Comparison of Different Feedback Procedures in Second Language Vocabulary Learning

Research into the learning of Second Language (SL) vocabulary by beginning learners has indicated that the simultaneous presentation of the First and Second Language words results in blocking of the learning process by the familiar First Language (FL) word. Previous research also suggests that blocking by the First Language can be eliminated by bringing it in as informative feedback (either as a written or spoken word). Our experiments were designed to further extend this research. The use of a picture, either as feedback or simultaneously presented with its equivalent, along with the aural feedback and the conventional procedures were investigated in Experiment 1. Results revealed that pictures blocked the learning process less than the written FL word when both were presented with their SL referent. When used as feedback, however, pictures were not as good as the spoken FL word. Experiment 2 demonstrated that aural feedback was the best type of feedback when compared with the picture and written FL presentations, and that the picture feedback was better than the written feedback. Taken together, the results of these two studies showed that all forms of feedback overcame the problem of blocking created by simultaneous presentation of the FL and SL words, and that aural feedback was the most effective feedback procedure. It was suggested that the superiority of aural feedback was likely to be a consequence of the use of a different input channel to that of the visually presented written SL word.