SMS Vocabulary Learning: A Tool to Promote Reading Comprehension in L2

AbstractReading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge have critical roles in success in a foreign language. They have also intricate relationships so that the increase in one leads to increase of the other. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of learning vocabulary via SMS - as an optimal way of teaching words- on university students reading comprehension. To this end, 45 freshmen students took part in this study. They were assigned as experimental and control group. Before the beginning of the experiment both groups took a vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test. During 16 weeks of experiment the participants of the experimental group were taught 320 headwords of the Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000) via SMS. The control group learned them by using a dictionary. Both groups were assessed each session by the instructor in the class. At the end, both groups were administered a reading comprehension test as a post-test. The result of the post-test showed that although there was not any difference between the two groups in the pre-test, the experimental group outperformed the control group in reading comprehension test (t = 2.31, P = .02). However, both groups had improved in the post-test regardless of the medium of learning. In addition, the participants of the experimental group filled out a questionnaire regarding their attitudes towards SMS vocabulary learning. It was found that they had positive attitudes towards this approach of vocabulary learning. Based on this result, language teachers need to seek every opportunity to teach words to students to improve their reading comprehension. However, because of the superiority of SMS on other means of learning vocabulary, it is recommended that this approach of vocabulary learning be used to help students in the reading process.Keywords: SMS, Vocabulary learning, L2 reading comprehension1. IntroductionReading is the most important skill that any foreign language learner has to know. It is among the four important dimensions of language learning process identified by Chen and Hsu (2008); that is, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. Language learners need to read different text from their academic textbooks, stories and newspaper. It can be seen that reading can act as a source of getting information and pleasure and also a means of enhancing one's knowledge of the target language (Keshavarz & Ashtarian, 2008). At any level of language proficiency, language learners have problems in reading comprehension tests. Hence, language teachers need to pay special attention to this skill and to find a way to help students in the reading process and to improve their reading skill and as a result their knowledge of the target language. One of the ways that can help to improve learners reading skill is focusing on and teaching vocabulary.Huckin et al. (1993) conceived reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge as the two most important elements of a foreign language and the key to have a successful performance in it and stated that there is a mutual relationship between them. To put it another way, vocabulary knowledge will lead to enhancing reading comprehension and reading can contribute to improving language learners' vocabulary knowledge.Students cannot learn all the words necessary to promote their reading comprehension during the class time. Moreover, teaching vocabulary to improve reading comprehension requires a labor and time intensive method (McKeown, Beck, Omanson, & Pople, 1985). Teachers need to find a complement or alternative to classroom teaching of vocabulary. One such method which is a new approach to vocabulary teaching is Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) which takes advantage of mobile technology.Mobile phones have different features such as short message service that can be used for pedagogical purposes. Short massage is one of the features of mobile phones that have the capacity to contribute to enhancing language learners' vocabulary knowledge. …