JALT-CALL 2011
Comprehending Authentic
Video: The Importance of High
Frequency Vocabulary
Dr. Charles Browne, Professor of Applied Linguistics
Director, EFL Teacher Education Program
Meiji Gakuin University; Tokyo, Japan
browne@ltr.meijigakuin.ac.jp
Is “cutting edge” really the
way forward in CALL?
 1990:
Director of Sony Language Laboratories
 1995:
helped design CALL center at Aoyama Gakuin
 2004:
published “New Perspectives in CALL”
 2006:
introduced 1st online vocabulary test and flashcards
at JALT-CALL in Sapporo
 20o9:
Began developing online learning tools for teaching
via authentic video
 2011:
JALT-CALL Plenary –YAY!
A recipe for success in CALL…
1. Figure out what kinds of things technology does better or
faster than humans can
2. Figure out what are the weaknesses and problems
teachers and learners face in the EFL classroom
3. Figure out what the comfort zone/ability level of the
average teacher and student is
4. Using an informed approach to CLT, try to develop
software and technologies that assist teachers and
learners
Outline of Presentation
1. Some basic findings of corpus linguistics
1. Introduction to problems faced by Japanese
EFL learners related to vocabulary
2. Introduction to EnglishCentral as well as a
range of free online tools for identifying and
teaching vocabulary from authentic videos
Some Opening Questions:
1. How many words do you think there are in the
English Language?


1,000,000
2008)
350,000
(Stanford research group,
(Oxford English Dictionary)
2. How many words does a typical native speaker
know?

20,0000
(Goulden, Nation, Read, 2000)
The Importance of “Frequency”
Words
% known
# known
Researcher
1
7%
97/100
West(53), Nation(90)
10
25%
3/4
West(53), Nation(90)
100
50%
1/2
West(53), Nation(90)
1000
75%
1/4
West(53), Engles(68)
2000
81%
1/7
West(53), Nation(90)
5000
95%
1/20
Hirsch & Nation(92)
8000
98%
1/50
Laufer (92), Coady(93)
350,000
100%
100/100
Oxford English Dictionary
Coverage within the BNC for high
frequency words (Leech, Rayson, & Wilson, 2001)
Coverage within the CIC for high
frequency words (McCarthy, 2002)
Text coverage (sp/wr) 10m corpus Data
© Cam bridge University Press 2002. Research © M McCarthy 2002.
90
83
80
% coverage
70
60
50
40
30
20
5
10
3
2
1
0
1st 2000
2nd 2000
3rd 2000
frequency bands
4th 2000
5th 2000
Problem 1:
EFL learners don’t know
enough high frequency words…
EFL Vocabulary Learning in Japan…
Frequency
350,000
・
・
・
The Negative Effect of “Test English”
・
84,168
・
exasperate
・
42,024
digress
・
・
25,537
・
abstain
・
23,371
・
・
14,641
・
emigrate
 PROBLEM: Students NEED to learn the first 5000
words of English to use English in the real word…
torment
・
・
5,000
・
chaos
 But entrance exams and high school textbooks force
students to memorize hundreds of low-frequency words…
・
・
4,441
・
・
・
2,566
ace
permission
bid
・
HFW
・
2,289
・
sum
・
 RESULT? High school students can’t deal with real
world English because they don’t know hundreds of the
most important high frequency words…
・
3
2
1
and
of
the
10
Problem 2:
Reading and Listening
materials in Japan (i.e. INPUT)
are too difficult…
When reading or listening to a text, students
will of course will not know many words…
What percentage of words
do you think must be known
for them to be able to read
easily?
50% ?
75% ?
85% ?
95% ?
75% Coverage
1000 high frequency words
[ 19
missing words ]
…another possible problem with _____ _____ is how to
_____ learner _____ although research suggests that
_____ are a very _____ way to learn new words (Leitner,
1972, Mondria, 1994, Nation, 1990, 2001), students may
lose interest if _____ are the _____ _____ of doing _____
_____. There is a _____ _____ in the _____ classroom of
using games with a _____ purpose to increase and
_____ learner _____ (Ersoz , 2000, Uberman 1988,
Wright, Betteridge & Buckby, 1984), as well as lower the
learner _____ _____ (Asher, 1965, 1977, Dulay, Krashen
& Burt, 1982)
85% Coverage
2000 high frequency words
[ 13
missing words ]
…another possible problem with _____ _____ is how to
_____ learner _____ although research suggests that
_____ are a very efficient way to learn new words
(Leitner, 1972, Mondria, 1994, Nation, 1990, 2001),
students may lose interest if _____ are the _____ method
of doing _____ _____. There is a rich tradition in the
_____ classroom of using games with a communicative
purpose to increase and maintain learner _____ (Ersoz ,
2000, Uberman 1988, Wright, Betteridge & Buckby, 1984),
as well as lower the learner _____ _____ (Asher, 1965,
1977, Dulay, Krashen & Burt, 1982)
95% Coverage
5000 high frequency words
[4
missing words ]
…another possible problem with vocabulary _____ is
how to sustain learner motivation although research
suggests that _____ are a very efficient way to learn new
words (Leitner, 1972, Mondria, 1994, Nation, 1990, 2001),
students may lose interest if _____ are the sole method
of doing vocabulary review. There is a rich tradition in
the _____ classroom of using games with a
communicative purpose to increase and maintain learner
motivation (Ersoz , 2000, Uberman 1988, Wright,
Betteridge & Buckby, 1984), as well as lower the learner
affective filter (Asher, 1965, 1977, Dulay, Krashen & Burt,
1982)
Vocabulary Thresholds:
• Below 80%, reading comprehension is
almost impossible
(Hu & Nation, 2001)
• 95% coverage is the point at which learners
can read without the help of dictionaries
(Laufer, 1989)
Vocabulary & Readability:
How do Japanese schools measure up?
Junior High:
• Teaches first 1000 words fairly well
• Readability of texts seems good - short passages, easy
vocabulary, lots of pictures to support texts
Senior High:
• Focus changes dramatically to teaching of low frequency
words
• Many, many words from 1000-2000 are never taught…
• Readability of texts is actually MORE difficult than
unsimplified native speaker texts!
The Compleat Lexical Tutor
www.lextutor.ca
Vocab Profile: Online Vocabulary Analysis Tool
www.lextutor.ca
Typical Graded Reader Results (1200 word level)
85% expected for 2000 words
98.9%
Typical Yomiuri Newspaper Article
85% expected for 2000 words
87.4%
Harry Potter Chapter 2
85% expected for 2000 words
94.1%
Typical Time Magazine Article
85% expected for 2000 words
80.9%
Japanese High School Textbook (Spectrum Unit 16)
85% expected for 2000 words
76.8%
Summary of Vocab-Profile Results
for Various Texts
Type of Text
Graded Reader (1200
words)
Yomiuri Newspaper
Harry Potter
Time Magazine
Japanese HS textbook
% Coverage for 2000 High
Frequency Words
85%
99%
87%
94%
81%
77%
Are Japanese students reading the right
vocabulary? (Browne, 1996, 1998)
Text
Spectrum
Coverage from 2000 High
Frequency Words
71%
Milestone
78%
Unicorn
79%
Unsimplified
Native Texts
85%
Are universities testing the right vocabulary?
(Kikuchi, 2006, Browne & Kikuchi, 2008)
Text of Entrance
Examinations for:
Keio Univ.
% Coverage from 2000 High
Frequency Words
69%
Sophia Univ.
Waseda Univ.
72%
72%
Kyoto Univ.
77%
Nagoya Univ.
68%
Tokyo Univ.
80%
Solution Number One:
COMPREHNSIBLE INPUT
authentic and motivating listening and
reading materials
Graded Materials - Reading
•
•
•
•
Cambridge
Penguin
Oxford
etc…
How to Grade Reading Materials
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/
How to Grade Reading Materials
http://www.lextutor.ca
Graded Materials - Listening
(recorded version of graded readers)
Graded Materials - Listening
(found materials on the internet)
Graded Materials - Listening
(found materials on the internet)
Graded Authentic Videos
Graded Authentic Videos
How can an “authentic” video be
graded?....
Stage 1:
Teacher intuition
Stage 2:
Readability Formulas
Stage 3:
Readability Formulas informed by
vocabulary frequency
Readability Formulas
(Flesch-Kincaid)
Readability Formulas
(Flesch-Kincaid)
Readability Formulas
(Flesch-Kincaid)
Readability Formulas
(Flesch-Kincaid)
Readability Formulas
(Flesch-Kincaid)
Solution Number Two:
KEYWORD IDENTIFICATION
identifying the most important words to
learn in a video
How to Identify Keywords
http://www.lextutor.ca/
How to Identify Keywords
http://www.lextutor.ca/
How to Identify Keywords
http://www.lextutor.ca/
Key Words for
Dracula…
How to Identify Keywords
http://www.lextutor.ca/
How to Identify Keywords
http://www.lextutor.ca/
Key Words for
Obama’s Education
Speech...
Solution Number Three:
COMPREHENION SUPPORT
Scaffolding tools to help learners deal
with videos above their level
Bilingual Captioning
100%
Select
difficulty
level of
videos you
want
Click
0% on
video you
want to
study
Bilingual Captioning
100%
Transcripts
available for prelistening study
0%
Key vocabulary
words selected
for study by
corpus analysis
Bilingual Captioning
100%
Captioning in
English, Japanese,
or both
0%
Transcripts can
be hidden by
pushing these
buttons
Clickable HTML dictionaries
100%
Click on any word in
the transcript to get
definitional info:
0%
• definition
• part of speech
• sample sentence
• pronunciation
Definitions written based on the meanings given in the videos
Speed Control for Speech
100%
Push this
button to
slow the
speed of
speech
0%
Encourages learners to listen multiple times until they can catch the meaning
Solution Number Four:
KEYWORD LEARNING
In-context, spaced-repetition vocabulary
learning system
Short-term memory loss
100%
50%
0%
Time
The Forgetting Curve
Ebbinhaus (1885), Leitner (1972), Pimsleur (1967), Mondria, (1994)
100%
0%
Repeated viewings foster long-term retention
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Based on the research of Ebbinghaus, Pimsleur, Leitner,
and Mondria, electronic flashcards automatically repeat
each new word at spaced time intervals, and until the
learner achieves long-term, instant-recall ability.
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Spaced Repetition is the science of long-term memory
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
(1) Select a
video category
to study
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
(2) Go to the
vocabulary
application,
then click on
the list of
words from
the category
you want to
study
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
(3) Study the
words as a
list, or just
pick a word to
learn it in all
the different
contexts it
occurs in the
database
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
(4) All clips in
the database
which contain
your keyword
are played in
context, in
succession.
You can listen
only or record
your voice and
compare to
the native
speaker
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
(5) Study your
words in QUIZ
mode to work
on definitions
in context,
listening and
CLOZE type
activities
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
Quiz mode is
based on
Ebbbinghaus,
Leitner and
Pimsleur’s
“spacedrepetition”
approach
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
First, the
meaning and
context of 2-3
new words are
introduced via
video
flashcards
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
Next, the quiz
begins with
different kinds of
questions for
each word
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
Next, the quiz
begins with
different kinds of
questions for
each word
Vocabulary Flashcards:
by corpus analysis of videos
Progress is
recorded at the
end of each
session…
Thank you !
For a copy of this Powerpoint, please contact:
Dr. Charles Browne, Professor of Applied Linguistics
Chair, EFL Teacher Training Program
Meiji Gakuin University, Dept. of English
browne@ltr.meijigakuin.ac.jp
Graded Listening
(recorded version of graded readers)
Graded Listening
(recorded version of graded readers)
Clickable HTML dictionary
How many words do L2 learners know?
Minimum 5000 words needed for independent learning
Country
Vocab.
Size
Hours of
Instruction
Reference
Japan (University)
2000-2300
800-1200
Shillaw (95), Barrow (99)
China (English Majors)
4000
1800-2400
Laufer (99)
Indonesia (University)
1220
900
Nurweni & Read (99)
Oman (University)
2000
1350
Hort et al (98)
Israel (HS graduates)
3500
1500
Laufer (98)
France (HS students)
1000
400
Arnaud et al (85)
Greece (age 15, HS)
1680
660
Milton & Meara (98)
Germany (age 15, HS)
1200
400
Milton & Meara (98)