This study investigates the association of vocabulary development and reading comprehension, focusing principally on the contribution of context to vocabulary depth learning. Research into reading for vocabulary learning has typically emphasized the learning of discrete items as though they were unrelated. Adopting the viewpoint of cognitive linguistics, this study assumes a cognitively motivated relationship inherent in these to-be-learned items, and thus defines vocabulary depth in terms of the ability to recognize the inclusion and membership properties of semantic categories occurring in a text. In other words, what distinguishes this study from others is its emphasis on extent to which learners are able to recognize the hierarchical relations (inclusion) and internal category structure (membership) of the lexical items found in a text. The research was conducted in a real classroom setting using procedures that are pedagogically valid. This is believed to be the optimal context for revealing the genuine nature of second language learning. Specifically, a Freshman English course incorporating extensive reading as one of its requirements was selected for this investigation since successful reading at advanced level depends upon recovering the instantial categories (i.e. those that exist in some particular instance) established in the text. To compare the effects of the original and alternate encoding options, a selected text was modified structurally and paratactically so as to enable a comparison of the extent to which text structure is associated with comprehension, when comprehension is defined in terms of the ability to recognize inclusion and membership. In addition, the rhetorical properties present in the original text were also taken into account in order to investigate whether common rhetorical properties could result in more successful recognition of category membership and whether distinct rhetorical properties could lead to more successful differentiation of degrees of category membership.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The aim of this study was to contribute to the scarce amount of research on self-selected Spanish foreign language (FL) vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) by adult learners of Spanish in the United States and to investigate which type of learning strategies may result in higher vocabulary gains and why. This study investigated the relationships between the type of VLS university Spanish FL students at different levels of proficiency use, the amount of time they devote to the weekly study of Spanish outside the classroom, and their vocabulary size. In addition, the correlations between the VLS used by students with high and low vocabulary test scores and their vocabulary size were investigated. A total of 477 military cadets/students at the United States Air Force Academy enrolled in Spanish courses at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced language proficiency levels participated in this study. The data were analyzed through quantitative methods using two measuring instruments: a) a vocabulary learning questionnaire used to discover students’ VLS preferences, and b) a Spanish vocabulary tests used to estimate the participants’ Spanish vocabulary size. Analyses of the data suggest that a significant relationship exits between learning strategy use and vocabulary size among advanced, more experienced Spanish learners but not among beginning- or intermediate-level students. Findings suggest that novice or inexperienced Spanish FL learners may be ineffective at the management of their own vocabulary learning. Different patterns in VLS use were also identified between advanced students with high and low vocabulary test scores. Those with higher vocabulary test scores use significantly more social and metacognitive learning strategies, while those with lower vocabulary test scores resort to memorization and other less-cognitively-demanding strategies for learning Spanish vocabulary. Pedagogical implications and limitations are addressed. / text

This study investigated the effects of Cooperative Learning on seventh graders’ vocabulary learning in China. This study was conducted because in China, students usually learn vocabulary via traditional learning method-rote memorization. However, this method has a lot of issues. For example, students only know how to write the words but they cannot use them in contexts. Students tend to forget new words they have newly learned. The purpose of this study was to find out whether Chinese secondary school students can benefit from Cooperative Learning in vocabulary; whether Cooperative Learning can help students in applying new words and whether students can retain new words longer using Cooperative Learning. This research followed a quasi-experimental design, with an experimental group and a control group. Data were collected in a secondary school in Beijing, China. The participants took three tests: a pretest, post-test and a delayed post-test. A one-way repeated ANOVA was used to analyze the data in SPSS (25.0). The findings showed that there was a significant difference across three time points in the two groups (p < .001). There was no significant difference in the students’ vocabulary scores between the two groups (p > .05). However, it was found that there was a significant interaction between time and group on students’ vocabulary learning. An ANCOVA analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups in the delayed post-test (p = .01). These findings can be beneficial to the professionals who work as English teachers in secondary schools in China. My results suggest that Cooperative Learning may be helpful in improving students’ vocabulary learning outcomes.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-79).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-79). Also available in print.

In the field of second language vocabulary learning, numerous studies had been done to investigate language learners’ use of vocabulary learning strategies, as well as relationships between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and other individual variables (e.g., personality, intelligence, major, learning style, etc.). To fill the gap in the literature reviewed, the present study examined the use of vocabulary learning strategies reported by 95 Chinese undergraduate engineering students, and relationships between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and three key variables, i.e., language proficiency, vocabulary size, and gender. Results of this study indicated: 1) With a reported frequency of overall vocabulary learning strategies use of medium, Chinese undergraduate engineering students use determination strategies most frequently, while social strategies the least. 2) There is a negative relationship between the use of overall vocabulary learning strategies reported by Chinese undergraduate engineering students and their language proficiency. In terms of the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, determination, cognitive, and metacognitive strategies are positively correlated to Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ language proficiency. While social and memory strategies are negatively correlated. On the level of individual vocabulary learning strategies, ten individual vocabulary learning strategies are significantly correlated with language proficiency. 3) Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ use of overall vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size are positively correlated. In terms of the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, social strategies is negatively correlated with vocabulary size while the remaining four categories are positively correlated. On the level of individual vocabulary learning strategies, significant correlations are identified between the use of three individual vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary size. 4) No significant difference is found between male and female Chinese undergraduate engineering students on uses of overall vocabulary learning strategies, although male Chinese undergraduate engineering students employ overall vocabulary learning strategies more frequently than females. When analyzing the use of the five categories of vocabulary learning strategies, male students employ social, memory, and cognitive strategies more frequently than female students while female students employ determination and metacognitive strategies more frequently. In terms of the gender differences on the use of individual vocabulary learning strategies, female students employ two individual vocabulary learning strategies more frequently than male students at significant levels. Findings of the present study illustrate Chinese undergraduate engineering students’ reported use of vocabulary learning strategies, as well as correlations between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and language proficiency, vocabulary size, and gender. It is recommended that English language teachers in China spending more time on vocabulary learning strategies training and taking advantages of the individual vocabulary learning strategies that can contribute to students’ language learning. / Graduate / kellycai0913@gmail.com

This study investigated the effects of output stimulus tasks and glosses on L2 incidental vocabulary learning. Two meta-analytic studies were conducted. The first was intended to provide a systematic statistical synthesis of the effects of output stimulus tasks on L2 incidental vocabulary learning. A total of 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Results showed that language learners gained more benefit from using output stimulus tasks to learn vocabulary than those who only read a text. Results also supported the involvement load hypothesis that language learners who perform a task with a higher extent of involvement load gain more L2 vocabulary. As opposed to studies with the low level of design quality, studies with high and medium levels of design quality were more likely to detect statistically significant differences among groups with different output stimulus tasks. Moreover, results suggested that time on task had a positive impact on L2 vocabulary learning. Learners who read a combination of expository and narrative texts outperformed those who only read either an expository or a narrative text in the vocabulary posttest. Learners who read a text with text-target word ratios of less than or equal to 2 percent did not learn significantly more vocabulary than those who read a text with a ratio of 2 percent to 5 percent. The second meta-analysis study used meta-analytic techniques to explore the effects of L1 textual and image-based glosses on second language (L2) incidental vocabulary learning while reading. Results revealed that language learners who were provided with textual glosses gained more vocabulary than those who had no access to glosses. Results suggested that text-target word ratios played an important role in second language vocabulary learning. Language learners who read a passage with a text-target word ratio of ≤2 percent outperformed those who read a passage with a text-target word ratio between 2 percent and 5 percent. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups that were provided with multiple-choice and single glosses. Compared to paper-and-pencil environments, computer-assisted settings did not significantly enhance L2 vocabulary learning. Language learners who read narrative reading materials did not significantly outperform those who were exposed to expository texts with regard to incidental vocabulary learning. No significant difference in L2 vocabulary learning was observed between groups who were given L1 textual glosses and those who had access to L1 textual image-based glosses.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.