The Effectiveness of Vocabulary Learning Strategies on English language Acquisition of the Saudi Learners

Dalal Bahanshal

Abstract


It is widely believed that vocabulary knowledge is so closely tied to language mastery.  For that, it tends to be one of the greatest challenges language learners, in this case English, encounter during their long journey in language acquisition and that is due to the great number of words learners suppose to comprehend and master as to be able to understand, communicate and use the target language (TL) effectively.  One of the effective avenues that has been found to greatly impact vocabulary acquisition is vocabulary learning strategy (VLS).  Therefore, the aim of this qualitative study is to investigate the strategies prioritized by Saudi high school students when learning English vocabulary with analyzing the impact of these strategies on vocabulary improvements.  It is proposed that VLS would aid Saudi learners, of all levels in general and high school level in particular, to acquire a vast number of vocabulary which consequently will motivate them to become avid, lifelong learners. The findings show that Saudi high school English learners employed some strategies, yet unconsciously, more than others.  Guessing word’s meaning from contexts, using dictionaries and memorizing new words seem to be the most preferable ones. Other strategies such as note taking and seeking help from others were less adopted.  


Keywords


Vocabulary acquisition; vocabulary learning strategy (VLS); Saudi English learners

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References


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