Abstract-This study aims at investigating what strategies are more or less common for learning vocabulary among EFL university students at Hakim S abzevari University in Iran. A questionnaire adapted from the taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS ) developed by S chmitt (1997) was administered to 74 EF L students (18 males and 56 females).Moreover, semi -structured interviews were also carried out with ten students who completed the written questionnaire to obtain more information about their beliefs and attitudes dealing with vocabulary learning strategies. The results revealed the following order of strategy use by the students from the most frequent to the least frequent one: determination (DET), cognitive (COG), memory (MEM), metacognitive (MET), an d social strategies (SOC). In particular, findings indicated that guessing from context and dictionary use strategies were the most popular strategies, while asking the teacher or peers for meaning were rarely used.

Dictionary use is one potential vocabulary learning strategy in developing learning process. With the development of digital technology, types of learners' dictionaries have been diversified during the last two decades. The present study aims at investigating the effects of electronic dictionary on learning and long-term retention of vocabulary of Iranian lower-intermediate EFL learners. To ensure the homogeneity of the participants, an Oxford Placement test was administered to 74 female students studying at a public high school in Sabzevar, Iran. 60 participants whose scores were two standard deviations above and below the mean were selected as homogeneous and were assigned to Electronic Dictionary (ED) and Paper Dictionary (PD) groups. During the five sessions of the treatment, 35 vocabularies were instructed to the two groups. The ED group received the words through a CD-ROM dictionary to find meaning and definition of newly taught words, while PD group followed the ordinary method using PD. Both groups took an immediate posttest administered immediately after the treatment and a delayed posttest administered two weeks later. The results of the t-test revealed that the students in ED group outperformed those in PD group. Hence, it is suggested that an ED can enhance learning and retention of vocabulary. This study also provides pedagogical implications for utilizing ED as an effective learning tool.