Multimedia pop-up gloss combining synonym, definition, picture, audio, video, and hyperlink¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 2 studies (1 causal, 1 quant-synthesis), q2–q3 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study's gloss is a pop-up window that appears when a reader clicks an underlined target word in a computerized text. Each gloss provides "a synonym, definition, pronunciation, picture, video, and a hypertext link to external information". Glosses were built with the Foreign Language Annotator (FLAn) software, displayed in Verdana font on a white background, with only one gloss visible at a time so the reading text remained on screen.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Learners unfamiliar with multimedia glosses need orientation and training in how to use the software and consult all informational categories

Constraints¶

• Only the first occurrence of a target word in a text was glossed
• Readers could view only one gloss at a time

Target Learners¶

• First-year Saudi EFL students aged 14-16 at Jubail College of Education, IAU University

Target Learning Goals¶

• Recognizing, understanding and applying English vocabulary encountered in reading passages

Claims¶

• Multimedia glosses improve EFL students' immediate vocabulary acquisition relative to reading the same texts without glosses [+W]
• Multimedia glosses improve EFL students' vocabulary retention two weeks after treatment relative to no glosses [+W]
• Earlier meta-analyses, as reported second-hand, find that glosses improve L2 vocabulary learning and that text-and-picture glosses outperform single-mode glosses [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Guidelines for designing and deploying multimedia glosses in reading texts

Key Sources¶

• Samah Zakareya Ahmad. (2019). Multimedia Glosses for Enhancing EFL Students' Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention. English Language Teaching, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v12n12p46