The role of different vocabulary teaching strategies in vocabulary development of young learners

Vocabulary learning plays an important role in language education and for foreign language learners, since it is a fundamental part of foreign language learning and teaching. Knowledge of vocabulary is regularly seen as a primary instrument for second or foreign language learners because a restricted vocabulary in a second language hinders meaningful communication (Schmitt, 2000). In the literature, many studies on the strategies for teaching/learning vocabulary can be found. In order to improve the impact of vocabulary instruction and obtain desired learners' outcomes, there is always considerable debate about the validity of certain aspects of vocabulary teaching principles. In particular, whether new L2 vocabulary items ought to be taught in semantic sets, thematic sets, or unrelated sets is a subject of serious discussion among L2 lexical researchers. For this reason, the present study aimed to explore the impact of presenting target words in different vocabulary clusters on the vocabulary development of young learners. For vocabulary development, three different vocabulary sets (semantic, thematic, and unrelated) were organized. In this study, a quantitative research method was carried out in the spring term of the 2020-2021 education year, and quantitative data was collected from 50 students in 3rd grade primary school. The data collection process covered a period of four weeks. After choosing the target vocabulary groups, the participants completed an immediate recall test right after the first instruction. In the study, three review lessons ending with a delayed recall test were organized. This whole process, instruction, immediate recall test, review lessons, and delayed recall test, were repeated for each vocabulary cluster in the same procedure. In order to analyze the data, the IBM SPSS 25.0 version of the statistical analysis program was used. While doing this, particular descriptive statistics (e.g., percentage, standard deviation, average, and number) were carried out. Considering the aim of revealing the variance among three vocabulary clusters in short-term and long-term word retention, the non-parametric related-samples Wilcoxon Test was used. The findings of this study revealed that there was a considerable difference in efficacy in L2 vocabulary learning amongst word clusters. The results obtained in the study showed that although students had difficulties with thematic word sets, this situation was not observed in comprehending semantic and unrelated vocabulary groups. Regarding the findings, the benefits of practicing through review lessons were also noticed in delayed recall tests. Keywords: young learners, vocabulary teaching, semantic, thematic and unrelated vocabulary clusters, immediate and delayed recall tests