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Showing 10 results for Vocabulary
Abbas Ali Zarei, Mehdi Dadebiglo,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2008)
Abstract
The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of computer-mediated interaction and face-to-face oral interaction on the recognition and production of vocabulary by Iranian learners of English. To this end, 128 male and female high and low proficiency level learners of English participated in the study. Recognition and production of target words were assessed by receptive and productive, oral and written measures. Four independent two-way ANOVA procedures were used to analyse the data. Results showed that the computer-mediated interaction group at both levels (advanced & elementary) outperformed the face-to-face oral interaction group on both written and oral vocabulary recognition and production tests. It also turned out that although the low-proficiency level learners' written vocabulary recognition was affected by computer-mediated interaction more than that of the high-proficiency level learners, the latter experienced greater gains in written vocabulary production. The findings show that Computer-mediated interaction can be advantageous to vocabulary teaching and learning.
Is’haaq Akbarian,
Volume 13, Issue 1 (3-2010)
Abstract
This small-scale study investigates (a) whether academic vocabulary compares in development with vocabulary breadth and depth for Iranian ESP/EAP learners and, if the answer is positive, (b) whether this trend of development happens across proficiency levels. Fifty-seven graduate students served as the subjects who were also divided into high and low groups based on whether they had acquired the most frequent 2,000 words. Multiple regression analysis results show much shared variance between breadth and depth tests, and academic vocabulary test for the participants as a whole group. Therefore, as learners’ vocabulary breadth and depth increase, so does their academic vocabulary. A similar finding is also observed for the high group and low group. However, the finding for the low group is contrary to our expectation. The results suggest more systematic vocabulary development for the high group, less for the participants as a whole group, and least in the low group. This investigation has some implications for language, and more particularly vocabulary, instruction for ESP/EAP purposes in Iran.
Ali Roohani, Zeinab Saba,
Volume 13, Issue 2 (9-2010)
Abstract
Vocabulary learning is one of main components of L2 teaching. However, there is no consensus on the best method of teaching/learning vocabulary. Recently, some researchers (e.g. Kim, 2008 Keating, 2008) have emphasized the task-based instruction in contrast with the traditional method of Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP). This study investigates the comparative effect of pedagogical tasks (PTs) and PPP instruction on L2 vocabulary learning among Iranian EFL learners. To this end, 72 intermediate EFL learners in the Jahad-e-Daneshgahi Language Centre in Shahrekord participated in the study. They were randomly divided into 2 groups: one group received PPP instruction and the other group received task-based instruction. The participants in the task group were further assigned into 2 PT groups: one of them received “listen-and-do” and the other one received “complete-the-chart” task instructions. To collect data, an L2 vocabulary test consisting of 30 multiple-choice items was used as pre-tests and post-tests. The results of covariate analyses on the vocabulary test scores in a pre-test post-test design showed that the two types of PTs had a significant positive effect on the vocabulary mean scores, suggesting that such tasks were more effective than PPP instruction in vocabulary learning/teaching. However, the treatment effect between the two types of PTs was not significantly different. Finally, pedagogical implications are presented.
Mahmood Reza Atai, Fatemeh Nikuinezhad,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2012)
Abstract
This study was designed to assess the relative contributions of vocabulary and syntactic knowledge as predictors of reading comprehension performance. It also sought to investigate the interrelationship between syntactic and word knowledge and reading comprehension performance. Participants included 159 male freshman and sophomore Iranian high school students. Data were collected through the reading section of a retired version of Preliminary English Test (2004), Vocabulary Levels Test, Word Associates Test, and Syntactic Knowledge Test. The results revealed that both grammar and vocabulary scores correlated positively with reading comprehension scores. Also, vocabulary correlated significantly with reading comprehension but not as strongly as syntactic knowledge did. Our analysis revealed that syntax explains a larger portion of the reading variance. To examine whether depth / breadth of vocabulary knowledge or syntax may have more predictive power in reading comprehension performance, multiple-regression analysis was conducted. Beta values indicated that grammar made statistically significant contribution to reading comprehension, although other variables explained the variance on the reading test. The results offer new insights into the significant mediating influence that learner’s knowledge of grammar may have in reading comprehension at low intermediate level.
Ali Roohani, Hajar Khalilian,
Volume 15, Issue 1 (3-2012)
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between metacognitive awareness and 2 aspects of vocabulary knowledge (i.e., declarative versus skill) in “more explicit” and “less explicit” language learning groups. Also, it investigates whether declarative aspect, operationalized in vocabulary size, and skill aspect, operationalized in the productive use of vocabulary, differ in the more explicit and less explicit language learning groups. To these ends, 80 Iranian EFL learners, majoring in English Translation at Shahrekord and Esfahan Payam-e-Noor Universities were selected through Oxford Placement Test. Schraw’s (1994) Metacognitive Awareness Test was used to measure the participants’ degree of the explicit knowledge Nation’s (1990) Vocabulary Levels Test and Laufer and Nation’s (1999) Productive Vocabulary Levels Test were also used to measure their skill and declarative knowledge, respectively. Correlational statistics indicated a significant and positive correlation between metacognitive awareness and declarative knowledge, but a significant and negative correlation between metacognitive awareness and skill aspect of vocabulary. Moreover, t tests indicated that the more explicit group was better in the declarative aspect whereas the less explicit one was better in the skill aspect of vocabulary knowledge. The findings shed light on the cognitive dimension of vocabulary learning.
,
Volume 17, Issue 2 (9-2014)
Abstract
This paper provides a fairly detailed corpus-based vocabulary profile of the Iranian EFL books used in public schools. To this end, the WordPerfect files of all the seven books were converted to text format to get rid of the formatting features and be compatible with the software used for analysis. The software tools used were the Compleat Lexical Tutor suite, version 6.2 (Cobb, 2011), AntConc (Anthony, 2012), and AntWord Profiler (Anthony, 2012). The output of the analysis included general counts of words in Iranian school books at different levels, the frequent function and content words, frequent n-grams, frequent metalinguistic words, the coverage of several well-known, corpus-based word lists in these books, the range of the words across the books, and the amount of vocabulary recycling. The paper discusses the vocabulary representativeness and recycling and the adequacy of exposure to English in these EFL books. Detailed word frequency tables as well as some practical implications of the quantitative results constitute important features of this article.
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Volume 17, Issue 2 (9-2014)
Abstract
Incidental vocabulary learning is often seen as superior to direct instruction on many occasions. Meanwhile, upon the emergence of the World Wide Web, second language (SL) learners have been introduced to 'podcasts' (recorded audio and video online broadcasts) which could be authentic sources of vocabulary learning. The relatively recent phenomenon of video podcast (vodcast) might be considered as a reliable complementary source of input to the written text or the audio track which are predominantly used to represent the platforms of SL instruction. To examine this assertion, three groups of Iranian EFL learners (n=63) were independently exposed to different modes of input (the reading text, audio track, and vodcast) during a series of classroom sessions under highly controlled circumstances. Immediate and delayed passive recall tests of vocabulary were administered to investigate their incidental gains. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed that both dependent variables (immediate and delayed recall) were significantly affected by the input modes. The post-hoc tests indicated no significant difference between the written and the audio groups while the vodcast group significantly outperformed the other two. The rich contextual clues made available by this audiovisual source seem to account for its superiority.
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Volume 17, Issue 2 (9-2014)
Abstract
This study investigated the role of interactive output tasks in developing EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge. The participants were 103 elementary female Iranian EFL learners who were randomly divided into three groups: input-only, input-output-no-interaction, and input-output-interaction. After all participants took a placement test and a vocabulary pretest, the input-only group was exposed to input tasks, while the other two groups received both input and output tasks with or without interaction. Then, all the participants took a vocabulary posttest. The results of ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests showed that the participants in both the input-output-no-interaction group and the input-output-interaction group outperformed the ones in the input-only group in the vocabulary posttest (in both the overall vocabulary test and in the productive vocabulary section). Moreover, the results of the t-test and the Mann-Whitney test revealed that the participants in the interaction and no-interaction groups performed similarly on both the overall vocabulary posttest and the productive vocabulary section. The findings of this study support the idea that output is a facilitative factor for the acquisition of L2 vocabulary and, specifically, productive vocabulary development. The results also suggest that both interactive and non-interactive output-plus-input tasks can lead to higher achievement in vocabulary knowledge compared to the input-only condition lacking output tasks.
Zohreh Zafarani, Parviz Maftoon,
Volume 19, Issue 2 (9-2016)
Abstract
This study aims at investigating the effect of dynamic assessment (DA) on L2 writing achievement if applied via blogging as a Web 2.0 tool, as well as examining which pattern of interaction is more conducive to learning in such an environment. The results of the study indicate that using weblogs to provide mediation contributes to the enhancement of the overall writing performance, vocabulary and syntactic complexity, and quantity of overall information presented in a single paragraph. That is to say, DA procedures are applicable via Web 2.0 tools and are advantageous to L2 learners’ writing suggesting that L2 practitioners and instructors should actively consider the integration of Web 2.0 technology into L2 education system using DA. Moreover, the collaborative pattern of interaction as compared to expert/novice, dominant/passive, and dominant/dominant patterns is found to be more conducive to fostering writing achievement in the asynchronous computer-mediated communication environment.
Mahshad Tasnimi,
Volume 23, Issue 2 (9-2020)
Abstract
Fluent reading is a multifaceted ability that integrates several linguistic and non-linguistic processes. Accordingly, recognizing the critical components of fluent reading is highly significant in planning and implementing effective reading programs. This study was undertaken to evaluate the predictive power of syntactic knowledge, vocabulary breadth, and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies in the reading fluency of Iranian EFL learners. To this end, a sample of 149 Iranian EFL language learners took the Vocabulary Levels Test, Survey of Reading Strategies Questionnaire (SORS), a TOEFL PBT, and a fluency test. The linear regression results indicated that vocabulary breadth was the first predictor of readers' performance on reading fluency, followed by metacognitive awareness of reading strategies. At the same time, syntactic knowledge was not entered into the regression model. Moreover, the findings confirmed the contribution of both linguistic and non-linguistic processes to reading fluency. Having a clear picture of fluency components can be advantageous to teaching reading comprehension and test score predictability.
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