Omid Tabatabaei - Associate Professor of TEFL, English Department, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad Branch, Najafabad, Iran
Forouzan Malekmohammad - PhD student, English Department, Islamic Azad University, Najafabad, Iran

Tasks with a high involvement load would induce a higher success rate of retention and recall of target words for learners. A high task-based involvement load is defined by the need to focus on target words, the mental search for target word meanings by guessing from context, and select and decide on the word meanings that are most appropriate in the context. This study investigated the effect of code-switched and original reading tasks on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary recall and retention-retrieval. For this purpose, ۸۰ Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners were divided into two groups. The experimental group (n=۴۲) was given a code-switched reading text (translated into Persian while ۳۰ words were left untranslated), and the comparison group (n=۳۸) read the original version of the same text. An immediate recall test was conducted without prior notice, followed by a delayed retrieval test a week later. Independent-samples t-test results showed that the EFL learners in the experimental group significantly outperformed the comparison group in lexical retention-retrieval. Furthermore, the experimental group’s recall scores were higher than those of the comparison group. The higher involvement load of code-witched reading tasks and the visual salience of code-switched text might account for the higher retention-retrieval scores of the experimental group than those of the comparison group. The language teachers might use code-switched texts in teaching vocabulary.

Code-switched, recall, retention-retrieval, reading tasks, EFL learners