THE EFFECTS OF CLUSTERING NEW WORDS IN SEMANTIC, THEMATIC OR UNRELATED SETS IN TEACHING VOCABULARY TO EFL LEARNERS

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Whether new vocabulary items should be taught in semantic, thematic or unrelated sets is a controversial issue in L2 lexical research. Although many studies suggest that presenting L2 words simultaneously in semantic sets has an interfering effect on the acquisition of those words, most of them have been conducted under strictly-controlled experimental conditions. Therefore, there isstill a lack of classroom-based studies on this matter. With this in mind, this study aims to compare the effects of teaching new words in semantic, thematic and unrelated sets on EFL learners’ acquisition of these words in a natural classroom setting. 18 participants were taught the real L2 target words in one of these three types of clustering through pictorial flashcards. They were also provided with a number of meaningful encounters with the target words in sentential contexts. The results showed that all of these three clustering types supplied EFL learners with very efficient recognition and production of the target vocabulary not only immediately after the treatment but also three weeks later. The study findings did not reveal any interfering effect of presenting and practicing semantically related words at the same time in real classroom conditions.

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clustering new words , vocabulary teaching , EFL

Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi

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Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi