THE EFFECT OF PRE-TASK PLANNING THROUGH SPLIT-INFO AND BRAINSTORMING ON LEARNING AND RECALL OF LEXICAL ITEMS BY IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

In recent years, research on the role of pre-task planning and its effect on vocabulary performance of learners has grown galore. In the same line, this study examined the effect of employing pre-task planning through spilt information and brainstorming activities on learning vocabulary of intermediate Iranian learners of English. To this end, six intact classes (N=42) were selected: Four experimental groups and 2 control groups. Oxford Solution Test scores revealed the homogeneity of learners. During 4 sessions of instruction, two classes practiced the vocabulary items through split information activity as pre-task planning; the other two classes worked on words through brainstorming; and the control groups learned the words through a traditional method of instruction without any pre-task planning. The results of t-tests indicated pre-task planning through split information and brainstorming activities enhanced vocabulary learning of the experimental groups; moreover, the experimental groups outperformed in vocabulary learning compared to vocabulary recall. According to the results of One-way ANOVA, although there was no significant difference between the experimental groups, a significant difference was observed between the experimental groups and the control groups in vocabulary learning and recall. Implications are for teachers, students, and materials developers.