Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
This quasi-experimental study examines the impact of some vocabulary strategies on the lexical development of first-year high school students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) at an educational institution in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Although language learning supports reading comprehension, communication, and general linguistic competence (Nation, 2013; Read, 2000; Schmitt, 2010; Webb & Nation, 2017), it is often taught as a memorization of isolated words. This study involved a three-week instructional intervention that included retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and vocabulary activities designed to promote students' lexical processing. The study employed a quantitative quasi-experimental design with 48 first-year high school students divided into two groups: an intervention group and a control group. Both groups were administered the Updated Vocabulary Levels Test, developed by Webb et al. (2017), with Form A used as a pretest and Form B as a posttest. The results showed that the experimental group scored significantly higher on the posttest than the control group at all vocabulary levels and in the total score. These findings suggest that implementing retrieval, repetition, and contextualized activities can promote the development of receptive vocabulary in secondary school English as a foreign language class, although this study is not considered conclusive causal evidence.
References
Abad Célleri, M. P., Argudo Serrano, J. C., Fajardo Dack, T. M., & Cabrera Tenecela, H. P. (2019). English proficiency and learner individual differences: A study of pre-service EFL student-teachers. Maskana, 10(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.18537/mskn.10.01.01
Cabrera-Tenecela, P. (2023). New organization of research designs. South American Research Journal, 3(1), 37–51. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8050508
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213–238.
Craik, F. I. M., & Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 11(6), 671–684. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(72)80001-X
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE.
Ellis, N. C. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing: A review with implications for theories of implicit and explicit language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263102002024
Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics. SAGE Publications.
Godwin-Jones, R. (2020). Building the porous classroom: An expanded model for blended language learning. Language Learning & Technology, 24(3), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.64152/10125/4473
Hacking, J. F., & Tschirner, E. (2017). The contribution of vocabulary knowledge to reading proficiency: The case of college Russian. Foreign Language Annals, 50(3), 500–518. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12282
Joe, A. (1995). Text-based tasks and incidental vocabulary learning. Second Language Research, 11(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/026765839501100206
Karpicke, J. D., & Roediger, H. L. (2008). The critical importance of retrieval for learning. Science, 319(5865), 966–968. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1152408
Kline, T. J. B. (2017). Sample issues, methodological implications, and best practices. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 49(2), 71-77. https://doi.org/10.1037/cbs0000054
Komachali, M. E., & Khodareza, M. (2012). The effect of using vocabulary flash card on Iranian pre-university students’ vocabulary knowledge. International Education Studies, 5(3), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n3p134
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54(3), 399–436. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-8333.2004.00260.x
Laufer, B., & Hulstijn, J. (2001). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in a second language: The construct of task-induced involvement. Applied Linguistics, 22(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/22.1.1
Li, J., Zhang, E.-H., Zhang, H., Gou, H., & Cao, H.-W. (2024). Retrieval practice plus feedback benefits a third language vocabulary learning. International Journal of Multilingualism, 21(2), 1014–1033. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2022.2102172
López, P. L. (2004). Población, muestra y muestreo. Punto Cero, 09(08), 69-74.
McCambridge, J., Witton, J., & Elbourne, D. R. (2014). Systematic review of the Hawthorne effect: New concepts are needed to study research participation effects. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 67(3), 267–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.08.015
Nakata, T. (2011). Computer-assisted second language vocabulary learning in a paired-associate paradigm: A critical investigation of flashcard software. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(1), 17–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2010.520673
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press.
Qu, K., Liu, T., Qiao, Y., & Wang, P. (2024). The facilitative effect of the keyword mnemonic on L2 vocabulary retrieval practice. Heliyon, 10(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25212
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge University Press.
Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
Schmitt, N. (2010). Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual. Palgrave Macmillan.
Ushioda, E. (2021). Doing complexity research in the language classroom: A commentary. In R. J. Sampson & R. S. Pinner (Eds.). Complexity perspectives on researching language learner and teacher psychology (pp. 269–283). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788923569-017
Webb, S. (2005). Receptive and productive vocabulary learning: The effects of reading and writing on word knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(1), 33–52. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263105050023
Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28(1), 46–65. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/aml048
Webb, S., & Chang, A. C.-S. (2015). Second language vocabulary learning through extensive reading with audio support: How do frequency and distribution of occurrence affect learning? Language Teaching Research, 19(6), 667–686. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168814559800
Webb, S., & Nation, P. (2017). How vocabulary is learned. Oxford University Press.
Webb, S., Sasao, Y., & Ballance, O. (2017). The updated Vocabulary Levels Test: Developing and validating two new forms of the VLT. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 168(1), 34–70. https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.168.1.02web
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Narcisa de Jesús Gómez León, Juanita Argudo-Serrano