Vocabulary teaching and learning

1. Vocabulary teaching and learning • Incidental vs. Explicit learning of vocabulary • Depth of Processing Hypothesis (DOPH) • (Taxonomies of) Vocabulary learning strategies • (Memory strategies, e.g. the Keyword technique, using mental images) • Guessing word meaning from the context • Selecting, recording and revising vocabulary • Relevant research studies

2. Discussion What is meant by “incidental” and “explicit” vocabulary learning? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of these approaches? What kind of words do you think should be learnt explicitly?  Given the limitations of both approaches, what do you think is the best approach to adopt in vocabulary teaching and learning?

3. Incidental learning of vocabulary • Natural exposure to language (through listening or reading) • Upside: useful for revisiting / consolidating words learnt before; improve “depth” of vocab knowledge; develop intuition for collocation • Downside: massive amount of input required; intention to remember the language is usually absent • To be accompanied by vocabulary-focussed exercises / quizzes / glosses

4. Can incidental learning of vocabulary (alone) lead to gains in vocabulary size (quantity) and vocabulary knowledge (quality)??? Some instruction is needed • A few pre-requisites • L2 vocabulary size (95% coverage of texts) • Knowledge about how to guess word meaning from context • Reading / Listening material must be rich in contextual clues

5. Vocabulary size and text coverage

6. Pre-requisite for incidental learning of vocabulary • Before learners can begin learning a language through reading texts intended for adult native speakers, they need a threshold size of 3000-5000 word families. Target Cumulative target • KS1 (Pri 3) 1000 1000 • KS2 (Pri 6) 1000 2000 • KS3 (Sec 3) 1500 3500 • KS4 (Sec 6) 1500 5000

7. Words that students should learn explicitly • First 2,000 words • 80% of text coverage • First 2,000 words + AWL • 90% of text coverage • First 2,000 words + AWL + Technical vocab • 95% of text coverage of a text that a student would typically read • First 2,000 words + AWL + Technical vocab + most frequently used prefixes, roots and suffixes

8. Most frequently used prefixes

9. Graded readers • Promises • Fun; pleasurable • Increase exposure to language; increase comprehension • Exercises help practice new vocabulary and grammar • Graded: according to number of headwords (from most needed by students); word frequencies; length • Resource package: exercises and keys; ideas on how the readers can be used

10. Explicit (Deliberate) learning of vocabulary • Attention directly focused on learning of vocabulary • Upside: greatest chance for acquisition • Downside: time consuming; laborious

11. A balanced approach to vocabulary teaching (Nation, 2008)* Each component should take up a quarter of the curriculum: *Chapter One, Nation, I.S. P. (2008). Teaching vocabulary: Strategies and techniques. Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning.

12. Depth of Processing Hypothesis (DOPH) Deeper analysis of stimulus  More persistent memory trace  Better recall Shallow and Deep language learning activities: Can you think of some examples of vocab learning strategies that would involve shallow processing and strategies that would involve deeper processing?

13. Shallow vs Deep Processing Considered to be shallow: Rote memorisation of word lists Verbal / written repeitition Considered to be deeper: Contextual guessing Association / Grouping Using newly learnt words in speaking / writing (activation of newly learnt words)

14. Vocabulary Learning Strategies • Important for independent learning of low-frequency words • It is important to use a range of strategies • The quality of strategy use counts for more than the quantity of strategies used • It is important to choose strategies flexibly and appropriately according to context • Strategies can be taught and weaker learners can benefit from strategy training

15. Taxonomy of VLS by Schmitt (1997) • Taxonomy of Language Learning Strategies (LLS) by O’Malley & Chamot, 1990: cognitive, metacognitive, socio-affective • Oxford’s (1990) LLS taxonomy – direct (memory, cognitive, compensation) and indirect (metacognitive, affective, social) • Nation (1990) – discovery vs consolidation strategies • Schmitt’s (1997) VLS taxonomy: (1) Discovery:discovering the meaning of unknown words • Determination strategies (finding meaning without recourse to others) • Social strategies (consulting or working with others to discover meaning) (2) Consolidation:remembering words once their meaning has been discovered • Social strategies • Memory strategies (mnemonics) • Cognitive strategies (similar to memory, but without the use of mnemonics) • Metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluation of learning)

16. Schmitt (1997) 600 Japanese EFL college learners (junior high school / high school / university / adult ss) preferred using the bilingual dictionary to discover meaning of words Preferred verbal and written repetition (mechanical rehearsals) to remember the meanings As the Japanese learners matured, they tended to move away from shallow, mechanical repetition such as word lists and flash cards to deeper mental processing such as word association strategies

17. Nation’s (2001) Taxonomy

18. VLS research on Chinese learners

19. VLS research on Chinese learners • Gu and Johnson (1996) -- China • VLS and learning outcomes (vocab size and lg prof) • Gu (2002) -- China • VLS and vocab size, lg prof, gender, academic major • Gu (2003) -- China • VLS of two successful EFL learners (selected from 11 learners who carried out “think-aloud” during a reading task, and were interviewed afterwards; the notes they took during the reading task were studied) • Wei (2007) -- China • VLS and gender, major, lg prof (self-reported), problems in vocab learning • Liao (2004) -- Taiwan • VLS and major • Fan (2003) -- HK • Use of VLS (questionnaire – frequency of use & perceived usefulness) • Wu (2008) -- HK • LLS in vocational colleges

20. Some conclusions based on these studies Positive correlation between strategy use and language proficiency / learning outcomes Successful learners use a wider range of strategies, use deeper processing strategies, and use strategies more skillfully / flexibly Importance of self-initiation, selective attention, guessing word meaning, activation of newly learned words Management, activation of newly learnt /known words, association, and social strategiesseem under-used by Asian learners

21. The positive effect of VLS trainingStrategies that were reported to be used significantly more frequently at the end of the course • *Strategies introduced in the English (EAP) course for Dentistry students • Source: Loong Y & Chan S W L, A Study of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Adopted by Dentistry Students in Hong Kong In Learning Specialized Dental Vocabulary, September 2012, Asian ESP Journal

22. Guessing strategies • Find the part of speech • Identify familiar parts • Examine immediate context • Examine wider context • Guess the meaning • Check the guess

23. Answers • Arduous – difficult / tiring • Affability – friendliness • Saunter – walk slowly • Boisterous – noisy / energetic • Squander – spend in a wasteful way • Weave – make cloth • Remuneration – payment • Dusk – early evening • Toil – work very hard

24. Selecting vocabulary to focus on

25. Recording vocabulary • Take note of newly learnt words • Semantic relations between newly learnt words and their antonyms or synonyms • Newly learnt words and their collocations • Verb forms (irregular verbs) • Nouns (countable/ uncountable) • POS • Drawing

26. Revising vocabulary Plan for “spaced repetition” Follow a particular topic reported in the media over a few days, e.g. reading about the development of an issue on the Internet or in newspapers over a few days so that you keep meeting the same words or synonyms of these words Use quizzes to test yourself regularly Revise the words recorded in your vocabulary notebook or cards regularly (e.g. cover up the word or definition and test yourself) Try to use the words you learnt before, e.g. by writing sentences or paragraphs using these words Ask a friend to test you / practice using words you learnt before with a friend Others??