Vocabulary Teaching Practices of L2 English in Upper Secondary Vocational Classrooms

Kaja Granum Skarpaas,Kari Anne Rødnes

doi:10.3390/languages7010055

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates language teaching practices relating to L2 English vocabulary instruction in upper secondary school vocational classrooms in Norway. It builds on previous research describing technical vocabulary as an area of particular importance for vocational students’ English language development and relies on observation data from eight vocational classrooms. The study found that vocabulary work has a strong presence within vocational orientation (VO) instruction, across whole-class instruction, group or pair work, and individual work. Most target vocabulary could be classified as words relating to work practices and vocational content knowledge. Many instances of L1–L2 translation tasks were observed. Target words were not practiced across the four language skills and were rarely utilized in productive tasks. The study concludes that observed practices can be improved by prioritizing ways of combining target vocabulary with students’ language production and by including more opportunities to practice independent language strategies.

Highlights

We examine language practices relating to English vocabulary instruction in a context rarely encountered in the research literature: the upper secondary vocational classroom
It denotes a teaching practice within upper secondary school where general subjects are adapted to vocational programs in terms of content and methods while building on a generalized curriculum that is common to all programs (Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training [UDIR] 2019; Regulations of the Education Act 2006)
The present study aims to describe the characteristics of vocabulary work within a vocational orientation approach to the teaching of L2 English in secondary school vocational classrooms

Summary

Introduction

We examine language practices relating to English vocabulary instruction in a context rarely encountered in the research literature: the upper secondary vocational classroom. Vocabulary size is positively associated with learners’ reading, writing, and listening proficiency (Chung and Nation 2003; Cobb 2007; Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski 2010; Shi and Qian 2012; Stæhr 2008), while vocabulary errors can bring about misunderstandings that interrupt the flow of communication (Johansson 1978; Llach 2011; Qian and Lin 2020) Vocabulary knowledge includes both receptive and productive abilities, and to know a word learners must become familiar with its form, meaning, and use Technical vocabulary accounts for up to thirty percent of word tokens in technical texts (Chung and Nation 2003) and is indispensable for comprehension (Woodward-Kron 2008) It denotes more than “just words,” as it represents the concepts and ideas specific to a particular domain (Chung and Nation 2004; Schmitt and Schmitt 2020) and provides the language needed to express key practices within a particular field (Chung and Nation 2003)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion