| المستخلص: |
The main concern of this research is to investigate the effect of lexical learning strategies in enhancing proficiency in English language. It also offers some insight into the relationship between the strategies students use and language learning outcomes. In other words, it shows that the more vocabulary learning strategies students use the more successful language learners they will be. The more learners elaborate the word-meaning complex and establish it within a suitable network of meaning the more the word and its meaning will be available for use at a later time, which in turn increases word retention and learners' abilities to use newly acquired vocabulary in a variety of situations which basically contributes to enhancing language proficiency in general. The current research also examines the differences between students' high scores on each of the proposed strategies and their scores in proficiency test. Therefore, the present research takes into account students' own attitudes and concepts towards vocabulary learning. The sample, totaling 100, was selected from the first year English Department students at the Faculty of Education of Al Azhar University. Results revealed that the experimental group was superior to the control group in language proficiency. The research findings also indicated that there was a strong relationship between strategy use and successful language learning. The findings also revealed that students high on semantic mapping strategy outperformed those high on think-aloud procedures in language proficiency. Results also showed that students high on semantic mapping outperformed those high on dictionary use strategy in language proficiency. In addition, the findings clarified that students high on think-aloud procedures outperformed those high on dictionary use strategy in language proficiency. It is recommended that detailed and extensive vocabulary strategy training should be encouraged when teaching English as a foreign language. This could be achieved by giving EFL learners the opportunity to practice the strategies that facilitate their lexical learning and increase word gains. Therefore, vocabulary instruction especially for academic programmes of prospective teachers of English should enhance lexical acquisition fostering strategy training procedures.
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