A comparative study on digital versus traditional flashcards of an individual vs group study in learning spellings as well as word production in context

Abstract

This research aimed to compare the effectiveness of digital versus traditional flashcards as both an individual and group study tool for improving spelling and contextual word production skills. The study involved participants who were divided into four distinct groups: traditional flashcard group study, digital flashcard group study, individual traditional flashcard study, and individual digital flashcard study. The orthographic production test and word production test were administered to assess participants' performance. The results indicated that both individual study approaches, using either traditional or digital flashcards, led to high performance in the orthographic production test. Surprisingly, the traditional flashcard group study also exhibited comparable results. In contrast, the digital flashcard group study had the lowest performance. In the word production test, the traditional flashcard group study demonstrated exceptional performance, while the individual digital flashcard study group did not fall significantly behind. The other two groups showed average performance. Further analysis revealed that the traditional flashcard group study excelled in word production, suggesting that group dynamics and collaborative learning positively influenced the ability to produce words accurately. Similarly, the digital flashcard group study showed some improvement in word production, albeit to a lesser extent. Regarding orthographic test results, individual training using either traditional or digital flashcards yielded better outcomes compared to group study in both settings. The survey responses indicated a preference for self-study in learning spelling, emphasizing the importance of individualized approaches. These findings highlight the varying impacts of digital and traditional flashcards as well as individual versus group study on spelling and contextual word production skills. The tactile nature and engaging interactions of traditional flashcards appeared to enhance performance, while the digital flashcard approach was perceived more as an individual task. The study emphasizes the importance of considering diverse learning strategies to optimize language learning outcomes. Future research should delve deeper into the underlying factors that contribute to the differential effectiveness of group and individual flashcard study in various linguistic tasks. Additionally, exploring different variables such as learner preferences, motivation, and attention during flashcard use could provide valuable insights for instructional practices.