Incorporating Schema in the Improvement of Iranian EFL Learners’ L2 Speaking Ability

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact of incorporating background knowledge on L2 vocabulary development of teenage EFL learners in a language institute in Minab, Iran. To this purpose and as an experimental method of research, two intact groups of learners were chosen to participate in the experiment. The participants of the study were made up of 56 EFL learners in the language institute. To homogenize the subjects, an Oxford Placement Test was administered and only those whose scores fell one standard deviation above and below the mean were selected for the study. The other instruments were two sets of vocabulary tests which were used to tap the initial vocabulary knowledge of the learners in both groups: pre and post vocabulary tests. The same type of material was used for both the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG). In other words, the learners in both groups were instructed through the same sources, the same teacher, and the same teaching hours. Based on the obtained data, the participants in the CG did not benefit from the traditional teaching processes as much as the learners in EG.