The Effect of Triple Blank Filling and Summary Writing Exercises on Learning L2 Vocabulary Meaning, Form, and Use

Abstract

This study examined the effects of two vocabulary exercises on facilitating learning    vocabulary meaning, form, and use. The participants of this study, who were selected through availability sampling, consisted of 50 EFL learners, and were classified into two groups of triple blank filling group (TBFG) and summary writing group (SWG). The intervention was composed of three phases: pretest, treatment, and posttest. At the outset of the experiment, the participants took the pretest, and subsequently they were subjected to instruction, in which the learners in each class were given their special exercises, which conformed to the treatment designed for that class. To be more specific, SWG was asked to summarize the reading passages and use the newly taught words in their written productions. On the other hand, for the TBFG, each sentence, which was an excerpt from the text, contained three blank spaces, and the learners were asked to fill in the blanks using correct words. Finally, the posttest was administered, and the results showed that the composition exercise overrode the blank filling exercises significantly in terms of being more conducive to the acquisition of meaning, form and use. The implications of the study may include, among other things, paying due attention to the value and usefulness of composition exercises and incorporating them into vocabulary teaching materials.