Presenting semantically related L2 words is a popular method in EFL coursebooks, but the research results on this issue remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of semantic clustering on Korean young learners’ English vocabulary learning. The study was conducted with 174 primary school students. The subjects were divided into two groups: a semantically related words group (SR) and a semantically unrelated words group (SU). For the six weeks of treatment, the two comparison groups were taught the same 40 vocabulary items in different clusters. The vocabulary test results showed that both vocabulary presentation methods had a positive effect on vocabulary learning. However, the SU group significantly outperformed the SR group. These findings indicate that presenting new L2 words in semantically unrelated sets might be more effective than semantically related sets.

The objective of this study was to determine the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility gained in young adults with calf muscle tightness, as measured by increases in ankle active and passive dorsiflexion range of motion (DFROM) after three stretching interventions. Twenty subjects (5 men and 15 women) with calf muscle tightness received the following three stretching interventions in one leg (assigned at random): static stretching (SS), eccentric training on stable surface (ETS), and eccentric training on unstable surfaces (ETU). The subjects received all three interventions to the same leg, applied in a random order. Each intervention had a break of at least 24 h in-between, in order to minimize any carryover effect. Each intervention used two types of stretching: with the calf muscle stretched and both knees straight, and with the knee slightly bent in order to maximize the activation of the soleus muscle. All three interventions were performed for 200 seconds. We measured the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility through active and passive ankle DFROM before intervention, immediately after intervention (time 0), and then 3, 6, 9, 15, and 30 min after intervention. We found a difference in the duration of maintained calf muscle flexibility between the three interventions. In the ETS and ETU interventions, a significant improvement in calf muscle flexibility, both ankle active and passive dorsiflexion ranges of motion (ADFROM and PDFROM), was maintained for 30 min. In the SS intervention, however, ADFROM before 9 min and PDFROM before 6 min were statistically different from the baseline. Our results suggest that ETS and ETU may be more effective than SS for maintaining calfmuscle flexibility in young adults.