Developing linguistics competence:
Vocabulary
The most important aspects of word knowledge
1.
form (spoken & written, i.e. spelling & pronunciation)
2.
word structure (common derivations, inflections)
3.
syntactic pattern of the word in a phrase and a sentence
4.
meaning
5.
6.
•
referential (what non-linguistic entity in the outside world the word
refers to)
•
affective (connotation of a word, e.g. spinster, which unlike single
woman is associated with old age, isolation, or sadness)
•
pragmatic (suitability of the word in a particular situation, e.g. ‘I have
three offspring’ would be unsuitable in an everyday conversation)
lexical relations of the word with other words:
•
synonymy (e.g. hide / conceal)
•
antonymy (e.g. single / married)
•
hyponymy (e.g. flower / rose)
common collocations (e.g. a high probability, but a good chance)
Source: Laufer, B. 1997. What’s in a word that makes it hard or easy: some
intralexical factors that affect the learning of words. In: N. Schmitt & M.
McCarthy (Eds.) Vocabulary: description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 140155). Cambridge: CUP.
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Factors affecting word learnability:
Vocab learning – not random, rather subject to certain regularities. Acquisition of
lexis influenced by two major variables:
1. Interlexical: variables related to the interaction between the new word
and words the learner knows in L1 or L2.
2. Intralexical: a set of variables stemming from the word itself.
Interlexical factors:
Two major types of relationship between target words and words in L1:
1. similarity of form of L1 and L2 words.
2. meaning relations between words in l1 and l2.
Similarity of form
1.
COGNATES: words that are similar both in form and meaning in the
same context. For example, martyr and mártír in Hungarian (also
exotic vs. egzotikus, emancipation vs. emancipáció).
2.
FALSE OR DECEPTIVE COGNATES: words similar in form but different
in meaning. For instance, sympathetic (>understanding) vs.
szimpatikus (>appealing); fantasy (something very strange
appearing in your dreams / imagination) vs. fantázia (imagination)
False cognates cause problems for learners as they often tend to associate
similarity of form with similarity of meaning in L1 and L2..
Meaning relations between words in L1 and L2
It is a naïve but common assumption that all languages have vocabulary systems
in which words are different in their form but basically refer to reality in the same
way. In other words, each word in L2 has an exact equivalent in L1. We have
already seen that this is definitely not the case with false cognates.
Connotations
Also, there are words that have different connotations in L2 and L1. In English
adequate very often has a strong negative connotation, of something being
enough, but only just. It is in fact normally used as a criticism. Thus, megfelelő
may not be the proper equivalent for this word in all contexts, as it does not have a
negative connotation in Hungarian. Similarly, propaganda in English is the means
a government uses to make the general public believe what the government wants
them to believe, whether it is true or false. Thus, this word is primarily used in a
derogatory sense. The same word in Hungarian (propaganda), however, can also
be used in the sense of publicity.
Collocational differences
Some words in L2 can have ‘strange’ meaning. For example, in American
English first floor means number one at ground level. In British English, cream
tea is not understood as tea you drink with whipped cream but it refers to a full
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meal that consists of a scone, some jam, butter and whipped cream which you eat
while drinking English tea with milk. These strange meanings are usually
culturally motivated.
Collocational differences between L1 and L2 may cause errors. They usually
occur when the learner relates the new items in L2 to concepts and meanings in
the L1. Example for such misuse of collocations may include Hunglish sentences
such as
• * How do you call this in English? (compare ”What do you call this in
English?” with “ Hogy hívják ezt angolul?)
•
* I have a good connection with my boss. (connection in English should
not be used in talking about the feelings between people, use relations or
relationship instead)
Intralexical factors affecting vocabulary learning:
FACILITATING FACTORS
DIFFICULTY-INDUCING FACTORS
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Familiar phonemes
Regularity in pronunciation
Fixed stress
Consistency of sound-script
relationship
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ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
Inflextional regularity
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Derivational regularity
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Derivational complexity (e.g.
authentic vs. inauthentic, and
not *unauthentic)
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Morphological transparency
(e.g. mis-manage-ment)
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Deceptive morphological
transparency (e.g. disagree,
dislike vs. discourse)
Similarity of lexical forms (e.g.
historical/historic, affect/effect,
industrial/industrious)
Specificity (the word can only
be used in specific contexts)
Presence of foreign phonemes
Irregularity in pronunciation
Variable stress
Incongruency in sound-script
relationship (consider e.g. the
letter ‘o’ in love, chose, woman,
women)
Inflexional complexity (e.g. a
criterion > criteria)
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ƒ
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Generality (the word can be
used in a large number of
context)
Register neutrality
One form for one meaning
ƒ
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Register restrictions, idiomaticity
One form with several
meanings
Source: Laufer, 1997, p. 154. See full reference above.
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Stages of vocabulary learning:
1st essential step: encountering new words. If learners are motivated to learn
certain words out of interest or need, they are likely to be learnt more easily. The
way or context in which a word is presented as well as the number of times a word
is encountered will affect whether it is learnt or not. Learners seem to need various
encounters with the same word in multiple sources rather than in just one source.
2nd step: getting a clear image of the form of the vocabulary item. This image
may be visual or auditory or both. Very often learners tend to associate new words
with words that sound / look similar in their L1 or even L2 (or sometimes L3).
Problems for learners arising from words similar in form have been found as a
major problem for language learners, especially in such cases where L2 and L1
both use the Roman alphabet and the two languages are closely related
historically.
3rd step: getting the word meaning. The level of distinctions that must be made
in word definitions vary across situations and learner levels. Low level learners
may be satisfied to grasp quite general meanings while advanced learners need
more specific definitions in order to be able to see differences between near
synonyms.
4th step: consolidation of form and meaning in memory. Various memory
strategies (see in Oxford, R. 1990. Language Learning Strategies. Newbury
House) are available that help consolidate the connection between word form and
meaning.
5th step: using the words. Ensures that learners gain confidence as autonomous
language users, but at the same time they can refine their language knowledge in
general.
Stages of presenting vocabulary
1. Setting up a context, which is relevant to learners’ interest and age, builds
on or incorporates learners’ experience.
2. Elicitation of the target vocabulary item (i.e. trying to get the target item
from the learners first) in order to enhance their involvement as well as to
help them fit the new item in their existing vocabulary knowledge.
3. Choral and/or individual repetition (this may be optional at higher levels)
in order to standardise pronunciation.
4. Consolidation / concept check questions, which are aimed to check
whether meaning has been properly understood and to provide further
meaningful opportunities for learners to use the item in context.
5. Board record for later reference.
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Techniques for presenting and/or eliciting vocabulary:
Visual techniques
flashcards
miming
blackboards drawings
gestures
realia
wallcharts
scales
Verbal techniques
illustrative situation
contrasts
illustrative examples
synonyms
definitions
opposites
translation
Miscellaneous
contextual guesswork
peer teaching
dictionaries
(from Gairns, R. & Redman, S. 1986. Working With Words. CUP.)
Practising vocabulary:
Having used any of the vocabulary presentation techniques in class, we cannot
really say that learners have learnt the new items. Encountering a new vocabulary
item once will not guarantee that it will be remembered. Learners need plenty of
opportunities in order to acquire a new vocabulary item. In a vocabulary
presentation lesson, the teacher should provide meaningful controlled practice for
learners so that they could recognise, manipulate and use the new vocabulary
items. Vocabulary practice should be regular, carefully planned and should not
involve too many words at one time.
Many simple vocabulary practice activities are based around the following
ideas (Scrivener, J. 1994. Learning Teaching. Heinemann. p. 83):
• discussions, communicative activities and role-play requiring use of the
words
• making use of the vocabulary in written tasks
More specific exercise types:
• matching pictures to words
• matching parts of words to other parts, e.g. beginnings and endings
• matching words to other words, e.g. collocations, synonyms, opposites,
sets of related words, etc.
• using prefixes and suffixes to build new words from given words
• classifying items into lists
• using given words to complete a specific task
• filling in crosswords, grids or diagrams
• filling in gaps in sentences
• memory games
The importance of recycling previously presented vocabulary is obvious. Revision
activities can easily be incorporated into the lesson by way of five-minute
activities or warmers. These activities can successfully aid students’ recall of the
new words and develop their retrieval systems.
Vocabulary revision activities:
listing or categorising items, vocabulary quizzes, noughts and crosses,
brainstorming round an idea, guessing games, etc.
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