“The WordDive method of listening and writing helps the students learn phoneme-letter equivalence”, writes linguist Maiju Mäkelä in her thesis for the Department of Languages in the University of Jyväskylä. Up to 75 percent of the study participants say their oral language – i.e. speaking – skills have improved thanks to WordDive.
Maiju Mäkelä’s research focuses on students’ experiences and perceptions about learning Finnish and using WordDive. According to the study, it is actually possible to use the vocabulary learned with WordDive when writing or speaking.
In addition, WordDive receives praise for illustrative pictures that students thought helped with understanding the meaning of the study item.
According to Mäkelä, even beginners are interested in learning phrases and idioms. In her opinion, the example sentences used in WordDive contribute not only to learning phrases but also grammatical structures, such as inflection. However, Mäkelä points out that learning would be even more effective if grammar could be practiced separately.
To meet this need, WordDive has put together handy grammar pages and added new grammar courses to the course selection. For example, the Comprehensive Finnish course package now includes three grammar courses: Verb Conjugation in Present Tense, Three Finnish Cases and Past Tense.
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