Tablet, Flashcard and SMS and their Effects on EFL Learners' Attitudes and Vocabulary Knowledge

The purposes of this study were to compare the effects of using SMS, tablet and flashcard on the EFL learners‟ attitudes and vocabulary learning. The participants of the study were 45 Iranian advanced EFL learners, who were divided into three groups, each with 15 participants. The first group learned the vocabulary items via tablet, the second group learned them via SMS, and the third one learned the vocabulary items via flashcard. Three instruments were used in this study: a pretest of vocabulary, a posttest of vocabulary, and an attitude questionnaire. The results revealed that vocabulary instruction via SMS, flashcard, and tablet was effective in improving the participants‟ performance on the vocabulary test; however, the highest mean on the posttest was obtained by students who received vocabulary instruction through tablet. The results also showed that the majority of the learners in the SMS group found reading texts on mobile phone‟s tiny screen troublesome and preferred to receive English words via email rather than SMS. Majority of the learners in the flashcard group considered flashcard effective for learning English words arguing that flashcards could be used on the move and provide flexible learning anywhere, anytime. Learners in the tablet group reported that tablet learning increased their motivation and was effective for learning English words. This study recommends that instructors consider language learners‟ attitudes towards various methods of vocabulary learning