The effectiveness of using authentic materials to teach vocabulary among lower secondary school students: a case study

This study investigated the effectiveness of using authentic materials to teach vocabulary. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The samples (N=60) comprised of two classes of Form Two students. The students in the experimental group were taught using authentic materials to learn vocabulary while the students in the control group were taught using the conventional method. The students were administered a pre-test to assess the initial vocabulary levels of the students and two weeks later a post-test to assess the vocabulary development. Data collected revealed that the students in the experimental group had higher achievement than the students in the control group. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant. This indicated that students acquired more vocabulary through exposure to authentic materials in the teaching of English. Thus it is recommended that various authentic materials be used during the English lesson to make the lesson more interesting and to achieve better performance among the students