Breaking the mold: WhatsApp-enhanced intentional vocabulary learning

Abstract

This comparative study examines the impact of WhatsApp-based instruction versus text-based instruction on intentional media-related vocabulary learning and learners’ perceptions. Specifically, it investigates the effects of WhatsApp functionalities (e.g. multimodal input, media sharing and group chat) on deliberate learning, word retention and collaboration among final-year undergraduate students. Within a mixed-methods framework, a convenient sample of 70 students from a language institute in Tunisia was assigned to experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). While vocabulary achievement was assessed through a pretest-posttest design, qualitative data was gleaned through a semi-structured interview run with 10 informants from the Mobile Assisted Vocabulary Learning (MAVL) group. The eight-session MAVL intervention included the intentional instruction of commonly used idioms in media context through the different affordances of WhatsApp. Findings from paired t-tests and independent t-tests, processed with SPSS, revealed higher lexical performance among the WhatsApp group. Drawing on reflexive thematic analysis (RTA), qualitative data displayed the participants’ favorable attitudes toward the app’s potential to improve word recall and cultivate a spirit of collaboration. The theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings offer clarity for educators in their ongoing search for cutting-edge vocabulary teaching approaches. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.