Chapter IV

Data analysis and findings

This project arises because it is very common that foreign language students do not

communicate much in English as a result of the amount of vocabulary they handle, and the fact

that their English classes are carried out in Spanish rather than in English. Bearing this in mind,

the main objective of this project was to identify the impact that the implementation of

WebQuests has on fostering the lexical competence of eighth graders from a public non-bilingual

school. In order to obtain these results, researchers decided to plan and implement ten lesson

plans which were applied in 10 different classes, where 5 were applied in the common classroom

with a PPP format (see appendix 1) and the other 5 were applied in the technology room with the

application of the WebQuests tool (see appendix 2).

Moreover, Students first became familiar with the content and then they could put into

practice all the vocabulary learned in class with the use of the WebQuests. All content developed

in the PPP classes and WebQuests classes was taken under the theme of Greek mythology, this

helped to develop the use of different grammatical topics such as simple past, comparatives,

superlatives, adjectives and so on. In this sense, this paper aims to reflect upon the gathered

information based on the triangulation process. In order to identify main patterns, it is important

to gather clear evidences that allow us to solve our main research question which is: What is the

impact of implementing WebQuests in order to foster lexical competence in a group of 8th grade

EFL students? Therefore, in order to collect data, researchers used three instruments which were:

field notes, questionnaires and artifacts. These instruments were selected in order to gather

students’ behaviors and also the information to be reviewed is related to the students’
improvement using the WebQuest tool to foster their lexical competence. As a result of the

triangulation process based on the three instruments, there was a common aspect found in the

data analysis upon which researchers created the categories: The connection between L1 and L2

when learning EFL vocabulary, and the contextualization of EFL vocabulary through the use of

web 2.0 tools within a WebQuest frame.

Connection between L1 and L2 when learning EFL vocabulary.

When we start learning a second language, the first contact is with vocabulary items,

which are a decisive aspect in language learning. As Bracken, Eddington, Tokowicz and Degani

(2017) state: “Learning a second language (L2) cannot be successful without effective

acquisition of the vocabulary that makes it up.” (p. 783). However, when this first contact occurs,

the brain does not automatically receive L2 as separate elements from a new language; instead,

what it does is to look for possible connections with the first language. This is described by Chen

and Leung (1989); Kroll and Tokowicz (2001); Hernandez, Li, and MacWhinney (2005):

“second language (L2) words are produced and understood predominantly via lexical-level

translation connections to first language (L1) words. Direct connections from L2 words to

conceptual representations strengthen only gradually as proficiency increases” (as cited in

Elston-Güttler, K. E., & Williams, J. N. 2008, pp. 168-169). In this sense, EFL students with low

proficiency level employ their first language as the base to construct and connect meaning with

the target language. In this sense, this paper describes how students employed L1 to connect

meaning with L2 when learning vocabulary in EFL. In the following paragraphs, we establish the
different L1 and L2 EFL word connections developed in the following subcategories: The

influence of Spanish true cognates to facilitate understanding in English; Translation as a

strategy to convey meaning between L1 and L2; and the use of borrowing as a compensatory

strategy to apply new EFL words in informal speech. Furthermore, each category includes

samples of the data collected during the pedagogical implementation of the WebQuests as well

as their corresponding analysis in the light of the triangulation process.

The influence of Spanish true cognates to facilitate understanding in English

Since the usage of cognates as a strategy and resource in EFL classroom plays a crucial

role in the development of learning vocabulary to extend learners’ lexical competence, when

students take advantage of their knowledge in L1, it is easier for them to associate unknown

vocabulary to infer meaning in a second language based on cognates, seeing that cognates

facilitate activation of word recognition. This is explained by Green (2004):

Students whose first language is a Romance language like Spanish, French, Italian,

Portuguese and Romanian, are not beginning from ground zero when it comes to

vocabulary acquisition in English. (...) These students can often call on their knowledge

of cognates in their native language to determine the meanings of the words in their

second language (p.3).

According to this, the usage of cognates is a useful strategy that allows students to develop

vocabulary skills in a second language, since writing and pronunciation of these words is similar

in both languages. In this sense, the aim of this paper is to expose the positive influence true

cognates have in the learning process of vocabulary in English as a foreign language, in order to
foster and expand students’ lexical competence. The following paragraphs are preceded by this

sequence: First we give a definition of cognates; secondly some examples of how these cognates

are related with student’s vocabulary development; and finally, we give some conclusions of the

subcategory.

During the implementation of Greek mythology sessions, we observed that students tried to

link their native language with L2 in order to transfer Spanish words into English. The use of

language cognates, which refers to a word that shares a common origin or that is related by

derivation of meaning with another word, has been one of the common strategies used by

students to establish the first contact with a foreign language, in this case English. A clear

definition is stated by Richards & Schmidt (as cited in Mendoza, Peña & Bendore 2010), who

say that a cognate is “a word in one language which is comparable in style and meaning to a

word in another language because both languages are associated” (p. 1). In the following

excerpts, it is clear that students put into practice the use of cognates as a mean of word

recognition in their native language to transfer meaning into L2, the cognates are associated by

their pronunciation, written form and similar meaning in two languages, in this case Spanish and

English.

Excerpt 1

(Artifact, class 2)

ST 1
Excerpt 2

(Field notes, class 1).

PPP Class 1 Outstanding- satisfactory- Needs Unsatisfactory-

Excepcional improvement- Insatisfactorio
Satisfactorio Necesita
mejora

Students tend to Sometimes students

communicate attempt to use some
their main ideas English vocabulary
in their L1 such as:

Yo vi un Centaur en

la película de Harry

potter, which means

they resort to use their

L1 to convey an idea

in English.
Excerpt 3

(Questionnaire, class 5)

ST5

According to the above, we noticed that students attempted to establish connections by

transferring meaning from Spanish to English due to their low level of English vocabulary. In

this regard, word knowledge is an essential component of the lexical competence, which means

to identify the words, know their meaning in different contexts, and be able to use it accordingly;

in this sense, the use of cognates allowed students to rely on their background L1 knowledge in

order to establish connection of a word in L2, when they described a mythological creature or

their superhero by using adjectives, for instance: “alienigena- alien, agresivo- aggressive,

inocente- innocent, misterioso- mysterious” (excerpt 1). In the second activity, students

attempted to establish a short conversation in their daily interactions, relating some words in

Spanish into English such as: ¨Yo mire a Centaur en la película de Harry potter¨ which is very

similar to the Spanish word; (see except 2). According to Nagy & Garcia (as cited in Gulseker

and Cakir 2012) “Spanish learners of L2 English resorted to making a connection between their

native language and target language when they were exposed to a new word in English” (p.431).
Taking into consideration the previous information, it is evident that students employed their first

language as facilitator of word recognition into a second language and resorted to making a

connection between L1 and L2 in order to associate meanings, as we can see in excerpt 3. It is

viewable that students implemented the use of cognates as a strategy in order to relate their first

language to learn and process a second language to foster their lexical competence, seeing that

the usage of Spanish cognates allowed students to rely on their L1 knowledge, which can serve

as means to infer meanings of new English words through different activities addressed under the

topic of Greek mythology.

In brief, it is evident that the use of cognates is a rich source that helps students to take their

own knowledge in their first language to transfer word’s meaning into a second language. We

noticed that during the learning process of vocabulary in L2, students tended automatically to

activate mechanisms of association, as well as making use of the knowledge context to decode

the meaning of the cognates from Spanish to English language. Therefore, as Spanish borrows

several words from English, students are able to infer from their knowledge in L1 to have a new

English vocabulary.

Translation as a strategy to convey meaning between L1 and L2

Currently, in Colombian bilingual processes, it is perceived that some students make use of

their mother tongue since it allows and make easier for them to learn new vocabulary in L2.

During the implementation of the lesson plans, students made a connection between L1 and

English in order to understand its meaning and also with the purpose of understanding the

activities and instructions of the classes. Thus, this strategy used by the students is defined as

Spanish translation, which according to Hsieh (as cited in Pan, Y. C., & Pan, Y. C, 2010) is:

when students apply L1 in classes, they can improve their reading abilities, reading
comprehension, reading strategies, vocabulary learning, and cultural background knowledge” (p.

88). Therefore, this paper describes how students used Spanish translation with the purpose of

learning new vocabulary in L2; and how, thanks to this translation strategy, students

progressively expanded their vocabulary with the use of their first language as a learning tool.

According to this, thanks to the triangulation process carried out, we could notice how Spanish

translation was evident in different stages inside the classroom, making use of the Greek

mythology theme.

During the implementation of the project, it was possible to perceive that our particular

non-bilingual students made use of their mother tongue and that this helped them to increase

their lexical competence through the translation strategy. This strategy was applied by students

when they performed the different activities that teachers proposed within the classrooms;

students always used a physical and online dictionary; or sometimes they asked some new words

to the teacher in order to translate the new L2 words into their L1. The translation was a strategy

that the students applied for various reasons such as: 1. learning new vocabulary,2. as a strategy

to understand instructions of activities and 3. As a strategy to recall more L2 new words. In order

to show why the translation strategy is important into EFL learning processes, we find Prince (as

cited in Folse, K. S., 1995) who found that: “less proficient students were able to recall more

items when they had learned the words in the translation condition rather than in the context

condition.” (p. 5). According to the previous information, students learn a second language with

the help of their mother tongue making connections in order to learn new vocabulary and to

understand the activities’ instructions. In the following triangulation process, we evidenced how

students made use of the translation as a learning strategy in order to learn new lexical items in

their EFL classes.

Excerpt 4

(Field Notes, Class 3)

PPP Class 3 Outstandin satisfactory- Needs Unsatisfactory-

g- Satisfactorio improvement- Insatisfactorio
Excepciona Necesita
l mejora

Use of English Students almost use

dictionary their English
dictionaries and
then if they have
doubts according to
the meaning they
ask to the teacher.
Such examples are:
● Teacher
Mythology
es mitología
● Teacher yo
busque en
el
diccionario
Half-goat
pero no
apareció,
entonces
busque
palabra por
palabra y
me salio
que Half es
mitad y que
Goat es
cabra
entonces
eso quiere
decir que
significa
mitad
cabra y
 tengo
● Half-man
osea que es
este caso
significa
mitad
hombre.
● One-eyed,
pero
entonces
dice:
Teacher yo se que
que One es uno y
qué Eye es ojo en
este caso por
lógica quiere decir
que sería tuerto.

Excerpt 5

(Questionnaires, Class 6 )

ST3
Excerpt 6

(Artifact, class 3)

ST4
 As it is evidenced in the previous excerpts, the second strategy identified during the

implementation of the lesson plans was the students’ connection between their L1 and their L2 in

order to learn, understand and recall new vocabulary into their activities. This connection for

vocabulary learning was based on the different activities proposed in class, where students used

it as a tool to learn new lexical items, for instance. "One-eyed: uno y ojo es tuerto or half-goat:

mitad y cabra es mitad cabra" (Excerpt 4). Hence, the mother tongue can be very useful when

learning a new L2 lexical item, in our particular case, students translated single words or some

English sentences into their L1; the students applied this translation strategy at the time of

carrying out the activities given by the teachers since they needed to understand and to have a

clear meaning of the different new L2 words using dictionaries.For example, “Last year, I
traveled to Japan” (Excerpt 6) and the students translate “minotaur” to “minotauro”(excerpt 5

and 6). We could identify that the students made use of L1 in order to convey meaning and to

have clear instructions of the activities to be carried out (excerpts 5 and 6). According with

Castro-Moreno, C. (2016) “translation deals with two languages that interact and that are related

to each other, because, at the time of learning a new language, there is always an undeniable

connection with previous knowledge” (p. 12). Thus, Spanish translation helps students to learn

new lexical items trying to convey meaning from L2 into their L1 within their educational

environment through different activities related to Greek mythology.

As a conclusion, students used Spanish translation in order to convey meaning in their

attempt to learn and recognize some new English words. The new vocabulary based on Greek

mythology was new for students, since Greek mythology was a topic that they had only seen in

Spanish classes, not in English classes. For that reason, students applied the translation strategy

with the purpose of understanding activities’ instructions. Under the theme of Greek mythology

and with the application of WebQuests, students had the opportunity to implement a strategy

familiar to them, which was the Spanish translation. Consequently, students used this strategy in

order to learn new words using Spanish as a mean of learning and recalling new words within the

classroom activities. Taking this into account, with the activities proposed in lesson plans and

also with the application of WebQuests, students performed many activities in which they

applied the translation strategy with the purpose of understanding instructions and at the same

time, to learn new English words using Spanish translation.

The use of borrowing as a strategy to apply new EFL words in informal speech
 For foreign language learners, knowing the meaning of some vocabulary items is not enough

to apply them in a sentence correctly. Hence, their first language offers support to do so. When

students struggle to find a way to make themselves understood in a foreign language and fail to

find the correct words and structures, they may use different compensatory strategies such as the

usage of the native language as a vehicle to express an idea with a few L2 words that they

already know. This is explained by Ljungberg (2011), who states that: “Some ways of

overcoming limitations in speaking and writing may be to switch to the mother tongue, to get

help, to avoid communication partially or totally, to adjust or approximate the message, to coin

words, or to use circumlocution or synonyms” (p.7). The described case, shows how students

apply the words that they are learning in their informal speech, different from the translation

strategy, where the use of L1 is more focused on understanding rather than on usage. The way

students use L1 as a support to communicate in L2, is described more precisely through the

different compensatory strategies, which attempt to classify the cases where the above-

mentioned situation occurs. Those strategies, according to Basterrechea, Martínez, & Gallardo

del Puerto (2017) are: “guessing, miming, morphological creativity, dictionary, predicting,

paraphrasing, borrowing, calque, foreignizing, avoidance and appeal for assistance” (p.48). In

the particular case of our research, the identified compensatory strategy was the borrowing of

lexical items to produce a sentence using new L2 vocabulary within students’ informal

communication. In order to describe and exemplify the use of this compensatory strategy, we

introduce in the next paragraphs a contextualization of the strategy that we identified and

samples of data that illustrate the use of borrowing as well as their corresponding analysis.

During the analysis of the data collected, we found that students were trying to add new

vocabulary into their speech. Although students were able to write sentences using new words by
following the structure of simple tenses, when the moment of communicating orally comes, they

find it very difficult to do it fluently, since it takes too much time for them to construct the

sentence and check the structure. In this case, students relied on borrowing, which, according to

Kanduboda (2016) “occurs when a speaker uses one language and partially uses other language

lexicons (either functional or content)” (p.1773). In the following excerpts, we evidenced the

above-mentioned situation, where students used new L2 words within Spanish sentences.

Excerpt 7

(Field Notes, Class 5)

PPP Class 5 Outstanding- satisfactory- Needs Unsatisfactory-

Excepcional Satisfactorio improvement- Insatisfactorio
Necesita
mejora

Students In several cases,

employ L1 to students are adding
use new L2 adjectives, which is
vocabulary. the topic of the class,
in their informal
speech, for instance:
"Usted es muy
ugly" or "no se
ponga aggressive".
Although only a word
of the sentences is in
English, they manage
to make themselves
understand by
completing with
Spanish.
Excerpt 8

(Web-based Questionnaires, Class 9)

ST5
 Excerpt 9

(Artifacts, class 8) ST2

Excerpt 9 transcript

Para describir a alguien como mi amiga que le dije tu eres funny

As it can be seen in the previous excerpts, as students lacked the required proficiency level to

construct a full sentence in L2, they managed to use L2 words with the help of their L1. It was

evidenced that students were not able to fluently produce sentences in English since they lacked

the required knowledge and practice with grammatical structures. However, despite that
difficulty, it was possible for them to produce understandable sentences, yet grammatically

wrong, coherent in meaning by making use of the compensatory strategy of employing the

available language to complete the missing elements from the target language; as we evidenced

above, where the interaction occurred spontaneously within an informal speech context: “no se

ponga aggressive” (excerpt 7). The analysis of the gathered data revealed how students were able

to communicate using new L2 words despite their lack of knowledge related to grammar

structures with the support of their L1.

The use of the compensatory strategy of borrowing, served as a tool to orally communicate an

idea within the initial stages of foreign language learning. When students start being exposed to

the target language, it is expected from them to appeal to their native language to communicate.

In this case, the type of help consisted on borrowing a foreign word to add it in an L1 sentence,

which evidenced that students were able to identify the meaning of the word and the context

where it could be used. However, it is important to mention that as their proficiency level

increases, students will progressively leave the use of compensatory strategies. In this sense, the

communication in English was based on the borrowing of new L2 words into their informal

speech.

As a conclusion, students, in their effort to understand and produce words or sentences in the

target language, used their first language to connect meaning with L2. Since students are starting

to use a second language, their proficiency level does not allow them to express their ideas

properly; hence, the strategies they found was: 1. The identification of cognates 2. The

employment of translation methods and 3. The mix of both languages to make themselves

understood. However, despite the fact that the first language was highly used in class, it served

as a bridge for students to, not only connect their previous knowledge with the new L2
vocabulary items, but also to be able to use them in the exercises proposed in class as well as in

regular communication contexts without the teacher’s intervention such as the use of adjectives

to describe their partners. In that way, students achieved the goal of understanding the meaning

and being able to use some new words with the help of the connections made within their first

language and the target language.

Contextualization of EFL vocabulary through the use of web 2.0 tools within a WebQuest

frame.

The tools employed for education and language teaching have shown a meaningful evolution

considering the technology available nowadays. Among those advances, web 2.0 tools emerge as

a highly plausible alternative to conduct an EFL class since, as Rahimah, Prain and, Collet

(2014) state: “Web 2.0 deals with social, authentic use of English as global language and

collaboration, thus intrinsically motivating the learner to access it for grammar, reading,

pronunciation, vocabulary and listening practice.” (p.31). This means that students are able to

learn the language, in this case EFL vocabulary, by making use of tools that put knowledge into

the actual contexts where it occurs. Moreover, in order to present the activities in a user-friendly

platform and in an organization adapted to a school class, the activities were designed in a series

of web 2.0 based WebQuests, taking into account its structured nature proposed by Dodge (1995)

in the following steps: “Beyond the obvious introduction and conclusion, the key features were

the “task,” a “set of information sources,” a “description of the process” involved in achieving

the task, as well as some “guidance on organizing the information” (As cited in March. 2007, pp.

2). Taking this into account, the aim of this paper is to describe how students practiced in
context the EFL vocabulary learnt through the use of web 2.0 based WebQuests. To do so, we

present in the paragraphs below, a brief contextualization of the cases that illustrate the

recognition and the application of contextual knowledge in WebQuest activities, and the samples

of data that exemplify the mentioned cases as well as their triangulated analysis.

The inclusion of new web 2.0 technologies has brought great changes to the EFL learning

processes. Those changes increased the interaction level of language instruction, since it is a

shorter, summarized and didactic way in which students can develop multiple skills based on

different activities on the web such as: blogs, online discussion boards, Flickr, YouTube,

MySpace, Facebook, and others. Taking this into account, web 2.0 is explained in the following

information:

The development and application of Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs, online

discussion boards, Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and others, have increased in

popularity in recent years. These new applications allow users to interact and collaborate

with each other via social media in a virtual community (McCarthy as cited in Shih, R. C,

2010, p. 829).

Based on the previous information, in our particular case we aimed at improving the

lexical competence of our eighth graders based on the use of the WebQuests, which were part of

the different new technologies included in the web 2.0. Through the different WebQuests,

students could find links to some readings, online activities, online games or virtual quizzes in a

blog where teachers posted the different tasks that students performed along the classes. All

these online activities allowed the students to visualize in a shorter, didactic and clear way, all

the information covered under the theme of Greek mythology with the aim of learning new

vocabulary in different contexts. Bearing this in mind, the inclusion of web 2.0 impacts in a
positive way the learning process of students. This is supported by Waycott, Kennedy, (2009);

McLoughlin & Lee, (2008) who stated that: “The implementation of emerging Web 2.0

technologies can result in a positive impact on supporting students' learning processes and

outcomes.” (831). Taking this into account, in the following excerpts you will be able to

evidence how useful the inclusion of web 2.0 for the improvement of our students’ lexical

competence was, through different online activities where students could recognize words

learned in different contexts.

Excerpt 10

(Field Notes, Class 10)

Webquest Outstanding- satisfactory- Satisfactorio

Class 10 Excepcional

Recognize In this lesson plan was possible to perceive that

word students make use of their prior knowledge to

contexts recognize some words in different contexts.

So it means they associate Half-goat which

was a word that they learned during the

previous classes, but in this case they identify

that the word half in Greek mythology context

it is used to name strange beasts. For example:

● It was pulled by strange beasts that

 were half-horse and half-snake.

A second example was also one-eyed giants called

Cyclopes. In this case in the previous classes they

learned the word one-eyed (tuerto) but in this reading,

they recognize that this word in the Greek mythology

context is used to refer to the Cyclopes.

Excerpt 11 ST6

(Questionnaire, Class 4)
Excerpt 12 ST7

(Artifact, Class 4)
 According to the evidence above, students could recognize some words learned in previous

classes, that were used in different contexts. During previous classes, students learned that half-

eye was “tuerto” but in here, through some online activities, they could identify that the word

half also in the context of Greek mythology is used to name strange beasts. For example: “It was

pulled by strange beasts that were half-horse and half-snake” (Excerpt 10). In addition, students

could recognize the words according to the context presented in each of the sentences given. For

instance, in Excerpts 11 and 12, students recognized the word multi-headed and they related it

in the context of Cerberus since this beast has many heads and is the guard of the doors of the
underworld. In this case, we could notice that students recognized the words that they have

learned before when applying them in new contexts. According to Shih: “context triggers

variation of meaning and supplies valuable information to understand why and how a particular

word varies in meaning when used in a piece of text” (p.21). This helped students to increase

their lexical competence through online activities, which allowed them to be more motivated and

to maintain the interest in the subject under the theme of Greek mythology. According to the

previous information, the context provides important new input and facilitates the student to

recognize and understand the different meaning in contexts of each word learned.

The WebQuests are exploratory activities that are carried out using the web resources selected

by the teacher as part of a guided learning process. It involves real word information and

communication, allowing students to develop their own knowledge from the resources offered

and put into practice their own prior knowledge. Its use as a teaching resource in the school

environment enables students to enhance certain skills such as; student’s cognitive development,

cooperative work and individual learning, which is helpful owing to the fact that students

develop their problem-solving abilities; practice the analysis, synthesis and selection of content;

and besides that, they reinforce and put into practice the topics already learnt in their previous

classes. This is explained by Gorghiu Gonzalez & Garcia (2005) “WebQuests help the

participants in meeting standards concentrated on both critical-thinking and analysis skills. Based

on ideas of inquiry and constructivism, WebQuests involve cooperative learning, students having

to work on projects in groups” (p.2). In the case of this particular research, it was evidenced the

need of urgent reinforcement on students’ lexical competence through the implementation of the

WebQuests due to their low-literacy level in English vocabulary. In this sense, WebQuests

represent an effective way to integrate online resources to increase EFL students’ vocabulary in
context and prepares students for similar experiences and real situations, providing resources for

daily interactions.

During the need’s analysis, it was observed that one of the main obstacles that students face

for vocabulary development is the difficulty and insufficient level of lexical competence in EFL.

Since vocabulary is an elementary building block for the language learning process, teacher´s

intervened their EFL learning through the implementation of WebQuests in order to enhance

their lexical competence. Since teachers took advantage of technological advances, it was

possible to implement innovative teaching tools as the WebQuests, allowing students to not only

learn a language, but also interact and transform important information from resources on the

web within real life contexts. A clear explanation is given by Savitri (2016):

Webquest is a learning structure that uses links to essential resources on the World Wide

Web and an authentic task to encourage and motivate students in answering open-ended

questions, developing individual expertise and participating in a group process that

attempts to transform newly information into a more sophisticated understanding (p.405).

It is important to realize that there are many advantages in terms of using multimedia for

language learning; for example, students can find in the WebQuest a database properly selected

by the teacher with a wide range of materials, which provides the information necessary to build,

learn and improve their own knowledge through interaction on the web, allowing students to

interact with real contexts, as it is evidenced in the following excerpts:

Excerpt 13 ST5

(Artifact, Class 9)
Excerpt 14

(Field Notes, Class 4)

Webquest Outstanding- satisfactory- Satisfactorio

Class 4 Excepcional

Apply The students throughout the previous lesson plans

word understood the meaning of the Greek word, but they

contexts learned it just as a Greek mythology. In the lesson

plan 4 it was possible noticed that students could

recognize the same Greek word but in different

contexts from a reading published in a link of the

WebQuest called Greek Daily Life and they started to

 apply the words into different activities contexts. for

example:

● Greek society was similar to the

society that most of us enjoy today

because it was full of a rich culture.

● Greek cities also had an agora, which

was a central marketplace where people

could go to shop.

● Who were considered property of other

Greek citizens.

● In later Greek history, which is called

Hellenistic Greece.

● Greek products were in higher

demand than before.

● Greek houses were usually small.

Excerpt 15 ST10

(Questionnaire, Class 7)
 As evidenced above, after having recognized the words they have learned, students applied

these words in different contexts. Therefore, the use of WebQuests in the classroom helps the

students to perform activities related to the vocabulary building in different situations and,

therefore, to expand their vocabulary knowledge through the learning of new contexts under the

theme of Greek mythology. We could evidence this in Excerpts 13 and 15, where students had

previously learned the meaning and the simple past form of the verb Play. In this exercise they

applied the word “played” in a sentence about what they did yesterday. Moreover, the students

used the adjective “taller” and they used this in the comparative form to talk about their families’

context, so in this way they applied the information that they had previously learnt. In excerpt

14, students applied and learned the new contexts of the word “Greek”; for instance: The Greek

society, Greek cities and Greek history. This activity allowed the activation of the students'

previous knowledge and the application of these words in different settings. In this regard, Shih
(2011) argues that: “Use of words to provide useful information for understanding meaning

variation of words as well as for deciphering their actual context-based meanings” (p.21). Hence,

vocabulary is the knowledge of words that students are able to understand, comprehend their

different meanings and put these new words into different contexts; likewise, increasing their

lexical competence. Bearing this in mind, WebQuests are a learning strategy through a work

process developed by students in a collaborative way, increasing their lexical competence

through activities of Greek mythology that allow students to apply some words into their real-life

contexts.

To sum up, we could identify that students, through the use of web 2.0 readings posted on

WebQuests, had the opportunity to learn and practice EFL vocabulary in context. when students

learn the words in contexts it is easier for them to use them in their natural speech.

Nor are memorization or forming of keywords practical strategies for learning a language

as a whole, as opposed to selected words within that language. there is just too much to

learn! context can also help explain the link to reading comprehension : whereas

vocabulary is an indirect measure of ability to learn to learn word meanings in contexts,

reading comprehension is a fairly direct measure of ability to learn concept in context,

where the concepts may be single words, facts, ideas, or whatever. (McKeown, M. G., &

Curtis, M. E, 2014, p. 90)

The knowledge of a word comprises more than its recognition or memorization of literal

meaning, it is essential to be able to use it in the correct context. For this reason, the

implementation of WebQuests together with web 2.0 activities represented an alternative for

contextual knowledge learning of vocabulary, since it gave students the necessary tools to

develop exercises where they were in contact with real contexts in a controlled environment;
Hence, helping them to foster their lexical competence. Furthermore, the organization of the

WebQuests sessions allow students to, first, reinforce their knowledge about different contexts

and then, to apply the words in the correct cases. In this sense, students started to study the

vocabulary in the particular situations where the words are used with the help of web 2.0 tools in

WebQuests.

As a final conclusion, we could establish that students were able to make connections

between L1 and L2 to learn vocabulary and that web 2.0 based WebQuests provided the students

with the opportunities to develop a contextual knowledge of the words. Since the students had

not had enough exposure to the target language, we noticed that their reaction, and their way to

cope with a class where the interaction and activities were mainly in English, was to look for

support from their first language. This type of L1 and L2 connections was classified into three

different cases: First, the use of true cognates, which refers to the identification of an L2 word

that is similar in form and meaning to an L1 word. Second, the employment of translation

strategies to convey meaning between L1 and L2. And third, the use of the compensatory

strategy of borrowing to apply new EFL words in their informal speech, which, in this case, was

evident in the addition of L2 words in L1 sentences. Moreover, in order to help students to

expand their lexical competence beyond the merely recognition of the meaning of the words, the

web 2.0 WebQuests were applied, since they contemplated the concept of expanding and

reinforcing the contextual knowledge of the words, so students had the necessary tools to apply

the learned lexical items in different situations as we could evidence in the data collected. In this

regard, we could evidence how students, through the implementation of WebQuests, were able to

begin a process where they, initially, recognized selected L2 words, then learned their meaning
and finally identified the contexts where they can be used and apply them in the correct

situations.
Appendix 1

Appendix 2
 References

Al-Musawi, N. M. (2014) Strategic use of translation in learning English as a Foreign

Language (EFL) among Bahrain university students. Innovative Teaching, 3, 4.

Bagheri, M. S., & Fazel, I. (2011). The Reading Matrix© 2011. Reading, 11(3).

Bracken, J., Eddington, C., Tokowicz, N., & Degani, T. (2017). Translation semantic variability:

How semantic relatedness affects learning of translation-ambiguous words.

Bilingualism, 20(4), 783-794. doi:10.1017/S1366728916000274

Castro-Moreno, C. (2016). The role of translation in foreign language learning and teaching.

Dash, N. S. (2008). Context and contextual word meaning. SKASE Journal of Theoretical

Linguistics.

Elston-Güttler, K. E., & Williams, J. N. (2008). First language polysemy affects second language

meaning interpretation: evidence for activation of first language concepts during second

language reading. Second Language Research, 24(2), 167-187.

Folse, K. S. (2004). Myths about teaching and learning second language vocabulary: What

recent research says. TESL reporter, 37(2), 1-13.

Gender Effects on Strategic Competence: A Survey Study on Compensatory Strategies in a

Clil Context. Elia: Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 17(17), 47.

Green, L (2004) Bilingual Word Power Research-Based Vocabulary Strategies for English

Language Learners

Gorghiu, G. Gonzalez, V & Garcia, A. (2005) WebQuest in the Classroom – Analysis of its

Impact. Valahia University Targoviste.

Gulseker, H. Cakir, A (2012) Cognate based language teaching and material development.

Mevlana University.

Ljungberg, A. (2011). Compensatory Strategies in English as a Foreign Language. Karlstads

universitet.

MACKENZIE, J. L., & Hannay, M. (2001). DEVELOPEVG LEXICAL COMPETENCE: A

COMPUTER-ASSISTED, TEXT-BASED APPROACH. CAUCE, Revista de Filología

y su Didáctica, (24), 541-563.

March, Thomas. (2007). Revisiting WebQuests in a Web 2 World. How developments in

technology and pedagogy combine to scaffold personal learning. Interactive educational

multimedia: IEM. p. 1-17.

McKeown, M. G., & Curtis, M. E. (2014). The nature of vocabulary acquisition. Psychology

Press.

Mendez, A Peña, E & Bedore, L (2013) Cognates facilitate word recognition in young spanish-

English bilinguals’ test performance. University of Texas at Austin

Kanduboda, P. B. (2016). Communication Strategies among Trilingual Speakers: Switching

and Borrowing among Sinhala, English & Japanese Languages. Theory & Practice in

Language Studies, 6(9), 1732.

Pan, Y. C., & Pan, Y. C. (2010). The use of L1 in the foreign language classroom. Colombian

Applied Linguistics Journal, 12(2), 87-96.

Rahimah Che Wan Ibrahim, C. W. I., Prain, V., & Collet, P. (2014). Perceived Learning

Strategies of Malaysian University Students in Web 2.0-based English as a Second Language

Informal Learning. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 14(1), 29.

Salerno, G Wenk, N & Lombardo, A ( n.d) La influencia de los

cognados en la enseñanza del inglés. Universidad Nacional de La Plata

Savitri, I (2016) The use of webquest for teaching English vocabulary in an EFL young learners

context. Semarang State University, Semarang, Indonesia

Shih, R. C. (2011). Can Web 2.0 technology assist college students in learning English writing?

Integrating Facebook and peer assessment with blended learning. Australasian Journal of

Educational Technology, 27(5)

Yeasmin S, Ferdousour Rahman K. (2012). “Triangulation” Research Method as the Tool of

Social Science Research.BUP Journal, 1(1).