The effects of explicit and implicit instructional techniques (glossing semantic mapping,and imagery) on l2 vocabulary comprehension and production

The present study investigated the effects of explicit and implicit use of three presentation techniques (glossing, semantic mapping, and imagery) on Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary comprehension and production. The participants were 175 intermediate learners at Marefat Language Institute in Qazvin, Iran. To make sure they had no previous knowledge of the target words, a pretest was administered. Those words which were already familiar to the participants were excluded from the post tests. The participants were then divided into six groups, with each group receiving a semester-long instruction through one of the three methods of vocabulary presentation either explicitly or implicitly. At the end of the treatment period, the participants' knowledge of receptive vocabulary was assessed through a multiple-choice test, and their knowledge of productive vocabulary was measured through a fill-in-the-blanks test. The collected data were analyzed using four separate one-way ANOVA procedures. The results showed that explicit instruction affects L2 vocabulary comprehension and production. It was also revealed that implicit use of these techniques only affects vocabulary comprehension.

Explicit  Implicit  Glossing  Semantic mapping  Imagery  Vocabulary comprehension 