The effect of derivational morphology awareness of spanish – speaking intermediate (a2) efl learners on vocabulary acquisition and reading skills

Abstract

This current study investigated the roles of derivational morphology awareness in reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for Spanish speakers who are learning English as a Foreign Language. Thirty-five students of the Language Institute of Politecnica Salesiana University, Cuenca Headquarters were instructed in English derivational morphology strategies for vocabulary acquisition, and reading skills. Qualitative instruments, such as a questionnaire, and a survey were used, and administered to each participant. In addition, quantitative instruments were applied via pre-tests and post-test of vocabulary; a Nelson-Denny Reading and Vocabulary adapted test, and a reading comprehension one through a mock exam of the PET proficiency test of Cambridge reading parts 3, 4, and 5. Training on some strategies was needed through the application of four lesson plans, which contained activities to help participants develop skills to segment words, to recognize open class parts of speech, to judge grammatical and ungrammatical sentences, to produce words, and to choose the correct word in a reading according to its function in a sentence. The outcomes in this study showed that morphological awareness made a significant contribution to vocabulary acquisition as well as word reading fluency. Having an awareness of morphological structure and the ability to break down morphologically complex words into their constituent parts helped participants assign meaning to new words they encountered in texts.