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Name : IRMAN FATONI

SRN : 2211410031

Idiom-based Lexical Studies

CHAPTER 11

Implications for Learning and Teaching: Theory and PracticeThis chapter will briefly consider what the measurements of vocabulary reported in this book

can tell us about the theories which underpin our understanding of language learning and

especially vocabulary learning. In particular, it looks at:

The way words are stored in the mental lexicon. The frequency model that underpins so much vocabulary testing. The role of individual variation.

It will also consider what these measurements might mean for the practice of teaching

vocabulary.

Vocabulary Storage and the Definition of a Word for Testing

The most widely used vocabulary tests we have tend to draw on lists of single words that have

been lemmatized or reduced to word families. These words can be tested in isolation or in

context, receptively or productively. But the assumption is that if we test one form of a word,

then the learners are likely to know other forms of a word within the same learners really

handle and store words.

Vocabulary Frequency as a Model for Learning

The second assumption that underpins the measurements we have of vocabulary learning, is

that learners are especially sensitive to the frequency of words and that this will be reflected in

the way words are added to the L2 lexicon. Successful learners, it seems, employ strategies, likelink word systems to aid memory, but also create their own opportunities for exposure and

repetition; even if it is no more than repeating and learning wordlists. Evidence suggests this

can be a very successful way to develop a sizable L2 lexicon.

How Much do Learners Vary in the Vocabulary They Learn?

A third assumption that has underpinned discussion in this book is that all learners are pretty

much the same and will follow the same kinds of processes in language learning. We assume

that all learners will be better able to learn repeated materials. Sometimes, learners still come

up with very different vocabulary learning outcome. Some learners make a huge progress and

others do not. The reason may be learners are differently motivated. We have some evidence

that different aptitudes can predispose learners to acquire subtly different types of vocabulary.Aptitude is broken down into 4 sub-elements.

1. Phonemic Coding ability2. Grammatical Sensitivity3. Inductive Language Learning Ability4. Rote Learning Ability

The volumes of vocabulary learned could be the same, but the nature of the vocabulary known

could vary considerably from one individual to another. It appears that differences in aptitude

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can influence the nature of vocabulary that is learned. These results suggest that different

learning strengths and styles really can influence the foreign language vocabulary that learners

acquire in class, and that this effect is particularly noticeable in the degree to which vocabulary

in the first two 1000 word frequency bands is learned. Learners can vary in other ways. One is

the way in which learners develop automaticity in the use of the foreign language. Second is

individuals can vary in the speed and automaticity with which they read and recognize words istheir L1, and this has the effect of undermining attempts to make food use of measurements of

automaticity in L2 learning.

Individual Variation and the Dimension of Vocabulary Depth

A further aspect of individual variation already touched upon in Chapter 6 is the way individuals

handle word associations. This has implications for the way we view word knowledge in the L2

learner and the importance of developing vocabulary depth in addition to vocabulary breadth.

The assumption underlying the organization of the lexicon in L2 learners is that it is

quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of native speakers, and that as the learner

grows in competence, knowledge, and skill, the lexicon will become more native-like. This tells

us something about how we should view this dimension vocabulary depth.

Individual Variation, Age and Word Difficulty

Learners will vary in terms of their age and cognitive development. Very young learners and

adult learners have the differences in the degree of literateness they possess. Adult learners of

a foreign language will be skilled and experienced readers who are able to use strategies such

as predicting ideas and words that will occur in a text and recognizing words by shape rather

than by spelling. Young learners will be very different and will be far less fluent both in word

recognition and moving from word to meaning. It seems inevitable that these two types of

learner will process, learn and store words very differently.

Implications for the Practice of Teaching Vocabulary

A goal of measuring vocabulary uptake and progress must be to feed information back into the

learning and teaching process so that the time spent on these activities can be optimized. Theprinciple lesson that emerges from the study of vocabulary learning in foreign languages is that

learners need to learn lots of vocabulary if they are to achieve any level of independent

communicability. Successful learners, and by implication good courses, manage to organize the

acquisition of vocabulary so that it is learned in regular amounts over extended periods of time.

It is a standard of good teaching practice that both the spoken and written forms of new words

should be presented to learners and the evidence of real learners show how important both

phonological and orthographic word form knowledge is for success in later examination.

Conclusion

These considerations have suggested that the more we understand of the vocabulary learning

process, the more important is seems to be to the whole of the language learning process.Below are some measurements of vocabulary have suggested:

1. Vocabulary might also have an important role to play in language assessment, as growthin vocabulary is a principal factor in the development of communication skills.

2. The importance of corpora and frequency studies both learning and in the design oftests with some confidence what vocabulary knowledge groups of learners will possess

after certain amounts of language input or at specified levels of performance.

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3. Measurements of vocabulary have challenged some of the dimensions we have used totry to conveniently characterize vocabulary knowledge.

4. The process of measuring vocabulary learning allows us to be fairly sure that this is arequirement of language learning success. We also have some idea on how the words

might optimally be presented to learners and how they have to be engaged with in

order to expedite learning.