Facilitating Vocabulary Acquisition by English Language Learners Literature Review Chapter

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Vocabulary Acquisition by English as a Second Language Learners

This chapter provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning vocabulary acquisition and English language learners and a discussion concerning Web-based vocabulary platforms including several representative examples as well as their potential for contributing to English language learner (ELL) student success. Finally, an analysis of pedagogy and technology integration in language acquisition is followed by a summary of research and major themes that emerged from the literature review.

Literature Review/Themes

Vocabulary Acquisition and English Language Learners

Vocabulary acquisition is a vital and continuous process requiring practice and time on task (Wei, 2014). Vocabulary acquisition entails constant repetition for young learners to develop an effective grasp of the material (Baleghizadeh & Ashoori, 2011). Indeed, vocabulary acquisition represents a fundamental building block on which second language fluency depends. In this regard, Alharbi (2015) emphasizes that vocabulary acquisition and retention represents the first and foremost area requiring attention by ELL students who will be required to learn a minimum of 3,000-word families and under the vast majority (at least 95%) of the English language that is used on a daily basis by native speakers.

This point is also made by Wei (2014) who also cites the centrality of vocabulary acquisition as the foundation for ELL students to gain mastery of the English language. For instance, according to Wei (2014), the acquisition of vocabulary by ELL students is an integral part of the mastery of the language. Indeed, without a comprehensive knowledge of relevant vocabulary words, ELL students will be unable to communicate at all, making the need for effective teaching strategies of paramount importance (Min, 2013). In addition, vocabulary acquisition and retention are key to successfully completing the battery of standardized tests that are used throughout the United States today (Dong, 2013). These are especially important issues given the enormity of the affected population, with the most recent estimates placing the number of students enrolled in ELL programs in the U.S. at around 4.5 million, and all demographic indicators suggest these levels will swell to even greater numbers in the near future (Thompson, 2016).

At first blush, though, developing effective teaching strategies that promote vocabulary acquisition by ELL students appears to be an especially daunting enterprise. In fact, researchers have determined that the English language has the largest vocabulary of any language in the world today, and educated English native speakers are generally required to understand around 70,000 words and 20,000-word families (Min, 2013). Conversely, educated ELL students typically know fewer than 25% of the vocabulary of native speakers (Min, 2013).

Consequently, it is vitally important for ELL students to expand their knowledge of English words to successfully compete in academic and professional settings (Min, 2013). In this regard, Min stresses that developing an expanding repertoire of English vocabulary words is not only essential for beginning ELL students, it represents an ongoing requirement that is essential for their continuing mastery of the English language. This need remains salient irrespective of ELL students' level of grammar or pronunciation competency since it forms the basis for communicating all aspects of a second language (Min, 2013).

Clearly, providing ELL students with this level of vocabulary knowledge requires classroom teachers to draw on those methods that have proven efficacy and tailoring these methods to meet the unique and changing needs of their students. The research to date indicates that ELLs learn better when the curricular offerings are relevant and in context. Learning in context is just one of the methods learners may use to increase their vocabularies, but ELL must use meta-cognitive thinking and learn terms within whichever context they appear (Alharbi, 2015; Jeff, 2010).

Not surprisingly, the research to date also confirms that ELL students acquire vocabulary at different rates compared to native speakers. For instance, researchers have demonstrated that native speakers typically acquire around 1,000 new words each year prior to their entry into college at which point the rate accelerates to around 2,000 new words each year (Peregoy & Boyle, 2013). In other words, the more words students already know, the faster they are able to acquire new ones.

By sharp contrast, ELL students require approximately twice as long to acquire the same number of new words, particularly after entering college when the vocabulary becomes more complex (Peregoy & Boyle, 2013). One of the more disturbing effects of these disparate learning rates between native speakers and ELL students is the fact that in academic settings, ELL students will already be at a disadvantage (Overturf, 2016).

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Furthermore, this disadvantage becomes more accentuated as they progress in their college studies because research has shown that students who already possess a larger vocabulary tend to acquire new words faster than those with a more limited vocabulary (Overturf, 2016). Therefore, language acquisition strategies have increasingly drawn on a wide range of oral and written resources to facilitate vocabulary acquisition by ELL students in recent years (Peregoy & Boyle, 2013).

Given the prodigious nature of the English language vocabulary, the question then emerges concerning what vocabulary words should be taught by ELL teachers to facilitate additional vocabulary acquisition. One strategy that has been used for this purpose is targeting the words that are used most frequently in the English language (Spiro, 2013). The rationale in support of using this strategy relates to the fact that the most frequently used words in the English language comprise a majority of the words used in oral and written communications (Spiro, 2013). In fact, studies have shown that the one thousand most common words in English account for nearly three-quarters (71%) of the words used in written texts, meaning that specific words represent an essential starting point for vocabulary acquisition by ELL students (Spiro, 2013).

One of the major constraints to vocabulary acquisition, however, remains the amount of intensive study required on the part of ELL students. In this regard, Alharbi (2015) emphasizes that generally speaking, ELL students will require a minimum of between five and 16 times as much exposure to new words to acquire and retain them compared to their native speaking counterparts. Moreover, Alhabri (2015) also stresses that ELL students must invest far greater time and effort to acquire new vocabulary words in English compared to native speakers despite efforts by the former to fully immerse themselves in the English language.

An important point made by Alhabri (2015), however, concerns the venues in which native speakers acquire vocabulary compared to ELL students. Similar to the manner in which vocabulary acquisition occurs in native languages, vocabulary acquisition in a second language occurs gradually over time as heavily influenced by the learning environment in which ELL students live and study; there are some differences between vocabulary acquisition among native speakers and ELL students that must be taken into account when formulating relevant teaching strategies. For instance, Alhabri (2015) points out that ELL students tend to naturally acquire vocabulary as part of their incidental interactions with native and non-native speakers in both classroom settings as well as social settings outside the classroom. Therefore, an integral part of the vocabulary acquisition process involves ELL students determining which learning strategy is best suited to achieve their goals depending on their academic circumstances at the time. Consequently, identifying ELL student needs and preferences represents an essential component in developing appropriate curricular offerings and teaching strategies (Alharbi, 2015).

There are a number of different vocabulary teaching strategies available for ELL students, including read-alouds, total physical response (TPR), word/flash cards and word walls (Alharbi, 2015). These teaching strategies are described further in Table 1 below.

Table 1

Vocabulary learning strategies

Strategy

Description/Applications

Read-Alouds

This strategy uses regularly scheduled oral readings of books and stories in which teachers draw on textual resources to provide ELL students with the background knowledge they need for effective vocabulary acquisition. This strategy also uses a progressively challenging approach that presents increasingly difficult material to challenge ELL students' vocabulary retention abilities (Fien & Santoro, 2011). While this strategy is effective in promoting vocabulary acquisition, it should only be considered as an adjunct to other vocabulary teaching strategies rather than being used as a stand-alone approach (Fien & Santoro, 2011).

Total Physical Response (TPR)

This language acquisition strategy simulates the manner in which children acquire their mother tongue. The rationale in support of this strategy relates to the natural processes by which native speakers acquire vocabulary. For instance, Harrasi and Talib (2014) report that young people tend to respond to oral instructions in their native language by physical responses such as shaking their heads affirmatively or negatively, pointing or nodding in acknowledgement) prior to the point where they are able to articulate words. This strategy is designed to simulate this process by having ELL students respond in physical ways to verbal instructions from the teacher (e.g., "open your books to chapter two") drawing on trace theory from psychology that posits the combination of oral instructions and physical actions.....

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