Involvement Load Hypothesis: The Effect of Drawing Relevant Pictures on Iranian Young EFL Learners’ L2 Vocabulary Performance

Abstract

In the last decade, the field of word acquisition has received great interest. This current interest leads to research with realistic attempts for effective L2 vocabulary learning. In order to develop a foreign language, learners have to be able to comprehend what they are hearing and reading. That is, the input is required to be understandable in order for it to be practical and meaningful to the learner and help with acquisition (Krashen, 1982). Thus, the current study tried to investigate the effect of drawing relevant pictures on improving vocabulary recall of language learners. Sixty students participated in this study which lasted for one academic semester. The students were divided into two groups: one experimental group in which learners were taught new vocabulary items through drawing relevant pictures, and one control group whose students were taught the identical items through traditional instruction. At the beginning of the program, the researcher accomplished Cambridge Mover Tests in order to reassure the homogeneity of the students’ proficiency level. A pretest subsequently was run on learners’L2 vocabulary knowledge. Then the intervention started. At the end of the sessions, one posttest was performed in order to measure effectiveness of the treatment. Afterwards, the researcher analyzed the gathered data. Because there were two groups in this study, the researcher utilized t-test for analysis, paired t-test for comparing the results within groups, and independent t-test for comparing the results between groups. The results proved that drawing pictures were indeed contributing to L2 vocabulary learning by the learners.