DELTA – LEXIS 2

APPROACHES TO TEACHING VOCABULARY

In the long run, most words in both first and second languages are probably learned incidentally, through extensive
reading and listening (Nagy, Herman, & Anderson, 1985). Several studies have confirmed that incidental L2
vocabulary learning through reading does occur (Chun & Plass, 1996; Day, Omura, & Hiramatsu, 1991; Hulstijn,
Hollander, & Greidanus, 1996; Knight, 1994; Zimmerman, 1997). Although most research concentrates on reading,
extensive listening can also increase vocabulary learning (Elley, 1989). Nagy, Herman, and Anderson (1985)
concluded that (for native speakers of English) learning vocabulary from context is a gradual process, estimating
that, given a single exposure to an unfamiliar word, there was about a 10% chance of learning its meaning from
context. Likewise, L2 learners can be expected to require many exposures to a word in context before
understanding its meaning.

The incidental learning of vocabulary through extensive reading can benefit language curricula and learners at all
levels (Woodinsky & Nation, 1988). According to Coady (1997b), the role of graded (i.e., simplified) readers is to
build up the students’ vocabulary and structures until they can graduate to more authentic materials. Low-
proficiency learners can benefit from graded readers because they will be repeatedly exposed to high frequency
vocabulary. Many students may never have done extensive reading for pleasure, so it may be initially useful to
devote some class time to Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) (Pilgreen & Krashen, 1993). Once students develop the
ability to read in a sustained fashion, then most of the reading should be done outside of class.

2. EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION

Explicit instruction is essential for beginning students whose lack of vocabulary limits their reading ability. Coady
(1997b) calls this the beginner’s paradox. He wonders how beginners can “learn enough words to learn vocabulary
through extensive reading when they do not know enough words to read well” (p. 229). His solution is to have
students supplement their extensive reading with study of the 3,000 most frequent words until the words’ form
and meaning become automatically recognized (i.e., “sight vocabulary”)

Prince (1996) states that simply knowing translations for L2 words does not “guarantee that they will be successfully
accessed for use in an L2 context” (p. 488), because knowing a word means knowing more than just its translated
meaning or its L2 synonyms. Drawing upon Richards’s (1976) list, Nation (1994) identifies various aspects of word
knowledge such as knowing related grammatical patterns, affixes, common lexical sets, typical associations, how
to use the word receptively and productively, and so on. Teachers should be selective when deciding which words
deserve deeper receptive and/or productive practice, as well as which types of knowledge will be most useful for
their students.

Elaboration involves expanding the connections between what the learners already know and new information.
One way to do this is to choose L2 words from the surrounding context and to explain their connections to the
recently learned word (Prince, 1996). In addition to presenting this new information, teachers should create
opportunities to meet these useful, recently learned words in new contexts that provide new collocations and
associations (Nation, 1994). Exercises that can deepen students’ knowledge of words include the following: sorting
lists of words and deciding on the categories; making semantic maps with lists either provided by the teacher or
generated by the learners; generating derivatives, inflections, synonyms, and antonyms of a word; making trees
that show the relationships between superordinates, coordinates, and specific examples; identifying or generating
associated words; combining phrases from several columns; matching parts of collocations using two columns;
completing collocations as a cloze activity; and playing collocation crossword puzzles or bingo (see Lewis, 1993;
McCarthy & O’Dell, 1994; Nation, 1994; Redman & Ellis, 1990).

3. INDEPENDENT LEARNING STRATEGIES

Although this strategy often may not result in gaining a full understanding of word meaning and form, guessing
from context may still contribute to vocabulary learning. More proficient learners using texts that are not overly
difficult can be expected to use this strategy more effectively than low proficiency learners. It should be
remembered that learning vocabulary also includes learning about collocations, associations, and related
grammatical patterns as well as meaning. Therefore, if regularly practiced, this strategy may contribute to deeper
word knowledge for advanced learners as long as they pay attention to the word and its context.

A procedure for guessing from context begins with deciding whether the word is important enough (e.g., is part of
an important idea and/or is repeated often) to warrant going through the subsequent steps. This decision is itself
a skill that requires practice and experience. Teachers can assist learners by marking words which learners should
try to infer before using other sources, as well as by providing glosses (Hulstijn, Hollander, & Greidanus, 1996).

Once learners decide that a word is worth guessing, they might follow a five-step procedure such as that of Nation
and Coady (1988, pp. 104–150):

1. Determine the part of speech of the unknown word.

2. Look at the immediate context and check for negative or positive connotation.

3. Guess the meaning of the unknown word, also taking into account any affixations or cognates to L1.

4. Check that the guess is correct: the guess needs to be the same part of speech as the unknown word. Moreover,
the learner should try to see if the unknown word can be analyzed into parts (unlock becomes un + lock) and to
check if the meaning of the parts matches the meaning of the unknown word.

EXAMINE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DICTIONARIES AND TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO USE THEM

Bilingualized dictionaries may have some advantages over traditional bilingual or monolingual dictionaries.
Bilingualized dictionaries essentially do the job of both a bilingual and a monolingual dictionary. Whereas bilingual
dictionaries usually provide just an L1 synonym, bilingualized dictionaries include L2 definitions, L2 sentence
examples, as well as L1 synonyms. Bilingualized dictionaries were found to result in better comprehension of new
words than either bilingual or monolingual dictionaries (Laufer & Hader, 1997). A further advantage is that they can
be used by all levels of learners: Advanced students can concentrate on the English part of the entry, and beginners
can use the translation. For beginners, teachers may want to examine the bilingualized Longman-Mitsumura English
Japanese Dictionary for Young Learners (1993), which includes Japanese translations, definitions, and examples.
Currently, neither Collins COBUILD, Longman, nor Oxford (all publishers with access to large, updated computerized
English language databases) has bilingualized dictionaries for intermediate and advanced learners. Electronic
dictionaries with multimedia annotations offer a further option for teachers and learners.

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