The Impact Of Explicit Instruction And Intentional Learning In The Reception Of Vocabulary - An Experimental Study

This study investigates the importance of the reception of vocabulary in the language learning process of second language learners of English considering the evident role of vocabulary in the language fluency of the learners. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of explicit instruction and intentional learning environment in the reception of vocabulary. Thirty students from a Government school in the Coimbatore District of Tamil Nadu participated in this study. The vocabulary aspects of the English textbook under the Tamil Nadu Uniform Syllabus were analysed followed by the observation of the teaching methods employed by the teacher and the learning strategies used by the learner in the learning of the vocabulary in the selected classroom setting. Post the qualitative analysis of the observations made based on the conceptual framework of Henriksen's model of vocabulary development, a comparative study was conducted to quantitatively explore the influence of the explicit instruction and intentional learning in the reception of the target vocabulary. The participants' reception of vocabulary was gauged using the VKS (Vocabulary Knowledge Scale) and the results were tabulated. The statistical analysis of the data using the t-test tool confirmed that the explicit instruction of vocabulary and creating an intentional learning environment among the learners did result in a significant improvement in the reception of the target vocabulary of the second language learners of English. One of the key implications of the study is that the theoretical understanding of the available concepts of vocabulary knowledge and the process of vocabulary acquisition is mandatory in designing the textbook materials and in framing methodologies for the teaching of vocabulary, to the learners of English as a second language.