Gaining a wider vocabulary is fundamental to language learning. It follows then that the faster students engage and learn new words, the faster will be their proficiency with the target language. Multi-Dimensional Vocabulary Acquisition (or MDVA) means approaching new terms / concepts from a variety of perspectives so that the target word is thoroughly analysed, giving students access to all dimensions of the word. There are many dimensions or elements that will help elucidate and unlock meaning, but for the purposes of this chapter new words will be looked at in terms of their antonyms, synonyms and associated words, rhyming counterparts, idiomatic usage, gender considerations, diminutive implications, proverbial usage and likely confusion with other words. In this study the author employs an Action Research methodology where practical classroom exercises involving students’ writing efforts pre- and post MDVA are closely examined. Using the familiar “spiral of cycles” approach, it becomes clear that “unpacking” the target word means that the meaning of many other words associated with the target word becomes explicit. A workshop with faculty is included as part of the practical application of MDVA.
Writing has always been an onerous task for ESL learners, especially those in the beginner -and elementary phases of English language acquisition. Teaching ESL writing has always been viewed and implemented using the L1 framework. This may account for the frustrations experienced by both teacher and students in ESL classes. New techniques and strategies have to be devised taking into account the unique circumstances of ESL learners. Using an experimental design, this study compared the number of writing errors made in a control and experimental group. The control group was taught paragraph writing in the conventional way incorporating elements of the product and process approaches to writing. The experimental group was given a pre-arranged set of questions to which they had to respond in a specific manner. It was found that the number of errors committed by the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group, thus suggesting that the Questions technique does have merit in teaching writing to ESL learners. It is versatile in the sense that it can be adapted for different ability levels and types of paragraphs.
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