Training Low-Achiever EFL Learners with Metacognitive Strategy Training for Effective Vocabulary Retention

There is ample research on the vocabulary learning strategies used by EFL and ESL learners.Moreover,many researchers have attempted to discern the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary learning strategies instruction.However,the impact of using metacognitive strategies along with vocabulary learning strategies on weak language learners has not been researched.The aim of this paper is to report on the effects of training low-achiever English as a foreign language learners with vocabulary learning strategies along with metacognitive strategies on vocabulary acquisition.Two B1 level groups of students were assigned as treatment and control groups at a university in Istanbul,Turkey.A Vocabulary Strategy Use Survey was given to identify the vocabulary strategy use of the subjects at the outset of the study.The treatment group was trained on vocabulary learning strategies combined with metacognitive strategy training.The control group studied the same words without any training.A vocabulary test was administered to both groups as a post-test and the results were compared.The findings of the Post-Test demonstrated that training weak language learners with vocabulary learning strategies along with metacognitive strategies has a positive impact on helping these learners increase their lexical knowledge,as the experimental group scored higher on the post-test compared to the control group.