Transcript Advanced English for Science Students

Vocabulary teaching and learning
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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
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Relevant research studies
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Discussion
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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?
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Incidental learning of vocabulary
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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
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Can incidental learning of vocabulary (alone)
lead to gains in vocabulary size (quantity) and
vocabulary knowledge (quality)???
Some instruction is
 A few pre-requisites
needed
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
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Vocabulary size and text coverage
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Pre-requisite for incidental
learning of vocabulary
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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
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KS1 (Pri 3)
1000
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KS2 (Pri 6)
1000
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KS3 (Sec 3)
1500
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KS4 (Sec 6)
1500
1000
2000
3500
5000
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Words that students should learn explicitly
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First 2,000 words
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First 2,000 words + AWL
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90% of text coverage
First 2,000 words + AWL + Technical vocab
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80% of text coverage
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
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Most frequently used prefixes
Graded readers
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Promises
Fun; pleasurable
 Increase exposure to language; increase
comprehension
 Exercises help practice new vocabulary and grammar
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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
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Explicit (Deliberate) learning of
vocabulary
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Attention directly focused on learning of
vocabulary
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Upside: greatest chance for acquisition
Downside: time consuming; laborious
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A balanced approach to vocabulary
teaching (Nation, 2008)*
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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.
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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?
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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)
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Vocabulary Learning Strategies
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Important for independent learning of lowfrequency 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
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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
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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
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Social strategies
Memory strategies (mnemonics)
Cognitive strategies (similar to memory, but without the use of
mnemonics)
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Metacognitive strategies (planning, monitoring, evaluation of learning)15
Schmitt (1997)
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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
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Nation’s (2001) Taxonomy
General class of
strategies
Planning:
choosing 
what to focus on and
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when to focus on it
Types of strategies
Choosing words to focus on
Choosing aspects of word knowledge to focus on
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Choosing appropriate strategies to use and when to switch to another strategy
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Planning repetition (increasingly spaced repetition)
Sources:
finding 
information about the
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words
Analysing word parts
Using the context
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Consulting a reference source in L1 and L2 (e.g. dictionaries, glosses,
concordancers)
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Comparing similarities and differences in L1 and L2 words (e.g. cognate
words)
Noticing (seeing a word as an item to be learnt, e.g. keeping a notebook,
using word cards, written and verbal repetition)
Processes: establishing 
knowledge
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Retrieving (recall of previously learnt/met items, e.g. meeting a word in a
new context, covering parts of a word recorded in a notebook)
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Generating (generation of word knowledge, e.g. using a word in new
contexts across the 4 skills, speaking, reading, writing or listening)
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VLS research on Chinese learners
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VLS research on Chinese learners
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Gu and Johnson (1996) -- China
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Gu (2002) -- China
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VLS and major
Fan (2003) -- HK
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VLS and gender, major, lg prof (self-reported), problems in vocab learning
Liao (2004) -- Taiwan
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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
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VLS and vocab size, lg prof, gender, academic major
Gu (2003) -- China
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VLS and learning outcomes (vocab size and lg prof)
Use of VLS (questionnaire – frequency of use & perceived usefulness)
Wu (2008) -- HK
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LLS in vocational colleges
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Some conclusions based on these studies
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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 strategies seem
under-used by Asian learners
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The positive effect of VLS training
Strategies that were reported to be used significantly
more frequently at the end of the course
Analyze the word parts that make up the word *
Analyze any available pictures or gestures
Use (dental/medical) word lists*
Use flash cards
Create or use a visual image about the word in my mind*
Group words using a mind map*
*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
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Guessing strategies
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Find the part of speech
Identify familiar parts
Examine immediate context
Examine wider context
Guess the meaning
Check the guess
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Answers
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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
Selecting vocabulary to focus on
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Recording vocabulary
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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
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Revising vocabulary
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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??
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