Are We Preparing Secondary Students for a Productive Use of Vocabulary in English as Their Second Language?

Abstract

This study examines the productive vocabulary profiles of Costa Rican high school students studying EFL under two different methodologies, Content Based Teaching (CBT) and Foreign Language Teaching (FLT). Following Laufer and Nation’s (1999) idea of “controlled productive ability,” the participants were tested using the Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (PVLT). Statistically significant differences favor CBT students. After examining gender differences, the evidence also suggests that CBT could have a beneficial effect on students learning of the first 2,000 words of English, particularly for male students. Neither group, however, has fully mastered this word band yet. © 2017, Universidad de Granada. All rights reserved.