The Role of Flashcard and Wordlist Strategies with Concrete vs. Abstract Words on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Development (Research Paper)

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of flashcard and wordlist strategies with regard to concrete vs. abstract words on vocabulary development of Iranian intermediate EFL learners. The current study had a quasi-experimental design and consisted of two experimental groups and one control group. Ninety Iranian intermediate university students participated in this study. The participants were determined on the basis of Quick Placement Test (QPT). Eighty vocabulary items were selected from the wordlists presented on Paul Nation’s website for the treatment, and they were applied via two different strategies (flashcard/wordlist), and two different kinds of words (concrete/abstract). A pretest, an immediate test and a posttest were administered. To analyze the results, the SPSS software was employed. The experimental groups using flashcards and wordlists were found to outperform the control group. However, no statistically difference was observed between flashcard vs. wordlist strategies. Also, the findings showed that students will probably remember the concrete words for a longer period of time in comparison to abstract words. These findings will probably give insights into language pedagogy by encouraging English teachers to choose the teaching materials which can facilitate the process of teaching and learning.