Seven Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Mokhtar et al., (2009: 304-330) refer to seven vocabulary learning strategies in their study. Those strategies include metacognitive requirements, guessing, dictionary tasks, note-taking approaches, rehearsal memory process, encoding memory process and engaging strategies. The findings of the research show that, guessing strategies and dictionary strategies are used extensively both for comprehension and vocabulary learning within seven vocabulary learning strategies. It is obviously seen in this study that, the most preferred two strategies facilitate learners’ vocabulary acquisition; however, the other five strategies are more effective in gaining learning independence.

Sanaoui (1995: 15-28), makes a distinction between learners as “unstructured

Whenever a learner needs to study words, he/she uses strategy/strategies to do it. Second, a vocabulary learning strategy could be related to only such actions which improve the efficiency of vocabulary learning. Hence, there are actions which learners might employ but which do not enhance the learning process – a perfectly possible scenario with poor learners. Third, a vocabulary learning strategy might be connected to conscious (as opposed to unconscious) actions taken by the learner in order to study new

Though vocabulary learning being so important in learning a foreign language, the role of vocabulary knowledge has been recognized by theorists and researchers in the field (Coady and Huckin, 1997; Schmitt and Mc Carty, 1997; Zimmerman, 1997: 5-19). This is partly because of the recent availability of computerized databases of words (corpora) and due to the development of the more“word-centered” approaches to language teaching such as the Lexical Approach (Lewis, 1993: 993). That is to say, the focus of language teaching has recently shifted from grammar to the building blocks of the language, words.

When foreign language learning is concerned, it is evident that vocabulary is seen as important for all four skills. Lessard-Clouston (1996: 97-119), indicates that “Vocabulary-words, phrases, idioms, etc. is at the heart of all language usage in the skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as