Vocabulary Acquisition

Index

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2

BACKGROUND…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....3

1. Vocabulary: Naturally complex………………………………………………………………………………………….3

2. Aspects of knowing a Word……………………………………………………………………………………….5

1.2.1 Word m













INTRODUCTION

Vocabulary acquisition is one ofthe most important features in the study of a second language, although studies on this area had been neglected in the fields of language teaching and applied linguistic till the mid 80’s. Vocabulary knowledge is an essential for communication on a L2, because without grammar very little can be conveyed but without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed (Wilkings 1972).

We still can communicateif we don’t know the correct pronunciation, the correct stress or if we don’t place the words in the correct order although without the words very little can be understood, this is why vocabulary is an essential aspect of SLA.

What have encouraged us to research about implicit vocabulary acquisition are the advantages we can get from it as teachers, but moreover as learners of an L2.

In thefirst part of this paper we will review important aspects of what to know a word is, and also some important aspects to consider in the process of mastering words.

The second part shows us the distinction between implicit and explicit acquisition of vocabulary, followed by a review of three study cases in which comic books, songs and video tapes were used as tools for the acquisition ofvocabulary.

Finally in the last part, we are discussing the importance of vocabulary knowledge and what is known as fluency in a second language and how we use this knowledge about the success of implicit learning as teachers.



Background




1. Vocabulary: Naturally complex

Without vocabulary, speech cannot be made in an efficient way. Without enough vocabulary as an L2 learner, to gothrough breakdowns is simply twice as hard. L2 students need to feel ‘safe’ or secure while using a word, in order to do this they need to master all the aspects of knowing a word. This means revealing or decoding its complexity for the communicative competence to be successfully performed in context.

Words are not acquired instantaneously at least not for adult L2 learners; they aregradually acquired from numerous exposures.

Schmitt (2000) described two ‘degrees’ of what knowing a word was. Receptive knowledge, Which mean being able to understand a word. We receive language input from reading or listening and try to comprehend it; this can be seen as passive vocabulary. While productive knowledge isbeing able to produce a word. We produce language forms by speaking or writing in order to convey messages to others and this can be seen as active vocabulary.

On the one hand, receptive knowledge involves perceiving the form of a word, while listening or reading it and retrieving its meaning. On the other hand productive knowledge involves wanting to express a meaning through speaking orwriting, retrieving and producing the appropriate form of a word in its spoken or written form.

You might know a word productively (speaking) but not receptively (written form) (or the other way round), so we need to consider various facets or aspects of knowing a word. At the most general level, knowing a word involves form, meaning, and use (Fig.1).

|Form |Meaning|Use |
|Pronunciation |Basic and literal meanings |Sub Categorizations |
|Spelling |Derivated and figurative meanings |Collocations |
|Inflections |Semantic Relations...