The Role of In-class Vocabulary Strategies in Vocabulary Retention of Turkish EFL Learners

Abstract

Vocabulary is an important sub-skill of language that is often found to be
challenging to teach by language teachers. Constructed on intentional vocabulary learning through
instruction, this study aims to provide insight into the understanding of teaching and learning
vocabulary and explores if the vocabulary instruction through in-class vocabulary strategies
developed by the researcher were helpful for Turkish 8th grade EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) students’ English vocabulary retention in comparison to traditional vocabulary
instruction. The data collected through the post-test and retention-test design were analyzed via
SPSS 16.0. It was concluded that both in the short and medium term, there was a significant
difference between the vocabulary retention scores of the students who were instructed with inclass vocabulary strategies (Experimental Group) and those who were given traditional instruction
(Control Group) in favour of the Experimental Group.