Enhancing the Effectiveness of
English Vocabulary Learning and
Teaching at Primary Level
Arthur McNeill & Tony Lai
Department of Education Studies
Hong Kong Baptist University
English Language Education Section, CDI
27 August 2007
1
Growing global concern about
inadequate vocabulary of L2 learners

“… there is mounting evidence that many
learners, particularly in EFL contexts, are not
developing their lexicons to levels that would
permit them to communicate, read, or write
adequately in English, despite years of formal
study.” (Atay and Kurt 2006: 256)
2
L2 vocabulary learning at primary
school is still largely un-researched
“… it seems likely that limited L2 vocabulary
would affect elementary school EFL learners
in carrying out the basic skills in English.
Given the importance of vocabulary to oral
and written language comprehension, it is
astounding that there have been few
experimental studies on English vocabulary
learning among elementary school children.”
(Atay and Kurt 2006: 256)
3
Growing interest in students’
vocabulary in Hong Kong



Recent evidence of inadequate vocabulary of
HK university entrants
Most 2004 entrants to CUHK knew between
2000 and 3000 English words only
International research suggests that students
need at least 5000 words to cope with
university study in English
4
Vocabulary projects conducted by EDB
Projects
Vocabulary
Study
Participants
Focus Group
Seed Project Seed school &
on the
Network
effective L/T schools
of vocabulary
Expected Outcomes
wordlists for KS1,
KS2, KS3 & KS4
effective pedagogies
to make good use of
the wordlists and
promote the
development of
vocabulary building
skills
5
Vocabulary Study
Sources of input for the EDB wordlists




Teachers familiar with the respective KS
Frequency data about how vocabulary is
used in English:
 General English
 Academic English
Topics and themes listed in CGs
Vocabulary content of the recommended
textbooks
6
Vocabulary Study
References of the frequency-based
wordlists



General Service List (GSL) - West, 1953
Academic Wordlist (AWL) - Coxhead,
2000
British National Corpus (BNC)
7
Frequency-based lists/corpora
GSL
Classic list of the most frequent 2000 words.
Very widely used and respected.
BNC
100 million word collection of written
and spoken English. A new ‘standard’.
AWL
570 words which occur frequently in
academic texts across disciplines
8
Frequency-based lists/corpora
GSL
“General” words
BNC
AWL
“Academic” words
9
Principles guiding final selections





Relevance to learners (now and later)
Usefulness
Combinability (collocations)
Word class distribution
Superordinates
10
Design of the vocabulary selection procedure
Frequency data
from
GSL/BNC/AWL
Word samples by
frequency
Teachers select
words for own
KS
Initial (incomplete)
wordlist
Textbook
corpus
Rejected items to be
considered for next KS
Project team add
remaining items
Topics
from
CGs
Completed wordlist
11
Vocabulary targets
Key Stage
Stage Target
Cumulative
Target
KS1
1000
1000
KS2
1000
2000
KS3
1500
3500
KS4
1500
5000
12
Wordlists

In alphabetical order

By category
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Does L2 vocabulary
teaching need to change?
22
Possible pedagogical problems


Over-reliance on reading as a source of
vocabulary acquisition
Over-reliance on learner training and
indirect learning (i.e. assuming that
students will learn vocabulary by themselves
provided they learn effective strategies)
23
How much vocabulary do L2 students
learn from reading?



Finally some empirical evidence of the low
extent of vocabulary gains from L2 reading
Claims about number of encounters required
to learn a new word vary between 6 and 20
ESL learners in Canada learn 70 new words
a year from reading, i.e. 2000 words in 29
years. (Zahar, Cobb & Spada 2001)
24
Extensive reading revisited



Disappointing gains from reading of novels
(Horst 2000)
Subjects able to select only one correct
definition in 12 of the new words in text
Far more vocabulary is learned if the same
text is read several times (Horst & Meara
1999)
25
Learning new words from context
revisited


Encouraging learners to infer the meaning of
new words from context may be useful for
their academic development.
However, inferring the meaning of new words
from context does not lead to vocabulary
acquisition. For words to remain in the
memory, learners should confirm the guesses
by referring to a dictionary or asking their
teacher (Mondria & Wit de-Boer 1991).
26
Insights from genre: we need to select
texts carefully


Expository texts provide greater repetition of
key lexis than narrative texts.
Success reported with primary learners who
read more expository texts (Gardner 2004).
27
Key priorities in vocabulary teaching
1.
2.
Providing multiple exposures to target
words
Cognitive ‘elaboration’ of the form-meaning
relationship
Activities which require students to focus on
vocabulary appear to promote retention (e.g.
“reading plus”, pre-task and post-task
vocabulary focus).
28
Some teaching implications

Enhance L2 vocabulary acquisition
through instructional intervention
• More direct teaching of vocabulary
• More vocabulary-focused activities
29
Vocabulary now:
Cinderella has arrived at the ball
Landmarks of the 1990s:
 Lexical Syllabus (Willis)
 Lexical Approach (Lewis)
 Some excellent books for teachers about
vocabulary teaching (e.g. Nation, Schmitt &
McCarthy)
 Vocabulary software (concordancing; frequency
profiling)
 Corpus linguistics
 Enormous expansion in L2 vocabulary research
30
What has changed since vocabulary became
“centre stage”?
Language teaching now attaches importance to:

Collocation:
“blond+girl”; “torrential+rain”; “rising+prices”

Multi-word units/formulaic language:
“see you later”; “have a nice day”

Word-building: compounding; affixation

Lexical relations such as antonyms:
“high/low”; “ancient/modern”
31
Vocabulary building skills recommended
in CG
Word formation




Affixation (e.g. unhappy, careless)
Compounding (e.g. foot+ball=football)
Conversion (e.g. cook a meal, a cook)
Derivation (e.g. excite, exciting, excited,
excitement)
32
Vocabulary building skills
recommended in CG
Word association





Synonyms (e.g. happy, glad)
Antonyms (e.g. bright, dark)
Homonyms (e.g. catch a bus, catch a cold)
Collocation (e.g. make a wish, watch TV)
Lexical sets (e.g. furniture – table, chair,
desk, cupboard)
*please refer to CG (CDC, 2004): pp. 168-171
33
What challenges does L2 vocabulary present to
teachers?
AREAS OF FOCUS
BREADTH
DEPTH
34
1.
Productive vocabulary
What are the main
vocabulary issues in
HK students’ writing?
35
Text written by a primary school pupil in a HK
exam



I have a rubber, an old, small rubber. Although it is so
small that I can not use it anymore, I still keep it carefully
in my drawer as it is so important for me.
That is a long, long time that I have my rubber. Four
years ago, when I was still an eight-years-old child, my
parents bought me a rubber as my birthday present. I put
it into my pencil-box and brought it to school everyday.
We had an interesting game in the past. We used our
rubber to play with in the game. We pushed our rubber
one by one and tried not to be pushed out at the desk by
another rubber. We pushed and pulled our rubbers, soon
our rubbers became older and smaller one day than one
day.
36
Vocabulary Profile (VP) provides the
following breakdown (RANGE, 2002)
Word List
Tokens
Types
Families
1: 1st 1000
2: 2nd 1000
3: AWL
4: not in the
above
Total
37
38
39



I have a rubber, an old, small rubber. Although
it is so small that I can not use it anymore, I still
keep it carefully in my drawer as it is so
important for me.
That is a long, long time that I have my rubber.
Four years ago, when I was still an eight-yearsold child, my parents bought me a rubber as my
birthday present. I put it into my pencil-box and
brought it to school everyday.
We had an interesting game in the past. We
used our rubber to play with in the game. We
pushed our rubber one by one and tried not to
be pushed out at the desk by another rubber.
We pushed and pulled our rubbers, soon our
rubbers became older and smaller one day than
one day.
40
Lexical characteristics of L2 student writing



Repetition of key words rather than lexical
substitution
Under-use of super-ordination
Need for lexical enrichment (in particular,
adjectives and adverbs)
41
What vocabulary skills are involved in
developing lexical richness?






Avoiding repetition of words
(e.g. by lexical and pronominal substitution)
Knowing and using synonyms
Ability to give definitions
Knowing the name of the immediate
superordinate
Knowing the name of the member of the group
(e.g. “item”, “piece”, “article”, etc.)
Use of metaphor (e.g. using known words in a
metaphorical sense)
42
“General” superordinates can also help

EXAMPLES:
Stuff
Problem
Issue
Thing
Material
Business
Behaviour
Phenomenon
Trend
Pattern
43
Lexical expansion of a first draft
“My hobby is swimming. Every Saturday I
go to the swimming pool in Ma On Shan.
I swim for one hour. At the end, I feel
good. Then I go to McDonald’s with my
friend.”
44
Lexical feedback on a first draft
“My [adjective] hobby is swimming. Every
Saturday I go to the [adjective] swimming
pool in [precise location] Ma On Shan. I
swim [how exactly do you swim?] for one
hour. At the end, I feel good [a better
adjective?]. Then I go [better verb of
movement] to McDonald’s with my friend.”
45
2. Pre-requisites for
vocabulary building
Two Strands:
Topic
Strand
focus on size
Collocation
Strand
focus on
word combinations
paradigmatic
approach
syntagmatic
approach
46
Paradigmatic approach (topic strand)





Deliberate organization of words into
hierarchies
Develops associative networks
Encourages efficient vocabulary learning
Paradigms are fixed (but ‘open’)
Other associations are more personal
(e.g. acoustic, visual, ‘linkword’)
47
Assumptions about
paradigmatic arrangement



Allows for efficient vocabulary growth
because the system is ‘open’ and allows for
additions
Associated with receptive vocabulary
knowledge in particular
Retrieval of words operates through the
‘cohort’ principle
48
Example One:
FLAT
LIVING ROOM
BEDROOMS
fridge
KITCHEN
BATHROOM
cooker
saucepan
frying pan
49
Example Two:
Vehicles
car
train
bicycle
handlebar
wheel
saddle
tyre
spoke
50
Teaching the names of the
superordinates
?
horse
cow
tiger
51
Teaching the names of the
superordinates
animals
horse
cow
tiger
52
What is the missing word?
?
football
tennis
basketball
53
What is the missing word?
?
desk
chair
cupboard
54
Paradigmatic
Association
Syntagmatic
Association
55
Paradigmatic
Association
Syntagmatic
Association
56
Paradigmatic
Association
Receptive
Syntagmatic
Association
57
Paradigmatic
Association
Receptive
Syntagmatic
Association
Productive
58
Syntagmatic approach
(collocation strand)





E.g. Topic: transport
Car – drive – fast – wet – road
Brakes – skid – collide - accident
Develops associative networks
Word combinations are the key to productive use
of English
Focus on multi-word units
(e.g. ‘See you later.’, ‘Have a good trip!’)
Collocations
(e.g. ‘go shopping’, ‘have a shower’, ‘play football’)
59
Assumptions about
syntagmatic arrangement


Associated with productive vocabulary
because it is based on the words which
tend to occur together in sentences
The associations are based on
collocations rather than semantic
categories
60
From receptive to productive
Providing opportunities to combine words
PEOPLE
ACTIONS OBJECTS
PLACE
61
From receptive to productive
Providing opportunities to combine words
PEOPLE
Chef
ACTIONS OBJECTS PLACE
cook
meals
restaurant
Teacher
Singer
Pilot
62
Helping learners to create
useful word associations
ACTIVITY:
FINDING/CREATING PATTERNS IN A
LEXICAL SET
63
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Beggar
Energy
Pollution
Care
Environment Protect
Spit
Community
Flag
Steal
Crime
Fund raising Reduce
Volunteer
Donate
Government Save
Vote
Electricity
Plastic
Waste
Recycle
Serve
Smoke
64
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Possible associations - Collocations
(e.g. verb + noun)




Recycle waste
Reduce crime
Protect (the) environment
Serve (the) community
65
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Possible associations - Compounding
(e.g. noun + noun)




Community care
Energy waste
Pollution crime
Government volunteer
66
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Finding semantic categories
67
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Finding semantic categories
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
68
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Finding semantic categories
PROBLEM
Pollution (smoke, spit,
waste,..)
SOLUTION
69
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Finding semantic categories
PROBLEM
Pollution (smoke, spit,
waste,..)
SOLUTION
Save energy
Reduce waste
70
KS2 Wordlist: Caring about our
community and environment
Other categories?




People? Organisations?
Nouns? Abstract nouns? Concrete nouns?
Verbs?
Words which can be both nouns and verbs?
THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS ACTIVITY IS
TO DEVELOP LEARNERS’ ASSOCIATIONS
BY ENGAGING WITH THE WORDS
71
3. From Form to Meaning
Starting with a focus on word form
Activity: reading a postcard
72
Find the words which end in “-ing”
Dear Chris,
This summer our family holiday is really interesting.
We’re spending a week in a mountain hotel in
Japan. The hotel activities include walking,
mountain climbing and canoeing. The view is
amazing. We can see wild birds flying around and
hear the river flowing past. In the evening, we eat
in the hotel dining room, then watch TV. The
programmes are a bit boring, mostly singing
contests and game shows. The trip is tiring but
great fun. I’m looking forward to showing you the
photos.
Andy
73
Find the words which end in “-ing”
Dear Chris,
This summer our family holiday is really interesting.
We’re spending a week in a mountain hotel in
Japan. The hotel activities include walking,
mountain climbing and canoeing. The view is
amazing. We can see wild birds flying around and
hear the river flowing past. In the evening, we eat
in the hotel dining room, then watch TV. The
programmes are a bit boring, mostly singing
contests and game shows. The trip is tiring but
great fun. I’m looking forward to showing you the
photos.
Andy
74
Put each “-ing” form into a category
Verb in the
continuous
aspect
Adjective
Verb used
as a noun
(gerund)
After “see”,
“hear”, etc.
75
Put each “-ing” form into a category
Verb in the
continuous
aspect
Spending
Looking
Adjective
Interesting
Amazing
Boring
Tiring
Verb used
as a noun
(gerund)
Walking
Climbing
Canoeing
Showing
After “see”,
“hear”, etc.
Flying
Flowing
76
Put each “-ing” form into a category
Verb in the
continuous
aspect
Spending
Looking
Adjective
Verb used
as a noun
(gerund)
Interesting
Amazing
Boring
Tiring
Walking
Climbing
Canoeing
Showing
(Dining
Singing)
(Dining
Singing)
After “see”,
“hear”, etc.
Flying
Flowing
77
Using mini-activities or
games in vocabulary
learning and teaching
78
Key priorities in vocabulary teaching
1.
2.
Providing multiple exposures to target
words
Cognitive ‘elaboration’ of the form-meaning
relationship
79
Some teaching implications
GENERAL APPROACH
 Enhance L2 vocabulary acquisition through instructional
intervention
IN PRACTICAL TERMS WE NEED MORE:
 Direct teaching of vocabulary
 Development of learners’ own word associations
 Vocabulary-focused activities
 Process-writing with lexical feedback
 Conscious reflection about words
 Systematic re-cycling of target vocabulary (multiple
exposures)
80