Problem Statement
At least 36.5 % of Chinese international students at Savannah College of Art and Design do not have sufficient productive vocabulary while learning English as a second language.
Hypothesis Statement
We can improve Chinese international students ‘ productive vocabulary by applying David Kolb’s experiential learning theory to interactive systems.
Overall Design Process
Research Questions
What is the relationship between experiential learning and productive vocabulary?
How do vocabulary learning apps’ interfaces impact vocabulary learning?
How can vocabulary learning apps be designed to improve Chinese international students’ productive vocabulary?
Research Design
Questinnaires used to discover if some Chinese international students have problems using vocabulary
How do vocabulary learning apps’ interfaces impact vocabulary learning?
Research Frameworks
Theoretical
Experiential Learning Experience as the Source of Learning and Development - David A. Kolb, David A. Kolb · 1984
David Allen Kolb is an American educational theorist whose interests and publications focus on experiential learning, the individual and social change, career development, and executive and professional education.
Historical
While these apps are intended to aid in vocabulary development, they may not significantly enhance students' ability to use vocabulary authentically in real-world contexts. When expressing their ideas, students often struggle to select and employ appropriate vocabulary to effectively convey and expand upon their thoughts. Therefore, learning vocabulary in isolation restricts the formation of broader vocabulary associations, ultimately limiting the effectiveness of its usage.
Conceptual
Design Components
Experiment
Research Hypothesis
Applying experiential learning to Chinese international students increases their productive vocabulary.
Independent variable
The involved experiential learning in an interactive system
Dependent variable
The productive vocabulary test score
A/B Test
The average score of control group is 3.6; the average score of experimental group is 5.6.
The score is changed from 3.6 to 5.6, and the P-value (.017) is lower than 0.05.Thus, we reject the null hypothesis.
Conclusion
According to our survey and experiment, we have found that at least 36.5% of Chinese international students at savannah College of Art and Design do not have sufficient productive vocabulary when learning English as a second language. The application of experiential learning in our design of an interactive system can increase their productive vocabulary. Therefore, their English proficiency is likely to be improved by increasing productive vocabulary. However, the result from the survey sometimes can be subjective, and the experiment only involves visual recognition according to David Kolb’s learning cycle. Thus, the validity of the survey and experiment results might be compromised.