Abstract :
The present experiment investigated the effect of three different presentation
modes in children’s vocabulary learning with a self-guided multimedia programmes.
Participants were 135 third and fourth grade children who read a
short English language story presented by a computer programme. For 12 key
(previously unknown) words in the story, children received verbal annotations
(written translation), visual annotations (picture representing the word), or
both. Recall of word translations was better for children who only received
verbal annotations than for children who received simultaneously visual
and verbal annotations or visual annotations only. Results support previous
research about cognitive load in e-learning environments, and show that children’s
learning processes are hindered by limited working memory. This
finding implies a challenge for multimedia programmes designed for children
and based on self-regulated learning
