Lexical Competence Research Articles

Gamification as a tool for developing English lexical competence in schoolchildren (by the example of 6th-grade gymnasium pupils)

Gamification as a tool for developing English lexical competence in schoolchildren (by the example of 6th-grade gymnasium pupils)

Turkish EFL learners’ knowledge, perception, and production of suprafixes as part of lexical competence

Vocabulary and grammar are essential to language proficiency (Richards, 2015). Some word families and grammatical categories can only be distinguished by prosodic properties such as suprafixes. In English, specific noun/adjective-verb pairs, sometimes called disyllabic words, receive primary stress on different syllables. Typically, nouns receive trochaic stress, while verbs receive iambic stress. Research shows that suprafixes are difficult for language learners from diverse linguistic and prosodic backgrounds. Given the scarcity of research in specific contexts (e.g., Turkish EFL), this study explored Turkish EFL learners’ suprafixational knowledge, perception, and production. Participants were B1-level preparatory school students of a prominent state university. Data were collected through a test of knowledge (n=110), a test of perception (n=80), and a test of production (n=50). Results showed poor knowledge, perception, and production of suprafixes among Turkish EFL learners. Minor variations in suprafixational competence were observed in males and females. Additionally, different noun-verb pairs posed a challenge for both genders. The results were discussed, and recommendations for future research were made. The study concludes that Turkish EFL learners must receive suprasegmental training focusing on suprafixes.

Second Language Lexical Competence in Classroom Environment from the Perspective of Cognitive Flexibility Theory

This paper is based on the framework of cognitive flexibility theory, this study intends to test the vocabulary skills of three groups of subjects representing low, middle and high levels of English and explored the following three main questions:1. Whether there are differences in second-language vocabulary competence in the classroom environment for subjects with different language levels. 2.whether there are differences in the cognitive flexibility of subjects with different language levels. 3. whether there is a correlation between cognitive flexibility and classroom second language vocabulary competence. The purpose of this paper is to provide experiences for developing learners' ability to apply their knowledge flexibly.

Developing lexical competence of the 3-4 grade students using game-based learning platform «Kahoot!»

Developing lexical competence of the 3-4 grade students using game-based learning platform «Kahoot!»

Prolegomeni allo studio dei parlanti ereditari di sardo

When a minority language holds a subordinate position and is neglected or abandoned in family communication, some speakers acquire it imperfectly, resulting in limited proficiency; these individuals are known as heritage speakers. However, some heritage speakers later develop an attachment to their ancestral language and choose to study it in formal or informal educational settings, becoming heritage learners. This study focuses on heritage learners of Sardinian, a Romance language spoken in Sardinia. Today, most Sardinian residents under fifty primarily speak Italian, but there is a growing interest in Sardinian language courses aimed at reconnecting community members with their linguistic heritage. This research examines the grammatical and lexical competence of a sample of these heritage learners, particularly focusing on areas identified in the literature as vulnerable to erosion and interference from Italian. Specifically, it will demonstrate that in instances of grammatical or lexical divergence between Sardinian and Italian, heritage learners tend to accept both idiomatic Sardinian forms and Italian-influenced forms, indicating significant interference in their proficiency of the minority language. This study aims to help language teachers develop targeted interventions to enhance the competence of heritage learners, differentiating from curricula designed for second language learners of Sardinian when necessary.

Impact of Disciplinary Variations on Second Language Mental Lexicon

This study investigates how academic disciplines impact second language (L2) lexical competencies. Prior L2 research has often overlooked the broader effects of disciplinary backgrounds on lexical development. To address this gap, this study utilized lexical decision, memory, and semantic fluency tasks to examine lexicon recognition, memory, and storage processes among L2 Chinese learners from various academic fields. The study participants comprised 16 students from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) disciplines and 11 from the Science and Engineering (S&E) disciplines, all having passed HSK level 4. The tasks were conducted using E-Prime 2.0. The findings revealed distinct cognitive strategies and thinking patterns among the participants from different disciplines . These strategies and patterns affected lexical task performance in terms of accuracy and response times. Although lexical memory exhibited no significant variation among the groups, discipline-specific tendencies were observed in the formation of semantic networks. Learners from S&E disciplines preferred mastering field-relevant Chinese terminology, whereas HSS learners tended to acquire words outside their specific disciplines. This observation highlights how learners’ disciplinary backgrounds influence their vocabulary acquisition and the organization of semantic networks in L2.

Formation of professionally oriented lexical competence among students of non-linguistic universities in the training program «Technosphere Safety»: a case study of the English language course

Modern methods of teaching foreign languages in non-linguistic universities are determined by the need to effectively combine language and professional training that meets the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Education (FSES HE). The key goal of this system is to develop students’ skills in understanding professionally-oriented information and developing the competence to communicate in a foreign language in professional situations.The article discusses issues related to the formation of professionally oriented lexical competence among students of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education «Maikop State Technological University» in the training program «Technosphere Safety». The study emphasizes the relevance of the topic, since when studying a professional foreign language it is impossible to develop lexical competence without the ability to work with thesaurus in one’s professional field.The goal of the research is to clarify the methods of developing professionally-oriented lexical competence among students of non-linguistic universities in the training program 20.03.01 «Technosphere Safety» in the process of reading texts in the specialty in English. The extent to which it is necessary to select lexical material and compile an individual thesaurus with a professional focus is assessed, which allows students to better understand professional texts, expand their vocabulary and accurately use professional terminology.Professionally oriented texts were the research material; linguistic and lexical units were analyzed, the skill of developing lexical competence among students was practiced.The research is based on complex research methods, consisting of theoretical methods (deductive analysis, method of statistical work with lexical material, comparative analysis) and empirical methods (observation method and data analysis).As a result of the research, a strategy for working on vocabulary when reading professionally oriented texts has been proposed, and the most effective exercises for developing lexical competence among students in the training program «Technosphere Safety» have been identified.Key conclusions: the formation of professionally oriented lexical competence among students of non-linguistic universities when working with foreign language texts on the topic «Technosphere Security» helps to analyze the information received and to form lexical competence and the skill of using an individual terminological thesaurus in the professional field, expanding the vocabulary in the specialty.

Kompetencja leksykalna nastoletnich użytkowników języka polskiego jako odziedziczonego i ojczystego w ujęciu komparatywnym

Lexical competence of teenage heritage and native users of Polish has never been the subject of a comprehensive comparison. The first extensive empirical data were gathered by the Jagiellonian University research team in the project Heritage and native language – a comparison of language competences of teenage Polish and heritage learners. In the first stage of the present study, vocabulary tests of the two groups were analyzed. The results showed few differences in receptive knowledge, but in productive knowledge heritage users lagged behind. Therefore, in the second stage, selected essays were compared in terms of their vocabulary profiles. It was found that native and heritage language users’ lexical profiles differ markedly, to the considerable disadvantage of heritage users. Polish educators responsible for the schooling of migrant children must be aware of this, as too often heritage speakers who enter home schools after (re)immigration are treated as if there were native users. This however, as this research has clearly shown, is by no means the case.

The Crucial Role of Teacher Support in Enhancing Willingness to Communicate, Professional, Communicative and Lexical Competences

Effective communication skills are essential in education as they significantly enhance student learning experiences and outcomes. This article explores the role of Willingness to Communicate (WTC) and communicative competence in language learning, emphasizing the importance of teacher support in fostering these competencies. Key factors influencing WTC, such as self-communicative competence, communication apprehension, and individual psychological traits, are discussed. The article highlights the pivotal role of teacher involvement, immediacy, and autonomy support in promoting student engagement, self-efficacy, and language proficiency. Furthermore, the development of lexical competence and the use of innovative teaching approaches, such as flipped classrooms and collaborative learning activities, are examined as effective strategies for improving communication skills. The article underscores the importance of creating supportive classroom environments that reduce communication anxiety and promote active participation. Ultimately, the integration of robust teacher support practices and ongoing professional development is critical for enhancing communicative competence and ensuring long-term academic and professional success for students.

Methodology of Lexical Competence Formation of Power-Engineering Students based on CBA and its Experimental Research in Teaching ESP

This article considers about methodology of lexical competence formation of power - engineering students and its experimental research in ESP teaching. Here some theoretical approaches are discussed, and new methodology suggested by the author is tested in practice. Experimental work was carried out in 3 non-philological universities of the Republic of Uzbekistan as Tashkent State Technical University named after Islam Karimov (TSTU), Fergana Polytechnic Institute (FerPI) and Navoi State Mining Institute (NSMI). Anonymous questionnaires were obtained from students and teachers, written control works are received from students. Using the results obtained, the existing difficulties in teaching and mastering the terms of power engineering were identified. With the help of these difficulties there have been developed a typology of exercises aimed at overcoming the identified challenges. The exercises given here were prepared and published in the textbook "Foreign language for 3rd year power engineering students" for the development of lexical competence, used at English language course for students of the 3rd year of the Faculty of "Power engineering" of non-philological higher educational institutions of the republic. The texts in the manual is based on the content of teaching special subjects and textbooks in the field of power engineering of TSTU, 3rd year "Foreign language" educational and methodological complex, O.G.Smirnova, E.A. Protsukovich's e-book English for Power Engineering, David Bonamy's Technical English 1, and Internet sources. Besides this there are given some recommendations and suggestions on teaching technical terms to ESP students in higher educational establishments.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPETENCE APPROACH IN DEVELOPING LEXICAL SKILLS

In this article, the ways of developing lexical skills in students, their theoretical and practical importance, the level of lexical competence in speech skills and their role in communicative tasks are revealed based on the competence approach.

The Influence of E-Comics on English Lexical Competence in Virtual Higher Education

The Influence of E-Comics on English Lexical Competence in Virtual Higher Education

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SYSTEM OF EXERCISES FOR WORKING WITH TEXTS IN THE PROCESS OF STUDYING THE SUBJECT «FOREIGN LANGUAGE FOR PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES» FOR THE SPECIALTY OF «PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION»

The successful professional activity of a good specialist requires mastery of a foreign language at the level of daily communication, as well as a significant amount of lexical material in the field of professional activity and its free operation. It is of peculiar need for the professionals in the sphere of public management and administration. The ways of mastering the language of professional communication are the same as in the general education course. The additional requirements are caused by the need of mastering professional vocabulary. Reading as a means of communication has significant practical value for specialists in public management and administration as they deal with documents and misunderstandings can cause problems. In this regard, the study of the English language is lbased on the reading of professional texts should be given as much attention as possible. This type of speech activity should be singled out as a dominant component of professional English language learning, That is why preparing students for independent reading, teaching them to read correctly and to perceive what they read is the matter of peculiar interest. For the successful implementation of the set goals, it is very important from the very beginning of education to create the right attitude of students to reading as a type of language activity that has its own specific communicative task, as a means of obtaining information. When choosing material for reading, it is worth taking into account such requirements for a text as the modernity of the work, accessibility, exemplarity, meaningfulness, versatility, compliance with the level of students’ training, etc. The motivation of students’ reading activity and activity will depend on the completeness of these conditions. Independent work in reading can become an effective factor that ensures the enrichment of the active vocabulary of the future specialist. This will increase students’ motivation to learn a foreign language. Work on individual reading can make the process of forming lexical competence more effective. It is advisable to use developments for the teacher in combination with methodical recommendations for students. Intensive independent and classroom work of students with a professional text significantly improves the quality of foreign language learning.

Methodology of Developing of Pupils' Lexical Competence Through Comics in Primary English Classes

Methodology of Developing of Pupils' Lexical Competence Through Comics in Primary English Classes

Developing Lexical Competence in Second-Year Middle School Learners

This article aims to highlight the usefulness of storytelling in vocabulary development for middle secondary school. The aim of this study is to improve the vocabulary skills of learner’s .In order to respond to the problem, an experiment is conducted in the classroom proposing a variety of stories .The results suggest that exposure to stories tailored to students’ reading levels can be beneficial in improving their lexical skills.

Words can only get us so far

The traditional ontological division between the lexicon and grammar has often resulted in a reductionist view of the lexicon and lexical competence as composed of individual words in isolation. This narrow view of the lexicon has transcended disciplinary boundaries and is apparent in the focus on single words of widely used psycholinguistic measures of language (e.g. picture naming, verbal fluency, lexical decision) and cognitive ability alike (e.g. Stroop, recall in working memory span). This article argues that such an approach has imposed limitations on the questions that can be examined by researchers and on the generalizability of some results. Here I propose that, rather than assigning multiword units their own ‘niche’ in psycholinguistic studies, they should be viewed as part of the way core lexical competence is measured and conceptualized, both in monolingual and bilingual speakers. I also review promising advances in recent years brought about by a surge in the number of studies focused on multiword units and by new tasks of individual cognitive skill (e.g. multiword-based chunking ability). These hold the potential to allow for a cross-disciplinary shift in the examination of lexical competence as grounded in community-based norms and in line with current usage-based approaches.

ТЕСТОВИЙ КОНТРОЛЬ РІВНЯ СФОРМОВАНОСТІ АНГЛОМОВНОЇ ЛЕКСИЧНОЇ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ У ЗДОБУВАЧІВ ОСВІТИ ЗАСОБАМИ МОБІЛЬНИХ ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ

The article is devoted to the problem of the formation of English lexical competence among students of basic secondary education. It was found that the introduction of digital technologies, in particular, mobile technologies, into the educational process will be effective. It was found that they can become a catalyst for active language learning, providing students with the opportunity to improve their skills and identify needs for further development. It was found that the use of mobile technologies for test control makes it possible to take into account the individual characteristics of learning, to stimulate the active participation of students in their own learning and to ensure constant monitoring of their progress. The purpose of the article is determined: to study the peculiarities of conducting a test control of the level of formation of English lexical competence in students of basic secondary education by means of mobile technologies. The essence of mobile technologies, which is determined by the range of portable electronic devices that make it possible to optimize learning processes, is clarified. The means of mobile technologies for the formation of English-language lexical competence in students of education are outlined. Levels of formation of English lexical competence (initial, intermediate, advanced), mobile applications for diagnosis (Quizizz, Quizlet, Duolingo, Google Forms, Socrative, Cambridge English Dictionary) and features of test control (flexibility of time and place, interactivity and multimedia, adaptability) are determined tests, individual learning trajectory, communication and information exchange, fraud protection, access control, automated processing of results, online resources for additional study). It was found that the integration of innovative approaches, consideration of individual needs and systematic monitoring of progress by means of test control can significantly increase the effectiveness of training and prepare students of basic secondary education for the challenges of global society. Key words: mobile technologies, application, English lexical competence, education seeker.

Mechanisms of formation of speech skills on the basis of media technologies

The expansion of the socio-economic and cultural cooperation of the countries in the world is increasing the interest, need and desire to learn foreign languages, especially English. In the educational system of developed countries, special attention is paid to learning English in accelerated ways from the school period. The development of students' language and speech competences on the basis of media technologies is becoming an urgent issue in teaching English in general education schools. Especially for A1 levels, it has become a priority to acquire the linguistic competence noted in the content of English language teaching and to develop the ability to use it in speech communication. The experience of world countries shows the need to create and improve teaching methods based on the development of lexical competence in teaching English to students.

Topic familiarity, syntactic maturity, and lexical competence of Chinese college non-English majors in EFL writing

Topic familiarity, syntactic maturity, and lexical competence of Chinese college non-English majors in EFL writing

Wortschatzerwerb – Wortschatzdidaktik – Wortschatzarbeit

Abstract Well-developed vocabulary skills are crucial for effective communication. Didactically speaking, it is therefore essential to explicitly foster the development of lexical competence in the classroom. This applies to both learners of German as a first and second language. The design of systematic vocabulary activities should aim to increase both the quality and quantity of learners‘ word knowledge and to ensure long-term retention of acquired words. While various approaches exist for teaching vocabulary in foreign language teaching, systematic and targeted approaches for supporting vocabulary acquisition in teaching German as a first language have yet to be established and, more importantly, effectively implemented in the classroom. Drawing upon findings from language acquisition research and linguistic models, we propose a framework for explicit vocabulary activities that facilitates the integration of new words into learners‘ mental lexicons (vocabulary breadth) and, in connection with this, promotes the development of semantic, relational, and formal word knowledge (vocabulary depth). The article will demonstrate how this framework was implemented in Deutsch Kindergarten, a new teaching resource developed in Switzerland. It will also highlight broader didactic principles, such as criteria for vocabulary selection and principles for vocabulary teaching, which should be considered in the classroom.