Abstract
Based on the findings of previous studies which highlight the role of vocabulary knowledge in English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) learners’ learning process, this study investigated the relationship among EFL learners’ Critical Thinking (CT), Autonomy (AU), and choice of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS). To fulfill the purpose of this study, 100 male and female undergraduate EFL learners, between the ages of 18 and 25 (M age = 21) were randomly selected. These participants, who were receiving formal instruction by means of English as the main language along with learners’ first language, were asked to complete three questionnaires, estimating their CT, AU, and VLS. Analyzing the collected data by Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient revealed significant relationships between participants' AU and CT, CT and VLS, and AU and VLS. Furthermore, a linear regression through the stepwise method revealed that between CT and AU, AU is the best predictor of VLS. The findings of this provide EFL teachers, EFL learners, and syllabus designers with insights into the nature of VLS and the way it can be promoted through other internal factors.
Highlights
Consistent with the notion that learning the first language is largely dependent on the knowledge of vocabulary (Thornbury, 2002), there is a unanimous consensus among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators that the quality and quantity of EFL learners learning language are determined, to a large extent, with learners’ vocabulary knowledge (Decarrico, 2001; Hatch & Brown, 1995; Maley, 1986; Schmitt 2000)
Based on the findings of previous studies which highlight the role of vocabulary knowledge in English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language (EFL/ESL) learners’ learning process, this study investigated the relationship among EFL learners’ Critical Thinking (CT), Autonomy (AU), and choice of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS)
More recently, EFL researchers have begun to inspect the process of learning vocabularies (Schmitt, 2000; Singleton, 1999), and many EFL researches have attempted to provide and suggest effective techniques in order to increase the efficiency of vocabulary learning, called Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) (Atay & Ozbulgan, 2007; Fan, 2003; Nation, 2001, 2004; Nation & Meara, 2002; Schmitt, 2000; Shen, 2004; Tsuchida, 2002)
Summary
Consistent with the notion that learning the first language is largely dependent on the knowledge of vocabulary (Thornbury, 2002), there is a unanimous consensus among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators that the quality and quantity of EFL learners learning language are determined, to a large extent, with learners’ vocabulary knowledge (Decarrico, 2001; Hatch & Brown, 1995; Maley, 1986; Schmitt 2000). For many EFL learners, vocabulary learning is an extremely challenging task (Catalan, 2003; Hiebert, 2011; Read, 2000). VLS are defined as the "knowledge about the mechanisms (processes, strategies) used in order to learn vocabulary as well as steps or actions taken by students (a) to find out the meaning of unknown words, (b) to retain them in long-term memory, (c) to recall them at will, and (d) to use them in oral or written mode" It is believed that VLS are the processes which facilitate increasing language learners’ receptive and productive knowledge of vocabulary as one of the most important components of language learning (Coxhead, 2006; Decarrico, 2001; Lessard-Clouston, 2008)
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