THE ROLE OF ENCODING AND REHEARSAL STRATEGIES IN DEVELOPING EFL LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY RECALL AND RETENTION

The present study investigated the effects of encoding and rehearsal strategies on the vocabulary development of Iranian English as foreign language (EFL) learners’ recall and retention. The design of the research was based on pre-test and post-test experimental inquiry. To achieve this aim, Richards, Lesley, Hansen, Sandy and Zukowski (2008) proficiency test was administered to 120 male and female learners who enrolled in Islamic Azad University of Ramhormoz, Iran. They were non-English majors and selected English for General Purposes (EGP). The learners’ scores in proficiency test were analyzed and 60 learners were selected as research sample of the study. They were 45 females and 15 males who were ranging in age from 19 to 30 years old. Then they were non-randomly divided into three groups of 20 participants (i.e., 15 females and 5 males). There were two experimental groups (i.e., encoding and rehearsal) who dealt with two strategies in learning vocabulary. They took a vocabulary pre-test at the beginning of treatment to measure their vocabulary knowledge. During treatment period, encoding group received treatment on learning vocabulary through learners should encoded new materials meaningfully and be able to retrieve them whenever needed while rehearsal group received tasks on rote repetition of items as the main part of their activity. Control group was taught vocabulary through conventional method of teaching such as translation, definition, etc. Finally, all the participants took vocabulary immediate and delayed post-tests and data were put into descriptive and inferential statistics. One-way ANOVA showed that both experimental groups outperformed the control group in recall and retention. However, there was not a significant difference between males and females’ recall and retention in learning vocabulary. Findings of the present study for English teachers may suggest that using encoding and rehearsal strategies could be more beneficial than using conventional activities in teaching vocabulary recall and retention.