Using Contextualized Reading Tasks for Improving Incidental Vocabulary Retention among Iranian EFL Learners

Vocabulary is central to English language teaching because without sufficient vocabulary students cannot understand others or express their own ideas. Vocabulary knowledge also plays an important role in almost all areas of language learning. So, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the incidental vocabulary learning, task types, time devoted on tasks, and vocabulary retention of EFL learners. To achieve the aim, this research employed a quasi-experimental design to investigate the possible effects of various contextualized reading tasks and timing on the L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition of Iranian EFL learners. Sixty intermediate EFL learners in six intact classes in Zabansara language institute in Isfahan were accessed. Three classes were respectively exposed to dictionary-based, fill-in-the-blank, and sentence-making tasks with time restrictions, and the other three classes were respectively exposed to dictionary-based, fill-in-the-blank, and sentence-making tasks without time restrictions. Having experienced their relevant treatments, the participants were asked to take a delayed vocabulary test. Since task type and timing were two independent variables and vocabulary learning/recall was the dependent variable of the study, two-way ANOVA was used to compare the learners’ vocabulary scores on the delayed vocabulary test. The results revealed that time restriction exerted a significant effect on the performance of the learners in all the three groups on the delayed tests. Also, learners in the groups without time restriction significantly outperformed those in the groups with time restriction.