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Tom Cobb Université du Québec à Montréal Vocab Symposium - Getting the Word Out AAAL April ‘07

Tom Cobb Université du Québec à Montréal Vocab Symposium - Getting the Word Out AAAL April ‘07 “Vocab learning in a video game?”. Context (1). While much is known about making vocab learning + growth efficient Little of it has an effect on language learners

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Tom Cobb Université du Québec à Montréal Vocab Symposium - Getting the Word Out AAAL April ‘07

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  1. Tom Cobb Université du Québec à Montréal Vocab Symposium - Getting the Word Out AAAL April ‘07 “Vocab learning in a video game?”

  2. Context (1) • While much is known about making vocab learning + growth efficient • Little of it has an effect on language learners • Who proceed in largely hit-n-miss fashion

  3. Context (2) • Word Knowledge has many interlinked facets • Meaning(s) • Phonological form • Orthographic form • Syntactic combinability • Collocative combinability • Procedural (access speed) • Initial acquisition points are 1, 2, or 3

  4. Context (3) • Pop culture • Spelling-bee mania of recent years • Films etc • Education culture • Decline of spelling in age of SMS + spell-checker • Obvious impact on writing • Subtle on reading • Gaming culture • Gamers target learning market • Some seriously • Huge potential to get research “out”

  5. Spelling games - a non-learning approach • Game presents endless streams of unusual words • Exclusive focus on form • Patterns with little generalizability • Words with minimal communicative value • Only big L1 lexicons can play

  6. Spelling games - a learning approach • Game words at player growth edge • Spelling patterns generalize • Game skills = language-use skills • Form cued by meaning • Access speed rewarded • Words with communicative value • Any size lexicons can play • L2 included

  7. Desiderata of a learning approach • Entire lexicon scaled by level • Game-compatible testing • Semantic based cueing • Recycling of inputs • Incorporate access speed • Incorporate social nature of language • Provide motivating interactions

  8. 1. Known lexicon categorized by level • From corpus  get frequency list • No problem since 1960s • But unlemmatized = unuseful • Except GSL + AWL • Make VocabProfile possible • Solved by Nation (06) • BNC corpus  14 lemmatized k-lists • Cobb (07) carries job up to 20k • The fringe of adult educated lexicon • Goulden, Nation & Read

  9. RECENTLY AVAILABLE • 100 million word Brit. Nat Corpus (BNC) • => 17MB word list • 694,807 different word types • GAME NEEDS • 20 lemmatized lists by k-level • 3000 • 4000 • 5000 …

  10. NATION’S WORK • 14 lemmatized lists • To drive Vocabprofile program • MY WORK • EXPAND LISTS TO • 15-20 lemmatized lists by k-level • 15,000 • 16,000 • 17,000 • 18,000 • 19,000 • 20,000

  11. 2. Game compatible level testing • Meara et al, Yes/no Checklist • Many words in short time • PNW’s as honesty check • PNW’s for other languages • Duyck’s WordGen Website • http://users.ugent.be/~wduyck/Wouter%20Duyck/wordgen.html • Some issue of size…

  12. 3. Semantic cueing • Word meanings integrated • As help / reminder • As game element • From high grade L2-learner dictionary • E.g., Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (CALD) • Whose definitions blend simple language with fairly low frequency words • (15k plus)

  13. 4. Principled recycling of both hits and misses • Classic memory research • Pimsleur et al in psychology • Mondria in L2 • Forgetting is rapid at first, then slows • Geometric progression • This information can be used to prevent forgetting • Retrieval practice at forget-points • Expanding intervals • Goal: minimum number of retrievals to LTM

  14. 5. Lex access-speed as game component • Research shows lexical access can be trained • Snellings, van Gelderen, de Glopper (2002) • So, progressively reduce time for game completion • According to power-law algorithm

  15. 6. Focus on social nature of language learning / use • Wireless capacity of DS players • Up to four players • Competition, collaboration…

  16. 7. Provide motivation to persist • Language consultant provides content + learning theory • Game professionals provide game elements • Exploit DS’s potential • Sound • Stylus • Split screen

  17. Extension projects • Transport game concepts to other languages • Transport game concepts to other language interfaces • French ESL learners • Spanish ESL learners • Japanese ESL learners…

  18. Further reading • Frequency lists • Leech et al, Word Frequencies in Written & Spoken English • Lemmatization procedures • Nation • 20k as size of adult educated lexicon • Goulding, Nation & Read (1990) • Yes-No Test • Buxton & Meara (1987) • Spaced recycling • Mondria & Mondria-Wit de Boer (1993) • Reaction-time & practice • Snellings, van Geldeen, & de Glopper (2002) • Easy and hard spelling • Connor (c.1986), N. Ellis (c.1996), Cognitive processes in spelling

  19. Goulden, R., Nation, P., & Read, J.(1990). How large can a receptive vocabulary be? Applied Linguistics 11, 341-358. • Meara, P., & Buxton, B. (1987). An alternative to multiple choice vocabulary tests. Language Testing 4, 142-154. • Nation, P. (2007). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? Canadian Modern Language Review 63 (1), 1-12. • Mondria, J.-A. & Mondria-De Vries, S.(1993). Efficiently memorizing words with the help of word cards and 'hand computer': Theory and applications. System 22, 47-57. • Snellings, P., van Gelderen, A,, & de Glopper, K. (2002). Lexical retrieval: An aspect of fluent second language production that can be enhanced. Language Learning 52 (4), 723-754.

  20. cobb.tom@uqam.ca Stay tuned for upcoming developments… www.lextutor.ca/aaal_07

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