Exploring Lexical Development in Japanese English Learners through Word Association Tests, Schemes and Mind Maps of Nuclear medicine

Download Exploring Lexical Development in Japanese English Learners through Word Association Tests and more Schemes and Mind Maps Nuclear medicine in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Word Association Responses, Lexical Development and the Relationship Within the Mental Lexicon of Second Language Learners Michael Post Module 2 Assignment For Lexis November 2007 Master of Arts In Applied Linguistics LX/06/02 Follow task 123 outlined on page 152 of McCarthy (1990 Vocabulary OUP), which is reproduced below. You do not have to use students: anyone who has an L2 but has not been brought up as a bilingual will do. Use at least four subjects and test them on their l2 (or L3/L4, etc.). Report your findings, giving the level(s) of subjects’ L2 (L3, etc) and including the prompt words and responses. Follow McCarthy’s list of evaluation points, adding other points to this if you wish. Estimated word count excluding long quotes, references, and appendixes: 4474 Centre for English Language Studies Department of English UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM Birmingham B15 2TT United Kingdom 2 1. Introduction Learning a language entails complex processes of learning, storing and accessing words within the mind. The mental space where this phenomena occurs has been called the mental lexicon. The mental lexicon is a metaphor for the complex organizational system of the mind that allows learners to access information in a variety of ways. Understanding the organizational system of the mental lexicon has yet to be explained, nonetheless there are available methods for exploring the organizational patterns involved. One of these methods is word association. Because learning a language may take place at different stages of an individual’s physical and mental growth there are still unanswered questions that have arisen in regards to how a native language learner and a second language learner develop the mental links within their mental lexicon for the organization of native language and second language acquisition. Through use of word association as detailed in McCarthy (1990: task 123, pg 152) this paper will explore the following three points in relation to the lexical development of Japanese learners of English: 1) the ability of word association tests to examine the mental links between words in learners’ developing mental lexicon, 2) the importance of phonological similarities for lower level students and 3) the correlation between the results from a word association test with the characteristic types of word association patterns discussed in McCarthy 3.2 (1990: 34-45). It will be argued that while lexical development within the mental lexicon is difficult to delineate due to overlap of organizational categories, the patterns of syntactic, semantic and conceptual relations between learned words is apparent within the retrieval process for word association and 5 The interrelation of words within language can be analyzed by beginning with two basic principles or classes of word association: syntagmatic (chain) and paradigmatic (choice) (Coulthard et al, 2006: 27). The syntagmatic and paradigmatic principles operate as part of grammatical and lexical choice. Syntagmatic is a horizontal textual relationship that can be analyzed by what comes before or after a chosen word. For instance, the syntactic word associations with the stimulus word TV could involve such responses as program, station and listing. The syntagmatic responses to the left or right of the word would allow for a sequential relationship and the construction of a grammatical sequence (Carter, 1998:198). Paradigmatic refers to words that might have been chosen instead on a vertical axis and are of the same grammatical class. For example, the stimulus word coffee could produce responses that include tea, milk and sake. Syntactic patterns include collocation, while paradigmatic patterns include coordination, hyponymy and synonymy. In addition, through various studies, such as the Birkbeck Vocabulary Project, research has indicated that L1’s have greater paradigmatic responses with L2’s having stronger syntagmatic responses. Research studies, (Miron and Wolfe, 1964; Lambert, 1972; Meara, 1978 cited in Zareva, 2007: 124) have suggested that L1’s tend to demonstrate steady patterns of associative organization in regards to paradigmatic-syntagmatic patterns, while L2 research has found that learners fail to develop the same level of stability in their lexical connections. 2.1.3 Coordination Coordination involves words, also known as coordinates, or co-hyponyms, which have a tendency to cluster together on a similar level of detail called a coordinate. Examples of 6 coordinates could include cashew and walnut. Coordination also includes opposites or antonymy. Antonymy can be further divided into four categories: comlementarity, gradable antonyms, converses and mutual incompatibles. Complementarity involves antonyms that cannot be graded. The presence of one excludes the other. An example of complementarity would be lost-found. Gradable antonyms refer to words that can be graded in reference to one another. Examples include, obese, fat, overweight, muscular, toned, average, thin, and skinny. Converses involve lexical relations that contain an interdependence of meaning via logical reciprocity. Examples include physical/mental. In addition, converses contrast with complementarity (Carter, 1998: 20). Incompatibility involves words that co-occur in relation to the same topic. For instance, morning excludes the possibility of it being afternoon or evening. Markedness is also a characteristic of antonyms and is often seen within pairs of words, with one word acting as a neutral or unmarked element (Coulthard et al, 2000: 26). An example of this would be old, in the sentence, ‘How old are you?’ Speakers would not say, ‘How young are you?’ 2.1.4 Collocation Collocation refers to groups of words that frequently appear together within a language. “Knowledge of collocation is knowledge of what words are most likely to occur together (McCarthy, 1990: 14).” These patterns can be divided into two categories: grammatical, also known as colligation, and lexical, also known as content words. 7 Grammatical collocation is the result of syntactic dependencies. Significantly less information about context is provided by grammatical collocation than by lexical collocation (Coulthard et al., 2000: 80). Additionally, Ellis states that “…word sequences have characteristic structures all of their own, and the abstraction of these regularities is the acquisition of grammar (1997: 130).” Examples of grammatical collocation could include following clauses, preceding modals and prepositional choice as in the following samples of: I thought about, you should and go to. Lexical collocation is the consequence of certain lexical items co-occurring due to linguistic context (Carter, 1998: 51). These patterns are predictable with particular words (Coulthard et al., 2000: 77). Carter states that: …it is commonly assumed that using words entails a creative deployment of the resources of the language, particularly in the selection of items from our lexical store; but many lexical items are either themselves patterns or form part of patterns which are quite fixed and stable and which are used routinely in relatively predictable situations ( 1998: 76). For example, according to the Bank of English the word computer has a high frequency to collocate with: technology, science and screen. Collocation also illustrates the open choice principle and the idiom principle as proposed by Sinclair (1987b, 1991, cited in Carter, 1998: 64). The open choice principle states that there is natural variation within language (Carter, 1998: 65). The idiom principle states that there are constraints upon the ways in which words can combine with one another (Coulthard et al., 2000: 81). Carter (1998: 65) says that: 10 encyclopaedia of world knowledge” that accumulates within an individuals life. Fromkin and Rodman state, “a word or phrase not only has a linguistic denotative meaning but also has a connotative meaning, reflecting attitudes, values, judgements and so on (1988: 305 cited in Coulthard et al, 2000: 41)” It seems apparent that such connotative associations with words develop in part through encyclopaedic knowledge of the world and any given word’s role, or contextual usage, in the world. For example, with the word exercise, encyclopaedic knowledge would allow an individual to understand that this word relates to physical exertion, health and possibly diet. Further, encyclopaedic knowledge would enable an individual to make a decision based on information outside the grammatical structures of the word as to whether this activity would be of a positive or negative nature. 2.1.9 Fixed Expressions Fixed expressions, or multi-word items, are “any combination of orthographic words which function as a single item (Coulthard et al., 2000: 63).” Carter defines fixed expressions as being fixed collocations, being of generally more than a single word and being semantically opaque (1998: 66). Types of fixed expressions can include: idioms, proverbs, stock phrases, catchphrases, allusions/quotations, idiomatic similes and discoursal expressions. Examples of idioms, idiomatic simile and discoursal expressions could include date night, solid as a rock and it’s about time. In addition, fixed expressions suggest that the production of language is a process of piecing together prefabricated units appropriate to given contexts and that “lexical acquisition may involve the learning of complete collocational chunks of language (Becker, 1975 cited in 11 Carter, 1998: 66).” The function of such fixed expressions would appear to be for the maintenance and stabilization within communication and the allowance for construction of larger grammatical units from their base for speech that is more dynamic, both externally and internally (Carter, 1998:66). 3. Discussion and Results 3.1 Word Association Test 3.1.1 Methodology and Participants Following the task of 123 from McCarthy’s Vocabulary (1990:152) eight stimulus words were chosen for L2 learners of English as specified by the following guide-lines: • One grammatical/function word • One or two items from the everyday environment • Uncommon or low frequency word • A mix of word-classes The following words were selected as prompt words: In, Play, Study, City, Train, To, Funny and Big. See table 1 below for list of prompt words and reasons. The word association test was given verbally to low-level Japanese learners of English. The study included 50 female Japanese 3rd year junior high school students, with participants in the age range of 14-15 years old. Students were instructed to listen to the word and then write their first response as part of a class activity. The word activity was used instead of test as a means of focusing students on the task, rather than focusing on their answers being 12 right or wrong, as suggested by Wright (2001), who used quiz. After the test, a follow-up questionnaire was administered. Due to the low levels of the participants reasons for their grammatical and lexical choices were very limited. I had hoped that the follow-up questionnaire would have been more beneficial. However, students were restricted to explaining how they memorized words best by writing: speaking, writing, reading or listening. Prompt Word Reason In Common preposition. Students should have connections to it in daily life. May have contextual associations to school environment: in class, in school. Play Common verb. Students should have mental links to play in their daily life. May have contextual associations to school life: play sports, play games. Study Common verb, less common for EFL as a noun. Students should have mental links to study in their daily life. May have contextual associations to school environment: study English, study Japanese. City A little less common noun in EFL classrooms, than country. Students should have encyclopaedic connections. May have contextual associations to life: Kobe, hometown. Train Common noun, but also a verb. Students should have connections to it their daily life. May have contextual associations through encyclopaedic knowledge: JR, station. To Common preposition and part of infinitive structures. Students should have connections to its usage. May have contextual associations to school life: to school, to study. Funny Less common adjective for EFL students. Based on my own practical experience working with L2 funny has often been used to mean fun, not humorous. Connections are not expected to be as strong as other prompt words. Students should still have contextual associations to its use: funny man, funny picture. May use it incorrectly. 15 of Patterns Table 3: Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Responses by Percentage. Highest percentage response in bold. Other=Encyclopaedic Knowledge, Fixed Expressions And Incompatibles. The results of this study appear to indicate that context does play an important role within the mental links of the organizational patterns within the mental lexicon. Melka states: it is… clear that context greatly aids comprehension. Linguistic context…facilitates understanding of a word…extra-linguistic context, including use of situations…also helps better understanding,…(1997: 95). The highest collocation within the prompt responses was for study with English at 64%. Clearly, the context of being in English class for the word association is a factor in this response. However, while semantic associative patterns can be recognizable among the types of responses, context is likely to be less apparent in most situations or responses. Prompt Word Paradigmatic Syntagmatic Other In 36% 10% 54% Play 20% 60% 22% Study 6% 94% 0% City 20% 40% 40% Train 28% 44% 28% To 28% 54% 18% Funny 14% 82% 4% Big 18% 78% 4% 16 Fixed expressions were also demonstrated within the response patterns of the participants to a greater degree than would be expected. For example, while participants were instructed to respond with only a one-word response, 50% of the prompt words elicited some form of fixed expression. The prompt word in triggered the highest rate of fixed expressions at 38% with such responses as: my house, my room and the park. Play elicited the second highest rate for fixed expressions at 20% with such responses of: the piano and the guitar. To triggered 12% of the fixed expression responses with answers such as: go to school, study English and the station. City received 2% of fixed expression responses with: of Tokyo. See table 4 below. Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C oo rd in at es H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl op ae di c K no w -le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio ns In co m pa tib le In Class, Park Out, On Kobe, The world Kobe, The world The Japan Play Tennis, Soccer Work, Read Do The piano, The guitar Study English, Japanese Write, Run City Is, Beautiful Town, Kobe, Umeda Train Fast, Station Bus, Car Chu chu train Hankyu, JR To You, School From For Reading, The station Funny TV, Girl Interesting, Happy Bad- minton, Shop- ping Big Dog, Mountain Small Pig Table 4: Sample of Typical Responses For Japanese Students 17 Responses of fixed expression seem to support the evidence on second language acquisition that suggests: “learners acquire language in set phrases or routines. Work on second language acquisition suggests that learners acquire fluency sooner and more effectively when they learn to produce and process language in chunks, as formulae or routines (Coulthard et al, 2000: 82).” In addition, this evidence would also seem to suggest that words are stored in relation to their syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations. It is likely that the collocational bonds were strong enough between words within the fixed expression that the participants treated the response words as a single item within the organization mental lexicon. Sinclair points out that “…a language user has available to him or her a large number of semi-preconstructed phrases that constitute single choices, even though they might appear to be analysable into segments (cited in Ellis, 1997: 128).” 3.2.2 Phonological Similarities for Lower Level Students At lower levels, are phonological similarities playing an important role? Phonological responses did not appear to play a significant role in this group of L2 as would be expected from previous research studies (McCarthy, 1990: 40). Only two phonological responses occurred within the response patterns of these Japanese learners: big/pig and train/chu chu train. Research in this area has stated that for both L1 and L2 the general shape of a word is important “in terms of matching input to stored patterns and in retrieving specific items from stored templates (McCarthy, 1990: 36).” However, 20 Prompt Word In Play Study City Train To Funny Big Collocation 10% 60% 94% 40% 42% 54% 82% 78% Coordination 36% 16% 6% 20% 28% 24% 14% 18% Hyponymy 2% Synonymy 4% Phonological 2% 2% Encyclopaedic Knowledge 16% 38% 26% 4% 2% Fixed Expression 38% 22% 2% 12% Incompatible 2% 2% 4% Table 5: Japanese Speakers Word Association Response by Percentage. Highest response in bold. Prompt Word Word Class Same word as Prompt Different word class from Prompt Noun Verb Adj. Adverb Prep. Grammatical Collocation/ Fixed Expression In Preposition NO 26% 14% 38% 36% Play Verb/ Noun NO 64% 14% 4% 22% Study Verb/ Noun NO 90% 6% 4% City Noun YES 70% 26% 2% 2% Train Noun/ Verb YES 60% 24% 14% 2% To Preposition NO 24% 34% 28% 12% Funny Adjective NO 78% 6% 16% Big Adjective NO 82% 18% 21 TOTAL 61% 16% 6% 8% 9% Table 6: Similarities and Differences in Word Class by Percentage 3.3 Limitations of Word Association Word Association may be limited by the interpretation of the answers. Aichison (2003: 85) lists three areas that are problematic in detailing the mental lexicon from word association, regardless of the vast information available from word association research. First, immediately thinking up only one word may not reflect typical speech processes of everyday life. Second, results can be modified by presenting words in isolation, rather than as part of group. Third, word association tests cannot detail the probable structure within the human mind, as links between words are numerous and participants are limited to only one-word answers. Additionally, in evaluating the data it is not often clear which meaning of a word a participant is implying. Some words could be evaluated in regards to collocation or they could be evaluated in regards to encyclopaedic knowledge, phonological patterns or fixed expression. For instance, students replied to the word city with Kobe. Kobe is a subordinate of city. However, Kobe is also the name of the city they live in and therefore shows encyclopaedic knowledge of the world that they are a part of. Additionally, students also responded to big with bag, this could be analyzed as collocation or a phonological response. 4. Furthering Lexical Development through Teaching 22 As teachers our goal is to aid learners in discovering new patterns within language, as well as discovering new patterns within their own minds in preparation for discourse outside the classroom. In this regards word association is clearly an invaluable classroom aid in organizing levels of detail for classroom instruction, evaluating the mental links being made within students written and spoken responses and in enabling teachers to discover new ways to present lexis as exciting and challenging. Laufer states that, “…lexis is now recognized as central to any language acquisition process, native or non- native (1997: 140). Additionally, Carter points out that applied investigation needs to be taken further involving “vocabulary in language teaching and the description of contextual associations of vocabulary (1998: 31).” In agreement with both of these points I would suggest that word association be employed as a means of developing a holistic approach to language learning and language teaching. A holistic approach to language teaching should incorporate a balance of lexis and grammar. Melka states that, “The idea of familiarity or degrees of knowledge could be considered as a measurement concept (1997: 85). Giving students opportunities within a classroom environment to make connections between words through activities that elicit, and strengthen, other topic-related words teachers can provide students with the contexts they will most likely encounter outside the classroom. A maturation process of word association through degrees of knowledge should be utilized by the use of graded patterns in conjunction with grammar as a means of moving students from the exposure and input of words to the production and comprehension of words. Through this students would be introduced to words in a given contextual environment and then allowed to choose from 25 REFERENCES Aichison, J (2003) Words in the Mind. Oxford: Blackwell. Carter, R (1998) Vocabulary Applied Linguistics Perspectives. London: Routledge Coulthard, M., Knowles, M., Moon, R. et al (2000) Lexis. Birmingham: University of Birmingham Ellis, N. (1997) “Vocabulary acquisition: word structure, collocation, word-class, and meaning.” Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Laufer, B. (1997) “What’s in a word that makes it hard or easy: some intralexical factors that affect the learning of words.” Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press McCarthy, M. (1990) Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Melka, F., “Receptive vs. productive aspects of vocabulary.” Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nagy, W. (1997) “On the role of context in first-and second-language vocabulary learning.” Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) (1997) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 26 Swan, M. (1997) “The influence of the mother tonue on second language vocabulary acquistion and use.” Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M, (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Wolter, B. (2001) Comparing the L1 and L2 Mental Lexicon: A Depth of Individual Word Knowledge Model. SSLA, 23, 41-69. Wright, B. (2001) ‘Word Association and Second Language Learners’ Responses’. University of Birmingham, The Assignment Bank (www) http://www.cels.bham.ac.uk/resources/essays/wright3.pdf Zareva, A., (2005) Structure of the Second Language Mental Lexicon; how does it compare to native speakers? Second Language Research, 23/2, 123-153 27 Appendix 1 Word Association Activity Look at the word and then write the first word that you think of next to it. In Play Study City Train To Funny Big 30 Appendix 3B Word Association Responses: Play Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C oo rd in at es H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl o- pa ed ic K no w le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio n In co m pa tib le Play Tennis (11) Soccer (8) Game (3) Live (1) Basketball (1) Piano (1) Guitar (1) Sport (1) Baseball (3) Work (1) Read (1) Run (1) Study (1) Listen (1) Stop (1) Swim (1) Look (1) Do (1) The piano (8) The guitar (2) ()=total number of responses out of 50 total. 31 Appendix 3C Word Association Responses: Study Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C oo rd in at es H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl op ae di c K no w le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio n In co m pa tib le Study English (32) Japanese (4) Math (7) Hard (2) Music (1) Write (1) Run (1) Sleep (1) School (1) ()=total number of responses out of 50 total. 32 Appendix 3D Word Association Responses: City Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C oo rd in at es H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl op ae di c K no w le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio n In co m pa tib le City Is (13) Beautiful (1) Hall (3) Mall (1) Building (2) Buildings (2) Town (8) House (1) Kobe (12) Umeda (1) Amagasaki (2) Sanda (2) Takarazuka (1) Sanda (2) Toyonaka (1) Of Tokyo (1) ()=total number of responses out of 50 total. 35 Appendix 3G Word Association Responses: Funny Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C o- or di na te s H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl op ae di c K no w le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio n In co m pa tib le Funny TV (9) Girl (8) Panda (1) Snake (1) Monkey (1) Musical (1) Music (1) Boys (1) Man (2) Movie (1) Book (1) Person (1) Story (1) Is (1) Boy (1) Person (1) Party (1) Mother (1) Game (1) Things (1) Comedy (1) Cry (1) Interesting (2) Happy (1) Bad (2) Tired (1) Badminton (1) Shopping (1) ()=total number of responses out of 50 total. 36 Appendix 3H Word Association Responses: Big Pr om pt W or d C ol lo ca tio n C oo rd in at es H yp on ym y Sy no ny m y Ph on ol og ic al En cy cl op ae di c K no w le dg e Fi xe d Ex pr es sio n In co m pa tib le Big Dog (6) Mountain (2) Heart (1) Elephant (6) Tree (1) Whale (1) School (1) Bird (1) Bag (2) Country (1) House (1) Town (1) Bear (2) People (1) Mirror (1) City (2) Cat (1) Home (1) Family (1) Fish (1) Animal (1) Small (8) Tall (1) Pig (1) Japan (1) ()=total number of responses out of 50 total. 37 Appendix 4 Method of Memorization Reading Writing Speaking Listening 22% 34% 25% 17% Student’s Preference of Method for Memorization of New Vocabulary from feedback questionarire. Highest percentage response in bold.