A Discussion on Vocabulary Teaching and Learning
1. Introduction
Vocabulary has always been regarded as a key component of language teaching and learning in EFL settings. However, compared with grammar instruction, vocabulary teaching seems to receive little attention and interest. It is not until 1990s that increasing efforts have been made towards the study of vocabulary as an important element of effective communication in second language learning. Wilkins points out ‘without grammar very little can be conveyed, but without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed’ (1972, p. 111, as cited in Milton, Wade, & Hopkins, 2010). In line with him, Ellis also emphasizes that foreign language lexicon is the basis of other aspects of language learning such as grammar (as cited in Milton, Wade, & Hopkins, 2010). Meanwhile, as Laufer (1998) mentions, the major difference in vocabulary learning between foreign language learners and native speakers lies in the progress of vocabulary size.
Although it is fair to say words are the main units of the vocabulary, Carter (1987) argues that a series of words is not the whole story of the vocabulary of a language. Thus, different attempts have been made to explore the process of vocabulary learning, among which is the notion of conceptualization Carter defines as creating new concepts based on the already existing concepts and words. Furthermore, Cruse (2000) believes the most effective way to understand meaning is to hold on the idea that meaning is conceptual in nature.
Therefore, after a brief description about the importance and current situation of vocabulary teaching and learning, this paper is aimed at having a better understanding about language processing by exploring three key terms (c...
... middle of paper ...
....255
Milton, J., Wade, J., & Hopkins, N. (2010). Aural word recognition and oral competence in English as a foreign language. In R. Chacon-Beltran, C. Abello-Contesse & M.M. Torreblanca-Lopez (Eds.), Insights into non-native vocabulary teaching and learning (pp. 83-98). GBR: Multilingual Matters.
Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pavičic Takač, V. (2008). Vocabulary learning strategies and foreign language acquisition. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Schneider, S. (2011). The language of thought: A new philosophical direction. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Vygotsky, L. & Kozulin, A. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Teachers who work with English Language Learners know that academic language takes longer to achieve proficiency in than does conversational language. On average, ELL students need at least two years to achieve conversational language and, five to nine years to develop academic language proficiency. Many English words ELL students are exposed to in school, they have not yet learned or even heard in their first language, which makes transference of knowledge impossible. The vast differences in the ability to use conversational versus academic language can be a hindrance to these students and have lasting effects on their academics and therefore, their lives.
Both shared book reading and independent reading can develop learners’ vocabulary. The idea is to expose learners to new words as much as possible to implant these new words in their vocabulary knowledge. However, monitored reading should be done where possible for the amplification of some words during reading. Moreover, explicit approach to vocabulary should also work hand in hand with extensive reading. (Min, 2013). ESL/EFL class should have dictionaries at their disposal and if possible, have posters around the wall with different vocabulary; to create a vocabulary rich
This is addressed through the idea of the Matthew Effect, which is applied to vocabulary instruction through SES groups. Beck and Mckeown shed light on the problems associated with teaching vocabulary and propose a change, which will undoubtedly help struggling students. The teacher’s responsibility is to instill a curiosity and love for words in his/her students. Reading through the article, it became evident that in order to know a word you must be able to apply it in different situations. As stated in the article “Simply put, knowing a word is not an all-or-nothing proposition: It is not the case that one either knows or does not know a word (9).” The authors propose a theory that student’s knowledge of vocabulary words lies on a continuum. This ranges from limited knowledge, narrow knowledge and finally a rich understanding of the word and use of it in context. Overall, the article has made it evident that direct instruction is correlated with student achievement in the classroom.
A major proportion of class time is taken up by teachers talking in front of the classroom(Nunan & Bailey, 2009). No matter what teaching strategies or methods a teacher uses, it is necessary to give directions, explain activities and check students’ understanding (Richards & Schimdt, 1985). This clearly emphasizes the importance of teacher talk in language classrooms. Walsh (2011) claimed that teacher talk is more important in language classroom than any other classroom since in this context the language being used by teacher is not only the means of acquiring new knowledge; it is also the goal of the study.
Vocabulary skills are skills that a child uses to discover the meanings and pronunciations of unknown words. Children due to the exposer of picture books usually attain these skills. In this case they are able to pronounce and discover the meaning of the words that are unknown to
Words could be mixed to develop phrases, clauses and sentences. Words can be parted by spaces in language composition. A word belonging to two or more specific purposes joined together is called a compound (e.g. a record player, a classroom, a second-hand). ( Webster’s and Cambridge Dictionaries).Words that belong to eight various word groups such as: nouns (apple), adjectives (green), pronouns (you), verbs (to write), adverbs (here), prepositions (before), conjunctions (while) and interjections (hey). At the most basic level, knowing of a word means knowing of its meaning and its form (Thornbury, 2002), lots of words have different significance and are crucial and of the upmost importance to have knowledge of them because they can be expressed differently in another language. They should be studied and learn them in which manner to express them.
Gass, S. M., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. Google Books. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fhnbMj597-4C&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=second
The present reaction paper is based on the article called Language Learning Strategies in a Nutshell: Update and ESL Suggestions, written by Rebecca L. Oxford (2004). In her article, the author refers to learning strategies in and out of the field of second language (henceforth L2). She defines strategies as the conscious plans or actions taken by learners to improve their progress in developing L2 skills and their communicative abilities. Oxford claims that according to research, explicit instruction on language learning strategies is beneficial for students in one of two main areas: overall proficiency or specific skill improvement. From this perspective, it is believed that explicit instruction on language learning strategies allows students to become good language learners who know, and understand that the use of strategies can be beneficial and even transferable to other fields of study.
traditional approaches to vocabulary teaching have unsurprisingly focused on activities for the explicit study of vocabulary. There numerous sources that illustrate a wide variety of vocabulary exercises, including teachers’ reference books such as Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary (Allen, 1983), Vocabulary (Morgan and Rinvolucri, 1986), Working with Words (Gairns and Redman, 1986), Teaching and Learning Vocabulary (Nation, 1990) and
The process of learning a second language has many difficulties, but my process of learning another language reminds me to when I was a child trying to learn the alphabet and accomplishment the skills of speech to be able to communicate with others. Today, after the process I already did when I was a child, I have to start again in order to learn another language. First, I start to learn the alphabet that was not difficult at all; however, as I was learning more advance terms, learning English began to become more complex, but “The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell” (Douglass 101). In my English class the professor made me to learn ten simple words every single week although the problem was that every single word I had to know the correct spelling, pronunciation, and the use of the word. The process of learning new vocabulary was not as tough as being able to make coherent sentences. I remember, I joined into a conversation club with others students who want to learn English too, but some students had a higher or lower knowledge of English ; as a result, we exchanged our knowledge with the other students; learning from each other like Douglass when he learned from the other white boys; in contrast, he exchanged bread
The concept of second language materials is not complete without mentioning vocabulary glosses. According to Davis (1989), vocabulary glosses are always evident in the second language materials. Additionally, Bell and LeBlanc (2000) explain that glossing helps learners understand words and phrases through text adaptation. The authors indicate that glossing, therefore, assists second language learners comprehend relevant reading materials at their disposal. Park (1986) defines gloss as that comprehensive description of the meaning of a word. Moreover, Nation (2001) elaborates that gloss is the concise definition of a synonym that are used in respective language adopted either L1 or L2. Many studies have been conducted to identify the significance glossing in reading and vocabulary learning. The results of these studies have provided mixed results with some indicating that glossing enhances vocabulary learning (Davis, 1989; Jacobs, 1994; Hulstijn, Hollander, and Greidanus, 1996), while others stating that glossing does not have any impact on vocabulary learning (Johnson, 1982; Jacobs, DuFon, & Fong, 1994; Ko, 1995).
English as a foreign language is relatively an easy language to learn. It is simple and quick for most learners to reach intermediate level, as the basic grammatical structures are direct, and the vocabulary is simple and often has traces in students’ first languages and this is one of the reasons why English has become popular language and extended to be a common language among most countries all over the world. However, when students move to a higher level, it becomes quite difficult. Hinofotis and Baily (1980, pp. 124-125) notes that “up to a certain proficiency standard, the fault which most severely impairs the communication process in EFL/ESL learners is pronunciation”, not vocabulary or grammar.
To accomplish vocabulary development, before reading the teacher needs to instruct their students on any prerequisites that they need to understand to interpret the text appropriately. This means the teacher has to pull out the most important words as well as those that may be too difficult for the stud...
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Vocabulary is considered one of the challenging skills in the teaching and learning process. It is evident that vocabulary plays crucial role in conveying and interpreting messages in any language whether it is first, second or foreign one .Even though, it is neglected from curricular for a long time, where the focus based on grammar as a separate subject. In the world of language, words play central role .words are the building blocks of languages because they help their