Investigating the Effects of Rote and Contextualized Memorization on Iranian Elementary EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Development

It is obvious that vocabulary lies in the center of language learning and communication. This issue shows that vocabulary has a vital role in mastering all the skills of a language. Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) facilitate the process of learning lexical items. The present study investigated the role of two specific strategy types in vocabulary learning, including rote and contextualized among Iranian elementary EFL learners. The design of the study was quasi-experimental, which consisted of two experimental groups and one control group. Some sixty Iranian elementary female students were selected (twenty per group). They were selected according to the results of the Quick Placement Test (QPT). Before the treatment a pretest was administered. Then, the participants were taught thirty vocabulary items in three sessions from the book named “Borrons’ 1100 essential words”, in two methods. The control group didn’t receive any of these strategies. Afterwards, two posttests (immediate and delayed) were administered. The data analysis was carried out by SPSS software. It is revealed that the Contextualized strategy group (Mean=37.3500) outperformed the Rote (Mean=35.9000) and control (Mean=25.7500) groups. The results of this study can be helpful for both the teachers and students to apply this strategy in the process of teaching and learning vocabulary items.