The effects of keeping vocabulary notebooks on productive academic vocabulary growth

Abstract

This study is an experimental study aiming to explore the effects of keeping vocabulary notebooks on productive academic vocabulary growth. The participants are composed of the first year ELT students at Mu la Sitki Kocman University. The participants got the treatment during their "Advanced Reading and Writing Skills II" course. The study consists of two groups, one of which is the control and the other one is the experimental group. The groups were selected randomly between two classes in the spring term of 2013-2014 Academic Year. The data were obtained in two sections: before and after the treatment. Before the treatment, the participants of both groups had a pre-test on vocabulary composing of three sections as true-false, word formation and multiple choice questions so as to define their current level of academic vocabulary knowledge. Both groups used the same materials whereas only the participants of the experimental group were asked to keep vocabulary notebooks. The treatment lasted eight weeks at the end of which post-tests were applied to both groups to detect any differences. The findings showed that the experimental group made more progress than the control group especially in terms of word formation section which requires productive vocabulary knowledge. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.