Redesigning Approach in Developing Vocabulary Skills among English Language (ESL) Learners: Efficacy of Direct Morphological Instruction

Reading is only completed with comprehension with which the acquisition of vocabulary plays a vital role. It necessitates reading teachers to innovate vocabulary teaching strategies that will cater the needs of English Language (ESL) Learners. The study investigated the efficacy of Direct Morphological Instruction in developing vocabulary skills. Quasi-experimental method of research was used in the study, specifically the non-equivalent control group design. Two (2) intact and comparable sections of Grade 7 pupils, consisting of 30 and 35 students, respectively, from the Laboratory High School in Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology-Gabaldon Campus were selected as participants of the study. The pre-test was administered to both groups prior the implementation of Direct Morphological Instruction to the Experimental Group and the traditional approach to the Control Group. The researcher-made learning module was used for the 15-day vocabulary-building remedial instruction. Upon completion of the 15-day vocabulary-building instruction, the participants were given a fifteen-item post-test, and the data gathered were then analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics. The results revealed that Direct Morphological Instruction provided the participants with an evident progress in terms of their vocabulary skills but the difference between the post-test results of the Control and Experimental Group was not significant. Positive attitude of the respondents towards the vocabulary-teaching technique introduced was also affirmed in the results.