There are many ways to use flashcards in the classroom. When introducing new vocabulary, they can be used by teachers to provide engaging visuals for learners to comprehend the meanings of new words, revise, and practise recall with games. In addition to this, learners can use flashcards independently to memorise, revise, and consolidate new language.
Vocabulary learning
Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in building language because, without words, learners cannot communicate or build sentences. Words are the building blocks of language. To really understand a word, learners need to understand how to use the word, the correct form of the word to be used, as well as its meaning (Wulandari, 2022).
Learning the meaning of words from the context of a sentence is very important, but flashcards can also be an effective way to learn new vocabulary (Mojarradi, 2014). Some studies indicate that flashcards as a paired-associate learning task (learning words through association with other words or symbols such as mnemonic devices) could be just as or more effective than vocabulary learning in context (Nakata, 2013).
Think of the word ‘gregarious’ and attach an image of a giraffe at a party being social and wearing a bright hat. This vivid image connects the word ‘gregarious’ with its meaning which is easier to recall than abstract definitions. A study by Feng (2020) determined the increased effectiveness of using digital flashcards to reinforce vocabulary as a post extensive reading exercise and found the use of the flashcards reinforced the acquisition of new language gained from the extensive reading.
Strategies for teaching using flashcards
A study undertaken by Nakata (2013) explored the different strategies used in teaching or learning with flashcards, researching the optimum number of words to be learnt at one time, the most effective way to practise recall in language learning, the most effective spacing between retrievals, and the effects of feedback timing with retrieval frequency. This study suggested that the spacing between word retrieval or practise using flashcards could be more important than the number of words learnt at one time.
Karpicke and Bauernschmidt (2011) explored the importance of absolute (total) spacing between retrieval practise versus the importance of relative spacing (the spacing of trials between each recall) and concluded that it made no difference if the space between retrieving vocab increased or stayed the same, but increasing the absolute spacing made a significant difference.
“Repeated retrieval with long intervals between each test produced a 200% improvement in final recall relative to repeated retrieval with three massed tests.” (Karpicke and Bauernschmidt, 2011: p.1255).
Recall and recognition
The four main ways a learner can be asked to recall are:
- Receptive recognition - the learner is able to recognise a word, rather than produce the correct meaning.
- Receptive recall - the learner can recall the meaning of a word when given the word.
- Productive recognition - the learner is able to recognise or choose a word when they are supplied with the meaning.
- Productive recall - the learner is able to produce a word from meaning. This is the most difficult form of recall.
While various studies have different responses to the use or combinations of these different methods (Nakata, 2013), it seems they could all be effective in learning new vocabulary.
According to Nakata’s (2013) research, productive recall which requires the most effort, requiring a learner to produce the word from a meaning, was found to be the most effective form of learning in terms of spelling. However, the receptive forms such as choosing the meaning of a word or recalling the meaning may be more effective in understanding the connection between form and meaning. Feedback is also important in vocabulary acquisition, but it does not appear to be significant whether the feedback is immediate or delayed until after a set of words (Nakata, 2013).
Activity ideas for vocabulary teaching
Nugroho, Nurkamto, & Sulistyowati (n.d) refer to a study done in Indonesia looking at the deficiencies in vocabulary use and knowledge of fourth grade students and identified difficulties such as trouble spelling words, mispronunciation of words, and difficulty understanding the meaning of words. For these issues, they discovered regular repetition of pronunciation and spelling from flashcards can be beneficial in cementing the spelling and pronunciation in learners' knowledge. With images, learners can identify meaning easily.
Finally, the use of flashcards with colourful visuals and the many games that can be easily produced or organised with a set of flashcards can aid in engaging learners (Nugroho, Nurkamto, & Sulistyowati, n.d). Some ideas for using flashcards include SWAT, where learners grab the relevant flashcards as the teacher calls out the word or where learners grab the card when they can identify the word from the meaning or vice versa. In both these games, the winner is the learner who grabs the most cards.
Flashcards can be given to learners and they can sort them into piles according to different criteria. Asking learners to explain their groupings of cards could be an extension exercise. Learners can work in pairs testing one another or helping each other to write example sentences.
References
Feng, Z. (2020). Using extensive reading and digital flashcards for vocabulary acquisition (Master's thesis, University of San Francisco). USF Scholarship: A Digital Repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. Access here.
Karpicke, J. & Bauernschmidt, A. (2011). Spaced retrieval: Absolute spacing enhances learning regardless of relative spacing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37(5), 1250–1257. Access here.
Mojarradi, S. (2014). The effect of using flashcards on ESL (English as a Second Language) students’ ability to learn vocabulary. International Journal of Scientific World, 2(2), 56-61. Access here.
Nakata, T. (2013). Optimising second language vocabulary learning from flashcards (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
Nugroho, Y. S., Nurkamto, J. & Sulistyowati, H. (n.d.). Improving students' vocabulary mastery using flashcards. English Department, Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Sebelas Maret University.
Wulandari, E. M. (2022). The Effectiveness of Using Flashcards on Teaching English Vocabulary [Review of The Effectiveness of Using Flashcards on Teaching English Vocabulary ]. JOURNAL of ENGLISH EDUCATION and TECHNOLOGY, 2(4), 522–531. Access here.
