The relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size of Iraqi EFL learners in terms of receptive word knowledge

This study investigates the relationship between Iraqi EFL learners' vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) and vocabulary size (VS). Participants included 118 EFL learners at Sulaymaniyah University, all of whom were studying in the School of Basic-Education English Department. Two instruments were employed to collect data: a VLS questionnaire designed by Schmitt (1997) was administered in order to determine the range and frequency of VLS use, and a four-level (2000, 3000, 5000 and academic word list) vocabulary learning test (VLT) designed by Schmitt, et al. (2001) was used to measure learners' receptive vocabulary size. In terms of participants' VLS, results demonstrated that they utilize consolidation strategies such as studying the sound of the new word, trying to develop vocabulary knowledge by watching English TV channels, repeating the new word over and over and studying the spelling of the new word more frequently than discovery strategies such as identifying the part of speech of the new word to help learners know its meaning and using a monolingual dictionary. Moreover, these strategies were found to have been utilized most frequently by participants when compared with other types of strategies. In terms of total VLS, results indicated that Iraqi EFL learners employ a wide range of strategies; moreover, they can be considered as moderate VLS users (M= 3.003). The results of correlation revealed that there exist positive, negative and sometimes no relationships between the VLS utilized by Iraqi EFL learners and their vocabulary size. Finally, the findings of multiple regression analysis concluded that the value of R Square is (0.284). That is to say, the predicted variables were able to account for 28.4% of the variance participants' levels of receptive vocabulary size.