Review of the book 'Lexical processing in second language learners' (2009) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Centre for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick
Language Teaching, 2008
The Centre for Applied Linguistics was established in 1983 and has grown from a relatively small teaching unit to a large centre engaged in a wide variety of activities under the broad heading of Applied Linguistics. Our work includes English language teaching, teacher education, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in applied linguistics, development of teaching and research resources, and small- and large-scale research.
A survey of linguistic theories
Lingua, 1995
Gierut extends the generative phonological theory and single subject methodology she developed to explain phonological difficulties in Ll acquisition disorders to the study of adult L2 learners. Hardy presents a report of a single subject study of L2 phonological training along the lines detailed by Gierut. Unfortunately, although a training effect was demonstrated, no retention was found one month later. These two papers parallel those in section two by Dinnsen and Chin, and Connell. Taken together these chapters do successfully effect the hoped for 'Confluence', but perhaps the success of integrating theory, methodology and domain of study across these three disciplines/populations owes as much to the fact that these five researchers are all members of the same university. I fear it is only when departments of Applied Linguistics begin to include theoretical linguists and clinical linguists along with Ll and L2 language acquisition specialists that research into the processes of language behaviour will progress. Particular studies in this collection do have merit and the theoretical 'state of the art' discussions are illuminating. One wonders how far things advanced since the original symposium in 1989. Would the interaction between theoretical and applied linguistics appear to be more sophisticated in 1995? This book reflects a long-standing problem with publishing talks given at research fora such as this one. Some of the invitees are noted leaders in their fields; several more junior post-dots are included. The research reported from the former is typically minor while theory is debated on a high plane, while the research reported from the latter is typically elaborate in detail but often inconclusive. The utility of such a collection is to provide a socio-historical snapshot of the research fields which may lead one to pursue more rewarding reading as a result.
This volume brings together the plenary lectures of the International Congress of Linguists (Prague, July 2003). The accompanying CD Rom contains the rest of the proceedings of the conference. The fields covered by the plenary talks are those that are currently particularly dynamic in the opinion of the members of the Permanent International Comittee of Linguists (CIPL). The 15 papers deal both with fields that are empirically as well as methodologically relatively contained, i.e. typology, morphology, phonology, pragmatics, lexicography, computational linguistics, historical linguistics, and creolistics, as well as broader ones such as the sociology of language and approaches to fieldwork and endangered languages. I shall begin by
Volume 26:2013 sky SKY Journal of Linguistics Editors
Vocabulary knowledge is said to play a prominent role in learning a foreign language (Schmitt 2008). There has been considerable debate about the most effective ways for developing learners' vocabulary knowledge. While researchers often claim incidental learning is slow and untargeted, it can supplement in the "contextual" types of word knowledge (Schmitt 2010). Other studies suggest that intentional acquisition is more effective than incidental acquisition (Nation & Meara 2002). There is little research on the effectiveness of various methods within the context of intentional vocabulary learning. In the present study, the effects of conveying meaning through synonyms, dictionary definitions, and context on acquisition and retention of vocabulary items were investigated. Eighty-one female intermediate students of English were taught forty-five vocabulary items using the three abovementioned methods. The results of two delayed post-tests showed that the context method yielded a higher rate of retention both in the immediate test and the delayed post-test compared to the other two methods. The findings of the study suggest pedagogical implications for the incorporation of effective ways of teaching the meaning of vocabulary items in syllabuses.