جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « vocabulary retention » در نشریات گروه « ادبیات و زبان ها »

The current study examined the effect of scaffolding through presenting examples and pictures on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning and retention.For this purpose, six research niquestions were posed and a quasi- experimental design was applied with two groups of learners who were selected as experimental groups. This research was carried out with a sample of 60 English students from Iran Zaban Institution. The data were collected using three instruments. Primarily, a standard test of Nelson which had 50 items was used to assess general proficiency of the learners for the purpose of their homogeneity. Then, in order to investigate the learner’s lexical knowledge before executing the scaffolding strategies used by examples and pictures, the researcher prepared a vocabulary test used as pretest. At the end of the treatment the students’ lexical knowledge was assessed by a posttest. Also a vocabulary test was used in order to measure their vocabulary retention after two weeks. The results indicated that employing examples helps vocabulary learning as well as retention. In addition, it was shown that using pictures helps both vocabulary learning and retention, and employing examples and pictures have almost the same effect on vocabulary learning. Finally, the results are discussed and compared with the previous ones, implications are explained, and some suggestions and recommendations are provided.

Exploring the relationship between listening skills and reading skills with the vocabulary level of students is a hot topic in the history of language teaching which has attracted the attention of many scholars in the field of ELT. Therefore, the present research study tried to probe the effect of reading passages and listening tasks on vocabulary retention and learning of Iranian male high school students based on the VISION series, the newly published English books in Iran for high school students. Sixty students were chosen and divided into two experimental groups, that is one experimental group for listening tasks and one experimental group for reading tasks. At first, a pretest was run to check their language level, especially their lexical level and then both groups went through treatment, and at the end, immediate and delayed posttests were run to check the retention and learning of new words. It should be noted that during the treatment sessions, the meaning of the new words was taught through L1 translation, synonyms, and antonyms. In the reading section, the students should take a multiple choice exam of new words and for the listening section, the students went through answering the meaning of new words orally. After the treatment session, the students went through immediate and delayed posttest. The interval between immediate and delayed posttest was one month. The new words were chosen from the tenth-grade English book high school, that is, Vision1. Then, by using SPSS software including mean comparison and descriptive statistics, the data were analyzed and the findings showed that both types of tasks, that is, reading and listening tasks had an effect on the improvement of vocabulary level of the students but the reading passages outperformed the listening passages. The mean of the reading group was 16 and 15 for both immediate and delayed posttests but the mean of the listening group was 14 and 13 respectively. Also, there was a significant difference between the means of both groups in both posttest 1 and posttest 2. All in all, the results disclosed that the reading section of the Vision series, especially Vision 1 for tenth graders, is much more effective in the improvement of the vocabulary level of high school students compared to the listening section of Vision1. The current findings and results could help teachers, material developers, and book authors.

This study aimed to investigate the impact of self-regulation training and instruction on EFL learners’ short-term andlong-term retention of English vocabulary in online classes. The design of the present study was a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design. The participants of this study included 60 Iranian maleintermediate EFL learners chosen from among 68 learners studying English at a private language institute inKerman, Iran based on their PET scores. The original sample was selected through convenience sampling. Theparticipants’ ages ranged from 17 to 30. The following instruments were used in this study: a Preliminary EnglishTest (PET) and two researcher-made vocabulary tests. To analyze the data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test,Descriptive statistics and Repeated Measures ANOVA were used and according to the results of data analysis, self-regulation training and instruction had a significant effect on EFL learners’ short-term and long-term retention ofEnglish vocabularies in online classes. The findings have some implications for EFL teachers, EFL learners, andcurriculum planners.

Learning vocabulary seems to be a major focus of language instruction. The role of vocabulary knowledge in language learning has been studied by many researchers. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of using online Quizlet flashcards and student-created Quizlet flashcards on learning and retention of receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. Sixty Iranian elementary high school students who were randomly divided into 3 groups (twenty subjects per group) participated in this study. The materials and data collection instruments included the Quick Placement Test (QPT), the students’ textbook, Top Notch1 from which the vocabulary items were selected, a pre-test, an immediate post-test, and a delayed post-test. It should be mentioned that the control group was taught the words through the conventional method while the first experimental group received the words using online flashcards and the next experimental group worked on developing their own Quizlet flashcards. The results showed that in terms of receptive vocabulary knowledge learning, the students of the online Quizlet flashcards group significantly outperformed students of the control group and online Quizlet flashcards. In learning of the productive vocabulary knowledge, the learners of the control group performed significantly better than other two experimental groups. The results on vocabulary retention revealed that students of the student-created Quizlet flashcards group significantly outperformed students of the control group in terms of retention of the receptive vocabulary knowledge, and in terms of the productive vocabulary knowledge retention there were no significant difference between the groups of the study. These findings will be advantageous for English language teachers to choose the teaching techniques which can facilitate the process of language teaching and learning.

Given the role of lexical knowledge in language learning, strategies for vocabulary learning should be paid more attention in the literature. This study investigated the effects of visualization, drawing, and memorization on Iranian EFL learners' recall and retention of second language vocabulary using a quasi-experimental comparison design. To that end, three intact classes, incorporating sixty students in total, were randomly selected as the experimental groups of this study. Nation’s (2006) vocabulary size test was administered to them to homogenize them in terms of English lexical knowledge. The results of one-way ANOVA demonstrated that there were no significant differences among the three groups in terms of vocabulary knowledge. A piloted researcher-made vocabulary test was administered to the participants as the pretest and post-tests. The one-way ANOVA results showed that there were no significant between-group differences among the groups' performances on the immediate and delayed posttests. However, the results of a repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the three strategies had a significant within-group effect on the three groups' vocabulary recall, while their vocabulary retention was found to have dropped significantly from immediate to the delayed posttest. All the same, the drawing group had the best performance from the pretest to the immediate posttest, and the control group was the weakest on delayed posttest. Finally, the findings are discussed, and implications are offered for EFL teachers and learners.

Digital formative assessment was considered as using digital tools and technology to apply formative assessment in the EFL classrooms. Moreover, language learners’ vocabulary retention and spelling abilities are at the heart of language learning. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of digital formative assessment in improving Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners’ spelling achievement and vocabulary retention in Mashhad. Fifty (N=25 male & N=25 female) pre-intermediate EFL learners into two groups took part in the study. The study was an experimental study with pre-test and post-test designs. The experimental group used the Spelling Bee application in contrast to the control group. This application could present corrected words to students when they did something wrong. Moreover, the teacher gave feedback to students during tasks. The control group did their tasks on the sheet and got feedback from the teacher. KET (Key English Test) test, vocabulary, and spelling test were used as the instruments of the study. At the beginning of the study vocabulary and spelling tests were presented as a pretest to participants in both groups. The participants answered the spelling and vocabulary tests as the post-tests. After the posttest, a delayed posttest was presented to assess vocabulary retention. The obtained results revealed that the use of the digital formative assessment had no significant effect on pre-intermediate Iranian EFL learners ’spelling achievement and vocabulary retention. Administrators, EFL teachers, and EFL language learners, can take advantage of the result of the present study.

While teaching vocabulary, it is crucial to consider the facilitative role of various techniques that may intensify and promote memory strategies required for meaningful learning and long-term retention. The present study aimed to compare the effect of three semantic mapping strategies of Word Relationship (WR), Lexical Relations and Definition (LRD), and Personal Word Connections (PWC) on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary learning and retention. To this end, 120 intermediate EFL learners were assigned to three contrast groups and a control group, each with 30 participants who were randomly assigned to three WR, LRDG, and PWC experimental groups and a control group who attended the treatment two sessions a week for four weeks in which the vocabulary was presented via the three semantic differential modes. The control group received no treatment regarding the target words and was only involved in mere reviewing and revising the words. Immediate and delayed parallel vocabulary posttests were deployed immediately after the treatment and with a two-week interval to detect the impact of the instructional interventions on the participants’ vocabulary learning and retention, respectively. The results of three One-way ANOVA tests and four repeated-measure ANOVA tests showed significantly higher improvements in the experimental groups’ learning compared to the control group with the UWR outperforming others and achieving higher levels of learning and retention. In terms of the two other contrast groups, the PWC ranked second and the LRD ranked last. The findings underscore WR as an effective technique the pedagogical implications of which will be discussed.

This research aimed at comparing the peer tutoring strategies with teacher guiding strategies on the improvement of Iranian EFL vocabulary knowledge and their attitudes toward learning English vocabulary. The initial population of the study was 70 students. They were studying English at Shokooh English institute in Tehran. After administering TOEFL test as a proficiency test, 40 students (17 males and 23 females) were selected as the participants of the study. They were divided into two groups of experimental and control. The students assigned to the experimental group were involved in an active work with their classmates’ peers, and received instruction based on peer-tutoring. The control group received instruction based on normal syllabus of the class that is teacher guided instruction The findings showed that there is a statistically significant difference (α= 0.01) between the two adjusted means of the students’ scores due to the two different learning strategies in favor of the experimental group.

To surmount the obstacles a deficient productive vocabulary retrieval places in the way of EFL teachers, the current study sought to ascertain whether or not involving trainee teachers in interactive input-output activities enhance their vocabulary retention. To this end, a convenience sample including 49 Iranian EFL trainee teachers were recruited to take part in a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest study. Having been grouped into three comparison groups, the participants were exposed to the same literary texts; however, the differential treatment of the study entailed three different interaction modes (individual, collaborative, and collaborative-cooperative) and two types of input / output processing (non-reciprocal and reciprocal). A repeated measure analysis of covariance (RM ANCOVA) was performed on the participants’ achievements in the pre- post- and delayed posttest measures and the results revealed that the two groups involved in literature-based interactive (collaborative and collaborative-cooperative) reciprocal input-output activities showed significantly higher levels of vocabulary retention compared to the group exposed to literature-based individual non-reciprocal input-output tasks. Additionally, contributing to significantly higher levels of long-term retention, the collaborative-cooperative mode of interaction was found to be more effective than the collaborative one. The findings corroborated the need for including literature-based interactive input-output tasks in EFL teacher training curriculum.

With the advancement of technology and its role in making life more convenient, some EFL teachers prefer to use it in their classrooms. In view of this, the current study aimed to explore the effect of Anki and WhatsApp on the vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL learners. The study’s design was quasi-experimental with three groups of WhatsApp-based vocabulary instruction, Anki-based vocabulary instruction and the traditional one. Sixty EFL learners studying English in a language institute participated in the study, and were divided into three groups of twenty. To ensure their homogeneity, a Solution Placement Test was given to them. After the treatment, the post-test was given to them to check their vocabulary retention. The results of the repeated measures ANOVA indicated that Anki-based and WhatsApp-based vocabulary instruction were effective in enhancing their vocabulary retention. The results of MANOVA showed that there were significant differences among the three groups in their vocabulary retention.

The present study examined the effect of different vocabulary instruction methods on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning and retention. Elementary and advanced EFL learners (N = 120), selected through convenience sampling, were randomly assigned to three conditions (i.e., six groups for the two levels). The learners in the explicit group received vocabulary awareness-raising and pushed output activities. The implicit group was exposed to input flooding, while the modified-implicit group received the pushed output activity and input flooding. The vocabulary learning of the participants was measured using teacher-developed vocabulary tests. The results indicated that learners receiving explicit as well as modified-implicit activities outperformed those exposed to implicit instruction on vocabulary tests. This implies that awareness-raising as well as pushed output activities help learners notice, learn vocabulary better, and retain them longer. Several implications for teachers, materials developers, and syllabus designers on including pushed output activities with more involvement, and areas for further research are discussed.

Vocabulary is one of the language components with which many learners have problems. The present study compared the effect of note taking and semantic mapping on vocabulary learning and retention of intermediate Iranian EFL learners. A total number of 98 took a proficiency test and based on its scores, 74 more homogeneous learners were selected as the participant of the study. The participants were then non-randomly assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. Note taking and semantic mapping were used each in one of the experimental groups while the control group used none of the strategies. A pre-test, a post-test, and a delayed posttest were employed to assess the efficiency of the strategies. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVAs. The results showed that note taking and semantic mapping strategies had no significantly different effects on the participants' vocabulary learning and vocabulary retention. However, note taking showed to be significantly more effective than no strategy on the posttest although this difference was not seen on the delayed posttest. The findings of the study have implication for both language teachers and learners which are discussed in the paper.

The studies that have investigated the effects of multimodality on reading comprehension and vocabulary retention of EFL learners in the context of Iran through mixed methodology are very limited. Accordingly, this two-phase study aimed to investigate the effect multimodalities might have on reading comprehension and vocabulary retention of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, the first phase of the study included a sample of 30 male EFL learners selected through intact group sampling who were homogenized by using an OPT (Oxford Placement Test). Then they divided into experimental and control groups randomly. Passages used for experimental group were accompanied by visual images, videos, and audio tracks, while passages used for control group were the same texts without any of these. For conducting the second phase of the study, in the control group the teacher introduced the new vocabularies of each text only by their L2 definition but in the experimental group the teacher used L2 definition and image for introducing the new vocabularies. In the qualitative part of the study, an open-ended questionnaire and interview were used. By comparing pre-tests and post-tests using MANCOVA, the results showed the effectiveness of using multimodality in L2 reading classrooms and vocabulary retention of EFL learners. The analysis of the results obtained from the qualitative phase revealed that learners preferred texts to be accompanied by visual images.

Semantic network approaches view organization or representation of internal lexicon in the form of either spreading or hierarchical system identified, respectively, as Spreading Activation Model (SAM) and Hi- erarchical Network Model (HNM). However, the validity of either model is amongst the intact issues in the literature which can be studied through basing the instruction compatible with the principles of each model. In a bid to fill this gap, this study was designed to empirically verify the effectiveness of SAM compared to HNM in both developing and retention rate of vocabulary knowledge. To this end, 67 Ira- nian EFL learners were divided into two experimental groups (34 and 33) and one was exposed to HNM- based while the other to SAM-based vocabulary instruction for 10 sessions. In the light of group- comparison experimental design, the participants' both immediate achievement and long-term storage were measured through an immediate and a delayed post-tests, respectively. The parametric statistical analyses showed that the group being exposed to HNM-based instruction outperformed the other group in both the immediate and delayed post-tests. The findings bear two distinct messages: yielding support to more validity of HNM as a model of internal lexicon organization and supporting the educational implica- tions of cognitively compatible instruction of language components.

Despite all the studies conducted on second/foreign language (L2) vocabulary, most L2 learners suffer from deficiency in their vocabulary development and retention. One of the probable reasons behind this specifically in Iranian EFL context is that less implementation of new technologies such as CALL and Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Because the use of new language learning technologies is likely related to learner variables and personality differences, the present study attempted to examine the use of Moodle as an effective type of VLE on 90 introverted vs. extroverted EFL learners' vocabulary development and retention. Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), researcher-made and validated vocabulary tests used as pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest were employed for data collection. The application of two-way ANOVA indicated that Moodle had a significant positive effect on L2 vocabulary development and retention. However, introversion/extroversion personality factor could not moderate the effect of Moodle on vocabulary learning and retention. The interaction effect of the two independent variables on vocabulary development and retention was not significant as well. Study findings suggest that EFL practitioners and learners can employ Moodle as an effective VLE for L2 vocabulary achievement and retention.

The combination of implicit meaning-focused input and explicit instruction has been suggested by recent research as very effective for learning L2 vocabulary; however, the time sequence for such juxtaposition has not been adequately examined through empirical studies. Therefore, this study sought to find the optimal time for combining explicit and implicit L2 vocabulary instruction using an explanatory mixed-method design. A convenience sample of 62 upper-intermediate EFL learners from three intact classes participated in this study. The Test of Academic Word List (Version A) that assesses Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) was administered as a pertest. The reading book, Focus on Vocabulary 2, that has been developed based on the AWL was used for giving meaning-forced input. The target words were explicitly pre-taught in Class A (n=22), taught concurrent with encountering them in the reading text in Class B (n=20), and post-taught in Class C (n=22). Version B of the AWL Test was used as the posttest and after a 14-day retention interval (RI) as the delayed posttest. Then, 25% of the learners were orally interviewed about their attitudes toward the treatment they received. Quantitative data analysis using one-way ANCOVA revealed that explicit teaching during the reading was the optimal time and could help learners significantly do better on the immediate and delayed post-tests followed by pre-teaching. Qualitative analysis also verified the obtained quantitative results. The findings of this study imply that explicit vocabulary teaching during the reading should be practiced by EFL teachers/learners for fostering vocabulary development.</strong>

The use of podcasts in learning has been supported by distance education theories that deal with the role of interaction as well as communication in improving teaching and learning. New technologies such as podcasts can have influential learner support in distance education and address learner cognitive requirements by incorporating communication within study resources. The present study investigated the effects of learners’ autonomy on their vocabulary podcasting tasks, gain and retention in an E-learning context. Two separate one-way multivariate analysis of variance (one-way MANOVA) were run in order to answer the questions. The results revealed that autonomy levels significantly affected Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary gain and retention. The participants who had higher autonomy levels had higher levels of vocabulary gain as well as retention applying audio podcasts plus still pictures and audio podcasts plus animated pictures. As the effects of attitude and autonomy on language learning are unquestionable, the present study can help teachers and learners have better considerations of attitude and autonomy in an E-learning context.

This study investigated the impact of semantic clustering on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary retention at advanced level. Participants were female learners randomly assigned to two groups of 15. Four instruments (TOEFL test; vocabulary pretest; immediate posttest, and delayed recall posttest) were used. The experimental group underwent semantic clustering vocabulary presentation in which the learners were provided with six lists each containing ten semantically related words in sentences, while, the control group was provided with the same words but the sentences were presented in a random way containing different topics, not semantic groups. The results revealed the outperformance of the control group in the delayed recall posttest.