Developing Learners’ Vocabulary of English as a Foreign Language through Reading and Writing Activities and Strategies

Abstract

Vocabulary is an important aspect of communication skills. What is often observed in a classroom of English as a foreign language in Albanian pre-university education is learners’ written communication marked by low levels of linguistic accuracy and fluency; moreover, the English course book is the primarily published material used in the classroom. Considering the main aim of English language school program that is learning English for communicative purposes, this article aims at presenting a vast amount and variety of activities and strategies that foreign language teachers and learners can use for teaching and learning vocabulary effectively while building reading and writing skills. For this reason, some English course books used in Albanian pre-university education have been analyzed using deductive content analysis method and some target theory and research has been reviewed and then analyzed using an inductive content analysis method. The results show that the selected course books offer a variety of activities and strategies, but the target literature also suggests more other typologies of them. The listed activities and strategies in this paper can help foreign language teachers select and adapt the proper activity according to the teaching and learning goals, levels of learners’ language proficiency and learners’ needs; moreover, learners can enhance their linguistic knowledge and competence, as well as improve written communication skills of the target language. The study has potential limitations: the results are based on four EFL course books and some target studies.  Further analysis of other course books and target literature can expand the target knowledge base. The research also offers practical methodological options for foreign language teachers to improve the quality of (vocabulary) teaching and learning. 

Received: 15 November 2024 / Accepted: 10 February 2025 / Published: 06 March 2025