The paper titled "Usefulness and Learnability in Teaching Vocabulary to ESL/EFL Students" by Shanjida Halim and Tanzina Halim, focuses on the importance of selecting vocabulary based on its usefulness and learnability for ESL/EFL students. The primary research question revolves around how to effectively choose and teach vocabulary to ensure that students build a practical and quickly usable vocabulary.
The purpose of the study is to explore the criteria that should guide teachers in selecting vocabulary items for instruction. The study specifically investigates the concepts of usefulness and learnability in vocabulary teaching, proposing that these criteria are essential for building a solid foundation in language learning. The scope of the paper covers different aspects of vocabulary teaching, including the importance of form, meaning, usage, and the selection process.
The methodology of the paper is not empirical but rather conceptual, offering a theoretical discussion based on existing literature and the authors' experiences as educators. The authors do not conduct a specific experiment or survey but instead provide an analysis of teaching strategies and the rationale behind vocabulary selection.
The key findings highlight that vocabulary selection should be guided by factors such as the ease of learning (learnability), frequency of use in language (frequency), and the range of contexts in which the word can be applied (range). Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of transparency and ease of pronunciation, arguing that these factors can significantly impact a student's ability to learn and retain new vocabulary.
In conclusion, the study suggests that by focusing on the usefulness and learnability of vocabulary items, teachers can more effectively build their students' active and passive vocabulary knowledge. The implications of these findings underscore the importance of strategic vocabulary selection in language instruction, which can lead to more efficient and successful language acquisition for ESL/EFL learners.