Self-regulation mechanisms and vocabulary acquisition in a group of EFL Students During COVID-19: a qualitative study

Abstract

This qualitative study aims to describe the possible relationship between L2 productive vocabulary acquisition and self-regulation associated with vocabulary learning in a group of six second-year students during the two years of emergency online learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the Sociocultural approach, the current research presents a longitudinal case study that evaluated productive vocabulary gains by analysing pre-test and post-test results. Self-regulation was assessed by applying a translated questionnaire. The information from this instrument was complemented using semi-structured interviews and written answers to open questions aligned with the self-regulation model used. Findings revealed that the pandemic context affected all the areas evaluated in this research since the data gathered showed an overall lack of self-regulation in most of the participants. The exploration of the individual subcategories of self-regulation showed that the areas of Emotion Control, Satiation Control and Environmental Control were the lowest types of control while Commitment Control and Metacognitive Control were the highest ones. Additionally, very low vocabulary growth was found. It was concluded that the implications of the pandemic in both variables were mostly negative. However, further research should be done in order to focus on other areas of L2 knowledge and study more participants.