Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching

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Voc abulary Myth s:Applying Second

Language ResearchTo ClassroomTeachingThis webpage is a summary of the above-mentioned book by Keith Folse , currently

Associate Professor of TESOL at theUniversity of Central Florida. The core of the book is a discussion of eight mythsabout learning and teaching vocabulary:

The eight myths are:

1. In learning another language, vocabularyis not as important as grammar or otherareas.

2. Using word lists to learn L2 vocabulary isunproductive.

3. Presenting new vocabulary in semanticsets facilitates learning.

4. The use of translations to learn newvocabulary should be discouraged.

5. Guessing words from context is anexcellent strategy for learning L2vocabulary.

6. The best vocabulary learners make use of one or two really specific vocabularylearning strategies.

7. The best dictionary for L2 learners is amonolingual dictionary.

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8. Teachers, textbooks, and curricula coverL2 vocabulary adequately.

For language teachers the main insightsfrom the research that Folse analysesare:

Vocabulary is crucial to bothcommunication andcomprehension;Vocabulary needs to be explicitlytaught and learned; it will notdevelop quickly enough throughsimple exposure to written orspoken language.

For non-language teachers the maininsights are:

It is important to be aware of theEnglish words and phrases that arelikely to cause most difficulty forESL students. [ More ]Learning a subject entails, to alarge degree, learning thevocabulary of that subject.Much of the vocabulary that ESLstudents need to succeed in asubject is not specific to thatsubject. [ More ]ESL students should be encouragedto have a bilingual dictionary with

them every lesson - and makeappropriate use of it. [ More ]

Vocabulary Myths:Applying Second LanguageResearch To Classroom

Teaching

Preface

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Folse notes that for many years until themid 1990's researchers and teachersgenerally underestimated the importanceof vocabulary in second language (SL)development. It was assumed that SLvocabulary would grow as naturally and

easily as first language vocabulary,through exposure to comprehensibleinput.

[More on comprehensible input]

More on comprehensible input

The theory of comprehensible input was

promulgated by Krashen. In summary, thetheory posits that we acquire language inone way only: when we are exposed toinput (written or spoken language) that iscomprehensible to us. Comprehensibleinput is the necessary but also sufficientcondition for language acquisition to takeplace. It requires no effort on the part of the learner. For more on Krashen's relatedtheory of the different natures of languageacquistion and langauge learning, see:

An introduction to the work of StephenKrashen

Folse concedes that some vocabulary canbe acquired via comprehensible input,particularly when the FL (first language)and the SL come from the same languagefamily (such as English and German) andthus have many cognates. However,simple exposure to the SL does not work aseffortlessly for much vocabulary -especially if the FL and SL are different(as, for example, Japanese and English aredifferent) Today, there is a greater

understanding that vocabulary cannot beleft to grow organically; it benefits fromdirect instruction and testing.

http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/krashen.htm


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Folse finishes the preface with by statingthat the myths chapters of the book willeach contain the following sections:

In the real world.What the research says.What you [the language teacher] cando.

Introduction

In this section Folse answers twofundamental questions:

What do we mean by the term'vocabulary'?What are the components of 'knowing a word'?

In answer to the first question Folse notesthat the vocabulary task facing SL learnersencompasses more than the single wordsthat most people imagine: bright, lawyer,simultaneously , etc. It also includes

learning set phrases such as once in awhile , phrasal verbs such as take on and

put up with and idioms such as Don't letthe cat out the bag .

[More on phrasal verbs]

More on phrasal verbs

In the discussion of phrasal verbs Folsenotes that: "Native speakers have no ideathat they are using phrasal verbs, nor dothey see why these words are so hard forESL students to deal with." For more aboutphrasal verbs, see:

Important information about phrasalverbs on this website.

The second question that Folse discusses isWhat does it mean to say you know aword? While most non-linguists would

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answer that knowing a word entailsknowing what it means, Folse points outthat the implicit knowledge of a wordpossessed by literate native-speakersincludes much more than just this. Itincludes knowledge of the word's

polysemy (multiple meanings),connotation, spelling/pronunciation, partof speech, frequency, usage/register, andcollocation.

Folse claims that collocation is "perhapsthe single most important aspect of knowing a word for non-native speakers"(after learning its meaning). [There is

more about collocation on this page of thewebsite.]

Myth 1: In learning anotherlanguage, vocabulary is not asimportant as grammar or otherareas.

In the real world

Folse relates an incident in a Japaneseshop where, despite some knowledge of

Japanese grammar and much creativeeffort, he was unable to communicatewhat he needed (flour) through the simplelack of the Japanese word for it.

What the research says

This section is best summed up in thequote by Wilkins that Folse includes in hisresearch overview:

While without grammar verylittle can be conveyed, without

vocabulary nothing can beconveyed.

Vocabulary knowledge plays afundamental role both in fluent language

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/colloc.htm


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production (speaking and writing) andefficient language comprehension(listening and reading).

What you can do

Understand exactly how much of your students' ability to understandyou is impacted by vocabulary issues.This section discusses how to make input(particularly spoken input) comprehensible.[More ]

Become more aware of the problemof vocabulary for our students.[More ]Choose materials that emphasisevocabulary.Include vocabulary in quizzes andtests.

Myth 2: Using word lists to learnL2 vocabulary is unproductive.

In the real world

Folse relates the story of a Japanesewoman who had learned English to a goodstandard using the audio-lingual method.He uses the story to make the point thatsome of the old-fashioned methods of learning a second language, that havegenerally fallen into disrepute, could infact help students to acquire strongvocabularies.


Folse discusses several studies indicatingthat the fairly prevalent aversion amonglanguage teachers to having their students

learn vocabulary lists is unfounded

What you can do

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Don't hesitate to use vocabulary lists.Don't rely only on lists.Include your students' likes anddislikes as well as their classroomexpectations in your teaching.

Myth 3: Presenting newvocabulary in semantic setsfacilitates learning.

In the real world

Folse writes that he has authored over 30ESL textbooks, many of which have theexplicit purpose of developing students'vocabulary. For all of these he needed todecide how to organize the words to bepresented to the students. The intuitiveway is to organize the words by semanticset; for example, to present body parts inone unit and clothes in the next. A loosersemantic connection is by theme; e.g.holiday words. Folse relates that, while

being himself a good vocabulary learner,he cannot say with any confidence thathaving words presented in semantic ortheme-based sets helped him to learn thembetter.


The intuitive way is not the best way. AsFolse states:

...the research results are clear

... semantic sets are not onlyunhelpful, they actually hindervocabulary retention. [p52]

A more effective approach appears to be touse themes such as holidays, cooking, etc.Folse notes, however, that the limitedamount and nature of the research intothematic groupings does not yet permit a


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definitive assessment of its effectiveness.

What you can do

Do not present words initially insemantic sets.

Use thematic presentations of newwords when possible.Teach the most frequent words first,then cover other items within thatsemantic set.Use exercises and activities that

juxtapose semantic set members forreviewing items, not for initiallearning.

Myth 4: The use of translations tolearn new vocabulary should bediscouraged.

In the real world

Folse writes of a lesson when he failed to

understand a Japanese word, despite thepatient explanations of his teacher. He wasput out of his misery when anotherstudent in the class told him the meaningof the word in English.


Folse starts this section with an overviewof the reasons why many teachers try toavoid all use of L1 in the L2 classroom. Hegoes on to cite recent research that hesummarizes as follows:

Research is clear: Translationsare not bad but are in fact ahelpful tool in learning new

foreighn language vocabulary.

What you can do


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Do not stop a student who is jottingdown a translation of a new Englishword.Let a more knowledgeable studenthelp another student who speaks thesame language.

Learn what you can about yourstudents' native language.

Myth 5: Guessing words fromcontext is an excellent strategyfor learning L2 vocabulary.

In the real world

Folse relates an incident where he failed toguess a word in context, despite applyingthe usual "word attack" strategies.


We typically acquire much of our L1vocabulary by guessing the meaning of

new words from the comprehensiblecontexts in which they are set. Severalrelatively recent studies, however, havefound that this method is less effective forL2 vocabulary acquisition.

Essentially, this is because L2 learners maynot know several of the surroundingwords in any given context. Theyconsequently do not have enough clues tomake accurate guesses about new wordmeaning, and thereby develop theirvocabulary in the way L1 learners do.

What you can do

Teach the use of context clues as a

good reading strategy, but recognizethat learners cannot rely on thiscompensatory strategy forvocabulary growth.


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Choose context clues and activitiesthat match the proficiency level of your students.Exercises that ask students to guessword meanings should be done inclass so that the teacher can give

immediate feedback. Another optionis to have your students do theseexercises on a computer-basedprogram that gives immediatefeedbackReading can be a conduit forvocabulary growth, especially whendone with vocabulary exercises.

Myth 6: The best vocabularylearners make use of one or tworeally good specific vocabularylearning strategies.

In the real world

Folse relates an incident from his ownteaching when a student made him realisethat often a simplistic word attack strategycan be superior to a more sophisticatedand specific approach.


Folse discusses numerous studies on the

various vocabulary learning strategies. Hisconclusion is that there is no specificstrategy that can be recommended aboveall others. There are several strategies thatmay be effective depending on learner andcontext variables, and there are alsostrategies that likely to be ineffective.

What you can do

No vocabulary strategy or training isa substitute for knowing vocabulary.There is no one strategy or training


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unsuccessful, consult a monolingualdictionary. Folse notes that there is aninsufficient research base to support thistypical teacher aversion to their studentsusing bilingual dictionaries.

What you can do

Teachers should continue to teachcontext clues and understand thecritical limitations of context clues -but not in lieu of vocabulary itself.Teach context clues but not at theexpense of explicit teaching of vocabulary.Teachers should be aware that thereal value of teaching context cluesmay not necessarily be in thelearning of using of context clues perse but rather in better overall Englishproficiency.Relatively few words are learnedthrough incidental acquisition;

drawing learners' attention to wordsenhances vocabulary retention.Teachers must stop sayingemphatically that the goal of L2learners is to move toward the use of a monolingual dictionary as soon aspossible.Dictionaries are part of the languagelearning process and are here to stay.Teachers must teach students how todeal with polysemous words.Consider allowing your students touse a bilingualized dictionary.

Myth 8: Teachers, textbooks, andcurricula cover L2 vocabularyadequately.

Folse writes about a vocabulary course hetaught that was demanding of both himand the students, but which was well


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received by the students who understoodthe importance of developing theirvocabularies.


Folse divides his discussion of the researchinto three perspectives:

Vocabulary in the curriculum ingeneral.Folse notes that vocabulary is typically thearea where student have most questions butis poorly covered in the majority of thelanguage learning materials analysed.

Vocabulary in specific areas of thecurriculum.Folse reviews research which highlights theprime importance of vocabulary in readingcomprehension and ability, and notes thatESL curricula typically do not adequatelycover vocabulary.

Vocabulary in practice activities inthe curriculum.

Folse analyses research into the plethora of different activities to teach, practice and testvocabulary. The key finding is that "simple"activities such as doing multiple-choice quizcan result in as much vocabulary learning asmore time-consuming tasks such as writingoriginal sentences with new words.

What you can do

Do something with vocabulary inEVERY lesson.Once you teach vocabulary, you musttest vocabulary.Vocabulary practices can take manyforms; what appears to be mostimportant is not the form of theexercise as much as the number of

"forced retrievals" of the word or itsmeaningMake use of the vocabulary softwareas well as resources on the internet.


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Conclusion

In this section Folse reviews the eightmyths that his book has aimed to dispel.He reiterates the primacy of vocabulary inthe language learning process and his

conviction that language teachers shouldplace vocabulary at the heart of teaching,testing and student learning.

Folse, Keith. Vocabulary Myths: Applying Second Language Research To ClassroomTeaching . N.p.: University of MichiganPress, 2004. Print.

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Applying Second Language Research to Classroom Teaching