The Effectiveness of Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Developing Palestinian Students' Vocabulary, its Retention and their Attitudes towards Learning English

Abstract

This study addressed teaching English vocabulary as a foreign language to students in Palestine and their attitudes towards learning English. The study problem lied in the fact that Palestinian EFL learners face a big difficulty in learning English vocabulary and in forgetting the vocabulary they are exposed to in the classroom and showing an aversion towards learning English. The study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of vocabulary learning strategies in developing vocabulary and its retention, and in enhancing the students' attitudes towards learning English. The study results concluded that vocabulary learning strategies contributed effectively in developing the students' vocabulary and enabled them to retain it for a long time. The study findings also indicated that using vocabulary learning strategies helped students possess positive attitudes towards learning English language.