The Influence of Learners' Vocabulary Size on EFL Reading Strategy Instruction

doi:10.65961/AJELT-2008-1-005

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Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2008, Vol. 18 ›› Issue (1) : 89-104. DOI: 10.65961/AJELT-2008-1-005

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The Influence of Learners' Vocabulary Size on EFL Reading Strategy Instruction

Maiko IKEDA

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Abstract

The importance of strategies for successful language learning has been recognized since they were on the applied linguist's research agenda, and strategy instruction has been conducted in a variety of contexts for over a decade. Results of previous research on its efficacy, however, seem to be inconclusive. Furthermore, in the context of reading strategy instruction, factors influencing the efficacy of strategy instruction have yet to be sufficiently examined. This study explores the influence of learners' vocabulary size as one of such possible factors. Participants were 260 university EFL students, among whom two vocabulary size groups were formed: the larger and the lower vocabulary size groups. Before and after an 8-week period of strategy instruction, data on the frequency of use of instructed strategies were collected and analyzed using MANOVA with repeated measures. Results found that learners' vocabulary size has some effects on the efficacy of reading strategy instruction, especially in the case of skimming and prediction strategies. Details of findings are presented and discussed in this paper, along with implications for pedagogical practice.

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Maiko IKEDA. (2008). The Influence of Learners' Vocabulary Size on EFL Reading Strategy Instruction.Asian Journal of English Language Teaching , 18(1): 89-104. https://doi.org/10.65961/AJELT-2008-1-005

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