Research in English Language Pedagogy (Dec 2024)

The Effect of Assistive Technology on Vocabulary Learning of Students with Visual Impairments

  • Afsaneh Saeedakhtar,
  • Nasrin Khodaee,
  • Afsar Rouhi,
  • Reza Abdi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.30486/relp.2023.1989211.1471
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 52 – 76

Abstract

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The present study sought to investigate the role of assistive technology (AT) in English vocabulary learning by students with visual impairment (VI) in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. It also endeavored to elicit their attitudes towards AT through a semi-structured interview. To this end, 22 students with VI were divided into an experimental and a control group. Before the experiment, their initial vocabulary knowledge was measured through a pretest. Over five sessions, the experimental group was assigned to learn the target vocabulary items via a screen reader, i.e., non-visual desktop access (NVDA). In the absence of NVDA, the control group was exposed to the same vocabulary items by implicit instruction. Then, both groups received a posttest. The results of an independent samples t-test run on the data obtained from the post-test demonstrated that the experimental group built significantly larger vocabulary items than the control group. Responses given to a semi-structured interview revealed that learners prompted by AT acknowledged that the assistance afforded by NVDA, as a supplementary tool, facilitated learning the target vocabulary items. Based on the findings of the present study the incorporation of AT into the instructional materials of students with VI is recommended.

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