Language Learning · 1996 · 886 citations · 36 references
Second Language LearningMultilingualismLanguage DevelopmentLanguage EducationEducationPsycholinguisticsLanguage LearningLanguage TeachingLanguage ProficiencyLanguage Assessment (Second Language Acquisition)Second Language AcquisitionLanguage TestingLanguage AcquisitionLanguage Assessment (Speech Language Pathology)Language StudiesVocabulary Learning QuestionnaireCognitive ScienceLearning SciencesForeign Language LearningLanguage Learning OutcomesChinese University LearnersVocabulary SizeLanguage ComprehensionForeign Language AcquisitionLanguage-learning Aptitude
The study aimed to identify the vocabulary learning strategies of Chinese university English learners and examine how these strategies relate to language learning outcomes. The authors surveyed 850 sophomore non‑English majors at Beijing Normal University with a vocabulary learning questionnaire and correlated responses with vocabulary size and CETBAND2 test scores. Self‑Initiation and Selective Attention were the strongest positive predictors of CETBAND2 scores, while visual repetition was the strongest negative predictor of both vocabulary size and proficiency; other strategies such as contextual guessing, dictionary use, note‑taking, word‑formation awareness, contextual encoding, and activation of new words also correlated positively, and the authors identified five strategy approaches whose combinations, rather than single strategies, appeared most influential.
We aimed to establish the vocabulary learning strategies used by Chinese university learners of English and the relationship between their strategies and outcomes in learning English. We asked 850 sophomore non‐English majors at Beijing Normal University to complete a vocabulary learning questionnaire. We correlated replies to the questionnaire with results on a vocabulary size test and on the College English Test (CETBAND2). Participants reported using a wide variety of vocabulary learning strategies. In a multiple regression analysis, Self‐Initiation and Selective Attention, two metacognitive strategies, emerged as positive predictors of CETBAND2 scores. Contextual guessing, skillful use of dictionaries, note‐taking, paying attention to word formation, contextual encoding, and activation of newly learned words also positively correlated with the two test scores. However, visual repetition of new words was the strongest negative predictor of both vocabulary size and general proficiency. Furthermore, strategies aiming at vocabulary retention only related more to vocabulary size than to English proficiency. We identified 5 approaches to learning. These strategy combinations, rather than individual strategies, may have made the difference in these people's learning.
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Teaching and Learning Vocabulary
Rachel Gader, Linda Taylor · TESOL Quarterly · 1991 · 1.5K citations
Second Language Acquisition, Learning Sciences, Language Curriculum +6