ENRICHING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ LEXICAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COGNITIVE AND COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES
Keywords:
lexical competence; cognitive strategies; communicative approach; EFL instruction; vocabulary acquisition; multilingual educationAbstract
This article examines the development of lexical competence among high school EFL learners through the integration of cognitive and communicative strategies. The study provides an in-depth theoretical analysis of lexical competence as a multidimensional construct and substantiates the effectiveness of a communicative-cognitive approach to vocabulary instruction. Cognitive mechanisms such as categorization, inferencing, semantic mapping, and memory encoding are analyzed in conjunction with communicative tasks including task-based learning, interaction, and collaborative activities. The paper proposes a structured methodological model applicable to multilingual secondary school contexts and argues that the communicative-cognitive approach significantly enhances learners’ active and productive vocabulary use.
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