The input-based incremental approach to vocabulary in meaning-oriented instruction for language program directors and teachers

The tenets of input-based incremental (IBI) vocabulary instruction (Barcroft, 2012) include (a) planning for vocabulary-learning opportunities; (b) presenting target words as input in particular ways while considering research findings and theoretical advances on lexical input processing; (c) specifying how different types of tasks promote different types of processing and, in turn, different aspects of vocabulary knowledge; (d) respecting the incremental nature of developing vocabulary knowledge; and (e) promoting learning of all aspects of vocabulary knowledge, including language-specific meanings and usage, over time. This chapter explains how language program directors (LPDs) and instructors can integrate the IBI approach within programs of meaning-oriented instruction in order to increase vocabulary learning in a theoretically grounded and evidence-based manner. The first section of the chapter reviews how meaning-oriented approaches provide necessary ingredients for successful L2 acquisition. The second section reviews some background issues related to what it means to “know” vocabulary. The third section summarizes the specific proposals of the IBI approach to vocabulary instruction, followed in the fourth section by examples of research findings that support them. The fifth section explains how IBI proposals can be seamlessly integrated into language programs focused on meaning, such as communicative language teaching and task-based instruction. The sixth section presents concrete lesson plans that demonstrate the integration of the IBI approach in meaning-oriented lessons at different levels of L2 proficiency. The seventh and final section provides six recommendations for LPDs and teachers on how to incorporate IBI vocabulary instruction within the multiple levels of a language program

The Effects of Sentence Writing as Semantic Elaboration on the Allocation of Processing Resources and Second Language Lexical Acquisition

143 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2000.Research suggests that semantic elaboration facilitates learning for lists of known words (e.g., Craik & Lockhart, 1972) and for unknown words recoded as known words (e.g., Atkinson & Raugh, 1975). Other studies have found no positive effect for semantic elaboration on new word definition recall (e.g., Pressley, Levin, Kuiper, Bryant, & Michener, 1982). In view of these findings and the inverse relationship found between processing second language (L2) input for meaning and for form (VanPatten, 1990), it is hypothesized that semantic elaboration may negatively affect word form learning. To test this hypothesis, a study was conducted operationalizing semantic elaboration as writing new words in sentences. In this study, L2 Spanish learners ( N = 60) attempted to learn 24 new Spanish concrete nouns while viewing each word along with its picture on a television screen. The study compared two learning conditions, one in which participants were shown four repetitions of each word for 6 seconds each (no sentence writing) and one in which they were shown one repetition of each word for 48 seconds each and asked to write each word in a Spanish sentence (sentence writing). After the exposure phase, the participants completed three posttests (immediately after exposure, 2 days later, 1 week later) on which they wrote Spanish words when presented with pictures only. The data were submitted to two analyses of covariance for actual scores and for scores in words per minute. Condition, time, gender, and experience were independent variables. Class and presentation order were blocking variables. Number of lexical items produced (score) was the dependent variable. Results indicated a negative effect for sentence writing on lexical items produced, suggesting that semantic processing can inhibit form learning by exhausting processing resources that could otherwise be directed at new forms.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD

Effective Treatment of Vocabulary when Teaching L2 Reading: The Example of Yoko Tawada’s Wo Europa anfängt

Second language (L2) learners comprehend more when they are prepared for novel vocabulary that they encounter in a text. Input-based incremental (IBI) vocabulary instruction (Barcroft, 2012) provides L2 instructors and learners with a means of achieving this goal by (a) presenting optimal input to learners at the right time during a reading-focused lesson and (b) promoting the gradual development of different aspects of word knowledge over time. The approach draws on theoretical advances and research findings related to lexical input processing, including the benefits of acoustically varied input and opportunities for target word retrieval. This paper explains the IBI approach and demonstrates how it can be applied when teaching authentic texts, using as an example L2 German and Wo Europa anfängt (1991) by Yoko Tawada, a narrative that addresses themes such as transnationalism, migration, borders, and cultural identity