THE EFFECTS OF NURSERY RHYMES ON EFL LEARNERS' VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of teaching English vocabulary through nursery rhymes on the vocabulary knowledge of EFL learners. The objectives were as follows: (1) to study the effects of nursery rhymes on the vocabulary knowledge of third-grade EFL learners; (2) to study the effects of nursery rhymes on the vocabulary knowledge of fourth-grade EFL students; (3) to compare the effects of nursery rhymes on the vocabulary knowledge of third-grade EFL students compared to on fourth grade EFL; and (4) to investigate the attitudes of EFL learners towards learning vocabulary through nursery rhymes. The participants included 57 learners selected via a purposive sampling and were divided into two groups: 29 third-grade learners and 28 fourth-grade learners. The instruments employed in the study were an English vocabulary test, lesson plans, a questionnaire, and interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed utilizing mean scores, standard deviation, dependent t-test analysis, and the analysis of covariance. Meanwhile, the qualitative data were analyzed by employing content analysis. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of EFL third-grade learners (t = 14.48, p < 0.05); similarly, there were statistically significant differences in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of EFL fourth-grade learners (t = 10.41, p < 0.05). To compare the post-test mean scores of EFL third-grade learners to those of EFL fourth-grade learners, there were no statistically significant differences in the mean score of EFL third-grade learners (M = 17.16, SE = 0.43) and the mean scores of EFL fourth-grade learners (M = 16.36, SE = 0.43). This suggested that nursery rhymes positively impacted learners from different backgrounds. Furthermore, the learners had positive attitudes toward learning vocabulary through nursery rhymes. They favored this teaching method and thought that this method helped to improve their reading.

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