Word-formation in second language acquisition

This article explores the role of word-formation processes in the acquisition of a second-language lexicon and the relevant concepts from second language acquisition theory, among them the ‘word family’. The acquisition of word-formation knowledge influences the structure of a speaker’s mental lexicon, but teaching word-formation explicitly is sometimes seen as an optional extension for advanced learners. Dictionaries can help learners develop their knowledge of word-formation, but only electronic versions can make full use of the lexical information

Intelligent CALL

This chapter describes the provision of corrective feedback in Tutorial CALL, sketching the challenges in the research and development of computational parsers and grammars. The automatic evaluation and assessment of free-form learner texts paying attention to linguistic accuracy, rhetorical structures, textual complexity, and written fluency is at the centre of attention in the section on Automatic Writing Evaluation. Reading and Incidental Vocabulary Learning Aids looks at the advantages of lexical glosses, or look-up information in electronic dictionaries for reading material aimed at language learners. The conclusion looks at the role of ICALL in the context of general trends in CALL

French vocabulary in Encore Tricolore: do pupils have a chance?

British learners acquire very little vocabulary in their foreign languages,compared to pupils elsewhere in Europe, particularly learners of English as aforeign language. Could the materials used for teaching help explain thisdifference? An analysis of the vocabulary loading of a textbook for French as aforeign language commonly used in Britain, Encore Tricolore (Mascie-Taylor andHonnor, 2001, Cheltenham, UK, Nelson Thornes), was carried out with thisquestion in mind. An analysis of the vocabulary suggests that it is not introducedand practised in a way that is conducive to building a sufficiently large vocabularyto reach level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference forLanguages (CEFR)

"... then click on the correct answer": which way ahead for the field of CALL?

Abstract Despite the promise it holds, tutorial CALL has been marginalized within the CALL community. Where the computer is used solely as a tool, the beneficial effects of feedback for language learning are absent. Vocabulary would be one of the areas where tutorial CALL can be of great use to the individual learner. A small study on learning Welsh vocabulary shows some of the areas where feedback in vocabulary CALL could be improved

What’s Wrong with Welsh Adjectives?

Why are some words harder to learn than others? In a long-term CASLR (computer-assisted second language research) study, a vocabulary flashcard program that employs spaced repetition for explicit vocabulary training was used in order to arrive at data on the difficulty of individual words. The vocabulary content of a beginner’s Welsh course was periodically entered into the program as one learner progressed through the course and studied vocabulary with the help of the electronic flashcards. The Welsh words were trained both receptively and productively, and in a few cases also as part of a short phrase or sentence. The program automatically collects statistical information for each individual electronic card, including the number of times each card had been seen. Data was collected for an initial period of two years of non-intensive learning, and the resulting statistics for the individual flashcards allow an interesting insight into the very highly variable number of repetitions needed for each word. In a first instance, all single words were sorted into their word class. This analysis showed that nouns were the easiest group to learn. Further analysis showed that certain spelling patterns correlate with increased difficulty as measured by the number of repetitions needed by the learner. Because completely accurate spelling is critical for the program to recognize the learner’s answer as correct, it could of course be argued that exact spelling is given far too much weight in this context, and that the learner would ideally be given partial credits for otherwise correct answers. Despite such shortcomings on the part of the software used, the analysis sheds some new light on the complexities of the process of incremental vocabulary learning. One interesting finding is that the spelling of Welsh words seems to present a considerable obstacle to the beginning learner despite the fact that Welsh is said to have a shallow orthography, which should therefore be relatively unproblematic to acquire

Replication? Open Data? Yes, please!

This conference’s focus on open data comes at a time when replication studies are increasingly being recognized as necessary for confirming trends found in original research publications. Successful replications rely on transparency in terms of data and methodology. If a study is well-designed, transparent and open in its description, it can also serve as an excellent tool for beginning researchers to learn about the methodologies and types of data analysis typically used in a field. A study on vocabulary learning, for instance, needs the description of the tests in the published paper to be clear and detailed enough to either re-use the tests without any changes, or allow for the construction of a close equivalent. The example described in this presentation fulfills this requirement and serves to illustrate the core argument that replications can be invaluable tools for teaching as well as strengthening the research findings