Developing vocabulary through the receptive skills: case of 1st year efl students at the university of tlemcen

Abstract

The global aim of the present reseach work is an attempt to reach a threshold level of the learning of a foreign language (English) through the development of vocabulary. Observing the very limited rate of use of English in the Algerian community, our EFL students, actually, need to progress in the mastery of the language by reading and/or listening to texts or messages intensively.To achieve this goal, the subsequent procedure is followed: A brief survey on the linguistic situation in Algeria where emphasis will be on the consideration of the foreign languages and their role in the educational system. Then, the perennial role of vocabulary in the learning of languages is stressed with clarification of second and foreign language status in the community. However, the question of why reception (reading and listening) is most appropriate for the growth of a foreign language vocabulary was the basic research question. In due course, a language proficiency test (a pre-test, then a post-test) was conducted to verify the appropriateness of the adopted theory.