Building Vocabulary for Language Learning: Approach for ESL Learners to Study New Vocabulary.

AbstractThis project investigated Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) English Language Learners used; and strategies they thought were effective to them in terms of language proficiency. Using an online survey, 121 participants responded to statements regarding their usage of VLSs. Participants have been divided into two groups: (1) learners with low English proficiency level and (2) learners with high English proficiency level to measure the significance between them in response to the VLS questionnaire. The analysis measured five sets of vocabulary knowledge: building synonyms network, learning definition(s) with contexts, pronunciation process, bookmark word search, and remembering strategy for writing. This project determined that the group with high language proficiency agreed more on the items selected than those with low language proficiency.Keywords: Second Language Acquisition, Vocabulary Learning Strategy, Language learning strategies, English Language LearnersThere have been a large number of studies in the field of language learning strategies in the last twenty years (e.g. Lan and Oxford, 2003; Macaro, 2001) (Tseng, Dornyei, & Schmitt, 2006). For instance, studies done in the 1970s focused on language learning strategies in general (e.g. Rubin, 1987; Skehan, 1989). However, from a vocabulary acquisition perspective, researchers during that time neglected vocabulary learning as its own subfield of learning strategies (Meara, 1980; Schmitt, 1997). Hence, there is no doubt that vocabulary knowledge is a fundamental aspect of language learning and language use (Nation, 1990, 2001). Adolph and Schmitt (2003) have stated that language learners need to master, at least, 3,000 word families to communicate and understand 95 percent of the language communicated by native speakers. As a consequence, to master new words means that language learners have to fully comprehend vocabulary knowledge of each word they encounter. According to Schmitt, (2010) "form-meaning linkage is the most basic vocabulary knowledge possible" (p. 30). To accept this definition means that language learners need to master both spoken and written forms of vocabulary and distinguish its meaning to craft successful meaningful connections socially and mentally. Also in regard to the vocabulary knowledge, Nation and Waring (1997) described that vocabulary knowledge is a gradual process. For English Language Learners (ELLs), building vocabulary is a highly demanding process. Laufer (1998), for instance, stated that lexical competence is the main difference between language learners and native speakers of the target language. To this end, this paper sought to examine the strategies/methods that ELLs and/or language learners thought were most effective for their vocabulary learning. Additionally, this paper mainly focuses on the learning process more than the teaching process when vocabulary acquisition is at stake.Literature ReviewVocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) have been examined from two main strands: (1) from a cognitive psychological view point, and (2) from a Second Language Acquisition (SLA) perspective (Kudo, 1999). The scope of this paper focuses on the latter. The term learning strategy has been defined as any ''specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferrable to new situation'' (Oxford, 1990; p. 8). The research on vocabulary learning and/or acquisition has not received the primary attention until the early 1980s. To most applied linguists, vocabulary learning was known ''as a 'neglected aspect of language learning' '' as noted by Meara (1980), who criticized and characterized its negligence in SLA research (Meara, 1980; p. 1; Lightbown, & Spada, 2006, p. 96). Meara (1980) argued that there were no clear theories on vocabulary acquisition until the late 1970s. Researchers of vocabulary learning, such as Nation (1990), Laufer (1986), and Schmitt (1998), have come to agree that more research is needed to investigate in this area, which has been the focus of several SLA researchers for the last three decades. …