Vocabulary learning and homework in the upper elementary EFL classroom.

Vocabulary homework is a common feature in the English subject in Sweden. Often the pupils are given a list of words they are to memorize for a pending test. In this literature review the author aims to analyze what the current research says about homework and how homework can be used effectively for EFL learners in elementary school, with a focus on both homework and vocabulary learning research. Cognitive linguistics has been used as a theoretical perspective to help answer the research questions. Results indicate that homework has limited effect on younger learners and should not be used, while, some researchers claim that it can be effective if introduced properly. Regarding vocabulary learning, it is important that vocabulary is relevant to the learner and that words are taught through a meaningful context. Therefore, vocabulary homework for EFL learners in elementary school should consist of words and phraseology which have a personal relevance to the learner, or key words for subjects taught in class. The conclusion of the study is that it is up to the teachers to determine if they should use vocabulary homework or not when teaching EFL, as long as the decision is based on current research.

Assessing the Role of Vocabulary Breadth and Depth in Reading Comprehension: A Quantitative Study of Finnish EFL Learners

In this MA thesis, Finnish learners of English were studied in order to examine the relationship between second language vocabulary size, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension. In addition, given the well-established connection between vocabulary size and reading comprehension, the second aim of the study was to see whether assessing vocabulary depth could add another dimension in predicting and explaining reading comprehension proficiency. Two groups were studied: the first group consisted of 39 Finnish upper secondary school students (the TOKA group) whereas the second group consisted of 19 university students of English at the University of Turku (the YLI group). Thus, comparisons were made between the results of a less advanced and a very advanced group of English learners, which was the third aim of the study. The participants in both groups filled in a background information form and took three tests: a multiple-choice reading comprehension test, a multiple-choice vocabulary size test, and a test designed to elicit information on learners’ depth of vocabulary knowledge of certain English words. The data were analysed using statistical methods. The results of the study show that the scores on the three tests were positively correlated in both study groups as well as in the two groups together. However, the correlations were higher in the TOKA group and in the two groups in total than in the YLI group. When examining the variance in reading comprehension test scores explained by vocabulary size and vocabulary depth, the figures of explained variance were again higher in the TOKA group and in the two groups in total than in the YLI group. When it comes to the results of the YLI group, vocabulary depth did not indeed seem to add any explained variance into the explanation of reading comprehension test scores. Based on the results of the study, it seems that vocabulary size and depth have a less significant role in the reading comprehension skills of more advanced learners of English. When looking at the less advanced TOKA group, on the other hand, vocabulary size and depth seem to be clear indicators of reading proficiency. In addition, the test results of the YLI group were clearly more uniform than those of the TOKA group. The variance in the test results of the TOKA group was large.

Diary Series Vocabulary

A journal of commercial voyages and domestic life on the Tigris River -- vocabulary in diaries 47, 48, and 49 and the frequency at which words appear.

THE RELATIVE SIGNIFICANCE OF SYNTACTIC KNOWLEDGE AND VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE IN SECOND LANGUAGE LISTENING COMPREHENSION

The main purpose of the current study was to examine the role of vocabulary knowledge (VK) and syntactic knowledge (SK) in L2 listening comprehension, as well as their relative significance. Unlike previous studies, the current project employed assessment tasks to measure aural and proceduralized VK and SK. In terms of VK, to avoid under-representing the construct, measures of both breadth (VB) and depth (VD) were included. Additionally, the current study examined the role of VK and SK by accounting for individual differences in two important cognitive factors in L2 listening: metacognitive knowledge (MK) and working memory (WM). Also, to explore the role of VK and SK more fully, the current study accounted for the negative impact of anxiety on WM and L2 listening. The study was carried out in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context, and participants were 263 Iranian learners at a wide range of English proficiency from lower-intermediate to advanced. Participants took a battery of ten linguistic, cognitive and affective measures. Then, the collected data were subjected to several preliminary analyses, but structural equation modeling (SEM) was then used as the primary analysis method to answer the study research questions. Results of the preliminary analyses revealed that MK and WM were significant predictors of L2 listening ability; thus, they were kept in the main SEM analyses. The significant role of WM was only observed when the negative effect of anxiety on WM was accounted for. Preliminary analyses also showed that VB and VD were not distinct measures of VK. However, the results also showed that if VB and VD were considered separate, VD was a better predictor of L2 listening success. The main analyses of the current study revealed a significant role for both VK and SK in explaining success in L2 listening comprehension, which differs from findings from previous empirical studies. However, SEM analysis did not reveal a statistically significant difference in terms of the predictive power of the two linguistic factors. Descriptive results of the SEM analysis, along with results from regression analysis, indicated to a more significant role for VK.

Vocabulary and language model adaptation using information retrieval

International audience

Vocabulary picture-cued en el desarrollo de la competencia lectora del Inglés como lengua extranjera en el grado tercero de primaria del colegio George Williams

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

The impact of the integration of ict on elementary efl students’ vocabulary at the corporación unificada nacional cun through writing communicative tasks

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

The implementation of tpr-games and imagery for the enhancement of a1 vocabulary in kindergarten at Francisco de Paula Santander School

Tesis (Licenciado en Lenguas Castellana, Inglés y Francés).--Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias de La Educación. Licenciatura en Lengua Castellana, Inglés y Francés, 2014

The impact of CLIL: affective factors, content-related vocabulary & gender differences

[EN] The experiment discussed in this paper is a direct replication of Finkbeiner (2005) and an indirect replication of Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster (2012). The paper explores the use of episodic memory in L2 vocabulary processing. By administering an L1 episodic recognition task with L2 masked translation primes, reduced reaction times would suggest L2 vocabulary storage in episodic memory. The methodology follows Finkbeiner (2005), who argued that a blank screen introduced after the prime in Jiang Forster (2001) led to a ghosting effect, compromising the imperceptibility of the prime. The results here mostly corroborate Finkbeiner (2005) with no significant priming effects. While Finkbeiner discusses his findings in terms of the dissociability of episodic and semantic memory, and discounts Jiang and Forster’s (2001) results to participants’ strategic responding, I add a layer of analysis based on declarative and procedural constituents. From this perspective, Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster’s (2012) results can be seen as possible episodic memory activation, and Finkbeiner’s (2005) and my lack of priming effects might be due to the sole activation of procedural neural networks. Priming effects are found in concrete and abstract words but require verification through further experimentation.

Episodic Memory Use in L2 Vocabulary Processing

[EN] The experiment discussed in this paper is a direct replication of Finkbeiner (2005) and an indirect replication of Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster(2012). The paper explores the use of episodic memory in L2 vocabulary processing. By administering an L1 episodic recognition task with L2 masked translation primes, reduced reaction times would suggest L2 vocabulary storage in episodic memory. The methodology follows Finkbeiner (2005) who argued that a blank screen introduced after the prime in Jiang Forster (2001) led to a ghosting effect, compromising the imperceptibility of the prime. The results here mostly corroborate Finkbeiner (2005) with no significant priming effects. While Finkbeiner discusses his findings in terms of the dissociability of episodic and semantic memory, and discounts Jiang and Forster’s (2001) results to participants’ strategic responding, I add a layer of analysis based on declarative and procedural constituents. From this perspective, Jiang and Forster (2001) and Witzel and Forster’s (2012) results can be seen as possible episodic memory activation, and Finkbeiner’s (2005) and my lack of priming effects might be due to the sole activation of procedural neural networks. Priming effects are found in concrete and abstract words but require verification through further experimentation.

Controlled Vocabulary Enhancement through Crowdsourcing: Project Andvari, Micropasts, and Public Quality Assurance

Proceedings paper published by Society of American Archivists. Presented at conference in 2015 in Cleveland, OH (http://www2.archivists.org/proceedings/research-forum/2015/agenda#papers). Published by SAA in 2016.

Home Literacy Activities in Latino Immigrant Families: Contributions to Toddlers’ Expressive and Receptive Language Skills

The development of language is a critical component of early childhood, enabling children to communicate their wishes and desires, share thoughts, and build meaning through linguistic interactions with others. A wealth of research has highlighted the importance of children’s early home experiences in fostering language development. This literature emphasizes the importance of a stimulating and supportive home environment in which children are engaged in literacy activities such as reading, telling stories, or singing songs with their parents. This study examined the association between low-income Latino immigrant mothers’ and fathers’ home literacy activities and their children’s receptive and expressive language skills. It also examined the moderating influence of maternal (i.e., reading quality and language quality) and child (engagement during reading, interest in literacy activities) characteristics on this association. This study included observational mother-child reading interactions, child expressive and receptive language assessments, and mother- and father-reported survey data. Controlling for parental education, multiple regression analyses revealed a positive association between home literacy activities and children’s receptive and expressive language skills. The findings also revealed that mothers’ reading quality and children’s engagement during reading (for expressive language skills only) moderated this association. Findings from this study will help inform new interventions, programs, and policies that build on Latino families’ strengths.

RoMEO studies 7: creation of a controlled vocabulary to analyse copyright transfer agreements

This paper describes the process of creating a controlled vocabulary which can be used to systematically analyse the copyright transfer agreements (CTAs) of journal publishers with regard to self-archiving. The analysis formed the basis of the newly created Copyright Knowledge Bank of publishers’ self-archiving policies. Self-archiving terms appearing in publishers’ CTAs were identified and classified, with these then being simplified, merged, and discarded to form a definitive list. The controlled vocabulary consists of three categories that describe ‘what’ can be self-archived, the ‘conditions’ of self-archiving and the ‘restrictions’ of self-archiving. Condition terms include specifications such as ‘where’ an article can be self archived, restriction terms include specifications such as ‘when’ the article can be self archived. Additional information on any of these terms appears in ‘free-text’ fields. Although this controlled vocabulary provides an effective way of analysing CTAs, it will need to be continually reviewed and updated in light of any major new additions to the terms used in publishers’ copyright and self-archiving policies.