| This study examined the effect of multimedia-enhanced instruction as compared to traditional instruction on second language vocabulary retention and production in immediate and delayed testing. Specifically, the hypothesis that immediate access to verbal (text), visual (still pictures, animated images and videos) and auditory (audio glosses) associations may increase vocabulary retention was tested.;The participants were 19 (12F, 7M) intermediate level international students, aged 20-27, in an intensive English language program at a Midwestern American University. The instrument included two main parts, a treatment section and a testing section. The treatment section was composed of a reading passage, a word list, and true or false statements. The testing section included a vocabulary test assessing both productive and receptive skills, a questionnaire with a 3-point Likert scale along with two open-ended questions. The analyses of the data involved t-tests, analysis of variance and content analyses.;The results revealed that learners performed significantly better with the multimedia instruction than with traditional instruction in three tests (immediate receptive, immediate productive and delayed receptive). However, on the delayed productive testing, the difference was not found to be significant. The participants scored the highest with the words that were glossed with still pictures on the tests. The qualitative data revealed that the participants found the multimedia-enhanced vocabulary instruction more useful than the traditional. |
