Task-based instruction vs. translation method in teaching vocabulary: The case of Iranian-secondary school students

he present research investigated the usefulness of task-based activities versus translation for incidental learning of vocabulary. For this purpose, forty Iranian EFL students whose vocabulary knowledge was within the same range were randomly assigned into two groups. In group A, the task group, participants performed two communicative tasks over a period of sixty minutes. In group B, the translation group, students were required to translate a text cooperatively. To assess the incidental gains of the participants, after performing the activities, three types of tests were administered to both groups. Results indicated that although both groups had almost the same performances in form recognition test, better results were obtained in meaning translation and multiple-choice tests of the translation class. Overall, the study revealed that in EFL context, using translation in a communicative framework enhances vocabulary learning at deeper levels of cognitive processing leading to deeper vocabulary gains for unknown words.