In the following post I will introduce two vocabulary training websites to you: 
www.quizlet.com & www.cobocards.com. I will give you an overview of the pages and provide you with 5 arguments for and against using the websites.
Overview
Quizlet is an online trainer where you can study vocabulary and almost everything else. There is a language section (English, Spanish, French, Chinese, German), a math & science section, a history & geography section and many more. Quizlet provides 5 different exercise types for every set (of words): familiarize, learn, test, scatter and race. You can either use a monolingual or a bilingual way of learning vocabulary. Bilingual means that you have a 1-to-1 translation for example from German to English and monolingual means that for every English word you are provided with an English explanation, like in a monolingual dictionary.
The activity “familiarize” is to get to know the words. Here you are provided with an explanation (for example: to declare publicly or officially) and if you click on “show term” the matching word appears (here: to proclaim). This activity is controlled by the learner and can be repeated endlessly. The next activity is the “learn” section. Here the explanation appears and you have to enter the right word. There is a counter at the left side which tells you how many correct and wrong answers you gave. The “test” section simulates a vocabulary test. There are several sections for example one exercise where you are given an explanation and you have to enter the correct word, another exercise where you have to bring together the words with their right explanation, multiple choice and true and false questions. After answering all the questions you can check the answers and you get a corrected version of your test. The next activity is playing a scatter where you have to slide the words into the right explanations. When you did it correctly, the words and their explanations disappear. The goal is to play until nothing is left. There is also an activity called “voice scatter” which functions with voice recognition.The last activity is called “space race”. Here you have to kill the scrolling words by typing in their corresponding term and pressing enter.
Using Quizlet Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The site is free and when you are registered there are many functions available
- You can create sets according to your wishes or just use an already existing set
- The site is very easy to handle (using and creating cards is simple)
- Learning vocabulary is created in a varied way (different types of exercises, tests and games)
- There are groups for discussions where users can communicate
Cons:
- Quizlet is exclusively in English and beginners could have their problems to get along with the page
- In order to use the page you need not only a computer but also internet access which could be a problem for some students
- To make use of the various functions provided you have to register with your personal data
- Everyone can create his/her own set so you have to be very careful when you use already existing sets, because they could contain mistakes
- If you do not want to use an already existing set as a teacher, you have to create your own set which means a lot of work
All in all, I think quizlet is a nice tool to learn vocabulary in a different way. It is maybe more motivating for students because they learn the vocabulary in a playful way and there are various exercises so that learning is fun. I would not use quizlet in my lessons because I think students would have problems to navigate the sites because it is all in English, furthermore the given sets may contain mistakes so that you have to create your own set as a teacher which means more work, but I would tell my students to have a look at the page and try it out at home as a different way of learning vocabulary. More advanced students in higher classes could create an own set and practice vocabulary at home themselves.
Here is a useful video which shows you further how to use quizlet.com and how you can create your own sets:
Introduction
Overview
Cobocards is also an online vocabulary learning program where you can create flashcards including text and pictures. Of course you can also use already existing cards. As you heard in the video, you can learn together with others and interact in an easy way. As shown, there are many formats of the cards, for example vocabulary lists or flash cards which you can print out. In comparison to quizlet there are less options, for example there are no games, but the site is very well structured and easy to handle, especially because the page is in German.
Using Cobocards Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The site is free and if you are registered there are many functions available (using flashcards, creating flashcards, communication with other learners)
- The site is in German so that students can navigate it without problems
- You can create sets according to your wishes or just use an already existing set
- The site is very easy to handle (using and creating cards is simple)
- The site helps you organizing your stuff, you just enter the words, terms and explanations and you can print out different formats like vocabulary lists of flashcards
Cons:
- If you want to use already existing cards or create your own flashcards, you have to be registered
- No variation for example games
- In order to use the page you need not only a computer but also internet access which could be a problem for some students
- Everyone can create his/her own set so you have to be very careful when you use already existing sets, because they could contain mistakes
- If you do not want to use an already existing set as a teacher, you have to create your own set which means a lot of work
Summarized, quizlet and cobocards are (vocabulary) learning tools which both have similar advantages and disadvantages. The only big difference is that cobocards is in German and quizlet is in English wherefore I would prefer using cobocards in school. The advantage of quizlet however is the variety. Learning vocabulary with quizlet is fun because there are different games students can play. As I already mentioned, I would use cobocards rather than quizlet in school because of the language aspect but I would tell the more advanced students to have a look at quizlet too and create own sets if it is not too difficult for them.
hello
I found this post unexpectedly when i was looking for internet solutions to create quizz page for
my readers who learn french…thanks for that post, i bookmarked and will be back to check it out some more later
Regards