Improve EFL's Vocabulary Size and TOEIC with the Learning APP Memrise

Since the Taiwan government announced to develop it into a “Bilingual Nation” in 2018, the enhancement of bilingual English education has become an urgent need in various industries and education systems and scores of TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) has been widely adopted in Taiwan among schools and workplaces. However, based on Educational Testing Service (ETS), the average TOEIC scores of university students and junior college students were 441 and 418, respectively, which were lower than the minimum score of 582 for new employees in 2018 (Newsletter 51, 2019). In language learning, vocabulary size plays an important role in understanding and communication and technology. Hence, the study aimed to improve students’ English vocabulary size by integrating the learning APP Memrise into instruction. Subjects were 59 students of applied English at a private five-year junior college in south Taiwan, including 8 males and 51 females. The course was a core course which was taught 2 hours per week for one semester. The instructional materials included TOEIC vocabulary book, and the instruments included The New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT), Vocabulary Test (VT), and students’ feedback of the the use of Memrise. Participants took the pretest of the New Vocabulary Levels Test (NVLT) and TOEIC Vocabulary Test (VT) at the beginning of the semester, and completed the same materials of NVLT and VT as well as Students’ Feedback of Using of Memrise (SFUM) as the posttest at the end of the semester. More importantly, students needed to do extra vocabulary learning through Memrise outside the classroom during their free time to improve their vocabulary skill. Findings showed that by integrating Memrise into instruction, students became more active learners, enjoyed learning, and performed better in all of the following scores of vocabulary tests and TOEICs, in particular, building up self-confidence toward their future success. Findings also showed that students performed better in the posttest of TOEIC scores (increased 14.50%), ranging from 265 to 825, New Vocabulary Levels Test, Vocabulary Test, especially in Vocabulary Size with a mean of 2,720 words (increased 16.34%), ranging from 1,467 to 4,134. In addition, students held very positive feedback about using Memise on learning vocabulary. Some suggestions were provided for the schools, the teachers, the parents, and the students to work together for better performance