Sentence context and meaning frequency effects in children's processing of ambiguous words

Nine- and twelve-year-old children named target words which were preceded by sentences ending in words having more than one meaning. Sentences biased the ambiguous word toward its dominant (more frequent) or subordinate (less frequent) meaning. Targets were related to the same meaning as that biased by the sentence, the other meaning, or were unrelated. Targets were presented 0, 300, or 700 ms following the sentence. For both ages, dominant sentences facilitated responses only to the contextually appropriate target. However, subordinate sentences led to facilitation of the appropriate meaning only for the younger group. Older children showed greater facilitation for the inappropriate (but more common) meaning. These results indicate that younger children are more sensitive to the sentence context in which an ambiguous word appears, while the processing of the older children is determined more by the relative frequencies of the words meanings.     

MEMORY FOR PICTORIAL INFORMATION AND THE PICTURE SUPERIORITY EFFECT

This research compared the performance of younger (mean age — 20.7 years) and older (mean age–68.3 years) adults on a memory task that involved pictures, words, and pictures‐plus‐words as stimuli. The results, consistent with previous research, indicated an equivalent picture superiority effect for both young and old adults when pictures were compared to words. More specifically, although recall scores were significantly higher for younger adults compared to older adults, the superior recall scores for pictures versus words did not differ between the age groups. However, the performance of older adults declined markedly, compared to the younger adults, in the picture‐plus‐word condition. These findings are interpreted as providing support for a divided attention model, which involves effortful processing of both visual and verbal aspects of stimuli. This situation of divided attention appears to put older adults at a relative disadvantage compared to young adults.     

Using iPads in Vocabulary Instruction for English Language Learners

The purpose of this study was to examine whether English language learners (ELLs) would increase their vocabulary scores in the areas of word recognition, word meaning, and word application when iPads were used during vocabulary instruction. Five third-grade ELLs, at risk of being diagnosed as having learning disabilities, participated in the study. All students demonstrated low test scores in learning vocabulary words during the baseline. During the intervention, 36 vocabulary words selected from the third-grade’s Dolch word list were taught and practiced using the iPad application Learning Touch, First Sight Words Pro. All students were assessed and their vocabulary scores increased in the areas of word recognition, word meaning, and word application. Using the iPad and iPad app appears to provide a potential avenue for ELLs in learning English vocabulary words.     

Sound symbolic word learning in written context

Sound symbolism is the notion that the relation between word sounds and word meaning is not arbitrary for all words, but rather there is a subset of words in the world’s languages for which sounds and their symbols have some degree of correspondence. This research investigates sound symbolism as a possible means of gaining semantic knowledge of unknown words within written context. Two studies assessed adults’ expressive knowledge of word meanings for sound symbolic and non-sound symbolic obsolete words. These words were presented in varying types of contextual surroundings: no context, varied context, unhelpful context, and helpful context. In each study, participants were able to generate more correct definitions for sound symbolic words compared to non-sound symbolic words. It is concluded that sound symbolism is a word property which influences the learning of unknown words.     

The moderating influence of instructional intensity and word type on the acquisition of academic vocabulary in young English language learners

This study used a within-subjects design to explore two instructional conditions for developing vocabulary in second-grade Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs)—extended instruction and embedded instruction implemented during shared interactive reading. Words assigned to the extended condition were directly taught using a multifaceted approach that included visuals, bilingual definitions, examples, spelling, and partner-talk about the words’ meaning. Words assigned to the embedded condition were taught solely through brief definitions to embedded text, writing activities, and songs. In the control condition students heard the target words read aloud during shared interactive reading but without definitions or direct instruction. The study also explored the interaction between instructional condition and word type. Four types of words—abstract cognates, abstract noncognates, concrete cognates, and concrete noncognates—were randomly assigned to each condition. Nine teachers in four schools and 187 second-grade ELs participated in this within-subjects intervention, which took place in transitional bilingual classrooms. Findings indicated that across all word types, both extended and embedded instruction were more effective than the control condition in helping ELs acquire vocabulary. Findings also indicated that extended instruction was more effective then embedded instruction for all word types except concrete cognates suggesting that these young Spanish-speaking ELs were advantaged by word knowledge in their home language. Finally, while embedded instruction was less effective than extended instruction, it was much more effective than a control condition. Embedded instruction takes significantly less preparation and instructional time than extended instruction, offering teachers a practical way to teach more vocabulary to ELs.     

Reading comprehension skills of young adults with childhood diagnoses of dyslexia

This study explores the contribution of cognitive processes to comprehension skills in adults who suffered from childhood developmental dyslexia (CD). The performance of adults with CD (ages 17 to 23), chronological age-matched (CA) adults, and reading level-matched (RL) children was compared on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, working memory (WM), general knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension. The results showed that adults with CD scored lower on measures of phonological processing, naming speed, WM, general knowledge, and vocabulary when compared to CA readers but were comparable to RL children on the majority of process measures. Phonological processing, naming speed, vocabulary, general knowledge, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to reading comprehension accuracy, whereas WM, intelligence, phonological processing, and listening comprehension contributed independent variance to comprehension fluency. Adults with CD scored lower than CA adults and higher than RL children on measures of lexical processing, WM, and listening comprehension when word recognition and intelligence were partialed from the analysis. In summary, constraints in phonological processing and naming speed mediate only some of the influence of high-order processes on reading comprehension. Furthermore, adults with CD experience difficulties in WM, listening comprehension, and vocabulary independently of their word recognition problems and intellectual ability.     

Strengthening vocabulary for literacy: an analysis of the use of explicit instruction techniques to improve word learning from story book read-alouds

Vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of literacy and broader academic outcomes, and children's literature is a rich source of sophisticated vocabulary. This study investigated the effect of providing instruction in word meanings as an adjunct to story-book read-aloud sessions in Grade One classrooms. The main intervention programme ran for 18 weeks over three terms in low socio-economic status (SES) schools. Two intervention models incorporating explicit instruction components were compared with existing classroom practice. Teaching a greater number of word meanings more briefly was contrasted with teaching fewer words in greater depth. Pre- and post-instruction vocabulary knowledge was assessed using curriculum-based assessments. Both explicit approaches were more effective in improving word learning than a traditional constructivist approach. Increased intensity of instruction resulted in better learning for individual words. There was no discernible carryover to scores on standardised vocabulary tests.     

Predictors of Orthographic Learning of Regular and Irregular Words

The aim of this study was to explore the reading and language skills that are associated with orthographic learning and to examine whether the effects of these factors are influenced by word regularity. Grade 2 and 3 children learned the phonology and meaning of novel words and were subsequently exposed to their orthography, with either regular or irregular mappings. At the participant level, phonological decoding skill, orthographic knowledge, and vocabulary knowledge were associated with orthographic learning for both word types. However, at an item level, reading novel words correctly did not directly relate to the successful acquisition of the representations of those novel words. In addition, item-specific vocabulary knowledge was a predictor of success in orthographic learning, but only for irregular words. The findings are discussed in relation to the self-teaching hypothesis (Share, 1995).     

Hearing Words,Learning Words: How Different Presentations of Novel Vocabulary Words Affect Children’s Incidental Learning

Research Findings: Children learn most of their vocabulary incidentally, by hearing words used in their environment. This study explored which kinds of presentations of words, without any direct instruction, yielded greater depth of target word knowledge. Changes in 56 kindergartners’ depth of knowledge for each of 23 novel target words (N = 1,288) based on presentation in 1 of 3 conditions (read-aloud, teacher conversation, or both read-aloud and conversation) were explored and compared to control words that were never presented. A 2-level, cross-classification analysis modeled the postintervention score for each word for each child. Children’s word meaning knowledge improved most when words were presented via combined conversations and read-alouds. Vocabulary gains for words presented via conversations differed across classrooms. Practice or Policy: Both teacher conversations and read-aloud presentations of target vocabulary should be used together. Professional development for teachers’ effective vocabulary conversations may be needed.     

Acquisition of three word knowledge aspects through reading

A number of studies have shown that second or foreign language learners can acquire vocabulary through reading. The aim of the study was to investigate (a) the effects of reading an authentic novel on the acquisition of 3 aspects of word knowledge: spelling, meaning, and collocation; (b) the influence of reading on the acquisition of partial and deeper knowledge of the words; and (c) the relationship between word frequency and learning gains. The results show that there was significant improvement in all three aspects of word knowledge. The measuring instrument detected greater partial than deeper knowledge gains in word meanings and collocations. The greatest learning gains in all three aspects of word knowledge were demonstrated for the words that occurred between 11 and 20 times in the text. The findings suggest that incorporation of extensive reading into language learning programs can contribute to significant improvement of learners' vocabulary knowledge.     

The relationship between working memory and writing in younger and older adults

This study investigated therelationship between working-memory (WM) spanand writing performance in three age groups(mean of ages of 15, 30, 77 years). Asexpected, older adults' performance wasinferior to younger adults on measures ofverbal and visual-spatial WM and structuralcomplexity in writing. More important, WM spanmoderated structural complexity in writingacross age and those effects remainedsignificant when short-term memory, readingcomprehension, word knowledge, spelling andhandwriting speed were partialed from theanalysis. Overall, the results support thenotion that age-related changes in textgeneration are moderated by limitations in ageneral WM system.     

Effects of morphological instruction on vocabulary acquisition

The effects of a 20-session intervention targeting morphological word structure on vocabulary knowledge were investigated in four Grade 4 and 5 classes, assigned randomly to treatment and control conditions. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for initial vocabulary showed significant instructional effects on morphological analysis and vocabulary with words that were taught directly and novel words built on bases that were taught in the context of other derivations, but not for words with untaught bases. Results indicated that the treatment group made better use of pre-test vocabulary knowledge in learning new vocabulary. Results are discussed in light of the growing debate regarding whether to teach many words in a shallow way or to provide deep, rich instruction about fewer words.     

Unraveling Vocabulary Learning: Reader and Item-Level Predictors of Vocabulary Learning Within Comprehension Instruction for Fifth and Sixth Graders

This study explores reader, word, and learning activity characteristics related to vocabulary learning for 202 fifth and sixth graders (N = 118 and 84, respectively) learning 16 words. Three measures of word knowledge were used: multiple-choice definition knowledge, self-report of meaning knowledge, and production of morphologically related words. Results indicate that significant vocabulary learning occurred on each measure and that certain words were easier to learn for certain types of readers. Controlling for other predictors in the model, reader characteristics like morphological awareness, reading comprehension, and language background were significant predictors of vocabulary learning, but not word reading fluency. Also, word characteristics like morphological family size and opaqueness were significant predictors of word difficulty but not number of morphemes or frequency of the word or root-word or affix. Controlling for other predictors in the model, morphological learning activities supported vocabulary learning for all 3 aspects of word knowledge. Implications for theory and instruction are discussed.     

Effects of Contextual versus Definitional Computer‐assisted Vocabulary Instruction on Immediate and Long‐term Vocabulary Retention of Advanced ESL Students

This paper investigates the role of definitional information versus contextual information in computer‐assisted vocabulary instruction. A group of 58 advanced ESL students participated in the main data‐collection phase. The results revealed that context‐embedded vocabulary exercises facilitate better long‐term retention of words that exist in context. This finding is noteworthy in that the context‐embedded condition is the natural vocabulary condition commonly observed in reading. Students seldom encounter direct definitions or a series of related synonyms in the natural passage condition. Definitional knowledge, however, appears to be important in developing a basic concept of a given word in the initial phases of vocabulary development.     

Applying constructivism: A test for the learner-as-scientist

Constructivist learning theory predicts that knowledge encoded from data by learners themselves will be more flexible, transferable, and useful than knowledge encoded for them by experts and transmitted to them by an instructor or other delivery agent. If this prediction is correct, then learners should be modeled as scientists and use the reasoning and technologies of scientists to construct their own knowledge. However, it cannot be taken for granted that the prediction is correct, or correct in every knowledge domain. The present study attempts to establish conditions in which the prediction can be operationalized and tested. It reports on the adaptation of constructivist principles to instructional design in a particular domain, second language vocabulary acquisition. Students learning English for academic purposes in the Sultanate of Oman followed one of two approaches to vocabulary expansion, learning pre-encoded dictionary definitions of words, or constructing definitions for themselves using an adapted version of the computational tools of lexicographers. After 12 weeks, both groups were equal in definitional knowledge of target words, but lexicography group students were more able to transfer their word knowledge to novel contexts.     

Optimizing Word Learning via Links to Perceptual and Motoric Experience

The aim of this review is to consider how current vocabulary training methods could be optimized by considering recent scientific insights in how the brain represents conceptual knowledge. We outline the findings from several methods of vocabulary training. In each case, we consider how taking an embodied cognition perspective could impact word learning. The evidence we review suggests that vocabulary training methods can be optimized by making a congruent link between the words to learn and one’s own perceptual and motoric experiences. In particular, we suggest that motoric information about the meaning of a word could be incorporated into more standard vocabulary training methods. Finally, we consider the impact an embodied cognitive perspective may have on other characteristics of word learning, such as individual differences in learning and variations in learning different types of words, for example words from different word classes and words in different contexts.     

词语义项在语言实际中的应用及其价值

表示词义的单义义项在语言实际中的应用表现在各个方面。多义词在具体语境中一般只使用一个具体的义项,同义词、反义词一般是指一组词的某个义项之间的相同相近或相反相对,词库词、词典词、应用词中的义项各不相同。义项在词汇量测量、词频统计及语言教学中都有重要意义。     

Learning novel words by ear or by eye? An advantage for lexical inferencing in listening versus reading narratives in fourth grade

This study examined the ability to infer the meaning of novel made-up words that appeared in 16 short narrative texts, presented in two modalities—reading and listening. Hebrew-speaking 4th grade students (N = 54) were asked to infer the meanings of the made-up words in both modality conditions. In this cross-group design, students were randomly assigned to one of two order conditions: reading first or listening first. Regardless of condition, participants were better able to infer the meaning of the made-up words in the listening condition than in the reading condition. Individual differences in word reading, vocabulary, and reading comprehension mediated novel word learning but working memory did not. Results are discussed in relation to the challenges faced by 4th grade Hebrew readers in the transition from reading a fully pointed (vowelized) shallow orthography to an unpointed, deep orthography. The ability of 4th grade readers to infer novel words appears to be enhanced when listening to animated narration, and is mediated by extant vocabulary knowledge and higher-order comprehension processes, but also by basic decoding skills.     

词汇附带习得与语篇类型关系研究

经过研究发现:语篇对学生自然条件下阅读词汇习得没有显著的影响;缺少语篇知识不利于学生猜测生词;丰富的图式虽然有助于学生猜测生词,但同时也减少了学生对生词的注意,且不能引发深层次加工,不利于词汇的长久记忆。     

英语阅读词义猜测策略实证研究

实验结果表明,英语阅读中虽然上下文在一定程度上能帮助英语学习者猜测词义,但它仍具有一定的局限性。一方面上下文本身具有的一些特点使得学习者不可能单纯依赖上下文获得生词词义,原因是有些单词与上下文联系并不紧密和上下文本身具有模糊性。另一方面,英语学习者自身在阅读水平和阅读习惯上有差异。实验还表明,英语学习者的词汇量与猜测词义能力并不成正相关。