Vocabulary Strategies for Advanced Learners - Mercer

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Sa ra h M e rc e rA U S T R I A

HIS ARTICLE SUGGESTS A SET OF EXPERIENTIAL, NON-PRESCRIPTIVE ACTIVITIES FOR

teaching vocabulary consolidation strategies. These activities were used with a

group of advanced adult learners of English as part of a voluntary, non-credit

course the students attended at Graz University in Austria. The learners are all

studying English as one of their degree subjects, either major or minor. The con-

tent of the non-credit course is negotiated between teacher and learners, and the

approach is largely learner-centred. The activities described here are based on my

experience with this group of learners and offered in the hope that they can be

adapted to benefit students of all levels and types.

Past experience in this course, as well as a considerable body of research, has

shown vocabulary to be a key concern of learners—the area they would most

like to focus on—and a topic central to successful language learning. Therefore,

I feel it justified to devote considerable class time to its instruction.

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Why teach strategies?

There is much debate about whether animplicit or explicit approach is better for teach-ing vocabulary. It seems undeniable that exten-sive reading or substantial contact with the tar-get language will improve vocabulary, but bothof these approaches require unrealistic amountsof time for most language learners. However,research by Coady (1997), Oxford and Scarcel-la (1994), and Nation (2001) indicates thatvocabulary learning can be enhanced when thelearner’s attention is directed consciously tovocabulary items or strategies. There appears tobe no valid reason for advocating any approachin isolation; thus this article argues for directinstruction of strategies, supported by exten-sive student reading.

As it can be assumed that advanced adultlearners have already passed the “high-frequencyword threshold” (Nation 2001), any new wordsthey learn are likely to be low-frequency words.Clearly, given the mass of words potentiallyavailable to learners, there is no way they canlearn them all. It would therefore be more use-ful to teach them strategies for dealing with un-familiar words. Furthermore, since most vocab-ulary learning takes place out of the classroomsetting and tends to be done alone at home, itwould be beneficial if students were given guid-ance on how best to approach this task on theirown. If we wish students to continue learningefficiently after class and to be able to copeconfidently without teacher support, then weshould equip them with the skills to do so. AsCohen (1998) and Oxford (1990) point out,directly instructing students in vocabularylearning strategies is recognised as a way to em-power students to take control of and respon-sibility for their own learning.

Arguably, some students already use strate-gies; however, they often do so unconsciously,and vocabulary learning strategies are morelikely to be effective when their use is consciousand directed. Furthermore, as Ahmed (1989)and others point out, certain strategies are notintrinsically good, but even recognised usefulones need to be practised to be used efficiently.Finally, students are often unaware of strategiesother than the ones they already use. There-fore, it is hoped that some direct instruction instrategy use will benefit students by developingtheir metacognitive knowledge about differentstrategies, by showing them how to use strate-

gies efficiently, and by widening the range ofstrategies from which they can choose. AsWenden (1986, 315) says, “[T]o be self-suffi-cient, learners must know how to learn.” So theaim here is to encourage self-sufficiency byhelping learners recognise situations wherethey could use strategies, become aware of thestrategies that are particularly suitable forthem, and use those strategies effectively.

Given the number of potential variablesaffecting strategy use, it seems an oversimplifi-cation to separate people into “good” and “bad”learners when, as O’Malley et al (1988) pointout, no single set of specific strategies worksfor everyone. Indeed, Rees-Miller (1993) andothers have noted the rather prescriptive ap-proach taken by earlier researchers of strategyinstruction. Thus, the aim here is not to teacha single set of strategies used by supposedly“good” learners or to exemplify supposedly“good” strategies. Rather, it is to help students,as unique individuals, become aware of theirown strategy use and the range of potentialstrategies available for learning vocabulary.The set of activities described here is based onan experiential approach to language learning(Kohonen 1992) that provides students withthe opportunity to reflect on, experiment with,and practice a range of strategies until they dis-cover those they feel comfortable with andconsider effective. These may, of course, be thestrategies they already use, but learners oughtto have the opportunity to learn about alter-natives and develop the metacognitive knowl-edge (Victori and Lockhart 1995; Wenden1998) they need to allow them to make theirown informed choices about vocabulary strat-egy use. The benefit of such an approach isthat it takes the learner as an individual withprevious experiences and beliefs as its startingpoint and can accommodate a variety of indi-vidual learning styles and preferences.

A taxonomy of strategies

In considering which strategies exist forvocabulary instruction, instructors could turnto the recognised taxonomy offered by Oxford(1990, 18–21), but it is too comprehensive forour purpose, although it does offer a usefulway of organising strategies. However, Schmitt(1997), in distinguishing between “discovery”and “consolidation” strategies, offers a morestraightforward approach specifically concerned

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User

Resaltado

with vocabulary. Schmitt (1997) divides dis-covery strategies for learning vocabulary intotwo types: “determination” strategies and“social” strategies. The determination strate-gies—widely acknowledged as important forcoping with unknown words—include usingcognate knowledge, referring to referenceworks, and inferring meaning from context.The social strategies include asking someonefor help with unknown words. Because dis-covery and social strategies are commonly dis-cussed in various classes, the focus in this arti-cle is mainly on the strategies that receive lessattention in our teaching environment, name-ly the consolidation strategies.

Consolidation strategies include socialstrategies, such as cooperative group learning,asking the teacher for help and using nativespeaker contact; memory strategies, such asusing imagery, loci method, grouping words,the keyword method; cognitive strategies, suchas word cards and lists or vocabulary note-books and reviewing techniques; and finallymetacognitive strategies to help students havea controlled overview of their vocabularylearning (see Schmitt 1997, 207 for a full tax-onomy). Although the focus of this article ison consolidation strategies, there will be over-lap with other strategies, such as guessing themeaning of a word by analysing word parts orusing the dictionary. The boundaries betweenthe categories are not distinct, and some strate-gies may appear under different headings else-where. Furthermore, the list of strategies pro-vided here is not meant to be exhaustive;students may be able to add others of their own.

Conditions for strategy use

One precondition for successful strategyinstruction is the willingness by students toexplore their beliefs about vocabulary learning.The Graz University students who were taughtthe strategies described here were highly moti-vated (as evidenced by their voluntary atten-dance of a non-credit course) and were from acultural background open to explicit explorato-ry work. It therefore seemed likely that somedirect teaching of strategies would suit theiracademic learning style and be welcomed bythem. In teaching these strategies, it is impor-tant to make explicit to the students the ratio-nale and purpose of tasks given to them and toprovide them with adequate time to consolidate

and reflect on their learning. A further dimen-sion to these tasks that is worth mentioning isthe rich language generated for the genuinecommunicative task of discussing and devel-oping students’ own learning strategies.

What follows is a coherent sequence ofactivities for vocabulary consolidation strate-gies, as carried out in my setting. These activi-ties are not a perfect solution to vocabularyinstruction, nor are they intended to be used inisolation. Rather, they are intended to serve asa framework for teaching vocabulary-buildingstrategies suitable for this particular context.

Principles guiding the activities

• A prescriptive approach is inappropriatebecause learners have their own learningstyles and preferences.

• Learners researching their own learningstyle can raise their awareness of themselvesas language learners and the role of vocab-ulary in language learning.

• Reflecting on and discussing strategies withpeers is an essential part of learning.

• Metacognitive knowledge is crucial forhelping students make conscious, directed,autonomous, and efficient use of strategies.

• Learners should be actively involved intasks and personalise strategies to meettheir own learning style and preferences.

• The rationale behind the various approach-es and tasks should be made explicit to students.

• Students need to be given adequate exam-ples of and guided practice in using thestrategies if they are to consolidate themand use them independently and efficiently.

• Teachers should work in collaboration withstudents to guide them towards discoveringand developing their own personal set ofvocabulary consolidation strategies.

Stages in strategy work

Stage 1: PreparationBefore doing class work on strategies, stu-

dents need to be aware of the strategies theycurrently use. So at the start of the course, thestudents were asked to keep a journal of theirvocabulary encounters. A journal is easy tomaintain and can be kept anywhere. To ensurethat the students would understand the pur-pose of the task and where they should direct

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their attention, they were given some generalguidelines. The original intention was to allocateregular class time for a discussion and reviewof points raised in the journals, but time pres-sures necessitated that this was done only spo-radically. Nevertheless, students reported thatkeeping the journal caused them to reflect onvocabulary’s role in language and their encoun-ters with English vocabulary; helped raise theirawareness of strategies they use, hence of them-selves as language learners; and made themaware of their own learning styles. As noted ear-lier, such awareness is essential in developingmetacognitive knowledge about one’s own lan-guage, which in turn is important if students areto become independent, self-directed learners.

The next step is to ensure that studentsunderstand the fundamental principle thatknowing a word does not simply mean know-ing its meaning. (See Nation 2001, Chapter 2,for a detailed analysis of what is involved inknowing a word; look under the key headings,form, meaning, and use.) Therefore, the classbegan with a task to clarify what is involved inknowing a word. In small groups, the studentsdrew up a list of at least five features theybelieved essential to knowing a word and pro-vided an example of each. After brainstorm-ing, they reported back to the whole group,and on an overhead projector (a laptop com-puter would work even better) we collabora-tively constructed a list of all these features,including examples. This list was then madeinto a handout to guide the students through-out their studies. Providing the opportunityfor whole group feedback ensured that I, asthe teacher, had the opportunity to mentionand illustrate points not raised by the students.The students came up with the following listof features required to know a word: pronun-ciation, translation, spelling, collocations, reg-ister, grammatical patterns, word class, syn-onyms, and different meanings depending on context.

Stage 2: Discovering current strategy use anddeveloping a taxonomy of vocabu-lary strategies.

To uncover the vocabulary strategies theywere already using and the role vocabularyplays in language learning, the students, ingroups, drew up their own lists of vocabularystrategies, drawing upon their journal entriesand prior experiences.

After this initial group activity, the studentsexamined and discussed a taxonomy of consol-idation strategies (see Appendix A), which wediscussed, using examples. The students thencategorised their list of strategies, either accord-ing to these headings or their own. (The dis-tinction between categories may be unclear tostudents, and there may be overlap, dependingon their perspective. The taxonomy I providedwas simply a way to help the students organisetheir own list of consolidation strategies. If theyfind a way to categorise the strategies in a waythat makes better sense to them, that is fine.)After a feedback session involving the entireclass, the resulting list of categorised strategieswas made available to the students as a hand-out. They could use the handout or devise aversion of their own. The list they chose pro-vided an essential link for measuring theirchanges and development. At this point theyticked any of the strategies they were currentlyusing. (At the end of the course they returnedto the sheet and repeated the process to seewhether at the end of the course they used anymore or different strategies than at the outset.)

Stage 3: Exploring and experimenting withvarious strategies

The list of strategies described above wasthen taken as the basic structure for a series oflessons to follow. Clearly the strategy list couldprovide months of potential practice, but inour case, time restricted our programme ofactivities to three sessions. To remain as learner-centred as possible, I asked the students whichstrategies they wanted to learn more about, buthere I will just illustrate a method for eachmain strategy area.

Before doing so, however, it should be notedthat to give the class a real sense of purpose andcoherence, it is desirable to have a topic toserve as a framework for all work throughoutthe semester. Usually, my students choose froma list of topics at the start of the term. Howev-er, for certain tasks in the particular set of activ-ities described below, it was necessary to selectwords that the learners would not be likely toknow. In those instances we used the Univer-sity Word List (Nation 2001), a list of decon-textualized words covering academic vocabu-lary and including frequency ratings for eachword. This is a relevant and valid source fromwhich to choose words for students in this par-ticular context.


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Cognitive strategiesTo establish a framework for independent

vocabulary work, it is useful to discuss with stu-dents ways of organising vocabulary learning.To this end, students brought their vocabularystorage systems with them to class and—guid-ed by a series of questions on vocabulary stor-age systems (Appendix B)—the students ex-plained their systems to each other in groupsand provided a rationale for their use. Becausethe students were talking about their own sys-tems, they viewed the task as relevant and moti-vating. Moreover, by reflecting on an approachto vocabulary, then explaining and discussingit with peers, the students reached a vital stagein their awareness of possible strategies.

An important point to stress here is that Ido not take a prescriptive approach towardvocabulary organising and learning strategies,nor do I evaluate students’ systems for accom-plishing these tasks because each student hashis or her own learning style and preferences.Rather, the approach here is designed to raisestudents’ awareness of all options available tothem. To do this requires that the purpose ofthe tasks be made clear to them so they under-stand that no judgement of their own systemis implied, and they may benefit by learningand taking ideas from each other.

During their discussion of the variousvocabulary storage systems with their groups,the students compiled a list of features of thesystems by frequency of occurrence. They thenreported back to the whole class, and the com-mon features with their frequency ratings weredrawn up into a class list to provide a statisticaloverview of the features used. (The benefit ofsuch an approach is that it encourages stu-dents—particularly academically orientedones, as my students were—to “research” theirown learning. Moreover, the experiential natureof the tasks helps them discover for themselvestheir own learning styles and preferences.)

After returning to the compiled list of fea-tures for knowing a word and considering theimplications for vocabulary storage systems,the students brainstormed about vocabularystorage features they wished to add to the list.These were given the statistical frequency 0 onthe list, and a new list was compiled and hand-ed out for reference. The students expressedamazement at the discrepancy between whatthey had said was necessary to “know” a word

and the information they in fact stored in theirvocabulary systems. In their feedback at theend of the course, the students said the com-parison had been revealing and resulted intheir including not just a word’s translation intheir storage system but also sample sentencesand grammatical patterns, as well as the word’spronunciation, synonyms, and collocations.

If time had allowed, the students could haveconsolidated the lesson by forming groups toevaluate three example storage systems in thelight of work just done (e.g., Schmitt andSchmitt 1995). They then could have discussedthe advantages and disadvantages of each sys-tem, chosen the one they thought best, pre-sented it to the class, and explained why theychose it.

Memory strategiesThe second strategy area considered was how

to memorise words that need to be learnt. Tofurther develop the idea of students researchingtheir own learning, the students were given alist of 20 words taken from the University WordList. Examples of these words from the BritishNational Corpus (BNC) were also included toprovide context, and students had their dictio-naries in class. (The BNC is a 100 millionword collection of samples of written and spo-ken language from a wide range of sources, de-signed to represent a wide cross-section of cur-rent British English, both spoken and written.)

To further the idea of learners “researching”their own learning, the students conducted asmall experiment to discover what strategiesthey use when trying to memorise words, anidea adapted from Oxford (1990). The stu-dents worked in pairs, with one taking notes onthe words within five minutes and the othertrying to learn as many words as possible inthat same period of time. (Be sure to selectwords that the students do not know at thestart of the activity. Also, make certain that thestudents do not see this as a test, but rather adiscovery of how they approach the task ofmemorising words.) The students then reportedon their approach to the task using the “thinkaloud” technique, on which they had previ-ously received guidance, including the kindsof things that should be reported (Cohen 1998,Oxford 1990).

After a short break (to allow short-termmemory to clear) when the students did atotally unrelated quiz, they then tried to see


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how many words they could remember. Theprocess was repeated with a different 20-wordset, with the roles reversed. Together the stu-dents compiled a joint list of all the strategiesthey used. At the end, they reported back to thewhole class on the methods they used. Again aclass list was drawn up and compared to thetaxonomy handout constructed at the outsetto see which techniques were most popular andwhether new techniques came up that were noton the list.

To exemplify the difference that an organi-sational strategy can make, the “grouping andlabelling” strategy suggested by Oxford (1990,101) could have been used. This strategy—which involves organising words into small,cohesive units and labelling them—showshow words can be made easier to memoriseand provides a nice contrast in strategies tothose described above.

A discussion of the list of memory strategiesfollowed, involving the entire class. This dis-cussion ensured that the students understoodhow the strategies work and could provide anexample for each of them. The students thenbroke into groups to discuss suggestions formemorising new words, the perceived advan-tages and disadvantages of each suggestion, andthe strategies they prefer. Each student thenhad to choose a strategy he or she had not usedbefore but which sounded as if it would be funor interesting to try. (It doesn’t matter if morethan one person in the group picks the samemethod.) The students were told to carry outthe same kind of experiment used in the previ-ous activity and report back to their respectivegroups the following week.

As the course continued, the students didthe same with other strategies. This kind ofinvolvement in researching a topic and exper-imenting with learning strategies makes thelearning experience more meaningful andmemorable. Furthermore, because studentshave the freedom to choose a new technique,try it out, and accept or reject it, they are moti-vated to experiment in a safe, non-threateningenvironment. At the end of the course, thestudents reported that they were glad they hadbeen required to try out new memory strate-gies. Most of them say they now use eithersome adaptation of their usual vocabularylearning strategy—the most popular being theuse of index cards, a mixture of card games,

coloured pens, and sticky notes—or a totallynew strategy.

Metacognitive strategiesThe final strategies to consider are metacog-

nitive ones. Students are generally unaware ofthe importance of “distributed” practice, that is,the need to review and expand the time theyspend in rehearsing or practising tasks (Thorn-bury 2002). Distributed practice is a techniquegenerally acknowledged to aid memory, sincepeople are less likely to forget something if theyreview it in different enriching ways spaced overa period of time. To provide practice in thistechnique, students were asked to discuss insmall groups the following statement designedto spur discussion: “[M]assed, concentrated repe-tition results in more secure learning than mean-ingful, spaced repetition” (adapted and invertedfrom Nation 2001, 77 at the suggestion of AlanWaters). The students discussed whether theyagree with the statement or not, and what thestatement’s implications are for vocabularylearning. Although they showed interest in thisidea, only one person at the end of the coursefelt that the discussion and work had had anyimpact on their vocabulary learning. It wouldperhaps have been better if the students hadagain carried out a mini-research task on itseffects and success as a strategy from the stu-dents’ perspective in order to experience it forthemselves. They could have done this, forexample, by testing themselves on two sets ofvocabulary, one a control batch, the other aspaced, recycled set. They could then reporttheir experiences and results in their journals.

ConsolidationIt is important to consolidate the strategy

training by ensuring that students are aware ofthe strategies available to them and the situa-tions in which they could be used. To do this,the Graz students, working in pairs, were askedto respond to a series of vocabulary-related“complaints” expressed by former students(Appendix C) by suggesting to their partnerstrategies for resolving the situations and whythey choose the particular strategies they did.

Finally, the students were given a question-naire to work on alone (Appendix D) whichconsidered the future development of theirvocabulary learning. (This is, of course, a meta-cognitive strategy for organising vocabularylearning and an ideal way to focus the end of


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their in-class vocabulary strategy training.) Thestudents needed time to reflect on this andcompleted it at home; they then discussed it ingroups in class the following week. In light ofthis discussion, they wrote three short sentencessetting their own goals, which they intendedto display somewhere at home to serve as a con-stant reminder and focus.

Stage 4: Evaluating the instructionThe students finally also had the chance to

review their strategy use and for this they re-turned to the handout of the taxonomy ofstrategies that was created at the beginning.They ticked the strategies they use now andcompared these to the ones they ticked at thebeginning. They then briefly discussed theirfindings with a partner, evaluating their ownstrategy use, any changes that had taken place,and possible reasons for those changes.

To evaluate the programme students also re-ceived an anonymous, open-ended question-naire and, in addition, some students volun-teered to be interviewed. As Oxford (1990)reports that some students “resist” and dislikedirect strategy instruction, I felt it particularlyimportant here to evaluate the students’ person-al response to this more experiential approachto strategy work.

Results of the evaluationI am aware of the limited nature of the use of

this series of activities and my own subjectivityin interpreting the results of the questionnaire,but the feedback seems to be very encouraging.Importantly, many students reported that as aresult of the course they had realised that thereare other strategies available than the ones theyhad been using. Many claimed that it was valu-able to learn of other possible approaches andthat on reflecting on their own strategy use theydiscovered that they may not be using the beststrategies for them as individuals. Perhaps evenmore importantly, one student in a recordedinterview about the course reported that she feltrelieved to discover that a strategy she hadinstinctively been using for years was not neces-sarily “wrong,” although in her previous learn-ing experiences she had been led to believe therewas only one “right” way to approach vocabu-lary learning. This is precisely the myth that theactivities discussed here aim to dispel. She alsomaintained that the course helped her to feelmore positive and self-confident about her

vocabulary learning. Clearly any gains in self-confidence as a result of this strategy work aredesirable given the established link between self-efficacy, motivation, and performance (Bandura1997, Zimmerman 2000).

Furthermore, every student reported usingat least two new strategies as a result of theclass. These included strategies associated withthe use of index cards, imagery, word memori-sation, colours, and diagrams, as well as theinclusion of other information in their storagesystems such as pronunciation, grammaticalinformation, collocations, and meaningfulsentences. The students’ central criticismfocused on the limited amount of time avail-able to practice the strategies in class.

Conclusion

This article has attempted to show how stu-dents can be actively involved in the research,discovery, and exploration of vocabulary consol-idation strategies. It is hoped that the form of“action research” work illustrated will raise stu-dents’ awareness of options available to them,encourage them to experiment with alterna-tive approaches, and take an active role in theirown vocabulary learning.

Additional research is needed to determineif strategy training programmes for languagelearning, such as the one described here, resultin direct linguistic gains or perhaps rathermore in indirect gains such as increased learn-er motivation, self-efficacy, awareness of lan-guage learning options, and awareness of one-self as a language learner. However, it can besaid that the approach to strategy training andlearner development described here proved tobe, at the very least, motivating and enlight-ening for teacher and students alike.

References

Ahmed, M. O. 1989. Vocabulary learning strate-gies. In Beyond words: Papers from the annualmeeting of the British Association for AppliedLinguistics held at the University of Exeter inSeptember 1988, ed. P. Meara. London.

Bandura, A. 1997. Self-efficacy: The exercise of con-trol. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company.

Coady, J. 1997. L2 vocabulary acquisition throughextensive reading. In Second language vocabularyacquisition. ed. J. Coady and T. Huckin, 225–37.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cohen, A. D. 1998. Strategies in learning and usinga second language. London: Longman.

Kohonen V. 1992. Experiential language learning:


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Second language learning as co-operative learn-er education. In Collaborative language learningand teaching, ed. D. Nunan 37–56. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press.

Lewis, M., 1994. The lexical approach. Hove: LTP.McDonough, S. H. 1995. Strategy and skill in

learning a foreign language. London: Arnold.Nation, I. S. P. 2001. Learning vocabulary in anoth-

er language. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.

Nunan, D., ed. 1992. Collaborative language learn-ing and teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni-versity Press.

O’Malley, J. M., R. P. Russo, A. U. Chamot, andG. Stewner-Manzanares. 1988. Applications oflearning strategies by students learning Englishas a second language. In Learning and studystrategies: Issues in assessment instruction andevaluation, ed. C. E. Weinstein, E. T. Goetz,and P. A. Alexander, 215-31. San Diego, CA:Academic Press.

Oxford, R. 1990. Language learning strategies: Whatevery teacher should know. New York: NewburyHouse.

Oxford, R. L. and R. C. Scarcella. 1994. Secondlanguage vocabulary learning among adults:State of the art in vocabulary instruction. System22 (2): 231–43.

Rees-Miller, J. 1993. A critical appraisal of learnertraining: Theoretical bases and teaching impli-cations. TESOL Quarterly 27 (4): 679–89.

Schmitt, N. and D. Schmitt. 1995. Vocabularynotebooks: Theoretical underpinnings and prac-tical suggestions. ELT Journal 49 (2): 133–43.

Schmitt, N. 1997. Vocabulary learning strategies:Current trends in teaching second languagevocabulary. In Vocabulary: Description, acquisi-tion and pedagogy, ed. N. Schmitt and M.McCarthy, 199-227. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Thornbury, S. 2002. How to teach vocabulary. Har-low: Longman.

Victori, M. and W. Lockhart. 1995. Enhancingmetacognition in self-directed language learn-ing. System 23 (2): 223–34.

Wenden, A. L. 1986. Incorporating learner trainingin the classroom. System 14 (3): 315–25.

Zimmerman, B. J. 2000. Self-efficacy: An essentialmotive to learn. Contemporary Educational Psy-chology 25: 82–91.

SARAH MERCER has an MA in TEFL from theUniversity of Reading and currently teachesEnglish at the University of Graz, Austria.She is working on a Ph.D. at the Universityof Lancaster, England.

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(This list is based in part on the taxonomy offered in Schmitt 1997.)

1. Memory strategies.

• Using imagery.• Using sense relations (lexical fields, synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms,

scales, etc.).• Using cognates, parallels in other languages.• Using word parts.• Grouping in patterns (visual, meaning, spatial, etc.).• Using phonological or orthographic form (rhymes, salient written form,

keyword technique, etc.)• Peg method.1

• Loci method.2

• Using semantic grids.• Paraphrasing.• Chunking.• Create and learn meaningful sentences containing the word. (Possibly

invent whole story as framework for learning key words.)• Link to personal experience.

2. Cognitive strategies.

• Written repetition.• Verbal repetition.• Word lists.• Word flashcards.• Vocabulary notebooks.• Note-taking from books, lectures, etc.• Making tape recordings.• Sticky note labels.• Using word books, such as dictionaries or a thesaurus to activate

passive vocabulary.

3. Metacognitive strategies.

• More conscious contact with the target language (e.g., reading extensively in English, watching films, listening to the radio, communicating with nativespeakers, getting a pen pal).

• Testing yourself on vocabulary.• Working and practising with peers/in groups.• Principle of expanding rehearsal time, repeatedly reviewing.• Setting aside specific time for vocabulary learning.• Setting priorities about which words are essential, not so important, not

important at all and to what extent (passive, active).• Setting goals for learning vocabulary.


AP PE N D I X A | TAXONOMY OF CONSOLIDATION STRATEGIESVOCABULARY STRATEGY WORK FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS OF ENGLISH • Sarah Mercer

1 The peg method works by memorizing a rhyme and creating an image which is linked to the peg word. When therhyme is then repeated, the images mentally linked to the peg words are recalled. 2 Similarly the Loci method works by remembering a familiar place such as a street or room and mentally placingthe items to be remembered at certain places in the chosen setting. In order to recall the words, the person has tomentally move to the locations and ‘retrieve’ the words associated with each location. (Schmitt 1997, 213)

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In groups you are now going to discuss how you organise your vocabulary andexplain to each other why you use such a system and how it works for you. Beginby guiding each other through your vocabulary storage systems, explaining therationale behind them. Consider the following points, adding any others you feelare important. Try to establish the similarities in your systems and the differences.

• What form does it take? (a notebook, loose-leafed paper, index cards, etc.)

• How are the words organised? (according to meaning, alphabetically, asthey come up in class, etc.)

• What information is noted with the word? (translation, collocations, pro-nunciation, stylistic notes, examples of use, etc.)

• Are any visual/audio supports used? (pictures, diagrams, cassettes, etc.)

• What do you use the system for and how do you use it? (just for learningby heart, for reference like a personal dictionary, etc.)

• Any other information? (specific examples of its success, a more compactversion to carry with you, further information on entries already added, etc.)

Now that we have discussed and compared various vocabulary storage sys-tems, do you feel there are any changes you wish to make or ideas you wish toadd to your system and the way in which you use it? If so, what are they, andwhy do you feel those changes would help?


AP PE N D I X B | VOCABULARY STORAGE SYSTEMSVOCABULARY STRATEGY WORK FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS OF ENGLISH • Sarah Mercer

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The following are all based on statements from former students. Imag-ine they had asked you for advice in the following situations; what strate-gies could they use? Remember—they might work differently than you,so try to give them all possible strategies that you are aware of. Remem-ber that some strategies will be applicable to several situations.Work in pairs as that will help you generate more ideas.

1. I am able to learn vocabulary for my test in class, but then Iforget the vocabulary less than a week later.

2. My sister bought me a thesaurus, but I’ve no idea what to dowith it.

3. I come across so many new words when I read and just hopeI’ll remember them if I ever come across them again.

4. I learn my words in a list in a notebook, but it’s just so boring.

5. I recognise words when I read them but would never think ofusing them myself.

6. I know what words mean but I often use them inappropriate-ly, according to my teacher.

7. I can recognise words in writing, but I often don’t recognisethem when a native speaker uses them.

8. Learning for an exam on a certain topic, I’m lucky if I remem-ber half of the words I’d like to.

Now decide which of the strategies you would choose if you were in thesituations described above. Discuss this with your partner and explainthe reasons behind your choices.


AP PE N D I X C | WHICH STRATEGY COULD I USEVOCABULARY STRATEGY WORK FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS OF ENGLISH • Sarah Mercer

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1. Rate on a scale of 1–10 (1 = very satisfied, 10 = extremely dissatis-fied) how satisfied you are with the way you handle the followingareas of vocabulary learning:

Area of Vocabulary Learning Rating

a. Ability to remember words. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

b. Ways of expanding your vocabulary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c. Vocabulary storage system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d. Use of reference works, such as dictionaries, thesaurus, etc. . . . . . .

e. Amount of time dedicated to vocabulary work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

f. Amount of contact with English outside of class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Now award each area points (1 = very important, 5 = not importantat all) according to how important you consider it for you.

a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

b. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Look back at the two questions and consider the relationshipbetween what is important to you and how satisfied you are withyour competence in that area. Based on this, complete the followingtable for short and long-term goals by stating a specific goal and set-ting yourself a deadline for it. The first one can serve as an example.

Short-term goal Deadline

E.g. Memorise all the frequency 1–3 items from UWL. . . . . . . . . . . .Three weeks from now.

1. . . . . . . . . . . .

2. . . . . . . . . . . .

3. . . . . . . . . . . .

Long-term goal Deadline

E.g. Re-organise my vocabulary storage system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Before the start of next term.

1. . . . . . . . . . . .

2. . . . . . . . . . . .

3. . . . . . . . . . . .


AP PE N D I X D | DETERMINE YOUR VOCABULARY GOALSVOCABULARY STRATEGY WORK FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS OF ENGLISH • Sarah Mercer

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Vocabulary Strategies for Advanced Learners - Mercer