Implementing learning strategies to improve vocabulary learning: a literature review

Abstract

Research recommends that implementing explicit teaching of learning strategies to improve vocabulary learning, enhanced the students process to self-directed learning. Lately, there has been a concern in the concept of planning, implementing and evaluating explicitly learning strategies by teachers in the classroom. However, the long-term benefits of this process in the students and their vocabulary growth seems to be under researched. This review considers twenty research papers to identify the outcomes that determine the effectiveness of implementing learning strategies instruction. The findings suggest that the effort and time spent on direct teaching is favored by the outperformance on students’ vocabulary posttests and abilities. Moreover, high proficiency students trained by this explicit instruction found this process more helpful, since the exposure to the strategies assist them to determine if they adopt or neglect the use of the strategies in their vocabulary learning process; activating their self-efficacy and selfdirected learning. Further research in this area is needed to investigate the impact of the explicit training towards their self-direction process.