The effects of differentiated instruction on vocabulary learning of primary school 4th grade students in English class

The general purpose of this research is to determine the effects of differentiated instruction in vocabulary learning in the English class of 4th grade primary school students on academic success, permanence of what has been learned, and student perceptions. The research was conducted on 4th grade students studying at a private primary school in Izmir in the 2023-2024 academic year. The sample of the research conducted in a quasi-experimental model with pretest-posttest control group consisted of a total of 44 students, 22 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. The experimental procedure in which differentiated instruction, which is the independent variable in the research, was applied lasted a total of five weeks. Data were collected through the English Course Academic Achievement Test, Differentiated Instruction Survey and Student Information Form. English Course Academic Achievement Test was applied to both groups as a pre-test before the experimental procedure and as a post-test and permanence test after the experimental procedure. The Differentiated Instruction Survey was applied only to the experimental group, before and after the experimental procedure. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques such as arithmetic mean, standard deviation, eta-square and independent and dependent groups "t" test through the SPSS package program. According to the findings of the study, it wasn't found that there was a significant difference between the post-test academic achievement scores of the experimental and control group students regarding their achievements in the Budget Planning and Climate Change Units of the English course. In the study, it was evaluated that the possible reason for this might be data losses due to the attendance of the students in the lesson and their partial participation in the exams during the implementation and the inability of the students to show the expected cognitive and affective participation in the experimental process. However, it was determined that there was a significant difference in favor of the post-test only between the pre-test and post-test academic achievement scores of the experimental group students regarding their achievements in the Budget Planning and Climate Change Units of the English course without the comparison of the experimental and control group students. In the study, this finding was evaluated as differentiated instruction was effective in teaching vocabulary in English lessons. In addition, it was indicated that there was a significant difference between the resistance-test academic achievement scores of the experimental and control group students regarding their vocabulary learning gains in favor of the experimental group. This situation was evaluated as differentiated instruction supported permanence in English vocabulary teaching. Furthermore, it was established that the opinions and perceptions of the experimental group students regarding differentiated instruction were gathered on two distinct axes, encompassing positive and negative sentiments; these opinions and perceptions did not change much during the experimental process.