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Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

EFFECTIVE ENGLISH LEARNING
Unit 6: Vocabulary

Most of us feel that our lack of second language vocabulary is
an obstacle to more effective communication and
comprehension
...

We also tend to get frustrated because we can’t recall the right
words when we need to produce them, even though we are
able to recognise the same words when we read or hear them
...
Three
stages can conveniently be distinguished: intake, storage and retrieval
...
These stages
can be shown in a diagram:
1
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

In this unit we will be looking at some practical ways in which
what you do can do actively at the intake (learning) stage will
lead to more effective storage in long-term memory, and so
facilitate recall
...
This happens because
organized material is easier to store in and retrieve from
long-term memory
...
1
Do you organise English vocabulary in any way when you learn it? If so, how?
(This is an open question, so see whether you can discuss it with someone
else, face to face or on-line)
...

Psychologists have found that we don’t store the vocabulary of
our first language as a list of separate items like a dictionary
...

So when you set out to extend your English vocabulary, try to
learn words, not individually, but as parts of a framework, or
network, of interrelated meanings
...

 It activates our store of existing vocabulary, thus
encouraging recall
...

 We develop a knowledge of the semantic relationships
between words and the networks to which these words
belong
...

 A knowledge of the relatedness of words in a language is
necessary for fluency in speaking and writing
...

One relatively simple way of learning vocabulary in fields of
meaning is to collect words together under a general heading
...
2: Listing
In the space below, write down as many words as you can think of under the
heading STUDY (some examples are given):

STUDY
lectures
exams
research
library
read

Lists like that are not organised internally
...

Task 6
...
2 into categories,
according to the criteria you think are appropriate
...
This is similar to a
‘mind-map’ or ‘spidergram’
...
4: Building a network
Extend the Research diagram by adding as many words as you can, in
appropriate places
...

Task 6
...


accidentally
Pour

liquid

solid
particles (e
...

salt, sand)





dispersed in
small quantities

Spill
Scatter
Sprinkle

To check your solution against the Feedback, click here

Task 6
...
The four words are all from the same word-class – verbs
– and a choice has to be made between them
...

Learning words contextualized in typical phrases or sentences
can help you use them appropriately
...

Task 6
...


In a recent ______________, Brown (1994) provided evidence that
...


The results ________________ that the risks of chronic heart disease
are significantly increased by smoking
...


These findings _________________ our hypothesis
...

Many sets, or families, of words are systematically related in
both meaning and form, for example:
analyse

analysis

unanalytical

misanalyse

analyst

analytically

unanalysed

analytical

analyser

7
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Such sets of words are related by derivation (origin)
...
–
carrying different elements of meaning and grammatical
information
...

Task 6
...

When you are learning new vocabulary, combining that with a
review of what you know will help you form appropriate
meaning associations
...
8
The words shown below are significantly more frequent in academic writing
than in general English
...

1
...


2
...
We recommend the Cambridge
Online Dictionary: http://dictionary
...
org/dictionary/british/

3
...
2-6
...


adjacent

albeit

assemble

collapse

colleague

compile

conceive

convince

depress

encounter

enormous

forthcoming

Incline

integrity

intrinsic

Invoke

likewise

nonetheless

notwithstanding

ongoing

panel

persist

pose

reluctance

straightforward

undergo

whereby

9
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Both meaning and sound associations are important in
retrieval: meaning links appear to facilitate recall, when we
need to produce appropriate words, while recognition relies on
sound
...

Task 6
...


For all the words in the Task 6
...
For example,
integrity
(If you are not sure, check in the dictionary)

3
...


Check your answers here

Principle 9: Use mnemonics
Another approach to helping recall of vocabulary, which many
learners have found useful, is the use of memorising tricks or
techniques called mnemonics:
"Mnemonic" means "aiding memory"
...

(Thompson, 1987: 43)

The value of mnemonics has been recognised since ancient
times
...

10
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Mnemonic technique 1: Paired associates
In this technique you think of a word in your own language
which has some similarity in both form and meaning to the
‘target’ word in English
...

The first language word acts as a kind of link between the
English word and its translation
...

For example, an English-speaking learner of Russian might
notice that the Russian word for eye,
glaz
reminds them of the English word glass
...

An Italian student at Edinburgh told us he had used a similar
technique to learn the English phrasal verb
put up with
which has a similar meaning to the more formal word tolerate
...
He associated the action of spitting
with angrily rejecting something you cannot put up with
...
10
Can you see any risks or disadvantages in using mnemonic methods which
make connections between your first and second languages?
To see our answer, click here

11
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Mnemonic technique 2:
Sound and meaning links in the second language
Cohen and Aphek (1980) found that the most efficient
technique for their students was to look out for possible sound
and meaning connections between words in the second
language
...

Mnemonic technique 3: Spatial grouping
Thompson (1987: 45) reports research which suggests that
“rearranging words on a page to form patterns, such as a
triangle, appears to improve recall”
...

Task 6
...
12
Select a new word or word that you want to learn (for example, from the list
in Task 6
...
Choose a suitable mnemonic technique, and see if it works for
you
...
Studies of vocabulary learning strategies
conclude that good vocabulary learners
 find opportunities to try out new words in real-life communication – this is
likely to be more effective than ‘safer’ contexts such as in class or private
study
 ask questions to check what they know about words
 test themselves
 revise regularly – ‘little and often’ is better than occasional, large-scale
revision
(based on findings reported in Nunan, 1991; McCarthy, 1990; Thompson 1987)

These points underline our twelfth Language Learning Principle
(explored further in the Speaking unit)
Make the most of your opportunities

What vocabulary do I need to know?
Every day during your programme of study you will be reading
(and perhaps hearing) dozens of English words and phrases
that are new to you, or whose precise meaning in an unfamiliar
context is not clear
...
So you need some way of selecting appropriate
vocabulary for learning to make the intake manageable
...
13
How can you decide which words you need to learn?

‘Core’ vocabulary
For successful everyday communication in English you need a
minimum ‘core’ vocabulary of around 2000 words
...
The
explanations of words in the dictionary are written using only,
or mainly, this basic vocabulary
...
14
Check to see if the English dictionary you use contains such a list of ‘core’ or
‘defining’ vocabulary
...
You should find that
you know (at least one meaning of) all, or almost all the words listed
...


Academic Word List (AWL)
A useful guide to the words you are likely to need for academic
study is the Academic Word List
...
You can read
more about her work at
http://www
...
ac
...


14
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

The AWL does not include very specialised or technical words
related only to specific subjects – it identifies words that are in
frequent use across a wide range of academic disciplines
...
So the list of 570
headwords gives you access to a much larger list of academic
words
...
The words you worked with in Task 6
...

Information about the AWL, the list and sublists themselves,
and advice on how to learn them is available on-line at
http://www
...
ac
...
nottingham
...
uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/

University)

Exercises for the Academic Word List (Gerry Luton, University of Victoria)
http://www
...
com/AWL/index
...
You can also use the AWL Gapmaker to test
yourself on AWL words in a text
...
lextutor
...
That takes you to
‘Web Vocabulary Profilers’
...
3 (the
version number may have been updated)
...


Vocabprofile shows you the percentages of words in each
group in your text
...
15
Use Vocabprofile to analyse a sample of your own writing
...

Click on the Submit button
...

Task 6
...

From the English section you can choose from recognition or production
tests
...
This
is a multiple choice test
...


Additional academic vocabulary learning resources are
available at
http://www
...
com/links/lang/language
...

Concordancers
A concordancer is a programme that allows you to search a
large language database (corpus)
...
There are several
simple concordance tools available on the Web
...

To search the British National Corpus, click on
http://www
...
ox
...
uk/

Task 6
...
8) is invoke
...

Compare your findings with ours here

You can find another on-line concordancer in the Compleat
Lexical Tutor site:
http://www
...
ca/concordancers/concord_e
...

Dictionaries
A good English-English dictionary is an essential resource for
learners
...

An appropriate learner's dictionary will suit your generalpurpose needs better than a native user’s dictionary
...
Most now
come with a CD-ROM
...

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Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Macmillan English Dictionary This has ‘Language Awareness’ pages, including a
section on Academic Writing
...
cambridge
...

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

A good quality translation dictionary can also be very useful
...

These two websites allow you to look up various dictionaries,
including translation dictionaries:
http://www
...
com/
http://www
...
com/

For the technical terms you need in your academic field, find
out whether there is a specialist dictionary, like these:
http://www
...
com/
http://www
...
org/d/a
...
tuition
...
hk/geography/

Small electronic dictionaries make it quicker to key in a word
than to look it up in a book, but they bring several
disadvantages
...
18
What do you think are the disadvantages of electronic dictionaries?
To read the Feedback, click here
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Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

Vocabulary books
The following are books we think are particularly suitable for
your study needs, and can be used for independent learning
...
Based on the AWL Sublists
...


ADVICE FROM INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
We have stressed the importance of actively using new
vocabulary
...

Firstly, in conversation, I can ask the meaning of a word that
I do not know directly
...

However, it depends on who I'm speaking to
...

Secondly, after I find a new word, I try to use it in
conversation
...
After I have used it more than three times
I will always remember its meaning and use
...
It is
rather easy to keep on reading and listening, because I am
interested in a variety of things
...

Student 3
What I usually do to improve my vocabulary is to listen to
the radio or watch television and try to catch some of the
words I don't know the meanings of, but whose pronunciation
is clear enough to allow me to find the word in the
dictionary
...


Recording vocabulary
Student 4
I try to make notes on words to improve my vocabulary
...


Task 6
...


Do you keep a record of words you have tried to learn, or have you done
so in the past? If you do, what are your reasons for doing this?

2
...


Think about the possible disadvantages of your system
...
19 with this
student’s comments:
Student 5
Another way I use to remember words is to look up the word
in the dictionary and write it down
...
So sometimes I
throw it away
...


Task 6
...

If you have found any errors in the text, or web links no longer working, or if you would like to
suggest other informal learning techniques for this unit, you are welcome to email me at
A
...
Lynch@ed
...
uk
Prof
...
1 - 6
...

To go back to the page you were on, click here

Task 6
...
g
...
6
Some possible answers:
1 paper, study, report, article
2 suggest, indicate, show, confirm, provide further evidence + that…
3 support, lend support for, are consistent with, confirm, disconfirm
To go back, click here

Task 6
...

To go back, click here

Task 6
...

Task 6
...
10
Learners may be encouraged to make too strong associations between
the first and second language words
...

There is also the risk that the learner may associate the second language
word with the first language pronunciation system, and pronounce it
incorrectly
...
As
McDonough warns (1981: 66):

...
new vocabulary items in the
second language need to be placed in a framework which is
faithful to the aspects of meaning coded in the new
language
...
11 and 6
...
Most of these techniques may
be easier to use with more concrete words referring to actions, things,
qualities, etc
...
e
...

Tasks 6
...
16 are open questions
...
17
Our search on these two concordance sites showed that invoke is
frequently followed by words referring to rules and rights (e
...
rule,
regulations, principles, rights, curbs), and to supernatural beings (e
...

gods)
...
18
One problem with small electronic dictionaries is that it is harder to get
an overall impression of the content, because you can only see a few
lines of text at a time
...
This does not sound
very natural
...
19
Possible reasons for writing down new words and expressions:
 to reinforce the visual form of the word
 the process of writing down encourages intake (active
involvement)
 to allow organization (e
...
into semantic fields)
 for later review and reference
...

 translation into first language example of use
 notes on grammar, stress, pronunciation, derived words
...
20
The fact the student uses patterns and avoids lists perhaps suggests the
Spatial Grouping technique – although it is not clear that grouping is
actually involved
...


26
Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012

Effective English Learning

ELTC self-study materials

References in this Unit
Channell J
...
‘Psycholinguistic considerations in the study of L2 vocabulary’ in R
...
McCarthy (eds) Vocabulary and Language Teaching
...

Cohen A
...
1980
...
System 8/3: 221-235
...
2000
...
TESOL Quarterly 34/2: 213-238
...
1991
...
Babel 26/3: 19-24
...
1990
...
Oxford: Oxford University Press
...
1981
...
London: Allen and
Unwin
...
1992
...
New York: Prentice Hall
...
1987
...
In A
...
Rubin
Learning Strategies in Language Learning
...


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Tony Lynch and Kenneth Anderson, English Language Teaching Centre, University of Edinburgh 2012



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