THE VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES OF HIGH SCHOOL EFL LEARNERS

Year 2019, Issue: 6, 68 - 87, 12.12.2019

Engin Yıldız Meryem Mirioglu

Abstract

In all schools in
Turkey, English is a compulsory subject. Therefore, English is taught for two
hours a week depending on the school type or grade. Since vocabulary is regarded
as a crucial aspect in language learning, the purpose of the study is to
investigate the vocabulary learning strategies adopted by 9^th grade
students, to find out which vocabulary learning strategies used most and the
least. Another purpose of this study is to find whether there were any
differences between male and female learners regarding strategy use.

172 9^th
grade students took part in this study and they were asked to fill in a
questionnaire of 25 vocabulary learning strategy items. Also, a semi-structured
interview with ten students was held. The data was analyzed by using frequency,
percentages, and means.

The mostly used
strategies were Social (Discovery) and Determination Strategies and the least ones
are Social (Consolidation) and Metacognitive Strategies. No significant
difference of strategy use between female and male students was observed.
However, when the strategy items were examined individually,  slight differences were observed. The findings
contributed the teachers in terms of improving themselves and their students
about the instruction of VLSs and it also helped the teachers to select
appropriate course books and materials related with the strategy use of their
students.

Keywords

Vocabulary, vocabulary learning strategies

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