Exploring ESL vocabulary teaching among Malaysian primary school teachers: strategies and perception

Vocabulary is an important component in language learning as it supports learners’ comprehension and ability to communicate meaningfully especially in ESL primary classrooms. However, vocabulary instruction remains challenging because teachers need to select strategies that suit pupils’ proficiency levels while also working withinclassroom constraints. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the vocabulary teaching strategies used by Malaysian ESL primary school teachers by exploring their preferences, perceptions and the factors that influence their instructional decisions. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. In the first phase, quantitative data were collected using a questionnaire to identify the most frequently and least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) based on Schmitt’s (1997) taxonomy.