
































Teachers’ Level of Awareness in Using Wordle to Teach in Senior Secondary Schools in
Owerri Municipal

Winifred Nwachukwu, Ngozi Umelo & Agatha Ikemelu

Abstract

The study investigates teachers’ level of awareness in using Wordle to teach in Senior Secondary
Schools in Owerri. The study is guided by a research question and a hypothesis. Descriptive
research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 200 English
language teachers in public schools in Owerri Municipal and since the population is not large,
the entire population constituted the sample size. A well validated researcher developed scale
tagged: Teachers Level of Awareness on Use of Wordle Rating Scale (TLAUWRS) was used for
data collection. Test and re-test approach was used to establish the reliability coefficient of 0.81.
Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while z-test statistics
was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 significant levels. Findings showed that teachers’ level of
awareness on the use of Wordle in teaching of English studies was low. Recommendation among
others include that seminars and workshops should be organized for English language teachers
on the use of Wordlein secondary schools.

Keywords: Wordle, awareness of teachers, Owerri municipal, secondary school, English



Introduction

The primacy of language in human history has never been in doubt. Language is the means
through which humans communicate, encode knowledge and pass it on to subsequent
generations, investigate reality, and entertain themselves (Danesi 2013). Language is purely a
human attribute setting man in contradistinction toother animals.The importance of
communication to man is incalculable, especially when daily human interaction is
considered.Language therefore remains potentially a communicative medium capable of
expressing ideas and concepts as well as moods, feelings and attitudes.Distinguishing the
communicative abilities of humans, Denham and Lobeck (2011) note that language makes
humans different from the other animals that are unable to use it for communication.Language is
not only a resource for meaning making, knowledge, and experience; but it also provides an
avenue for people to do things or carry out orders.It is also used totransmit cultures for it is
impossible or very difficult to understand language without the attributes of culture (Adeyemi
2011). Only byensuring its use and development at all levels can the tragedy of the
disappearance of languages, which ultimately means the impoverishment of humanity, be
prevented.

In education, the English language is the medium of instruction with the effectiveness of
the educational programme in the country depending to a large extent on whether or not effective



communication has taken place between the teacher and the learner. Performance of students in
English language determines how well they fare and are able to cope with the other subjects.
Studies have shown that students hardly speak fluently as a result of paucity of vocabulary.
Beimiller and Slonim(2001); Clegg et al(2009) Hart and Risley (1995, 2003) identified poor
vocabulary knowledge as a primary cause of poor performance in essay writing and academic
failure in general with Okueso (2016) stating that the situation has become worrisome, and thus
requiring urgent attention. Osikomaiya (2013), and Onabamiro (2010) observe that poor
performances exist in English Language both in internal and external examinations in the
nation.In 2014, only 31.28% of 529, 425 students passed with credit in English Language from
available WAEC records. This poor performance has continued as only 38.68% of 616,370
students that sat for the WAEC in 2015 had credit pass in English language.

The reasons for these scenarios are many with the role of the teacher and his method of
imparting knowledge being part of the contributory factors to the dwindling students’
communicative abilities. Knowledge of words continues to be one of the best predictors of
reading achievement (Richard 2005 andBroomely, 2004). Yet, vocabulary appears to be
diminishing in today’s students (Manzo, Manzo and Thomas 2006). Vocabulary is generically
referred to as the knowledge of words and word meanings, (Barannestri and Salvadin,
2011).Specifically, we use vocabulary to refer to the kind of words that students must know in
order to read with comprehension (Kamil and Hiebert, 2005).Vocabulary is the most important
component of language knowledge, being the best predictor of language performance; however,
many students get to secondary school with a relatively small vocabulary, which prevents them
from achieving their potential (Schmitt, 2008).

Wordle is a web-based tool that can help cement the interface between reading and
writing. The tool produces word clusters based on the frequency of words occurring in a sample
of writing. Tafazoli (2013) discusses how Wordlecan be used in teaching different aspects of the
English language curriculum. He states that it can be used to activate prior knowledge about the
topic while providing clear view to learners about what they are going to read. In other words, it
can be used in brainstorming before learners listen to or read a passage or text. Viégas,
Wattenberg and Feinberg (2009) confirm that educators use Wordle to communicate ideas or
concepts; as an entry point into discussion. Others use it to teach spelling by creating Wordles of
new vocabulary, and then quizzing students on various aspects of the displays. This study
therefore investigates the secondary school teachers’ level of awareness in using Wordle to teach
vocabulary.

There is a growing body of scholarship suggesting the potential benefits of Web2.0
applications aimed at providing teachers and students with a practical framework upon which to



develop critical thinking skills and tools for independent word learning. For example, Selwyn
(2007), Murphy and Lebans (2008), Odom (2010), Vaughan (2010), and Williams and Chinn
(2010) all report findings endorsing the role of Web2.0 tools could play in high school student
learning.

Studies have also shown that greater gains accrue when language instruction moves away
from the traditional approach of learning of words to a more innovative one. Innovation therefore
is a deliberate attempt to move educational practices from its traditional approach to new ways.It
is aimed at improving the quality of existing practices. As a departure from the old way of doing
things, it is the driving force in teaching and learning. Its importance cannot be overemphasized
as it is not an accidental occurrence but a deliberate effort to bring about changes by integrating
old and new ideas (Mkpa and Izuagba 2012, Ike and Iwu 2001).

Visual literacy has become the hallmark in the 21st century world with the educational
uses of Wordle becoming increasingly exciting. According to Ohler (2009), “being able to read
and write multiple forms of media and integrate them meaningfully is the new hallmark of
literacy”.

Despite the above, Wordle still has some limitations. McNaught and Lam (2010) are of
the view that Wordle should not be used as a stand-alone teaching tool. They argued that since
Wordle is a frequency based tool, it works best when analyzing text in which the full responses
of the informants have been preserved. Other limitations to consider when working with Wordle
are that the words are retrieved out of context and that it is not possible to trace the codes back to
the original text. Words are treated as isolated units, making the process fast, but at the cost of
dismissing contextual elements such as the semantics of the words, and the phrases or sentences
the words were a part of. Therefore, they recommended using Wordle as a supplementary tool in
research.

The main objective of the study is to ascertain to what extent the teachers are aware of
the use of Wordle in teaching vocabulary in theSenior Secondary Schools in Owerri zone.

Hypotheses

Teachers’ awareness in using Wordle to teach vocabulary in senior secondary schools is not
significantly different where the average level of significance is 2.5

Theoretical Framework

The use of Wordle which is a Web 2.0 tool in teaching stems from the constructivist teaching
and learning theory propounded by Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky and Brunner (1990). This theory



was adopted for the study. The underlying premise is that knowledge is not given but
constructed based on the learners’ prior knowledge. Constructivism theory believes that an
individual develops his reasoning with the pattern he sees (Major and Mangope, 2012). The
classroom is a constructed place which is situated in a society. This is where professional
teaching and learning take place and are made available for each individual to internalize and
construct knowledge that is useful in the learning. In this theory, the child is responsible for the
construction of his knowledge, through the interaction of new ideas with his prior knowledge
(Major and Mangope, 2012).

This constructivist approach establishes a crucial paradigm shift as today's literacies are
encouraging the audience not just to be passive consumers but active contributors of their own
digital experience Gilbert (2007), Asselin and Moayeri (2011). Likewise, this shift is occurring
in an education context, with the focus moving away from the display of an individual's
knowledge or skills to that of collaborative and interactive learning with others. The learner thus
feels able to introduce his/her own content into the classroom and not just receive what has been
handed out to him/her.

The constructivist approach asserts that learning should come from the student and not the
teacher; the teacher’s role is to create an environment in which the learner has the freedom to
construct understanding (Baviskar, Hartle, and Whitney, 2009)The constructivist approach has,
however, been criticized (Altun and Buyukduman, 2007; Liu and Matthews,2005) but none of
the criticisms invalidates the basic premise that constructivism is a good learning method
because children learn best when they are allowed to construct personal understanding based on
their experience of things and reflection on those experiences. This forms the basis for the use of
Wordle in teaching as it is manipulative and appeals to all the senses. The use of Wordle in
teaching motivates, fascinates, stimulates interest, and facilitates interaction and critical thinking
among learners. It is based on the foregoing that the researchers set out to examine the level of
awareness of the teachers in using Wordle to teach, bearing in mind its impact on teaching and
learning.

Research Methodology

The researcher adopted the descriptive survey design to seek information on the level of
awareness of teachers in using Wordle to teach vocabulary in Senior Secondary Schools in
Owerri Municipal. The population of the study comprised all English language teachers, both
males and females in Senior Secondary Schools in Owerri Municipal with estimated population
of 200 teachers. The instrument for data collection was the questionnaire. Likert’s four-point



scale was used to elicit information from part B of the questionnaire while part A consists of the
bio data indicating the following variables – gender, age, years of experience, qualifications. The
reason for the use of this instrument is to reach out to people with varied years of experience and
qualifications.

Data Presentation

Table 1: Respondents by sex (sex frequency)

Distribution of Respondents by sex Frequency % Frequency

Females 122 61

Males 78 39

Total 200 100

The above table shows that there were more females (61%) than males (39%).This was noted to
be somewhat consistent with the distribution of the number of female teachers who are more
than the male teachers in Owerri Municipal zone.

Table 2: Distribution of Respondents by years of Experience

Distribution of Respondents by years of
Experience

Frequency % Frequency

1-10 years 50 25

11-20 years 102 51

21-30 years 36 18

31-40 years 10 5

41-50 years 2 1

Total 200 100

In the above table, 50 (25%) respondents had 1-10 years working experience and 50 (25%)
respondents had 11-20 years’ experience which is the highest. 36 (18%) respondents were in the
group with 21-30 years’ experience. only 10 (5%) were within the 31-40 years’ experience. 2



(1%) respondents were within the 41-50 years working experience. It is interesting to note the
bulk of respondents were in the range of 11-20 years working experience. Thus, the bulk of the
respondents were mature and experienced teachers.

Table 3: Respondents by highest professional qualification.

Respondents by highest qualification Frequency % Frequency

Master’s degree 39 19.5

Bachelor’s degree 92 46

Diploma Certificate 67 33.5

Untrained 2 1

Total 200 100

The above table shows that only 39 (19.5%) respondents were Master’s degree holders, which is
the highest qualification, while 92 (46%) were Bachelor’s degree holders. As many as 67(3.5%)
of the respondents were diploma and/or certificate holders while only 2 (2%) were untrained.
Thus, the number of qualified as compared to untrained teachers was very high being about
98.86%.

Research Question

What are the teachers’ level of awareness in using Wordle to teach vocabulary in Senior
Secondary Schools in Owerri Municipal?

Table 4. Respondents level of awareness

SN QUESTION Highly
Aware

Aware Lowly
aware

Not
Aware

Mean A
v

Remark

1 Wordle can be used to
enhance composition
writing

40 75 80 125 320 1
.
6

Rejected

2 Wordle can be used to
teach parts of speech

32 63 132 105 458 2
.
3

Rejected

3 Collocation in
vocabulary can be

76 120 134 74 404 2
.

Rejected



enhanced by teaching
with Wordle

0
2

4 Wordle can be used to
predict content of the
reading.

84 96 94 100 374 1
.
9

Rejected

5 Wordle can be used to
increase registers in
English language

132 180 204 5 359 1
.
8

Rejected

6 Wordle can be used for
collaborative learning

192 135 100 36 463 2
.
3

Rejected

7 Wordle can lead to
increased retention rate.

244 198 72 42 556 2
.
8

Accepted

8 Wordle can lead to good
sentence formation.

160 99 80 87 462 2
.
3

Rejected

9 Wordle can be used to
teach synonyms and
antonyms

192 60 180 42 474 2
.
4

Rejected

Average Mean 2.2 Rejected

From the table, the average mean of 2.2 indicates that teachers were not aware of the use of
Wordle in teaching vocabulary.

Discussion on Findings

The study was aimed at investigating the level of awareness of the English language teachers in
Owerri Municipal zone. In response to the Research Question, an average mean score of 2.2 in
the level of awareness of teachers in using Wordle to teach vocabulary in Senior Secondary
School was rejected as it was below the accepted mean score of 2.5. The teachers showed low
level of awareness in its use to teach parts of speech, collocation of vocabulary and ability to
predict the content of which Cochrane (2006) says is one of the uses of Wordle. Whereas
Tafazoli (2013), suggests that Wordle can be used to increase registers in the English language,
the teachers’ response did not agree with this as their average score was below the accepted



value. Mamor and Mangope (2012), aver that the use of constructivism can lead to an increase in
knowledge which Wordle does. With the rejection of item no. 6 with an average mean of 1.8, the
teachers have shown a low level of awareness that Wordle can be used for collaborative learning.
The teachers also exhibited a higher level of awareness that Wordle can help increase retention.
An average mean of 2.2 is an indication of the rejection of Research Question as it was below the
accepted average mean score.

From the findings, it was obvious that the teachers were lagging behind in the use of some of
these innovative tools in teaching. It is therefore the duty of the Ministry of Education to review
the curriculum from time to time in order to incorporate programmes and ideas that can bring the
teachers at par with some of the best practices in teaching and learning that obtain elsewhere.
The textbooks should also be reviewed to incorporate the visuals and hands on activities which
help in teaching and learning in the 21st century classroom.

Conclusion

The researchers have gone a long way in ascertaining the level of awareness of the English
language teachers in the use of Wordle to teach English vocabulary. The findings indicate a low
level of awareness by the teachers. In order to eradicate the low performance in examinations in
the English language by the students, there is need for a change of methodology in teaching to
embrace the more innovative ones. It is obvious that the world has become digitalized. So many
web tools are created to make learning fun and to make the students creative and constructive. It
has also been proven that the visuals help a lot in retention. The implication is that when Wordle
is incorporated in teaching vocabulary, there will be a remarkable improvement in the written
composition as well as oral communication due to the increased word power in their vocabulary.
This may eventually eradicate the mass failure in the English language in examinations.

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