Identifying and Assessing Vocabulary Learning Strategies.

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This article discusses second language vocabulary learning strategies and includes an analysis and classification of possible strategies and the report of a study conducted among second language learners in Japan. Research on vocabulary learning strategies is synthesized into two lists of strategies: 14 methods for initial learning of a new word’s meaning (use of reference materials, working with others, analyzing words from available information, creating systems to analyze words, using knowledge of other languages, and avoidance) and 28 strategies for studying and remembering a word’s meaning once it is known (repetition, study of formal and grammatical aspects, creation and use of study aids, perseverance, physical actions, manipulation of meaning, association systems, working with others, imaging, and use of knowledge of other languages). The study reported used these lists of strategies to determine how 600 Japanese subjects, ranging from junior high school students to adults, ranked their use and the utility of various strategies. Strategies considered to be most helpful and least helpful are listed and discussed briefly. Contains 11 references. (MSE) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.

Identifying and Assessing Vocabulary Learning Strategies Norbert Schmitt and Diane Rae Schmitt “PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Olin e of Educationat Research and Improvement E DUCA TrONAL RC SOURCES INFORMA1 ION CENTER (MCI \Ifhis document has been reproduced as ecelyed ttorn the oerson or of ganization Originating Minor changeS nave been. made tO improve teeroduction cluatly Points of new or Opinions staled in this docu rnent do not necessarily represent otticiat OE RI position or pOi:Cy IDENTIFYING AND ASSESSING VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES By Norbert Schmitt Minatogawa Women’s College Sanda, Japan By Diane Rae Schmitt I.E.L.P., Temple University,Japan, Osaka, Japan The last twenty years has seen a change in language pedagogy from A udiolingualism, mainlybased on grammar practice and drill, towards a more communicative style of teaching. This evolution has brought with it a change in the way both teachers and learners are viewed. Where before teachers were considered the sole source of knowledge and students passive recipients, learners are now increasingly encouraged and expected totake an active role in their own learning. In addition to this paradigm shift in teaching methodology, realization of the importance of several other factors has helped lead to a new emphasis on the learner.

First, the amount of time most students can spend in the L2 classroom is limited and usually amounts to only a few hours a week at best. In an ESL situation, the potential opportunities for learning in the community at large can outweigh those in the classroom. Second, since learners may have the best awareness of their own strengths, weaknesses, and personal preferences in individual and cultural learning style, they should have some voice in how their learning is achieved. Third, the language teaching field has moved away from searching for a perfect teaching method and towards a focus on how successful learners actually achieve their goals. Fourth, research from cognitive psychology has shown that language learning “requires learners to actively assimilate new information into their existing mental structures, thus creating increasingly rich and complex structures” (Oxford 1986, emphasis mine). A combination of these factors pointed to the necessity of learners having the skills to help manage their own learning, leading to an interest in learner strategies. I his. interest in learner strategies generated empirical research which generally tended to validate their usefulness. Bialystok (1981) found that four strategies (formal practice, monitoring, functional practice, and inferencing) correlated positively with language achievement. Zimmerman and Pons (1986) observed that high achievement track students reported using significantly more strategies than the lower track students. O’Malley and Chamot (1990) have done considerable research on learning strategies and have found that effective students used a greater variety of strategies, including both top down and bottom up types than noneffective students. In a survey of second language learning strategy research, Oxford (1986) concludes that learning strategies “improve language performance, encourage language autonomy, are teachable, and expand the role of the teacher in significant ways Most of this strategy research has focused on vocabulary learning strategies, in large part because discrete point tasks (such as learning a word) are both easier to empirically validate than more global tasks (making an invitation politely), and because t hey are amenable to either classroom or laboratory research techniques. Unfortunately, studies have almost exclusively concentrated on a limited number of vocabulary learning strategies, particularly mnemonic techniques, such as the kevi,oi d approach, and guessing word meanings from reading context. So paradoxically, although the bulk of genei al learning strategy research has focused on vocabulary, vocabulary strategies taken as a group have been extremely under-researched. There have been few studies which have approached vi -abulary learning strategies as a set, either seeking to identify or analyze them (For an exception, ,,ee Ahmed, 1989).

MARCH 1993 3 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 27 Creating a List of Vocabulary Learning Strategies As a first step in addressing this deficiency, a project was undertaken to compilea hst of vocabulary learning strategies. Various sources were used to ensure that the list would be as comprehensive as possible. First, a numberof vocabulary reference books and textbooks were examined, providing the majority of the strategies listed. Second, Japanese intermediate-level students were asked to write a report on how they studied English vocabulary words. Several additional strategies were gleaned from these reports. Third, several teachers were asked to review the list and add any strategies they had gained from their experience. These sources together yielded 36 strategies. Since then, one additional strategy has been included. The list as presented in this paper should not be considered comprehensive, but rather a working inventory to which additional strategies will almost certainly be added in the future. However, considering the multiple sources consulted, the most commonly used strategies are likely to be cowered. Once the list was compiled, it was analyzed to see if naturally occurring categories could be found. The first aspect considered was the distinction between ‘discovering’ a new word’s meaning and ‘practicing’ that meaning, a recurring theme in articles dealing with lexis. Cook and Mayer (1983) mention several similar categorizations, such as “storage encoding/ retrieval encoding” and “addition of new information to memory/assimilation of the new information to existing knowledge”. Nation (1990) formulates this distinction as “increasing vocabulary” and “establishing vocabulary” It was found that this distinction of mental processing was reflected in the gathered list of vocabulary learning strategies, which are really the outwardly visible facilitators of those processes. The strategies generally applied to one of two major areas: 1. Initial learning of a new word’s meaning 2. Studying and remembering the word’s meaning once it is known There were a few strategies that seemed to ‘cross over’ and have value in both areas. For example, analysis of roots and affixescan be usefulboth during the guessing process of learning a new word’s meaning, and in helping to remember and use that meaning later. The next step involved dividing the list into smaller categories within the two major areas. This preliminary categorization was done intuitively, grouping strategies together which seemed to have aspects in common. In the future, a more-detailed analysis may yield different or improved categorizations. VOCABULARY STRATEGY LIST Initial Learning Of New Word’s Meaning USE REFERENCE MATERIALS Bilingual dictionary Monolingual English dictionary ASK OTHERS FOR INFORMATION kVORK WITH OTHERS 28 THAI TESOL BULLETIN VOL.5 NO.4 4 Ask classmates Ask teacher for English paraphrase of synonym Ask teacher for translation Ask teacher for a sentence using the new word Learn meaning during group work ANALYZE WORDS FROM AVAILABLE INFORMATION Look at pictures or gestures to understand meaning Check prt of speech (noun, verb, etc.) Guess meaning from reading context Check prefixes, suffixes, and word roots to discover meaning CREA FE SYSTEM TO ANALYZE WORDS Attempt to guess where a new word’s meaning lies along a ‘scale’ of gradable adjective meanings (burning-hot-warm-cool-cold-freezing) USE KNOWLEDGE OF OTHER LANGUAGES