The comparative effects of direct DDL and indirect DDL on constructing vocabulary knowledge

Abstract

This study investigated comparative effects of direct data-driven learning (D-DDL) and indirect data-driven learning (I-DDL) on learning new vocabulary. The participants were 52 university prep students with intermediate level of proficiency who were randomly assigned into one of the experimental conditions as D-DDL and I-DDL. Participants in D-DDL group studied the twenty target words inductively using online corpora, whereas the participants in I-DDL group studied the same target words inductively on paper-based concordances pre-selected from corpora by teachers. Adopting a quasi-experimental mixed methods design, the study utilized pre-tests and post-tests, individual think-aloud protocol, and focus group interviews in order to collect data. The collected data was analyzed in order to explore (1) how I-DDL compares to D-DDL on vocabulary recall and recognition, (2) how I-DDL compares to D-DDL on students’ constructing vocabulary knowledge behaviors using corpus data, (3) how pair work and individual work differs in I-DDL and D-DDL practices, and (4) how students’ attitudes towards I-DDL compare to D-DDL. The study filled in the gap in the literature by concluding that there was no significant difference between I-DDL and D-DDL on students’ vocabulary gains according to pre-test post-test results. Qualitative data from think-aloud protocol and focus group interviews uncovered some differences and similarities between the two groups.