The effects of multimedia annotations via PDA on EFL learners' vocabulary learning

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of different combined annotations with first and second languages for verbal annotations and pictures and animation for visual annotations. It was administered on PDAs to further confirm whether the results are in agreement with those implemented on the desktop. According to the assigned annotation type, four classes of 121 senior high school freshmen in central Taiwan read 4 passages, each of which had 5 target English verbs, annotated in the following ways: L1 definition-plus-graphics, L1 definition-plus-animation, L2 definition-plus- graphics, and L2 definition-plus-animation. These participants took an immediate posttest after reading each and a delayed parallel posttest one month after the experiment. Two-way ANOVA analyses indicated no significant differences between the definition languages but significant differences between the visual aids, with animation more effective; besides, no interaction effects were observed. The findings of definition languages were in line with the previous studies', and this study offered evidence from younger adults and lower proficient English learners. The performance for animation over pictures supported the argument that dynamic animation is designed to illustrate concepts of changes and processes such as English verbs. Directions for future research and suggestions for language practitioners are also discussed.