USE OF L1 IN ENHANCING L2 VOCABULARY

Authors

  • Muthyala Udaya Assistant Professor, Department of ESL Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v0i0.4154

Keywords:

bilingual texts, vocabulary, incidental, noticing hypothesis, reading

Abstract

This present study investigated the role of the first language in enhancing second language vocabulary using bilingual texts. Fourteen students with English as a third language participated in this study. Learners read different versions of the same text (English and Telugu), and a pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test were conducted to measure the incidental vocabulary learning. The findings revealed that (a) the two groups made significant gains in lexical knowledge through completing the treatment; (b) learners who read bilingual text had significantly durable knowledge gain compared to those who read glossed text only. The mean scores in the delayed post-test of the participants who read bilingual text were significantly higher than those who read glossed texts only. Including L1 in language classrooms enables language learners to read beyond their proficiency level and still learn new words while reading. It provides learners the opportunity to learn L2 vocabulary at their own pace. The findings of this study suggest that using L1 in language classrooms contributes to effective learning for L2 vocabulary.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

Author Biography

  • Muthyala Udaya, Assistant Professor, Department of ESL Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, India
    Muthyala Udaya, Assistant Professor, Department of ESL Studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, India. Her research interests are second language acquisition, bi/multilingualism, corpus, and language teaching.

References

Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1981). Vocabulary knowledge. In J. Guthrie (Ed.), Comprehension and Teaching: Research Reviews (pp. 77-117). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Atkinson, D. (1987). The mother tongue in the classroom: A neglected resource? ELT Journal, 41(4), 241-247.

Auerbach, E. (1993). Re-examining English Only in the ESL Classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 27/1: 9-32.

Cook, V. (2001). Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review, 57, 402-423.

Cook, V. J. (1997). The consequences of bilingualism for cognitive processing. In A. de Groot & J. F. Kroll (eds.), Tutorials in Bilingualism: Psycholinguistic Perspectives (pp.279 299) Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum

Dulay, H., & Burt, M. (1973). Should we teach children syntax? Language Learning, 23, 245-258.

Eldridge, J. (1996). Code-Switching in a Turkish Secondary School. ELT Journal 50 (4) 303-311.

Finnochiaro, M., & Brumfit, C. J. (1983). The functional-notional approach: From theory to practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gabrielatos, C. (2001). L1 use in ELT: Not a skeleton, but a bone of contention. Bridges. 6. 33-35.

Gardner, R. C. & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student's contribution to Second Language Learning: Part II, Affective Factors. Language Teaching, 26, 1-11.

Greggio, S. & Gil, G. (2007). Teacher's and Learners' Use of Code-Switching in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom: A Qualitative Study.

Harbord, J. (1992). The use of the mother tongue in the classroom. ELT Journal, 46/4, 350-355.

Hatch, E., & Brown, C. (1995). Vocabulary, semantics, and language education. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Hopkins, S. (1988). Use of mother tongue in teaching of English as a second language to adults. Language Issues, 2(2), 18-24.

Horst, M. (2005). Learning L2 vocabulary through extensive reading: A measurement study. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 61, 355-382.

Johnson, J. S., and E. L. Newport. 1991. Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology 21: 60-99.

Krashen, S. (1989). 'We Acquire Vocabulary and Spelling by Reading: Additional Evidence for the Input Hypothesis', Modern Language Journal 73: 440-62.

Krashen, Stephen, D. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Laufer, B. and I. S. P. Nation (1999). 'A Vocabulary Size Test of Controlled Productive Ability,' Language Testing 16.1: 36-55.

Lee, J. G., & VanPatten, B. (1995). Making communicative language teaching happen. New York: McGraw-Hill

Liao, Posen (2006). EFL Learners' Beliefs about and Strategy Use of Translation in English Learning. Relc Journal.

Maximo, R. (2000). Effects of rote, context, keyword, and context/ keyword method on retention of vocabulary in EFL classroom, Language Learning, 50, 2, 385-412.

McDonald, C. (1993). Using the target language. Cheltenam: Mary Glasgow Publications

Meara, P. (1980). Vocabulary acquisition: A neglected aspect of language learning. Language Teaching and Linguistics Abstracts, 13, 221-246

Nation, I. S. P. (1978). Translation and the teaching of meaning: some techniques. ELT Journal 32, 3: 171-175.

Nation, I. S. P. (2011). Research into practice: Vocabulary. Language Teaching 44.4, 529–539

Nation, P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Nation, P. (2003). The role of the first language in foreign language learning. Asian EFL Journal, 5(2), 1-18.

Neuman, S. B., & Dwyer, J. (2009). Missing in Action: Vocabulary Instruction in Pre-k. The Reading Teacher, 62, 384-392.

Nunan, D. (1987). Communicative language teaching: making it work ELT Journal, 41(2), 136-145.

Nunan, D. (1999). Second language teaching & learning. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.

Nunan, David (1991). Language Teaching Methodology. A Textbook for Teachers. London: Prentice-Hall.

Oxford, R. (1999). Anxiety and the Language Learner: New Insights. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in Language Learning (pp. 58-67). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies. What Every Teacher should know.

Richards, J. C. (1980). The role of vocabulary teaching. In K. Croft (Ed.), Readings in English as a second language: For teachers and teacher trainers (2nd ed., pp. (424-438).

Scherfer, P. (1993). Indirect L2-vocabulary learning. Linguistics, 31, 1141-1153.

Schmitt, N. (1999). The relation between TOEFL vocabulary items and meaning, association, 325 collocation, and word-class knowledge. Language Testing 16, 189-216.

Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in Language Teaching (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

Schmitt, N., D. Schmitt and C. Clapham (2001). 'Developing and Exploring the Behaviour of Two New Versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test', Language Testing 18: 55-88.

Schweers, C. (1999). Using L1 in the L2 Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 37, 6-13.

Skinner, D. (1985). Access to meaning: The anatomy of the language/learning connection. J Multiling Multicult Dev, 6, 369-389.

Stern, H. H. (1992). Issues and options in language teaching (edited posthumously by Patrick Allen & Birgit Harley). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Storch, N., & Wigglesworth, G. (2003). Is there a role for the use of L1 in an L2 setting? TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 760-770

Tang, J. (2002). Using L1 in the English Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 40, 36-43.

Ur, Penny (1998). A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Villamil, O. and de Guerrero, M. (1996). "Peer revision in the L2 classroom: Social-cognitive activities, mediating strategies, and aspects of social behaviour", in Journal of Second Language Writing, 5:51–75.

Webb, S. (2005). Receptive and Productive Vocabulary Learning: The Effects of Reading and Writing on Word Knowledge, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 27: 33-52.

Webb, S.A. & Chang, A, C-S. (2015). Second language vocabulary learning through extensive reading: How does frequency and distribution of occurrence affect learning? Language Teaching Research, 19(6), 667-686.

Wharton, C. (2007). Informed use of the mother tongue in the English language classroom.

Wilkins, D. A. (1972). Linguistics in language teaching. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Downloads

Published

2022-02-02

Issue

Vol 4, No 4 (2019)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

 

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

 

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).