A Comparative Study on the Effectiveness of Multimodal Input and Digital Multimodal Composing on Vocabulary Learning

Among new teaching methods and activities, multimodal input (MI) and digital multimodal composing (DMC) are the popular ones. However, with numerous studies examining the effectiveness of MI, the effectiveness of DMC on vocabulary remains to be studied. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effects of MI and DMC on L2 vocabulary learning, and explore learners’ perceptions towards DMC. Totally 63 non-English majors participated and were divided into MI group and DMC group. They all took a proficiency test and a vocabulary pretest. The MI group learned the target words with the help of multimodal materials provided by the researchers, while the DMC group learned by creating materials. After six sessions of experiment, they took a post-test and a delayed post-test. Participants in the DMC group also completed a questionnaire and some of them were interviewed. Results showed that the DMC group performed better in terms of vocabulary acquisition and retention, and generally had a positive attitude and were motivated by DMC. However, application of technology and time consumption are the main obstacles that make participants have negative perceptions. Implications and suggestions for teaching practice and future research are provided.