Using semantic mapping strategy for teaching content words practice in EFL context

The current study consists of two phases as experimental and descriptive.The primary aim hereby is to raise awareness towards lexical semantic relations (LSRs) through semantic mapping as a vocabulary learning strategy. EFL learners' individual and social experiences are intended to provide the necessary knowledge to fill the slots in their lexical schemata. The experimental phase mainly concerned with the extent of the mapping of LSRsin terms of its contribution to the vocabulary learning in an academic EFL context.20 EFL students participated in the treatment procedure.They were asked to follow an individual path first, and a collaborative one in the classroom next. During the individual study, each student composed a personal learner's dictionary based on their real world knowledge. The collaborative part was in terms of compiling such individual data and accumulating them on a web database. Still, no single strategy is enough to meet the whole needs in a language classroom. Therefore, investigating the influence of the other supplementary strategies over semantic mapping was another purpose of the study.A further point that the study also seekedwas on any change in the size of the vocabulary known as well as the vocabulary learned after the practice. The statistical results indicated a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the treatment group for both the vocabulary learned and known. Besides, there seemed to be no remarkable difference between the impacts of the other supplementary strategies on the process.The participants of the treatment were asked to provide feedback in the descriptive phase. They were directed four survey items online after the end of the semester. The data obtained from the responses were analysed using NVivo10, software to interpret qualitative data. A correspondence between the findings of both phases was evident towards the use of mapping of LSRs as a vocabulary learning strategy. Keywords: Semantic mapping, schemata, lexical semantic relations, vocabulary learning strategies, vocabulary size.