Pixel International Conferences

This paper aims at investigating the effect of using vocabulary learning strategies on the development of the performance of EFL Iraqi college students in reading comprehension. The study raises the questions related to how vocabulary learning strategies are useful in developing the performance of EFL Iraqi college students in reading comprehension. It  is limited to (60) Iraqi undergraduate students in the fourth year/Department of English/ College of Basic Education at Misan University. The instrument of this study is a questionnaire that has been constructed as the main instrument used, based on Schmitt’s (1997) Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire. The results indicate that the students use vocabulary learning strategies since each item has a weighted mean which is more than the theoretical degree (2). So, these results prove that students use vocabulary learning strategies effectively since the average weighted mean (2.77) is higher than the theoretical mean which is (2). Memory and metacognitive strategies were the repeatedly used types with some individual differences. The researchers hope that this study will be beneficial for university students in general as well as guiding the researchers and teachers specialized to develop the ability of reading comprehension of the students.

Key words: vocabulary learning strategies; Reading comprehension; EFL Iraqi college students

References:

Alderson,J. (2010). Assessing Reading. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511732935

Hurd, Stella and Lewis, Tim. Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings, Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, 2008. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847690999">https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847690999

Schmit,N.(1997 ). Vocabulary  Learning  Strategies .In N. Schmit & M. McCarthy (Eds.),Vocabulary :Description ,Acquisition ,and Pedagogy (pp.199-227). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

______________ (2000). Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press