The Effects of the Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) on Vocabulary Strategy Use by Moroccan Common Core Graders

Abstract

Much of the research in the field of English language teaching indicates that not all Strategy-Based Instruction (SBI) studies have achieved successful results. Some SBI programmes have proved their efficiency in some skill areas but not in others, even within the same study (Oxford, 1989). This study explores the effect of vocabulary strategy instruction application with a sample of 40 EFL learners attending a common core class in a Moroccan high school. The student participants were divided into an experimental group, which received vocabulary strategy training, and a control group, which followed the regular English language course. Vocabulary strategy use in both groups was evaluated with the use of the adapted Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire of Gu and Johnson’s (1996, pp. 673-679) (VLQ Version 3), which was distributed before and immediately after the intervention. The results indicated that after the completion of the intervention programme, the experimental group showed significant improvement in self-reported vocabulary strategy use as a whole as well as in all strategy groups. The findings of the current study prove the "teachability" of learning strategies and insist that explicit and integrated strategy training should be implemented in the EFL classroom. From a theoretical point of view, the results of the study may lead to a good understanding of the nature of language acquisition in general, particularly in foreign language learning contexts. Furthermore, the results may be very useful for practitioners who are involved in the areas of syllabus design, curriculum planning, and material development.