scholarly journals Receptive and productive vocabulary acquisition: effectiveness of three types of tasks. Results from French students of Spanish as second language

2021 ◽  
pp. 36-56
Author(s):  
Alicia San Mateo-Valdehíta ◽  
◽  
Cecilia Criado de Diego ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Feature Analysis ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
The Third ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
The One ◽  
Writing Task

This study presents the results of research on the vocabulary acquisition of French students of Spanish as second language. The aim is to know (1) which of these three vocabulary-learning tasks is more effective: definition-choosing, gap-filling or sentence-writing; and (2) which kind of knowledge, receptive or productive, the participants acquire with each vocabulary-learning task. The analysis shows that the most effective task is sentence-writing, then gap-filling and, in the third place, definition-choosing. Also all the three learning tasks trained students to complete above all activities which require a receptive knowledge of the words—definition-choosing and gap-filling tasks—, but they were much less prepared to carry out the sentence-writing task, which requires a productive knowledge of the words. The only productive task proposed—sentence-writing—is the one that allowed the students to learn receptively and productively a higher number of words. We associate our results with the Involvement Load Hypothesis and Technique Feature Analysis.

scholarly journals The Use of Images for Teaching Abstract Words Versus Concrete Words: A Semiotic Study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adil Mohammed Hamoud Qadha ◽  
Hassan Saleh Mahdi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Third ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Words

Semiotics has been investigated in the literature to enhance second language vocabulary acquisition. The previous studies have examined how semiotics could aid second language (L2) learner to learn concrete words. This study aims at investigating the effect of semiotics on learning abstract words. Fifty-five Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) participated in the study and assigned into three groups. The first group was taught abstract words using semiotics. The second group was taught concrete words using semiotics. The third group was taught the same words using a traditional way, i.e., without semiotics. Results of the post-test indicated that participants in semiotics groups (either concrete or abstract) outscored the participants who did not use semiotics to learn new words. The study concluded that semiotics is a useful tool to enhance learning new words. Also, semiotics can be more helpful in learning concrete words than abstract words.

scholarly journals The Influence of Reading Purpose on Second Language: Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Huang Shuke ◽  
Pan Cuiqiong
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary ◽  
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
At Home

<p>In recent years, the study of incidental vocabulary acquisition has received worldwide attention from scholars at home and abroad. Based on the relevant literature and some relevant empirical studies, this paper mainly explores the influence of reading purposes on the incidental acquisition of second language vocabulary in natural reading. It also put forward some constructive suggestions on how to use these factors to guide students' vocabulary learning.<strong><em></em></strong></p>

Phonological sequence learning and short-term store capacity determine second language vocabulary acquisition

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIOVANNA SPECIALE ◽  
NICK C. ELLIS ◽  
TRACEY BYWATER
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Receptive Language ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Phonological Store

Two studies examined individual cognitive differences affecting the acquisition of second language word forms. Experiment 1 measured 40 undergraduates' ability to learn phonological sequences, their phonological short-term store capacity as indexed by ability to repeat nonwordlike nonwords, and their learning of novel foreign language vocabulary (German) in an experimental task. Phonological sequence learning predicted receptive vocabulary learning. Phonological sequence learning and phonological store capacity made independent additive contributions to productive vocabulary learning. Experiment 2 determined the interactions of phonological sequence learning ability, phonological store capacity, and second language acquisition during a longitudinal field study of 44 novice undergraduate learners of Spanish during a 10-week course. Students' initial skill in phonological sequence learning predicted their final levels of Spanish receptive language and their eventual ability to repeat Spanish-wordlike nonwords. The results suggest that phonological store capacity and phonological sequence learning ability are initially separable constraints on second language vocabulary acquisition and that sequence learning ability underpins the acquisition of long-term phonological knowledge. Subsequent apprehension and consolidation of a novel word form is a product not only of phonological short-term store capacity but also of this long-term knowledge of the phonological regularities of language.

THE INFLUENCE OF ORTHOGRAPHY ON ORAL VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN LEARNERS OF CHINESE AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Hong Li ◽  
Yang Liu
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Phonological Information ◽  
New Words ◽  
Oral Vocabulary

Abstract The present study investigated the effects of exposure to Chinese orthography on learning phonological forms of new words in learners of Chinese as a second language. A total of 30 adult learners of Chinese studied spoken label and picture associations presented either with phonologically accurate characters, characters with partial phonological information, or no orthography. Half the phonologically accurate or partially accurate characters were semantically transparent or opaque. Spoken labels were recalled without orthography presence. Results showed that exposure to phonologically accurate and semantically transparent characters during learning did not enhance the recall of the spoken labels compared to no orthography. But exposure to characters with partial phonological information and semantically opaque characters significantly hindered vocabulary learning. The implications for Chinese as a second language vocabulary acquisition and instruction are discussed.

scholarly journals Contrasting Similar Words Facilitates Second Language Vocabulary Learning in Children by Sharpening Lexical Representations

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peta Baxter ◽  
Mienke Droop ◽  
Marianne van den Hurk ◽  
Harold Bekkering ◽  
Ton Dijkstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Skilled Readers ◽  
Lexical Representations ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

This study considers one of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of second language (L2) vocabulary in children: The differentiation and sharpening of lexical representations. We propose that sharpening is triggered by an implicit comparison of similar representations, a process we call contrasting. We investigate whether integrating contrasting in a learning method in which children contrast orthographically and semantically similar L2 words facilitates learning of those words by sharpening their new lexical representations. In our study, 48 Dutch-speaking children learned unfamiliar orthographically and semantically similar English words in a multiple-choice learning task. One half of the group learned the similar words by contrasting them, while the other half did not contrast them. Their word knowledge was measured immediately after learning as well as 1 week later. Contrasting was found to facilitate learning by leading to more precise lexical representations. However, only highly skilled readers benefitted from contrasting. Our findings offer novel insights into the development of L2 lexical representations from fuzzy to more precise, and have potential implications for education.

Glossing and vocabulary learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Frank Boers
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
L2 Reading ◽  
Reading Materials ◽  
Research Designs ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

Abstract This article offers a critical review of research on the use of glossing and its contribution to second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Discussion topics include the complexity of estimating the effectiveness of glossing relative to reading non-glossed texts, the quest for optimal implementations of glossing, issues of ecological validity, and ambiguity around the nature of vocabulary learning from glosses. The general conclusion is that, despite the substantial number of research studies on this subject, many questions remain to which only tentative and provisional answers are currently available. This is partly owing to the wide diversity in research designs across studies and the lack of transparency of many research reports. Suggestions are made for further research on glossing with a view to enabling future systematic reviews to produce more nuanced answers and more informed recommendations for the design of L2 reading materials.

scholarly journals Morphological awareness in L2 Spanish: What is learned incidentally and what requires explicit teaching?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia H. Sánchez Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Explicit Teaching ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Pedagogical Treatment ◽  
The One ◽  
Distributional Knowledge

The development of morphological awareness positively impacts vocabulary learning, inferencing skills or reading comprehension. However, it is currently given very little attention in Spanish as a Second Language textbooks, due to the prevailing belief that derivational morphological knowledge can be developed without any explicit teaching. This idea has been repeatedly contested in the literature, and the present study aims to add to this ongoing discussion by specifying the aspects of morphological knowledge that would benefit the most from explicit pedagogical treatment. Four tasks were designed, which tapped into relational and distributional knowledge, both at the receptive and productive level. Students enrolled in three successive SSL course levels completed the tasks, as did one group of beginners who completed them twice: before and after a four-session long morphological training. Results indicate that participating in that training was advantageous in most tasks, but particularly so for the one that required distributional productive skills. Pedagogical implications of these results are further discussed.

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