Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Though Biblical Hebrew (=BH) is no longer a spoken language, students continue to learn it for the
purpose of reading, or at least interacting at a deeper level, with the text of the Hebrew Bible. This
suggests that BH shares with any modern language learning course the goal of learning to read. One
important part of learning to read is the acquisition of an adequate number of vocabulary items. The
purpose of this study is to determine which insights from Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition
(=SLVA) research and related fields hold the most promise for a new — and possibly more effective
— approach to learning BH vocabulary, to evaluate currently existing BH instructional materials in
light of these insights, to develop a new approach based on these insights, and to test aspects of the
new approach empirically.
Researchers in SLVA have uncovered a number of helpful insights concerning how vocabulary and
vocabulary learning should be defined as well as concerning how vocabulary is best learned. On the
other hand, BH instructional materials reflect little to no influence from these insights. These
materials have continued to define vocabulary narrowly as individual words and continued to
conceive of vocabulary learning primarily as pairing form and meaning in contrast to the much more
sophisticated definitions found in the SLVA literature. For example, SLVA researchers consider items
beyond the word level, such as idioms, to be vocabulary (Moon 1997; Lewis 1993, 1997). BH
instructional materials have also failed to include a significant number of beneficial Vocabulary
Learning Strategies (=VLSs), while including some VLSs that are either intrinsically problematic or
problematic in the ways they are employed. For example, the strategy of learning semantically related
items together is common in BH instructional materials, though it has been shown to be problematic
in a considerable number of experimental studies (e.g. Nation 2000; Finkbeiner & Nicol 2003;
Papathanasiou 2009).
Since SLVA research has yet to influence BH instructional materials, a new approach to BH
vocabulary learning is warranted. This new approach is based on sound theory concerning what
vocabulary is and what it means to learn it, while offering learners as many helpful strategies for
learning lexical items as possible. To justify this new approach, a set of experimental studies was run
including one longitudinal case study and three larger-scale experiments. This testing was partial in
nature since it was only possible to test one variable at a time. The testing revealed a number of
important areas for future research into BH vocabulary learning. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Alhoewel Bybelse Hebreeus (=BH) nie meer gepraat word nie, hou studente aan om dit aan te leer vir
die doel om te lees, of ten minste om op ‘n dieper vlak met die oorspronklike teks van die Hebreeuse Bybel om te gaan. Dit impliseer dat die aanleer van BH net soos met die aanleer van moderne tale, ten doel het om die taal te kan lees. Een belangrike aspek van om te leer lees, is om die woordeskat aan
te leer wat vir hierdie doel nodig is. Die doel van hierdie studie is om vas te stel watter insigte, verkry
uit Tweede Taal Woordeskat-Aanleer (=TTWA) navorsing en ander verwante studievelde, die meeste
belofte inhou vir ‘n nuwe – en moontlik meer effektiewe – benadering tot die leer van BH
woordeskat; om huidige BH leermateriaal te evalueer, in lig van hierdie insigte; om ‘n nuwe
benadering te ontwikkel gebaseer op hierdie insigte; en om aspekte van die nuwe benadering empiries toets. Navorsers in TTWA het al heelwat insig verkry in hoe woordeskat en die aanleer van woordeskat
gedefineer behoort te word, sowel as aangaande die mees effektiewe maniere waarop woordeskat
aangeleer kan word. Dit lyk egter of beskikbare BH leermanier niks of baie min by hierdie insigte
baatgevind het. Hierdie materiaal handhaaf tipies ‘n baie nou definisie van wat woordeskat is, te
wete, individuele woorde. Dit beskou dus die aanleer van woordeskat as die aanleer van hoofsaaklik
woordpare met verskillende vorme en betekenisse, in plaas daarvan om die meer gesofistikeerde
definisies te gebruik wat in TTWA literatuur gevind word. TTWA navorsers beskou, byvoorbeelde
idiome, wat uit meer as een woord kan bestaan, ook as woordskat-eenhede (Moon 1997; Lewis 1993,
1997). BH leermateriaal gebruik selde van die groot getal beskikbare nuttige Woordeskat Leer-
Strategieë (=WLS). Daar word eerder dikwels strategieë gebruik wat volgens TTWA navorsing nie
baie effektief is nie.’n Goeie voorbeeld in hierdie verband is die strategie om semanties-verwante
items saam te leer. Empiriese navorsing het aangetoon dat hierdie strategie sonder twyfel problematies
kan wees (bv. Nation 2000; Finkbeiner & Nicol 2003; Papathanasiou 2009).
Aangesien TTWA feitelik nog geen beduidende invloed op BH leermateriaal gehad het, is ‘n nuwe
benadering tot die aanleer van BH woordeskat waarin TTWA insigte verreken word, geregverdig.
Hierdie nuwe benadering is gebaseer op ‘n deeglik begrondige teoriese model aangaande wat
woordeskat is, en wat dit beteken om dit te leer. Verder kan geput word uit die skat van nuttige
strategieë wat al in TTWS geïdentifiseer is om sodoende aan BH leerder strategieë te bied wat
hulleself al bewys het. Om die nuwe benadering empiries te begrond, is ‘n reeks eksperimentele
studies geloods. Nie alle aspekte van die nuwe model kon sistematies getoets word nie. Die grondslag
vir verdere navorsing is egter gelê.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/17819 |
| Date | 12 1900 |
| Creators | Thompson, Jeremy Paul |
| Contributors | Van Der Merwe, C. H. J., Oosthuizen, Johan, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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