语言学英文版论文

1、。2011-2012 第二学年第二学期英语语言学学期论文Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition Strategies二语词汇习得策略 摘要词汇是构成语言的基本单位，词汇习得在语言学习中占有重要地位。英国著名语言学家D.A. Wilkins (1972)说过： “没有语法，人们不能表达很多东西；而没有词汇，人们则无法表达任何东西。 ”这就说明了词汇在学习中的重要性。本文旨在分析二语词汇习得策略并应用于不同水平的学习者。 学习者根据自己的水平选择正确的习得方法和策略学习词汇， 从而提高学习效率和习得效果。关键字：二语词汇习得词汇习得策略元认知策略 认知策略Ab

2、stractVocabulary isthebasic unit ofa language.Language acquisitionplaysan importantroleinlanguagelearning.Famous linguisticsD. A. Wilkinssaid,“Without grammar, verylittlecan be conveyed,withoutvocabulary,nothing can be conveyed (Lewis, 1993:16).”It speaks volumes for theimportanceofvocabularyin lang

3、uage learning.This paper aims to analysisthe second language acquisition strategies and applies to differentlevelsof learners.Accordingto thedifferentlevels,the learnersshouldchoose the proper methods and strategies to promote learning efficiencyand acquisition effect.Key words:Second Language Vocab

4、ulary Acquisition； VocabularyAcquisitionStrategies；Metacognitivestrategy； CognitivestrategyIntroductionWith economic globalization and multi-polarization of the world, especially the population of the internet, English becomes more and more精选资料，欢迎下载。important, because it is considered as the tool fo

5、r absorbing andcommunicating information. As we all known, vocabulary acquisition is oneof the most noticed-question of the second language learners.“Vocabulary ”appears inthe area oflinguists study.Nowadays, researchersstill can notgive a complete and reasonable definition of vocabulary. Since 1970

6、s, thesecond language vocabularyacquisitionresearch has gradually becomethehotpoint and important subject in the second language vocabulary acquisitionresearch area. These researches aim to discuss the efficiency vocabularymemory strategies to promote the memory skills and vocabulary levels. Thenhow

7、 to acquire vocabulary becomepopularamongthe researchers.Wenden&Rubin(1987), OMalley& Chamot (1990) refer to the content of vocabularyacquisition strategies; Rubin (1987) and Oxford (1990) classify the memorystrategytothe directcognitivestrategies.Especially,CohenAphek(1981),Porte (1988), O Malley (

8、1990), Vann (90), Cohen (1990), etc made a basicsearching of vocabulary acquisition. In a word, there are various opinionsin how to acquire vocabulary. Firstly, it talks about the importance ofvocabulary.Secondly,what does itmeanto “acquire ”a word? Thispaper mainlyaims to thedetail analysis of the

9、vocabulary acquisition from threeaspects ：Meta-cognitiveStrategy;CognitiveStrategyand Socialor AffectiveStrategy. Especially, it highlights the effect of the context and rendingto vocabulary acquisition. This paper talks about the applications of thevocabulary acquisition strategies. And it puts for

10、ward some problems anddifficulties of vocabulary acquisition. This paper also discusses theinfluencingfactors totheacquisition.Itincludesthemother tongue,age,language contact, logical thinking ability, identity degree, and academic motivationThe purpose of this paper is to rise the awareness of Engl

11、ish learners that the importance of vocabulary in language learning and the vocabulary acquisition strategies can not be neglected, and each strategies is deeply精选资料，欢迎下载。rootedin its language.Through the analysis of the theoryof study, the papertriesto draw the learners attentionto the strategiesof

12、the second languagevocabulary acquisition and using the vocabulary in communication. In orderto improvetheacquisitionefficiency,somestrategiesput intopracticeareintroduced.The firstpresentstheimportance ofvocabulary,some basicconcepts ofvocabularyand vocabularylearning,thesecond parttellswhat does i

13、tmeanto know a word,the thirdpart deals with the theory ofvocabularyacquisitionand presents the factors and differences influencing the vocabularyacquisition. The fourth part is detailed discussion of vocabulary acquisition strategies in different levels of learners. The last part is conclusion.Lite

14、rature review1. The importance of vocabularyAs the first time, when we go to school and our English teacher willtellus that vocabularyisofgreatimportance inlearningEnglish. Afterseveral years, we understand words gradually, especially when we studyin high school. If we know a little about vocabulary

15、, we may have poorEnglish.That isbecause the listening,speaking,readingand writingshowthe necessary of learning vocabulary.Many researchersagreethatlexisisatleastasimportantasstructure, because it is using wrong words and not wrong grammar thatusuallybreaks down communication.Mistakesin lexismuchmor

16、e oftenleadtomisunderstandingand may belessgenerouslytoleratedoutsideclassroom than mistakes in syntax. (Carter, 1987). As Stephen Krashenremarked, “When students travel, they dontcarry grammar books, theycarry dictionaries.A significantroleofvocabularyinbothteachingandlearningprocesses was first st

17、ated by Stephen Krashen inThe Natural Approach精选资料，欢迎下载。(1985):“Vocabularyis basic for communication. If acquirersdo notrecognizethe meaning of the key words used by those who address them they will beunable to participate in the conversation.”Words arebasictoolsinhumancommunication;thereforetheydet

18、erminethemain part of people s life-relationshipsbetween peopleandassociations with the surrounding world that people live in. The largerones vocabulary,theeasieritistoexpressones thoughtsand feelings.In real communication, correctly and idiomatically used vocabularycan even decrease some structural

19、 inaccuracy and grammar errors. (ZhangJiying, 2002). So learners should enrich and expand their knowledge ofwords as much as possibleinordertocommunicate effectivelyina foreignlanguage.2. What does it mean to“know”a word?Knowing a word isnot a simplephenomenon. In fact,itisquitecomplexand goes far b

20、eyond the word s meaning and pronunciation.(Zhang Jiying,2002).Richards(1976)thinkknowinga word means alsoknowingthefrequencyofwordsandtheirlikelycollocates;beingawareofthefunctionalandsituationlimitationsthatapply;knowledgeofthe“syntacticbehavior ”; derivationalformsand word class;associativeandcon

21、notative knowledge; semantic value-breaking down words into minimalunits as with componential analysis (see Katz&Fodor1963or Leech1974);knowing the other (possible) meaning associated. Nagy and Scott (2000)identifyseveraldimensionsthatdescribethecomplexityofwhat it meansto know a word. First, word k

22、nowledge isincremental, which means thatreadersneed tohave many exposures to a word in differentcontextsbeforethey “know” it.Second,wordknowledge ismultidimensional.This isbecause many words have multiple meanings and serve different functionsin differentfunctionindifferentsentences,texts,andeven精选资

23、料，欢迎下载。conversations. Third, word knowledge is interrelated in that knowledgeof one word connects knowledge of other words.What all ofthismeans isthat“knowing ”a word isa matterof degreeratherthananall-or-nothingproposition(Beck&Mckeown,1991;Nagy&Scott, 2000). The degree of knowing a word are reflec

24、ted in theprecisionwithwhich we use a word,how quicklywe understanda word,andhow well we understand and use words in different modes and differentpurpose.Knowing a word also implies knowing how that word relates to otherknowledge. Finally, knowing a word means being able to appreciate itsconnotation

25、s and subtleties. When we know a word at this level, we canuse andrecognizeitinidioms,jokes,slang,andpuns(Johnson,&Schlicting, 2004).3. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition StrategiesVocabularyacquisitionisthe partofEnglishlearning.Since1960s,more and more attentions and researches had been toward

26、 to vocabularyacquisition strategies. When it comes to 1980s or 1990s, the vocabularyacquisition strategies gain fruitful results. Cohen Aphek (1981), Porte(1988), OMalley (1990),Vann (1990), Cohen(1990)madea basicdiscussionin vocabulary acquisition strategies.OMalley&Chamot (1990)classifylanguage l

27、earningstrategyintothreemethods:Metacognitivestrategy,Cognitivestrategy,andSocialorAffectivestrategy.Metacognitivestrategyreferstostrategiesofadvancepreparation,directedattention,selectiveattention,self-management, self monitoring and self-evaluation. And the resultsindicatethatthemetacognitivestrat

28、egyteachingissignificantindeveloping learner autonomy, which shows prominent pros-pectin foreignlanguageteaching.A cognitivestrategyservestosupportthelearnerashe or she develops internal procedures that enable him/her to perform精选资料，欢迎下载。tasksthatarecomplex(Rosenshine,1997).Theuseofcognitivestrategi

29、escan increasetheefficiencywith which thelearnerapproachesa learning task. These academic tasks can include, but are not limitedto,rememberingandapplyinginformationfromcoursecontent,constructingsentencesandparagraphs,editingwrittenwork,paraphrasing, and classifying information to be learned.Thememor

30、ystrategy,cognitivestrategy,socialstrategyandmetacognitvestrategyareusedmorefrequentlythantheaffectivestrategy and compensative strategy.Oxford (1990)putforward a more comprehensive classificationsystemof strategy, which includes six categories: memory strategy, cognitivestrategy,compensatorystrateg

31、y,metacognitivestrategy,affectivestrategy,and socialstrategy.Nation(1990)putforwardsemanticmanufacturingstrategyof“whatisit ”.Fromdifferentaspect,researchershave differentclassificationofstrategies.Stoffer(1995)madea factoranalysisof53vocabularyacquisitionstrategiesand extract9 factors:thestrategyof

32、practiceand apply words inauthenticsituation;thestrategyofcreativelearningvocabulary;the self-motivationstrategy;thestrategyofpsychologicalconnection;memorystrategy;thestrategyofaudio/visualassistedlearning;with themovementtothe bodyof learningvocabularystrategy;thestrategyofovercominganxiety;thestr

33、ategy of using to organize units.Schmitt (1997) composite the relatedlanguage acquisitionstrategiesuponclassification,andputforwardtwocategoriesofvocabularyacquisitionstrategy,namelydiscoverystrategyandconsolidationstrategy.In china,acquisitionstrategiesresearcher,Wen Qiufang(1996)thought ：English l

34、earning strategy includes concept and method. What isconcept?Itmeanstheacquaintlearnerstohow tolearnEnglishwell.And精选资料，欢迎下载。themethod referstotheactionsthatlearnerstaketolearn English well.The method can be classifyingtwo categories:managemethod and learningmethod. Wuxia, Wangqiang(1998) draw lesso

35、nsof classificationof learningstrategiesfrom OMalley&Chamots and thingthatthemajorityofstudentscan notdepend on themechanicalmemorizingtolearnEnglishvocabulary.Wenpeng (2000) utilize“the level of processing approach of memory”todo an empirical research on different words meaning.WilliansandBurden(20

36、00) stressmetacognitioniscentraltoeffectivelearning.Wenden(1987) says thatmetacognitiveis“theprocessthatunderlinestheefficientuseof strategiesandtheessence ofintelligentactivity” (p573).Quicke(1994)similarlyviewsthatmetacognitive awareness is crucial in learning strategies. In addition,most of the s

37、tudies(OMalley and Chamot1990, Wendenand Rudin 1987; OxfordandCrookall1989)founderthelearnerswhowereparticularlytaughtmetacognitive knowledge to help them assess the needs, evaluate processand give directions to their learning.Aftersummarizingthetheoriesofthevocabularyacquisitionstrategies,I express

38、myopinionsabout vocabularyacquisitionstrategies.These theories or opinionshave their merits anddemerits. I am in favorof OMalley& Chamotstheoryoftheclassificationofvocabularyacquisitionstrategies:metacognitivestrategies,cognitivestrategies,affectivestrategies.Themetacognitionrepresentsstrategiesofac

39、quiring knowledge, namely the ability to understand pour method forlearningand assimilatinginformation.Itconcerns“the knowledge ofyourthoughts ”.In addition to how various factors influence psychologicalthought processing.As far as I am concerned, vocabulary really plays an essential rolein language

40、 learning. For example, when we communicatewith others,vocabulary is the basic component between your talking. Without words,精选资料，欢迎下载。withoutcommunication. Intheschool,everystudentshouldlearnvocabulary,themore vocabularyyou acquire,the more knowledge you willget. Inthe processof our study,everyskil

41、lneeds vocabulary.(Listening,speaking, reading, and writing). Especially, in the extensive reading,the vast majority vocabulary can be learned gradually through repeatedexposures in various discourse contexts. However, not all methods areappropriateforalllevelsoflearners.Thus, Ideemthatdifferentleve

42、lsof learnersshouldchoose differentstrategiesofvocabularyacquisitionstrategies.Whentalkingaboutsecond languagevocabularyacquisitionstrategies,we may talk it from pro-school children. Chenhua, zhangyifang (2001)analysisthe narrativeapproach ofmemoryprocess ofvocabulary.The studydiscoversthe majorityo

43、f Chinese childrenacquirevocabularywithrepeatmemory strategy. That is to say children memory Chinese meaning throughthe Chinese- English bilingual. When memorizing vocabulary, Chinesechildren seldom utilize the Keyword strategy and Semantic codingstrategies. They do not use metacognitive strategy. I

44、n my opinion,children can be helped to acquire vocabulary in the form of games.Meanwhile, vocabulary acquisition of pro-children should be carried outin a real context. It has a long progress. According to different age,childrenacquirevocabularyin differentstrategies.For thelowerclass,childrenacquir

45、ethe singleword. For themiddleclass, thechildrenbeginto acquire the double or three words. When the children are nearly 6 sixyears old, they form a semantic system. The teacher can help childrenacquire vocabulary in the context or games.4. Cognitive strategy4.1 Using dictionary strategiesCheck the d

46、ictionary is the most common strategy of acquiresvocabulary.And italsoan important manner tolearnEnglish.Ithas beenshown thatstudentswho use a bilingualdictionarylearnmore vocabulary精选资料，欢迎下载。than studentswho read withouta dictionary (1993:263-287).However, whenstudentsturntoa dictionaryforeveryword

47、 they do notunderstand,theylose sightofthe meaning within the textas a whole. Teachers and textbookdesigners have realized this, and they argued that learning strategiessuch as guessingfrom contextshouldbe employed inorderto read thetextfluentlyand smoothlyfor an overviewofthewhole text.Researchersh

48、avecommentedthatthismovementmay have gone too far,and today s literatureimplies that good language learners rely on dictionaries less than poorlanguage learners and are more successful at employing contextualguessing strategies.These researchers found that dictionaries were used equally by bothgood

49、and poor English achievers. There was, however, the notabledifference in the way students used their dictionaries: Dictionary usedby high achievers involved a series of questions:“Was it necessary toconsult thedictionary?What informationinthe dictionarywas relevant?Was the information worth copying

50、down, and if so, in Chinese or inEnglish? ”Low achievers, on the other hand, followed”a relativelyinflexible set of procedures for dictionary use rather than a decision0making process ”(wen, Q.,& Johnson, R. K., 1997:36 ).4.2 Semantic guessing strategyHuckin,Hnynes & Coady (1993)deeplystudy the cont

51、ext-basedmeaning.Guessing strategy plays an important role in acquiring vocabulary,cultivatingtheirguessing words abilitycan improve theirreading speed,and save time.So itcan stirup theirreading interestsand enlargetheirpage views.Skills for guessing unfamiliar English wordstell us how toguess words

52、. Gettingmeaning from inferencemeansthat you infer,or guess,meaning from the clues provided by the contextthe sentence or passagein whichthe word appears. Thereare four steps. First,decide what partof speech ofspeech theunfamiliarwords. Next, makeoutwhat the sentenceor passage is about. Then, find o

53、ut the words or phrases that help you精选资料，欢迎下载。get the idea. Finally, use these clues to guess the meaning of the word.For an example:The soldiers were ordered to fire at the enemy.Questions:1.What part of speech is“fire ”? _.Does the sentence talk about war, business, or a bale?_.What words in the

54、sentence helped you answer Question 2?_and_.Fire means_to let someone from a jobto shootred-hot flamesThe sentence contains two clues to the meaning of“fire ”.First,“fire”is a verb. Second, he sentence talks about war; theword “soldiers”and“enemy”help you understand this. You canimmediatelyeliminate

55、the choice “red-hotflames ”, since itis a nounanswer that refers to blame. Although the choice“to let someone gofrom a job”is a verb answer, it refers to business and should beeliminated. The choice“to shoot ”is a verb answer that talks aboutfighting; it is the correct answer.4.3 Memory strategy of

56、vocabulary acquisitionThe so-called memory strategy refers to various memorizing methodsor skillsforstudents,itsprinciplesare:tideup, organizeand relateto the content.In China, memorymethod is a traditionalstrategyto learnvocabulary. In order to deal with the examinations, the students adoptthe memo

57、rystrategy.The commonmemorystrategiesare:keyword strategy,word list, context strategy.4.4 Keyword strategyThe key word strategy can benefit a wide variety of students withlanguage needs in the areas of vocabulary, comprehension of academiclanguage,sentence structure,organizingand explaininginformati

58、on,andtransferringinformationacross settings.Whenthe strategyis routinely精选资料，欢迎下载。used,students can masteritsbasicmechanics and key word reviewduringdirect language intervention sessions can be a foundation forincreasinglycomplex and challengingpracticeand review ofa varietyofcurriculum based langu

59、age skills. Keyword strategy is put forward byAtkinson(1975).The method includestwo steps:first,the learnersfindout the similar sounding word between the mother langue and the secondlanguage.Second, buildup a metal image. Paivio(1991),Pressley(1982)thinkthatkeyword strategyisimportant.However, ithas

60、 itslimitation,which is difficultyto findthesamepronunciationof each word. InChina,Wangwenyu (1998) found that Chinese students seldom use the keywordstrategy because of its complexity.4.5 Word listNation (1982) makes a conclusion: word list is an efficient way toaccumulatelargenumber ofvocabularies