Appropriation du vocabulaire : mots faciles, mots difficiles, mots impossibles

La thèse défendue ici est que, pour qu’un apprenant acquière un mot en L2, il doit se familiariser avec les différents traits de ce mot et, souvent, surmonter une série de pièges qui entravent l’acquisition de certains de ces traits. La connaissance d’un mot inclut plus précisément la connaissance de sa forme (orale et écrite), de sa structure, de son sens (référentiel, affectif, pragmatique) et de ses relations avec d’autres mots. Selon nous, les facteurs qui inhibent l’apprentissage d’un mot sont les suivants : similitude de forme (sans similitude de sens) ou similitude morphologique (avec nuances sémantiques) avec d’autres mots ; indices trompeurs de structure morphologique ; différences de comportement lexico-syntaxique entre L1 et L2 ; différences dans les catégorisations de l’expérience faites par L1 et par L2 ; différences de connotation entre L1 et L2 ; différences pragmatiques dans l’emploi des quasi-synonymes et des équivalents partiels L1-L2 ; surcoût, pour l’apprentissage, lié à l’existence en L2 de synonymes et de quasi-synonymes ; absence apparente de systématicité des collocations.In this article it is argued that in the process of acquiring a word in L2 the learner has to familiarize himself with its different features and often to overcome a series of pitfalls which interfere with the acquisition of some of these word features. Specifically, knowing a word involves knowing its form (spoken and written), structure, syntactic behaviour, meaning (referential, affective, pragmatic) and its relations with other words. The factors that interfere with the learning of a word are claimed to be the following: similarity of form (without similarity of meaning) with other words, similarity of morphology (with subtle semantic differences) with other words, deceptive indicators of morphological structure, different lexico-syntactic patterning in L1 and L2, connotative differences between L1 and L2, pragmatic differences relative to near-synonyms and to L1-L2 translation-equivalents, the learning burden imposed by synonymy and partial synonymy, and apparent rulelessness of collocations

Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension

We explore the relationship between second language (L2) learners’ vocabulary size, lexical text coverage that their vocabulary provides and their reading comprehension. We also conceptualize “adequate reading comprehension” and look for the lexical threshold for such reading in terms of coverage and vocabulary size. Vocabulary size was measured by the Levels Test, lexical coverage by the newest version of Vocabulary Profile and reading comprehension by a standardized national test. Results show that small increments of vocabulary knowledge contribute to reading comprehension even though they hardly improve text coverage. We suggest two thresholds: an optimal one, which is the knowledge of 8,000 word families yielding the coverage of 98% (including proper nouns) and a minimal one, which is 4,000–5,000 word families resulting in the coverage of 95% (including proper nouns)

Advanced EFL learners' beliefs about language learning and teaching: a comparison between grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary

This paper reports on the results of a study exploring learners’ beliefs on the learning and teaching of English grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary at tertiary level. While the importance of learners’ beliefs on the acquisition process is generally recognized, few studies have focussed on and compared learners’ views on different components of the language system. A questionnaire containing semantic scale and Likert scale items probing learners’ views on grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary was designed and completed by 117 native speakers of Dutch in Flanders, who were studying English at university. The analysis of the responses revealed that (i) vocabulary was considered to be different from grammar and pronunciation, both in the extent to which an incorrect use could lead to communication breakdown and with respect to the learners’ language learning strategies, (ii) learners believed in the feasibility of achieving a native-like proficiency in all three components, and (iii) in-class grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary exercises were considered to be useful, even at tertiary level. The results are discussed in light of pedagogical approaches to language teaching

Reading, word-focused activities and incidental vocabulary acquisition in a second language

Reading is claimed to be the major source of vocabulary growth in L1, but is it also the main source of L2 vocabulary? This paper surveys some experiments in acquiring L2 vocabulary from reading that report very small vocabulary gains from short and long texts. By comparison, reading supplemented with word-focused tasks yields better results. Similarly, when reading is compared with a word-focused activity alone, it is the latter that is more effective for L2 vocabulary acquisition. The hypothesis of 'task-induced involvement load' is suggested as an explanation and prediction of task efficacy.11 page(s