A REVIEW ON THE APPLICATION OF SENSE RELATIONS IN TEACHING VOCABULARY

Abstract

This paper critically reviews previous empirical studies on the application of sense relations in vocabulary instruction to highlight gaps and minimally addressed issues, providing directions for future research within the Vietnamese context. Employing a systematic literature review methodology, approximately 10 relevant publications, including journal articles, dissertations, and conference proceedings, were rigorously selected and analyzed. The findings demonstrate that sense-relation approaches (synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy, collocations) often result in significant improvements in lexical knowledge, retention, and productive usage compared to traditional vocabulary instruction methods. However, some studies have indicated potential drawbacks, such as cognitive overload and short-term interference, when semantic groupings are excessively dense. Notably, the review also identifies substantial methodological limitations across the literature, including reliance on single-instrument measures, small and homogeneous sample sizes, and a predominant focus on theoretical or textbook analyses lacking empirical validation. Moreover, the scarcity of research specifically conducted in Vietnamese educational settings further underscores the urgent need for large-scale, longitudinal, mixed-method investigations. Consequently, future research should explicitly address these methodological and contextual shortcomings to effectively determine how sense-relations pedagogy can best support vocabulary development among Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language.