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ABSTRACT

The present research examined the use of Web 2.0 tools to improve students’ vocabulary knowledge at the School of Foreign Languages, Gaziantep University. Current studies in literature mostly deal with descriptions of students’ attitudes towards the reasons for the use of web-based platforms. However, integrating usual classroom environment with Web 2.0 tools for specific sub-skills has not been examined much. It is aimed to contribute by investigating the feasibility of those tools as a supplement for vocabulary learning. This is an experimental research supported with semi-structured interviews and field notes. A pre-test and a post-test were administered to an experimental and a control group, and results were analyzed 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 demonstrated that both groups had gains but the mean of the experimental group was higher, and this difference was statistically significant. Findings suggest that almost all students have positive attitudes towards the educational use of Web 2.0 tools.

Keywords: Web 2.0, Social networking, Learner created content, Vocabulary learning, Computer-assisted language learning