1 / 27

Sam Hilliard Frank O’Shea Mary Andrews Self February 11 th , 2012

Explicit Circumlocution Instruction and its Effects on Vocabulary Learning and Retention in Novice Spanish Learners. Sam Hilliard Frank O’Shea Mary Andrews Self February 11 th , 2012. Hilliard.sam@gmail.com frankeoshea @gmail.com selfma@email.sc.edu. Table of Contents. Introduction

belle
Download Presentation

Sam Hilliard Frank O’Shea Mary Andrews Self February 11 th , 2012

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Explicit Circumlocution Instruction and its Effects on Vocabulary Learning and Retention in Novice Spanish Learners Sam Hilliard Frank O’Shea Mary Andrews Self February 11th, 2012 Hilliard.sam@gmail.com frankeoshea@gmail.com selfma@email.sc.edu

  2. Table of Contents • Introduction • Review of Literature • The Current Study • Results • Discussion • Limitations • Future Research • References

  3. Introduction • ACTFL & Advanced-Low rating • Proficiency-oriented approach • Circumlocution • “Use of L2 to describe an item missing from one’s lexicon” • Vocabulary

  4. Communication Strategies and FL Learning • Explicit Instruction and Subsequent Use • Is teachable and can improve communicative skills (Dörnyei, 1995) • Possible in beginner levels (Berry-Bravo, 1993; Ceo-DiFrancesco, 2003) • Can lead to deeper processing (Dörnyei, 1995; Salamone & Marsal, 1997; Weyers, 2010)

  5. Communication Strategies and FL Learning • Intermediate-High vs. Advanced-Low (ACTFL) • L1-based vs. L2-based strategies (Liskin-Gasparro, 1996) • Breakdown in Communication (Berry-Bravo, 1993; Brooks, 2004) • Repair strategies in L1 • Vocabulary learning = crucial

  6. Communication and Vocabulary Acquisition • Incorporating communication strategies into instruction (Berry-Bravo, 1993) • All levels of college Spanish classes • Passive vs. Active Vocabulary Learning • No data for communicative achievement or vocabulary acquisition

  7. Vocabulary Acquisition • de la Fuente (2001) • Negotiation of input + output = promotes productive acquisition • Hulstijn & Laufer (2001) • L2 vocabulary retention = time and effort • Sanaoui (1992; 1995); Kojic-Sabo & Lightbrown(1999) • Learner strategies directly related to learner outcomes • Quality > Quantity of strategies

  8. Vocabulary Acquisition • Morin (2006) • Explicit strategy instruction (vocabulary) can be easily incorporated into “normal L2 classroom activities” with “apparently immediate benefits, even among lower-proficiency learners” (p. 180) • Laufer (2006) Focus on form vs. formS • Push learners, notice, and modify

  9. The Current Study • Prior studies regarding circumlocution: • Investigated the effects on oral proficiency, but not on the potential benefits for vocabulary learning • Hypothesis: • Circumlocution can be used to push students’ output and deeper lexical processing of new vocabulary items, thereby leading to better productive learning by students.

  10. The Current Study Research Questions: • How—if at all—does explicit circumlocution training affect the learning of second language vocabulary? • How—if at all—does explicit circumlocution training effect the retention of second language vocabulary?

  11. Pilot Study • Chose existing unit from SPAN 121 syllabus dealing with house vocabulary • Administered vocabulary test of 30 words (matching format) to a SPAN 121 section different from experimental and control

  12. Target Words • la secadora= clothes dryer • la almohada= pillow • la olla = cooking pot • el colchón= mattress • el botiquín= medicine cabinet

  13. Participants • N=77 • Original number = 81(attrition) • Four classes of Spanish 121 at USC • Researcher A and Researcher B each taught one control and one experimental group

  14. Supplemental Vocabulary Handout

  15. Method

  16. Results Raw scores MANOVA for Between-Subjects effects

  17. Graph of raw scores

  18. Table 4 Results of individual one-way ANOVA *p < .05

  19. Summary of results • Overall, the type of instruction tended towards an effect, but is stat. insignificant (p=.067) • Gains for both groups on posttest (learning) • Experimental (circumlocution) group • Higher retention (less attrition), significant (p=.047)

  20. Discussion • Why similar levels of learning? • Intentional learning tasks (Laufer, 2006) • Form (comm.) vs. formS (words as objects of study) practice • Both groups pushed to notice words on some level (Schmidt, 1990) • Supp. Vocab sheet

  21. Discussion • Why higher retention for exp. Group? • Circumlocution/Communication Strategies and deeper processing (Weyers, 2010; Nakatani, 2005) • Analyze interlanguage (Dörnyei, 1995) • Forced output and circumlocution • (de la Fuente, 2001; Swain, 1995) • Semantic associations and retention (Morin & Goebel, 2001; Morin, 2006) • Processing time and retention (Hulstijn et. al., 2001)

  22. Limitations • Task-dependent memory (Barcroft, 2000; Webb, 2009) • Study outside of class? • Frequency of words

  23. Future research • Control for study outside of class • Longitudinal study • More treatments • More participants

  24. References Barcroft, J. (2004). Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Lexical Input Approach. Foreign Language Annals, 37(2): 200-208. Berry-Bravo, J. (1993). Teaching the Art of Circumlocution. Hispania, 76(2): 371-377. Ceo-DiFrancesco, D. (2003). Strategies in the Oral Production of Beginning Spanish Learners. Hispania, 86(1): 121-132. de la Fuente, M. J. (2001). Negotiation and Oral Acquisiton of L2 Vocabulary: The Roles of Input and Output in the Receptive and Productive Acquisition of Words. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(1): 81-112. Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the Teachability of Communication Strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1)55-85. Hulstijn, J. and Laufer, B. (2001). Some Empirical Evidence for the Involvement Load Hypothesis in Vocabulary Acquisition. Language Learning, 51(3): 539-558 Hummel, K. (2010). Translation and Short-Term L2 vocabulary retention: Hindrance or Help? Language Teaching Research, 14(1): 61-74. Kojic-Sabo, I., and P.M. Lightbrown. (1999). Students' Approaches to Vocabulary Learning and Their Relationship to Success. The Modern Language Journal, 83(2): 176-192 Laufer, B. (2006). "Comparing Focus on Form and forcus on FormS in Second-Language Vocabulary Learning. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1): 148-166. Liskin-Gasparro, J. (1996). Circumlocution, Communication Strategies, and The ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines: An Analysis of Student Discourse. Foreign Language Annals, 29(3): 317-330. Morin, R. (2006). Building Depth of L2 Vocabulary By Building and Using Word Families. Hispania, 89(1): 170-182. Nakatani, Y. (2005). The Effects of Awareness-Raising Training on Oral Communication Strategy Use. The Modern Language Journal, 89(1): 76-91. Salomone, A.M. and Marsal, F. (1997). How to Avoid Language Breakdown? Circumlocution! Foreign Language Annals, 30(4): 473-484. Sanaoui, R (1992). Vocabulary learning and teaching in French as a second language classrooms. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Toronto: University of Toronto, OISE. Swain, M. (1993). The Output Hypothesis: Just speaking and writing aren’t enough. Canadian Modern Language Review, 50 (1), 158-164. Webb, S. (2009). The Effects of Receptive and Productive Learning of Word Pairs on Vocabulary Knowledge. RELC Journal, 40(3): 360-376. Weyers, J. (2010). Speaking Strategies: Meeting NCATE Oral Proficiency Standards. Foreign Language Annals, 43(3), 384-394.

  25. Questions? Hilliard.sam@gmail.com frankeoshea@gmail.com selfma@email.sc.edu

More Related