The Effect of Vocabulary Instruction through Antonymous and Semantically Unrelated Sets on Iranian EFL Learners’ Learning across English Language Proficiency Level and Sex

The practitioners of language learning have introduced various techniques for vocabulary instruction as one of the significant bases in the process of language teaching. One of them is the presentation of new vocabulary items in semantically related or unrelated sets. This study sets forth to investigate whether there is any significant difference in vocabulary learning via the two techniques of antonymous and semantically unrelated sets among Iranian EFL learners with different proficiency levels and different sexes. For this purpose, 120 (60 male and 60 female) students took the Vocabulary Knowledge test and the Definition test. In order to analyze the data related to this study, two two-way ANOVAs were conducted. The findings revealed that the participants in semantically unrelated sets group outperformed their peers in the antonymous sets group. Also in each group, the high proficient participants outscored their low proficient peers. It was evidenced that, in all groups, females performed better than their male peers. The purpose of the current study is to find that from among the two previously mentioned techniques for teaching vocabulary, which one is the most suitable technique for teaching vocabulary to Iranian EFL learners with different proficiency levels and different sexes.