A Comparative Study of the Effects of Semantic Maps and Interactive word walls on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Achievement

Teaching vocabulary to senior high school students requires that educators find the most effective means of instruction. The aim of this mixed-methods study was to examine the comparative effect of using interactive word walls and semantic mapping strategies on EFL learners’ vocabulary achievement. The study was carried out in two separately intact classes of two isolated schools in Isfahan, Iran, at the beginning of their second semester. They were assessed through a teacher- made pretest related to lessons 3 and 4 they had known nothing about before their second semester began. They were then randomly assigned to two experimental groups and were instructed to make use of IWWs or to utilize SMs. A posttest and an independent samples t-test were conducted on both groups in April to see which treatment had a significantly different effect on learners vocabulary achievement. Finally two separated semi-structured interviews and the teacher’s reflective notes formed the qualitative data. While these tenth graders received lower marks in their first semester exams due to using traditional vocabulary learning ineffectively, they then could improve their vocabulary achievement more motivationally and more effectively, utilizing IWWs or SM; furthermore, IWWs group outperformed the SMs group in their final vocabulary achievement test

Keywords:

interactive WWs , semantic mapping , vocabulary achievement , motivational strategies