scholarly journals A Comparative Study on Second Language Vocabulary Development: Study Abroad vs. Classroom Settings

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio F. Jiménez Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Contrast Study ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Frequency Of Use

This paper aims to achieve a better understanding of the process of vocabulary acquisition in both classroom and study abroad contexts. For this purpose, a three-word association test was developed in order to assess both learners’ vocabulary size and depth of lexical knowledge (that is, synonyms, antonyms, metaphors, collocates, frequency of use, metonyms, etc.). The test was distributed among six groups, three of which were comprised of students of Spanish at different university levels, without any experience abroad. The fourth group consisted of L2 learners who had been in study abroad programs in Spanish speaking countries for a period time of five months. A cluster of high proficiency L2 speakers of Spanish formed the fifth group. The sixth group, the control group, was comprised by native speakers of Spanish. The results suggest that classroom instruction does not offer the appropriate language experience to foster lexicon development either in size or in-depth of vocabulary knowledge. In contrast, study abroad students experiences an increase in both levels of vocabulary knowledge.

scholarly journals Comparing Two Measures of L2 Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge Using the Association With Vocabulary Size

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Dabbagh ◽  
Mostafa Janebi Enayat
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Vocabulary Depth ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Knowledge Scale

Abstract This study compared two tests of second language (L2) depth of vocabulary knowledge, namely the word association test (WAT) and vocabulary knowledge scale (VKS), with respect to their associations with vocabulary size. The same relationships were further examined separately for the five word-frequency bands of the vocabulary size test. To this end, 115 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners took the WAT, VKS, and Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT). Results of multiple linear regression analyses indicated that: (a) while both measures of vocabulary depth were predictive of the VLT, the WAT had a higher association with the dependent variable; (b) both the WAT and VKS were predictive of the high-frequency vocabulary, with the relationships being more significant for the WAT; (c) the WAT could significantly predict the mid-frequency vocabulary, whereas the VKS had no significant contribution; and (d) while the VKS was significantly associated with the low-frequency vocabulary, the WAT had no significant contribution to the prediction of this level. The findings are interpreted with reference to the suitability of both the WAT and VKS depending on the type of input, expected response, and desired frequency of the target words.

scholarly journals A Study on the Relationship between English Reading Comprehension and English Vocabulary Knowledge

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-han Ma ◽  
Wen-ying Lin
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
English Reading

The present study aimed to investigate the overall and relative contribution of four subcomponents of vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension. The four vocabulary subcomponents were vocabulary size, word association knowledge, collocation knowledge, and morphological knowledge. The participants were 124 college students from a university in Taipei, Taiwan. Six instruments were employed: (1) a reading comprehension test, (2) a vocabulary size test, (3) a test on word association knowledge and collocation knowledge, (4) a test of morphological knowledge, (5) motivation attitude scale, and (6) a self-efficacy scale. The results can be summarized as follows. First, after the effects of motivation and self-efficacy have been controlled, the four vocabulary subcomponents altogether contributed significantly (20%) to reading comprehension performance. Moreover, depth of vocabulary knowledge (including word association knowledge, collocation knowledge, and morphological knowledge) provided an additional explained variance (6%) in reading comprehension performance over and above vocabulary size. Finally, among the three subcomponents of depth of vocabulary knowledge, collocation knowledge explained the most proportion of variance (5.6%) in contributing to performance on reading comprehension. Based on these findings, some implications and suggestions for future research were provided.

scholarly journals RECEPTIVE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN CLIL INSTRUCTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilsah Kalay
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Before And After

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has recently attracted the attention of practitioners in the language teaching field. As the name suggests, CLIL is an approach built upon teaching content-based area through a language as a medium. For such a language learning process, one of the important language aspects is vocabulary. The number of words language learners know - vocabulary size - and how well they know those words - vocabulary depth - (overall, the receptive dimension of word knowledge) are crucial foci to consider in language learning. Therefore, the primary concern of the present study is to examine the effects of the CLIL approach on the receptive vocabulary knowledge of university students in a state university. Accordingly, Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) by Schmitt, Schmitt and Clapham (2001) and Word Association Test (WAT) by Read (2000) are administered to the participants before and after CLIL treatment. The findings indicated that the subjects’ size of vocabulary knowledge has significantly differed with CLIL instruction in time, which means that CLIL instruction has been found to be successful for developing both general and academic vocabulary knowledge. Similarly, an increase in the depth of vocabulary knowledge of participants alongside with the CLIL instruction has been observed, indicating that participants’ quality of vocabulary knowledge evaluated through WAT seems to have improved with CLIL treatment. Further research including less frequent words as well as the productive aspect of word knowledge might shed light on the impacts of CLIL treatment on vocabulary development of language learners, especially university students. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0726/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

scholarly journals Effects of reading Strategies and Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge on Turkish EFL Learners’ Text Inferencing Skills

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Abdulvahit Cakir ◽  
Ihsan Unaldi ◽  
Fadime Yalcin Arslan ◽  
Mehmet Kilic
Keyword(s):  
Reading Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Association Test ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Major Implication ◽  
National Test ◽  
Significant Factors

<p>Within the framework of foreign language teaching and learning, reading strategies, depth of vocabulary knowledge and text inferencing skills have not been researched extensively. This study tries to fill this gap by analyzing the effects of reading strategies used by Turkish EFL learners and their depth of vocabulary knowledge on their text inferencing skills. Three different measures were used in the study: Word Association Test (WAT), Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI), and inferencing questions used in a standardized national test. The association test and reading strategies scores were regressed on inferencing scores of the participants. The results revealed that depth of vocabulary knowledge was a better predictor of inferencing skills compared to reading strategies. However, the model created by using these two predictors accounted for only 15% of the variance, and the major implication of this result is that there are other more significant factors which affect text inferencing skills of EFL learners than reading strategies and depth of vocabulary knowledge.</p>

scholarly journals A Formative Assessment Example: Word Association Test

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Fatih Çetin Çetinkaya ◽  
Muhammet Sönmez ◽  
Abdurrahman Baki Topçam
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Association Test ◽  
Wilcoxon Test ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Significant Difference

This research was carried out to determine the effectiveness and functionality of the word association test (WAT), which is a formative assessment tool that is frequently emphasized on today&rsquo;s modern education systems. The study group consisted of 60 students in a public school in Kocaeli in the school year 2018-2019. Participants were identified using convenience sampling technique. The data of the study were obtained by using pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design with no control group. The data were categorized by subjecting to content analysis. The findings were tabulated using the cut-off technique and analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. When the results of the study were examined, it was concluded that conceptual change and development occurred in participants&rsquo; minds and there was a significant difference in the results of the Wilcoxon test performed before and after the implementation. It was observed that the students wrote 1669 words before the implementation, and the number increased to 2193 after it. This shows that the students associate the key concept of &ldquo;migration&rdquo; with more words after the implementation and thus there is a wider connotation related to migration in their minds. In addition, the results of this research reveal that the WAT is suitable for formative assessment and can be used in educational studies.

scholarly journals Enhancing Intercultural Competence: Can it be done without Studying Abroad?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lata Krishnan ◽  
Lan Jin ◽  
Charles Calahan
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Study Abroad Program

Participation in intensive, immersive, service-learning study abroad programs with intentional intercultural activities embedded in the course curriculum has been shown to enhance cultural competence as measured via the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) (Krishnan, Masters, Holgate, Wang & Calahan, 2017; Krishnan, Lin & Benson, 2020). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative impact of embedding intercultural learning activities on students’ intercultural competence when included in an on-campus course compared to a study abroad program. The intervention group consisted of 34 students enrolled in the on-campus course which incorporated intentional intercultural activities. Forty-one students who did not take the course comprised the control group. Comparison of the pre- and post-IDI® scores showed a significant increase in intercultural competence in the intervention group and no change in score in the control group participants. Qualitative data supported these findings. The increase in group mean score is slightly lower than group mean score increases in study-abroad students. Results indicate that incorporating intentional intercultural learning activities in an on-campus course can be an effective mechanism for students to enhance intercultural competence without travelling abroad.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Size and Depth of Knowledge: A Study of Bahraini EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Adel W. Alqallaf ◽  
Madani O. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
University Of Bahrain ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates the size and depth of vocabulary knowledge and its relationship to the general language proficiency of EFL learners. The study sample included 120 students from the University of Bahrain. The sample was randomly selected from the student population and split into two groups in terms of their level of English: intermediate and advanced. The study aims to answer four questions: (1) What is the effect of general language proficiency on the sizes of the receptive and productive vocabularies of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (2) How does general language proficiency affect the depth of vocabulary knowledge of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (3) What is the relationship between receptive and productive vocabularies and the depth of vocabulary knowledge? and (4) What is the relationship between vocabulary size and the nature of lexical networking? All the students in the sample completed three vocabulary tasks. The first two tasks were Meara and Jones&rsquo;s Eurocentres Vocabulary Size Test (1990) and Meara and Fitzpatrick&rsquo;s Lex30 word association task (2000), which were used to measure the sizes of receptive and productive vocabularies. The third task was Gyllstad&rsquo;s COLLEX test (2007), which was used to investigate the depth of vocabulary knowledge. A quasi-experimental approach was adopted using a quantitative approach to analyze the data. The data of the study were analyzed by comparing the results of the two groups in relation to the three tasks using SPSS 16.0. The findings of the study have revealed that general language proficiency has a positive effect on learners&rsquo; receptive vocabulary size, a moderate effect on learners&rsquo; productive vocabulary size, and a very low effect on the depth of vocabulary knowledge. In addition, no relationship was shown between the size of vocabulary and the nature of lexical networking. With reference to these results, pedagogical and future research recommendations are made.

Priming of Association Test Responses

1980 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-518
Author(s):  
Barbara Oberkircher ◽  
Joan Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Word Association ◽  
Association Test ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Stimulus List ◽  
Word Associations ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Priming Task

32 subjects participated in a contextual priming experiment which used a between-subjects design. The experiment tested the hypothesis that priming subjects with certain verbal pre-tasks would affect responses on a subsequent word-association test. The control group was given the stimulus list for word associations without the previous priming task. The hypothesis suggesting that the responses of the primed group would be different from those of the unprimed group was supported.

Investigation of Infographic Design and Summarizing Processes from the Biology Texts of Primary School Students in Terms of Different Variables

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 536-544
Author(s):  
edanur inci
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Word Association ◽  
School Science ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Cognitive Structures ◽  
School Students ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
Word Association Test ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Technological Developments

Technological developments have increased the importance of presenting and the processing of information as effective and memorable in the field of education. The aim of the study is to examine the effect of performing biology subjects in the elementary school science lessons with infographic design tasks in terms of the effects on students’ cognitive structures and knowledge levels in the learning - teaching process. As the research method was used the pretest-posttest control group design from the experimental research models. The sample of the research consists of 4th grade students of a primary school. The total of 48 students were studied from two different classes, each of 24 students including in the study. Word Association Test (WAT) and achievement Test were used as data collection tools. Mann Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test from non-parametric tests were used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the analyzes, it was seen that the students who carried out the infographic design activities were positively affected in terms of their cognitive structures.

scholarly journals The effect of study abroad on intercultural competence: Results from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Heinzmann ◽  
Roland Künzle ◽  
Nicole Schallhart ◽  
Marianne Müller
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Impact

This study analyses the impact of short-term study abroad experiences on upper secondary school students’ intercultural competence by means of an experimental design including an intervention and a control group who are studied longitudinally by means of a pre-test, post-test and delayed post-test. In recent years there has been an increasing effort to evaluate the success of study abroad programs not only in terms of number of participants, but in terms of academic, intercultural and linguistic development. Nevertheless, few studies have employed the experimental designs needed to gauge the impact of study abroad programs and even fewer have included a delayed posttest which may shed light on the sustainability of identified effects. The present study includes a broad range of study abroad programs which differ in terms of certain key characteristics, such as duration, type of accommodation or target language. In this way, it is possible to analyse the effect of different parameters on the student’s intercultural development and, ultimately, to identify key factors for successful programs. The paper starts by discussing different models of intercultural competence before outlining the model used in this study. This is followed by a presentation of the participants and the key characteristics of their individual study abroad programs. Analyses of covariance are used to examine the intercultural competence of the students in the control group and the intervention group at the time of the post-test and the delayed posttest and to identify key factors that contribute to the explanation of their intercultural competence. The findings indicate that short-term study abroad experiences have a positive influence on young people’s intercultural competence both short-term and longer-term. The most crucial factors for the explanation of the participants’ intercultural competence are their starting conditions, the duration of their stay, the amount of interaction with representatives of the target culture, and the regular use of the target language. The paper finishes with a discussion of implications for program design and of the limitations of the study.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document