The Effect of L1 on Learning New L2 Vocabulary among Intermediate Proficiency Level Students

Abstract

During the last decades, the role of mother tongue in language teaching has been the subject of a host of research studies ;however, quite rarely have researchers addressed such issues as comparing the use of mother tongue and other teaching techniques like paraphrasing and translation effects on students' reading comprehension ability and their ability in learning new English vocabulary. This study aimed to explore whether paraphrases vs. translations of new words in general English passages make any significant difference in intermediate proficiency level learners of English new vocabulary learning. It also aims to examine whether paraphrases or translations of texts at intermediate proficiency level affect significantly students' level of reading comprehension. The data for this study were collected through one proficiency test, 3 comprehension tests and one vocabulary test from 60 English students who study at SADR Private Language School in Isfahan. The data were analyzed descriptively and also inferentially. The overall findings of the study indicated that there was no significant difference between the comprehension of those who received Persian translation of new vocabulary and those who dealt with the paraphrase of the same new words and those who did not receive any L1 translation or paraphrase. The results for vocabulary test showed those who received the mother tongue definitions in front of each new word in the passage did perform significantly better on the vocabulary test than the other two groups. However study would help teachers and teacher trainers to construct and implement L1 and paraphrase in English classes more effectively.