Target Vocabulary Items Research Articles

The Effects of Using English TV Commercials in L2 Vocabulary Learning

This study set out to examine ways English TV commercials can influence on language acquisition of learners in English as Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, especially their vocabulary acquisition through survey, interview, and pre- and post-tests on target vocabulary items. The results showed that there was some positive impact of using advertisement on the learners’ vocabulary acquisition: they revealed that they not only gained the knowledge of the target vocabulary items, but also increased the awareness of cultural differences between their native language (L1) and English language (L2). This study also indicates that employing advertisements were able to have very positive impacton the learners’ motivation for language study and the introduction of different cultural aspects. For the implications of using English TV commercials, it was suggested that students needed to get involved in their own learning by having an experience creating their own TV commercials.

Contextualizing young learners’ English lessons with cartoons: Focus on grammar and vocabulary

This study examined the effectiveness of authentic animated cartoons in teaching English to young Turkish learners. In this experimental study using pre and post-test design, a comparison is made between instruction based essentially on traditional grammar and vocabulary teaching and one that made use of authentic animated cartoons. Thirty 4th grade pupils studying in a private school took part in the study. The control group (n= 15) followed a traditional grammar-based syllabus for four weeks while the experimental group (n= 15) watched and made use of ‘The Simpsons’ as classroom material. Results indicate that the experimental group outperformed the control group in learning target grammar points and vocabulary items.

A comparative analysis of teaching vocabulary in context and by definition

The study aims to prove a hypothesis related to the different ways of teaching vocabulary and their effectiveness. This study has been applied at two classes of the Department of Foreign Languages of TOBB University of Economics and Technology. These classes have been instructed on words in two different techniques; one of which is teaching vocabulary in discourse and context whereas the other is teaching words by providing only the word definitions. A vocabulary test composed of four parts has been constructed and applied before and after the instruction. The test has been applied in two steps as a pretest to show the selected words are unknown by the students and as a posttest to evaluate the effectiveness of both techniques. According to Levene's test in Independent Samples Test for the post-test, there is not a statistically significant difference in post-test scores of the two groups. As a result, presenting the target vocabulary items in context and by definitions does not make a remarkable difference in terms of overall performance.

The Effect of Aided Language Stimulation on Vocabulary Acquisition in Children With Little or No Functional Speech

To describe the nature and frequency of the aided language stimulation program and determine the effects of a 3-week-long aided language stimulation program on the vocabulary acquisition skills of children with little or no functional speech (LNFS). Four children participated in this single-subject, multiple-probe study across activities. The aided language stimulation program comprised 3 activities: arts and crafts, food preparation, and story time activity. Each activity was repeated over the duration of 5 subsequent sessions. Eight target vocabulary items were taught within each activity. The acquisition of all 24 target items was probed throughout the duration of the 3-week intervention period. The frequency and nature of the aided language stimulation provided met the criterion of being used 70% of the time and providing aided language stimulation with an 80:20 ratio of statements to questions. The results indicated that all 4 participants acquired the target vocabulary items. There were, however, variations in the rate of acquisition. This study explores the impact of aided language stimulation on vocabulary acquisition in children. The most important clinical implication of this study is that a 3-week intervention program in aided language stimulation was sufficient to facilitate the comprehension of at least 24 vocabulary items in 4 children with LNFS.

The Effect of Task-Based Reading on Fl Vocabulary Learning

AbstractThere is growing evidence that incidental vocabulary learning from extensive reading may not be a very efficient or effective means of acquiring L2 vocabulary, at least in the short-term. This study investigates the effect on FL vocabulary learning of secondary school EFL students completing four task-based reading texts under two procedurally contrasted conditions: either with teacher support or with peer collaborative support. The students, in two genuine classes, read two short texts in each condition as normal timetabled activities, partly for ethical and partly for technical reasons. This is one of a few studies that have researched FL vocabulary acquisition from a number of different texts over time, and within a task-based framework. Four texts in English with both nonlinguistic and linguistic check tasks were read in total, and thirty-two vocabulary items were targeted. On the delayed L2-L1 translation recognition posttest of the targeted vocabulary items, the scores for the teacher-supported conditions were double those for the peer-supported conditions, but in both cases the scores were disappointingly low.

A discussion of individual variability, in activity‐based interventions, using the niche concept

Activity-based intervention has been defined as a child-directed, transactional approach that uses logically occurring antecedents and consequences to develop functional and generative skills by embedding intervention of children's individual goals and objectives in routine, planned or child-initiated activities. In this approach, clear goals and objectives that are functional and embedded in a play activities or routines are developed. The teacher mediates the child's environment to facilitate learning with the child directing the teacher on the pace, duration spent on the objective. Learning and development in this framework occur through both a carefully planned environment and adult facilitation. Progress made by a child using this approach focuses on observational data that describe if the child is able to respond in functional and generative ways. While activity-based interventions are usually provided for a group of children, progress is measured by describing individual children's responses. Individual variations in the children's progress, despite exposure to the same interventions are an area that is seldom discussed. This article aims to explore the niche concept and its application to explaining this variation between individuals. Four children participated in this single-subject, multiple-probe study across four participants. A 3-week long activity-based aided language stimulation programme was developed. The effect of the programme was determined by describing the individual participants understanding of the 24 targeted vocabulary items. The results of the activity-based language programme are presented and the variability among the participants is discussed using the niche concept. The role of the niche concept in individual development is described and the implications thereof are discussed. Finally, activity-based intervention research is placed in a systems perspective and possible outcome measures of this intervention are discussed from a multidimensional ecological perspective.

The Relationship between Negotiated Interaction, Learner Uptake, and Lexical Acquisition in Task-Based Computer-Mediated Communication

The present study builds on recent uptake research (Ellis, Basturkmen, & Loewen, 2001a, 2001b; Lyster & Ranta, 1997) by exploring the relationship between negotiated interaction, a type of focus on form episode, and learner uptake. The study explores whether a negotiation routine's complexity affects learner uptake and if this uptake affects lexical acquisition in a synchronous computer-mediated environment. The data are chatscripts of task-based computer-mediated communication (CMC) interaction among intermediate-level learners of English (n = 24). Results suggest that the complexity of negotiation routines does not influence learner uptake. Findings also suggest that there is no relationship between degree of uptake (none, unsuccessful, and successful) and the acquisition of target lexical items. These results suggest a possible diminished role for uptake in SLA in a CMC environment. The pedagogical application of these findings includes a word of caution to classroom teachers to adjust their expectations about the relationship between learner uptake and acquisition. In attempting to explain the acquisition of target vocabulary items during task-based CMC interaction, teachers should focus on the nuances of negotiated interaction as well as more subtle indications of acquisition rather than learner uptake per se.

Performance of Typically Developing Four- and Five-Year-Old Children with AAC Systems using Different Language Organization Techniques

In this paper, the results of two studies designed to investigate the learning demands of four different approaches to the layout and organization of language in electronic augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems are presented: taxonomic grid, schematic grid, schematic scene, and iconic encoding techniques. A total of 80 typically developing children participated in the two studies: 40 four-year-olds (Study 1) and 40 five-year-olds (Study 2). Ten children in each study were randomly assigned to each of the four system organization conditions. The children were introduced to target vocabulary items (24 items for the 4-year-olds and 30 for the 5-year-olds) in a series of four learning and testing sessions. Half of the vocabulary items were concrete concepts and half were abstract concepts. Results of the studies indicated that the 4-year-old and 5-year-old children were more accurate locating target vocabulary in the three dynamic display conditions (taxonomic grid, schematic grid, schematic scene) than in the iconic encoding condition. On initial exposure to the systems, the iconic encoding technique was not at all transparent to the children; the other three systems were only moderately transparent. All but one of the 4-year-old children and all of the 5-year-old children demonstrated gains in accuracy across the learning sessions; gains were significantly greater for the three dynamic display conditions than for the iconic encoding condition. The children were more accurate with the concrete vocabulary items than the abstract ones. There was some, albeit limited, evidence that the children generalized to facilitate learning of novel vocabulary items. Results are discussed with reference to the literature. Implications for practice and directions for future research are also discussed.

Teaching vocabulary through code-mixing

Direct vocabulary teaching is a common component of speaking classes. Free from the formality, the direct attention, and the extra work of this traditional approach, a phenomenon called ‘code‐mixing’ may be a useful technique to introduce target vocabulary items. Code‐mixing involves the use of an L1 word in an L2 utterance—a common occurrence in bilingual or immigrant communities. This study involved code‐mixing, a little‐known technique used in teaching vocabulary. It was found that using code‐mixing to introduce new vocabulary can be an efficient and effective method. This article discusses the procedures and cognitive processes involved in vocabulary learning, and explains the use of code‐mixing to introduce vocabulary. Finally, the principles, benefits, and drawbacks of this technique are discussed, based on the study results.

The Design of an Intelligent Web-Based Interactive Language Learning System

The design of an Intelligent Web-based Interactive Language Learning (IWiLL) system to support English learning on the Internet is described. We designed two kinds of learning environments: 1) an interactive English writing environment; and 2) an authentic conversation learning environment. These are intended to improve learners' basic language skills in listening, reading, speaking, and writing. In addition, the system also offers authoring tools that facilitate teachers' content preparation. The system not only provides multimedia learning environments for users, but also builds a learner corpus, an archive of English texts written by learners for whom English is a second language. Further analysis of the learner corpus creates the potential to detect the users' persistent errors and then to provide adequate help to the users. An important aspect of the system is the careful integration of the multimedia environments in ways that systematically enrich the learners exposure to and grasp of specific aspects of the target language. For example, particular targeted vocabulary items can be encountered in text as well as video. The system also is designed to track a variety of facets of each learner's interaction with the environment. This tracked data in turn supports spiraling of English material that the learner has encountered.

Vocabulary acquisition from teacher explanation and repeated listening to stories: Do they overcome the Matthew effect?

The authors evaluated the effect of listening to stories on children's vocabulary growth. Forty-seven children listened to 2 stories read to them in a small-group setting on 3 occasions, each 1 week apart. Target vocabulary items and items assessing generalization to nontarget words were selected, and pre-and posttest multiple-choice vocabulary measures were designed to measure vocabulary gains. In addition, a reading-retelling task was used to measure the subjects' knowledge of target and generalization words. For 1 story, children listened to the reading and were given explanations of target word meanings; for the other, children were not given explanations. The children acquired new vocabulary from listening to stories, with both frequency of exposure and teacher explanation of the target words enhancing vocabulary learning. However, the interventions were not sufficient to overcome the Matthew effect, as the higher ability children made greater vocabulary gains than lower ability children across all conditions.

Attempts to Improve English L2 Pronunciation: The Variable Effects of Different Types of Instruction

This study compared the pronunciation of targeted vocabulary items in spontaneous speech by 23 adult Chinese L1 learners of L2 English grouped into four different conditions reflecting current pedagogical practices: (a) traditional drilling activities, (b) self‐study with tape recordings, (c) interactive activities, and (d) a no‐intervention control condition. One hundred and twenty native‐speaking listeners judged whether there was improvement or deterioration in pronunciation before and at two separate times subsequent to each of the four conditions. Because none of the results appeared to overwhelmingly favor one teaching technique, we included a discussion of the range of patterns of change brought about by the four input types. We also present arguments for a more serious consideration of the complex effects potentially involved when setting out to modify a learner's L2 pronunciation.

Therapeutic Strategies for Language Disordered Children: The Impact of Visual Imagery on Verbal Encoding in Vocabulary Instruction

This investigation focused on the impact of visual imagery on the strategies of categorization and verbal rehearsal in group vocabulary instruction among language disordered children. Sixteen sixth and seventh grade language disordered students were divided into two groups. These groups were taught twenty target vocabulary items through instruction revolving around the verbal encoding strategies of categorization and verbal rehearsal. One group was taught the words using an approach which emphasized visual imagery; the other did not receive this type of emphasis. Results of this investigation indicate that visual imagery may enhance verbal encoding strategies in vocabulary instruction among language disordered children. Implications of the results are discussed.