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Abstract
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The current study aimed to strike a compromise between the practical and logistical constraints related to discovering, teaching, and retaining vocabulary and the possibilities offered by web-based visualization tools. In other words, this study is an attempt to make vocabulary teaching easier by giving instructional prompts and examples of sentences in which specific terminology seems to scaffold language instructor duties. For this purpose, the impact of Wordsifts, which allow students to dip their toes into the shallow end of data-driven learning (DDL), on vocabulary development was explored. This study included two treatment and control groups, each with 30 intermediate EFL learners. The DDL approach of teaching vocabulary using visual displays or Tag Clouds generated by the Wordsift tools was employed in the experimental group. In the control group, the traditional method involving textbooks was used. The results of pretest and delayed posttest revealed that this sort of DDL-based education was helpful in enriching EFL learners' long-term vocabulary retention. However, no significant differences were discovered in the involvement of different genders in benefiting from Wordsits for vocabulary development. Finally, the results are discussed in terms of both practical and theoretical implications.
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