1 Chapter 8 - Vocabulary Learning Exercises: Evaluating a Selection of Exercises Commonly Featured in Language Learning Materials Tatsuya Nakata and Stuart Webb Introduction This chapter examines common second language (L2) vocabulary learning activities using a framework proposed by Nation (2013a). In particular Nation’s first guideline which focuses on efficacy will be examined in detail. Nation and Webb’s (2011) Technique Feature Analysis will be used to determine which components of the activities contribute to learning. The chapter aims to gauge the relative efficacy of three vocabulary learning activities: learning from flashcards, cloze exercises, and crossword puzzles, shed some light on their strengths and weaknesses, and show how they might be modified to be made more effective. 1 Nation (2013a) argues that vocabulary teaching activities need to meet five guidelines. The first guideline states that activities need to facilitate vocabulary learning (see below for the discussion on how the effectiveness of vocabulary teaching activities are measured). Second, according to Nation, activities should not require a lot of work on the part of teachers. In other words, if there are two activities that are equally effective, and Activity A requires less work from teachers than Activity B, the former is more desirable in terms of practicality. Nation’s third guideline states that activities should provide a balance of the four strands of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency development. Meaning-focused input refers to activities where the focus is on understanding a message such as extensive reading or listening. In meaning-focused output, there is a focus on conveying a message such as giving a speech or writing a story. Language-focused