Investigating vocabulary learning strategies of EFL young

ResearchPapersinLanguageTeachingandLearningVol.7,No.1,February2016,88-104ISSN:1792-1244Availableonlineathttp://rpltl.eap.grThisarticleisissuedundertheCreativeCommonsLicenseDeed.Attribution3.0Unported(CCBY3.0)

InvestigatingvocabularylearningstrategiesofEFLyounglearnersintheGreekprimaryschool

Διερεύνησητωνστρατηγικώνεκμάθησηςλεξιλογίουτωννεαρώνμαθητώναγγλικήςωςξένηςγλώσσας

στοελληνικόδημοτικόσχολείο

KerkyraKAVVADIAThis article focuses on vocabulary learning strategies as a means of promoting learnerautonomy. More specifically, an effort has been made to identify the most favouredstrategiesusedbybothEFLteachersandlearnersinGreekprimaryschools.Thestudybeginswithareviewofthecurrentliteratureonlearningstrategies,wheredefinitionsandsystemsfortheclassificationofstrategiesareprovided;additionally,theacquisitionofvocabularyisstressedandjustifiedandmorespecifictrendsonvocabulary learningstrategiesbyvariousresearchers are presented. The next part focuses on the research methodology; theinstruments of data collection are two questionnaires administered to primary schoolteachersandprimaryschoolstudentsrespectively.Thefindingsofthesetwoquestionnairesarethenanalysedandpresented,inordertodefinethemostcommonlyusedstrategiesbutalso todiscern if thosepractisedby teachers coincidewith theonespreferredby learners.Moreover, there is a presentation of various vocabulary learning strategies existent in theprimary school textbooks, namely ‘Magic Book’, ‘Αγγλικά Δ’ Δημοτικού’, ‘Αγγλικά Ε’Δημοτικού’,and‘ΑγγλικάΣΤ’Δημοτικού’.Finally,theimplicationsofthestudyarediscussedand some suggestions are made as to the use and application of vocabulary learningstrategiesintheclassroom.

�Το άρθρο εστιάζει στις στρατηγικές εκμάθησης λεξιλογίου ως μέσο προαγωγής τηςαυτονομίας των μαθητών. Ειδικότερα, έχει γίνει μια προσπάθεια να προσδιοριστούν οιπροτιμώμενες στρατηγικές που χρησιμοποιούνται και από τους καθηγητές και από τουςμαθητέςτωνΑγγλικώνωςξένηγλώσσαστοελληνικόδημοτικόσχολείο.Ημελέτηαρχίζειμετην επανεξέταση της σύγχρονης λογοτεχνίας σε σχέση με τις στρατηγικές μάθησης, όπουπαρέχονταορισμοίκαισυστήματαγιατηνταξινόμησητωνστρατηγικών·επιπλέον,τονίζεταικαιαιτιολογείταιηαπόκτηση/εκμάθησηλεξιλογίουκαιπαρουσιάζονταιπιοσυγκεκριμένεςτάσεις στις στρατηγικές εκμάθησης λεξιλογίου από διάφορους ερευνητές. Το επόμενο

Kavvadia/ResearchPapersinLanguageTeachingandLearning7/1(2016)88-104

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μέροςεστιάζειστηνερευνητικήμεθοδολογία.Ταεργαλείασυλλογήςδεδομένωνείναιδύοερωτηματολόγια που δόθηκαν σε καθηγητές και μαθητές Δημοτικού αντίστοιχα. Στηνπορεία,αναλύονταικαιπαρουσιάζονταιταευρήματατωνδύοερωτηματολογίων,μεσκοπόνα προσδιοριστούν οι πιο συχνά χρησιμοποιούμενες στρατηγικές αλλά και να οριστεί τοκατάπόσοοιστρατηγικέςπουχρησιμοποιούνταιαπότουςκαθηγητέςσυμπίπτουνμεαυτέςπου προτιμούνται από τους μαθητές. Επιπλέον, παρουσιάζονται διάφορες στρατηγικέςεκμάθησηςλεξιλογίουπουυπάρχουνσταβιβλίατουΔημοτικού,δηλαδήστο‘MagicBook’,στα ‘Αγγλικά Δ’ Δημοτικού’, στα ‘Αγγλικά Ε’ Δημοτικού’ και στα ‘Αγγλικά ΣΤ’ Δημοτικού’.Τέλος, συζητώνται οι επιπτώσεις της μελέτης και γίνονται κάποιες προτάσειςως προς τηχρήσηκαιτηνεφαρμογήτωνστρατηγικώνεκμάθησηςλεξιλογίουμέσαστηντάξη.Keywords:learningstrategies,vocabularylearningstrategies1.IntroductionVocabulary is one of themost important elements if we are to talk of successful secondlanguage acquisition and is considered central to skilled reading comprehension and thegeneral development of language proficiency. According to Rubin and Thomson (1994),learning the lexis of a language is the very heart of mastering it since learners need toacquireagoodamountofvocabularyoftheL2inordertobeabletounderstandwhattheyseeorhearandalsoexpressthemselvesappropriatelyandfluently.Inordertofacilitate learners intheirefforttoacquirethenecessaryamountofvocabularywe can introduce them to certain vocabulary learning strategies depending on theirpreferablewayof learning,theirstyles,theiraptitudeeventheir interestsandneeds.Onageneralnote,strategiesare,ascanbeseenbelow,learner-drivenbehavioursthatfacilitatethelearningprocess.Becausestudentsactuallylearnmostofthevocabularyindependently,we shouldencourage them to create their ownpersonal plans tobecomeable to expandtheirvocabularyovertime,asalsoproposedbyGraves(1987).Actually,alotofemphasisisnowplaced on the importance of the development of autonomous learning strategies onthepartofforeignlanguagestudents(Wan,2006;Chamot,2005);inthesamevein,alargenumberofbooksaimedat teachers includepracticaladviceon the teachingofvocabularyand encourage the application of student language learning strategies (McCarthy, 1990;Nation,1990;Oxford,1990).The present article will attempt to specify which vocabulary learning strategies arepromotedbyprimaryschoolteachers,whichareexistentintheteachingmaterialsaswellasthe strategies that are actually used by the learners. For this purpose, an action researchwasconductedbythewriter,includingtheuseoftwoquestionnaires-oneforteachersandoneforstudents-andatextbookevaluationchecklist.

2.Theoreticalbackground2.1.LearningstrategiesThe term strategy, as defined in the Oxford dictionary, is “a plan of action designed toachieve a long-term or overall aim”. The following definitions provided by variousresearchersall implytheuseof learningstrategies inordertoachievespecificgoals inthe


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course of learning. Wenden and Rubin (1987, p. 19) describe strategies as “any sets ofoperations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage,retrieval and use of information”. In Richards, Platt and Platt (1992, p. 209) we find thefollowing definition: “learning strategies are intentional behaviors and thoughts thatlearners make use of during learning in order to help them better understand, learn orremembernewinformation”.Similarly,anotherdefinitionprovidedbyO’MalleyandChamot(1990,p.1)seeslearningstrategiesas“specialthoughtsorbehaviorsthatindividualsusetohelp them comprehend, learn or retain new information”. These three definitions focusmainlyonthegoalsoflearningstrategies.Oxford(1990,p.8),morecomprehensively,claimsthat language learning strategies are: “operations employed by the learner to aid theacquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information…; specific actions taken by thelearnerstomakelearningeasier,faster,moreenjoyable,moreself-directed,moreeffective,andmoretransferabletonewsituations”. InherdefinitionOxforddoesnotonlyprovidealist of goals, expanding that of O’Malley and Chamot, but she goes one step further toexplainwhatchangeshappentolearningwhenitisenhancedbylearningstrategies-‘easier,faster,….,moretransferabletonewsituations’.2.2VocabularylearningstrategiesandyounglearnersVocabulary learning is considered one of the most important areas of teaching and it iscertainly one of the constitutional elements of EFL, since “words are the basic buildingblocks of language, the units ofmeaning fromwhich larger structures such as sentences,paragraphsandwholetextsareformed”(Read,2000,p.1).Whenwethinkofvocabulary,wedonotonlytalkaboutmerelyknowingthemeaningofaword,itsdefinition;ratherwhatisessential is knowing how to use a word correctly, having the ability to use the word inspoken and written occasions and also recognizing it and understanding it whenencounteredinvariouscontexts(Miller&Gildea,1987).When it comes to teaching vocabulary, and especially teaching vocabulary to younglearners, the situationcanprove tobemorecomplex than itmightoriginally seem.Thereare many factors that need to be taken into consideration and many theories andtechniquesthatneedtobeintegratedinourteaching.Firstly,asLinse(2005)pointsout,itisimportant to help expand the learners’ vocabulary knowledge by using both formal andinformal instruction (by formal instruction Linse refers to the planned instruction throughwhichtheteacherteachesthemeaningofthewordsandwaysforthestudentstodiscoverthemeaningthemselves;byinformalinstructionsherefersto‘bythewayinstruction’wherethereisnoruleteachingorsystematicapproach).Furthermore,andmostimportantly, it isessential that young learners be taught vocabulary learning strategies, so that they candiscoverthemeaningofnewwords(Linse,2005).Thesestrategiescanproveverynecessaryin situations both inside the learning context, the classroom, but also outside in the realworld,andcanhelpthemacquirevocabularytheyseeorhear.Forthisreason,vocabularydevelopmentshouldalsoincludeDirectinstruction–theactualteachingofwordsandtheirmeanings-and Indirect instruction– the teachingof strategies throughwhich the learnerswill be able to deduce the meaning themselves. Another helpful strategy for our youngstudents,asthesameauthorsuggests,isrepetition.Fornewlexicalitemstobesuccessfullyassimilatedbythestudents,theyneedtoreappearseveraltimesaftertheirfirstoccurrence,indifferentactivities,withdifferentskillsandformultipletimesforrecyclingtotakeplace.Deep processing is another component that can help students integrate new vocabularyitems. Through this strategy, learners can create stronger connections between the newwordsandtheknowledgetheyalreadypossess;bymakingthestudentspersonallyinvolved


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inandconnectedwiththenewlexicalitems,deepprocessingisenhanced.Sometoolsthatcanproveveryusefularedictionariesandvocabularynotebooks.Whentalkingaboutyounglearners,Cameron(2001)arguesthattheyhavedifferentlexicalneeds than older learners. More specifically, they need to learn concrete vocabulary,recyclingofnew lexical items innewcontexts isessentialandbasic levelwordsshouldbelearntbeforeanattempt ismadeto teachthemsubordinateorsuperordinatevocabulary;additionally,theylearnwordsascollections.Whendescribingstrategiesthatcanbeusedtoteach themeaningofnewwords shemakesuseof the strategies listedbyNation (1990),such as the use of demonstration and pictures and also through verbal explanation (itsanalyticaldefinition,theprovisionofadefiningcontextforthewordoritsdirecttranslationtoL1).Shealsostressestheimportanceofstrategies(2001)referringprimarilytoSchmitt’s(1997)andAhmed’s(1988)studies,pointingoutthatalthoughbothstudieswereconductedwitholderlearners,theuseofstrategieshasitsrootsinwhathappensearlier,atanearlierage. Some of the strategies appropriate for young learners, as she proposes (2001), areguessing meaning from the information in pictures or texts, noticing grammaticalinformationaboutwords,noticinglinkstosimilarwordsinthefirstlanguage,rememberingwhereawordhasbeenencounteredbefore.Teacherscanalsomodeltheuseofstrategies,teach the sub-skills needed to make use of strategies, use classroom tasks withopportunitiesforstrategyuse,rehearse independentstrategyuseandhelpyoung learnersreflectonthelearningprocessthroughevaluatingtheirachievements.Lastly, as proposed by Schmitt (1997), we should introduce our learners to a variety ofstrategiessothattheybecomeavailableforthelearnerstouseaccordingtotheirpersonallearning styles, maybe at a later age. Besides, it is claimed that the strategies that olderlearners use can be traced back to habits formed at an earlier age, as has already beenmentioned,sothesoonertheyareaccustomedtostrategiesthebetterforourlearners.

3.AimsandresearchquestionsThe aim of the present study is to determine which vocabulary learning strategies areappliedinlanguageteachingandlearningintheGreekprimaryschool.Forthepurposesofthisresearchthefollowingquestionswereattemptedtobeanswered:

1. Which vocabulary learning strategies are practised by EFL teachers in primaryschools?

2. WhichvocabularylearningstrategiesarefavouredbyEFLstudents?3. Whichvocabularylearningstrategiesareemployedinthetextbooksprovidedbythe

GreekMinistryofEducation?

4.Methodanddesign4.1.ParticipantsTeachers’ profile. The questionnaire addressed to EFL teachers was answered by 54participants,50ofwhomarefemaleandonly3male-1participantskippedthequestion.Themajority is aged 31-40 and are permanent teachers; about 60% of them serve in urbanareas,whichmeansthatthereisasatisfactorysamplefrombothurbanandruralareas.Tothe best part, they have an average working experience of 6 to 10 years and there is avarietyinthegradestheycurrentlyteach,coveringallclassesofprimaryschool,sinceeveryparticipant teachesmultiple grades during each school year. A percentage of 20.75% are


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already holders of amaster’s degreewhereas 64.15% are currently studying towards theacquisitionoftheirmaster’sdegree-thisofcoursehappeningsincemostoftheparticipantswere contacted through the Yahoo Groups created by the tutors of the Hellenic OpenUniversitytofacilitatecommunicationwiththeHOUstudents.Students’profile.Thequestionnairewasadministeredto81studentsofaprimaryschool inGerakas,Athens.23ofthestudentswereinthethirdgrade,20inthefourth,20inthefifthand18inthesixthgrade.Outofthetotalofstudents,36pupilswereboysand45weregirls.Themajorityof studentswereofGreekorigin,with theexceptionof2bilingualsofGreekandAlbanianand1Romainthe3rdgrade,1Romainthe4thgradeand2bilingualsofGreekand Albanian in the 5th grade. Lastly, in each class there were students with learningdisabilities;morespecifically,1wasinthe3rd,2inthe4th,1inthe5thand1inthe6thgrade,presentingdifficultiesmostlyinwriting.

4.2.MaterialsForthecollectionofdataforthespecificstudytheuseofthequestionnairewasconsideredasmostappropriate.4.2.1.Questionnaires:fromtheorytopracticeTeachers’ questionnaire (Appendix I). The questionnaire, which was administered to EFLteachers of primary schools, was originally based on Schmitt’s taxonomy. It includesquestionsthatreferbothtothestrategiesusedforthepresentationofnewlexicalitemsandthediscoveryofthemeaningofnewwordsandalsotothestrategiesusedforconsolidationof already encountered words. Different types of strategies are presented through thequestions: ‘determination strategies’, throughwhich the learners discover themeaningofnew words for themselves; ‘social strategies’, where the help of someone who alreadypossesses the knowledge is offered; ‘memory strategies’, known also asmnemonics, thatinvolve the relationof thewordwith somepreviously learnt knowledge,using imageryorgrouping; ‘cognitivestrategies’,that involverepetitionandmechanicalmeanstostudyandretain vocabulary inmemory (in away they are similar tomemory strategies but do notfocusasmuchonmanipulativementalprocessing);‘metacognitivestrategies’,whichcanbeusedby the learners themselves tomonitorandevaluate theirprogress.Of coursenotallstrategiessuggestedbySchmittwereincludedinthespecificquestionnairenotonlybecauseofthesizeitwouldamounttobutalsobecausemanyofthemrefertoolderlearners,sinceSchmittconductedhisresearchmainlywitholderstudents.Schmitt’staxonomywasnottheonly source used in the design of the specific questionnaire. Willis’ work was equallyinfluential;asshesuggests(2008,p.82):“…learningvocabularybuildingstrategiesmodifiesbrain functions insystematic,predictablewaysasenrichedvocabularybecomesevident inreadingcomprehension,verbal language,andwriting”. Inherstudy,andthroughevidencesupported also by scientific data and medical examinations, she proposes a series ofstrategies that in turn affect the three components of vocabulary, namely resonance,reinforcementandrehearsal.Fortheaforementionedreasons,acarefulselectionwasonceagain made as to the proposed strategies by Willis herself, in order to select the mostappropriatefortheagegroupunderdiscussion.Additionally,Oxford’s(1990)taxonomycontributedgreatly,notonlytotheactualdesignofthequestionnairebutalsotothegeneraladdressingofthevocabularylearningstrategies.Itis worth mentioning once more that Schmitt’s taxonomy was mainly based on the workdone by Oxford. Her ‘affective strategies’, whichwere not explicitly included in Schmitt’s


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taxonomy,areconsideredveryimportantandhelpfultoyounglearners,sincetheyhavetodowith theiremotions,motivationandattitude towardsandwhile learning the language;theyarealsoincludedinherESL/EFLversionoftheStrategyInventoryforLanguageLearning(SILL),which, according toher study (1995), has proven a highly reliable and valid tool toassess frequencyof language learning strategyuse.Generally speaking, inorder todesignthe questionnaire not a single taxonomy could be used, since every researcher that dealtwithlearningstrategieshadsomethingsignificanttocontributetoworkpreviouslydone.Forthis reason, although the basis was Schmitt’s taxonomy, as he focuses primarily onvocabularylearningstrategies,itwascomplementedwithvariousotherstrategiesproposedbyresearchersalsomentionedinthepreviouschapter.Students’questionnaire(AppendixII).ThequestionnairewhichwasadministeredtotheEFLlearnerswasdesignedkeepingthesameprinciplesinmindasforthedesignoftheteachers’questionnaire.Oneof itsmain characteristics is that it is by far shorter, since it is addressed to childrenaged8 to12yearsof age.Only themainvocabulary learning strategieswereusedwithaview to keeping it as simple as possible, also due to their short concentration span.Furthermore, the Greek language was used, so that it could be understood by all thelearners,nomatterwhattheircognitivelevelis.Itisalsoprecededbyacoverletter,throughwhich they are informed about the anonymity of the questionnaire and what is alsoemphasized is that their contribution is of great importance to the study. In general, thetheoriestakenintoconsiderationinordertodesignthequestionnairethatwasadministeredtotheEFLteachersweretheonesalsousedtodesigntheEFLlearners’questionnaire.Questionnaire description. The first questionnaire (Appendix I) is in English since theparticipants are teachers of the English language. It was administered in electronic form,whichwasopted foragainst theprinted form, since in thisway theparticipantswouldbemore easily accessible but also the questionnaire would take less time to complete. Itconsistsoftwomainpartslabeledundertheappropriateheadingsandalsoseparatedintwodistinctpages.Thefirstpartconsistsofpersonalordemographicquestions includingthegender,theage,theemploymentstatus,theworkingexperience,thelocationoftheschool,thegradestheyteach and the studies of the participants. The demographic questions are used in anyquestionnaire to see how closely the sample replicates the known population: the moreclosely the demographic distribution of survey respondents matches the population, themoreconfidencewecanhaveinthedata.Since,though,inthisspecificsurvey,thegreatestsamplecomesfromurbanareas(Athens,tobemorespecific),itisnotsomuchthelocationof the school that is of importance as the grades each participant teaches, so as todeterminetheagegroupswheretheparticularstrategiesarepractised.The second part/page of the questionnaire consists of 80 questions, which refer to thedifferentvocabularylearningstrategiesthatteachersuseandpractiseduringtheir lessons.Thelastquestion(number80)isanopen-endedone,invitingteacherstosuggestanyotherstrategiestheymightbeusing.Thesecondquestionnaire(AppendixII),asalsomentionedbefore,isaddressedtostudentsand for that reason it is inGreek. It is administered in its printed form, since itwouldbedifficult to reach pupils of this age through the Internet; for this reason it was given forcompletionatthebeginningofthelesson.Anadditionalreasonforthisisthatthestudents


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wouldhavetheopportunitytoaskanyquestionsthatmightarise,sincetheirteacherwouldbe present during the whole procedure. It is also colourful, so that its form is moreappealing.Initially, the students areonly asked to complete their genderand class, sincewealreadyknowthattheyliveinanurbanarea(Gerakas,Athens).Theactualquestionnaireisintendedtoinvestigatethreeareas:a)strategiesusedforthediscoveryofmeaning,b)strategiesusedfortheconsolidationofawordandc)attitudes/preferences,andconsistsofthreeparts.Inthefirstpart, learnersareaskedtorespondastowhattheydowhentheyencounternewwords. It includesdeterminationand social strategies. The secondpart includes strategiesthatconcerntheirpreferenceswhentheymemorisenewvocabulary;forthisreason,mostofthemarememorystrategiesbutalsosomecognitiveonesareincluded.Lastly,thethirdpart refers to their general preferences as to the learning of the English language; itcomprisesmetacognitive,andaffective strategies. It shouldbenotedhere thatnotall thestrategiesfromtheteachers’questionnairewereincludedinthatputtogetherforstudents.Themain reason is that someof thestrategiesareusedby the teachers inorder toassiststudentsinlearningandcannoteasilybeusedbylearnersthemselves;also,becauseoftheirage,thechildrenarenotreadyforallthetypesofstrategiessincesomeofthemtakelongertodevelopandbeusedspontaneously.Additionally,itwasnotdeemednecessarytocollectsuchdetailedinformationfromstudents,soaselectionwasmade.Evaluation checklist. The last instrument used for the triangulation of data is a checklist(Appendix III),whichservedfor theevaluationof thetextbooksused intheGreekprimaryschool. An attemptwasmade to define the vocabulary learning strategies existing in thetextbooks,either implicitly, throughtheactivitiesandpractice theyprovideto learners,orexplicitly, sinceoneof thekey featuresof thesetextbooks,especially those for the4th,5thand6thgrade,isthesuggestionoflearningstrategiesforthelearnerstouse.Inordertoanalysethedatacollectedthroughthequestionnaires,descriptivestatisticswasused, toprovidesummariesabout thesampleandabout theobservations thathavebeenmade.Theanalysisofthedataispresentedinthefollowingchapter.

5.Researchfindings5.1.QuestionnairesresultsAn interesting aspect of the data that have emerged through both questionnairesadministered arises when we compare the vocabulary learning strategies preferred bylearnerstothoseemployedbytheteachers.More analytically, understanding or guessing meaning from context is a very popularstrategybetweenbothgroups; teachersusethisstrategyandstudentsembrace itaswell.Similarly, students engage in guessingmeaning from pictures, and teachers promote thisteaching technique. Translation in L1 is still often used by teachers, and likewise learnersseemtofavourthisstrategy.In consolidating meaning, vocabulary notebooks are highly celebrated by both groups,probablybecausetheschooltextbooksarenotequippedwithextensiveglossaries.Anothernotedstrategyforthesamepurposeisthatofmatchingwordswithpictures;theexactsameresults came up with matching words with objects. Using words in sentences to keepmeaning inmind is often employed in the classroomand can alsobeused as homework.


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Bothpartiesshowedastrongpreferenceforsongsandstoriesandofcoursegamesareanalltimefavouriteforstudentsandarealsoselectedbyteachers,sinceteachinginthiswaycanbemoreamusingforbothandstudentsaremoreinvolvedinthelesson.Wordfamilieswere almost equally treated by both groups of participants, with the teachers showing agreaterpreferenceforthem.Asforparticipationinprojects,thelearnersseemmoreeagerfor thembut also the teachers quite often engage them in such activities,which are alsopresentinthetextbooks.Writingdownandsoundingoutwordsinordertopracticethemisquitea traditionalstrategythatcanassistmemorizationand it isamongthemostpopularones.Movingontothemetacognitivestrategies,teachersalwaysprompttheirstudentstolisten to English songs,watch films and cartoons in English, readdifferent texts in Englishandspeakwithpeoplewhoknowthelanguagewell;themajorityofstudentswasalsoveryfavourable towards these strategies, with a slight exception to reading, which was notchosenbyasmany,probablybecausereadingisoftenconsideredasthemosttedious.Errorcorrectionwasalsoregardedbythe learners inamoretraditionalway,sincetheyshowedclear preference to immediate correction, probably because they are used to thisway ofcorrection in their L1. Teachers discuss learners’ mistakes with them, though not on aregular basis, butmore often than not resort to remedialwork, in order to help learnersrecognize and overcome their weaknesses. Rewards for students’ efforts are alwayspracticedandtheyarealsoexpectedbythelearners.The use of bilingual dictionaries is not as much favoured by either group; asking theclassmates formeaning is alsonot selectedasa vocabulary learning strategy.A surprisingissue is that although teachers oftengive students sentences including the new words,studentsdonotopt for the specificpractice todiscern themeaningof aword; synonymsandparaphrasesaresimilarlytreated.Also,drawingpicturesofwordsisnotpopularamongstudents, probably because they feel they have outgrown this strategy, while teacherspractiseit.Thesamegoesforrhymingandpoems;teachersemphasiserhymingbutstudentsdonotprefertolearnpoemstomemorisewords,probablybecauserhymingisatechniquethat appeals mostly to younger children (aged 5-8). Furthermore, although students likecrosswordpuzzlesalot,theyareonlysometimesengagedinsuchanactivity;thiscouldbeexplainedbythelackofsuchactivitiesinthetextbooksorbythefactthatsuchactivitiesarequitetime-consumingtobedoneinclassroomortobeevengivenashomework.Aquestionwithcontroversialresultswasthatconcerningmakingstorieswithwordslearnt;33.75%ofthe students answered that theynever prefer this activitywhereas23.75%answered thatthey always do; teachers on the other hand were somewhere in between, with 44.44%answering that they sometimes use the specific strategy. Making stories can prove verychallengingforchildrenanddependingontherolestoriesandfairytalesplay intheir lives-whethertheyareaccustomedtoreadingorhearingthem-couldgiveanexplanationfortheabove results. A similarly treated strategy is that of the students creating exercisesthemselvestogivetheirclassmates;themajorityofanswersfrombothgroupswasthattheynever practise vocabulary in such a way. Quite surprisingly, although students areencouragedtosharetheirfeelingswhilelearningaforeignlanguage,lessthanhalfactuallydo(Graph7),probablybecausetheyarenotusedtoorarereluctantofbeingtheepicentreof the teachers’attentionorbecausechildrenof thisagecanbequiteegocentricand it isdifficultforthemtosharetheirfeelingswithothers.

5.2.EvaluationoftextbooksGenerally speaking, most of the vocabulary learning strategies in the proposed checklistexistintheprimaryschooltextbooks.Whatisquiteinterestingwiththe4th,5thand6thgradetextbooksisthatthebookitselfsuggestslearningstrategiessothatthelearnerscanbecome


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aware of ways in which they can learn and train themselves towards autonomy.Furthermore, in the introduction of these textbooks, addressed to the students, they areinformedthatthepurposeofthesebooksistoguidethemthroughthepathofknowledgeaccordingtotheirpersonalneedsand interestsandthattheuseof learningstrategiescanmaketheirjourneyeasierandmoreeffective.However, it is evident that not all the strategies from the checklist exist in the booksalthoughtheyareusedbyboththeteachersandthestudents,asshownbytheanalysisofthedatacollectedthroughthequestionnaires.Forexample,thepresentationofwordswithobjects/realiaorwithmovements/gesturesisnotmentionedintheteacher’snotesbutitisuptotheteachertousethesestrategiestofacilitatethe learners.Also,songsandrhymesaremostly used in the3rd and4th grade,which is understandablebecause they appeal toyounger childrenmostly. Translation in L1 is not asmuch encouraged in any other gradeapartfromthe4th;the4thgradetextbookisalsotheonlyonethatprovidesstudentswithaglossaryinwhichtheyneedtocompletetheGreektranslationofthewords.Itismentionedinthe6thgradetextbookthatpupilsmayusethetranslationofaword,butitisnotasmuchemphasised as for the 4th grade. Furthermore, although the provision ofsynonyms/antonyms or sentences including new lexis is not direct in all textbooks, it cananyway be used by the teacher to make memorization easier. The use of dictionaries isrecommended but not for all grades, probably because it is more difficult for youngerlearnersorbecauseitisnotfeasibleforsomanydictionariestoexistineveryclassroomofthestateschool.Lastly,writingdownandsoundingoutofnewwordsareagainmostlylefttotheteacherandtheyarestrategiesusedmoreoftenthannot,asshowninthepreviouschapter.6.Interpretationofresults,limitationsandimplications6.1.InterpretationoftheResultsIn general, the vocabulary learning strategies selected and included in the teachers’questionnaireweremetwiththeapprovaloftheteachers,sincemostofthestrategiesareused by the majority to a bigger or lesser extent during their lessons. Moreover, thestudents stated their preference towards certain strategies through the questionnaireaddressed to them, which leads us to the conclusion that they also find the specificstrategies helpful and appropriate since they use them. Of course if a closer look at thestudents’questionnaireresultsistaken,itwillberealizedthattheresultsastothepreferredvocabularylearningstrategieschangeaccordingtothegrade;youngerstudentsprefersongsandgameswhereasolderpupilsoptforprojectsandcrosswordpuzzles,forexample.Lastly,manyofthestrategiesunderdiscussionareproposed implicitlyorexplicitly intheprimaryschooltextbooks,whichmeansthatalsotheauthorsofthespecifictextbooksconsiderthemappropriate,sinceindesigningthematerialtheageofthelearnerswasprimarilytakenintoconsideration.Furthermore, the findings of the specific study are validated by the findings of a studyconducted by Chamot and El-Dinary (1999); although their study concerned foreignlanguageimmersionprogrammes-whichisnotthecasehere-itsresultsshowedthatchildrenuse a variety of strategies to deal with language learning. The quantitative data of thecurrent study proved that learners apply all different kinds of strategies to their learning,namelymemory,cognitive,metacognitive,affectiveandsocial.


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Theanswerstotheresearchquestionsthatfollowwillprovidethereaderwithaclearerviewastotheaforementionedpoints.Q.1:WhichvocabularylearningstrategiesarepracticedbyEFLteachersinprimaryschools?Theanswertothisquestionisdirectlyprovidedthroughtheanswersoftheteacherstothequestionnaire administered to them and can be traced back in the previous part.Furthermore, the evaluation of the textbooks provides an insight as to which vocabularylearning strategies are proposed by thewriters and subsequently should be promoted bythe teachers themselves, simultaneously giving them the freedom to use any otherstrategiestheyconsiderappropriateaccordingtothestudents’needsandpersonalstylesoflearning.Morespecifically,theteachersseemtobeusingmostofthevocabularylearningstrategiesproposed in thequestionnaire for thediscoveryofmeaning. Theuseofpictures, gesturesand sounds, of dictionaries and flashcards, theprovisionof the translation, paraphraseorsentenceincludingthenewwordandthepracticeofpromptingstudentstoguessmeaningthroughcontextareverycommonstrategies in theGreekclassroom,asalsosuggestedbySchmitt (1997). For the consolidation of vocabulary, again there is a variety of strategiesused, such as connecting the words with personal experiences, creating an image of theword’s meaning, engaging in group-work activities and using a vocabulary notebook,proposedbySchmitt;also,drawing,matchingwordswithpictures/objects,recyclingwordsin new contexts and using stories and other English-language media. Furthermore, theteachers employ the affective strategies recommended by Oxford (1990) to promotelearninginarelaxedatmosphere.It is crucial that vocabulary teaching strategies be incorporated systematically in everylessonsothatthestudentsareequippedinordertocopewiththedemandsofvocabularylearning.AccordingtoSternberg(1987),themainfunctionofvocabularyteachingistoteachlearnershowtoteachthemselvesandthisiswherethestrategiesserve.Thefactthattheyare used by Greek teachers contributes to the facilitation of the learners as to theacquisitionofthenecessaryamountofvocabulary.Q.2:WhichvocabularylearningstrategiesarefavouredbyEFLstudents?The data collected through the administration of the questionnaire to the learners revealthattheirpreferencetocertainstrategiesvariesaccordingtothegradetheyattend.Lookingat the results, it becomes evident that the students show a greater preference towardsstrategiesthathavethefeeloffree-timeactivities,suchasplayinggames,doingcrosswordpuzzles, engaging in group-work activities, reading stories, listening to songs, guessingmeaningfromcontext/pictures,eitherforthediscoveryofmeaningorfortheconsolidationofvocabulary.On the whole though, many of the vocabulary learning strategies they use are the onesexistent in their textbooks and practised by their teachers; this means that training thestudents intheuseofstrategies,evenfromaveryyoungage,doeshaveresults.Researchhas shown that learning strategies can be taught to students through training and in thiswaytheyarehelpedtoimprovetheirperformanceonlanguagelearningtasks(O’Malleyetal.,1985).


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Q. 3:Which vocabulary learning strategies are employed in the textbooks providedby theGreekMinistryofEducation?Theevaluationof thetextbooks inChapter4provedthatmanyof thevocabulary learningstrategiesdoappearinthetextbooksofthestateprimaryschools.Theyareeitherprovidedassuggestionsforthelearnerstouseorareputintopracticethroughthevariousactivities.Atthesametime,theteacherhasthepotentialtouseotherstrategiesthatcanfacilitatethelearners,sincenoteveryone learns inthesamewayandatthesamepace; forthisreasonthebooksareequippedwithdifferentiatedactivities thatmightbemoresuitable for theirindividuallearningstyle.6.2.LimitationsofthestudyIt should be noted at the specific point that the study under discussion has certainlimitations, firstly those concerning the number and profile of the respondents of thequestionnaires. Further research involving more participants on both sides(teachers/students) and from different parts of Greece would be necessary in order toproducemoregeneralresults.Differencesinresultswouldalsoemergeduetootherfactors,suchasstudies,training,ownlearningexperiencesandteachingexperiences-onthepartofthe teachers. For that purpose, a larger-scale research and teacher/student interviews orclassroomobservations (qualitative toolsofdatacollection) couldbeused.Inaddition, theevaluation checklist was based on the relevant literature but the final selection of thestrategies to be includedwasmade by the evaluator; judged by stakeholders itmight befoundtohaveomissionsorsolecism.6.3.ImplicationsoftheStudyIt is evident,mainly through the literature review, that vocabulary learning strategies canprove a powerful tool in the hands of the teachers, the students and the authors oftextbooksandcanhelpinthedesignofboththesyllabusandthelessonitself.Inthatlight,theteacherscantraintheirstudentsintheuseofnotonlyvocabularylearningstrategies but also learning strategies in general, more intensively and systematically inorder to help them achieve autonomy. Learners should be made aware of the differentstrategiestheycanuseinordertofindtheonesthatsuittheirpersonalstyleandindividualneeds.To thatendaneedsanalysisquestionnairecouldbeadministeredat thebeginningandthroughouttheschoolyeartoidentifywhichstrategiesshouldbeemphasizedmoreandgenerallytodeterminetheresultsofsuchapractice.Atthesametime,throughsystematicandcontinuousteachertrainingandprofessionaldevelopment,theteacherswillbeabletomakeinformeddecisionsastowhichstrategiesaremosteffectivefortheirlearners.Lastly,moreordifferentstrategiescouldbeincludedinthetextbookssothattheyareenrichedbythewriterssincestrategiclearningisconsideredmoreeffective.Fortheinstructionofstrategies,thefive-stepprocedureproposedbyO’MalleyandChamot(1990)couldbeimplemented.Briefly,thefivestepsarethefollowing:

1. Preparation: development of the students’ awareness as to the existence ofdifferentstrategiesthroughretrospection,think-aloudsanddiscussions.

2. Presentation: development of the students’ knowledge as to the strategies byprovidingthemwiththerationale,describing/namingthestrategyandmodelingitsuse.


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3. Practice: development of the students’ skills in the use of strategies throughcooperativelearningtasks,think-alouds,peertutoringandgroupdiscussions.

4. Evaluation: development of student ability to evaluate their own strategy usethrough writing down of the strategies used, discussions and keeping dialoguejournals(withtheteacher).

5. Expansion: development of the ability to transfer strategies to new tasks bydiscussions onmetacognitive andmotivational aspects of strategy use, additionalpracticeandassignments.

Apart fromtheaforementionedsuggestionsandsince theobjectof this research is younglearners,a finalproposalshouldbemade:gamesandgame-likeactivitiesneedtobeusedmoreintheclassroom.Althoughtheuseofgameshasgainedgroundinteachingduringthelast fewyearsandmost textbooks includesome, theyareoftenavoidedbyteacherssincethey are very time-consuming, difficult to organize and are blamed for chaos in theclassroom.However, judging from the students’ responses, game-like activities are at thetop of their preferences. Of course, they need to be carefully selected, according to thelearners’ age and cognitive demands, and they need to be challenging and intriguing.AccordingtoShen(2003),theactivitiesthatmakeuseofwordlists,dictionaries,flashcards,games,mnemonicsandanalysisofwordsareusefulsincethestudents’attentionisdrawntothevocabularythatneedstobeconsolidated.Additionally,gamesneednotonlybelimitedtoword-level;theycanbeexpandedtoalsoteachchunksoflanguage.7.ConclusionThe main intention of the present study was to investigate to what extent variousvocabulary learning strategies, if any,areapplied in theGreekprimary school. Inorder toexaminethespecifictopic,therelevantliteratureonvocabularylearningstrategieswasfirstand foremost reviewed; additionally the research questionswere posed. The instrumentsused to answer these questions were two subsequent questionnaires, one addressed toteachersandanotheraddressedtostudents,designedaccordingtothevocabularylearningstrategies proposed by various theorists. The data collected through both questionnaireswas quite encouraging as to the use of strategies not only by teachers but also by thelearnersthemselves.Theevaluationofthetextbookswasusednotonlyforthetriangulationofdatabutalsoinordertoproveordisprovewhethertherehasbeenprovisionofadequatevocabulary learningstrategies.Theresultswerequiteencouragingsinceboth learnersandteachers seem to be using several of the selected strategies in order to manipulatevocabulary;thetextbooksthemselvesalsocontainmanyofthestrategies,whichmakestheworkoftheteacherseasierandthatofthestudentsmorefocused.Conclusively,itisadvisablethatteachersdedicateasmuchastimeandcircumstancesallowthem to the teachingof learning strategies and to the trainingof the learners inorder tohelp them achieve autonomy. At the same time, knowing theway their students learn isessential in order to be able to adapt the lesson accordingly and put emphasis on theindividualdifferencesandpreferences.ReferencesAhmed, M. O. (1998). Vocabulary Learning Strategies. In Meara, P. (ed.). BeyondWords.

London:CILT.


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Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners, Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress.

Chamot,A.U.&El-Dinary,P.B.(1999).Children’s learningstrategies in languageimmersionclassrooms.ModernLanguageJournal83,319-338.

Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learner. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversityPress.

Chamot,A.U.(2005).LanguageLearningStrategy Instruction:Current issuesandresearch.AnnualReviewofAppliedLinguistics,25,112-130.

Chamot,A.U.&El-Dinary,P.B.(1999).Children’s learningstrategies in languageimmersionclassrooms.ModernLanguageJournal83,319-338.

Graves,M.F.(1987).Therolesofinstructioninfosteringvocabularydevelopment.InM.G.McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (p. 165-184).Hillsdale,NJ:Erlbaum.

Linse, C. T. (2005). Practical English language teaching: Young learners. United States:McGraw-HillPublishing.

McCarthy,M.(1990).Vocabulary.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.Nation,I.S.P.(1990).Teachingandlearningvocabulary.Boston:Heinle&Heinle.Miller,G.,&Gildea,P.(1987).«Howchildrenlearnwords».ScientificAmerican,27,94–99.Nunan,D.(1992).ResearchMethodsinlanguagelearning.CambridgeUniversityPress.O’Malley,J.M.&Chamot,A.U.(1990).Learningstrategiesinsecondlanguageacquisition.

Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.O’Malley, J. M., Chamot, A.U., Stewner-Manzanares, G., Küpper, L. & Russo, R.P. (1985).

LearningstrategiesusedbybeginningandintermediateESLstudents.LanguageLearning,35,21-46.

Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies:What every teacher should know.NewYork:NewburyHouse.

Read,J.(2000).Assessingvocabulary.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.Richards, J.C., Platt J. & Platt H. (1992). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and

AppliedLinguistics.Essex:Longman.RossiniFavretti,R.,Silver,M.,Gasser,R.,&Tamburini,F.(Eds.).(1994).Theself-accessfacility

inalanguagecentre.Bologna:CentroInterfacoltadiLinguisticaTeoricaeApplicata.Rubin, J. & Thompson, I. (1994).How to be a more successful language learner. Boston:

HeinleandHeinlePublishers.Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary learning strategies. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.)

Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress,199-227.

Sternberg,R.J.(1987).Mostvocabularyislearnedfromcontext.InM.G.McKeown&M.E.Curtis (Eds.),The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 89-105).Hillsdale,NJ: LawrenceErlbaumAssociates.

Wallace,M.(2004).ActionResearchforLanguageTeachers.CambridgeUniversityPress.Wan,Li.(2006).Autonomouslearninginforeignlanguageteaching.EducationandVocation

(33):94.Wenden,A.&RubinJ.,(1987).Learnerstrategiesinlanguagelearning.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:

Prentice.Willis,J.(2008).TeachingtheBraintoRead:strategiesforimprovingfluency,vocabularyand

comprehension.Virginia:ASCD.


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APPENDIXIPresentationofthequestionsincludedintheteachers’questionnaireandthestrategiestheyreferto.DET=determinationstrategies,MEM=memorystrategies,SOC=socialstrategies,COG=cognitivestrategies,MET=metacognitivestrategies,AFF=affectivestrategies1. Ipresentwordswithpictures/flashcardsDET2. IpresentwordswithsoundsDET3. Ipresentwordswithobjects/realiaDET4. Ipresentwordswithgestures,pantomimeorphysicalmovementsDET5. Icategorisewordsinwordfamilies(e.g.animals)DET6. Icategorisewordsinpartsofspeech(e.g.nouns,verbs)DET7. Ianalysetheaffixesandrootsofwords(e.g.walk-walked,happy-unhappy)DET8. Iemphasiserhyminginwords(e.g.night-light)MEM9. Iemphasisehomophones(e.g.their-there)MEM10. ItranslatewordsinGreekMEM11. IusesynonymsandparaphrasestoexplainthemeaningofwordsMEM12. IgivestudentsasentenceincludingthemeaningofwordsMEM13. IgivestudentscrosswordpuzzlestohelpthemrevisevocabularyMEM14. IengagestudentsingroupworkactivitiestopractisethemeaningofwordsSOC/MEM15. IrecyclewordsinnewcontextsMEM16. Iusesemanticmaps(mindmaps/spiderdiagrams)tohelpstudentsstudyvocabulary

MEM17. IgroupwordstogetherwithinastorylinetohelpstudentsstudythemMEM18. Igivestudentsgap-fillingactivitiestopractisethemeaningofwordsMEM19. Iaskstudentstocombinewordstomakecompounds(e.g.jelly+fish)MEM20. IaskstudentstolookforloanwordsinL1orL2(e.g.supermarket)DET21. IaskstudentstoguessthemeaningofwordsfromcontextDET22. IaskstudentswhatwordsremindthemoftohelpretainthemintheirmemoryMEM23. IaskstudentstomakeanimageofthewordsintheirmindsMEM24. IaskstudentstofindthemeaningofwordsinabilingualdictionaryDET25. IaskstudentstomakewordlistsCOG26. IaskstudentstorepeatwordsaftermeCOG27. Iaskstudentstobreakdownwordsintheirindividualsounds(e.g.catinc-a-t)MEM28. Iaskstudentstoblendindividualsoundsintowords(e.g.g-d-oindog)MEM29. Iaskstudentstothinkaboutsituationsintheirlifethatrelatetothenewword(e.g.“

Whatmakesyou‘happy’?”)MEM30. IaskstudentstomakeexamplesgivingthedefinitionofwordsMEM31. IaskstudentstousewordsinsentencesMEM32. IaskstudentstowritestoriesincludingnewwordsMEM33. IaskstudentstomatchwordswithpicturesMEM34. IaskstudentstomatchwordswithobjectsMEM35. Iaskstudentstomatchwordswiththeirsynonyms/antonymsMEM36. IaskstudentstodrawpicturesofwordsMEM37. IaskstudentstostudythespellingofwordsMEM38. IaskstudentstosoundoutwordswhentheystudyMEM39. IaskstudentstowritedownwordswhentheystudyMEM40. Iaskstudentstostudywordsthroughtheirwordlistsand/orflashcardsCOG41. IaskstudentstostudywordsfromthevocabularysectionintheirtextbookCOG42. IaskstudentstokeepavocabularynotebooktostudywordsCOG


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43. Iaskstudentstoreplacepreviouslylearntwordswithnewones(e.g.excited-enthusiastic)MEM

44. Iaskstudentstomakepredictionsaboutthecontentorthefollow-upofatextCOG45. IaskstudentstoreadthesametextrepeatedlyCOG46. IaskstudentstoreadthetextwithmeinchorusCOG47. IaskstudentstorereadthetextinsmallpartsafterIhavereadthemaloudCOG48. Iaskeachstudenttoreread(partof)thetextaloudCOG49. IaskstudentstoreadthetexttofamilymembersashomeworkCOG50. IaskstudentstosoundoutfamiliarwordsquicklyMEM51. Iaskstudentstocreatetheirownrevisionexercises(e.g.wordsononelistand

definitionsonanothertomatch)togivetheirclassmatesMET/SOC52. Iaskstudentstoparticipateinprojectsonagiventopictousethevocabularylearnt

SOC/MEM53. IadvisestudentstoasktheirteacherforthemeaningofwordsSOC54. IadvisestudentstoasktheirclassmatesforthemeaningofwordsSOC55. Iadvisestudentstointeractwithnativespeakers/peoplewhoknowthelanguagewell

SOC/MET56. Ihelpstudentslearnanduseformulaiclanguage(e.g.“Whatdoesthiswordmean?”)

SOC57. IhelpstudentslearnchunksoflanguagethroughstorytellingMEM58. IhelpstudentslearnchunksoflanguagethroughgamesMEM59. Ihelpstudentslearnchunksoflanguagethroughsongs/chantsMEM60. IhelpstudentslearnchunksoflanguagethroughdramaMEM61. Ihelpstudentslearnhighfrequency‘sight’words(e.g.eight,friend,because)MEM62. Ihelpstudentsconnectwordswiththeirsenses(e.g.seeadrum,hearadrum,taptheir

handsonthedeskasifplayingadrum)MEM63. IpromptstudentstolistentoEnglishsongstoacquirevocabularyMET64. IpromptstudentstowatchEnglishfilms/cartoonstoacquirevocabularyMET65. IpromptstudentstoreadEnglishbooks/comics/magazinestoacquirevocabularyMET66. Iaskstudentstonotedownwordslearntwhentheysee/hearthemoutsidethe

classroom(e.g.onsigns,productsormedia)MET67. ItrytocreatearelaxingatmosphereintheclassroomAFF68. Iencouragestudentstousewordsevenwhentheyarenotsureabouttheircorrect

meaningAFF69. IencouragestudentstotalkabouttheirfeelingsaboutL2learningAFF70. IencouragestudentstowritedowntheirfeelingsinalanguagelearningnotebookAFF71. IrewardstudentswhentheydowellorwhentheymakeaneffortAFF72. Icorrectstudents’mistakesonthespotMET73. Ipromptstudentstospottheirownortheirclassmates’mistakes,writethemdownand

discussthemwiththeteacherMET74. Inotedownstudents’mistakesanddoremedialworkMET75. IgivestudentsvocabularytestsMET76. IaskstudentstomonitortheirprogressinL2MET77. IaskstudentstokeepalanguageportfolioMET78. IaskstudentstoreflectontheirfavouritevocabularylearningstrategiesMET79. IgivestudentswordlistsandaskthemtoticktheonestheyknowMET80. Pleasesuggestanyothervocabularylearningstrategiesyoumightbeusingwithyour

students


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APPENDIXIIPresentationofthequestionsincludedinthestudents’questionnaireandthestrategiestheyreferto.DET=determinationstrategies,MEM=memorystrategies,SOC=socialstrategies,COG=cognitivestrategies,MET=metacognitivestrategies,AFF=affectivestrategiesΌτανβρίσκωμιακαινούργιαλέξη:

v ΠροσπαθώνακαταλάβωτίσημαίνειαπότηνπρότασηDETv ΠροσπαθώνακαταλάβωτίσημαίνειαπότιςεικόνεςDETv ΨάχνωτησημασίατηςστολεξικόDETv ΖητάωαπότηδασκάλαναμουπειτίσημαίνεισταΕλληνικάSOCv ΖητάωαπότηδασκάλαναμουπειμιαπρότασημετηνκαινούργιαλέξηSOCv ΖητάωαπότηδασκάλαναμουπειένασυνώνυμοSOCv ΡωτάωτουςσυμμαθητέςμουSOC

Ότανμαθαίνωκαινούργιεςλέξειςπροτιμώ:v ΝαγράφωτηλέξηκαιτησημασίατηςστοτετράδιομουMEMv ΝαβλέπωτηνεικόνατηςMEMv ΝαβλέπωένααντικείμενοMEMv ΝαζωγραφίζωμιαεικόναμετηλέξηMEMv ΝαγράφωπροτάσειςμετηνκαινούργιαλέξηMEMv ΝαακούωτραγούδιαμετιςλέξειςσταΑγγλικάMEMv ΝαδιαβάζωιστορίεςMEMv ΝαμαθαίνωποιήματαMEMv ΝαπαίζωπαιχνίδιαMEMv ΝακάνωασκήσειςMEMv ΝαλύνωσταυρόλεξαMEMv ΝαφτιάχνωοικογένειεςλέξεωνMEMv ΝαφτιάχνωμιαιστορίαμετηλέξηαυτήMEMv ΝακάνωεργασίεςμαζίμετουςσυμμαθητέςμουSOC/MEMv ΝαφτιάχνωασκήσειςκαινατιςδίνωστουςσυμμαθητέςμουMETv ΝαγράφωτιςλέξειςπολλέςφορέςCOGv ΝαλέωτιςλέξειςδυνατάCOG

Μουαρέσει:v ΝαακούωτραγούδιασταΑγγλικάMETv ΝαβλέπωταινίεςήκινούμενασχέδιασταΑγγλικάMETv Ναδιαβάζωβιβλία,περιοδικάήκόμικςσταΑγγλικάMETv ΝαμιλάωμεανθρώπουςπουξέρουνΑγγλικάκαλάSOC/METv ΝαεπιβραβεύομαιγιατιςπροσπάθειεςμουότανμαθαίνωΑγγλικάAFFv ΝαεκφράζωτασυναισθήματαμουότανμαθαίνωΑγγλικάAFFv Νασυζητάωμετηδασκάλαμουγιαταλάθηπουκάνωεγώήοισυμμαθητές

μουMETv ΝαμεδιορθώνειηδασκάλαμουαμέσωςμόλιςκάνωέναλάθοςMET


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APPENDIXIII

EVALUATIONCHECKLIST

1. Presentationofwordswithpictures/flashcards2. Presentationofwordswithobjects/realia3. Presentationofwordsphysically4. Presentationofwordswithsongs/rhymes5. Categorizationofwordsinwordfamilies6. TranslationinL17. Provisionofsynonyms/paraphrases8. Provisionofsentencesincludingmeaning9. Discoveryofmeaningthroughpictures10. Discoveryofmeaningthroughcontext11. Useofbilingualdictionary12. Recyclingofwordsinnewcontexts13. Relationofwordstostudents’personalexperiences14. Predictionactivitiestoactivatepreviouslylearntvocabulary15. Listeningactivitiestopractisevocabulary16. Crosswordpuzzles,semanticmaps,gap-filling/multiplechoiceexercises17. Creationofwordlistswithmeaning18. Matchingofwordswithpictures19. Matchingofwordswithsynonyms/antonyms20. Drawing21. Writingdownofwords22. Soundingoutofwords23. Doingprojects24. Teachingofformulaiclanguage25. Teachingofchunksoflanguagethroughgames,stories,dramaorsongs26. Playinggames27. Readingstories28. Self-assessment

KerkyraKavvadia([email protected])holdsaB.A.inEnglishLanguageandLiteraturefromtheUniversityofAthensandaM.Ed.fromtheHellenic

OpenUniversity.ShehasbeenanEFLteacherfor21yearsinavarietyofcontextsinGreeceandastateEFLteacherinoriginallysecondaryand

currentlyprimaryeducationsince2004.Herresearchinterestsconcernprimarilyyounglearnersandtheapplicationoflearningstrategiesinthe

Greekstateclassroom.

Documents

Investigating vocabulary learning strategies of EFL young