scholarly journals The Impact of Different Context Levels on Vocabulary Learning and Retention

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
Elham Zarfsaz ◽  
Parisa Yeganehpour

According to research on new vocabulary development by text, frequent experiences with foreign words, as well as the context in which these words appear, facilitate word learning and retention. The aim of this analysis was to see how context levels, word occurrence rates, and the combination of these variables affected the understanding and retention of unfamiliar words. Both zero, reduced, and high contexts were included in the study. The research included 60 Turkish EFL university students, with 20 in each of the three situations. The target words were the same for all learners in each condition. The high informative context was discovered that increasing word occurrences had significant effects on both productive and receptive knowledge of meaning while increasing word occurrences had significant effects on both productive and receptive knowledge of word type. The influence of frequent experiences with new words on vocabulary learning was only seen in the more comprehensive sense. It is realistic to provide learners with new words in high context to trigger vocabulary acquisition and retention.

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Alisa Sadiku

Learning new vocabulary compromises a significant factor for success within language learning since without the adequate knowledge of words and their meaning, learners are not able to use the target language efficiently. Moreover, vocabulary tends to be forgotten if it is not acquired and used through the right methods that will provide learners with language inputs in genuine target language environment. In this regard, the increasing access to different multimedia and technology resources facilitate spontaneous vocabulary acquisition for the contemporary age learners. In particular, movies with subtitles can be a great tool in bringing students closer to authentic real life communication vocabulary. As a result, previous studies have found out several benefits of using subtitled movies by confirming that subtitles indeed improve vocabulary development.


Author(s):  
Lê Thị Tuyết Hạnh

<p><em>Abstract:</em> This study examined the use of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) among EFL university students in Vietnam. The research involved 213 EFL university students, 61 second year students and 152 third year students at Vinh University. The study used mixed methods, including Schmitt (1997)’s VLS questionnaire, learners’ diaries and interviews. Results indicated that cognitive strategies were the most frequently used and social strategies, which are used to consolidate new words, are the least frequently used ones. The data from diaries and interviews also showed that there is a lack of organized practice of vocabulary learning among the participants. Some pedagogical implications are discussed and suggested for English vocabulary teaching</p><p>Key words: vocabulary learning strategies, vocabulary learning, EFL university students</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 239694151882449
Author(s):  
Pumpki L Su ◽  
George Castle ◽  
Stephen Camarata

Background and aims Word learning is an area that poses a particular challenge to children with autism spectrum disorder. A unique challenge for this population is generalization of learned skills across new learning contexts. In clinical settings, a common assumption in teaching vocabulary for children with autism spectrum disorder is that learning in one modality will generalize incidentally to untreated modalities, but very few studies have evaluated the validity of this assumption. The purpose of this study was to investigate receptive and expressive word acquisition and cross-modal generalization in children with autism spectrum disorder. Methods A single-case parallel treatments design was used to compare word learning and cross-modal generalization in children with autism spectrum disorder. Ten children with autism spectrum disorder were taught unfamiliar vocabulary words in a combined storybook and play intervention. For each child, half of the target words were trained expressively and the other half were trained receptively by random assignment. No direct cross-modal instruction was delivered. A series of probe sessions were completed to assess participants’ within-modal learning and cross-modal generalization of vocabulary learning. Results All children learned target words in both receptive and expressive conditions, as evidenced by an average of 80% accuracy across three trials at the end of each intervention. Overall, cross-modal generalization was higher for the expressive-to-receptive direction than for the receptive-to expressive direction. Nine out of ten children demonstrated successful cross-modal generalization on the expressive-to-receptive probes and only three children demonstrated successful cross-modal generalization on the receptive-to-expressive probes. Large variability was observed with regard to number of intervention sessions needed to reach mastery criterion and there were individual patterns of word learning. Conclusion Contrary to the assumption that vocabulary learning will be “automatically” generalized across modalities, results from this study indicate that cross-modal generalization at the word level is not automatic nor consistent in children with autism spectrum disorder, particularly in the receptive-to-expressive direction. Implications The finding that more children demonstrated expressive-to-receptive generalization than the opposite direction suggests that targeting expressive vocabulary first with the goal of incidentally increasing receptive vocabulary may be more efficient than starting with the receptive modality. Additionally, the finding that not all children demonstrated successful expressive-to-receptive cross-modal generalization indicates that teaching vocabulary in the expressive modality exclusively does not guarantee receptive understanding in this population. We recommend that practitioners periodically monitor children’s vocabulary learning in both modalities or set an explicit generalization goal to ensure complete learning of trained words.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba ◽  
Omer Hassan Ali Mahfoodh ◽  
Ambigapathy Pandian ◽  
Yazan Mdala Mohammad ◽  
Enas Waleed Ahmed ◽  
...  

A rigorous understanding of the use of Smartphones for foreign language vocabulary acquisition is crucial. Employing the technology acceptance model, this study aims to investigate students’ behavioural factors affecting Saudi students’ attitudes towards employing Smartphones for foreign vocabulary acquisition. Two hundred and seventy-three students studying in a preparatory year programme were surveyed. SmartPLS was employed to analyse the data obtained from the study’s sample. The results revealed that perceived usefulness and attitude proved to be significantly and positively related to vocabulary development. In addition, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use proved to be significant predictors of students’ attitudes towards the use of Smartphone for vocabulary learning. However, the study showed that the relationship between perceived ease of use and vocabulary development is not significant. Thus, publishers of dictionaries may find it necessary to take into account the important role played by the design of dictionaries interfaces in facilitating the use of dictionaries in Smartphones. Furthermore, teachers and educators are encouraged to employ creative activities (e.g., word guessing games) that invest students’ use of Smartphones to learn vocabularies. Using Smartphones in learning improves interaction among students and teachers. Discussion and conclusions are also provided.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1403
Author(s):  
Abdolhossein Omidi ◽  
Nahid Yarahmadzehi

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of portfolios and journals on Iranian Pre-university students’ vocabulary learning. Fifty female pre-university students who were studying General English as a part of their course syllabus at Tooba Pre-university Center of Tang Eram, Bushehr, Iran comprised the participants in the main phase of the study. This study adopted a convenience sampling procedure, since the real act of randomization was not feasible. The participants of the study were divided into two groups. The experimental group (N=25) received the treatment i.e. portfolios and journals, while the control group (N=25) underwent the traditional assessment. The results of data analyses indicated that the students in experimental group outperformed the students in control group in terms of their lexical knowledge. Moreover, the results of correlational analyses revealed that there was a strong positive correlation between the students’ lexical scores and their scores on motivation to alternative assessment in the experimental group. The results have some implications for EFL teachers, learners, and parents as well as for curriculum developers and syllabus designers.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko Matsubara ◽  
Haruyo Yoshida

Purpose: This paper investigated that (1) the effective use of content-based ICT methods of vocabulary acquisition through reading activities, and (2) the encouragement of learner's vocabulary building up autonomous learning. A considerable number of studies have been conducted on vocabulary acquisition in the EFL field in Japan,and researchers advocate vocabulary knowledge is the most important factor contributing to reading comprehension, yet, a firm effective pedagogy has not been established. In fact, university students encounter difficulties in reading comprehension because of their deficiencies in vocabulary knowledge during English reading class. Methodology: The free applications, Quizlet and Kahoot!, were adopted to incorporate language-focused learning while adding some gamification aspects to aid in vocabulary acquisition. The experiment was conducted in a Japanese undergraduate first-year reading class over an 11-week period. Quizlet was used for vocabulary learning prior to the reading class. Students were given multiple-choice vocabulary Cloze tests of new words from the textbook using Kahoot!, a free game-based educational platform. Main Findings: The results of this study indicated that content-based vocabulary instruction using ICT is effective and improves learner’s academic performance in vocabulary acquisition. Moreover, questionnaires were thoroughly reviewed and uncovered that students felt they developed more autonomy and this enhanced their motivation for vocabulary learning. Implications: In view of this study, ICT methods closely related to reading contexts and a variety of applications for vocabulary acquisition and improvement of reading performance should be introduced in EFL classrooms. Originality: This study was conducted in a Japanese undergraduate first-year reading class by author researcher.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Barcroft

This study examined effects of word writing on second language vocabulary learning. In two experiments, English-speaking learners of Spanish attempted to learn 24 Spanish nouns while viewing word–picture pairs. The participants copied 12 target words and wrote nothing for the other 12 target words being studied. Productive vocabulary learning on immediate and delayed (2 days later) measures was higher in the no-writing condition. These findings suggest that this type of forced output without access to meaning can detract from word learning by exhausting processing resources needed to encode novel lexical forms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathrine Norberg ◽  
Anna Vikström ◽  
Emma Palola Kirby

Studies on vocabulary learning have provided valuable knowledge of what it means to know a word and how people learn. Few studies have focused on what students’ understanding of word knowledge and vocabulary acquisition can contribute with in a language-learning context. Considering the vital importance of vocabulary in language learning, this study explores students’ experiences of word knowledge and vocabulary learning with a point of departure in phenomenographic research. By interviewing a group of Swedish secondary school students about their understanding of word knowledge and what strategies they employ to learn new words in English, categories of description emerged showing that although the majority of the students reported that they perceive word knowledge as contextual, they primarily employ decontextualised strategies when studying vocabulary. This discrepancy seems to be closely connected to how vocabulary is tested and assessed in school.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shufang Wang ◽  
Chang In Lee

Drawing on Moreno's cognitive-affective theory of learning with media, this research aims to investigate the effectiveness of different multimedia glosses on learners' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension in a CALL environment. A total of 160 university students who learnt English as a foreign language (EFL) in four classes participated in the study and were exposed to one of the four conditions: (a) L2 definition only, (b) L2 definition coupled with audio, (c) L2 definition plus video, and (d) L2 definition with picture. Participants were asked to read eight hypermediated reading texts. Reading comprehension as well as vocabulary acquisition were measured using a pretest–posttest design. The results show first that all these four conditions led to students' vocabulary gains. More specifically, participants who had access to L2 definition plus picture and plus videos achieved significantly higher scores than the other two groups, L2 definition coupled with audio and L2 definition only. Concerning reading comprehension, all multimedia glossing presentation led to better reading comprehension, but no differences were found among all the glossing groups. The questionnaire and interview data indicate that students preferred L2 definition coupled with video and picture glosses, followed by audio and L2 definition only. The results reflect that multimedia glossing presentation creates a different effect on students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension, respectively. They also provide pedagogical implications for learning in times of COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Satoko Suzuki

In extensive listening (EL) outside the classroom, students select listening materials based on their proficiency level and interests; however, studies of its effectiveness are scarce. This study explored engagement, task evaluation, and vocabulary acquisition through a one-semester EL intervention. Participants included 75 Japanese university students studying once a week for 15 weeks in a general English course and required to practice EL outside of class. The results showed that they engaged in EL for an average of one hour per week and had a relatively negative evaluation for EL. Nonetheless, the statistical analysis showed significant aural vocabulary improvement for all groups, with greater improvements seen among students with a lower initial vocabulary level. This study concludes that EL homework is effective, but adjustments are necessary to facilitate vocabulary learning. 多聴活動では学生が自らの英語力と興味にあった教材を選ぶが、その効果に関する研究は少ない。本研究では、1学期間の多聴への取り組み、多聴に対する評価、多聴後の語彙習得について調査した。参加者は週1回15週間の一般英語クラスを受講する75名の日本人大学生で、授業外で多聴に取り組んだ。その結果、彼らは平均週1時間の多聴に取り組んだが、彼らの多聴への評価は比較的否定的であった。一方、語彙テストスコアの向上は全てのグループで確認され、語彙力の低いグループのスコアが語彙力の高いグループより向上した。この研究結果から、授業外での多聴で語彙の学習効果はあったが、その効果をより高めるためには調整をする必要があると分かった。


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