1. Instructed Second Language Vocabulary Learning By: Norbert Schmitt University of Nottingham, UK Presented by: Maha Reem Khouriyeh In the Teaching Vocabulary Course Prof. Penny Ur

2. The article overviews current research on second language vocabulary learning, focusing on the most recent studies, and highlights the pedagogical lessons that can be learned. The scope of the vocabulary learning challenge: 1. Vocabulary size Luafer (1989) 95% coverage of lexical items sufficient for understanding Hu & Nation (2000) 98-99% at least for written discourse Nation (2006) analyzed 200,000 words of spoken English, to reach 98% of understanding 6000-7000 word families are required (for listening) Adolphs& Schmitt (2003) if only 90% coverage required under 800 word families/1400 individual words are needed if 95% coverageequirred: over 2000 families/4000 words are needed Nation (2006) 95% coverage require about 3000 word family (for listening) 98% coverage require 8000-9000 word family (for writing) Word family= several individual word forms: root form, inflections and derivations Example: care (the root)/cared, caring (inflections)/careful, careless (derivation) Nation (2006) the most frequent 1000 word families: 6 members Less frequent 9000: 3 members 6000 word families for reading entails knowing 28,015 individual word forms 8000 word families for reading entails knowing 34,660 individual word forms

3. Sometimes the family members are transparently related (nation-national)-meaning guessable But with less-transparent members (nation-nationalistically)- trouble in guessing the meaning All the above figures don't take into account the multitude of phrasal lexical items which are extremely widespread in language use. In order to promote vocabulary learning, exposure to language tasks focusing on communication or linguistic aspects is not enough. There should be a more proactive, principled approach which will require contributions from four learning partners: students, teachers, materials writers and researchers. All the four agree that learning vocabulary is an essential part of mastering a second language. Students need to be active over a long period of time Teachers provide guidance Researchers provide reliable information about vocabulary and effective methods of learning it Materials writers deliver the research-based information to teachers and learners in a form that is usable

4. 2. Depth of vocabulary knowledge/the incremental nature of vocabulary learning The quality or depth of the vocabulary knowledge is important. Nation,2001 provides description of the range of 'word knowledge' aspects.

5. Some aspects (word meaning/word form) could be required by intentional learning Other more contextualized aspects (collocations) need massive and repeated exposure to L2 such as extensive reading. Lexical items need to be met many times in order to be learned to consolidate the form-meaning link and to enhance knowledge of an item by developing the other types of word knowledge. Words met in different contexts develop mastery of the different word knowledge types and entails a long- term approach to vocabulary learning. Chag & Read (2006): vocabulary instruction before a listening task helped less than hearing the input twice or reading and discussing the topic beforehand. Depth of knowledge also in terms of receptive and productive levels of mastery, where the receptive lexicon is larger. Larson & Schmitt: written vocabulary recognition was higher than spoken recognition.

6. Issues in vocabulary acquisition and pedagogy 1. The importance of word form Some researches indicate that L2 learners often have trouble with the word form. Laufer(1988) studied words with similar forms and found that some similarities were confusing for students (words similar except for vowels: son/sun), or if there are many other words that have similar form in L2 (pour, poor, power, pore…) can lead to confusion. Learning L1 easily is attributable to the mind that becomes attuned to the features and regularities in the L1 input, as the word form and the particular set of phonemes and graphemes and the way they combine, a thing that makes the process automatic. But, when a person tries to process an L2 in the same way he does in L1 it can cause problems. Example 1 : French and English in spoken language: English speakers use stress to parse words in the speech stream French speakers rely on syllable cues Example 2: English and Chinese in written language: Both have to learn not only new oral forms in L2 but also new written forms which are more difficult. Groot (2006) L2 words that match L1 orthographical and phonological patterns are easier to learn and remember than L2 words that are atypical. Ellis (1997) argues that form is mainly acquired through exposure, addressed in vocabulary exercises with a direct focus, and not just to be an add-on to meaning.

7. 2. The role of L1 in L2 vocabulary learning The best evidence for L1 influence comes from psycholinguistic studies, which demonstrate that the L1 is active during L2 lexical processing in both beginning and more-advanced learners. Prince(1996) found that more newly learned words could be recalled using L1 translations than L2 context, particularly for less-proficient learners. Lotto&de Groot (1998) found that L2-L1 word pairs lead to better learning than L2-picture pairs. Hall (2002) found that the initial form-meaning link consists of the new L2 word from being attached to a representation of the corresponding L1 word which already exists in memory as a natural vehicle, such as with L2- L1 word cards. Barcoft (2002) found that using the L1 to facilitate the form-meaning link may allow more cognitive resources to be focused on form. After the initial stage the value of using L1 lessens and the advantages of meeting the new lexical item in L2 become important to enhance contextual word knowledge.

8. 3. Engagement with vocabulary Craik&Lockhart (1972) defined engagement with vocabulary by stating that the more attention given to an item, and the more manipulation involved with the item, the greater the chances it will be remembered. Hulstijin&Laufer (2001) suggested that involvement for vocabulary learning consists of three components: need, search and evaluation. Need is the requirement for a linguistic feature in order to achieve some desired task (needing to know a particular word in order to understand the passage) Search is the attempt to find the required information (looking up the word in a dictionary) Evaluation refers to the comparison of the word, or information about the word, with the context of use to determine if it fits or is the best choice. Tasks with more need, search and evaluation elements are more effective. Comparison 1: learners writing compositions remembered a set of target words better than those who saw the words in a reading comprehension task Comparison 2: learners who supplied missing target words in gaps in the reading text remembered more of those words than learners who read marginal glosses. Another important factor for engagement is the student's motivation, attitudes and strategic behavior. A set of other factors that lead to facilitating vocabulary learning: - increased frequency of exposure - increased attention focused on the lexical item - increased noticing of the lexical item - increased intention to learn the lexical item - a requirement to learn it (by a teacher, a test, syllabus) - a need to learn/use it (for a ask or a personal goal) - increased amount of time spent engaging with it - amount of interaction spent on it

9. 4. Phrasal vocabulary Phrasal vocabulary is very widespread, used for a number of purposes, including expressing a message or idea, and allows more fluency in production. Highlighting phrasal language to learners can have an impact. Jones&Haywood (2004) focused on phrasal vocabulary in a 10-week EAP class, and found that the students became much more aware of phrasal vocabulary by the end of the course, showed a slight improvement in the production of phrases in tests, but demonstrated no noticeable improvement in their output of phrases in composition writing. Boers et al. (2006) found that learners who were exposed to listening and reading and made aware of phrasal vocabulary were more orally proficient than others.

10. Intentional learning of vocabulary Vocabulary needs a different approach with explicit attention to learning the lexical items, because: - learners don't pay attention to the precise meaning of individual words when they get the whole message. - guessing from the context is often unreliable - easy words guessed may not generate enough engagement to be remembered - new words met have to be met again quickly to avoid being forgotten. Intentional vocabulary learning occurs when the specific goal is to learn vocabulary, usually with an explicit focus, leads to greater and faster gains, with a better chance of retention and of reaching productive levels of mastery. Ellis&Larsen-Freeman (2006) suggest a number of principles for selecting and constructing effective learning tasks: 1. Use activities that maximize learner engagement with target lexical items Different studies show that a wide variety of activities can increase engagement in ways which facilitate vocabulary learning. Horst, Cobb and Nicola (2005) Using an interactive on-line database containing vocabulary learning activities, including examples, a dictionary and a quiz. Smith (2004) Using an Internet chat program, with pairs negotiating a picture story sequencing task and a decision –making task. Webb (2005) using an L1 translation for a target word in a sentence

11. 2. Maximize repeated exposure to target lexical items It is difficult to prescribe the number of repetitions necessary to learn a lexical item. Nation (2001) found a range of from five to more than twenty repeated meetings were necessary to 'learn' words. Psycholinguistic studies demonstrated the power of repetition. Also recycling is necessary, if neglected, many words will be forgotten, wasting all the effort put into learning them. Nation even argues that it is more important to consolidate previously studied words than teach new ones.

12. 3. Consider which aspects of lexical knowledge to focus upon Focus the attention on introducing the meaning of a new word, is a narrow view of vocabulary and doesn't take into account the incremental nature of word learning or the other kinds of word knowledge that need to be mastered. Nation(2001) and Nation and Gu (2007) suggest a four-strand approach which gives balanced attention to learning new information about lexical items: a) Meaning-focused input This strand acknowledges the benefits of learning vocabulary through reading and listening to lexical items in meaningful and interesting contexts. b) Meaning-focused output When learners try to communicate messages to other people then vocabulary learning occurs. c) Language-focused learning This strand highlights explicit attention on lexical items; therefore it corresponds most closely to traditional vocabulary teaching. As intentional learning is much more effective than incidental learning, it is worth the effort of teaching and learning explicitly some necessary vocabulary for language use. If productive mastery is required learners need to engage to productive tasks. Students given some additional practice with the lexical items they learned, wrote compositions that contained these items. d) Fluency development This strand focuses on fluency. The value of word knowledge is only when the lexical items can be recognized and produced in language use, like in reading. When the vocabulary recognition speed is too slow, then reading turns into a slow decoding process and becomes impossible to understand the flow of the text. So, increasing the automaticity of lexical recognition in needed. According to Schmitt, the best way to increase reading speed and imply more automatic vocabulary recognition speeds is through both extensive and intensive reading.

13. Reflection * This article answered many questions I had lately concerning vocabulary instruction, as a mother and as a teacher. As a mother of a twelve-year-old daughter who learns English vocabulary(3rd language) easily but fails to learn Hebrew vocabulary (2nd language), I understand now that there are four partners for vocabulary instruction, and each has his role in the success of the whole process. One very important factor is the student's motivation which is lacking in the situation of my daughter, therefore all the other factors as need, search and evaluation do not exist and the teacher is not providing the guidance needed. In addition to the lack of exposure or use, which makes the vocabulary knowledge, especially word form, difficult to acquire and retain. As a teacher: 1) This article confirmed the usage of L1 which can be a natural vehicle for achieving better learning and even allowing more cognitive resources, but I should be aware of the fact that it is appropriate at some stages along the vocabulary learning process, which are initial stages, and should be stopped, in a more advanced stage. 2) In order to help my students better remember and learn the new vocabulary, I should give tasks which will probably raise their need, encourage search and entail evaluation, in addition to increased frequency of exposure, attention, manipulation and time spent on consolidating previously studied words. 3) Emerging intentional learning such as intensive reading with incidental learning as extensive reading is a good method that assures the progress of vocabulary acquisition, and improves fluency. 4) The activities mentioned which maximize engagement with target lexical items and facilitate vocabulary learning, are worth trying as they are based on different researches