This study compared the effects of semantically related and unrelated word lists on Iranian EFL learners' short-term and long-term vocabulary recognition and retention. Sixty elementary students were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group learned words from semantically related lists while the control group learned from unrelated lists. Immediate and delayed vocabulary tests showed that the control group performed better on the immediate test, while the experimental group performed significantly better on the delayed test. The results suggest that semantically related word lists may facilitate better long-term vocabulary retention compared to unrelated lists.
The influence of personality traits on the use of memory english language lea...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims to find out the influence of personality traits on the choice and use of Memory English Language Learning Strategies (MELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language, and the role of personality traits in the prediction of use of such Strategies. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Memory English Language Learning Strategies based on Memory category of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) of Rebecca L. Oxfords (1990), A Background Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran, were volunteer to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that however, there is a significant relationship between four traits of personality and the choice and use of MELLSs, but personality traits cannot be as a strong predictor with high percent of contribution to predict the choice and use of the MELLSs.
The Correlation of Reading Comprehension Ability of Persian and English Langu...inventionjournals
: The present study aimed to investigate the relation between Iranian EFL students’ reading comprehension abilities of Persian which is supposed as their mother language (L1) and English as a target language (TL). In this regard, 109 Iranian students of some private school with the proficiency levels of intermediate are constituted in the study. Two types of standardized reading comprehension tests in both Persian and English languages were distributed to the participants without having any treatment. The analysis was done based on the students’ scores in the tests and the results showed that there is no significant correlation between their Persian and English comprehension abilities.
This study focused on fostering learning experiences and improving students’ oral communicative potential by lowering their anxiety through technology. The participants were EFL students at the Zand Higher Education Institute in Shiraz, Iran. Their responses to the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986) proved that they were suffering from some emotional factors; particularly anxiety interfering with their second language acquisition process. Voice Thread, an on-line program was introduced to them as a tool to achieve the above-mentioned goals. An oral survey based on items used by Von Worde (2003) showed this group of EFL language learners’ anxiety was alleviated by using the proposed tool. As speaking is one of the main productive skills in second language learning, the pedagogical implications of the study can be beneficial to both teachers and learners. The results can help teachers match instruction to learners’ needs.
The exploring nature of vocabulary acquisition and common main gaps in the cu...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
Vocabulary can be as a key factor for success, central to a language, and paramount to a
language learner. In such situation, the lexicon may be the most important component for
learners (Grass & Selinker, 1994), and mastering of vocabulary is an essential component of
second/foreign language teaching and learning that has been repeatedly acknowledge in
theoretical and empirical second/foreign language acquisition research. The intent of the current
study is to set out the nature of vocabulary acquisition alongside the expressing importance of
vocabulary acquisition. The importance of the present study is to explore the current studies of
vocabulary in order to find out common main gaps among such studies.
The relationship between the extraversion trait and use of the english langua...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims to find out the relationship between the Extraversion trait and use of the English Language Learning Strategies (ELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Persian adapted Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), a Background Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran were the volunteer to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the Extraversion trait and use of the each of three of the six categories of ELLSs (Memory Strategies, Meta-cognitive Strategies, and Social Strategies).
The influence of personality traits on the use of memory english language lea...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims to find out the influence of personality traits on the choice and use of Memory English Language Learning Strategies (MELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language, and the role of personality traits in the prediction of use of such Strategies. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Memory English Language Learning Strategies based on Memory category of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) of Rebecca L. Oxfords (1990), A Background Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran, were volunteer to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that however, there is a significant relationship between four traits of personality and the choice and use of MELLSs, but personality traits cannot be as a strong predictor with high percent of contribution to predict the choice and use of the MELLSs.
The Correlation of Reading Comprehension Ability of Persian and English Langu...inventionjournals
: The present study aimed to investigate the relation between Iranian EFL students’ reading comprehension abilities of Persian which is supposed as their mother language (L1) and English as a target language (TL). In this regard, 109 Iranian students of some private school with the proficiency levels of intermediate are constituted in the study. Two types of standardized reading comprehension tests in both Persian and English languages were distributed to the participants without having any treatment. The analysis was done based on the students’ scores in the tests and the results showed that there is no significant correlation between their Persian and English comprehension abilities.
This study focused on fostering learning experiences and improving students’ oral communicative potential by lowering their anxiety through technology. The participants were EFL students at the Zand Higher Education Institute in Shiraz, Iran. Their responses to the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al., 1986) proved that they were suffering from some emotional factors; particularly anxiety interfering with their second language acquisition process. Voice Thread, an on-line program was introduced to them as a tool to achieve the above-mentioned goals. An oral survey based on items used by Von Worde (2003) showed this group of EFL language learners’ anxiety was alleviated by using the proposed tool. As speaking is one of the main productive skills in second language learning, the pedagogical implications of the study can be beneficial to both teachers and learners. The results can help teachers match instruction to learners’ needs.
The exploring nature of vocabulary acquisition and common main gaps in the cu...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
Vocabulary can be as a key factor for success, central to a language, and paramount to a
language learner. In such situation, the lexicon may be the most important component for
learners (Grass & Selinker, 1994), and mastering of vocabulary is an essential component of
second/foreign language teaching and learning that has been repeatedly acknowledge in
theoretical and empirical second/foreign language acquisition research. The intent of the current
study is to set out the nature of vocabulary acquisition alongside the expressing importance of
vocabulary acquisition. The importance of the present study is to explore the current studies of
vocabulary in order to find out common main gaps among such studies.
The relationship between the extraversion trait and use of the english langua...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims to find out the relationship between the Extraversion trait and use of the English Language Learning Strategies (ELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Persian adapted Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), a Background Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran were the volunteer to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that there is a significant relationship between the Extraversion trait and use of the each of three of the six categories of ELLSs (Memory Strategies, Meta-cognitive Strategies, and Social Strategies).
The major thrust of this research has been a psycholinguistic analysis of effectiveness of topic familiarity and two types of translation tasks (from L1 to L2 and L2 to L1) on retention of incidental vocabulary learning for a longer duration. The effects of translation tasks and topic familiarity have been studied individually .However, the relative effect of topic familiarity conditions and translation in two directions have not been attended to in longer period of time. In doing so, thirty intermediate EFL students were asked to translate a few texts in two directions with two conditions of topic (un)familiarity .Each text contains some unknown words .The students were tested on these unknown words and the responses were examined in immediate and delayed post tests. The delayed post test session held after 2 weeks. The results show that, unlike the revised hierarchical model (RHM), translation task directions did not have significant effect on incidental vocabulary learning while retention was more effective with topic familiar texts in the both tests .In addition, topic familiarity of the texts play an important part in the process of incidental vocabulary learning. The article concludes with some suggestions for task designing and vocabulary teaching.
The current study examined the effects of using L1 in teaching grammatical instruction on the Iranian EFL learners’ grammatical accuracy. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 40 out of 50 EFL learners were selected through an Oxford placement test at Nasr Zabangostar Institute in Amol city. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. A pre-test of grammar was administered before the treatment. For treatment, the teacher explained the grammatical structures in their first language. In each session, one grammatical point was selected and taught in L1. In the control group, the grammatical points were taught in English as their target language. After treatment, a post-test of grammar was administered to screen the probable change. The result indicated that a significant effect on learners’ grammatical accuracy and the performances of the experimental group in grammatical accuracy was better than the control group after they were given instruction.
The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to the teacher’s attitude involved in oral communication of ESL students. The investigation was carried out at Bahawalpur, Pakistan. This research was reported on a survey study and used a questionnaire for the students and interview format for the teachers as tools to investigate the issue. The interview was taken from forty highly experienced ESL/EFL teachers; and for questionnaire almost 100 students from each college were selected, total 498 ESL students participated in this research. The data provided through interview from teacher was analyzed qualitatively and the data from the students was analyzed through SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The following conclusion was drawn from the data collected from this investigation: Instructor’s attitude motivates debilitating speaking factors. This investigation has proved explanatory implications and additionally this study also examined the attitudes and opinions of language teachers about second language learning and teaching. Furthermore, the research suggested a variety of strategies for learners to cope with second language anxiety.
This study focuses on the listening anxiety experienced by teacher candidates (TCs) in Iran and Turkey. Using different data collection methods, including two questionnaires, listening test, and semi-structured interviews, this study tried to investigate the factors behind Foreign Language Listening Anxiety (FLLA) among Iranian teacher candidates (TCs). The participants of the study in Iran context were 29 teacher candidates studying at BA level in English Language Teaching. All of the participants were asked to complete these two questionnaires with the background information regarding their age, gender, years of language study. The participants’ answers to FLLAS and FLCAS were analyzed with spss to obtain frequencies and percentages. The results were compared to the same study by Bekleyen. The findings revealed that Iranian TCs experienced a high level of FLLA compared to Turkish TCs and showed a significant positive correlation between FLLA and FLCA, which means that teacher candidates with higher levels of language anxiety tended to have higher levels of listening anxiety. In addition, interview data suggested that Iranian and Turkish participants’ FLLA mostly originated from the same source: inadequacy of past education in listening skill. Furthermore, practice was the most frequent strategy used by participants in these two countries to overcome this kind of anxiety.
The aim of this research study is to analyze the appropriateness of the English syllabus according to the true language needs, which is being offered to the students of International Relations Department of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. To carry out this research study, students of IR department (Part 1 and 2) have been taken as a sample population to collect required data. To check the appropriateness of the offered English syllabus and existing level of English language competence according to the students’ needs; two research tools have been taken as: test and interview. In order to get the actual feedback from the students, a test consisted of four basic skills of English (listening, speaking, reading and writing) was conducted to 50 students of IR department. Interview was conducted to the teachers of IR department in order to get the actual information about the appropriateness of the English syllabus and the competency level of the students. Collected data through both the sources were analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The findings from these sources provided the results which were expected before the accomplishment of this research work. The findings of this research advocated that the EAP should be adopted to make the existing syllabus appropriate and need based in order to refine the basic English language skills of the students. This recommended course is very productive for social sciences disciplines of the BZU.
Embarking The Six Thinking Hats in EFL Students’ Dissertation Writing at Saida University
Dr. Nadia Ghounane & Dr. Hanane Rabahi,
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Languages and Arts,
Saida University, Dr. Moulay Tahar, Algeria & Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters and Languages, Maghnia University Centre, Algeria
The present study aims to provide some helpful techniques that guide EFL students in writing essays based on de Bono’s The Six Thinking Hats, hoping that these techniques can help EFL Master Students in writing their dissertations. The researchers selected first-year Master's students at Dr. Moulay Tahar University, Saida. The sample of the study consists of 39 students forming the experimental group. Before starting the experiment, the group had a pretest. After that, they were taught how to use the Six Thinking Hats Approach in writing the abstract and general introduction. The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant difference between the results of the pretest and posttest. The result also indicated that the use of the Six Thinking Hats technique provides mechanisms that can enhance the EFL student’s writing skill mainly, in writing dissertations. It is recommended that more importance should be given to practice in developing students’ writing skills. This may enhance the teaching process by implementing techniques that include cognitive abilities in writing tasks that may also improve their critical thinking.
Keywords: Abstract and General Introduction Writing, Cognitive Abilities, Dissertation Writing, EFL Master Students, Six Thinking Hats
The Sixth International Conference on Languages, Linguistics, Translation and Literature
9-10 October 2021 , Ahwaz
For more information, please visit the conference website:
WWW.LLLD.IR
Language Needs Analysis for English Curriculum Validationinventionjournals
This study aims to identify the language needs analysis for English curriculum validation in the tertiary level. The descriptive method is utilized in the study and employed purposive sampling. This is also called judgmental sampling. A deliberate selection of individuals made by the researcher based on the predefined criteria. Three hundred forty nine (349) students were utilized as respondents to test their listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, identifying errors and correct usage. Result showed that identifying errors skills, writing skills, correct usage, reading skills and listening skills were significantly affected by the respondents profile since the computed P-value is greater than the significance level of 0.05. However, speaking skills and vocabulary skills show that they are not significant to the profile of the respondents.
This paper evaluates the linguistic and pedagogical skills of English language teachers in a multilingual milieu. The survey research method was adopted in this study. The target population for this study comprised teachers and students in public secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti. A total of one hundred teachers and one hundred students were drawn from three separate schools. A self-constructed questionnaire was carefully and specially designed to obtain the necessary data required for the execution of this study. Percentage and frequency counts were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that language teachers evaluate pedagogical contents regularly. It showed that the aspects teachers evaluated most were the cognitive skills of grammar, followed by essay writing but it is surprising that teachers do not frequently evaluate affective skills of oral English, comprehension and dictation. Moreover, of all the linguistic skills, listening, speaking and observation were less frequently evaluated while reading and writing were averagely evaluated. Finally, findings revealed some constraints to the effective pedagogical evaluation to include large classes, non-challant attitude of students, inadequate facilities, wide syllabus, lack of motivation, incompetence and inadequate time. Based on the findings, it was recommended that regular exposure to educational opportunities where teachers could be made to learn innovative evaluative techniques should be made available in schools.
The impact of structure on word meaning and fill in-the-blank tests procedure...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The purpose of research described in the current study to investigate the impact of structure knowing on two types of test, i.e. word-meaning test and fill-in-the-blank test, their correlation and procedures on both short-term and long-term retention of vocabulary items. The importance of the present study, to test the condition that learners are not allowed to use guess strategy or randomly answer the tests and they should give reason semantically for their answer, otherwise their answer, even is correct, is not scored. The population for subject recruitment was all undergraduate students from second semester at large university in Iran (both male and female) that study English as a compulsory paper. In Iran, English is taught as a foreign language.
The major thrust of this research has been a psycholinguistic analysis of effectiveness of topic familiarity and two types of translation tasks (from L1 to L2 and L2 to L1) on retention of incidental vocabulary learning for a longer duration. The effects of translation tasks and topic familiarity have been studied individually .However, the relative effect of topic familiarity conditions and translation in two directions have not been attended to in longer period of time. In doing so, thirty intermediate EFL students were asked to translate a few texts in two directions with two conditions of topic (un)familiarity .Each text contains some unknown words .The students were tested on these unknown words and the responses were examined in immediate and delayed post tests. The delayed post test session held after 2 weeks. The results show that, unlike the revised hierarchical model (RHM), translation task directions did not have significant effect on incidental vocabulary learning while retention was more effective with topic familiar texts in the both tests .In addition, topic familiarity of the texts play an important part in the process of incidental vocabulary learning. The article concludes with some suggestions for task designing and vocabulary teaching.
The current study examined the effects of using L1 in teaching grammatical instruction on the Iranian EFL learners’ grammatical accuracy. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 40 out of 50 EFL learners were selected through an Oxford placement test at Nasr Zabangostar Institute in Amol city. They were divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. A pre-test of grammar was administered before the treatment. For treatment, the teacher explained the grammatical structures in their first language. In each session, one grammatical point was selected and taught in L1. In the control group, the grammatical points were taught in English as their target language. After treatment, a post-test of grammar was administered to screen the probable change. The result indicated that a significant effect on learners’ grammatical accuracy and the performances of the experimental group in grammatical accuracy was better than the control group after they were given instruction.
The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to the teacher’s attitude involved in oral communication of ESL students. The investigation was carried out at Bahawalpur, Pakistan. This research was reported on a survey study and used a questionnaire for the students and interview format for the teachers as tools to investigate the issue. The interview was taken from forty highly experienced ESL/EFL teachers; and for questionnaire almost 100 students from each college were selected, total 498 ESL students participated in this research. The data provided through interview from teacher was analyzed qualitatively and the data from the students was analyzed through SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The following conclusion was drawn from the data collected from this investigation: Instructor’s attitude motivates debilitating speaking factors. This investigation has proved explanatory implications and additionally this study also examined the attitudes and opinions of language teachers about second language learning and teaching. Furthermore, the research suggested a variety of strategies for learners to cope with second language anxiety.
This study focuses on the listening anxiety experienced by teacher candidates (TCs) in Iran and Turkey. Using different data collection methods, including two questionnaires, listening test, and semi-structured interviews, this study tried to investigate the factors behind Foreign Language Listening Anxiety (FLLA) among Iranian teacher candidates (TCs). The participants of the study in Iran context were 29 teacher candidates studying at BA level in English Language Teaching. All of the participants were asked to complete these two questionnaires with the background information regarding their age, gender, years of language study. The participants’ answers to FLLAS and FLCAS were analyzed with spss to obtain frequencies and percentages. The results were compared to the same study by Bekleyen. The findings revealed that Iranian TCs experienced a high level of FLLA compared to Turkish TCs and showed a significant positive correlation between FLLA and FLCA, which means that teacher candidates with higher levels of language anxiety tended to have higher levels of listening anxiety. In addition, interview data suggested that Iranian and Turkish participants’ FLLA mostly originated from the same source: inadequacy of past education in listening skill. Furthermore, practice was the most frequent strategy used by participants in these two countries to overcome this kind of anxiety.
The aim of this research study is to analyze the appropriateness of the English syllabus according to the true language needs, which is being offered to the students of International Relations Department of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. To carry out this research study, students of IR department (Part 1 and 2) have been taken as a sample population to collect required data. To check the appropriateness of the offered English syllabus and existing level of English language competence according to the students’ needs; two research tools have been taken as: test and interview. In order to get the actual feedback from the students, a test consisted of four basic skills of English (listening, speaking, reading and writing) was conducted to 50 students of IR department. Interview was conducted to the teachers of IR department in order to get the actual information about the appropriateness of the English syllabus and the competency level of the students. Collected data through both the sources were analyzed qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The findings from these sources provided the results which were expected before the accomplishment of this research work. The findings of this research advocated that the EAP should be adopted to make the existing syllabus appropriate and need based in order to refine the basic English language skills of the students. This recommended course is very productive for social sciences disciplines of the BZU.
Embarking The Six Thinking Hats in EFL Students’ Dissertation Writing at Saida University
Dr. Nadia Ghounane & Dr. Hanane Rabahi,
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters, Languages and Arts,
Saida University, Dr. Moulay Tahar, Algeria & Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters and Languages, Maghnia University Centre, Algeria
The present study aims to provide some helpful techniques that guide EFL students in writing essays based on de Bono’s The Six Thinking Hats, hoping that these techniques can help EFL Master Students in writing their dissertations. The researchers selected first-year Master's students at Dr. Moulay Tahar University, Saida. The sample of the study consists of 39 students forming the experimental group. Before starting the experiment, the group had a pretest. After that, they were taught how to use the Six Thinking Hats Approach in writing the abstract and general introduction. The findings of the study revealed that there is a significant difference between the results of the pretest and posttest. The result also indicated that the use of the Six Thinking Hats technique provides mechanisms that can enhance the EFL student’s writing skill mainly, in writing dissertations. It is recommended that more importance should be given to practice in developing students’ writing skills. This may enhance the teaching process by implementing techniques that include cognitive abilities in writing tasks that may also improve their critical thinking.
Keywords: Abstract and General Introduction Writing, Cognitive Abilities, Dissertation Writing, EFL Master Students, Six Thinking Hats
The Sixth International Conference on Languages, Linguistics, Translation and Literature
9-10 October 2021 , Ahwaz
For more information, please visit the conference website:
WWW.LLLD.IR
Language Needs Analysis for English Curriculum Validationinventionjournals
This study aims to identify the language needs analysis for English curriculum validation in the tertiary level. The descriptive method is utilized in the study and employed purposive sampling. This is also called judgmental sampling. A deliberate selection of individuals made by the researcher based on the predefined criteria. Three hundred forty nine (349) students were utilized as respondents to test their listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, identifying errors and correct usage. Result showed that identifying errors skills, writing skills, correct usage, reading skills and listening skills were significantly affected by the respondents profile since the computed P-value is greater than the significance level of 0.05. However, speaking skills and vocabulary skills show that they are not significant to the profile of the respondents.
This paper evaluates the linguistic and pedagogical skills of English language teachers in a multilingual milieu. The survey research method was adopted in this study. The target population for this study comprised teachers and students in public secondary schools in Ado-Ekiti. A total of one hundred teachers and one hundred students were drawn from three separate schools. A self-constructed questionnaire was carefully and specially designed to obtain the necessary data required for the execution of this study. Percentage and frequency counts were used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that language teachers evaluate pedagogical contents regularly. It showed that the aspects teachers evaluated most were the cognitive skills of grammar, followed by essay writing but it is surprising that teachers do not frequently evaluate affective skills of oral English, comprehension and dictation. Moreover, of all the linguistic skills, listening, speaking and observation were less frequently evaluated while reading and writing were averagely evaluated. Finally, findings revealed some constraints to the effective pedagogical evaluation to include large classes, non-challant attitude of students, inadequate facilities, wide syllabus, lack of motivation, incompetence and inadequate time. Based on the findings, it was recommended that regular exposure to educational opportunities where teachers could be made to learn innovative evaluative techniques should be made available in schools.
The impact of structure on word meaning and fill in-the-blank tests procedure...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The purpose of research described in the current study to investigate the impact of structure knowing on two types of test, i.e. word-meaning test and fill-in-the-blank test, their correlation and procedures on both short-term and long-term retention of vocabulary items. The importance of the present study, to test the condition that learners are not allowed to use guess strategy or randomly answer the tests and they should give reason semantically for their answer, otherwise their answer, even is correct, is not scored. The population for subject recruitment was all undergraduate students from second semester at large university in Iran (both male and female) that study English as a compulsory paper. In Iran, English is taught as a foreign language.
Students’ Perceptions of Grammar Teaching and Learning in English Language Cl...iosrjce
The use of grammar teaching in the field of second language acquisition has been extensively
studied, but there is a lacuna in the literature, regarding the students’ perception of its importance. To
investigate this aspect, the study was conducted on a group of 15 students studying in Semester Five, in the
English Language Department of Misurata University, Libya. The students were interviewed in groups of three
with nine specific questions, and the responses were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The findings
revealed that although they all came from the same cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds, they had
different perceptions regarding the form focused instruction of grammar. The information gathered is of
considerable significance to ESL teachers who intend to meet students’ needs as well as reduce conflicts caused
by different perspectives between teachers and students regarding whether or not grammar teaching should be
encouraged in the classroom.
The Effect of Grammar vs. Vocabulary Pre-teaching on EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension: A Schema-Theoretic View of Reading - Dr. Ali Jahangard Assistant professor of Sharif University of Technology
Dr. Ahmad Moinzadeh Assistant professor of University of Isfahan
Akbar Karimi, M.A Student of Mobarakeh Board of Education, Isfahan Abstract
**** summary by www.sepatubordir.com
Reading plays a significant role in language learning and information communication. This study investigated the influence of content schema on Chinese English learners’ reading comprehension. Participants were 20 freshmen with the same English proficiency. Schema theory was adopted as the theoretical foundation. The results showed that: (1) Content schemata enhanced L2 learners’ reading comprehension performance; (2) Content schemata had a positive impact on the comprehension of expository passages and little effect on that of narrative passages; (3) Proficiency level correlated positively with reading comprehension performance. But the insufficiency of language knowledge could be supplemented by relevant schemata. Based on the above, some suggestions are provided for the teaching and learning of English.
The impact of personality traits on the affective category of english languag...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims at discovering the impact of personality traits in the prediction use of the Affective English Language Learning Strategies (AELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Affective English Language Learning Strategies based on Affective category of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) of Rebecca L. Oxfords (1990), A Background
Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran, were volunteers to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that although there is a significant relationship between each of the two traits of personality and use of the AELLSs, personality cannot be a strong predictor with high percentage of contribution to predict use of the AELLSs.
Running head THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NARRATIVE INPUT CHARTS 1 .docxtoltonkendal
Running head: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NARRATIVE INPUT CHARTS 1
The Effectiveness of Using a Narrative Input Chart on Learning Advanced Vocabulary
Student Name
EDGR 601
Instructor: Instructor Name
A Literature Survey Presented to
The Graduate Program in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Masters in Education
Concordia University - Portland
May, 2012
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NARRATIVE INPUT CHARTS 2
Literature Review
This literature review was undertaken in an effort to investigate the question: how does
the use of narrative input charts improve the understanding of advanced science vocabulary
among seventh grade science students? In order for students to be ready for entry level college
coursework they must have excellent reading comprehension skills. The relationship between
vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension is herein considered. Additionally, ineffective
and effective vocabulary instruction strategies are described.
In 2005, ACT college admissions test results showed that high school students in the
United States do not have the reading comprehension skills needed for entry level college
coursework (ACT, Inc. 2006). According to the 2005 ACT-scores for high school graduates,
51% were ready for college level reading (ACT, Inc. 2006). The percentage of college readiness
was even lower for some groups. It is known that 49% of male students demonstrated readiness
and 33% of students with family incomes less than $30, 000/year demonstrated readiness.
Minority student’s scores were low as well. The results showed that 21% African American,
33% Hispanic, and 36% Native American students met the readiness benchmark for reading
(ACT, Inc. 2006). ACT further reports that since 1996 scores have steadily declined resulting in
the 51% being the lowest in the past twelve years (ACT, Inc. 2006).
The Relationship between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension
In this literature review the relationship between the acquisition of academic vocabulary
and improved reading comprehension is examined. The purpose of learning new words is to
improve reading comprehension (Beck, McKowen & Kucan, 2008). Many research studies
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NARRATIVE INPUT CHARTS 3
conducted over the course of many years have concluded that acquiring rich and varied
vocabulary is critical in improving student reading comprehension (National Governors
Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Harmon,
Hedrick and Wood (2005) report that student difficulty in understanding their textbooks results
from a lack of vocabulary knowledge. It has been shown that students that received high scores
on vocabulary tests also scored high on reading comprehension tests. It is also known that early
vocabulary knowledge can predict reading comprehension skills well into high school (Beck et
al., 2008). Of g ...
Use of the metacognitive english language learning strategies based on person...Dr. Seyed Hossein Fazeli
The present study aims to find out the relationship between use of the Metacognitive English Language Learning Strategies (MELLSs) for learners of English as a foreign language based on personality traits, and the role of personality traits in the prediction of use of such Strategies. Four instruments were used, which were Adapted Inventory for Metacognitive English Language Learning Strategies based on Metacognitive category of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) of Rebecca L. Oxfords (1990), A Background Questionnaire, NEO-Five Factors Inventory (NEO-FFI), and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Two hundred and thirteen Iranian female university level learners of English language as a university major in Iran, were asked to participate in this research work. The intact classes were chosen. The results show that however, there is a significant relationship between four traits of personality and use of the MELLSs, but personality traits cannot be as a strong predictor with high percent of contribution to predict use of the MELLSs.
Research topic Comparing the effect of paired versus repeat.docxbrittneyj3
Research topic: Comparing the effect of paired versus repeated reading on improving Saudi EFL students' reading fluency.
Introduction
Fluency reading in one of acquired skill that is significantly important in formal communication. The art of reading involves coordination of brain functions and eyes. However, fluency in reading is an improved skill that can acquired through practice. People with physical or mental impairment might have difficulty in reading. All students in a class have distinct reading abilities. In prompting their fluency in reading, the two methods is applied; paired and repeated reading. In paired reading, two or more students are grouped and subjected to similar reading material assessing the reading pattern for each. Every student here will exhibit a unique reading style to compete with others. On the other hand, in repeated reading, students with fluency reading difficulties are subjected to repeat reading exercise in which assessment in done on every stage acquainting the level of fluency (Gorsuch, & Taguchi, 2008).
Saudi Arabia is an Arabic speaking nation. Their countries first language is Arabic. Their English learning experience is greatly hampered by reading difficulty since it’s a foreign (second) language. A study done in one of Saudi EFL teachers college showed that the student had a significant interest in learning how to improve their reading experience. It was discovered that, at least 20% of those interested in English, had a significant competitive experience in acquiring the standard rate of fluency in reading (Williams, 2013). Some of the factors highlighted as leading impediment to the improved fluency reading were; difficulty in understanding the meaning of the text, spelling and pronunciation problems, difficulty in scanning and skimming, limited vocabulary, syntactic parsing difficulty among others.
There are many ways of enhancing fluency reading skills. These skills can better be improved during younger ages of the reader. However, fluency in reading can be improved by training children to read aloud. These provide a clear model for fluent reading during elementary periods of learning ( Chang,2010) . Fluency can also be enhanced when learners listens to an audio recording and systematically listening along the audio. It can also be attained through practice sight words using playful activities.
Learners can enhance their reading fluency through training and performance in reading theaters or spoken word competitions. ( Al-Otaibi, 2004), choral reading is a practice by which the teacher reads an enlarged text several time until the leaner’s master the text and can fluently read it on their own. This is also another way of improving fluency reading( Kuhn , 2015 ). The prime purpose in this study is to compare the significance of the two basic methods of improving fluency among the EFL students and how the counteracting effects on the methods.
Problem o.
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2. Ebrahimi, M., & Akbari, O.
92 Consortia Academia Publishing
The effect of semantically related and unrelated vocabularies on EFL learners’
short-term and long term recognition and retention
1. Introduction
Vocabulary is the “building blocks of language” (Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham, 2001, p. 33) Considered by
some to be “the single most important aspects of foreign language learning” (Knight, 1994, p. 285).Vocabulary
constitutes the basis of language (Laufer et al., 1997). Because of significance of vocabulary learning tasks it is
evident that many second language teachers feel uncertain about how to guide students and this result to
controversy among teachers. So, one of the issues that all student and teachers and material developers and
researchers agreed upon is that the most important element of each second language learning is learning
vocabulary (Groot, 2006). A well-established question in the field of teaching second language vocabulary is this
better to teach L2 vocabulary in semantic grouping or not?
1.1 Statement of the Problem
The current empirical research is an endeavor to plug the gap in the literature on the effects of teaching
semantically related and unrelated sets on Iranian EFL student’s long term and its differences with the short-
term retention to see which group leads to better retention. In line with what has been discussed so far, teachers
also can become aware of how to manage learner’s exposures to the target words during short and long term.
1.2 Significance of the study
In the view of the above discussion, attempts is made to trace the development of previous works and beside
that the present scrutiny aims at identifying EFL Iranian learner's performance in two sets of related and
unrelated words in short and long term period and analyzing the best technique for teaching vocabulary; through
semantically related or unrelated clustering.
1.3 Research questions
The study was guided by four research questions:
Q1: Is there any significant difference between the immediate students’ recognition knowledge of
semantically related and unrelated sets?
Q2: Is there any significant difference between the delayed students’ recognition knowledge of
semantically related and unrelated sets?
2. Literature Review
The following sections provide theoretical and experimental evidence against and in favor of teaching
related clustering.
2.1 Arguments that support presenting vocabulary in semantically linked groups
The most important principle in support of related cluster derived from linguistic theory of Semantic Field
which posits that rather than being presented in a random list, vocabulary is organized by interrelationship
between words, i.e., the mind group vocabulary by making association in meaning (Wilcox & Medina, 2013).
Semantic Field theory which was the focus of many researchers reached its puberty by the idea of German
scholar J. Trier in the 1930s, whose work has brought honor to having "opened a new phase in the history of
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International Journal of Research Studies in Education 93
semantics" (Ullmann, 1957). They claimed that this technique suggested that there is network of semantic field
in human brain (Aitchison, 1994; Carter & McCarthy, 1988; Lewis, 1997; McCarthy, 1990; Rogers, 1996) and
individual is going to recall words according to the conceptual mapping in the brain (Aitchison, 1994, 1996).
Those lexical units which belong to the same semantic category arranged in complex network, in which every
single concept has its link to other related notions (See Aitchison, 1994).
2.2 Having considered the justification of presenting words in semantic set, in this section, researchers
introduce contrary opinion by other researchers
Scholars such as Allen (1983) and Bowen (1985) have posited that lexical problems interfere with
communication; in other words, wrong use of words breaks down communication. Also vocabulary has been
regarded as a major constituent of language tests. Two theoretical ideas against semantic clustering are
interference theory and the distinctiveness hypothesis (Wilcox & Medina, 2013). Delving into psychology of the
first half of this century, different varieties of researchers dedicated to the study of "interference" and " the
distinctiveness hypothesis". According to Interference theory (Baddeley, 1990; Higa, 1963), Waring (1997)
asserted that “when words are being learned at the same time, but are too ‘similar’ or share too many common
elements, these words will interfere with each other thus impairing retention of them” (pp. 261-262), because
traces in the brain compete with each other. According to Interference theory which developed by McGeoch
(1942) presenting L2 vocabulary in semantic set may impede rather than facilitate vocabulary learning.
Behavioristic explained interference as:
The use of the first language (or other languages known) in a second language context when the
resulting second language form is incorrect (McGeoch, 1942. p. 455).
Interference theory hypothesis act in two ways: 1) Retroactive interference / inhibition and 2) Proactive
interference/inhibition. Retroactive inhibition is difficulty recalling old information because of interference of
newly learned material while Proactive inhibition is difficulty in learning new items because of already existing
information (Gass & Selinker, 2008). So, according to interference theory the more similarities between new
information which is going to be learnt, the more difficulty happens in retaining them. Regarding learning some
words (like fork, knife and spoon) their learning has been impeded rather than facilitated (for examples, see
Crowder, 1976). Erten (2008), in their study investigated student's recalling ability in vocabulary test which
comprised of related and unrelated words. They reached to this conclusion that semantically related words toke
longer time to retain than unrelated set of words.
Another theoretical view "distinctiveness hypothesis" (see Hunt & Elliott, 1980; Hunt & Mitchell, 1982)
assumes that non similarity of information or words which are supposed to be learnt, facilitate learning.
3. Methodology
3.1 Participants
This study was carried out in Meraj-e- Andisheh Institute in Mashhad, Iran. The researcher felt at ease in
choosing this institute, because she has worked there for so many years. However the researcher made
arrangements to meet the authorities of the faculty to prepare the setting for the start of the study. This study was
conducted with 60 Iranian elementary EFL learners. The subject of study divided into two groups of 30 students.
Their level of English language in this Institute was elementary based on their scores on Institute’s Standard
Placement Test.
Their age range was 12-14 years old, female with Persian as their first language disaggregated by two
classes. The research sample selection was based on Non-probability sampling; the researcher had easy access to
the subjects. So, choosing subject is based on convenience strategy. They took part in regular English classes and
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each semester takes two and half months, even days for girls. Since students were eager to develop their English
proficiency to be able to use concrete words as the outset means of making communication, they were motivated
enough to learn vocabulary through the procedure in this study. Due to lake of time on the part of researcher she
could not manage all classes simultaneously, so two teachers had been chosen to carry out the research
procedures. They were trained and skillful teachers who pass TTC course and are known as well-chosen and
motivated elementary level teachers in this institute.
3.2 Instrument
It seems important to ensure about the subject's homogeneity in proficiency level, so they were supposed to
have taken a standard placement test of Institute before putting into starter Hip Hip Horray classes. On the whole,
2 types of instrument will be implemented in this study to collect the research data. The instrumentation used in
this study included a standard and validated test.
Immediate Recall posttest - Two groups of participants were tested on two types of clustering. The first
group was SR group; the second group is SU group. At the end of each session, semantically related and
semantically unrelated instruction to each class, students were taken a recall matched test with eight items in
each test. The subjects had 1 minute’s time for each item in the list to study carefully.
Delayed recall posttest - Delayed recall posttest shed light on the delayed effects of vocabulary type of
categorization on acquisition. To accomplish this aim an overall test of related and unrelated vocabulary was
handed out to students and they were required to answer this overall matching test. This exam took about 10
minutes time of the last session.
3.3 Procedure
First of all, researcher insured about homogeneity of learners by considering placement test of the institute
which was based on Hip Hip Horray book. The researcher made a 30 item matching test and did a pilot study on
a smaller group of 15 subjects. The reliability was calculated to be 0.94. To make the test valid, the researcher
made a correlation between the students` grades on their final exam of the preceding semester and their grades
on the researcher’s test in the pilot study. The correlation was 0.8116. Then, the researcher acquired the
necessary permissions to conduct the study from Meraj- e- Andisheh Institute. Two instructors volunteered to
administer the tests on the students. The instructors distributed the consent forms to the subjects and read aloud
to them the recruitment statement to participate in the study. The students were analyzed in two groups: 1) One
group: semantically-related clustering (SR), 2) The other group: semantically unrelated clustering (SU).
There were 64 words which were divided into two groups. The 32 related words and 32 unrelated words.
Selecting vocabulary was based on some criteria; they should be physically concrete , easy to learn, or in other
words, they should be from the same level of difficulty, each word should not be longer than the other word in
the list (Ellis & Beaton, 1993; Erten, 1998), each word should be of the same syllable as the other words.
Vocabulary lesson consisted of presenting 8 related words in one class and 8 unrelated words the other class by
providing picture for each word and the process continue in this way. These words were selected from words
which were unknown to the students. In each session, students were exposed to a list of 8 vocabulary items by
distributing flashcards and pictures. The subjects had 1 minute’s time for each item in the list to study carefully.
Class 1 - The teacher who had chosen 8 related words show students the flashcards which consists of
written form of words and their equivalent pictures and he encouraged them to learn words by repeating the
words one by one after teacher, in order to facilitate their learning.
Class 2 - Each student was given a set of flashcards and teacher show the words and picture to them. In this
group, students were required to learn 8 unrelated words.
So the subjects were required to study them for a total of 8 minutes for each set. After eight minutes, the
5. Effect of related and unrelated vocabularies on learners’ short-term and long term recognition and retention
International Journal of Research Studies in Education 95
participants were instructed to stop referring to the lists.
At the end of each session an immediate post-test would be handed out to students in order to scrutinize
their vocabulary retrieval in matching test format. A matching test was used to check the learners’ recognition of
the words during one session. It took about 8 minutes. Each subject was required to turn to the paper, which
contained the eight English words on one column eight scrambled pictures on the other column. They were
required to choose the best picture for each item. After 8 sessions of teaching related and unrelated words, an
overall delayed test of these words was taken from students to see the student’s performance during such a
longer period of time. This delayed recall test was administered two weeks after the last instruction in order to
prevent memory effect. The aim of the posttest was to reveal the efficacy of the instruction provided to the
experimental and control groups during the semester. It deserved to be mentioned that immediate recall post- test
and delayed recall post-test were the same in the vocabulary selection, but the order in which they were
presented in the matching test were different.
4. Result and discussion
Following the data collection, the participants’ vocabulary learning proficiency levels were measured on the
basis of their performances in two groups. In order to answer the research questions, the data were then
submitted to statistical analysis.
Inferential statistics - Researchers use inference analysis to generalize their results from sample to
population (Gay & Airasian, 2003). Besides descriptive statistics, ANCOVA test was run in order to compute the
differences between the means of the experimental and control group students.
Assumptions of ANCOVA - An ANCOVA was used to test statistical procedures for the pretest–posttest
comparisons of the two groups using SPSS software. According to Pallant (2007), “the scores of the pre-test are
treated as the covariate to ‘control’ for pre-existing differences between the groups. Preliminary checks of the
data were conducted to test the ANCOVA assumptions. Therefore, this assumption of the ANCOVA was met.
4.1 Research findings
Analysis of Hypothesis for Research Question 1
Q1: Is there any significant difference between the immediate students’ recognition knowledge of
semantically related and unrelated sets?
HO1. There is no significant difference between the immediate students’ recognition knowledge of
semantically related and unrelated sets.
Alternative hypothesis: There is no significant difference between the immediate students’ recognition
knowledge of semantically related and unrelated sets.
First, in order to see whether we are able to use a parametric test, we should check whether the data have
been normally distributed or not. If the level of significance is more than 0.05, it indicates the normality of data
distribution. Therefore, we can use parametric test for further data analysis.
4.2 Test of Normality
So the researcher applied Kolmogorov-Smirov Test to insure about normality of variables under study
(according to the following hypothesis).
H0. The data are normally distributed.
H1. The data are not normally distributed.
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As it is evident from Table 1, the result of normality test shows that p values of two groups are more than
significance level (0.05).Therefore; we can accept the assumption of normality. So, we can use T-Test for
comparing the results of pretest and posttest in this study.
Table 1
One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test
Group
PRE
DELAYED
POST
DELAYED
PRE IMMEDIATE
POST
IMMEDIATE
Experimental
N 30 30 30 30
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z 1.095 1.095 .670 .787
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .182 .182 .761 .566
Control
N 30 30 30 30
Kolmogorov-Smirnov Z .700 .700 .711 .792
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .711 .711 .693 .558
The homogeneity of Variance - The two-way ANCOVA with the Levene’s Test of Equality of Error
Variance was used to check that the assumption of equality of variance was met (Pallant, 2007). According to
Pallant, the significant value should be greater than .05. Pallant (2007) asserted that if “this value is smaller
than .05 (and therefore significant), this means your variances are not equal and that you have violated the
assumption” (p. 308). In this study, the assumption was met. The significance was .298, which was greater
than .05, so the variances are homogenized.
Table 2
Levene's Test of Equality of Error Variances - Dependent Variable: POST IMMEDIATE
F df1 df2 Sig
1.102 1 58 .298
Examining Table 2 suggested that all tests meet Levene’s formal test of homogeneity of variance.
An ANCOVA was used to analyze vocabulary teaching technique’s main effect. The independent variables
were the instructional method composed of presenting related and unrelated sets of words and dependent
variable was short-term retention of EFL Iranian learners at elementary level. The pre-test score on both kinds of
tests; related and unrelated, was the covariate. The results were significant was F (71.409) =.000. The data show
that there is significant difference between the immediate students’ recognition knowledge of semantically
related and unrelated sets. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected (Table 3).
Table 3
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects - Dependent Variable: POST IMMEDIATE
Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 62.902 2 31.451 36.811 .000
Intercept 264.817 1 264.817 309.945 .000
PRE IMMEDIATE 1.393 1 1.393 1.630 .207
group 61.012 1 61.012 71.409 .000
Error 48.701 57 .854
Total 1240.438 60
Corrected Total 111.603 59
Still another justification for rejecting Null hypothesis according to Figure 1 is that, the mean score of
control and experimental group are respectively 7.99 and 3.325 and indicating that control group performed
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International Journal of Research Studies in Education 97
better in post immediate test compared to experimental group, so the null hypothesis is rejected.
Figure 1. Bar plot for control and experimental groups for Post Immediate
Analysis of Hypothesis for Research Question 2
Q2: Is there any significant difference between the delayed students’ recognition knowledge of
semantically related and unrelated sets?
HO2: There is no significant difference between the delayed students’ retention of semantically related
and unrelated sets.
Alternative hypothesis: There is no significant difference between the delayed students’ retention of
semantically related and unrelated sets.
Examining Table 4 suggested that all tests meet Levene’s formal test of homogeneity of variance. Levene’s
Test of Homogeneity of variance assumes that the groups contain equal population variances (Tabachnick &
Fidell, 2001). To ensure that the hypotheses tests fit the assumption, Levene’s test of homogeneity was used to
determine if the variances were equal. Because the Levene statistic was not significant at the .05 level in each
group, the researcher assumed that the groups have equal variances.
Table 4
Bar plot for control and experimental groups for POST DELAYED
F df1 df2 Sig
1.159 1 58 .296
Table 5
Tests of Between-Subjects Effects - Dependent Variable: POST DELAYED
Source Type III Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Corrected Model 30.215 2 15.108 65.027 .000
Intercept .120 1 .120 .518 .482
PRE DELAYED 11.927 1 11.927 51.337 .000
group 6.334 1 6.334 27.265 .000
Error 3.950 57 .232
Total 984.641 60
Corrected Total 34.165 59
An ANCOVA was used to analyze vocabulary teaching technique’s main effect. The independent variables
were the instructional method composed of presenting related and unrelated sets of words and dependent
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variable was long-term retention of EFL Iranian learners at elementary level. The pre-test score on both kinds of
tests; related and unrelated, was the covariate. The results of table 5 were significant, F (6.334) =.000. The data
show that there is significant difference between delayed students’ recognition knowledge of semantically related
and unrelated sets. Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
Still another justification for rejecting Null hypothesis according to Figure 2 is that, the mean score of
control and experimental group are respectively 8.0067 and 11.8 indicating that experimental group performed
better in post immediate test compared to control group, so the null hypothesis is rejected.
Figure 2. Bar plot for control and experimental groups for POST DELAYED
5. Conclusion
About the first research question, there is significant difference between student’s recognition of
semantically related and semantically unrelated sets during short period of time, the result manifested that
unrelated vocabulary instruction was more useful during short period of time. The finding was in line with the
work of some previous researches which have done so far by other researchers. According Nation’s (2000)
interference theory, the interference between the related words through the learning process can be harmful since
this may lead to more difficulties in learning. He suggested that “words should occur in the normal
communication situations, not in conditioned, language- focused activities” (p. 5). So, he recommended teaching
words separately. As interference theory provides considerable explanation of the problems semantic clustering
can cause in the acquisition of vocabulary.
Unrelated words can also be advantageous over related words in which the former leads to acquisition,
while the later simulates learning. Unrelated words occur more naturally than sets of semantically related words
that rarely applied in the real world. Therefore, this finding was in line with that of Scarcella and Oxford (1992).
According to their idea, presenting unrelated words creates authentic environment and facilitate learning.
In regard to the second question, the result indicated that, there was significant difference between student’s
recognition of semantically related and unrelated sets during long period of time. Here, the researcher examined
the effect of long term and short term on retention of vocabulary recognition ability by considering the amount
of vocabulary retention by student’s score. This manifested that semantically related group outperformed
semantically unrelated sets. Two factors contribute to the priority of using semantically related set over
semantically unrelated sets during long period of time, which include: practicing and applying memory
strategies.
Our finding suggested that in long term retrieval better performance was achieved which was the result of
practice. Practice phase not only provided faster recognition but also it has been observed that it eliminates
forgetting after a long period of time. Practice especially with long term was advantageous. In the case of
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International Journal of Research Studies in Education 99
retrieval practice, long term retention benefited from retrieval practices. Two arguments have been formulated
here, retrieval was attempted soon after the initial study, or subsequently retrieval attempts occur after
progressively longer delays. The assumption regarding the grouping words is that, on the basis of Oxford’s
grouping memory strategy, grouping items according to a common attribute lead learner to make association
between them and so it can be helpful for learning. In one study by Khayef and Khoshnevis (2012), they
presented contradictory result to the present research. Semantic clustering group performed better in immediate
posttest but not on delayed posttest and consequently had less impact on retention. Still in the same study by
Ramezani and Behrouzi (2013), they discovered that in the delayed recall posttests control group outperformed
their peers in the experimental group and could retain a larger proportion of the words in long term.
From this study, teachers may gain insights into the role of both presenting words in semantic grouping and
random grouping. Teachers should be aware of situations in which semantically related sets and semantically
unrelated sets can be beneficial and they should try to apply the best and efficient method for short term and long
term purposes. Therefore, the methodology for teaching vocabulary must match the learning strategies.
Semantically related sets can be an important factor in increasing student’s vocabulary size as well as
semantically unrelated sets. They can have a number of advantages for teachers, dictionary developers and also
material developers.
Knowledgeable teachers in the field of vocabulary strategies could plan their lessons more efficiently and
also they can help their students in selection of strategy. In other words, the methodology for teaching
vocabulary must match the learning strategies. If teachers decide to introduce related words at once, students
should be aware of interfering effects. They also should help learners to find explicit strategies to keep the words
separate in their minds or they should encourage students to use memory strategy for learning vocabulary to
make association between related objects. It is important to find effective methods and strategies for presenting
new vocabularies to learners in general. This method enriches learner’s vocabulary, so some books like Oxford
picture dictionary are effective especially for elementary learners in order to increase their vocabulary size
especially in the case of learning words in semantic clusters. The finding can be helpful for material developers,
especially those who are interested in lexical sets and vocabulary development. From this perspective, they
should develop materials which help learners avoid the interfering effect. It is expected that more consideration
will be devoted to the theoretical backbone of vocabulary books before publishing.
In conclusion, EFL teachers should teach vocabulary by using different methods instead of just focusing on
one method. It means both vocabulary teaching methods; related and unrelated proved to be useful for increasing
students’ vocabulary domain. One suggestion to researchers who are interested in second language vocabulary
learning is to study the effect of teaching vocabulary through these methods in online setting (by using Twitter or
YouTube). The author suggests further researches investigating the effectiveness of semantically related and
unrelated grouping for teaching and learning vocabulary for higher proficient EFL learners in Iran. There is a
possibility that the result might lead to different findings from the current study and may prove otherwise.
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