Contributing to an online database of professional terminology provides an enriched learning experience for full- and part-time students

Paula Hodgson
University of Hong Kong

Chan Lai-kuen
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong SAR, China

Students face challenges when trying to learn an ever-expanding academic vocabulary when studying at university. They are expected to be both competent and fluent in the use of professional terms that are integral to their disciplines. Various vocabulary-learning strategies have been reported in a study of Hong Kong learners, including sources, guessing, dictionaries, repetition, association and 'know words' (Fan 2003).

Students on the programme in the Institute of Textiles and Clothing in HKPU are required to learn a range of vocabulary that they have not hitherto been exposed to. To help them to build their vocabularies, it is necessary for students to be actively involved in the learning process (Kojic-Sabo and Lightbown 1999). A searchable online databank of professional terminology has been developed to stimulate students' interest in the discipline and accelerate their acquisition of a foundation of professional terms. The database provides the key terms that students need to learn. To increase students' interest in expanding their vocabulary for the discipline, the databank provides a submission function, which allows students to search for and submit digital images that match the description of vocabulary terms.

Two courses were invited to participate in this study: one full-time high diploma and one part-time high diploma programme. Students from the two cohorts were shown how to submit images to the databank during a six-week period from mid-January to the end of February. Some students were highly motivated and made a significant contribution to this learning activity -- over 820 images were submitted. Images were selected based on assessment criteria that included: (1) appropriate matching of an image with a term's description; (2) clear visual illustration; and (3) precision of image elaboration. About 420 were selected and published. The previously text-based databank has been enhanced with images, with some terms having a range of photos referencing them.

Although part-time students have to manage the competing demands of life, study and work, in this case they showed great motivation in this voluntary learning task: 75% of the contributors were part-time students, but 85% of the images were submitted by them. A survey will be conducted to explore the experience of learning new vocabulary for the two cohorts who contributed to the submission of images.