Vocabulary Acquisition among Second Language Learners

Tan, B. S. S. (2004). Identifying the vocabulary learning strategies of Singapore Primary Six students of different English language proficiencies (Master’s thesis). Retrieved from http://libris.nie.edu.sg/

Background

The author believes that there has been little research on the topic of vocabulary acquisition among Singapore students and a better understanding of this is likely to yield insightful implications for effective learning and instruction.

Aims

The primary purpose of the current study is to investigate what vocabulary learning strategies Primary 6 students in Singapore employ. It compared how high and low proficiency Primary 6 students in Singapore handled unfamiliar vocabulary in natural reading settings and what ‘knowing a word’ meant to both groups.

Sample

Ten Primary 6 students in Singapore participated in the study. Five were high proficiency English language users and five were low proficiency users.

Method

Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the students’ perception of ‘what it means to know a word’. Think aloud reading of one passage was used to extract the mental reasoning processes the students used in handling problem words. The two groups received passages of differing difficulty. Immediate retrospective interviews were conducted to clarify ambiguous points noted during the think aloud.

Findings

The findings showed that the pattern and frequency of strategy use by the students were closely related to their English proficiency. Five key quantitative and qualitative differences were identified.

Firstly, the high proficiency subjects employed a wider range of strategies in a more flexible way. Secondly, while the less proficient students relied chiefly on one-directional mode of decoding and processing, the high proficiency subjects constantly shifted their modes of operation, accommodating the demands of a particular situation. Thirdly, the high proficiency students displayed better metacognitive awareness than the low proficiency students as demonstrated in their more efficient use of certain strategies. Fourthly, the high proficiency students demonstrated effective dictionary skills which their low proficiency counterparts greatly lacked. Lastly, while the high proficiency subjects possessed high motivation and a positive attitude that rendered learning and reading purposeful, the low proficiency students displayed a lacklustre drive that inevitably made their reading and learning rather undirected.

Results from the semi-structured interviews showed different understanding of the phrase ‘know a word’. The low-proficiency students’ perception revolved around knowing the meaning of the word and knowing how to decode the word using a bottom-up process. The high-proficiency students’ perception went beyond that to include knowing how to use the word correctly, both syntactically and semantically.

Implications

The author suggests that students should be provided training in vocabulary learning strategies.

Original article retrieved from NIE Digital Repository.