Technology Matters

Using Kahoot! to Pre-Teach Lexis
W. Jerry Johnston Jr.
Osaka Seikei University
Kahoot! is an online interactive digital tool that can be used to gamify the lesson and assist
English language learners. While it is common in ELT to use the internet quiz program
Kahoot! as a post-class comprehension check, it is also an effective means to pre-teach lexis
in a receptive skills lesson. Pre-teaching lexis is useful in terms of learner comprehension andretention, and Kahoot! is a flexible tool that deserves experimentation in the classroom. This
article advocates for the use of Kahoot! as a means of which to support learner vocabulary
in the context of pre-teaching lexis for receptive skills. This article also encourages creativeuse of Kahoot! in the classroom by giving ideas for further exploration of the tool in an ELT
environment.
Kahoot!は、双方向性のデジタルオンラインツールであり、授業にゲーム要素を取り入れて英語学習を助けることができる。インターネットクイズプログラムである
Kahoot!は、授業後の理解度チェックのために用いられることが多いが、読書やリス
ニング授業で扱う語彙のプレティーチングを目的とした使用方法も有効である。語彙のプレティーチングは学習者の理解や語彙保持に活躍するものであり、Kahoot!
は教室で実験するだけの意味がある柔軟なツールである。この論文は、読書やリス
ニング授業で扱う語彙のプレティーチングを行って学習者をサポートしようとする際に、Kahoot!を利用することを勧めるものである。また、Kahoot!のELT教室でのさらなる利用方法について検討し、Kahoot!の独創的な使い方を提唱している。

There is no shortage of technological resources that an English language teacher
can use in the classroom. Pronunciation apps, YouTube, online corpora, andcountless other technological resources are all readily available for instructors,
and it can be a daunting task to choose which resources to use in the classroom.
Technological resources are so abundant that they have become redundant insome cases, and concerns have been raised regarding teachers' use of technology
for its own sake (Tour, 2012). While there is no doubt that technology can be
overused, there is still room for effective use of technology in the classroom. The
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Johnston

online quiz app Kahoot! is one resource that educators across various disciplines
and age groups have been using in recent days. In the ELT context it has beenused as a type of controlled practice after introducing a grammar point or to assess
vocabulary that was taught in a lesson (Medina and Hurtado, 2017). However,there is another method of using Kahoot! in the ELT classroom: to unlock key
lexis that learners will encounter in a receptive skills lesson. Beginning with an
overview of the connections that exist between pre-teaching lexis and receptive
skill development, this article reports on classroom implementation of Kahoot!
as a tool for pre-teaching lexis in a university context.

Connections between pre-teaching lexis,
comprehension, and retention for receptive skills

Many communicative language teaching (CLT) methods include “pre-teachinglexis” or “unlocking vocabulary” for receptive skills lessons (i.e., reading andlistening). Prior to a reading or listening activity, the instructor can selectimportant and/or possibly unknown lexical terms and present them to thelearners (Krashen & Terrell, 1998). Usually this involves the instructor showing
an image, acting something out, or giving students a synonym in order to elicit
potentially problematic lexis that students will encounter. Some students will
already know the lexical item, some will not. Through a series of concept checkquestions, the instructor can assess whether or not the students “know” the lexical
item. Pre-teaching lexis is basically “a means of attempting to scaffold receptive
skills exercises to provide support in the development of these skills” (Ożóg, 2013,
What is Pre-Teaching? section, para. 3). In the context of CLT, pre-teaching lexis
can be an important step as a method to check student comprehension prior toreceptive skills development activities.
Pre-teaching lexis can also assist learners in the acquisition of the target
language. This is because pre-teaching lexis supports learner retention andrecall (Gorjian, Moosavinia, Kavari, Asgari & Hydarei, 2011). This is especiallytrue when it is used in teaching receptive skills; it is effective for both listening
and reading (Webb, 2009, 2010) and is more effective than grammar-focusedtasks for EFL learner reading comprehension ( Jahangard, Moinzadeh &26

Using Kahoot! to Pre-Teach Lexis, OnCUE 13(1), pages 25-34

Karimi, 2011). Learners are more likely to be able to acquire pieces of language
if it is comprehensible to them, or as Clark & Hecht (1983) put it succinctly,“comprehension must precede production” (p. 331).
In terms of reading comprehension, Jahangard et al. (2011) hold that reading
is a complex process that is aided by background knowledge, or “schemata.”
Jahangard and his research team experimented with three groups of preuniversity students by pre-teaching grammar to one group, pre-teaching lexis toanother group, and keeping a control group before giving the students a reading
comprehension task. They found that the group engaged in lexical pre-teaching
had slightly higher scores than the grammar and control groups. Conversely,
the group that was pre-taught grammar before the reading comprehension task
scored worse than the control group. In terms of receptive skills comprehension,
pre-teaching lexis was shown to have more value for the learner than pre-teachinggrammar.
Gorjian et al. (2011) used computer-assisted language learning (CALL) to
pre-teach some selected vocabulary terms. They found that using CALL led toshort-term vocabulary retention among both high and low-achieving students
and long-term vocabulary recall among high and intermediate achievers. In a
receptive skills lesson, the short-term lexical retention will serve the students wellby giving them an increased possibility of comprehension for the listening or
reading text that will immediately follow the pre-teaching lexis stage. According
to Webb (2009), “...there appears to be a strong correlation between receptive
recall and comprehension,” (p. 459). Furthermore, that there is a possibility forfurther long-term lexical recall means that a lexical pre-teaching can be of highvalue to language learners.
In his experiment on Japanese EFL students, Webb (2009) deduced thatreceptive vocabulary learning tasks improve learner comprehension of writtenmaterials (p. 461-462). Pre-learning foreign language lexis contributed to ahigher score on Webb’s reading comprehension test, and demonstrates lexical
retention for that task. In a separate study conducted in 2010, Webb analyzed
vocabulary coverage in television shows. He found that pre-teaching certain lowfrequency words could allow greater learner understanding of TV programs. His
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Johnstonanalysis “...clearly indicates the relative value of pre-learning frequently occurring
low-frequency word-families as a means to increase comprehension of television
programmes...” (Webb, 2010, p. 510). In terms of pedagogical implications,Webb found that if the teacher is able to pre-teach certain lexical terms valuablefor the listening task, it can lead to better comprehension for the learner (Webb,
2010).
There is a strong connection between lexical pre-teaching and comprehension
and retention for the learner. When giving the learner a reading or listening task,
they are more likely to comprehend the receptive task if the reading or listening
task has been effectively scaffolded through lexical pre-teaching. Languagethat has been comprehended and retained by the learner can be produced insubsequent tasks involving productive skills. In other words, learners can use thelanguage they have learned through listening and reading if they can comprehend
it themselves. The question regarding pre-teaching lexis in a receptive skills lessonis thus not a matter of “if,” but rather “how.”

What is Kahoot!?

Kahoot! is an online tool that can be used for a number of purposes. Most
notably, Kahoot! is often used to give interactive multiple-choice quizzes in aclassroom setting. Students can take quizzes either individually or in groups.
Students interact with quizzes online by answering questions either througha web browser interface (such as Google Chrome) or through the dedicatedapplication designed for smartphones and tablets. Kahoot! is part of the recent
gamification trend in education, which attempts to repackage educational
materials as a student-accessible game (Yip and Kwan, 2006). The purposesof gamification are to increase student interaction with the material, provide
students with an opportunity to interact with each other, and to increase student
motivation and desire to learn. Gamification has been shown to raise student
performance in various disciplines (Marzano, 2010), and in terms of English
language vocabulary acquisition, Yip and Kwan (2006) have found that games
provided a better form of acquisition than traditional classroom activities. Siegle(2015) has written a great analysis of the positive motivating factors and basic
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Using Kahoot! to Pre-Teach Lexis, OnCUE 13(1), pages 25-34

information of how to use Kahoot! and configure it for classroom use. Recently,
Kahoot! has gone through a graphic interface change. Figures 1 through 3 show
the most recent Kahoot! interface.

Kahoot! for Lexical Pre-Teaching

As mentioned above, pre-teaching lexis for receptive skills activities can be donein a variety of ways. In my classes, I often showed a pictorial representation of
a noun, and asked students what it was ("What's this?" / "An ice cream cone.").
For more difficult concepts (e.g., "extraordinary") I asked follow-up questions
for clarification ("Is this ice cream cone usual or special?" / "Special." / "Why?"

Figure 1. Simple pictures and word choices can support beginning-level students.

Figure 2. TOEIC vocabulary or changes in timing can be used for added variation.

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JohnstonFigure 3. Learners can be challenged with collocations.

/ "Because it has gold foil in it.") In this traditional teacher-focused method of
inquiry, the more vocal students in the class would respond, but there were times
that I was met with silence. Less vocal learners would tend to be passive in the
pre-teaching lexis stage of the lesson, and would tend to struggle with meaning
more in the receptive skills task. Perhaps some of the students were not confident
enough in their answers to vocalize them in class. I wanted to add variation to
my lexical pre-teaching routine, and add additional outlets for participation
for the less confident and less vocal students. I had previously used Kahoot! tocheck comprehension after a lesson, and thought that it had application for preteaching lexis. I found that Kahoot! was adaptable to different levels of linguistic
ability, flexible in terms of presenting lexical content, and attracted participationfrom all students.
There are several ways to differentiate Kahoot! for ability levels. For lowerlevel learners, a simple picture with four choices of a word is quite effective(Figure 1). When pre-teaching lexis not easily represented by a picture tolower-level learners, a word or phrase from the learners’ L1 can be used as the"question" and the English equivalent as the answer. Difficulty can be increased
by adding relevant collocations. For example, a picture of a shower runningcan be shown with “have a shower,” “take a shower,” “make a shower,” and “go ashower,” as potential answers. Multiple correct answers can be given to highlightregional dialects and spelling. Higher level classes or TOEIC preparation can
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Using Kahoot! to Pre-Teach Lexis, OnCUE 13(1), pages 25-34

be supported by giving terms in English and having students choose the correct
definition (Figure 2). With my higher-level learners, I try to include similar words
in the answer set, or highlight differences in prefixes and suffixes by including
them in the answer pool as options. Using TOEIC-style sentences with a missing
lexical item, and having students choose the correct item can be of good use forstudents in a TOEIC preparation class. I recommend experimenting with multiword lexical items as answers or using the answer pool to highlight differences inlinguistic formality. When using Kahoot! to pre-teach lexis, the time between
questions should also be utilized for pre-teaching purposes. In my classes, I ask
clarification questions about the lexical terms, explain regional differences, andask learners for non-examples to confirm that they understand the meaning of
the lexical term. I also use time between questions to practice pronunciationof the lexical term that I'm pre-teaching. I have found that Kahoot! lends itself
to being very versatile in terms of adjusting level of difficulty. In my classroom,
I have also used time as a factor for variation. For pre-teaching lexis that thestudents may have previously encountered, I set the question timer to as low asfive seconds. For particularly difficult questions that the learners have likely notencountered, I tend to give more time. The time given can be increased to up
to four minutes per question (Figure 2). Allowing students time appropriate totheir level will make for the best use of Kahoot! in pre-teaching lexis.
Kahoot! can be very flexible in meeting the various needs of the ELTclassroom, and there is no "standard" way of using Kahoot! to pre-teach lexis. At
my current university I teach an advanced class of first-year students and I haveused Kahoot! to pre-teach collocations that are found in the students’ reading.
In the question space, I type words that are strong collocates and give students
four choices that might be easy to mistake (Figure 3). Kahoot! is adjustable tosituational needs, and I have often made more than one correct answer an option(in cases where there is more than one possible answer for strong collocations).
When students later encounter the collocation in the receptive skills task, they
are often able to correctly identify and understand the meaning of the collocation(as evidenced by their correct answers in the skills task).
From my perspective in the classroom, learner response to using Kahoot!
31Johnstonfor pre-teaching lexis has been mostly positive. The students in my classes haveenjoyed the competition aspect in trying to get the correct answer most quickly,
and playfully engage with each other verbally between rounds. Learners thatwere shy and less vocal in previous lexical pre-teaching activities were fully
engaged and actively participating in the Kahoot! activity. Students have told methat they like Kahoot! because of the instant feedback that a round of Kahoot!
provides. Getting questions wrong in the Kahoot! quiz doesn't seem to lower
learner motivation, or prevent students from remembering the meaning of lexical
terms. I have observed on more than one occasion that students who had multiple
incorrect answers in the Kahoot! quiz were able to successfully complete reading
skills tasks after the lexical pre-teaching. A few students even circled lexical terms
in the text or wrote notes in the margins based on information learned in thelexical pre-teaching Kahoot! activity.

Conclusion

Pre-teaching lexis for receptive skills lessons is highly valuable for learner
vocabulary retention and comprehension. Using Kahoot! to assist with preteaching lexis may be of great interest to language educators in universities
because of its versatility across levels of ability and motivation. While Kahoot!
may not instantly make every ELT class better, it is a tool that should at least beon the radar of ELT teachers. Its flexibility makes it a valuable asset to an ELTteacher’s arsenal, and its promising potential as an aid to pre-teaching lexis should
be explored further.

References

Clark, E., & Hecht, B. (1983). Comprehension, production, and language
acquisition. Annual Review of Psychology, 34, 325–349.
Gorjian, B., Moosavinia, S., Kavari, K. Asgari, P., & Hydarei, A. (2011). The
impact of asynchronous computer-assisted language learning approaches on
English as a foreign language high and low achievers’ vocabulary retention
and recall. Computer Assited Language Learning, 24(5), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2011.552186
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Jahangard, A., Moinzadeh, A., & Karimi, A. (2011). The effect of grammar
vs. vocabulary pre-teaching on EFL learners’ reading comprehension: aschema-theoretic view of reading. Journal of English Language Teaching and
Learning, 3(8), 91–113.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1998). The natural approach: Language
acquisition in the classroom. Prentice Hall ELT.
Marzano, R. (2010). The art and science of teaching / Using games to enhance
student achievement. Educational Leadership, 67(5), 71–72.
Medina, E., & Hurtado, C. (2017). Kahoot! A digital tool for learning
vocabulary in a language classroom. Revista Publicando, 4(12.1), 441–449.
Ożóg, C. (2013). Pre-Teaching lexis reconsidered. International House Journalof Education and Development, 35. http://ihjournal.com/pre-teachinglexis-reconsidered-by-chris-ozog.
Siegle, D. (2015). Learning can be fun and games. Gifted Child Today, 38(3),192–197. https://doi.org/10.1177/1076217515583744
Tour, E. (2012). Rethinking technology use in ESL education. In B. Green & C.
Beavis (Eds.), Literacy in 3D: An integrated perspective in theory and practice(pp. 145–158). ACER Press.
Webb, S. (2009). The effects of pre-learning vocabulary on reading
comprehension and writing. The Canadian Modern Language Review,65(3), 441–470. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.65.3.441
Webb, S. (2010). Pre-learning low-frequency vocabulary in second language
television programmes. Language Teaching Research, 14(4), 501–515.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168810375371
Yip, F. W. M., & Kwan, A. C. M. (2006). Online vocabulary games as a tool forteaching and learning English vocabulary. Educational Media International,
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Author bio

Jerry Johnston has been living and teaching in Japan since 2007. He works at
Osaka Seikei University, where he teaches English as a foreign language. He received
his MA in International Affairs at Florida State University. After moving to Japan,
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Johnston

he became interested in ELT and received his CELTA. His research interests include
technology-mediated language learning, lexical-based approaches to teaching, andtask-based language teaching. johnston@osaka-seikei.ac.jp
Received: September 19, 2019
Accepted: March 4, 202034