Transcript Northern Exposure Introducing US students to Quebec
Effects of CALL instruction on high-level, low-frequency English vocabulary
Linguistics, CUNY Graduate Center Euna Cho
Agenda
• Background information on L2 vocabulary knowledge and learning • Methods and procedures of the study • Results and further research suggestions
Introduction
• Importance of vocabulary learning in L2 language learning, yet teaching is neglected due to the belief in vocabulary learning through extensive reading • Effectiveness in more form-focused, deliberate, intentional teaching in L2 vocabulary acquisition, especially for high-level, low-frequency words shown on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) • Advantages of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) instruction in L2 vocabulary teaching
Frequent word lists
• General Service List (GSL) of English words: 1,964 word families (West, 1953), 80% coverage • New General Service List (NGSL): 2,368 word families (Browne, 2013), 90% coverage • Academic Word List (AWL): 570 word families outside the GSL (Coxhead, 2000)
Required number of words
• Approx. 3,000 words to engage in a daily conversation (Laufer & Nation, 2011) • 6,000-9,000 words to understand radio interviews or literature (Laufer & Nation, 2011) • 10,000 words to understand 95% of the general texts (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996) • 17,000 words: receptive knowledge of college educated native English speakers (Zechmeister et al., 1995)
Frequency of encounters
• A learner should see the same word more than 10 times (Laufer & Nation, 2011).
• Each new experience with the word should take place before the word is forgotten (Laufer, 2006).
• A learner should read 1-2 books per week, which will take 29 years to learn the most frequent 2,000 words (Zahar et al., 2001) Learning vocabulary through reading may not work.
Academic words
• • • • • Receptive knowledge of 17,000 words among college educated native English speakers (Zechmeister et al., 1995) Learners pursuing higher education should have vocabulary knowledge used in academic contexts. Moderate use in academic settings; rare in general context (e.g., convoluted, gratuitous, vociferous) Low-frequency of appearance (Coxhead, 2000) Form-focused, deliberate, and intentional learning of vocabulary words Vocabulary should be taught!
CALL learning environment
• Vocabulary is one of the most prevalent applications in a CALL environment.
• Multimedia applications: pictorial, audio-visual information in addition to traditional textual cues • Retention is easier and more effective when words are learned in multiple modes (Chun & Plass, 1996).
• Multimedia cues yield promising outcomes in L2 vocabulary acquisition (Akbulut, 2007; Al-Seghayer, 2001; Chun & Plass, 1996; Yoshii & Flaitz, 2002)
Rationale
• Efficacy of computer-mediated multimedia aids shown on beginner and intermediate level vocabulary (Al-Seghayer, 2005; Chun & Plass, 1996; Mohsen & Balakumar, 2011; Yoshii & Flaitz, 2002) • Little attention paid to high-level infrequent words that are important for particular purposes • Advanced-level words are hard to learn, requiring special attention (e.g., multimedia aids)
The present study
• • • • Efficacy of multimedia cues (video) on advanced level English vocabulary shown on the GRE 15 Korean L1 students preparing for graduate study in the U.S.
Testing 40 unfamiliar words selected from the pre-test (60 items) Pre-test Definition Post-test 1 (immediate) Post-test 3 (2 weeks)
Treatment (video / text)
Post-test 2 (7 days)
Context of the study
• 4 week intensive GRE lecture series in Seoul, South Korea (4 hours X 5 days) in July 2014 • Total enrollment: 27 (9 male, 18 female) recruited from an internet blog • Instruction focused on vocabulary, reading comprehension, and essay writing • Target number of vocabulary: 1,500 GRE words – Etymology, images, videos, and mnemonics
Participants
• 23 15 for final analysis (6 male and 9 female) • Age: 24-34 (Mean 28, SD 2.94) • Length of residence: 0-10 years (Mean 1.16, SD 2.56) • M-TELP listening (45): 28-42 (Mean 33.8, SD 4.63) • Pre-test results (40): 0-5 (Mean 1.2, SD 1.42)
Pre-test (60)
• 60 items tested by 24 students (outside 5,000 frequent words) • 40 items below 10% of correctness selected
Final test items (40)
Pre- and post-tests
Treatment
• Experimental group (video group) – Dictionary annotations (Korean/English) –
Video clips with subtitles
• Control group (text group) – Dictionary annotations (Korean/English) –
Handout with scripts of the video clips
Dictionary annotations
Video clips
• 40 video clips from movies or TV shows • Edited to show the gist (5-20 seconds) with subtitles • Repeated with synonyms or definition (e.g., pulchritude vs. beauty) • Visually represented with gestures and facial expressions • Played one time with a description or background information
Are you and your friends gonna be over here all the time like partying and hanging out? Oh, don’t worry. I am not really a party girl. Wow, don’t just be
blurting
stuff out. I want you to really think about your answers.
From: Friends
As you can see, I don’t look like that. That was a moment of useful
pulchritude
that is long since past. Youthful
pulchritude
? Don’t ask me what
pulchritude
means.
Pulchritude
means beauty.
From: Puccini for Beginners
King, you’re majesty. I gravel at your feet. It’s not gravel, it’s
grovel
.
From: Lion King
Handout for text group
Script for the instructor
Results
Limitations and further research
• A small number of participants • Vocabulary size test • Vocabulary learning experience • Participants from diverse language background • More precisely-structured instruction (e.g., recorded instruction)
References
• • • • • • Akbulut, Y. (2007). Effects of multimedia annotations on incidental vocabulary learning and reading comprehension of advanced learners of English as a foreign language. Instructional Science, 35(6), 499-517.
Al-Seghayer, K. (2005). The effect of multimedia annotation modes on L2 vocabulary acquisition. Research in Technology and Second Language Education: Developments and Directions, 3, 133.
Browne, C. (2013). The New General Service List: Celebrating 60 years of vocabulary learning. LANGUAGE TEACHER, 37(4), 13.
Chun, D. M., & Plass, J. L. (1996). Effects of multimedia annotations on vocabulary acquisition. The modern language journal, 80(2), 183-198.
Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL quarterly, 34(2), 213-238.
Hazenberg, S., & Hulstun, J. H. (1996). Defining a minimal receptive second language vocabulary for non-native university students: An empirical investigation. Applied linguistics, 17(2), 145-163.
References
• • • • • • • Laufer, B. (2006). Comparing focus on form and focus on formS in second-language vocabulary learning. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 63(1), 149-166.
Laufer, B., & Nation, I.S.P. (2011). Vocabulary. In S. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), The
Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition (pp. 163-176). London and New York: Routledge.
Mohsen, M. A., & Balakumar, M. (2011). A review of multimedia glosses and their effects on L2 vocabulary acquisition in CALL literature. ReCALL, 23(2), 135-159.
West, M. (1953). A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman, Green and Co.
Yoshii, M., & Flaitz, J. (2002). Second language incidental vocabulary retention: The effect of text and picture annotation types. CALICO journal, 20(1), 33-58.
Zahar, R., Cobb, T., & Spada, N. (2001). Acquiring vocabulary through reading: Effects of frequency and contextual richness. Canadian Modern Language Review/La Revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 57(4), 541-572.
Zechmeister, E. B., Chronis, A. M., Cull, W. L., D'Anna, C. A., & Healy, N. A. (1995). Growth of a functionally important lexicon. Journal of Literacy Research, 27(2), 201-212.