elucidation for correct lexical usage persists over a four-week delay [+M]
• Learning style (visual-verbal) shows no significant correlation with the effectiveness of pictorial elucidation for adolescent EFL learners [+W]
• Adolescent EFL learners perceive cartoon-based pictorial elucidation as helpful for accurate vocabulary use and engagement [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Add humorous cartoon visuals to verbal vocabulary instruction targeting confusing lexical items

Key Sources¶

• Lee, Sunjung. (2017). Raising EFL learners' awareness of L2 lexical errors and correct usage: A dual coding approach. English Teaching, 72(2), 29-50. https://doi.org/10.15858/engtea.72.2.201706.29