The Effects of Aural and Written Vocabulary Instruction on Second Language Listening Comprehension

This study aimed at examining the effects of different types of vocabulary instructions on the development of L۲ listening comprehension of less-skilled intermediate EFL learners. A true experimental design was employed where ۱۰۰ female high school students at A۲ proficiency level were randomly assigned to a control group and two experimental groups: aural and written vocabulary instruction. They received aural and written vocabulary instructions, respectively, for six sessions. The control group, however, did not receive any vocabulary instruction. The development of the listening comprehension was measured through a listening comprehension pre-test and post-test. The results indicated that the mean score on the listening comprehension post-test increased in both the control and experimental groups. A one-way ANOVA revealed that vocabulary instruction statistically significantly affected the listening comprehension scores. Post-hoc test showed that there were statistically significant differences between either of the experimental groups and the control group, yet the increase in the listening comprehension scores from the aural group to the written group was not significant. Thus, aural and written vocabulary instruction increased less-skilled EFL learners’ listening comprehension. Therefore, teachers can make use of those pedagogical activities that foster learning new vocabularies and encourage L۲/EFL learners to make connections between newly received information and their pre-existing knowledge.

Keywords:

Listening Comprehension , Vocabulary Instruction , Aural Vocabulary Knowledge , Written Vocabulary Knowledge , Iranian EFL Learners