Boosting Vocabulary Retention through Adding a Video Component to the Vocabulary Building Classes in English for Specific Purpose Situations

As vocabulary is considered a foundation for the reading skills of the language learners, it becomes more vital for them to pay extra attention to their vocabulary issues. This study aimed at introducing videos to vocabulary building classes and measuring the subsequent effects it had on the level of word retention in ESP language learners. The 46 participants of the study were chosen from among the first year students of management based on their performance in the language section of the national exam for entering state universities in Iran, aka Konkoor; all of them scoring 35 to 40 out of 100. They were then divided into 2 groups randomly. Both groups attended classes for reading texts related to port management with special focus on the new vocabulary. The first class was treated with only texts and exercises. The second class was treated with the same texts and exercises with the addition of selected videos with the length of around 10 minutes, also related to port management and specially selected to contain and discuss the same vocabulary. At the end of the classes, which lasted 16 weeks, 2 tests were administered to measure the students’ level of word retention; one immediately after the end of the week 16 and the other 3 months after the first test. The results showed the second group performed significantly better in both tests.