Developing vocabulary learning
and teaching: a learner strategy
perspective
Suzanne Graham, Institute of Education
April 13, 2015
© University of Reading 2008
www.reading.ac.uk
Background
• More progress seems to occur in Year 12 mean number of words known rises from 852 in
Year 11 to 1,555 (Milton, 2006)
• Strong relationship between vocabulary levels
and the A-Level grade learners achieve in
French (Richards et al, 2008)
2
Background
• Issues of motivation alongside issues of
achievement
• Reason for discontinuing with language study? –
McLaughlan (2006, in McLaughlan, 2007)
• Source of difficulty and sense of being
overwhelmed (Graham, 1997; Richards et al, 2008)
• Continues at undergraduate level (Gallagher-Brett,
2006)
• Lack of sense of how to improve (Graham, 2004;
Williams et al, 2002))
Background
• Incidental vocabulary learning not enough; explicit
learning also needed BUT
• Do learners know how to learn vocabulary effectively?
• Narrow range of strategies by Year 12 – Look, say,
cover, write, check: ‘I read it through looking at it, and I
usually have one side of the page in French and
another in English, I look at the French and then I cover
up the French side, look at the English and see if I can
do the French bit and then the other way round. [It’s
just] Continuous looking at it’ (Graham, 1997, 77)
4
Background
• KS3 National Curriculum expectations but unassessed
and lacking in explicit guidance for teachers:
• Key Processes - Developing language-learning
strategies
• Pupils should be able to (…):
• • develop techniques for memorising words, phrases
and spellings
5
Background
• Vocabulary central to all aspects of language
learning
• A problematic area within MFL in England –
secondary school pupils lag behind European
learners even accounting for differences in
lesson time
• Learners learn on average 170 words a year in
the first five years of schooling; slow down after
a spurt in year 7 (Milton, 2006)
6
Background
• National Curriculum gloss:
• Techniques for memorising
• These include identifying similarities between new and
known words, associating words and phrases with a
physical response, actions, images, the written form or
sounds(including rhymes, repetition), practising with a
friend or family member and using the technique
•
‘look, cover, write/say, check’.
7
Background
• Textbooks: Expo 1, Module 1 Strategy box:
• ‘Stratégie 1:
• Look, say, cover, write, check’
• More advice and a worksheet in Module 2;
advice to learn high-frequency words in Module
5.
• KS2 Framework includes LLS but not widely
taught (Cable et al, 2010)
8
Teaching learners how to learn vocabulary
• Studies of instruction in vocabulary learning strategies
have provided generally positive results (Nyikos & Fan,
2007)
• Mirrors research in other areas – without explicit
instruction in learner strategies, learners don’t develop
them
9
Learner strategies-definitions
• Macaro (2006) – ‘mental activity’, ‘specific task’, ‘in
pursuit of a learning goal’ ‘transferrable’
• Metacognitive - 'higher order executive skills that may
entail planning for, monitoring, or evaluating the
success of a learning activity' (O'Malley & Chamot,
1990, 44)
• Cognitive -'operate directly on incoming information,
manipulating it in ways that enhance learning' (O'Malley
& Chamot, 1990, 44)
10
Macaro, 2006 - combinations
• ‘strategy clusters may be ineffective if individual
strategies within them are inappropriately orchestrated.
… Evaluation of strategy effectiveness, by learners, is
likely to be undertaken against a background of the
relative effectiveness of strategy clusters’. (pp. 327328).
Motivation
• Perception of lack of progress or real
achievement, or sense of how to improve
(Graham, 2004, 2006)
• Difficulty an important factor in giving up
language learning (Graham, 2004;
Macaro and Erler, 2007, and forthcoming)
© University of Reading 2008
www.reading.ac.uk
Theoretical perspectives
• Expectancy-value models of motivation
(Eccles, 1983): individuals ‘ levels of
motivation influenced by
a) their expectations of success in a given
domain
b) The value they place on such success
• Expectancy and value closely related – those
who expect success, tend to value it more
(Mills et al, 2007)
© University of Reading 2008
www.reading.ac.uk
Self-efficacy and learner strategies
• Self-efficacy (Bandura, 1993) as a sub-theory
within expectancy-value framework (Dörnyei
and Ottó,1998) central to persistence within
‘actional’ phase of a process model of
motivation
• Self-efficacy beliefs linked to attributions,
explanations for success/failure
• Adaptive versus maladaptive attributions:
controllable/uncontrollable, internal/external
• Learner strategies clearly adaptive
© University of Reading 2008
www.reading.ac.uk
Learner strategy instruction
Aims to:
• ‘Demystify’ successful language learning: ‘Often
poorer learners don’t have a clue as to how good
learners arrive at their answers and feel that they can
never perform as good learners do. By revealing the
process, this myth can be exposed’.
(Rubin,1990:282)
• Develop greater awareness in learners that how they
learn is just as important as what they learn
Learner strategies and self-efficacy
• Growing evidence that strategy instruction can
significantly improve MFL learners’ self-efficacy:
• Studies so far in reading (Macaro & Erler, 2008) and in
listening (Graham & Macaro, 2008).
• Why not in relation to vocabulary?
16
Evaluation/
action planning
Teacher feedback
Raising learners’ awareness
Learner strategy
instruction
cycle
Strategy modelling
Guided practice
Macaro & Graham,
2007
The cycle illustrated through vocabulary
learning – adapted from Grenfell & Harris, 1999)
• Awareness-raising – set task ‘cold’ – 10 words to learn
– brainstorm – checklist;
• Modelling – by pupils, teacher, add to checklist
• General practice – 10 words to learn; each group of
learners tries a different strategy; checklist for
homeworks
• Action planning – personal needs and targets
• Focussed practice, fading out of reminders
• Evaluation – progress? What worked best?
18
Examples of types of strategies
• Overview of interventions in Nyikos and Fan (2007):
• Elaboration/associative strategies (using imagery,
colours, etc.) – more effective than simple repetitiondepth of processing (Craik & Lockhart, 1972; Lawson
and Hogben, 1996)
• Keyword method Keyword strategy for vocabulary
learning.ppt
•
found to be effective in a number of studies, especially
if keywords were self-generated (Laufer et al, 1997) and
if L1 and L2 are related
19
Nyikos & Fan (2007) cont.
• Vocabulary strategy instruction more likely to be
successful if:
• Explicit
• On-going
• Practice of strategies available, with feedback from
teacher
• A metacognitive element is included that allows
learners to evaluate effectiveness of strategy use
20
Further practical examples of strategies to
introduce to learners
• Macaro (2001):
• Words into shapes:
• Word webs and hooks
• Word associations, e.g. ‘chips’, French sheep
eat crisps (p. 206)
• Songs
• Raps
• Also the loci method
21
Conclusions
• Vocabulary learning an important issue in MFL
• Improvement is possible
• Effective strategies unlikely to develop on their own
except for the most effective learners – others need
help
• Practice, evaluation and action planning key, with
feedback from teacher on strategy use
• Improved vocabulary and improved motivation through
underlining of link between what learners do and what
they achieve
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