Dealing with Vocabulary in the Foreign Language Classroom

Okayama May 2014

www.robwaring.org/presentations/

Dr. Rob WaringNotre Dame Seishin University

Typical vocabulary teaching

• Most vocab teaching is from context• Haphazard selection of materials• Different vocab topic in each unit• Too many words at once• Rare words are favoured over common words• Focus on single words not multi-word units and combinations• All students learn the same words• Word teaching = definition and spelling• Teachers give meanings

Typical vocabulary teaching II

• Low recycling of vocab in course books and teachers• Teachers leave vocab learning to learners• Vocab learning strategies are rarely taught• Vocab learning techniques are rarely taught• Vocabulary learning goals are rarely set • Dictionary skills are rarely taught• Vocab notebooks not encouraged• Words are kept in lists• Vocab exercises test not teach• Teachers trust the course book to deal with vocab

Two states of vocabulary learning

Form-meaning relationship - matching the spelling and/or sound to a meaning

The ‘deeper’ aspects of vocabulary learning- multiple meaning senses / nuances of use- frequency, usefulness etc.- use in context- domain (lexical set)- restrictions on use / pragmatic values- register (polite, casual, rude), spoken, written, formal, informal- lexical access speed, fluency, automaticity- collocation and colligation- etc.

Types of vocabulary

Individual words: book, table, life, chance, walk, airplane… Affixes: used, user, usefulness, user-friendly, disuse… Multi-part words: traffic jam, the day after tomorrow, lunch box… Lexical phrases: by the way, to and fro, a kind of,…Idioms: let the cat out of the bag, raining cats and dogs

Sentence heads: Do you mind if I…, If I were you,.. Could you…?Collocations: High season, mild cheese, blonde hair…Colligations: agree to do x, agree on X, rely on someone,

have an effect on x, x affects y...Others: SONY, Paul, twenty-seven, etc. , UNESCO…

What's a collocation?

Collocations are words which often appear together.We say We don't (usually) saybeautiful girl handsome girlblonde hair yellow hairmild cheese weak cheesebig surprise large surprisego to work go to jobcatch fire do fire / go firehigh cost expensive costdemand a response ask a responsemake a mistake do a mistake

How much to learn: collocations

Which collocations?

Transparent 'weak' collocations – easy to learn – don't teachBeautiful flower, look out of a window, read a book, play a game

Specialized collocations – teach only if neededInsolvency act, habeas corpus, spaghetti bolognese

Infrequent collocations – don't bother teachingRancid butter, a glimmer of hope, circle of friends, by and large

Those that need attention–Highly frequent collocations (not too many of these)

make/do + noun –False friends weak tea, *thin tea; meet friends / *play with friends

What’s a colligation?

Colligations are words which often appear together grammatically

We say We don’t (usually) saydepend on someone depend of someonebe good at something be good on somethingask for something ask on somethinggive something to someone give something someone

They need thousands of Expressions, Idioms and Phrases

traffic jamlunch boxby and largeget along withput backset out onthe day before yesterdayHow's things?If you don't mind, would you…?I'd rather not … I'd like to … If it were up to me, I'd … So, what do you think? What's the matter?

How frequently do lexical phrases occur (BNC)?Raw Rank Word Per million

words177 out of 490222 per cent 382272 such as 321285 of course 309378 for example 238

1538 in front of 651725 all right 582159 as soon as 472491 in general 412970 in addition to 343307 next to 303755 on top of 264378 instead of 215409 in charge of 175987 just about 157396 provided that 117885 as good as 109125 with a view to 8

Raw Rank Word Per million words

11459 in between 613507 by and large 514369 at random 416684 per se 419505 old fashioned 322060 grown up 228441 matter of fact 243572 sq m 148241 fait accompli 151717 straight forward 158511 habeas corpus 174321 self-same 076170 haute cuisine 082928 a good deal 083882 laissez faire 089371 persona non grata 0

Most multi-word units aren't worth teaching individually

Collocations will always occur less frequently than the words that make them upIn the British National Corpus (100m words)

Strong occurs 213 times / 1m wordsWind occurs 73 times / 1m wordsStrong wind occurs 3.06 times / 1m words

The 'difficult' word compromise occurs 31 times

Most collocations aren't worth teaching individuallyBut we must teach the prepositions in colligates

How much needs learning?

2000 basic words to be intermediate level5,0002,000

12,500125,000

Each family has 2-3 derivativesEach word has 2-3 meaning sensesWe need to meet each one 10 times to learn it

Each word has 10-15 collocationsEach word is part of 4-5 phrases or idioms

It’s impossible to teach all of this….We need plan B….

How much to learn: Grammar

He walked to the station Did he see the man?Who did he go with? He ate with his motherHe didn't buy anything She wasn't given anythingWere they seen? Why did he mistrust them?You bought it, didn't you? They were being shown the ….If I were you, I'd… If I won the lottery, I'd …Could I have that? Was he going to be there at 12?What were you doing when the phone rang?

They need to master grammatical patternsThe grammar systems (e.g. the present perfect tense)

A government committee has been created to …He hasn't seen her for a while, has he? No, he hasn't.Why haven't you been doing your homework?There's been a big accident in Market Street.Have you ever met a ghost?

It's very hard to see the patterns – there are many forms:Statement, negative, yes/no and wh- question forms, Simple or continuousActive or passiveShort answers and questions tags (Yes, I have. …… hasn't he?)Regular and irregular - has vs. have walked vs. boughtPresent perfect for 'announcing news', PP for 'experiences', etc. etc.

The Balanced Curriculum

Receptive Productive

Language Study

• Explicit teaching• Dictionary work• Studying from a vocab

book• Intensive reading• Language awareness

activities• Conscious word learning

• Controlled language production activities.

• Language and pronunciation drills• Gap fill exercises• Memorized dialogs• Sentence completion tasks• Tests

Fluency Practice

• Extensive reading• Extensive listening• Watching movies• Browsing the Internet• Listening to the radio or

music

• ‘Free’ language production activities.• Casual conversations• Debates and discussions• Email, and online chat• Diary writing• Essays

The Balanced Curriculum

Receptive Productive

Language Study

Fluency Practice

Build language knowledge and get control over it

Develop learning strategies

Build language knowledge and get control over it

Develop learning strategies

Develop a sense of how the language works

Build autonomy

Build pragmatic and cultural knowledge

Balance in Language Teaching

Receptive Productive

Language Study

Fluency Practice

- provides new knowledge about language features-raises awareness of how the language works- raises awareness of learning strategies

- Learners get a feel for how the language works- consolidates the discretely learned language features- allows learners to meet huge amounts of text

-gives practice in checking whether something is known- allows learners to actively construct language- focuses on accurate control over language features

- gives real time opportunities to experiment with language use- gives feedback on the success of language use- builds fluency of language production

What happens if they don’t do these things?

Receptive Productive

Language Study

Fluency Practice

- Fewer chances to notice new things- Hard to add new knowledge

- Can’t check the accuracy of what they learnt

- Not enough input- Few chances to develop automatic processing - Can’t develop fluent eye movements

- Can’t experiment with their knowledge fluently

How much to learn: vocabulary

Learners need 8000-9000 words to know 98% of the vocabulary in native novels, magazines and most general reading

Intermediate learners need at least a vocabulary of 2000 words receptively and 1000 productively to be able to build fluency rapidly

Advanced learners will need 4000-6000 wordsAn average high frequency word has about 8-15 common

collocationsThere are 1000-1200 common phrasal verbsThere are 1000-1500 common idiomsThere are hundreds of common sentences heads and formulaic

phrases

What do we know about vocabulary?

• Because we teach a word does not mean they learned it (i.e. teaching does not cause learning). Note* our text books assume this. Because they finished the textbook does not mean they know all the words in the book

• Written and spoken vocabulary are different. Fewer words are needed for speaking

• Initial word knowledge is very fragile. Memories of new words that are not met again soon.

What do we know about vocabulary? II

• Some words are more difficult to learn than others • Learners cannot guess new meaning from context if the

surrounding text is too difficult. About 98% coverage needed.• Words live with other words, not in isolation• Not all words are equally frequent. There is a core useful

vocabulary everyone needs (about 2000 word families). Not everyone needs the other 90% of the words in English.

• Students should learn the most frequent and useful words first, later they can specialize.

Intentional / Incidental

Intentional- aim to directly teach / learn something- e.g. textbook presentation, dictionary use, wordcards

Incidental- aim to hope them pick up or notice the target from

exposure- students are doing something else (e.g. reading a passage

for meaning) but notice something new as they do it.

Deductive vs Inductive presentation

Deductive – ‘telling’telling / explaining the rule e.g. on the board, in a text or

handout

Inductive presentation – ‘discover the rule’A: What are your plans for the weekend?B: I’m meeting my brother on Friday at 7, and then I’m

playing tennis in Yokohama on Saturday. And you?A: I’m not sure maybe I’ll stay home.

Intentional vs. Incidental learning

Intentional learning Incidental learning

Direct focus on learning when the focus is to learn words

FOCUS Learning 'by accident' - as a result of focusing on something else

wordlists, word cards, vocabulary exercises, dictionary use

E.G. from reading or listening, watching movies, listening to songs, casual conversation

•Can be learnt systematically•Meanings are learnt 16 times faster than with incidental learning•Retention high if learnt well•Decontextualized or 'local' learning level

LEARNING •Slow and fragile learning•Input tends to be random and unpredictable, unsystematized•Contextualized (chances for integrative learning)

Best for 'form-meaning' level learning USE Best for 'deeper aspects' of vocabulary learning

How are we going to teach what?

Intentional learning e.g word cards Incidental learning e.g extensive reading

Selection issues – what do we teach?Sequence issues – in what order?

Scaffolding issues – how do we consolidate previous learning?

Presentation issues – what method?

Rough gradingEnsuring recycling

Engaging textMatching input text to intentionally

learnt materials

Individual wordsImportant lexical phrasesFalse friendsLoanwordsImportant collocations and colligationsBasic grammatical patternsImportant phrasal verbs, idioms etc.Word, phrase and sentence level awareness

Register, GenrePragmatic knowledgeRestrictions on useMost collocations and collocationsA 'sense' of a word's meaning and useA 'sense' of how grammar fits with lexis - the tenses, articles etc.Discourse level awareness

Notice something

Get more input

(feedback)

Try it out

Add to our knowledge

The Cycle of Learning

What happens to things we learn?

We forget them over time unless they are recycled and memories of them strengthened

Our brains are designed to forget most of what we meet - not to remember it

Time

Knowledge

The Forgetting Curve

Leitner’s Memory System

Image source: www.lexxica.com

Spaced, expanded retrieval

A linear structure to our syllabuses

Each unit has something newLittle focus on the recycling of vocabulary, grammar and so onThe theory is “We’ve done that, they have learnt it, so we can move

on.” i.e. teaching causes learning

Unit 1

Be verb

Simple adjectives

Unit 2

Simple present

Daily routines

Unit 3

Present continuous

Sporting activities

Unit 4

can

Abilities

Unit 5

….

…..

What will naturally happen to the learning?

Unit 1

Be verb

Simple adjectives

Unit 2

Simple present

Daily routines

Unit 3

Present continuous

Sporting activities

Unit 4

can

Abilities

Unit 5

….

…..

Course work and Graded Readers work together

Consolidating and deepening language knowledge

Extensive Reading

Unit 1

Be verb

Unit 2

Simple present

Unit 3

Present continuous

Unit 4

can

Unit 5

…. Introducing language

What does this imply?A linear course structure

-is focused on introducing new words and grammatical features-does not fight against the forgetting curve -by its very design cannot provide enough repetitions of words and grammar features for long-term acquisition to take place-is not focused on deepening and consolidating older knowledge because the focus is always on new things

This is NOT a criticism of course books. They can’t do everything even though we might expect them to. Course books are only part of what students need.

How well are our courses presenting the language students need?

Research suggests a typical language courses:• do not systematically recycle the grammatical forms outside

the presentation unit / lesson• have an almost random vocabulary selection (mostly based

on topic) without much regard to frequency or usefulness • rarely, if ever, recycle taught words either later in the unit,

the book, or the series• provide little additional practice in review units or workbooks• have an overwhelming focus on new material in each lesson

Typical Japanese reading texts

In Junior High School-teaches the first 1000 most useful words quite well- readability seems adequate – short passages, easy

vocabulary, picture support

In Senior High School- radical change to low frequency vocabulary- hundreds of the most important 2,000 most useful words aren't met

Research 1: words in Japanese Senior High Textbooks

Research by Chujo, Yoshimori, Hasegawa, Nishigaki and Yamazaki

中條清美・吉森智大・長谷川修治・西垣知佳子・山 淳﨑史 , 高等学校英語教科書の語彙 , 日本大学生産工学部研究報告 B, 2007 年６ 月第 40 巻

Research 2

Types Tokens

Horizon 1, 2, 3 (Junior High) 1,124 9,440

Powwow I, II, Reading (Senior High) 2,857 27,221

Centre tests (680 types / 3000 tokens average per test) x 4

1,000 12,000

College Entrance tests (590 types / 1600 tokens average per test) x4

1,000 6,400

A total of approximately 55,000 running words will be met (not counting juku and self-study).A generous estimate is 100,000 words and about 3,500 types over 6 years.Listening input would be approximately 10% of this.

Research 3 Lexical coverage of some reading texts

% inside the top 2,000 most frequent

words

Typical beginner level graded readers

Typical elementary level graded readers

Typical advanced level graded readers

Typical unsimplified native texts

Typical Daily Yomiuri article

Harry Potter Chapter 2

Typical Time magazine article

Japanese High School text (Spectrum U16)

Japanese High School text (Milestone)

Japanese High School text (Unicorn)

Source: Browne, C. ECAP Conference, 2008

99%

97-98%

92-94%

85%

87.4%

94.1%

80.9%

76.8%

79%

78%

Lexical coverage of some exams% inside the top 2000 most frequent words

Keio University

Sophia University

Waseda University

Kyoto University

Nagoya University

Tokyo University

Source: Browne, C. ECAP Conference, 2008

69%

72%

72%

77%

68%

80%

Research 4 (Waring 2013)Aim: 1. Find out which words are in textbooks

2. Find out how many words students can learn from them

6 Japanese Junior High texts21 Japanese High school texts18 Korean Middle School texts15 Korean High School texts5 Mexican Middle and Senior High textsMiddle School High School Total

Japan (Average) 14,066 20,977 35,043

Korea (Average) 23,483 37,950 61,433

Mexico 126,043 106,493 232,536

Likely uptake (words met more than 10 times from reading 30 texts at each level)

Japan Korea MexicoCourse books

onlyJH 147 184 854

JH & SH 476 925 1,276

Course books plus reading

JH 403 +174% 602 +227% 959 +12%JH & SH 1,187 +149% 1,468 +59% 1,677 + 31%

How long will it take to teach them?An average word needs 8-50 meetings for it to be learnt

receptively from reading (more for productive use)An average word's meaning takes 10-15 meetings to learn from

word cards or word listsTo learn the collocations and 'deeper' aspects of language

learning takes MUCH longer.There's little research into the rate learning of collocation,

colligation or lexical phrases from readingWe know nothing at all about how long it takes to master a

particular grammatical form e.g. a tense, the comparatives, relative clauses

A Typical Reading Text

Short textsShort texts

Many difficult words

Many difficult words

Many exercisesMany exercises

Definitions givenDefinitions given

How are students typically taught to read?

From textbooks with short difficult textsDoing lots of exercises to practice the grammar and vocab, reading skills and strategiesTeacher leads the studentsAll students read the same teacher-selected materialAll students read at the same paceAll students read at the same difficulty levelThe text may or may not interest all learnersIt's hard to develop fluent eye movements – fluency and reading speed – too many 'reading speed bumps'

This is called INTENSIVE READING or STUDY READING

'Study Reading' is good

Provides good opportunities for the teaching of discrete language points (e.g. vocabulary and grammar)

But….There is no skills practiceThe 'grammar' in the texts is not like actual spoken grammarThey can't develop reading speedIt's hard to learn the patterns in the language because the

student doesn't read much Not everyone is reading at their own ability levelThe text book may not interest everyone

Intensive Reading (course books for example)

Provides good opportunities for the teaching of discrete language points (e.g. vocabulary and grammar)

Few chances for the development of fluent eye movements Few chances to learn the patterns in the language because

the student doesn't read much Little allowance for student interest in what is readLittle allowance for reading at their own ability levelOften difficult for students to add new language to the

existing store of language because the material is too difficult

Features of Extensive Reading

All the students read different booksStudent selected materialWide variety of material (genres) The reading will probably interest the studentLonger textsVery few difficult wordsReading at the student's fluent reading ability levelMostly out-of class readingEmphasis on the skill of readingAll reading is in the second language – no Japanese neededNew words are often met in later chaptersEmphasis on reading for comprehension / enjoymentProvides input for speaking and writing

When reading extensively, students should READ

It is CRUCIAL that learners read at the RIGHT levelRead something quickly andEnjoyably with Adequate comprehension so theyDon't need a dictionary

If they need a dictionary, it's too hard and they will read slowly, get tired and stop

Their aim is fluency and speed, not learning new languageTypically students read at home or out of class- it doesn't take

much class time for HUGE benefitsWe add the reading to our existing program, we don't replace it.

Extensive Reading is easy because …

The students 'just read'Once the library is ready, there's little to doGet the students to manage the libraryOnline assessment if you wish - www.moodlereader.orgIt doesn't take much class time – they can read at home

EASY is GOOD – it builds fluency, speed and confidence

Reading at the right level

How do Intensive and Extensive Reading fit together?

SlowReading speed

High

Low % of known vocabulary100%

LowComprehension

High

90% 98%

ReadingPain

(too hard, poor comprehension,

high effort,de-motivating)

Intensive reading

(Instructional level, can learn new words and grammar)

Speed reading practice

(very fast, fluent, high

comprehension, natural reading,

enjoyable)

Extensive reading

(fast, fluent, adequate

comprehension, enjoyable)

What's the balance?

Language focus activities- learning the grammar and vocabulary, reading skills, pronunciation etc. (i.e. coursework)

PLUSMassive amounts of easy fluent reading with graded readersMassive amounts of fluent listeningThe focus should be on deepening and consolidating knowledge

of things they learnt in their course books

Build strategic competence

Students are not born knowing how to use dictionariesWe should teach them to learn words well and systematicallySpend a LOT of time on building ‘guessing from context’ abilities

Translation line by line reading – effect on language development

Total dependence on the teacher – no student independenceTeacher selected material – no respect for student interestsNo respect for different ability levelsNo respect for reading skills developmentInput is not recycled in the next lesson – a linear structureNo fluency practiceSlow and tedious – likely to be boringVery little text is readRarer words get more focus than more useful wordsOften (far too) difficult Retention is notoriously low Knowledge gains are temporary onlyRestricts learners to ‘word by word’ analysisOften used as an excuse for a linguistics lesson

Translation line by line reading – effect on learningLanguage input is reactive, not plannedLanguage input is not systemized – there’s no syllabus or curriculum at allNot meaning centered (form centered) – thus little will be rememberedLittle or no discourse level instruction / practiceTranslating one sentence does not mean whole text comprehensionSentence level translating does not mean there is an understanding of the sentenceChecking one student can translate does not mean the others canEach student only worries about her sentencesOnly two brains are working on each sentenceOften used as an excuse to improve the students’ Japanese!If this is the only method of instruction:-

Students likely to die from boredomExcellent way to kill a love for English

Why can’t Japanese students read, listen, speak and write well?

Their language knowledge is often abstract, separated, discrete and very fragile so they forget

There’s too much work on “the pieces-of-language” and not enough comprehensible, meaningful , connected discourse

They haven’t met the words and grammar enough times to feel comfortable using them

They CANNOT speak until they feel comfortable using their knowledgeThey haven’t developed a ‘sense’ of language yet

So what needs to happen?

We have to ensure our curriculums and courses:• build in recycling and repetition of words and grammar structures• give students chances to see how the grammar and vocabulary are

used together in real discourse• give students chances to deepen and consolidate the language they

learn in their course books (or they forget it)• allow students to develop their own ‘sense’ of how the language

works• give students chances to use language rather than just study it

Principles of Vocabulary Learning

• There is not enough class time to teach everything about a word• We don’t need to teach every word in the book• Select the vocabulary carefully - Useful and frequent words first• Single words as well as phrases and collocations• Learners must be set vocabulary learning goals • They need massive input to build vocabulary knowledge to deepen

vocabulary connections• We should teach words the students need • Forgetting will happen - > revise, use it or lose it• We should not expect things we teach to be known tomorrow• The most important vocabulary to teach is yesterday’s vocabulary

Principles II

Principles III

• Language focus work needed• Give opportunities for developing fluency and automaticity• Not everything can be learn intentionally• Initial meetings should be followed by deeper level processing • Opportunities for elaborating word knowledge• Let them experiment (force them to think)• We do not need to teach all words to be available for use• Concept check understanding• Understand the task requirements of vocabulary exercises• Give opportunities to develop the pronunciation