Teaching new words using collocations has been acknowledged as an effective way in vocabulary classes

2.2 Foreign language vocabulary acquisition
One of the contentious issues within the field of foreign language vocabulary acquisition is implicit (incidental) versus explicit (direct) vocabulary teaching and learning. In line with Sökmen, „the pendulum has swung from direct teaching of vocabulary (the grammar translation method) to incidental (the communicative approach) and now, laudably, back to the middle: implicit and explicit learning‟ (1997:239; emphasis added). Although these tendencies have developed in general chronologically, different views still coexist: while some advocate the (implicit) acquisition of vocabulary mainly by guessing from context (Nagy et al. 1985; Krashen 1989), others have realized the importance of combining the two approaches (Coady 1993), particularly in recognition of learners‟ individual strategies (Hulstijn 1993; Nation 2001). Despite its great impact on language teaching since the 1970s, CLT has been criticized for prioritizing implicit vocabulary teaching. Some of the criticisms are whether beginners know enough vocabulary to guess from context (Coady 1997:227) andthe fact that incidental learning has not shown to be more effective than other learning strategies such as the keyword method (Moore & Surber 1992). Moreover, other studies have proved that although reading for meaning has increased L2 vocabulary acquisition, direct instruction has reached even better results (Paribakht & Wesche 1993; Zimmerman 1994). These studies suggest that promoting a mixture of direct and incidental learning combined with learning strategies is the most fruitful way of teaching vocabulary.
Concerning the way in which new words are acquired, Hatch & Brown explain the five steps in the vocabulary acquisition process (based on Payne 1988): (1) encountering new words, (2) getting the word form, (3) getting the word meaning, (4) consolidating word form and meaning in memory, and (5) using the word (Hatch & Brown 1995:374). Thus, as the first step of the acquisition process, learners will encounter new words for example on the internet, television, music, books, movies, magazines, etc. In the case of the present study, the words from the exercises selected are encountered by students in the course book texts or listening activities. Hatch & Brown (1995:417) provide examples of how the other steps can be achieved. For example, getting the word form (2) is the step when students connect the sound with the word form, which can be done by reading the word aloud. As a way to get the word meaning (3), students can use bilingual or monolingual dictionaries or guess from context. Consolidating word form and meaning in memory (4) can be achieved by doing a number of exercises such as matching or translating words, filling in gaps, crossword puzzles, memory games, etc. Finally, to learn the uses of a word (5), students might be asked to write sentences or texts, answer questions that require the use of the word, or even consult concordances to check how the word is used (Hatch & Brown 1995:417-419).