Effectiveness of vocabulary learning strategies in proper reading comprehension and English as a foreign language

Abstract

English as a Foreign Language is a matter of research and improvement, aiming for a balance within both types of institutions (private/public) and their students, finally measured by the same exams and mutually struggling for the same future opportunities. The purpose of this research is to prove how effective the use of supplementary strategies to improve reading comprehension by introducing new vocabulary before reading, focusing on pushing this skill and gaining reading comprehension and proficiency as a consequence. This study aimed to follow the learners’ process and support their reading comprehension abilities to help them acquire a better understanding of texts in English, as well as develop vocabulary learning strategies. This study was carried out with 12 middle school learners with A 1 level from a private school in Colombia, who freely agreed to take extracurricular workshops to improve their skills, where vocabulary was presented and worked before the reading comprehension activity, and finally, learners were pushed to write. Along with the workshops, learners took three exams to measure the results and effectiveness of the strategy. In the end, students showed gradual progress, improving their tests grades by 25.9% in the second test and 11.5% in the final test (group’s average), as well as an improvement in their grades in their regular classes.