Measuring second language vocabulary acquisition

286 Pages·2009·1.39 MB·English

by  James Milton

Measuring Second Language Vocabulary
Acquisition
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Series Editor: Professor David Singleton,Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
This series brings together titles dealing with a variety of aspects of language
acquisition and processing in situations where a language or languages other than
the native language is involved. Second language is thus interpreted in its broadest
possible sense. The volumes included in the series all offer in their different ways, on
the one hand, exposition and discussion of empirical fi ndings and, on the other, some
degree of theoretical refl ection. In this latter connection, no particular theoretical
stance is privileged in the series; nor is any relevant perspective – sociolinguistic,
psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic, etc. – deemed out of place. The intended readership
of the series includes fi nal-year undergraduates working on second language
acquisition projects, postgraduate students involved in second language acquisition
research, and researchers and teachers in general whose interests include a second
language acquisition component.
Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can
be found on http://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual
Matters, St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK.
SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Series Editor: David Singleton, Trinity College, Dublin,
Ireland
Measuring Second
Language Vocabulary
Acquisition
James Milton

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS
Bristol • Buffalo • Toronto
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Milton, James, 1955–
Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition/James Milton
Second Language Acquisition: 45
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Language and languages–Study and teaching. 2. Vocabulary–Study and teaching.
3. Second language acquisition. I. Title.
P53.9.M55 2009
418.0071–dc22 2009026147
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-208-5 (hbk)
ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-207-8 (pbk)
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Copyright © 2009 James Milton.
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Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
1 Explanations and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
What is Vocabulary and What is Meant by a Word?. . . . . . . . . .7
What is Word Knowledge? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
What Makes a Good Vocabulary Test? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
How is Vocabulary Knowledge Measured?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
2 Word Difficulty, Word Frequency and Acquisition:
Lexical Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Differences in Word Frequency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
The Frequency Model: Drawing a Frequency Profile . . . . . . . .25
Testing the Model and Drawing Real Frequency
Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
How Profiles Develop over the Course of Learning . . . . . . . . .29
Vocabulary Profiles in Individual Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Word Difficulty and how this Influences the
Frequency Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
3 Frequency and Coverage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
The Relationship Between Word Frequency and Coverage:
Zipf’s Law. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
The Relationship Between Coverage and Comprehension. . . . .47
How Much Coverage is Required for Comprehension?. . . . . . .50
Coverage in Written and Spoken Corpora. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Coverage in Specialist Lexicons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Coverage in Different Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
4 Measuring Vocabulary Breadth: Passive
Recognition Vocabulary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Tests of Vocabulary Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Predictions of Growth in Vocabulary Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Vocabulary Knowledge Expectations in Examination and
Other Curricula. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Studies of Growth in Vocabulary Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
v
vi MeasuringSecondLanguageVocabularyAcquisition
Time Spent in Class and Rates of Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
5 Measuring Other Aspects of Vocabulary Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Measuring Phonological Vocabulary Breadth . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Measurements of Phonological Vocabulary Knowledge. . . . . . .94
Language Effects in Phonological Vocabulary Learning. . . . . .100
Measuring the Acquisition of Word Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Methods for Measuring the Acquisition of Affixes . . . . . . . . .105
Acquisition of the Most Frequent Affixes Forming the
Lemma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108
Measuring the Acquisition of Less Frequent Affixes . . . . . . . . 111
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
6 Measuring Productive Vocabulary Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Measuring Productive Vocabulary Using Translation
and Elicitation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Measuring Lexical Diversity in Free Language Production . . .125
Measuring Lexical Sophistication in Free Language
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Other Ways of Assessing Vocabulary Production . . . . . . . . . .140
Measuring Vocabulary Knowledge with Word
Association Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Measuring Fluency and Automatisation in
Vocabulary Use. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
7 Measuring Vocabulary Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
Measuring Individual Elements of Vocabulary Depth . . . . . . .150
Self-assessment of Vocabulary Depth Knowledge . . . . . . . . . .159
Association Tests of Vocabulary Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

8 Vocabulary Acquisition and Assessments of Language Level . . .170
Vocabulary Size, Examination Grading Criteria and
Language Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Vocabulary Size and the Four Skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Vocabulary Size and Examination Performance. . . . . . . . . . . .180
Vocabulary Size and the CEFR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
9 Vocabulary Acquisition and Classroom Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193
What does Theory say about Vocabulary Input? . . . . . . . . . . .195
What Happens in Books in Reality? Vocabulary Exposure . . .197
Contents vii
What Happens in Books in Reality? Selection of
Vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201
Vocabulary Uptake from Classroom Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205
Vocabulary Recycling in Books and Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . .209
Teacher Talk and Acquisition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
10 Vocabulary Acquisition and Informal
Language Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218
Vocabulary Learning from Reading Comic Books . . . . . . . . . .221
Vocabulary Learning from Singing Greek Songs . . . . . . . . . . .225
Vocabulary Learning from Watching DVDs with Subtitles. . . .228
Vocabulary Learning from Wordlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
Vocabulary Learning on Study Visits Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . .231
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236
11 Implications for Learning and Teaching:
Theory and Practice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238
Vocabulary Storage and the Definition of a ‘Word’
for Testing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Vocabulary Frequency as a Model for Learning . . . . . . . . . . .241
How Much do Learners Vary in the Vocabulary
They Learn? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242
Individual Variation and the Dimension of Vocabulary
Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .246
Individual Variation, Age and Word Difficulty . . . . . . . . . . . .247
Implications for the Practice of Teaching Vocabulary. . . . . . . .248
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250
Appendix 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Appendix 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275

Introduction
Much of the literature on second language acquisition as a general
process (e.g. Mitchell & Myles, 2004; Lightbown & Spada, 1999) pays
little attention to vocabulary learning. This is not just a recent
phenomenon. O’Dell (1997: 258) comments that vocabulary and lexis
are absent from major books on the syllabus and theory of language
teachingthroughoutthe1970sand1980s.Itsomissionmayhaveaneven
longerhistory. Wilkins (1972: 109),writing at the beginningof the 1970s,
suggests it dates from the development of structural linguistics. For
much of the last half century or so, therefore, the consideration of
vocabulary in the process of language learning, testing and teaching
appearsto have been sidelined and, as Meara (1980) describes it, turned
into a Cinderella subject.
I think there are three reasons for this. One is a product of the
structural and other approaches to language teaching that have become
highly pervasive in language teaching. Outside the arena of specialist
vocabularystudiesthereseemstobealong-standingideathatwordsare
just words, and that learning words is unsystematic. Vocabulary is
unchallenging as a pedagogical or an academic issue, as a consequence.
Instructuralapproachestolearning,thepartoflanguagelearningwhich
is really important is how languagerules and systems areacquired, and
with this approach we need not be too concerned about the words to
which these rules and systems apply. It is assumed that these rules
would develop regardless of which words, or how many words, were
being used to form them. Commonly, a structural linguistic approach to
teaching deliberately reduces the volume of vocabulary input at the
earliest stages of learning to only what is necessary for the presentation

of language structures, or what is essential to motivate learners. So
powerful has this approach been, that it has pervaded later approaches
whereagreateremphasisonvocabularyoughttobeapparent.Notional-
functionaland,intheUK,communicativeapproacheshavelikewiseseen
vocabulary learning sidelined.
The second reason is the persistent belief among teachers, learners
and educational administrators, that it is possible to become highly
proficient in a foreign language, and even a sophisticated user, with
only very limited vocabulary resources. I am constantly surprised,
for example, by the number of teachers who quote Ogden’s (1930)
Simple English at me, apparently in all seriousness, and are under the
1
2 MeasuringSecondLanguageVocabularyAcquisition
impression that they can teach a complete western European language
with only 850 words. Ogden’s Simple English even continues to crop up
in the most recent academic literature, for example in Ha¨cker’s (2008)
examination of the vocabulary loading of German course books. While
Ha¨cker recognises that Ogden’s 850 words cannot form a fully
communicative lexicon for a modern European language, the idea
that it can do so is widespread and even occurs in otherwise reputable
media. A recent BBC news article by Alex Kirby (2004), for example,
suggested that since only ‘about 100 words are needed for half of all
reading in English’ it would follow that a parrot with 950 words should
cope ‘with a wide range of [English] material’. Ogden’s work, and
structural linguistics, pre-date modern corpus analysis that gives a
much better idea of the kind of vocabulary resources that learners need.
These can tell us about the occurrence and frequency of words in
language, and this provides reliable information on which words, and
how many, are really used by normal speakers. It turns out that
thousands of words are needed even for basic communication, let alone
for fluency. But the idea that teaching modern foreign languages
requires only a handful of words persists, probably because it is also
aproductofwishfulthinking.Learningalanguageisanenormoustask.
To perform like a native speaker you need to learn thousands of words.
You need to discover which words can be combined and which cannot,
andmaster many rules oflanguage.Itcan takeyearsofeffortto achieve
even basic levels of command and understanding. Teachers have to try
to fit all of this into a restricted timetable and maintain the motivation
of learners at all times. Everyone would like to believe that you can
reduce the burden of learning to something much smaller, say, a few
hundred words instead of many thousands, and still achieve worth-
while results.
The third reason is the widely held belief that time spent in explicit
vocabulary teaching is wasted because ‘few words are retained from
those which are ‘‘ learned’’ or ‘‘taught’’ by direct instruction’ (Harris &
Snow,2004:55),and‘mostL2vocabularyislearnedincidentally,muchof
itfromoralinput’(Ellis,R.,1994:24).Thebestwaytodealwithvocabulary,
therefore,isnottoteachitatallbecauselearnerswillsoakitupasthough
by osmosis from the language which surrounds them inside or outside
class. This is also wishful thinking. The evidence suggests that the
vocabulary uptake from truly incidental language exposure is usually
negligible and that successful learners acquire large volumes of vocabu-
lary from the words explicitly taught in the classroom and supplement
their learning by targeting vocabulary in activities, like learning the
words of songs, outside of class.