چكيده
This study has investigated the effect of topic interest on learning new vocabulary in a reading comprehension text, among students with high and low language proficiency levels. In order to do so, a true quasi-experimental design was employed. Eighty language learners studying at Iran Language Institute in the city of Tabriz, Iran were given a Nelson Test as the proficiency test. In the next phase of the study, a topic interest questionnaire was given to all the learners in the study to assess their interest area. Then reading comprehension texts corresponding to these interest areas (the most interesting areas for experimental groups and least interesting areas for control groups) and vocabulary questions following the text, were given to both high and low language proficiency level groups as a pretest. After 12 treatment sessions, the same pretest was given to all the learners as a posttest. Finally, the scores gained through the pretest of both high and low language proficiency level learners including control groups and experimental groups, were compared with each other and with their posttest scores and were analyzed through the parametric independent-samples t-test and two-way ANOVA test to fulfill the purpose of the study. The results gained from the study proved that, learners of both experimental groups at high and low language proficiency level groups performed better in their posttest. Ultimately, this study proves that if the topic is of interest to both high and low proficient learners, they would demonstrate more enthusiasm to learn the new words in the reading comprehension text, otherwise they will not be very eager to understand the point of the
