Dot the pill down: Investigating the linguistic needs of foreign rugby players and lexicon of spoken rugby discourse

<p>Traditionally a sport which is played predominantly in English speaking countries such as New Zealand, England, and Australia, rugby is gaining in popularity in other countries such as Japan. International rugby competitions, such as the World Cup and Super Rugby, and increased migration of players and coaches in the sport contribute to this growth. In rugby, spoken communication with community members such as players, coaches, managers, and the referee, is a fundamental aspect of the sport. This communication presents a challenge for second language (L2) learners wanting to immerse themselves in a foreign rugby setting, in the case of Japanese players coming to New Zealand or New Zealand players going to Japan. It also presents a challenge for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers who might be faced with developing courses and materials to help second language speakers learn what they need to know to play rugby in another language, and in another country. To date, no research has focused on the linguistic and communicative needs of these players. A feature of this communication is technical language, for example ruck, maul, and lineout, but no previous research has focused on the specialised vocabulary of this game. This thesis explores two aspects in the rugby domain: vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, and the linguistic needs of foreign players and coaches in New Zealand and Japan. The study consists of two phases which were conducted to address these gaps in the research. To find out more about the nature of vocabulary in spoken rugby, phase one contained two parts. The first part was a corpus-based analysis of television commentary and team-based rugby speech. This analysis included conducting a lexical profile and vocabulary load analysis. The findings were compared to a written corpus, containing the Laws of Rugby. The results of the vocabulary profile analysis showed that high frequency vocabulary make up the majority words in each corpora. Additionally, other lexical items such as marginal words (e.g. fillers and swear words), as well as proper nouns, are important for comprehension, depending on the type of discourse. The vocabulary load analysis found 4,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and a rugby-specific list were needed for 98% comprehension in spoken rugby discourse. Part two of the first phase investigated the nature of technical vocabulary in rugby discourse. Four single-word and multi-word unit word lists using the spoken and written corpora were developed for use in the language classroom. A total of 293 spoken and 250 written word types were selected from the corpora following frequency and semantic meaning principles to create the technical single-word lists, for example lineout, tighties, and loosies. The technical words provided 12.04% and 35.41% coverage of the corpora from which they were developed. Next, lists of technical multi-word unit lists with 223 spoken and 417 written units, such as over the ball and lineout players, were created to be used in conjunction with the technical single-word lists. Phase two of the study utilised the results from phase one to conduct a linguistic needs analysis in New Zealand and Japan. Drawing on online surveys and semi-structured interviews, the results showed language difficulties occur throughout the rugby domain, especially when playing and practising the sport. Furthermore, general and rugby vocabulary are the two main language aspects affecting communication for both players and coaches. These findings indicate explicit instruction in spoken language is needed for L2 learners. This thesis has methodological implications for research into spoken technical vocabulary, as well as pedagogical implications for ESP. For example, the word lists can be used to help L2 rugby players and coaches learn the vocabulary that they will encounter and be expected to use fluently in games and at practice. This means they can receive specialised support for their language needs and ultimately be able to perform at their highest level in the foreign rugby community.</p>

Dot the pill down: Investigating the linguistic needs of foreign rugby players and lexicon of spoken rugby discourse

<p>Traditionally a sport which is played predominantly in English speaking countries such as New Zealand, England, and Australia, rugby is gaining in popularity in other countries such as Japan. International rugby competitions, such as the World Cup and Super Rugby, and increased migration of players and coaches in the sport contribute to this growth. In rugby, spoken communication with community members such as players, coaches, managers, and the referee, is a fundamental aspect of the sport. This communication presents a challenge for second language (L2) learners wanting to immerse themselves in a foreign rugby setting, in the case of Japanese players coming to New Zealand or New Zealand players going to Japan. It also presents a challenge for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers who might be faced with developing courses and materials to help second language speakers learn what they need to know to play rugby in another language, and in another country. To date, no research has focused on the linguistic and communicative needs of these players. A feature of this communication is technical language, for example ruck, maul, and lineout, but no previous research has focused on the specialised vocabulary of this game. This thesis explores two aspects in the rugby domain: vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, and the linguistic needs of foreign players and coaches in New Zealand and Japan. The study consists of two phases which were conducted to address these gaps in the research. To find out more about the nature of vocabulary in spoken rugby, phase one contained two parts. The first part was a corpus-based analysis of television commentary and team-based rugby speech. This analysis included conducting a lexical profile and vocabulary load analysis. The findings were compared to a written corpus, containing the Laws of Rugby. The results of the vocabulary profile analysis showed that high frequency vocabulary make up the majority words in each corpora. Additionally, other lexical items such as marginal words (e.g. fillers and swear words), as well as proper nouns, are important for comprehension, depending on the type of discourse. The vocabulary load analysis found 4,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and a rugby-specific list were needed for 98% comprehension in spoken rugby discourse. Part two of the first phase investigated the nature of technical vocabulary in rugby discourse. Four single-word and multi-word unit word lists using the spoken and written corpora were developed for use in the language classroom. A total of 293 spoken and 250 written word types were selected from the corpora following frequency and semantic meaning principles to create the technical single-word lists, for example lineout, tighties, and loosies. The technical words provided 12.04% and 35.41% coverage of the corpora from which they were developed. Next, lists of technical multi-word unit lists with 223 spoken and 417 written units, such as over the ball and lineout players, were created to be used in conjunction with the technical single-word lists. Phase two of the study utilised the results from phase one to conduct a linguistic needs analysis in New Zealand and Japan. Drawing on online surveys and semi-structured interviews, the results showed language difficulties occur throughout the rugby domain, especially when playing and practising the sport. Furthermore, general and rugby vocabulary are the two main language aspects affecting communication for both players and coaches. These findings indicate explicit instruction in spoken language is needed for L2 learners. This thesis has methodological implications for research into spoken technical vocabulary, as well as pedagogical implications for ESP. For example, the word lists can be used to help L2 rugby players and coaches learn the vocabulary that they will encounter and be expected to use fluently in games and at practice. This means they can receive specialised support for their language needs and ultimately be able to perform at their highest level in the foreign rugby community.</p>

Investigating knowledge and use of technical vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

<p>This research investigates the nature of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, in the specialized discipline of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is an important area of higher education. It consists of three linked studies in correspondence to three research aims using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Study 1 addressed the questions of what kinds of words constitute TCM lexis given its origin, and what is the vocabulary load of English-medium texts in this discipline. To answer these questions, a series of lexical analyses was conducted on three corpora: theory-based and practice-based textbook corpora and a journal article corpus, which reflect the main areas of reading for TCM students. The results showed that while high, mid and low-frequency vocabulary make up a fairly large proportion of these texts, other lexical items such as abbreviations, loan words, medical words, proper nouns, and compounds also feature in them, but in differing proportions depending on the text types. Further, this study found that a large vocabulary of 13,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and two TCM-specific lists is needed. This is the point which most TCM learners can read TCM textbooks and journal articles without vocabulary being a handicap. Study 2 looked more closely at the technical vocabulary in TCM. The nature of technical vocabulary was explored and TCM technical word lists of both single and multiword units were developed for learners and teachers in this discipline. A total of 2,778 word types were selected for the TCM technical word list based on the criteria of relative keyness in the TCM Corpora compared to a general written English corpus, meaningfulness, and frequency. The list provided 36.65% coverage of the corpora from which it was developed. In addition, a TCM technical lexical bundle list with 898 bundles was developed to supplement the technical word list. The findings suggested that lexical bundles play an essential role in creating meaning and structure of TCM discourse. Thus, they should be regarded as a basic linguistic construct since some technical vocabulary needs to be seen in bundles rather than in single words. The last study bridged the gap between corpus-based word lists and the actual ESP vocabulary learning context by way of investigating learners’ understanding of the technical words from the technical word list generated from the second study. Results suggested that learners faced different challenges in technical vocabulary learning depending on their linguistic backgrounds. Specifically, Chinese learners had great difficulty with technical words from the lower-frequency bands of BNC/COCA word lists, while Western learners encountered challenges with loan words borrowed from Chinese. As a result, a certain divergence between the Western and Chinese TCM learners’ understanding of technical words was manifested. These findings indicate that a pedagogically useful word list should be adaptable to learners from different linguistic backgrounds. Drawing on these findings, this thesis also provides methodological, theoretical, and pedagogical implications so that the TCM learners can gain better support in their specialized English vocabulary learning. They can also enable the teachers and course designers to better scaffold their students’ vocabulary development.</p>

Investigating knowledge and use of technical vocabulary in Traditional Chinese Medicine

<p>This research investigates the nature of vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary, in the specialized discipline of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is an important area of higher education. It consists of three linked studies in correspondence to three research aims using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Study 1 addressed the questions of what kinds of words constitute TCM lexis given its origin, and what is the vocabulary load of English-medium texts in this discipline. To answer these questions, a series of lexical analyses was conducted on three corpora: theory-based and practice-based textbook corpora and a journal article corpus, which reflect the main areas of reading for TCM students. The results showed that while high, mid and low-frequency vocabulary make up a fairly large proportion of these texts, other lexical items such as abbreviations, loan words, medical words, proper nouns, and compounds also feature in them, but in differing proportions depending on the text types. Further, this study found that a large vocabulary of 13,000 word families plus four supplementary lists and two TCM-specific lists is needed. This is the point which most TCM learners can read TCM textbooks and journal articles without vocabulary being a handicap. Study 2 looked more closely at the technical vocabulary in TCM. The nature of technical vocabulary was explored and TCM technical word lists of both single and multiword units were developed for learners and teachers in this discipline. A total of 2,778 word types were selected for the TCM technical word list based on the criteria of relative keyness in the TCM Corpora compared to a general written English corpus, meaningfulness, and frequency. The list provided 36.65% coverage of the corpora from which it was developed. In addition, a TCM technical lexical bundle list with 898 bundles was developed to supplement the technical word list. The findings suggested that lexical bundles play an essential role in creating meaning and structure of TCM discourse. Thus, they should be regarded as a basic linguistic construct since some technical vocabulary needs to be seen in bundles rather than in single words. The last study bridged the gap between corpus-based word lists and the actual ESP vocabulary learning context by way of investigating learners’ understanding of the technical words from the technical word list generated from the second study. Results suggested that learners faced different challenges in technical vocabulary learning depending on their linguistic backgrounds. Specifically, Chinese learners had great difficulty with technical words from the lower-frequency bands of BNC/COCA word lists, while Western learners encountered challenges with loan words borrowed from Chinese. As a result, a certain divergence between the Western and Chinese TCM learners’ understanding of technical words was manifested. These findings indicate that a pedagogically useful word list should be adaptable to learners from different linguistic backgrounds. Drawing on these findings, this thesis also provides methodological, theoretical, and pedagogical implications so that the TCM learners can gain better support in their specialized English vocabulary learning. They can also enable the teachers and course designers to better scaffold their students’ vocabulary development.</p>

THE LEMMA DILEMMA

Recently there has been some debate about the appropriacy of different lexical units in pedagogy and research (e.g., Brown et al., 2020; Dang & Webb, 2016a; Kremmel, 2016; Laufer & Cobb, 2020; McLean, 2018; Nation, 2016; Nation & Webb, 2011; Vilkaitė-Lozdienė & Schmitt, 2020). The lexical unit (word types, lemmas, flemmas, word families) needs to be considered when developing wordlists, vocabulary tests, and vocabulary learning programs. It is also central to the lexical profiles of text and corpora, which indicate the vocabulary learning targets associated with understanding different types of discourse. Perhaps most importantly, the lexical unit of words found in vocabulary learning resources such as word lists and tests may affect their pedagogical value. The aim of this article is to highlight aspects of research and pedagogy that are affected by lexical units and describe issues that should be considered when operationalizing words in studies of vocabulary and learning resources.

Socially induced false memories in the absence of misinformation

Ample evidence shows that post-encoding misinformation from others can induce false memories. Here, we demonstrate in two experiments a new, tacit form of socially generated false memories, resulting from interpersonal co-monitoring at encoding without communication of misinformation. Pairs of participants jointly viewed semantically coherent word lists, presented successively in blue, green, or red letters. Each individual was instructed to memorize words presented in one of the colors. One color remained unassigned (control condition). Participants reported more false memories for non-presented words (lures) semantically related to partner-assigned than to control lists, although both list types were equally irrelevant to their own task. Notably, this effect also persisted for particularly rich memories. These findings show for the first time that social induction of false memories, even subjectively rich ones, does not necessarily require communication of deceptive information. This has important implications both theoretically and practically (e.g. in forensic contexts).

The Godden and Baddeley (1975) experiment on context-dependent memory on land and underwater: a replication

A replication of the experiment by Godden and Baddeley (Godden and Baddeley 1975 British Journal of Psychology 66 , 325–331 ( doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1975.tb01468.x )) on environmental context-dependent memory is described. Sixteen divers studied auditorily presented word lists on land or underwater and recalled these 4 min later on land or underwater (each diver participated in all four combinations). Contrary to the original study, we did not find that recall in the same context where the words had been learned was better than recall in the other context. We discuss differences between our replication and the original study and emphasize the importance of attempts at replicating classic studies.

Socially Induced False Memories in the Absence of Misinformation

Ample evidence shows that post-encoding misinformation from others can induce false memories. Here, we demonstrate in two experiments a new, tacit form of socially generated false memories, resulting from interpersonal co-monitoring at encoding without communication of misinformation. Pairs of participants jointly viewed semantically coherent word lists, presented successively in blue, green, or red letters. Each individual was instructed to memorize words presented in one of the colors. One color remained unassigned (control condition). Participants reported more false memories for non-presented words (lures) semantically related to partner-assigned than to control lists, although both list types were equally irrelevant to their own task. Notably, this effect also persisted for particularly rich memories. These findings show for the first time that social induction of false memories, even subjectively rich ones, does not necessarily require communication of deceptive information. This has important implications both theoretically and practically (e.g. in forensic contexts).