Teaching Technical Polysemous Words: Strategies and Difficulties

Vâlcea, Cristina Silvia

doi:10.21125/iceri.2019.2000

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Therefore, the exercises should focus both on core and non-core meanings related with and significant for police profession specifically. Valcea (2019) argues that the senses of polysemous words can be easily taught by starting from the primary sense (which belongs to General English in most cases) and extending the meaning based on the features of GE word. She does not recommend gradual teaching of senses as it hinders a total grasp of the senses of a word.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, when solution means "the answer to a problem", Cambridge Dictionary associates it to a B1 level of English and it represents the first sense of the word which users of English will think of, but, when solution means "a liquid", the dictionary signals the fact that solution is a specialized term from chemistry which is likely to be acquired later. Consequently, solution is a polyseme as it stands for these two various meanings which are meant to be learnt at different levels of English and for different purpose (Valcea, 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Polysemy-related problems in ESP students: A case study

Mićović¹

2022

Zb Filoz fak Priština

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Detected as a problem in foreign language learning, polysemy has been a subject of many various studies and from many various aspects. The problem of polysemy is particularly important in English for Specific Purposes, or in our case English for Police Purposes, since it very often gets unnoticed by learners. Having learnt one meaning in a General English course, learners are usually unaware that the same word can have a new meaning in technical texts. The aim of the case study is to examine to what extent the students can recognize the senses of polysemous words in different contexts and if the level the particular meaning is associated with (according to the CEFR) influences the percentage of correct/incorrect answers. We used a questionnaire and a self-designed vocabulary test to collect the data both about the participants and their practical knowledge of polysemy. The study was conducted with a group of I-year students of Forensic Engineering at the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies. The results obtained should help improve the course of English for Police Purposes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%