ENHANCING VOCABULARY AND SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION THROUGH SELECTED LEARNING MATERIALS: A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Chandra Mohan V. Panicker

Abstract


Mastering vocabulary is vital for language proficiency and has a positive impact on both spoken and written communication skills. This study investigates the effectiveness of using selected reading materials in enhancing vocabulary and sentence construction among undergraduate students. The participants of the study consisted of 20 undergraduate students. A quasi-experimental design was employed where the participants underwent a pretest-post-test intervention. The intervention included reading and analysing 8 different reading materials from 4 different genres. The findings indicated a significant increase in vocabulary knowledge (M = 52.30 to M = 68.70) and sentence construction (M = 45.10 to 65.40) at post intervention, with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 1.17 for vocabulary, 1.02 for sentence construction) Besides, this there was a strong correlation (r = .64) between vocabulary gain and improved writing. Findings revealed a significant role of context-based learning materials in improving language competence.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter


Keywords


vocabulary acquisition, sentence construction, quasi–experimental design, instructional materials, language proficiency

Full Text:

PDF

References


Cunningham, A. E., & Stanovich, K. E. (1998). What Reading Does for the Mind. American Educator, 22(1), 8–15. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237109087_What_reading_does_for_the_mind

Diamond, L., & Gutlohn, L. (n.d.). Teaching vocabulary. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/vocabulary/articles/teaching-vocabulary

Feng, Y., et al. (2020). Learning vocabulary through reading, listening and viewing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(4), 745–768. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263120000036

Graves, M. F. (2006). The Vocabulary Book: Learning & Instruction. Teachers College Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.se/books/about/The_Vocabulary_Book.html?id=iBSZ8KpX358C&redir_esc=y

Krashen, S. D. (1989). We Acquire Vocabulary and Spelling by Reading: Additional Evidence for the Input Hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 73(4), 440–464. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/326879

Matsuoka, W., & Hirsh, D. (2010). Vocabulary learning through reading: Does an

ELT coursebook provide good opportunities? Reading in a Foreign Language,

(1), 56–70. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ887873

Nagy, W. E., Herman, P. A., & Anderson, R. C. (1985). Learning Words from Context. Reading Research Quarterly, 20(2), 233–253. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/747758

Nation, P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759

Nation, P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139524759

Quinn, J. M., Wagner, R. K., Petscher, Y., & Lopez, D. (2015). The Influence of Reading on Vocabulary Growth: A Case for a Matthew Effect. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-13-0310

Ouellette, G. P. (2006). What's Meaning Got to Do with It: The Role of Vocabulary in Word Reading and Reading Comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(3), 554–566. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-0663.98.3.554

Wright, T. S., & Cervetti, G. N. (2017). Reading Comprehension and Academic Vocabulary: Exploring Relations. Reading Research Quarterly, 52(2), 149–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.434

Zhang, D., & Yang, X. (2023). The Relationship between L2 Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Proficiency: A Meta-Analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10, 58.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v10i3.6352

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright © 2015 - 2026. European Journal of English Language Teaching (ISSN 2501-7136) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing GroupAll rights reserved.

This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms.

All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).