EFFECTS OF GLOSSARY ON IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS' ENGLISH WRITING SKILL

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effects of glossary use on the essay writing of Iranian EFL learners at Shiraz University. The participants of the study were 33 senior students majoring in English literature who were asked to write about an IELTS topic in 40 minutes. The participants were divided into three equal groups; two experimental groups, one with English glossary and the other with Persian glossary, and the control group who did not receive any glossary. The results revealed that although there were no significant differences between the experimental groups and the control group with respect to their overall writing score, glossary use affected the experimental groups' performance on vocabulary aspect of writing. Those who used a glossary, regardless of using a native or a target one, could enrich the vocabulary of their writings. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers use supplementary materials in writing courses in order to improve the students' writing ability.