Learning Strategies and Vocabulary Knowledge of EFL Sixth and Ninth Grade Learners

Abstract

Lexical knowledge is an important predictor of second language learning. The present study focuses on aspects of lexical knowledge of Korean elementary (6th grade) and middle school learners (9th grade) in connection to learning strategies, that is, with regard to vocabulary learning and by investigating the learners' preferred English medium of interest. The learners were asked to complete questionnaires for information on vocabulary learning strategies, and were tested with receptive and productive vocabulary levels test to assess their vocabulary knowledge. One-way ANOVA was conducted to note differences between the different vocabulary learning strategy groups, and multiple regression was employed to select predictors of learners' receptive and vocabulary knowledge. While the learners did not favor public education (school lessons), private lessons indicated to be the dominant means of learning English among the 6th graders with larger vocabulary sizes; the use of the vocabulary workbook indicated to be a useful resource for the 9th graders. Although movies were popularly viewed by most of the learners, it was the learners who had been reading books in English that seemed to have obtained larger vocabulary sizes. The findings provide guidelines for vocabulary instruction in Korean elementary and middle school contexts.