The Use of Interactive Whiteboard in English Vocabulary Acquisition and Learning Effect on Students with Different Proficiency Level

The integration of technology into English teaching is a trend in primary education. The purpose of this study is to explore how the interactive whiteboard (IWB) can be used in the teaching and learning of English as a Foreign Language. Through a wide range of interactive hands-on activities, the IWB’s features are illustrated for the design of English vocabulary learning. The students’ pretest and posttest vocabulary knowledge as well as data gathered from their feedback questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively. In addition, high and low achievers were interviewed for identifying the factors which influenced their preference of IWB activities. The results indicated that participants responded positively toward IWB enhanced vocabulary instruction. Students’ vocabulary knowledge has achieved significant improvement in associating word sounds to word forms as well as matching word forms to word meanings. The quantitative results show that the preferred IWB activities were strongly influenced by students’ language proficiency. Related suggestions are made in how to integrate IWB into vocabulary teaching. The Use of Interactive Whiteboard in English Vocabulary Acquisition and Learning Effect on Students with Different Proficiency Level