The Effect of Retention Techniques on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Improvement

The development of a rich vocabulary is an important element in the acquisition of a second language. Nunan (1991). The present study aimed at exploring the effectiveness of retention tactic on Iranian EFL learners‚ vocabulary achievement. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 48 male students of Vali-asr high school in Kangavar were selected from among a total number of 98 high students. The same content was taught (by the teachers/researchers) to both groups throughout the 12 sessions treatment. The only difference was that the experimental group was taught through retention techniques as a post task while the students in the control group underwent a non-retention approach. The results of the pretest and posttest in data analysis through statistical procedure of Independent pair T-test confirmed the superiority of the experimental group to the control group, resulting in the conclusion that retention tactic has a significant effect on improving Iranian EFL learners' vocabulary repertoire.

Keywords:

retention techniques , vocabulary repertoire , vocabulary , and parallel test.