A Comparative Study of the Effects of Songs and Pictures on Iranian EFL Learners’ L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

Abstract

Vocabulary is vital to English language teaching since without adequate vocabulary repertoire students cannot understand others or express their own ideas. Wilkins (1972) wrote that “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed†(pp. 111–112). As a result, this study which was conducted in one of the institutions of Tabriz. Iran aimed at investigating the comparative effects of pictures and songs on vocabulary learning. Sixty-eight senior male EFL learners participated in this quasi – Experimental study, all of whom were studying in their final academic semester. There were two groups one of which was taught new words through pictures while the other one was taught the same words through songs. One pre-test was administered before the study and one post-test after program for measuring the effectiveness of the treatments. The results have been analyzed by SPSS indicated that clustering is more effective than pictures; this was so because the words which are interrelated in their meaning reinforce the learning and recalling of the other. It can be said that through using clusters of words the relevant schema is activated in effective manner.