The Effect of Using Focused Tasks through Input Flooding on Reading Comprehension Skill of Iranian High School Students

1. IntroductionVocabulary can be the essential part of any language which is an important element of receptive and productive skills. Thus there is a need to have adequate vocabulary knowledge for interacting in a foreign language learning program. Therefore, Iranian learners may encounter problems in using the four language skills. McCarthy (1990) claims that without words, learning L2 cannot be mastered since the learners need to express theire needs and communicate to achieve those needs. In this case, communication in L2 just cannot occur in any interactive manner.In fact, many researchers as Hulstijn (1997) believe that vocabulary learning is a vital part of the learners' lives. Gorjian, Moosavinia and Rovies (2011) note that vocabulary can affect the learners' thoughts, beliefs and aims. In many EFL classes in Iran, many teachers have given time to teach vocabulary; however, the results have been disappointing (Rezapour, 2011). Akbari (2008) suggested that in Iran the method most frequently used in English classes is to consult a bilingual dictionary or the teacher for the meaning of unfamiliar words. Too much dictionary work makes learners bored and reluctant to learn vocabulary and this may affect their comprehension. Moreover, EFL learners often complain about forgetting words quickly and ask about efficient ways for improving long-term retention of words. Therefore, it seems necessary for teachers to make use of some rather innovative strategies for teaching vocabulary. One of the strategies that can be very effective in improving the knowledge of vocabulary and seems to be neglected in the case of Iranian EFL learners is open concept sort (Baleghizadeh & Ashoori, 2010)There is an urgent need to study this aspect in order to see if vocabulary recall and retention will be influenced by the use of open concept sort strategy in Iranian EFL pre-intermediate learners. In order to learn and memorize vocabulary in L2 learning, learners may design some strategies. Researchers conducted studies on good learners and found the most successful learners are those who actively choose the most appropriate strategy from a range of available options and decide how to pursue the strategy and when to switch to another strategy (Gu & Johnson, 1996). Since a good knowledge of vocabulary plays a great role on the learners' reading comprehension, more attention is needed to be paid to have creative methods in teaching vocabulary in language classes. This study would guide Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners who are trying to develop their vocabulary knowledge in general and the use of open concept sort strategy in vocabulary recall and retention in particular. Therefore, it would prove the pedagogical value of using open concept sort strategy and lead English teachers to help and guide their students in the choice of the appropriate strategy to improve vocabulary recall and retention (Brown & Perry, 2011).2. Literature ReviewThe elaboration of a word is rather difficult and there are several different views concerning what a word really is. Indeed, without vocabulary there is no tool for verbal communication and everybody realizes it. However, people may see vocabulary differently from the words and hence defining the words could make its problems. Singleton (1999), states that even though the word is the vital part of a language, the individual cannot find a simple definition of the word. This may make several scholars work on finding a clear definition for describing a word. Singleton clarifies his view by continuing that what is meant by the term words will depend on the level of abstraction at which a speaker or a writer is operating, the linguistic levels being discussed and even the semantic content of the situation. From an orthographic point of view, word is any sequence of letters bounded together as seen in written language (Carter, 1998). However, Singleton (1999) criticizes this view since it only applies to languages that operate with writing systems similar to Roman or Cyrillic alphabet. …