Enhancing EFL students' vocabulary knowledge by using web 2.0 tools

The astonishing rise in the use of Web 2.0 tools has led researchers to consider their potential for educational purposes. Current studies in literature mostly deal with descriptions of students' attitudes towards the reasons of the use of Web 2.0 tools in general. This study aims to contribute to the field by investigating the feasibility of Web 2.0 tools as a supplement to the traditional classroom environment. The present research examined the use of Web 2.0 tools to improve students' vocabulary knowledge at Higher School of Foreign Languages, Gaziantep University. It is an experimental study supported with semi-structured interviews and field notes. The study was carried out during the spring semester of 2012-2013 academic span and lasted for three months. The researcher assigned one experimental and one control group randomly from Level A (A1-A2 according to the CEFR). A pre-test was created in order to measure students? vocabulary knowledge from upcoming vocabularies students were going to learn throughout the semester and it was applied to the groups. Both groups followed the same curriculum to learn the target vocabulary but the experimental group received a treatment by using various Web 2.0 tools and field notes were taken. At the end of the treatment, a post-test was applied to the groups and results were analysed with the Independent Samples t-test. Following the post-test, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 students in the experimental group. The analyses of the test results showed that both groups had gains but the mean of the experimental group was higher and this difference was statistically significant. Findings suggest that this research is viable and worth the effort. Also, almost all students have positive attitudes towards the educational use of Web 2.0 tools.