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Abstract
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Vocabulary acquisition plays an important role in learning foreign languages. In the meantime recognition and recall of the abstract social vocabulary are more challengeable for language learners than acquiring concrete words. With the help of the schema theory, vocabulary acquisition and memory, the present study aimed to shed light on the role of the ideological and cultural schemata in the acquisition of the abstract social vocabulary by Iranian language learners. For this purpose, 60 pre-intermediate language learners in 4 intact classes were selected from Mehregan English Institute in Bonab city. Then, the two chosen classes were assigned into control group and two others into experimental group, each group containing 30 male and 30 female students. After giving a diagnostic test for familiarity check of the vocabulary, the participants of the control group just were taught the target vocabulary by teacher’s explanation, exemplification and dictionary meaning but the participants of the experimental group, besides the teacher’s explanation, exemplification and illustration received the video clips and pictures as mnemonics for activating the related schemata in learners’ mind through the teaching process. After one week interval, the post-tests which were recall test for measuring the productive vocabulary knowledge and the recognition test for measuring receptive vocabulary knowledge were given to the learners, respectively. The results indicated the better performance of the experimental group in both recall and recognition tests and consequently, the positive role of the ideological and cultural schemata in the acquisition of abstract social vocabulary.
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