EXPLORING ESL STUDENTS' EXPERIENCES OF VOCABULARY LEARNING THROUGH CONTEXTUAL READING ACTIVITIES: A QUALITATIVE CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH

Abstract

The qualitative action research that is currently undertaken in the classroom is the exploration of the experience of ESL students in the contextual reading activities to acquire vocabulary. The research was carried out in a Pakistani secondary school and English classroom in which the researcher conducted the study where he engaged 25 students to be part of a four-week intervention that entailed the implementation of contextual clues strategies in reading comprehension assignments. The data collection tools were semi structured interview, reflective journal, classroom observations, and focus group discussions. Thematic analysis revealed that there are four broad themes that include: enhanced word awareness and inferencing abilities, enhanced confidence in reading independently, collaborative meaning-making as a learning scaffold, and continued inability to read between the lines in complex context. The findings have revealed that contextual reading exercise positively influences vocabulary acquisition experiences of students by facilitating text-based interaction and motivating them to apply strategies. However, the effectiveness of these activities depends on the suitability of the text, abilities of the learners, and didactical support. The study contributes to the study of vocabulary in the experiential dimension using context and pedagogical implication to the ESL teachers.