Teaching vocabulary development using interactive whiteboards to third grade ELL students in the United Arab Emirates

This research examined the use of interactive whiteboards (IWB) for English as a second language student vocabulary development. Assisting students with their vocabulary development was one of the goals of my district and the purpose of the study was to investigate how the use IWB materials can assist in this area. Participants included two native English-speaking teachers and four classes from a local elementary school for boys in Abu Dhabi. The study examined the development and implementation of IWB-based lessons.;The study used exploratory, qualitative methods for collecting and analyzing data within the framework of comprehensible input and Second Language Acquisition theory (SLA). Data collection methods included observations of classrooms, teacher interviews, a reflective journal, and recorded screenshots of the lesson. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was used for analyzing the data in rich detail.;The findings revealed several multimodal features of IWBs that are useful for ELL student vocabulary development. Information was provided about improving my professional practice and implications for instructional design and schools. This work is significant in that it provides implications for this specific environment as well as for instructional design of IWB based lessons. This study adds to the research about the use of IWBs for ELL students, comprehensible input, and vocabulary development.