Articles

Theme: Retention

2/14/11 Here is what I started looking at today. I took a few notes as I read through to help myself remember each one and to also make not of anything we might want to use/quote in our paper.

Kristel's notes: -This not a perfect match to what we are looking at but I feel like we can use it to back up our argument either in using our visually based activity or to discuss how the students where first taught.
 * "Should Vocabulary Instruction be Integrated or Isolated"**
 * Kieran Andrew File and Rebecca Adams**

I think this is useful to our argument when discuss the method that the vocabulary is originally taught to the students
 * Middle of page 2: Discusses should be reading be the only 'input' when learning vocabulary.


 * Top of page 3: Integrated vocabulary is taught when the students read text and try to understand it vs looking at the words and trying to understand every word


 * "Similarly, Fraser (1999) found evidence to suggest that participants who inferred the meaning of a word and consulted a dictionary (used a meaning-based and a form-based strategy) while reading a text retained more word knowledge than those who just inferred the meanings" pg3

"Sentence-production tasks" are writing sentences using the target words.
 * Sentence-production tasks acquired greater word knowledge than those who did the reading task pg 5


 * "From the preceding literature it seems clear that some sort of FFI (be it isolated or integrated) is more effective for vocabulary learning than input only" pg5

Kristel's Notes: -This article has a similar base to what we are doing and compares learning style (visual, auditory, tactile/kinesthetic, mixed). It also uses post-tests that occur right after and a while after to determine retention.
 * "Perceptual learning style matching and L2 vocabulary acquisition"**
 * David G Tight**


 * Results are not always consistent over time as to which is the best way to instruct the students when they learn the vocabulary and is likely a result of individuals learning styles. pg 3


 * "...leading the author to conclude that instruction method is more important than learning style in vocabulary acquisition." pg 8


 * "The effect of Type of Written Exercise on L2 Vocabulary Retention"**
 * Keith S Folse**
 * "This study fills this gap by comparing two of the most commonly used types of written vocabulary exercise: filling in the blank (i.e. cloze) and original sentence writing." pg 2
 * "Vocabulary exercises vary greatly according to which aspect of word knowledge is being practiced." pg 2 Such as spelling, part of speech, context, connotation, usages, synonyms, antonyms, etc.
 * Pg 3 discusses the value of written exercises. Studies have shown that L2 vocabulary retention is higher for students who complete written vocabulary activities after a reading task in comparison with those whom just doing reading task after reading task.
 * On page 4 they discuss types of vocabulary exercises.

" **Incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading, reading-while-listening, and listening to stories"** Kristel's notes:
 * [] **

-I think this a good article to base using a reading only retention activity on. While they do not give specific activity examples the multi-choice test they gave to test retention was just slightly below reading while listening activity.


 * * " **This study examined the rate at which English vocabulary was acquired from the 3 input modes of reading, reading-while-listening, and listening to stories."


 * "The MC test results for the reading-while-listening mode across all texts indicate that an impressive 48% (13.31) of the 28 words were learned (compare gains of 22% in the study by Horst et al., 1998). MC gains made in the reading-only mode were similarly impressive standing at 45% (12.54). Gains made in the listening-only mode, however, were less remarkable standing at 29% (8.20)."

Other articles we may want to look at: "Vocabulary Teaching: A way to Improve Learners' Fluency" []

=__**More Articles:**__= =2/15/11= So I followed Kristel's lead and also took notes so that it will be easier to discuss the articles tomorrow :) ==** 1. [|Using Multiple Intelligences To Improve Retention in Foreign Language Vocabulary Study.] By: Anderson, Virginia B.. 1998 59 pp. (ED424745) **==

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This one is actually someone else's (really long) action research project, which I thought might be helpful to look at when forming our own. Their research is similar to ours in that it deals with vocabulary retention and different ways to enhance it. However, a significant part of their study was devoted to helping students learn mnemonic/study techniques. The rest mainly focused on how to incorporate activities and methodologies that promote the use of Gardner's multiple intelligences.

pp. 15-17 (ish) stated some possible causes for poor vocab retention (taken from scores on weekly vocab. quizes), some of which were: there were no contextual clues on the quizes- just words by themselves, teacher emphasis on verbal learning techniques in the classroom (oral repetition drills- bottom of page 16 there are more examples)- they suggested using more types of activities, and lack of significant reinforcement/lack of motivation.

I would take a look at the last paragraph on page 17 (under __literature based causes__). It gives recommendations of //how// vocab should be learned (natural settings, used in context, etc.). It also discusses the negatives of giving new vocab. in a list- it's easier to confuse the words and there is no context to help memorization.

Page 21, second full paragraph talks about the importance of context and building on prior knowledge, and cooperative learning. Page 22 is basically an overview of "the plan" (procedures and objectives) Page 31/32 shows the results of the quizes after implementing the plan and the quiz scores improved!

The four intelligences that they catered their activities towards were: Kinesthetic, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, and visual-spatial. If we want to use some of these, for kinesthetic perhaps Jason's students could make something (the class in the study made a mobile) and I was thinking for visual-spatial the map would work really well for our "places" vocab. The students also kept a vocab. journal (p.36 explains more) where, I believe, they had to write vocab. they learned at the end of the lesson. This actually helped long term memory as well.

Here is the abstract: The report describes an experiment for increasing **retention** of foreign language **vocabulary** by using multiple intelligence approaches and memory enhancement tools. The targeted population was approximately 100 seventh- and eighth-grade Latin students. Student difficulty with **vocabulary** **retention** had been ascribed to the teacher's emphasis on verbal-linguistic teaching **methods**, students' lack of study skills, and varying degrees of student motivation. Review of solution strategies suggested by experts in the fields of both memory improvement and multiple intelligences resulted in a variety of interventions. Students were instructed using **methods** that introduce several multiple intelligence strategies and several memory improvement techniques, and were directly involved in composition and design of study materials in a cooperative learning context. The teacher de-emphasized verbal-linguistic approaches in favor of a more comprehensive approach. Post-intervention data showed an increase in scores on bi-weekly **vocabulary** quizzes, increase in awareness of memory techniques for foreign language **vocabulary** mastery, and awareness of varied learning styles in both teacher and students. Appended materials include the learning styles inventory and answer key, parent permission letter, **vocabulary** quizzes, journal entry forms, and grade 8 **vocabulary** quiz survey. Contains 25 references.

__Second article (TPRS)__
==**2. [|A Pilot Study Comparing Total Physical Response Storytelling[TM with the Grammar-Translation Teaching Strategy to Determine Their Effectiveness in Vocabulary Acquisition among English as a Second Language Adult Learners]] By: Castro, Ruben. Online Submission. 2010 51 pp. (ED509467) **==

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This is another study that was conducted on adult ESLs- it compared the effectiveness of grammar-translation vs. TPRS. The students were given a pre test, then for 3 classes they were taught with G-T and another 3 they were taught with TPRS. They were given a post test and the results proved that each method was effective but that grammar-translation worked slightly better. Around p. 40/41 it discusses student reactions,etc. and they seemed to have enjoyed TPRS more but G-T helped them memorize vocab. better. So, at least the TPRS activities (hopefully) contributed towards student motivation/enjoyment. Page 31 and 33 show the actual vocab lists and the difference between how many were wrong on the first test and the second.

__Abstract:__ This study evaluated the effectiveness of Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS[TM]) compared to the Grammar-Translation approach for acquiring and retaining new **vocabulary** in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. The subjects were adult Hispanic learners with limited literacy. An experimental design approach was used to gather information on the effect of TPRS[TM] and Grammar-Translation approaches on student **vocabulary** **retention**. A total of 25 participants signed the consent to be a research subject. All participants took two written pretests that examined their knowledge of common words. Following each pretest, the instructor taught three classes using the Grammar-Translation approach and three classes using TPRS[TM]. Following the treatments, all adults took the written **vocabulary** test. Pre-test and post-test results were analyzed to note similarities and differences in **vocabulary** **retention**. Results indicated that both Grammar-Translation and TPRS[TM] approaches made an important difference in student **retention** of **vocabulary**. The improvements in **vocabulary** acquisition and **retention** were 49% using Grammar-Translation and 45% using TPRS[TM]. Additional research is needed on how to work effectively with adult students who need to learn English under challenging circumstances. These students have complex lives and are trying to survive in addition to studying to improve their language ability. Interview is appended. (Contains 2 tables.)

QUOTES: //"So in both TPRS™ studies mentioned TPRS™ proved significantly more effective in teaching Spanish in two areas: Overall language acquisition and more improved vocabulary acquisition."// p. 21 //"It is inconclusive from the results of this study to determine that one teaching approach (Grammar-Translation or TPRS™) proved more effective than the other in teaching vocabulary. In general, students did better by 4% in the post-tests after being taught using the Grammar-Translation approach 49% versus 45%. However, the small percentage in gain may also be due to the fact that slightly more students partook of the lessons under the Grammar-Translation approach than under TPRS™."// p. 39

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The study is of 58 English majors as the subjects and two tests were performed one hour and one week after the relevant presentations, utilising one of three presentation modes. Supported by the two major findings from data analysis, the study reaches the conclusions that: 1) using example sentences in **vocabulary** learning promotes learners' **vocabulary** learning and **retention**; 2) the ways of using example sentences influences learners' **vocabulary** learning and **retention** effects as well. Generally, the effect is better when learners make their own example sentences than when the sentences are randomly provided by the teacher. The conclusions indicate that example sentences do work in direct **vocabulary** learning in ESL and EFL contexts.

Didn't have as much time to read through this one but I will look at it again in the morning- it looks promising....