Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Medical Students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the use of vocabulary learning strategies among medical students at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) in Iran as an EFL context. A questionnaire was administered to 120 medical students (53 males, 67 females) to identify; 1) the effective types of vocabulary learning strategies used by the learners and 2) the differences in vocabulary strategy use based on gender. The results revealed that guessing and dictionary strategies were the most frequently used VLS and social and study preference strategies were the least used ones. The results of ANOVA showed that there were statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the eight strategies. As to gender, the females utilized more VLS than males specially in the case of guessing and note-taking strategies; the statistical analysis indicated a significant difference between the students’ gender and their choice of VLS.