Demystifying the Effect of Narrow Reading on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Recall and Retention

The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of narrow reading on English as foreign language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary recall and retention. To this end, 60 senior high school students studying at Tarbiyat High School in Mahshahr, Iran, were selected from four intact classes. The participants were then divided into two equal groups, experimental and control. Ten words which were unknown to the participants were selected as target words. The experimental group received thematically related passages while the control group was given reading passages of different topics. The immediate posttest was given to the participants two days after the treatment. Afterwards, two delayed posttests were administered with two week intervals. The scores were analyzed through two-way repeated measures ANOVA, Bonferroni pairwise comparisons, and independent samples 𝑡-tests. The results revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in all posttests. The implications arising from the findings and suggestions for future research were explained.