Second language vocabulary learning in the digital era: Ten reasons it should be on the go!

Abstract

Word learning is a key component in second language learning and one that L2 learners often find laborious. With the advent of mobile technology in recent years, research on mobile-assisted vocabulary learning has uncovered the immense potential mobile devices (namely smartphones and tablets) have for providing L2 learners with opportunities for effortless learning of L2 lexis. To this end, we pinpoint ten reasons why L2 learners should abandon traditional pen-and-paper-based methods of word learning and shift instead to a digital mobile word learning environment that fully utilizes the virtues of mobile learning. The role of mobile applications (apps) dedicated to word learning is hence stressed as such apps represent the core basis of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning. For EFL learners to entertain a more manageable and less time-consuming word learning experience, we emphasize the role of EFL teachers in calling their learners’ attention to the ten reasons we underscore in this article to help encourage those who are still into conventional word learning and have not yet explored learning words via mobile gadgets to make the digital shift at once.