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Research and Trends in the Studies of Explicit Vocabulary Instructions and Vocabulary Acquisition

Mohd Haniff Mohd Tahir

Developing vocabulary knowledge of learners is believed to be significant for the improvement of language proficiency. This paper reviews selected eight articles on the issues of explicit vocabulary instructions and vocabulary acquisition in English as Second Language (ESL) or English as Foreign Language (EFL) context. In order to investigate the trends and patterns across all eight articles, the content and context of each study were critically analyzed. The results of the studies concluded that vocabulary knowledge which has been developed through explicit vocabulary instructions are highly effective to teach the target words, even for learners with limited exposure to English. Learners who were exposed to the target words explicitly were able to acquire them better compared to their counterparts. Few of these studies even stated that these learners retain the target words well during the delayed retention stage. The findings of the selected studies have also indicated preferred methods contributing to the success of vocabulary acquisition among learners. It is hoped that this paper will enlighten readers on the trends and patterns of the current literature in the area of explicit vocabulary instructions and vocabulary acquisition across ESL/EFL settings.