Systematic Introduction of Vocabulary and its Effect on Acquisition: Primary Education Students of English as a Foreign Language

The aim of the present study is to find out whether there exists a relation between word distribution and receptive and productive acquisition. A group of 20 students of EFL took two vocabulary tests based on L1-L2 and L2-L1 translation. The test items were target words from the students' coursebook. These words had been previously attributed an index of dispersion (Gries 2008). Results show that those words which were more regularly distributed had a higher level of acquisition. In the light of these results, a regular and systematic introduction is recommended for vocabulary acquisition within the context of Foreign Language Learning.