Investigating Technology-Based Vocabulary Teaching Strategies among ESL Primary School Teachers in Terengganu

Abstract

Vocabulary mastery at an early age is essential in shaping students’ overall language competence and academic achievement. Hence, the notion of encouraging ESL primary school teachers to strengthen students’ vocabulary development proposes the idea of not only exposing them to the variety of vocabulary teaching strategies (VTS) but also making informed decisions on selecting the most effective and appropriate ones based on differing abilities of the students, particularly in today’s technology-driven educational environment. This study focuses on the implementation of technological tools in vocabulary teaching while investigating the use of technology-based VTS among ESL primary school teachers in Terengganu and the relationship of the strategies used based on their gender. A quantitative research approach has been employed in which survey design is chosen to be applied. A questionnaire consisting of demographic profile and 33 items adapted from various resources have been distributed to 315 respondents from ESL primary school teachers in Terengganu. The findings revealed that Powerpoint and Google Classroom are the most frequent technological tools employed by the teachers for vocabulary teaching. Besides, ESL primary school teachers in Terengganu are moderate users of technology-based VTS where cognitive strategy has been pointed out as the most preferable strategy while social strategy is the least preferable strategy. The independent sample T-test performed in this study also proved that there is no significant difference of technology-based VTS used between gender. Future research is suggested to use a wider range of demographic factors and employ alternative research design in order to offer fresh perspectives on the ideas, attitudes or experiences related to technology-based vocabulary teaching strategies.