Investigating effects of computer-mediated feedback on L2 vocabulary learning

Abstract

While computer-mediated feedback (CMF) for vocabulary learning has been a focus of considerable attention among both practitioners and researchers, synthesized research to quantitively understand its pedagogical effect is still lacking, and the accumulation of abundant experimental studies also necessitates a meta-analysis. To fill the gap, this study aims to meta-analyze the effect of CMF on second language (L2) learners’ vocabulary learning performance and which moderators may underline such effect. More specifically, drawing on the comprehensive categories of Activity Theory (AT), this paper reported meta-analysis results based on 28 valid effect sizes from 25 experimental studies published during 2000–2022. The results showed that the overall effect size was significantly large for vocabulary learning, suggesting that CMF for vocabulary learning is more effective than traditional methods. The moderating effects of a series of AT-related moderators were reported. Based on the results obtained, implications have been proposed for future studies.