The selection of lexical units for pedagogy and research has been a contentious issue in second language (L2) vocabulary studies; however, many investigations have lacked classroom-based research. This mixed-methods quasi-experimental study examined the effects of teaching word families on vocabulary acquisition among adolescent first-language (L1) Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language learners. The quantitative component employs a quasi-experimental research design with 2 groups: an experimental group—the word-families group (n = 44)—which received structural elaboration instruction on 50 target words from the course textbook along with their inflected and derived forms, and a comparison group—the individual-word-forms group (n = 49)—which received semantic elaboration instruction focused on individual word forms and their meanings. Their vocabulary gains on the 50 target words were assessed using an L2-to-L1 meaning-recall translation test. The qualitative component consisted of a post-experiment survey that included open-ended items designed to elicit the experimental participants’ perceptions of the classroom-based word-family instruction. Results from the L2-to-L1 meaning-recall translation test indicate that learners exposed to word families through structural elaboration outperformed those taught individual word forms through semantic elaboration. In addition, post-experiment survey responses from the word-families group were positive, highlighting the perceived benefits of structural elaboration in accelerating learning, enhancing memorization, and improving comprehension of word meanings. These findings offer concrete pedagogical recommendations for L2 teachers seeking to enhance vocabulary acquisition in classroom settings.
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