Vocabulary Instruction Method and Specialized Reading Comprehension: Build a Bridge or Wash it away

The present study aimed to examine and compare the impact of teaching economic terms through etymological elaboration with three more conventional methods of vocabulary instruction in ESP courses in Iran, that is, teaching through contextual definitions, L1 translation, and implicit instruction on the learner's general comprehension of economic texts and their understanding of author's opinion. As for general comprehension, the performance of students on the reading comprehension test was not affected by vocabulary instruction method in the four groups. In other words, it seemed that there was no causal relationship between the vocabulary instruction method and general reading comprehension. Regarding author's opinion, the results showed a superiority of etymological elaboration over contextual definition, translation, and implicit instruction.