Addressing the Vocabulary Gap with the GSL and the AWL
TESL Ontario ConferenceOctober 2011Daragh Hayes & Kristibeth Kelly
AGENDA The Vocabulary Predicament - What do learners need to know? The General Service List (GSL) The Academic Word List (AWL) Approaches at Lower Levels Application at Intermediate/Advanced
Levels
THE VOCABULARY PREDICAMENT
Spoken Discourse:•2,000 words everyday spoken conversation
(Schonell et al., 1956) •2,000 – 3,000 words for 95% comprehension
(Laufer, 1989)•6,000 – 7,000 words for 98% comprehension
(Nation, 2006)
THE VOCABULARY PREDICAMENT
Written Discourse:•8,000 - 9,000 words to comprehend the
average newspaper article (Jeffries, 2011)•10,000 word families to read most university
textbooks (Hazenburg & Hulstijn, 1996)•15,000 – 20,000 word families for a native
speaker-like proficiency (Nation & Waring, 1997)• (Lemmas = inflections: adapt adapts; no
change in Part of Speech)
THE VOCABULARY PREDICAMENT
Written Discourse:•8,000 - 9,000 words to comprehend the
average newspaper article (Jeffries, 2011)•10,000 word families to read most university
textbooks (Hazenburg & Hulstijn, 1996)•15,000 – 20,000 word families for a native
speaker-like proficiency (Nation & Waring, 1997)• (Word Families = adapt adaptation; the
other Parts of Speech)
Reading Comprehension:
95% of the words in any given text to facilitate comprehension (Schmitt, 2000)
For full comprehension, 98% coverage is necessary (Jeffries, 2011 via Nation)
HOW MUCH DOES A LEARNER NEED TO KNOW?
HOW MUCH DOES A LEARNER NEED TO KNOW? (OPTIMISM!)
50% of the words in an average passage (e.g. newspaper article) are common function words (the, it, to, is, etc.).
If a learner knows the 2,000 most frequent words, he/she knows 85-90% of the words in most reading texts.
(Jeffries, 2011, Extensive Reading, via Nation)
Wordspelling
meaning
grammar
pronunciationfrequency
connotations
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ‘KNOW’ A WORD?
formality
collocations
Vocabulary is not an all-or-nothing piece of learning for any particular word… It is a gradual process of one meeting with a word adding to or strengthening the small amounts of knowledge gained about the word from previous encounters.
(Nation, 2001)
FACILITATING VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
How do we begin to address the gap?
Incidental Learning?
Extensive Reading?
Explicit Vocabulary Instruction?
INCIDENTAL LEARNING…learning which accrues as a by-product of language usage, without the intended purpose of learning a particular linguistic feature. An example is any vocabulary learned while reading a novel simply for pleasure, with no stated goal of learning new lexical items.
(Schmitt, 2010: 29)
…learning which accrues as a by-product of language usage, without the intended purpose of learning a particular linguistic feature. An example is any vocabulary learned while reading a novel simply for pleasure, with no stated goal of learning new lexical items.
(Schmitt, 2010: 29)
…is learning which accrues as a result of a focused and deliberate attempt to learn a particular linguistic feature. An example is any vocabulary learned from explicitly studying a word list with the intention of memorizing the words on it.
(Schmitt, 2011)
INTENTIONAL LEARNING
…is learning which accrues as a result of a focused and deliberate attempt to learn a particular linguistic feature. An example is any vocabulary learned from explicitly studying a word list with the intention of memorizing the words on it.
(Schmitt, 2011)
7 - 10, up to 20 encounters, depending on the word, the context, the type of text, etc.
(Jeffries, 2011)
Learning = Function of repetition & time (Mikulecky,
2011)
FACILITATING VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
FACILITATING VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
Explicit Teaching Intentional Learning: - Explicit focus on target linguistic features results
in learning that is:• stronger• more durable•more consistent among learners with
different learning styles Productive mastery Productive engagement
(Schmitt, 2011)
EXPOSURE VS. LEARNING
Reading does not teach you the word
meanings
Students need multiple
exposures to words
HOW TO BEST ‘TEACH’ A WORD?
Vocabulary cannot be taught. It
can be presented, explained,
included in all kinds of activities,
and experienced in all manner of
associations … but ultimately it
is learned by the individual.
Wilga Rivers, 1983
Vocabulary cannot be taught.
HOW CAN WE BEST ‘TEACH’ A WORD?
The most important deliberate
learning part of a vocabulary
course is the learners taking
responsibility for their own
learning.
Paul Nation, 2008
General Service List (GSL)- 2,284 most common head words in English
(i.e. “be” includes “am”, “is”, “are”, etc.)
Academic Word List (AWL) - 570 words, ten sublists, excludes the GSL
(Note: UWL updated to AWL)
WORD FREQUENCY LISTS
WORD FREQUENCY LISTS
(Hotta Dover & Dimeropoulos, 2010)
Text Coverage for a Range of TextsWORD FREQUENCY LISTS
Source GSL(first 2,000)
UWL Total
Academic 78% 9% 87%
Newspapers 80% 4% 84%
Popular Magazines 83% 4% 87%
Fiction 87% 2% 89%(Nation & Waring, 1997)
Access to list Rationale & data Accountability Link to success in
course (i.e. Test scores)
GSL AT THE LOWER LEVELS
72.15 %-First 1,000 level words
8.79%-Second 1,000 level words
3.12% -Academic Word List
15.97% -Off List
Vocabulary Journal - Front
LOWER LEVEL APPROACH:VOCABULARY JOURNALS
Vocabulary Journal - Back
LOWER LEVEL APPROACH:L1 AS A LEARNING RESOURCE
Establish a meaning – form link
L1 as vehicle to establish this link quickly (Schmitt, 2011)
LOWER LEVEL APPROACH:L1 AS A LEARNING RESOURCE
Cummins’ ‘Dual Iceberg’ model
Pre-existing schema relabeling
LOWER LEVEL APPROACH:L1 AS A LEARNING RESOURCE
(Cummins, 1980/2001, p. 118)
INDIVIDUALIZED VOCABULARY QUIZ… IN PRACTICE
First three words only!
Access to list Explanation of Benefits
- get “buy in” Multiple Exposures - reading texts
- listening passages Practice - online - in class Accountability - rubrics Application
- writing - speaking
AWL IN THE INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED LEVELS
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED APPLICATION:AWL HIGHLIGHTER
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED APPLICATION:AWL HIGHLIGHTER
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm
AWL HIGHLIGHTER IN USE: STUDENT ESSAY
ACCOUNTABILITY AT LOWER LEVELS
Remember the individual
vocabulary quiz?
How much do you remember?
RETENTION STRATEGYREHEARSAL & REPETITION
In what manner does a mind forget new information?
(Schmitt, N., 2011)
RETENTION STRATEGYREHEARSAL & REPETITION
(Schmitt, N., 2000, p. 131)
RETENTION STRATEGY:KEEP IT BRAIN FRIENDLY
ReadingListening
to speech
Thinking about words
Thinking about
words & speaking
Carter, R. Mapping the mind. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
SUGGESTIONS OF HOW TO INCLUDE THE GSL & AWL IN AN ESL PROGRAM: Raise awareness among faculty and students Link the GSL & AWL to student success Add vocabulary level questions to placement,
diagnostic and/or exit level tests Assess current levels, set tangible learning targets Promote self-study and individual accountability Make explicit links to classroom evaluation Include GSL/AWL in all skill areas (Don't just limit vocabulary to reading & writing
tasks alone)
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED ONLINE RESOURCES:
AWL WebsitesPractice your knowledge of AWL words - http://awl.londongt.org/questionsAWL Highlighter - http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htmAWL Exercises & Pronunciation - http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com/id21.htmPrefixes & Suffixes- http://www.uefap.com/vocab/vocfram.htmConcordance - http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/concordances.htm
The GSL and AWL Lists of Words http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/wordlists.htmExercises from all 10 sublists of the AWL - http://www.academicvocabularyexercises.com/Reading Articles with AWL words - http://www.uefap.com/vocab/exercise/exercise.htmAcademic Word Lists and Exercises - http://www.mrcoward.com/slcusd/academicwords.html
GSL - Games & Exercises http://www.uefap.com/vocab/exercise/wordsrch/gsl/gsl.htmGeneral Service List Exercises - http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/
Student Choice in Vocabulary Testing - http://www.teslontario.org/uploads/publications/contact/ContactFall2011final.pdf
Addressing the Vocabulary Gap with the GSL and the AWL
Daragh Hayes - [email protected]& Kristibeth Kelly – [email protected]