The Role of Translation-based, Meaning-based, and Hint-based Instructions in Vocabulary Acquisition: A Mixed-Methods Study

The present study, adopting a mixed-methods design, aimed to compare three types of task instruction entailing translation-based, meaning-based, and hint-based instructions for vocabulary acquisition. In so doing, a pool of ۴۵ male Iranian intermediate L۲ learners, which were divided into three groups, participated in the study based on convenient sampling. The treatment phase lasted for ۲۰ sessions, allocating the last ۴۵ minutes of each class to teaching vocabulary. Each class was exposed to a different treatment taking the experimental condition it was assigned into account. The treatment consisted of two tasks. The results obtained from one-way ANOVA confirmed that there was a statistically significant difference in learners’ vocabulary scores for the three sets of scores. Moreover, following the coding reliability and agreement, ۱۲ common themes emerged from the students’ responses to the semi-structured interview questions. At the end, the study offers some practical implications for L۲ learners and teachers.

Keywords:

instruction , Vocabulary Learning , language tasks , scaffolding