Abstract:
The present study aimed to examine the effect of three vocabulary techniques (dictionary use, etymological analysis, and glossing) on the Iranian ESP learners' vocabulary production. Forty-five university students majoring in architecture at Azad University, Anzali branch, participated in this study. They were divided into three groups, and each group was randomly assigned to one kind of treatment condition (dictionary use group, etymology group, and glossing group). The Michigan proficiency test was used to ensure the homogeneity of the ESP learners. The three experimental groups received instruction for three weeks. ESP learners took a vocabulary production test (VPT). A one-way between groups ANOVA was conducted to analyse the data. The results showed that dictionary use improved ESP learners' vocabulary production, and dictioary use group outperformed the other two groups. The study concludes that dictionary use faciliates vocabulary production.
Machine summary:
The study on vocabulary learning and understanding word knowledge has been supported in second language acquisition (SLA) recently (Haastrup & Henriksen 2001; Meara, 2002).
The most common techniques used to teach ESP vocabulary include the use of cognates, L1 equivalents, linguistic analysis, and glossing (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998).
They help ESP learners to learn the meaning of the word more effectively (Khany & Saeedi, 2017).
Learners should pay attention to every word because vocabulary learning is an essential component of communicating, reading a text, thinking, and learning a second language (Luckner & Cook, 2010).
Glosses have helped learners to understand the meaning of new words in texts (Bowles, 2004; Davies, 1989; Jacobs, Dufon, & Hung, 1994; Lumicka, 1998).
Following this line of investigation, the following research question is formulated: RQ: Do dictionary use, glossing, and etymological analysis have any significant effect on vocabulary production?
Each group was randomly assigned to one of the treatment conditions in each class, and the participants in each treatment group followed one technique of vocabulary learning as follows: Group A: dictionary use Group B: glossing Group C: etymological analysis Prior to performing the treatment in all groups, a knowledge test was administered to select the words for treatment.
Vocabulary learning is important and also dictionary use is one of the best techniques to produce new words in ESP classes.
This study revealed that dictionary use, glossing, and etymological analysis were three effective techniques for improving learners' vocabulary production in ESP classes.