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Strategies and Methods for Increasing ESL Student Vocabularies
Producing Successful Language Learners.
by Walter Kozloski North Campus
Who are successful L2 (second language) language learners?
Some individuals seem to be able to
“absorb” a second or foreign language and appear to learn and practice a
non-native tongue with ease. For these individuals, perhaps it is the
internal wiring of their brains which helps them succeed. Or, perhaps
it is the way in which these successful learners are able to identify and
apply vocabulary learning strategies to achieve success. Or, perhaps it is
that they are just more motivated and able to focus their attention to the
learning at hand. Quite possibly there is a combination of these forces
for success which produces good language learners. Yet, one does not
necessarily have to have some inherent trait to be “good at learning
languages” to become successful in acquiring an L2. Instead, as the
research has shown, it is possible for second language learners to acquire
communicative competence along with a substantial and fluent vocabulary base
by identifying and following through with a variety of language learning
strategies. Peter Yongqi Gu’s in-depth study
completed at Beijing Normal University analyzed the vocabulary learning
strategies employed by two successful EFL (English as a Foreign Language)
students, occurring during and after a reading sample was administered (Gu,
2003). Among Gu’s general findings from interviews and brainstorming
sessions with the two native Chinese speaking participants were that that
these two individuals both utilized strategies similarly reported by other
successful language learners. These strategies outlined by Gu are
listed below.
Gu, 2003, p.73
What is the process with which a new word is learned?
One of the key aspects of good language
learners is the utilization of a variety of language learning methods along
with the ability to be selective and perseverant to strategies enabled to
complete the task. In his study of two successful Chinese EFL learners, Gu
(2003) outlines the three stages of learning a new word as previously
identified (Brown & Payne,1994; Gu & Johnson 1996). The three
stages of learning a new word are: - initially identifying and handling a
new word - committing the word to memory - attempting to use the newly learned
word
Gu, 2003, p.77
Similarly, Nation (1999), identifies,
describes and labels these three important general methods and routes an SLA
student goes through to best allow new vocabulary to be learned. He
terms these noticing, retrieval and creative use (Nation, 1999 p.47-53). Noticing refers to the identification of a new
word and the strategies used to learn it. One’s motivation and interest
is key in the steps towards learning a specific vocabulary item, and it is no
coincidence that most words which are “noticed” are the ones that are either
repeated often in a text or conversation, are needed to understand a
particular concept or a plot in a story, are interestingly appearing words in
themselves, or are ones which the teacher focuses on in formal
instruction. Examples of noticing include observing a new
and essential word, having a word highlighted in a text or by the instructor,
negotiating the meaning of an unidentified word or its meaning in a new
contextual situation, or finding a definition of the particular word or new
usage, which may also include a L1 (native language) translation.
According to Nation (1999), noticing involves decontextualization whereby
learners focus on the language item as separate from the message and more as
a part of the language. Decontextualization can be in the form of
negotiation, whereby the interlocutors and even eavesdroppers can benefit
greatly from trying to figure out what the new item means (Newton, 1995;
Ellis, Tanaka and Yamazaki, 1994), as well as definition, in which a
simple, concise explanation is given with only a few of the defining
qualities of the target word (Ellis, 1995). Nation (1982) has found
through his studies, with the use of word cards, that the most direct and
rapid way of learning a new vocabulary item is with a first language
translation. Retrieval refers to the second progression that
most likely leads to a word being recalled and can be either receptive or
productive. Receptive retrieval would be the case where one would have
to search his or her mind for the meaning of the form of a know word as it is
encountered in a listening or reading text. Productive retrieval
involves the method by which one’s goal is to communicate the word and its
meaning to another, through the skill of either oral or written production.
As would seem logical, multiple retrievals of a word help to strengthen the
path which links the form and meaning of a lexicon, and results in easier
retrievals of the word in subsequent encounters (Baddeley, 1990).
Schmitt (2000) also explains how the shape and characteristics of the written
forms of words can influence how they are remembered and the speed in which
they can be read with understanding. If one can imagine an adult’s brain to be
similar to a hard rock, while hitting it with a hammer the first time might
make a dent, hitting it more frequently will eventually produce a whole by
which the connection between encountering a new vocabulary item and the
definition (stored in the center of the rock brain) can be attached. It
is no light pun with by which an adult’s brain can be compared to a
stone. It is this difficulty which the majority of adults face in
learning an L2 which often discourages and hinders motivation towards
learning or second or foreign language. Whereas children’s brains can
better be compared to sponges as they are able to easily absorb new
vocabulary and meanings, adults must work much harder to chip away at the
rock of a brain before retrieval can effortlessly occur. Creative or generative
use of a new vocabulary item is the third important way in which a new
vocabulary word can be remembered. When one encounters a previously
know word in an unfamiliar context or word form, generative processing by the
brain occurs. This kind of deep processing forces one to form a new concept
of the target item which will assist and enhance the previously known
definition. A metaphoric or idiomatic usage of a previously know word would
compel a second language learner to re-examine the previous mental “image”
which one had for the word and then adapt that meaning to the new
context. For example, if for the first time a learner were to encounter
the sentence with the idiomatic expression, “My two-faced
brother just asked my girlfriend out to the movies.” in a reading or listening
exercise, then an alternative image of the meaning of the two-faced
collocation would be necessary for comprehension of the text. In a
literal sense, the message of the sentence would not be clear. So,
after noticing that a new meaning is necessary for comprehension, a learner
may decide to negotiate the collocation with another student, or he or she
may just go straight to a dictionary, or ask the instructor for a
definition. In either case, the learner would be generating a new use
for the words “two” and “faced” when they appear together. This
receptive usage could also be applied in a productive manner by then using
the same expression in a conversation or student-produced sentence under a
different context. This kind of deep processing of new vocabulary items
further chip away at the adult “rock brain” and allow for more fluent
production in further encounters.
With so many words in our English language, which words should our
students learn first?
Vocabulary can be categorized into low and
high frequency words. Research on vocabulary frequency has shown that
knowing the word families of the first 1,000 and second 1,000 words (West,
1953) along with the 570 word Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000) can result
in comprehension of around 90% of what is written on a page of academic text
(Nation, 1999). While this amount does not reach the 95-98% of the
running words in a text necessary for guessing the meaning of a new word in
context, this high percentage proves the worth of learning these 2,570 word
families. Incidental learning from
guessing from context is the most important way in which new vocabulary is
learned by native speakers. Yet, in order for this to occur in L2
acquisition, it is imperative that the high frequency and Academic Word List
already be mastered. Therefore, all students must be encouraged to know
these high frequency words for both receptive and productive use. In EAP 1620 courses taught by this writer, the Paul Nation vocabulary assessments are routinely used as both a pre and post testing measure. Results have shown that, as a whole, EAP students enter the course with a variety of vocabulary skill levels. Some students are able to fair well on the 2,000 word high frequency test, yet do rather poorly on the assessment for the Academic Word List. Others do the opposite and are able to do well enough on the Academic Word List, yet perform poorly on the first 2,000 high frequency words. In most cases, students in Level 6 EAP 1620 courses appear unprepared to truly comprehend academic texts due to their vocabulary limitations. With this in mind, a vocabulary program has been implemented within these EAP 1620 courses with explicit teaching of the vocabulary from the above mentioned word lists.
What is the best way to teach and learn new vocabulary?
As mentioned above, few students enrolled
in EAP 1620 courses have yet mastered the first and second high frequency
word lists, along with the Academic Word List. Because of this
limitation, guessing a word’s meaning by context can be troublesome. As
stated by Nation (1999, p.179), “A critical factor in successful guessing is
the learners’ vocabulary size, because this will affect the density of
unknown words in a text.” Knowing less than 95% of what is written (or
spoken) in a text means that 1 out of 20 words is unknown, or one in every
two lines. As stated by Nation, this is a very heavy load of unknown
vocabulary for accurate guessing to occur. Even still, if this is the only method
left for a student being assessed (for example on the CPT) there are
strategies which the student may employ. One beneficial strategy is the
breaking apart of word to its root and any prefix or suffix it may be written
with. By knowing the definitions of these prefixes and suffixes, perhaps the
student will be able to guess the word’s connotative meaning. Another
is to identify any collocations or word groupings that the new vocabulary may
be with. This strategy may help to identify the tone of the sentence
the word is found in and any metaphoric meaning that may be implied or
stated. Although it is possible to identify (word
cards, extensive reading programs, etc.,) categorize (such as cognitive and
metacognitive) and exemplify the various vocabulary learning strategies used by
successful learners, according to Gu it is not as easy to say which ones work
best for everyone. Gu refers to the “learning art” by which he means
how each individual must explore and test what works best for him or herself
to achieve success. “What makes vocabulary learning an art for these two
students (native Chinese speakers in his study) is not the strategy
repertoires they used or how often they used them, but the flexible and
skilful analysis, choice, deployment, execution and orchestration of all
strategies at their disposal in accordance with their own preferred style of
learning (Gu, 2003, p. 99). Referred to as metacognitive
control, successful learners appear to
have the ability to analyze the task at hand, select from a variety of
learning strategies, and then follow through with these learning methods to
reach the desired learning outcome. Gu also explains how a particular
strategy may be modified to each individual learner and in relation to the
context it is in to achieve the highest learning.
Can a case study of two EFL language learners provide insight for EAP
1620 learners?
The two subjects in Gu’s research
employed different strategies, yet both achieved the desired results of
vocabulary acquisition on the task assigned. One of the participants,
Chi Wei, utilized a method which reinforced his learning of the words which
frequently occurred in the passage he was given. He first read through
the text to get the gist of the article while also underlining unknown words
that he believed were of important for comprehension. Then, he looked
up the unknown words and located the meaning that best matched what he
believed to be the appropriate context of the word. This learner even
went further with dictionary use by looking up information on the words of
interest to him that were stated within the definition of the word which he
had originally searched for. On his second reading of the text, Chi Wei took
two types of notes. For words that he found to be of particular
interest, the learner noted down the meaning, usage and even examples in his
notebook. He also included the pronunciation of words which he found
difficult as well as word synonyms from the dictionary and his own vocabulary
base. On the third time through the reading, Chi Wei focused on the
words which he had defined and their meanings in the passage. He tried
to remember not only the usage of the word in the context of the reading, but
other details he had noted as well. He even went so far as to generate
his own sentences utilizing the newly learned vocabulary items.
Eventually, after 90 minutes, the text was comprehended and the new
vocabulary words learned. One observation is obvious to this author, these
strategies employed are not necessarily state-of-the-art,
but instead rely on focus, repetition and perseverance. This learner
used methods such as listing and then learning of the words in the text, yet
he did not stop at that. He went on to uncover other meanings of the
identified words so as to increase his vocabulary base as a whole and not
only concentrate on learning the meanings of the unknown vocabulary words
just to complete the task. This learner went “above and beyond” what
was necessary. This learner applied similar strategies to other assignments
from his academic textbooks. Gu (2003, p.87) writes about Chi Wei’s
vocabulary learning as a whole “This self-initiated, well-planned, almost
ruthlessly implemented vocabulary expansion goal involved three types of
work: memorizing examination-oriented word lists, memorizing other word lists
and dictionaries, and paying close attention to English words he encountered
in everyday life.” Such strategies resulted in expansive vocabulary
acquisition, yet certainly take effort to achieve. Gu’s other study participant, Chen Hau, similarly utilized the identification of unknown vocabulary items by underlining them in the first covering of the passage. She then responded to knew vocabulary items in three ways. One way was to guess the meaning in context, ask the instructor for help, or ignore the vocabulary altogether. Another way was to guess the meaning and then look up the words in the dictionary. These words’ meanings were then written down on the margins of her text. A third method she employed was to do what was required for the second method, as well as to create a vocabulary card for selected vocabulary items. As mentioned by Gu, Chen Hua was an experienced reader and was able to read the passage the fastest among all 11 participants in the study. According to Gu (2003, p.90), “Her reading process seemed to combine the two functions of reading: reading for information and reading to learn, with the former taking precedence.” Chen was able to employ a classic hypothesis-testing strategy by jumping between the text, individual words and definitions to make global sense of the text. While she was gaining comprehension of the passage, she was also paying highly selective attention to only a couple of selected new words, including their meanings and usages. This focused attention on the words that hindered her comprehension of the text was further expanded by the generation of her own examples for more complete and in-depth processing. She went so far as to not only identify the usage of the word “stink” in the passage she was reading, but to also memorize the three tense forms of “stink, stank, stunk.” Furthermore, she read, jotted down and then generated her own examples using this newly identified word in an idiomatic expression. Finally, she employed the extremely useful strategy of creating a vocabulary card for newly learned items for added pronunciation practice. These cards were then reviewed at a later date in random order. Such a learning strategy is extremely useful for making long-term connections and allowing for newly learned vocabulary to become more easily retrievable at a later date (Nation, 1999 p. 228-232).
So, what should instructors and students do next to ensure that a
learner has a rich vocabulary necessary for academic success?
Nation (1999, 2001) states that there are
four tiers to a well organized language course for organizing tasks and class
activities to best facilitate vocabulary acquisition and fluency. Included in
these strategies are the use of graded readers for fluency development, word
card construction and consistent review of unlearned vocabulary items,
recycling of information and vocabulary within the same text, generation of
sentences, along with written and oral output to facilitate productive usage.
These are: ·
learning
through meaning-focused input activities such as listening and reading where
98% of the running words are already known, ·
learning
through meaning-focused output activities such as speaking and writing, ·
learning
through language-focused study and teaching, ·
developing
fluency in listening, speaking, reading and writing where 100% of the
vocabulary is already known. Nation, 2001 http://www.eslmag.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=24
Nation (1999, p. 165-242) provides us
with four major strategies for learning new vocabulary. These
strategies are: guessing from context clues, utilizing word cards, breaking
down words into parts and using these parts to facilitate learning of the new
vocabulary item, and the correct use of a dictionary. The successful
learners in Gu’s study managed to employ all of these strategies.
Certainly EAP 1620 students could as well if enlightened to the necessity of
such strategies for academic success. With the right class direction
and planning, both student and teacher motivation to implement the plan, and
continued assessment and follow-up to assure learning, there is every reason
to believe that all second language learners in the EAP program at MDC could
become language learning success stories. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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