The Effect of Type of Written Exercise on L2 Vocabulary Retention

Abstract

The present study used a within‐subjects design to examine the effect of the type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention. Using input for the meaning and usage of the new words from a specially prepared minidictionary, university intensive English program students (n = 154) practiced target vocabulary in three types of written exercises conditions: one fill‐in‐the‐blank exercise, three fill‐in‐the‐blank exercises, and one original‐sentence‐writing exercise. An unannounced posttest using a modified version of the vocabulary knowledge scale tested the meaning of the word (L1 translation or L2 synonym) and usage of the word in a student‐written sentence. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed that mean scores for the three exercise types were significantly different from each other, with words practiced under the three fill‐in‐the‐blank exercises condition retained much better than those practiced under either of the other two exercise conditions. The findings suggest the important feature of a given L2 vocabulary exercise is not depth of word processing but number of word retrievals required. This result has implications for language teachers, curriculum designers, and, in particular, materials writers of traditional workbooks and CALL materials.

Lemmatizing Textbook Corpus for Learner Dictionary of Basic Vocabulary

“…Nation (2008), for example, maintains that bilingual dictionaries offer advantages for faster L2 vocabulary learning because the L1 equivalents are provided. A similar conclusion is also mentioned by Folse (2006), Lotto and de Groot (1998) who state that students will have better word retention level if L1 translations are provided. On the other hand, Chan (2004) and White (1997) consider bilingual dictionaries as limited, and they contain rigid or imprecise L1 translations that may not be helpful to learners to develop lexical awareness.…”

Using Post-Task Written Vocabulary Exercises in Task-Based Instruction

“…Although results show that the use of communicative tasks can indeed promote vocabulary learning at various levels, a written exercise component that lasts no longer than 15 minutes can raise the gain significantly. Such exercises are easy to develop, completion time is less than that with sentence or essay writing, and either the teacher or the learners themselves can do the correction quickly (Folse, 2006). Another advantage that should not be overlooked is that written vocabulary exercises can take the form of computer applications and traditional paperwork.…”

“…As pointed out by Laufer (2005), they cannot always assure learners of a wide and repeated coverage of new words. In contrast, traditional written vocabulary practices are fairly effective in improving both receptive and productive acquisition (Folse, 2004(Folse, , 2006Laufer, 2003). Although some advocates of TBI may proscribe exercises, considering them decontextualized and repetitious, it is worth exploring if a combination of TBI and numerous vocabulary practices can enhance the retention of words in terms of quality, quantity, and duration.…”

A study of the effects of teacher-performed gestures as a means of semantic elaboration on L2 word learning and retention

“…Some are studies dealing with active/passive vocabulary repertoire (e.g., Crow & Quigly, 1985;Laufer & Paribakht, 1988) , the order of learning the vocabulary of a language (Dulay & Burt, 1974;Goldschneider & DeKeyser, 2001), corpus analyses for designing high-frequency word lists (e.g., Meara, 1995;Schmitt, 2000;West, 1953), efficient ways of teaching vocabulary (e.g., Folse, 2006;Fraser,1999), and vocabulary learning strategies including direct and incidental methods of vocabulary learning (Batia & Jan, 2001;Brown & Perry, 1991). Moreover, in foreign language teaching methods and programs, teaching vocabulary holds an important part, especially in Grammar-Translation and Direct methods and more recently in lexical approach.…”