Annotating Abstract Vocabulary Using Multimedia

Abstract

This chapter reports a research study that investigated the effectiveness of multimedia vocabulary annotations (MVAs) in facilitating acquisition of second language (L2) abstract vocabulary. Twenty-one collegiate L2 students read a hypermedia passage that contained marginal MVAs for eighteen unknown abstract words. Their knowledge of these words was assessed immediately after the reading activity and twelve days afterwards. The quantitative data from vocabulary assessments indicated that these students neither acquired more vocabulary knowledge nor retained this knowledge better by using MVAs than using traditional text-only annotations. The qualitative data collected from two questionnaires suggested that the participants had applied various strategies for assessing MVAs and they had encountered certain difficulties in understanding the visuals. The results are interpreted based on multimedia learning and visual perception theories. The implications of the results for designing multimedia L2 reading and listening materials are discussed.