English Vocabulary Acquisition for Efl Students with Learning Disabilities in Israel- A Review of Instructional Strategies for Teachers

Abstract

This article is about English Vocabulary Acquisition for EFL Students with learning disabilities- LD- in Israel - A Review of Instructional Strategies for Teachers. In this paper I present a review of Instructional Strategies for Teachers who teach English as a Foreign language. I write about several strategies that are geared toward a successful process of vocabulary acquisition. Most of the former theories link vocabulary acquisition to the reading process. When it comes to EFL LD students’ reading capabilities, even on a very basic scale, it can impose a severe obstacle. In my study, many of the students are very poor EFL readers, or emergent readers. Still, I believe that within the use of the suitable instructional strategies that do not require fluent reading, we can teach vocabulary effectively. There is a major importance for my students, to be able to study English vocabulary within a meaningful context, and to learn by doing, by action. In this paper I state that The Eco social Context Instructional Strategy is the most effective strategy when it comes to vocabulary acquisition for my EFL LD students. I base my statement mainly on the social ecology study of Bookchin, in his book Social Ecology and Communalism, that elaborates on the relationship between individuals and the environment as all part of one ecosystem. When learning new words withing action in the open environment, the acquisition abilities will be greater.

Keywords

• efl – english as a foreign language
• ld-learning disabilities
• l1- first language (native language)
• l2 – second language
• sla-second language acquisition