This article investigates the contribution of vocabulary size and depth to second language (L2) speaking proficiency as well as its two dimensions of fluency and lexical resource. To this end, 46 ...English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners took the Word Associates Test (WAT), Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), Lex30, and the speaking tasks of International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Results of multivariate and ridge regression analyses indicated that (a) the three measures of vocabulary could jointly have a significant contribution to the prediction of the overall speaking ability as well as its two aspects of fluency and lexical resource; (b) receptive vocabulary size, as measured through the VLT, had a unique prediction of the overall L2 speaking proficiency; (c) receptive vocabulary depth could not predict any of the dependent variables; (d) productive vocabulary knowledge was predictive of the fluency and coherence dimension of L2 speaking; and (e) receptive vocabulary size could uniquely predict the lexical dimension of L2 speaking. The results are interpreted in order to provide a range of pedagogical implications.
Multimedia input can enhance vocabulary learning in the context of learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Drawing upon a mixed method, this study explores the potential of multimedia input in ...vocabulary learning. EFL vocabulary learning was assessed under four input conditions (definition + word information + video, definition + word information + audio, definition + word information, and definition-only). One hundred twenty-five Chinese-speaking university students were randomly allocated to the four conditions. The vocabulary knowledge test focused on receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge and served as a pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed test after 2 weeks. Participants also completed a survey related to their perceptions of the assigned learning mode. Five participants from each input condition completed an individual interview as well. Analyses of covariance supported the pronounced effects of the definition + word information + video condition on vocabulary learning and retention. The questionnaire and interview findings explained the value of multimedia input, particularly in the definition + word information + video condition. Overall, results highlight the importance of audiovisual input in vocabulary learning and retention. Relevant theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed based on the findings.
Students must have a sufficient vocabulary size in order to improve other English skills, as vocabulary is one of the most crucial aspects of language acquisition. Therefore, it is necessary to teach ...vocabulary when teaching a language. This study seeks to determine the effect of vocabulary instruction on vocabulary achievement among senior high school students. This study was a quantitative study, the sample was 30 students, and the data was collected using a pre-test and post-test. Between the assessments, a seven-hour vocabulary education was provided. Using the paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test, it was determined whether there was a statistically significant difference between students' scores before and after the vocabulary training was implemented. The results indicate a significant increase in vocabulary scores among students. The results of the research indicate that explicit vocabulary instruction should be incorporated into the teaching and learning process since it has been shown to increase students' vocabulary.
Background
Children with unilateral cochlear implants (CIs) may have delayed vocabulary development for an extended period after implantation. Bilateral cochlear implantation is reported to be ...associated with improved sound localization and enhanced speech perception in noise. This study proposed that bilateral implantation might also promote early vocabulary development. Knowledge regarding vocabulary growth and composition in children with bilateral CIs and factors associated with it may lead to improvements in the content of early speech and language intervention and family counselling.
Aims
To analyse the growth of early vocabulary and its composition during the first year after CI activation and to investigate factors associated with vocabulary growth.
Methods & Procedures
The participants were 20 children with bilateral CIs (12 boys; eight girls; mean age at CI activation = 12.9 months). Vocabulary size was assessed with the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) Infant Form and compared with normative data. Vocabulary composition was analysed in relation to vocabulary size. Growth curve modelling was implemented using a linear mixed model to analyse the effects of the following variables on early vocabulary growth: time, gender, maternal education, residual hearing with hearing aids, age at first hearing aid fitting and age at CI activation.
Outcomes & Results
Despite clear vocabulary growth over time, children with bilateral CIs lagged behind their age norms in receptive vocabulary during the first 12 months after CI activation. In expressive vocabulary, 35% of the children were able to catch up with their age norms, but 55% of the children lagged behind them. In receptive and expressive vocabularies of 1–20 words, analysis of different semantic categories indicated that social terms constituted the highest proportion. Nouns constituted the highest proportion in vocabularies of 101–400 words. The proportion of verbs remained below 20% and the proportion of function words and adjectives remained below 10% in the vocabularies of 1–400 words. There was a significant main effect of time, gender, maternal education and residual hearing with hearing aids before implantation on early receptive vocabulary growth. Time and residual hearing with hearing aids had a significant main effect also on expressive vocabulary growth.
Conclusions & Implications
Vocabulary development of children with bilateral CIs may be delayed. Thus, early vocabulary development needs to be assessed carefully in order to provide children and families with timely and targeted early intervention for vocabulary acquisition.
Recent studies demonstrate that emerging literacy depends on earlier language achievement. Importantly, most extant work focuses on parent-reported production prior to 30 months of age. Of interest ...is whether and how directly assessed vocabulary comprehension in the 2nd year of life supports vocabulary and kindergarten readiness in the 4th year. We first contrasted orthogonal indices of parent-reported production and directly assessed vocabulary comprehension and found that comprehension was a stronger predictor of child outcomes. We then assessed prediction from vocabulary comprehension controlling for maternal education, preschool attendance, and child sex. In 3 studies early, decontextualized vocabulary comprehension emerged as a significant predictor of 4th year language and kindergarten readiness accounting for unique variance above demographic control variables. Further we found that the effect of early vocabulary on 4th year kindergarten readiness was not mediated by 4th year vocabulary. This pattern of results emerged in English monolingual children (N = 48) and replicated in French monolingual (N = 58) and French-English bilingual children (N = 34). Our findings suggest that early, decontextualized vocabulary may provide a platform for the establishment of a conceptual system that supports both later vocabulary and kindergarten readiness, including the acquisition of a wide range of concepts including print and number. Differences between parent-reported and directly assessed vocabulary and the mechanisms by which decontextualized vocabulary may contribute to conceptual development are discussed.
Iconic mappings between words and their meanings are far more prevalent than once estimated and seem to support children's acquisition of new words, spoken or signed. We asked whether iconicity's ...prevalence in sign language overshadows two other factors known to support the acquisition of spoken vocabulary: neighborhood density (the number of lexical items phonologically similar to the target) and lexical frequency. Using mixed-effects logistic regressions, we reanalyzed 58 parental reports of native-signing deaf children's productive acquisition of 332 signs in American Sign Language (ASL; Anderson & Reilly, 2002) and found that iconicity, neighborhood density, and lexical frequency independently facilitated vocabulary acquisition. Despite differences in iconicity and phonological structure between signed and spoken language, signing children, like children learning a spoken language, track statistical information about lexical items and their phonological properties and leverage this information to expand their vocabulary.
The integration of gestures and pictures into pedagogy has demonstrated potential for improving adults’ learning of foreign language (L2) vocabulary. However, the relative benefits of gestures and ...pictures on children’s L2 vocabulary learning have not been formally evaluated. In three experiments, we investigated the effects of gesture-based and picture-based learning on 8-year-old primary school children’s acquisition of novel L2 vocabulary. In each experiment, German children were trained over 5 consecutive days on auditorily presented, concrete and abstract, English vocabulary. In Experiments 1 and 2, gesture enrichment (auditorily presented L2 words accompanied with self-performed gestures) was compared with a non-enriched baseline condition. In Experiment 3, gesture enrichment was compared with picture enrichment (auditorily presented words accompanied with pictures). Children performed vocabulary recall and translation tests at 3 days, 2 months, and 6 months post-learning. Both gesture and picture enrichment enhanced children’s test performance compared with non-enriched learning. Benefits of gesture and picture enrichment persisted up to 6 months after training and occurred for both concrete and abstract words. Gesture-enriched learning was hypothesized to boost learning outcomes more than picture-enriched learning on the basis of previous findings in adults. Unexpectedly, however, we observed similar benefits of gesture and picture enrichment on children’s L2 learning. These findings suggest that both gestures and pictures enhance children’s L2 learning and that performance benefits are robust over long timescales.
Inference making is fundamental to the construction of a coherent mental model of a text. We examined how vocabulary and verbal working memory relate to inference development concurrently and ...longitudinally in 4- to 9-year-olds. Four hundred and twenty prekindergartners completed oral assessments of inference making, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and verbal working memory each year until Grade 3. Concurrently, hierarchical regressions revealed that a greater proportion of total variance in inference making was explained by vocabulary and verbal working memory for younger than older children. Vocabulary breadth was a stronger predictor of inference than verbal working memory, but the opposite pattern was found for vocabulary depth and verbal working memory. The longitudinal relations between inference making, vocabulary, and verbal working memory were investigated in two separate cross-lagged models: one with vocabulary breadth and a second with vocabulary depth. Both vocabulary breadth and depth explained subsequent inference making and verbal working memory throughout the early grades. Inference making also predicted subsequent vocabulary depth. The results highlight the critical role of vocabulary knowledge in the development of inference ability both within and across time, the importance of vocabulary in supporting the development of verbal working memory, and the changing dynamics between language and memory in early development.
Educational Impact and Implications Statement
Inference making is essential for successful listening and reading comprehension. This study examined how vocabulary knowledge (breadth: number of words known, and depth: what is known about a word's meaning) and verbal working memory were related to 4- to 9-year-olds' ability to make the inferences necessary to understand spoken narratives. Vocabulary knowledge and verbal working memory were stronger predictors of concurrent inference making ability for younger than for older children. Across time, reciprocal relations were evident: inference making predicted subsequent vocabulary depth, and both aspects of vocabulary knowledge supported later inference making and working memory. Educators should be aware of the critical roles of vocabulary and verbal working memory to young children's inference making, and how good vocabulary skills support verbal memory. Of note are the reciprocal relations that exist between vocabulary and inference; both skills should be fostered in the classroom to mutually support each other.
Well-developed vocabulary skills are crucial for effective communication. Didactically speaking, it is therefore essential to explicitly foster the development of lexical competence in the classroom. ...This applies to both learners of German as a first and second language. The design of systematic vocabulary activities should aim to increase both the quality and quantity of learners‘ word knowledge and to ensure long-term retention of acquired words. While various approaches exist for teaching vocabulary in foreign language teaching, systematic and targeted approaches for supporting vocabulary acquisition in teaching German as a first language have yet to be established and, more importantly, effectively implemented in the classroom. Drawing upon findings from language acquisition research and linguistic models, we propose a framework for explicit vocabulary activities that facilitates the integration of new words into learners‘ mental lexicons (vocabulary breadth) and, in connection with this, promotes the development of semantic, relational, and formal word knowledge (vocabulary depth). The article will demonstrate how this framework was implemented in
a new teaching resource developed in Switzerland. It will also highlight broader didactic principles, such as criteria for vocabulary selection and principles for vocabulary teaching, which should be considered in the classroom.
This study examined the correlates of different aspects of vocabulary knowledge in L1 Chinese and L2 English in Hong Kong bilingual children (N = 481, age = 6–12 years old). Their nonverbal IQ, ...cognitive-linguistic skills, receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge breadth, and vocabulary knowledge depth in Chinese and English were measured. Results demonstrated that morphological awareness was uniquely correlated with different aspects of vocabulary knowledge across Chinese and English. Phonological processing skills played different roles in vocabulary knowledge in L1 and L2. In addition, receptive vocabulary breadth uniquely contributed to expressive vocabulary breadth across languages. Moreover, both receptive and expressive vocabulary breadth contributed to vocabulary knowledge depth in L1 Chinese and L2 English. The findings highlight some shared and unique aspects of different vocabulary constructs across languages.
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