Impact of Explicit Vocabulary Instruction on Writing Achievement of Upper-Intermediate EFL Learners

Abstract

Studying explicit vocabulary instruction effects on improving L2 learners' writing skill and their short and long-term retention is the purpose of the present study. To achieve the mentioned goal, a fill-in-the blank test including 36 single words and 60 lexical phrases were administrated to 30 female upper-intermediate EFL learners. The EFL participants were asked to write a composition titled 'A Cruel Sport' after a reading activity on 'Bull Fighting'. Comparing this writing to the one written after target vocabulary instruction, it caused a significant increase in the number of vocabularies used productively in learners' writing. The statistical analysis revealed that in delayed writing, the participant retained the newly-learned vocabularies even sometimes after the instruction. Based on the obtained results, this research offers below suggestions for L2 instructors: 1) productive use of words is not guaranteed by word comprehension per se, 2) learners are not only able to increase the active vocabulary under their control but also use the words they just learned, 3) in a writing task which was immediately fulfilled through explicit vocabulary instruction, vocabulary recognition is converted into a productive one, improving retention and leading to productive use of newly learned vocabulary at the same time. This productiveness, however, is loss prone and more practice is needed in producing newly learned vocabulary.

Exploring Taiwanese Students’ Perceptions of Active Explicit Vocabulary Instruction: A Case Study in an English Medium Course

“…Explicit academic vocabulary instruction is commonly used in ELL and EFL classrooms. Previous studies investigating the effect of academic vocabulary instruction focused on two areas: (a) the impact of vocabulary size and knowledge on student academic writing skills (Flowerdew, 2015;Lee, 2003;Solati-Dehkordi & Salehi, 2016;Yang, 2015;Yoon & Hirvela, 2004), and (b) the impact of teaching vocabulary on vocabulary size and reading comprehension (Hsu, 2010;Laufer & Paribakht, 1998;Subon, 2016). Hsu (2010), for example, examined the effect of direct collocation instruction on Taiwanese English majors' reading comprehension and vocabulary learning.…”

“…Teachers usually direct learners' attention to words after reading some passages. Some teachers explain new words and write the words on the board (Solati-Dehkordi & Salehi, 2016;Sonbul & Schmitt, 2009). Some give learners explicit vocabulary exercises relevant to the previously studied passage (Guo, 2010).…”

The Effect of Mindful Learning on Students’ Writing Competency

“…This indicates that they have a rich vocabulary. Students with rich vocabulary will be able to use the right words to represent the meaning or message to be conveyed to readers (Lane & Allen, 2010;Solati-dehkordi & Salehi, 2016;Viera, 2018). Students in experimental group showed a better content organization.…”

An investigation of vocabulary knowledge on students' writing performance

“…In other words, because vocabulary instruction contributes to the proficiency in productive skills, language instructors must emphasize the development of learners' vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, in a writing task that was immediately fulfilled through explicit vocabulary instruction, vocabulary recognition is converted into a productive one, improving retention and leading to the productive use of newly learned vocabulary simultaneously (Solati-Dehkordi & Salehi, 2016).…”