An affix acquisition order for EFL learners: an exploratory study

Language Teaching Research, 2011

The study reported in this article investigated the comparative effects of two types of treatment -one of which emphasized input and the other output -on the vocabulary acquisition of young EFL learners. In the input-based instruction, the students were not required to produce output whereas in the production-based instruction the students were required to produce output. Thirty-six Japanese children aged 6-8 were divided into three groups (input-based, productionbased and control group), received six weeks instruction and took four types of vocabulary tests as a pre-, post-and delayed post-test. The findings provide further evidence that both input-based and production-based instruction lead to both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. In general, the results show similar levels of effects for input-based and production-based instruction on vocabulary acquisition. However, an examination of process features indicates that the inputbased tasks provided opportunities for richer interaction for the learners than the productionbased activities. This may explain the better performance of the input-based group on the taskbased comprehension test and the same levels of achievement in the production tests despite relatively fewer opportunities for second language (L2) production.

The main purpose of the current study is to investigate the use of one of the vocabulary learning strategies named word formation strategy (morphology) in terms of the number of affixes by English as foreign language (EFL) intermediate students in Qazvin Province in Iran. In order to investigate the variables, 43 intermediate EFL students in Qazvin Province were chosen randomly. The data were collected by using two separate tests. The results showed students who used word formation strategy have highest mean on the vocabulary test belongs to the root words followed by the single affixes and the third highest mean belongs to the double affixes. The data showed that students seemed not to have and employ word-building knowledge; they favored an approach which involved attention to the whole unit because they did not have enough knowledge of affixes. Then, the findings revealed that the more students learn about affixes, the better they perform on vocabulary learning. It is suggested that in order to further validate the general conclusions of the current study, more specific ethnographic research needs to be done and more participants needs in future studies. INTRODUCTION This study examines the relationship between the number of affixation and vocabulary learning of Iranian intermediate EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners. There are six language skills which EFL learners should learn to be a fluent English users, those are: vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Among those vocabulary is the most basic and vital element for EFL learners but it has been defined differently by different researchers. Most of the researchers defined vocabulary such as the sum of interrelated sub knowledge, it means, morphological knowledge, knowledge of word meaning, collocational and grammatical

World Journal of English Language

The present study explored vocabulary knowledge as a multi-aspect construct by examining the acquisition order of different vocabulary aspects and the relationships between these aspects. A battery test of receptive and productive vocabulary aspects, based on Nation’s (2013) framework, was administered to 156 Thai EFL learners in tenth (n = 84) and twelfth (n = 72) grades. Two different grades of Thai EFL learners were used to better describe the vocabulary acquisition process. The results indicated that scores on the tests assessing receptive knowledge of an aspect were higher than scores on the productive knowledge tests, for both grades. However, overall, the twelfth-grade learners performed better than the tenth-grade learners. The findings also revealed significant correlations between knowledge of the different aspects. Furthermore, the Implicational Scaling (IS) analysis revealed that the two grades had distinct implicational patterns of vocabulary aspects. These results prov...

The acquisition of L2 lexical knowledge primarily follows two approaches in L2 teaching-learning contexts: explicit or intentional and incidental vocabulary acquisition. However, acquisition of vocabulary from contexts such as reading significantly contributes to one " s lexical development in L2 in contrast to the explicit isolated nature of vocabulary learning. Research in second language vocabulary acquisition (SLVA) has often defined lexical acquisition from reading as incidental acquisition when learners " focus is on the message of the text rather than the individual target words. In addition, researchers argue that such acquisition is made possible when learners experience the target words multiple times in reading texts. Hence the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of frequency of occurrence (1×3×7) on acquisition of six aspects of target word knowledge from reading by 60 sixteen year old Odia speaking learners of English at the higher secondary level. The research was carried out in the quantitative paradigm and followed an experimental design which included several tools. The study was conducted in two different stages: stage 1 (preparation of tools and the pilot study) and stage 2 (the main study). Sixty learners were equally divided into three groups (Exposure 1, Exposure 3, and Exposure 7) based on their performance on the 3000 word level VLT and were provided a specified number of reading texts followed by the immediate post-test. The t-test analysis of the data revealed that there was no significant difference between one exposure and three exposures in terms of acquisition of the six aspects of lexical knowledge. However, seven exposures to target words could result in significant lexical gain. The findings can inform practitioners in ELT to promote autonomous vocabulary development by exposing learners to L2 target vocabulary multiple times in reading. Introduction The importance of vocabulary in language learning cannot be overemphasized since the knowledge of it highly correlates with the language proficiency of learners in second/foreign language contexts. The concerns towards teaching-learning of vocabulary in ESL/EFL contexts were developed after Richard " s (1976) introduction of the term " lexical competence " , which highlighted the multi-dimensional nature of a " word ". Subsequently, the notion of " lexical competence " came to be perceived from different perspectives: applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistic, and paved way for research on several issues: strategy instruction, approaches and techniques to teach vocabulary, role of memory in vocabulary learning, and sources of acquisition and their effectiveness. In contexts where real life exposure

The present paper compares the vocabulary development of a group of CLIL and of traditional EFL learners along three years. The observation that a CLIL approach might provide with larger benefits in the long run vocabulary is the starting point of this study. We had learners in the two groups complete a letter-writing task. These writings were then scrutinized for L1 influence in the form of borrowings and lexical creations. The frequency of the words in the letters was also object of analysis. Results revealed that CLIL learners perform slightly better but non-significantly better than traditional EFL along the three years. Furthermore, the evolution of L1 influence and word use also followed an expected improvement pattern as learners went up grade. However, our results do not provide evidence of a growing CLIL advantage with increasing experience. The young age and low proficiency of learners in the present study might be blocking this possible advantage found elsewhere.

2011

TESOL International Journal, 2020

Morphological awareness is essential for the successful use of a language and morphological instruction may facilitate the acquisition of new words. This quasi-experimental research examines the effects of affix instruction on acquiring morphologically complex words. Two measures of receptive and productive affix knowledge were administered to 92 participants. Sixty participants in the treatment group were provided with an explicit instruction on English affixes based on Bauer and Nation's (1993) word families, whereas participants in the control group were not (n = 32). Performance on affix knowledge tasks was analysed using a repeated-measures ANOVA and related methods. The results demonstrate a positive effect of affix instruction in English language classrooms. Affix features, including linguistic and semantic transparency, improved participants' performance of affix reception and production. The explicit instruction of affixes may therefore help English learners to understand words and to facilitate vocabulary acquisition. However, learners may require more time to learn the meaning of the affixes and to practice affixations with the aid of systematic instruction. Other implications of these findings are discussed in light of current pedagogical practice and theory.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014

The prominent role of vocabulary knowledge in EFL learning has been increasingly recognized. Developments in 'lexical semantics' have prompted the development of the 'semantic field theory', 'semantic networks', or 'semantic grid' strategies, which organize words in terms of interrelated lexical meanings. The purpose of the present article is to discuss the pedagogic implications of 'semantic field theory' to EFL vocabulary instruction.

Lokratna, Vol. XI (2), 2018

The literature pertaining to incidental vocabulary acquisition has invariably highlighted the role of L2 readingin the lexical development of language learners.A good number of studies have already been conducted to examine the effects of extensive reading, graded readers, and authentic texts in this regard in EFL contexts.However, the present study under the spectrum of incidental vocabulary acquisition investigated the possible acquisition of six selected aspects of target word knowledge from reading of three teacher-prepared texts (graded).In order to dissuade the participants, ninety Odia ESL learners of class XI, from paying attention to the individual words and working on them for meaning, the nature of reading was kept meaning-focused. Soon after the reading they were administered an immediate post-test. The descriptive analysis of the data suggests that a significant amount of learning, in terms of acquisition of the target word properties,occurred from meaning-focused reading.The findings suggest that learners’ ability to recognize and produce the target words in meaningful contexts was effective. Moreover, it was observed that some aspects of word knowledge couldeasily be acquired before other aspects. Hence further research can be conducted to explore patterns of L2 lexical development in ESL learners from reading.

2018

This research study examined the effects of extensive reading on incidental vocabulary acquisition in learning English as a foreign language. Several

Investigations into typical vocabulary growth rates of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners are important to the setting of more realistic targets as well as to the evaluation of the success of language programs. Previous research into second language vocabulary growth was conducted in settings which were not particularly conducive to substantial vocabulary growth. They involved either explicit but limited language instruction as part of a school curriculum or indirect incidental learning through degree study in English. The present study investigates the vocabulary growth of EFL learners in a setting which is expected to induce more growth owing to a greater amount of explicit language instruction. The growth in the written receptive (i.e. reading) vocabulary sizes of 410 EFL learners in an intensive language program in a major Turkish university was studied over one academic year. Vocabulary sizes of learners from a range of English language proficiency levels were measured using the Vocabulary Size Test (Nation and Beglar, 2007). The results suggested greater annual growth than those reported in previous research. The study also indicated that vocabulary growth rates were not stable across proficiency levels, and showed a fall-rise pattern. However, when proficiency was determined lexically, the results suggested that growth slowed down as the vocabulary size increased. These results point to the limitations of explicit instruction in more advanced levels of proficiency as far as vocabulary learning is concerned. Universities are advised to evaluate cost against benefits before implementing these programmes.

This study explores the roles of depth and breadth of lexical repertoire in L2 lexical inferencing success and incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. Students read a graded reader containing 13 pseudo-words and attempted to infer the meanings of underlined target words. The Word Associates Test (WAT, Read, 2004) and the Vocabulary Levels Test were administered to measure depth and breadth of lexical repertoire respectively. To rate retention of inferred meanings, I administered the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS, Paribakht & Wesche, 1996 with a repeated measure design. The results indicated that (a) both breadth and depth of lexical knowledge correlated positively with long-term retention of inferred word meanings. However, depth of vocabulary knowledge indicated a higher correlation; and (b) scores on both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge had a significant positive correlation with success of lexical inferencing through reading, but depth of vocabulary knowledge was a stronger predictor of inferencing success.

Lexical knowledge is an important predictor of second language learning. The present study focuses on aspects of lexical knowledge of Korean elementary (6th grade) and middle school learners (9th grade) in connection to learning strategies, that is, with regard to vocabulary learning and by investigating the learners’ preferred English medium of interest. The learners were asked to complete questionnaires for information on vocabulary learning strategies, and were tested with receptive and productive vocabulary levels test to assess their vocabulary knowledge. One-way ANOVA was conducted to note differences between the different vocabulary learning strategy groups, and multiple regression was employed to select predictors of learners’ receptive and vocabulary knowledge. While the learners did not favor public education (school lessons), private lessons indicated to be the dominant means of learning English among the 6th graders with larger vocabulary sizes; the use of the vocabulary workbook indicated to be a useful resource for the 9th graders. Although movies were popularly viewed by most of the learners, it was the learners who had been reading books in English that seemed to have obtained larger vocabulary sizes. The findings provide guidelines for vocabulary instruction in Korean elementary and middle school contexts.