Getting Started on Quizlet
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A tutor of mine once told me that for a student to internalise or completely "acquire" a word correctly, s/he would need to read the word 11 times! Now we can't expect our students to be that committed in reviewing their vocabulary list, and we certainly don't have time in class to keep reinforcing the same words for that many times. How can we motivate students to actually go over words introduced in class and even better explore other unfamiliar words on their own? This is where Quizlet comes in.
Quizlet is a really neat tool for introducing new vocabulary as well as independent learning both in and outside the classroom. I first knew about this website from a free webinar delivered by Jo Gakonga (arranged by Jurgen Wagner), and have been using it for my own personal reviewing of academic terms for paper writing he he he.
Quizlet allows students to study word lists through a range of activities from virtual flashcards to online games. I suppose from a language learning perspective, it seems that Quizlet is a creative manifestation of the conventional Theory of Behaviorism, that language acquisition benefits from imitation, reinforcement and punishment, or through trial and error.
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| Study Set |
Study Sets: a list of the target vocabulary or recently introduced words along with its corresponding L1 translation. The good thing about the study set is that images can be added to aid visual memory of the definition, and audio is also available for modelling correct pronunciation.
Activity Suggestions:
You can assign a topic (for example: Clothing and Footwear) and have students create their own study sets with any words of their choosing. During the process of creating these sets, students have the freedom to choose the words they actually have interest in knowing its English name, making it easier to remember. Because it is extremely user-friendly, students simply type in the L1 word and choose from the L2 translations Quizlet provides - you might want to check whether they have chosen the right translation, but this is also good for them to practice decision-making. Of course, they may also consult other online resources to see if the translation is correct. By doing so, we are already fostering their autonomy in learning and curiosity! Also, you can have students collaborate with their classmates by sharing their individual study sets to see who can master the study set better/ quicker, thanks to Quizlet's progress-check feature that lets students monitor how well they are learning.
Activities for Studying
Flashcard: Students review the vocabulary using virtual flashcards through flip or flow modes accompanied by audio - great for pronunciation practice as students know the precise articulation and stress, and as repetition for better memory retention.
Activity suggestions:
For upper-intermediate or advanced learners, you can have students provide definitions as well as example sentences using the students' own words. This way the material is more personalised and using simplified language (own paraphrasing). If the terms are abstract nouns and no pictures are available to represent its meaning, students can be asked to write a comprehensive but precise definition.
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| Flashcard |
Learn: A simple quiz to recall the term or definition of the words being studied. The picture or L1 prompt is given (you may also have L2 prompts) and students supply either the L1 or L2 equivalent.
Speller: Because Quizlet has audio recordings for a good number of languages, students can practice listening by writing the L2 terms based on what they hear.
Test: Students can have a go at different types of question types (Written, Matching, Multiple Choice, True/False) to check their learning progress. They can even manipulate the questions by setting the options so they can experience or experiment with a variety of questions. For teachers, you can print them out for a short pop quiz in class.
Activity suggestion:
There's not much you can modify from these three exercises - They're basically more drilling, but this time because students need to type in the answers, they lean toward literacy, taking spelling into account, while flashcard is for verbal or mental repetition. At face value, Learn and Speller may seem rather dull, but for independent studying, these kinds of tedious exercises may actually be a relaxing way of learning. With the smartphone app, students can play around with it before bed or while lying on the couch, decreasing their anxiety levels making learning a leisure time activity. Immediate feedback is given for correct answers which is great for maintaining motivation, without having a teacher physically around.
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| Learn activity |
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| Speller activity |
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| Test |
Games
Scatter: An engaging Matching activity perfect for whole-class teaching. Students drag the words to the accompanying pictures to make them disappear.
Gravity: With the visual design and increasing levels of difficulty like any other online games out there, Gravity can become quite addictive. The faster the speed of the game, the quicker students need to recall the words - wonderful for making language production near automatic. The language learning goal is in fact implicit because the target of the game is to keep the asteroids from destroying the planet.
Activity suggestion:
Project the Scatter activity on to an interactive board and have students come up one at a time racing against the clock.
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| Scatter |
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| Gravity |
What are the downsides of Quizlet?
- Not quite suitable to introduce complex or abstract vocabulary for advanced learners as the words are in isolation and not in context
- Exercises are closed tasks with only short single correct answers
- Feedback is not much varied
- More learner-computer interaction while learner-learner contact is not very well facilitated - only as far as sharing study sets
- Tending to recognition and memory more than language production
- For facilities such as adding your own voice recording or uploading your own pictures, you need to upgrade to a paid Teacher Account
Do you also feel that it's based on a rather archaic learning principle?
For a step-by-step guide, take a look at look at my video below on how to get started on Quizlet.
Forgive me if my voice makes you fall asleep :)
Forgive me if my voice makes you fall asleep :)
9 comments
Priska,
ReplyDeletethis post is so cool, especially the video you made. May I ask the name of software you applied for making the video?
I love your critical evaluation on this software.The activity suggestions are also very practical.I didn't know Quizlet before, and I want to try it now after reading your introduction!
Inky
Thanks so much for your kind words, Inky. I used Captivate to make the video. I thought it would be a good learning experience to make a tutorial video of my own, since Quizlet is quite simple to describe. I'm so glad you want to give it a try; please let me know how it goes.
DeleteWhat a wonderful tool! Indeed, you demonstrated multiple ways of using it. I believe it is ideal for audio-visual learners.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma! Quizlet is rather simple, but it does motivate students to do some independent reviewing in their own time.
DeleteHi Priska! My favorite blog buddy( because you are actually my only blog buddy haha:) Thank you for introduce a website of teaching vocabulary which i didnt know before. I believe that this web could be an effective way to boost students’ memorization of these new learnt words, as it associates each word with a visual stimulator, which in turn integrates visual and verbal learning into one, stimulating both hemispheres of the brain.
ReplyDeleteWow Lemon, that is a great recap of my post! Hahaha. Yes, I do think that Quizlet is aesthetically pleasant and extremely user-friendly - a tool that students can use in their leisure time.
DeleteHi Priska! My favorite blog buddy( because you are actually my only blog buddy haha:) Thank you for introduce a website of teaching vocabulary which i didnt know before. I believe that this web could be an effective way to boost students’ memorization of these new learnt words, as it associates each word with a visual stimulator, which in turn integrates visual and verbal learning into one, stimulating both hemispheres of the brain.
ReplyDeleteHey Priska,
ReplyDeleteI knew you can make the video well! That's great! Multi-functional tools, like Quizlet, are hard to demonstrate with merely text. I may try it in my later posts coz I just realised that I got the software on my laptop hehehe
James
Hi James,
DeleteThanks for your kind words!! just wanted to give video-making a go. Yeah in terms of vocabulary, I think concrete nouns are better learned when accompanied by visual representations.