This quasi-experimental study attempts to determine the influence of socio-linguistic factors on the exploitation of contextual clues for EFL unknown/unfamiliar word meaning inferencing in reading. The socio-linguistic factors concern learners’ age, EFL learning duration, first language use duration, first language use frequency, first language reading ability, first language reading inability. The investigated contextual clues are synonymous clues, antonymous clues, morphological/ derivational clues, definitional/ paraphrasal/ restatement clues, example/ explanation clues, French-related clues, thematic/collocational clues. A socio-linguistic background questionnaire, a pre-test and a post-test are the data collection instruments. A sample of 110 secondary school students divided into experimental (55) and control (55) groups are involved in this study. Composed of Lower-sixth formers/ SHS2 students, respondents were chosen through a simple and single-stage sampling technique called quota sampling technique considering the students’ alphabetical list. The data are analysed quantitatively by means of the Statistical Package in Social Services (SPSS), version 17.0 (2008). The results indicate that socio-linguistic factors enumerated above do not influence the exploitation of contextual clues for unknown/ unfamiliar word meanings inferencing during the activity of reading.

Keywords:

socio-linguistic factors, age, EFL learning, first language, clues, vocabulary teaching/learning, word meaning, reading

Pages:

61-76

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Type:

Research Paper

Field:

Language teaching and learning

Topic:

Languages and literatures teaching and learning

UDC:

811.133.1`27

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62413/lc.2024(1).05

Research Paper

Citations

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