Málfríður - 15.10.2009, Blaðsíða 17

Vocabulary Acquisition
Vocabulary acquisition has usually been excluded
from age related influences on language learning,
nevertheless, research has increasingly stressed the
significance of lexis with emphasis on studying the
teaching and learning of vocabulary. Clearly, aca­
demic achievement cannot be achieved without
adequate vocabulary. However, studies have illus­
trated that there is no maturational point where the
ability to learning L2 words diminishes (Singleton,
1998). Therefore, it is assumed that vocabulary is not
subject to critical period effects.
One of the issues regarding vocabulary acqui­
sition is whether words can be learned inciden­
tally or whether they have to be taught directly.
Research demonstrates that most of the words must
be acquired incidentally rather than through direct
vocabulary study due to the enormity of the task
(Coady & Huckin, 1997). Nevertheless, it has been
observed that such a task is daunting if a learner
does not have the skills needed to learn incidentally
(Laufer, 2003). It has been observed that, children
learn their L1 vocabulary from their social environ­
ment (Hulstijn, 2005) and they are expected to learn
vocabulary and other aspects of language, at least
in the early years, in an incidental or implicit way
(DeKeyser, 2005). Taking into consideration that
there may be a threshold for vocabulary learning
with incidental methods, this produces the paradox
Coady presented in 1997; a learner needs words to
read and to read to learn words.
Although vocabulary acquisition may not be sub­
ject to maturational effects, studies that have tested
“incidental” vocabulary acquisition by adults, for
example, through reading, have not shown a gain
in vocabulary acquisition (Nation & Waring, 2004).
Therefore, adolescents and adults benefit from direct
instruction. What has not been demonstrated is at
what age level learners start benefitting from instruc­
tion and are less likely to learn incidentally, that is in
the formal environment. Therefore, we need to test
previous hypotheses about children, the age factor
and incidental language learning against claims of
basic needs for vocabulary learning, as Icelandic
children now walk on the border of English being a
second and a foreign language.
English in Iceland
English instruction in Iceland is changing to accom­
modate the demands of society and these changes
are reflected in the current version of The National
Curriculum Guidelines for Foreign Languages at the
Primary Level (Menntamálaráðuneytið, 2007). English
language instruction now begins at 4th grade level,
though schools have permission to start instruction
even earlier (p.5). Consequently, a number of schools
are taking the opportunity to start English language
instruction earlier, sometimes as early as first grade
or even at kindergarten. The rationale is based on
the argument that the younger a child starts learn­
ing a foreign language, the better. Nevertheless, it
has been established that early exposure is only ben­
eficial where the amount of exposure in the envi­
ronment is great enough for language acquisition to
occur.
Second language (SL) learning is now generally
spoken of “as the way in which people learn a lan­
guage other than their mother tongue, inside or
outside of a classroom” (Ellis, 1997, p. 3). Therefore,
according to this definition, SL is simply the language
that comes next after the mother tongue without
regard to whether it is situated in the target country
or the native country. Foreign Language (FL) learn­
ing, on the other hand, pertains to the classroom
study of a language and occurs in the native (L1)
country most of the time. Applying this in Iceland
could place English research of receptive knowledge
under the heading of Second Language Acquisition
while the study of productive knowledge of English
and all other languages qualify as Foreign Language
learning. Accordingly, it could be interpreted that
Icelandic children start learning English as a mixture
between a second and a foreign language, or more as
an additional language in society. Those unique cir­
cumstances call for new research on how to best to
improve their English language learning and acqui­
sition given the new context.
The study
This study, that took place in the spring and fall of
2008, investigates whether incidental or intention­
al instructional methods can affect the outcome of
English word recognition tests taken by 4th grade
and 7th grade students at the primary level in a regu­
lar Icelandic primary school. The research questions
were:
1. Does intentional or incidental teaching facili­
tate more vocabulary acquisition?
2. Do students retain the vocabulary knowledge
over time with or without further focused
instruction?
a. At 7th grade level
b. At 4th grade level
MÁLFRÍÐUR 1