The Effectiveness of Hypertext Annotations on Learners' Vocabulary Learning: A Meta-analysis

Abstract

CALL) programs have been incorporated into language classrooms over the past five decades, it has become more important to find a clear answer to questions such as to what extent, and under which moderator variables CALL programs can yield more effective outcomes as compared to traditional language instruction. The present meta-analysis is a comprehensive investigation to determine the extent of the effectiveness of hypertext annotations on the learners' vocabulary learning. Moreover, the study aimed at identifying the moderator variables that influence the heterogeneity of the effect of various studies. Methods: The statistical population of the present study consisted of all the studies conducted in the past related to the effectiveness of hypertext annotations on learners' vocabulary learning. To this aim, an exhaustive research of the multiple electronic databases was carried out in order to identify all the studies examining the relative effectiveness of CALL on enhancing learners' vocabulary learning The main criterion for selecting the studies to be analyzed in the present research was their publication in journals or proceedings of conferences during the period between 1950 to 2014. Concurrently, the experts in this area were also consulted for articles that had not been identified in the primary search. Eventually, the search process resulted in the identification of 132 articles of potential relevance to the present meta-analysis. In the next stage, all studies were investigated more carefully and examined based on the checklist which was the criterion for the final selection of those studies that should be included in the present meta-analysis. Finally, a total sample of 36 studies met the required criteria and selected for the final analysis. Data analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software (Version 2). Findings: With respect to the overall effect size of the hypertext annotations on the students’ vocabulary acquisition, the results of 36 study in the present meta-analysis revealed that hypertext annotations had a large, positive, significant effect on students' vocabulary. Acquisition (+140). In addition, there was a highly significant heterogeneity in the distribution of the effect sizes in the meta-analysis under investigation. To further explore the sources of the heterogeneity between the effect sizes across studies, moderator analyses were administered in terms of six variables (research design, sample size, proficiency level, age, duration of the program, year of publication). It was found that the variable of the sample size had significantly affected the inconsistency of the effect sizes across the studies under investigation to the extent that studies with a sample size of more than 60 individuals produced a large effect size, whereas studies with sample size of less than 60 individuals generated medium effect size. Another significant finding was that the mean of the effect sizes statistically differed across different duration levels of the teaching program. That is, studies with a higher duration of teaching program had a larger mean effect size than those with a lower duration, indicating that the learners' vocabulary achievement enhances significantly as the length of the teaching program increases. Moreover, the results revealed that publication year was also a significant moderator variable so that the studies published in the recent years had a higher effect size as compared with those published in earlier years. Other findings revealed that the dissimilarity of the effect sizes in the present meta-analysis was not influenced by the differences among research design, proficiency level, and age of the language learners. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present meta-analysis, it is necessary to integrate CALL into traditional language classes in order to reach better learning outcomes. With respect to future research, the researchers are recommended to provide more details of the study so that it could be possible to confirm or reject the factors that are effective in the role of computer in second language (L2) learning. ===================================================================================== COPYRIGHTS ©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. =====================================================================================

Keywords

• effect
• vocabulary
• learning
• annotation