This meta‐analysis aimed to clarify the complex relationship between repetition and second language (L2) incidental vocabulary learning by meta‐analyzing primary studies reporting correlation ...coefficients between the number of encounters and vocabulary learning. We synthesized and quantitatively analyzed 45 effect sizes from 26 studies (N = 1,918) to calculate the mean effect size of the frequency–learning relationship and to explore the extent to which 10 empirically motivated variables moderate this relationship. Results showed that there was a medium effect (r = .34) of repetition on incidental vocabulary learning. Subsequent moderator analyses revealed that variability in the size of repetition effects across studies was explained by learner variables (age, vocabulary knowledge), treatment variables (spaced learning, visual support, engagement, range in number of encounters), and methodological differences (nonword use, forewarning of an upcoming comprehension test, vocabulary test format). Based on the findings, we suggest future directions for L2 incidental vocabulary learning research.
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This study investigated the relationship between vocabulary knowledge (written and aural receptive vocabulary size and self-rating of vocabulary knowledge) and self-perceptions of four language ...skills (reading, listening, writing, speaking) targeting undergraduate students in English-medium instruction (EMI) courses in Japan. The students' academic performance (course grades and quiz scores) was also compared to their vocabulary knowledge. Results showed that learners with larger aural vocabulary sizes were more confident in spoken language use, and those who self-rated higher on their vocabulary knowledge were more likely to perceive themselves as proficient in productive language skills. Interestingly, learners with larger written vocabulary sizes tended to perceive themselves as less proficient in performing EMI tasks. Results also showed that none of the vocabulary measures were significantly associated with academic outcomes. Interview data suggest that EMI students' performance could be affected by the complex interplay of various factors, though not necessarily a large vocabulary size alone. Based on these findings, implications are discussed in terms of teaching and assessing vocabulary knowledge in EMI courses.
The current study investigates the extent to which receptive vocabulary size test scores can predict second language (L2) speaking ability. Forty-six international students with an advanced level of ...L2 proficiency completed a receptive vocabulary task (Yes/No test; Meara & Miralpeix, 2017) and a spontaneous speaking task (oral picture narrative). Elicited speech samples were submitted to expert rating based on speakers’ vocabulary features as well as lexical sophistication measures. Results indicate that vocabulary size was significantly associated with vocabulary rating. However, learners with large vocabulary sizes did not necessarily produce lexically sophisticated L2 words during speech. A closer examination of the data reveals complexities regarding the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and speaking. Based on these findings, we explore implications for L2 vocabulary assessment in classroom teaching contexts and provide important suggestions for future research on the vocabulary-and-speaking link.
Most English language teachers around the world speak English as an additional language, and their level of English proficiency is often a matter of concern for them and their employers who associate ...higher levels of language proficiency with more effective teaching skills. To this end, several studies have examined the relationship between language proficiency and teachers’ beliefs about their pedagogical capabilities, commonly known as self-efficacy. While generally studies show a positive relationship between language proficiency and self-perceived teaching ability, findings regarding the strength of the relationship, the role of specific language skills (e.g. speaking, listening), and how they interact with different teaching abilities (e.g. classroom management) are inconsistent. By combining data from 19 studies, this meta-analytic study examined the relationship between language proficiency and teaching self-efficacy and analysed the role of various moderators such as teaching degree, teaching experience, and type of self-efficacy/proficiency measures. Findings reveal a moderate relationship (r = .37) between language proficiency and teaching self-efficacy, with some moderator variables showing significant differences across correlations. The results indicate that only a small percentage of the variance in self-efficacy can be accounted for by teachers’ language proficiency, suggesting that while language proficiency is important, there is more to self-efficacy than just language proficiency.
The current study investigated the extent to which L2 learners' productive vocabulary knowledge could predict multiple dimensions of spontaneous speech production. A total of 39 English as a foreign ...language (EFL) participants with varying L2 proficiency levels first completed a productive vocabulary knowledge task (Lex30). Their spontaneous speech, elicited via a series of picture description tasks, was then assessed for comprehensibility (i.e. ease of understanding), accentedness (i.e. linguistic nativelikeness) and fluency (i.e. speech rate). The findings showed that the productive vocabulary scores significantly correlated with L2 fluency, but not with comprehensibility or accentedness. These results suggest that more proficient L2 learners, as measured by productive vocabulary scores, may speak spontaneously with fewer pauses and repetitions, and at a faster tempo. Finally, future research directions are discussed with a focus on the relationships between vocabulary knowledge and speaking.
This meta‐analysis examined the effectiveness of an additional gloss mode in single versus dual and dual versus triple glossing on second language (L2) learners’ word learning. In total, 22 studies, ...providing 26 independent effect sizes, were coded, and 11 moderator variables including quality of data sample, learner variables, gloss features, text features, and methodological features were examined. The results show that the overall effect of an additional gloss mode was medium (g = 0.46) for immediate posttests and small (g = 0.28) for delayed posttests. However, analyses of moderator variables indicated that the effect of additional gloss modes is influenced by a range of variables related to learner (e.g., proficiency), gloss (e.g., language), text (e.g., narrative vs. expository), and research design (e.g., test format). Importantly, adding an additional mode to single textual gloss enhances vocabulary learning, whereas adding a mode to dual glossing does not result in significantly better vocabulary learning. The findings suggest that using more than two gloss modes is not necessary because it does not always lead to better learning of new words.
Eighty Japanese learners of English as a foreign language encountered 40 target words in one of four experimental conditions (three encounters, six encounters, three encounters with talker ...variability, and six encounters with talker variability). A picture-naming test was conducted three times (pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest) and elicited speech samples were scored in terms of form-meaning connection (spoken form recall) and word stress accuracy (stress placement accuracy and vowel duration ratio). Results suggested that frequency of exposure consistently promoted the recall of spoken forms, whereas talker variability was more closely related to the enhancement of word stress accuracy. These findings shed light on how input quantity (frequency) and quality (variability) affect different stages of lexical development and provide implications for vocabulary teaching.
This study examined the relationship between second language (L2) learners’ collocation knowledge and oral proficiency. A new approach to measuring collocation was adopted by eliciting responses ...through a word association task and using corpus-based measures (absolute frequency count, t-score, MI score) to analyze the degree to which stimulus words and responses were collocated. Oral proficiency was measured using human judgements and objective measures of fluency (articulation rate, silent pause ratio, filled pause ratio) and lexical richness (diversity, frequency, range). Forty Japanese university students completed a word association task and a spontaneous speaking task (picture narrative). Results indicated that speakers who used more low-frequency collocations in the word association task (i.e., lower collocation frequency scores) spoke faster with fewer silent pauses and were perceived to be more fluent. Speakers who provided more strongly associated collocations (as measured by MI) used more sophisticated lexical items and were perceived to be lexically proficient. Collocation knowledge remained as a unique predictor after the influence of learners’ vocabulary size (i.e., knowledge of single-word items) was considered. These findings support the key role that collocation plays in oral proficiency and provide important insights into understanding L2 speech development from the perspective of phraseological competence.
Lexical bundles (LBs) are crucial in L2 oral proficiency, yet their complexity in terms of length is under-researched. This study therefore examines the relationship between longer and shorter LBs ...and oral proficiency among 150 L2 learners of varying proficiency levels at a UK university. Through the analysis of oral presentation data (scores ranging from intermediate to advanced) and employing a combined text-internal and text-external approach (two- to five-word bundles), this study advances an innovative text-internal LB refinement procedure, thus isolating the unique contribution of LB length. Robust regression, dominance analysis, and random forest statistical techniques reveal the predictive power of bigram mutual information (MI) and longer three-to-five-word sequences on higher proficiency scores. Our results show that learners using higher MI score bigrams tend to perform better in their presentations, with a strong positive impact on scores (b = 14.38, 95% CI 8.01, 20.76, t = 4.42; dominance weight = 58.63%). Additionally, the use of longer three-to-five-word phrases also contributes to better performance, though to a lesser extent (dominance weight = 18.80%). These findings highlight the pedagogical potential of a nuanced approach to the strategic deployment of LBs, particularly bigram MI, to foster oral proficiency. Suggestions for future LB proficiency research are discussed in relation to L2 speech production models.
The study investigates how the test modality (spoken or written) of classroom weekly quizzes influences vocabulary learning strategies and facilitates learning the spoken and written knowledge of ...form‐meaning connection in L2 words. Japanese university students in academic English courses were assigned to two experimental conditions (spoken test and written test groups). The spoken test group prepared for and took weekly quizzes delivered in spoken format, whereas the written test group took the same quizzes delivered in written format. Over 10 weeks, learners were presented with the spoken or written forms of 20 English words and asked to provide the L1 translations of those words. Before and after the semester‐long treatment, 45 target words were tested in both spoken and written format via L2‐to‐L1 translation tasks. Additionally, a questionnaire survey on vocabulary learning strategies was conducted to examine how learners prepared for weekly quizzes outside of the classroom. Results revealed that learners in the spoken test group showed a significantly larger gain in spoken vocabulary than did the learners in the written test group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups for written vocabulary learning. The spoken test group tended to rely on studying target vocabulary in a spoken form more frequently, whereas the written test group studied vocabulary in written form more frequently. This study provided implications for how teachers should administer classroom testing with the aim to develop learners' L2 spoken vocabulary knowledge effectively.
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