The Impact of the Waterfall Technique on Spelling Accuracy and Vocabulary Retention among Primary EFL Learners

الملخص

Vocabulary and spelling are fundamental components in developing language proficiency; especially at the elementary stages of learning. Therefore, EFL teachers should adopt the most effective ways for teaching these skills. This study investigates the effectiveness of the Waterfall Technique in enhancing spelling accuracy and vocabulary retention among fifth-grade students. The research was conducted at a randomly selected school in the Karkh district of Baghdad and involved 60 students, equally divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using the waterfall technique, while the control group followed traditional methods. Results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of performance, engagement, and motivation, confirming the technique’s effectiveness in teaching spelling and vocabulary.