No abstract

The present study investigates the effect of metacognitive vocabulary learning strategy instruction on the recall of collocations. To this end, 75 extravert and introvert students were selected. The participants, then, were randomly assigned to two control and two experimental groups based on the TOEFL test score at upper intermediate level and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Both experimental and control groups (each group containing two extravert and introvert sub-groups that totally form four groups) received the same type of collocation instruction, but the experimental group, in addition, received the metacognitive International Journal of Linguistics ISSN 1948-5425 2013 www.macrothink.org/ijl 195 explicit strategy instruction. Meanwhile, our control groups received placebo. A pretest measuring the subjects" knowledge of collocations was administered. During the first parts of sessions, the class time was allocated to teaching collocations. The last thirty minutes of each session was dedicated to metacognitive strategy instruction in the experimental group. Treatment continued for eight weeks. At the end, a two-way ANOVA was run to compare the two groups plus the effect of personality on such performance. The results indicated that treatment did have an effect on the recall of collocations and also the extravert students enjoyed better performance compared to their introvert counterparts.

The present study investigates the mediating role of attitude towards English language and the effect of metacognitive vocabulary learning strategy instruction on the recall of collocations. To this end, 75 upper-intermediate EFL participants reflecting positive and negative attitudes (+A and -A) based on Attitude/Motivation Test Battery) towards language were randomly assigned into two control and experimental groups. They both received the same type of collocation instruction, but the experimental group, additionally, received the 183 metacognitive explicit strategy instruction. A pretest and a posttest measuring the learners' collocation knowledge before and after treatment were administered. A two-way ANOVA was run to compare the two groups plus the effect of language attitude on such performance. The results indicated that treatment did have an effect on the recall of collocations and also the +A learners outperformed their -A counterparts.

This study was conducted to combine the scientific findings of the human brain, especially Reticular Activating System (RAS), or attention center in the brain, to an explicit approach of vocabulary instruction. The purpose of the present study is to examine the effects of a RAS-based instruction (RASBI) on learning vocabulary of EFL elementary students and then to compare it with translation based instruction (TBI). Sixty male participants were chosen from among 92 elementary EFL learners whose levels of proficiency were determined by Michigan test. The learners under study were randomly divided into two groups: the first group, consisting of 30 students, received a RAS-based vocabulary instruction (RASBVI). The other group, consisting of 30 students, received a translation based vocabulary instruction. Data analysis and statistical calculations of pre-tests and post-tests indicated that those participants who received RAS-based vocabulary instruction outperformed their counterparts in the second group that received translation based vocabulary instruction.