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Top1. Introduction
Vocabulary is considered an essential element of education that forms the backbone of language. It is a vital part of EFL proficiency and offers a great deal of the basis for how learners will successfully perform listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Some scholars have viewed vocabulary as the most basic aspect of English language learning which begins with learning words, whether first or second. Because no message can be expressed without vocabulary. Thus, vocabulary is a critical aspect in language competence. During the process of vocabulary acquiring, it is vital not only to determine the meaning of a certain word, but also its use. Because of its relevance, vocabulary acquaintance is a prerequisite to grasp texts in various conditions. Specifically, vocabulary learning is not only the knowledge of words, but also is the knowledge of word senses (Nation,2013). In the same vein, Stahl (2005) stated that vocabulary knowledge is more than word definition, but rather it is how it is used in different context.
As Read (2004) stated that after a long time of worrying about the improvement of competence of grammar, language instructors and researchers nowadays mostly identify the strength of vocabulary instruction and they try to discover ways of developing it more effectively.
Schmitt (2000) claimed that words are learned for first time receptively and then can be achieved in the productive knowledge. He introduced a list of the different types of knowledge which has to be mastered to know a given word:
According to Nation (2009), vocabulary knowledge comprises three dimensions: meaning, use and form. This covers classes such as meaning-meaning relationships, communication medium, internal word structure, and form meaning relationship, and the occurrence in real life language usage. Nation added two types of vocabulary knowledge which are productive and receptive, the former means expressing meaning through speaking or writing, while the later means comprehending the meaning and the form of a word while reading or listening. In addition, Hedgcock and Ferris (2009) found that learning a word comprises processing meaning, a set of syntactic rules, word’s grammar and social rules governing how, where, and when to use the word correctly. That is because words are saved and connected in our mind thematically, sociolinguistically, phonologically, morphologically and conceptually. Therefore, vocabulary learning is more than just know the meaning of a given word (Nation,2001).
According to Oxford (1990) a specific strategy can make learning more efficiently. And according to Buzan &Buzan (2010) the human brain functions sporadically, hopping from thought to thought. Therefore, a multi-dimensional outline method is better to use than a linear outline one. This enables learners to transform their ideas in the form of free diagrams. This form is called mind mapping.