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The Phenomena of Vocabulary in TESOL
The Phenomena of Vocabulary
Ellen Benigno
Education 380, Semester Spring 07, Section A
Dr. Jinyan Huang
May 7, 2007
The Phenomena of Vocabulary in TESOL
One of the most important components to learning a second language is learning the vocabulary. This phenomena of vocabulary in second language acquisition, especially in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), is studied over and over again to find how people learn new words and what are the best ways to teach them. Everyone learns words in a different way and at a different rate. They use their first language, or their L1, or they use different mnemonics to remember these new words. There are many more ways that an English as a Second Language (ESL) studies vocabulary. Vocabulary is essential to the study of any language, whether it is a first language or a second, third or fourth language, and consists many methods of study, remembering, and the creation a new words that mix the two languages. The methodology of vocabulary varies just as much as the styles of individual learning which creates a challenge for the ESL teacher.
So, what exactly is vocabulary? Vocabulary is the entire set of words of a language (Nunan, 2003). The lexicon is the component of the language that concerns itself with the actual words and the meaning of the words. Another word
for the vocabulary is the lexis and it contains lexical item or it is just the overall system of words, or the most commonly used words in a language. A lexical item is a item in the dictionary of a language and it may consist of more than one orthographic word (Saville-Troike, 2006). Vocabulary is needed for comprehension of the language and it also increases fluency in the language (Nunan, 2003). The ESL student needs knowledge of many words to be able express themselves and without a strong vocabulary, they will not be understood. Vocabulary acquisition in L2 learners is not a topic that is usually studied in the research of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) (Saville-Troike, 2006). Schmitt (1998) states that it is agreed upon that learning a word is a complex process but there is not much knowledge as to how we learn each new word (Saville-Troike, 2006).
There are different types of vocabulary; academic, high frequency and low frequency (Nunan, 2003). Academic vocabulary refers words that are often found in academic text than in any other forms of text. The high frequency words are the 2000 most commonly used words within a language, and the low frequency words are the other words that are not in the 2000 high frequency words (Nunan, 2003). A strong base in their vocabulary will allow the student to learn more and achieve BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) or CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) (Saville-Troike, 2006). It is important for the teacher to teach the high frequency words and the words most used in the language first so that the students can have a basic understanding of the language and then grow from there.
There is a definite set of words that ESL students need to learn in order to communicate, whether it is for academic or personal use. This core set of words are called function words and that consist of words like “the”, “to”, “of”, “and”, “a”, and many more. Most of these words hold an important function in the grammar of the language. These are part of the 2000 high frequency words, as well. There is also a fundamental set of words for academic purposes that are necessary for the ESL if they are working for the CALP skills (Saville-Troike, 2006).
There are many parts to learning and knowing a new word. It’s not just a pattern of word and definition, the ESL student needs to learn it’s form, position, function, and meaning on both receptive (reading or listening) and productive (listening, speaking, reading, writing) levels (Nation, 1990). The form of word deals with it written and its spoken form. This is where the student learns what the word looks and sounds like, how it is spelled and pronounced. The position of a word is based on the grammatical patterns of the language and its collocations. The student will know what pattern the word occurs and how to use it, as well as words or type of words that are associated with this word. The function of the word is linked with the frequency of the word and its appropriateness. It is important for the student to know how much each word is used and how to use the word. The meaning of word deals with the concept of the word and its associations. This is where the student learns the meaning and definition of the word, how to express it properly and the synonyms of the word (Nation, 1990).
The first language of the speaker is found to have a strong influence on the way a student learns and remembers the language of a second language (Nation, 1990). If we look at the vocabulary of the first and second language as a whole part rather than two separate entities, it is correct to assume that there is borrowing and interference between the two language’s vocabularies, and there is evidence to support this theory. The ESL student uses their first language’s vocabulary and their cognitive development of their first language to learn the second language. This cause some error and mistakes (Nation, 1990). This is called transfer; “the cross-linguistic influences in language learning: usually the influence of L1 on L2 (Saville-Troike, 2006). The student also uses the structure of language to study and memorize vocabulary. Strick (1980) found that they use the structures of their first language and apply them to the second language and over time, they learn the structure and culture of the second language. There is, then, a transition of the meaning of the word from the features of the word to the abstract meaning of the word (Nation, 1990).
In a study by Henning (1973), learners that are at a different level of proficiency learn new words differently as well. Lower level learners connect words by their sound and higher-level learners connect words by their meaning. The way the different levels store the new words changes over time. So, words that sound or look similar should not be taught together to lower level ESL students because it will cause confusion and the words will obstruct each other (Nation, 1990.)
ESL students need to overcome the spoken form of words because there are many different sounds in different languages. For lower level ESL students, it is a good idea to teach them words that have the same sounds as the words and sounds in their native tongue. As they progress, they will be able to learn words that are harder to pronounce and they will also be able to remember the words easier. These harder sounds must be presently gradually (Nation, 1990). Along with the spoken form, the ESL students must learn the written form of English, including the alphabet. It will be easier for a student who uses a similar script to the English language than what it would be for a student who uses a system of unfamiliar script or symbols (Nation, 1990). The grammatical form of each word needs to be taught as well and this will lead to better understanding. Just like the written form of words, the grammatical patterns of each language vary. Those that are similar, the ESL will benefit more (Nation, 1990).
Along with the definition of the word, the student must also learn the appropriateness of the word. In ESL classrooms, a teacher may teach older words that are not as commonly used as a newer word. The teacher must show the students how the use the word in the most appropriate context as well as the ways not to use it. They also need to differentiate the British use of words and the American use of the same word. Also, with the appropriateness of words, they must know how to use the formal speech and informal speech in different situations (Nation, 1990).
There are different processes in which we learn these new words. There is the incidental, or implicit, way of learning a word and there is explicit learning as well. Implicit learning is when a student learns a word unintentionally. They hear the word and remember it unconsciously and then use it later on. Explicit learning occurs when the student has the intent of learning the use through the use of certain strategies. Many words are learnt through incidental learning and this comes from reading. The student pulls the new word and its meaning from context. However, incidental learning does not occur enough to obtain enough vocabulary that will lead to fluency and complete understanding (Saville-Troike, 2006).
So what does making vocabulary so difficult for L2 learners? There is the interference of the L1 vocabulary, meanings, and structure. The way the word is taught may cause some difficulty as well. There are the processes of repetition, relationship with other words, and many exceptions that are found through out the English language that can be used for the student’s benefit. The way the student learns the word, whether it is productively or receptively will affect the difficulty (Saville-Troike, 2006).
Repetition is a commonly used strategy to teach vocabulary. If a student comes across a word repetitive times in a text, there is more of a chance that they will learn the word quicker than only seeing it once or twice (Nation, 1990). Other studies done by other researchers such as Salling (1995), Crothers and Suppes (1967), and Saragi et al. (1978) found that repetition is necessary and more beneficial to learning new lexical items (Nation, 1990). There are some psychologists, such as Craik, Lockhart and Tulving who disagree with this theory. They feel that repetition is not crucial to learning vocabulary, but rather the amount of attention that is given to each new item. Seeing the word and definition and studying will be more effective than finding the meaning from context (Nation, 1990).
The relationship of words to one another can help a student learn new items, as well. Teaching words of similar meaning can let the student learn the meaning of a group of new words. This may lead to interference if the wrong sets of words are introduced. Such as long and short, they are similar because they both mean a length or distance, but they are also opposites. This may cause confusion for the learner and they may switch the two words (Nation, 1990).
Different words with different grammatical uses are different to learn. Rodgers (1969) found that nouns were the easier types of words to learn. After nouns, adjectives, then verbs and adverbs. This is because nouns and verbs are easier to guess when coming across them in context (Nation, 1990). It is also more difficult to learn a word productively than it is receptively. There is more effort and word to learn a word productively, and receptively is just to recognize a word (Nation, 1990).
Higa (1965) found that teaching can have three different effects; positive, negative, or neutral. When neutral, the student has learned nothing or lost nothing. When the learning is negative, the student learns a word that incorrectly and can disrupt future comprehension. This is much worse than having a neutral effect. A teacher needs to avoid this negative effect by recognizing the effects of one item on another and how sets of words need to be taught. A student needs to have a strong knowledge in one word before learning its opposite (Nation, 1990). A positive effect is when the ESL student learns the new word and increases their comprehension. Positive effects are steps to fluency and native like speech. Obviously, this how the ESL teacher needs to do in their classroom (Nation, 1990).
There are different strategies that one can use to increase their ability to learn the new lexical items. Research has focused on different methods and presentation of new words and how effective they are. There is the shallow or mechanical strategy that is visual repetition. The deeper and more complex strategies use contextual guessing, the use of the dictionary, taking down notes and writing down new vocabulary, and meta-cognitive strategies (Saville-Troike, 2006).
There has been a lot of different research of different strategies in whether multimedia is effective in teaching vocabulary to ESL students. It has been found that are associated with visuals or actual objects are learned easier than those that do not. Through the use of different applications of multimedia, the teacher can offer different techniques and information to the ESL students and increase their comprehension of the new words (Chun & Plass, 1996). The usual way to annotate new vocabulary items was to find the definition in the dictionary and study it. With the use of a multimedia program, the teacher can show a visual of the word, how it is performed or used and give a variety of examples. They can use text, pictures, videos, and/or sounds (Chun & Plass, 1996).
Knight (1994) found that students who use a dictionary learn more words than those who do not, but this is only because students of lower level proficiency use the dictionary more. Students at a higher-level proficiency use the dictionary less because they know more words and are able to pull the meaning from context (Chun & Plass, 1996). In more recent studies, Chun and Plass (1996) found that students who learned vocabulary through use of text with pictures and/or performed better on a vocabulary test than the students who do not have the aide of text plus picture. This supports the idea that pictures and other visual aides benefit the students in learning new vocabulary. Also, the method of defining new words through use of dictionaries as well as text with pictures/videos have a better chance of being remembered (Chun & Plass, 1996).
The positive correlation that was thought of looking up words in a dictionary to the amount of words remembered was not proven. However, there was a lack of evidence found to support this correlation. Students with a larger vocabulary would not need to look up as many words and a student who has a smaller vocabulary (Chun & Plass, 1996). Knight’s (1996) theory that students of lower proficiency that look up more words do better on vocabulary tests, but this is not always true for higher proficiency students, was supported in the studies and research of Chun and Plass (1996). However, there should be more studies in regards to the differences of higher and lower level proficiency and their L2 vocabulary acquisition.