Awareness-Raising of Vocabulary Learning Strategies: Does It Make a Difference?

Abstract

This study presents the results of the impact of a short training on vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs). The aim was to raise participants' awareness of a wide range of VLSs and consequently to encourage and motivate them to utilize these strategies in their vocabulary learning. The participants were 29 Saudi male students in their first semester majoring in English as a foreign language in the Department of English and Translation in the College of Languages and Translation at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. The data collection tool was a questionnaire which consists five main categories of VLSs with 8 sub-strategies under each type with a total of 40 sub-strategies. The same questionnaire was administered twice: before and after training. The results showed an awareness-raising impact as reflected in the increase use of VLSs following the training. The increase was in all five strategy categories with statistically significant differences in three categories; Determination, Memory, and Cognitive strategies. Furthermore, the participants of this study reported that they benefited a lot from the training and they not only increased their exploitation of the strategies in this course but this training led them to utilize these strategies in other courses, such as reading and grammar. Although the training was short, the effect was evident, thus it is assumed that longer period of training will be conducive to better results in terms of the use of VLSs and consequently vocabulary knowledge. It is recommended that such intervention should be implemented in other courses as an initial step in understanding learning strategies in general with the goal of enhancing learners' autonomy in different types of learning strategies.

Total Phenolic and Flavonoid Contents, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Selected Honeys Against Human Pathogenic Bacteria

“…Honeydew honey is prepared from secretions of all living parts of plants other than the flower or excretions of sucker insects (18,19). Therefore, the composition of honey is associated with the nectar source (botanical and geographical origin) and differs from one country to another (20). Serbia is ranked among countries with the highest floristic diversity in Europe.…”

Language Learning Strategy Instruction in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review

“…The designs of the reviewed studies were mostly quasi-experimental (n= 8) and experimental (n= 7). In addition, reliability of the instruments used were reported in 13 of the reviewed studies, leaving only four studies that did not mention anything about the reliability or the validity of their research instruments (Alqarni, 2018;Assiri & Siddiqui, 2020;Nahari & Alfadda, 2016;Okasha & Hamdi, 2014). The data collection methods adopted in the current reviewed studies, which used strategy instruction and interventions, are summarized in Table three.…”

“…Research instruments used in the reviewed studies Moreover, none of the reviewed studies utilized standardized or global measures for all their dependent variables after teaching. Ismaiel and Al Asmari (2017) usedSchmitt's (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies to measure one of the dependent variables after teaching, andAlqarni (2018) used a tailored version of it. In contrast, McMullen (2009) used Oxford's Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL…”

Online Learning amid COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Vocabulary Learning Strategies

“…Oxford (1990) call them ''actions'' that learners use to facilitate the learning process (as cited in Macaro, 2001, p.17) . Cohen (2014) defined language learning strategies as ''thoughts and actions, consciously chosen and operationalized by language learners, to assist them in carrying out a multiplicity of tasks from the very onset of learning to the most advanced levels of target-language performance'' (p. 7). Learning strategies, as defined by O' Malley and Chamot (1990), refer to ''the special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information'' (p. 1).…”