Chapter 2

Literature Review

This chapter gives an overview of the previous studies and the definition of vocabulary and
vocabulary learning strategies. Besides, it takes a look of the implications and importance
of learning both vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies. Moreover, we will explain
the relation between vocabulary and the vocabulary learning strategies in a foreign
language.
2.1 Previous studies

Lately, many studies have investigated the strategies that most of EFL students use to learn
and acquire new vocabulary specially in Mexico. This section will focus on the most recent
researches made in this country such as Quintana Roo, Chiapas, Estado de Mexico, and
San Luis Potosi. It will also provide a brief synopsis of each study.
2.1.1 Quintana Roo
Marin (2006) studied the use of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) by 185 students
enrolled in a five-year English major at the University of Veracruz. The data collection
instruments were an open VLS questionnaire while the interview data were "surveyed" via
the VLS questionnaire that included eight categories (guessing, skipping, dictionary-use,
social-discovery, note-taking, repetition, association, and further-consolidation strategies).
The results showed that further-consolidation emerged as the most frequently used VLS
category, followed by dictionary-use and repetition strategies. In contrast, skipping and
association strategies were the least frequently reported categories.
Another research conducted by Heffington and Marin (2008) students from the English
language BA program in the Quintana Roo University were asked to learn 21 low
frequency words, according to Brown Corpus Concordance English (1,000,000) and the
British National Corpus Concordance English (1,007,000). This study was divided into two
groups; the first one
2.1.2 Chiapas

2.2 Vocabulary

Vocabulary is essential in the English learning process. Also, vocabulary is one of the
language components that can affect sub-skills (e.g. grammar). As life become more
complex, people devise or borrow new words to describe humans activities. No one
knows exact numbers of words in the English vocabulary today. The vocabulary of
language always changes and grows. Before starting the literature review, these concepts
will be defined in order to understand their apparent relationship among them and with
successful English Language Learning.

2.2.1 What is vocabulary?

In language learning, vocabulary takes place in building the language proficiency. The
objective of the vocabulary mastery is to make the students have a good language
proficiency in the language skills. It depends on the quality and quantity of the vocabulary
that they have mastered. The richer the vocabulary that can be mastered by the students,
they will get the better skill that can be reached in using language. Some definitions of
vocabulary are proposed by some experts.

According to the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
(2002); Vocabulary is a set of lexemes, including single words, compound words and
idioms.
According to Richards (2002:255), vocabulary is the core component of language
proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read, and
write. Jackson and Amvela (2000:11) say that the terms of vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon
are synonymous.

Nunan (1999: 101) states that vocabulary is a list of target language words. Furthermore,
Jackson and Amvela (2000: 11) say that the terms vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are
synonymous. In addition, Richards and Schmidt (2002: 580) state that vocabulary is a set
of lexeme, including single words, compound words, and idioms.


Harmer (1991: 158) summarizes that knowing a word (vocabulary) means knowing about
meaning, word use, word formation, and word grammar.

Amvela (2000: 11) say that the terms vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are synonymous.

In addition, Richards and Schmidt (2002:580) state that vocabulary is a set of lexeme,
including single words, compound words, and idioms. Vocabulary is the total number of
words in a language; all the words known to a person or used in a particular book, subject,
etc; a list of words with their meaning, especially one that accompanies a textbook
(Hornby, 1995: 1331).

From the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the knowledge of words
and word meanings. It is about the words in language used to express meaning. Therefore,
learning vocabulary is a crucial matter in developing their English. Those definitions show
that vocabulary is the first element that the English learners should learn in order to master
English well besides the other English components and skills.


2.2.2 Implications of teaching and learning vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the language aspects which should be learnt. In this way, there are
countless strategies that teachers can employ to assist students in building their vocabulary
knowledge. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that promoting/providing these
strategies correctly will help students to learn cognitively the vocabulary making
connections between the previous and the new knowledge of it.
Learning vocabulary is important because in order to be able to speak, write, and listen
learners have to know vocabulary first. A person said to know a word if they can
recognize its meaning when they see it (Cameron, 2001: 75). It means that in learning
vocabulary learners have to know the meaning of it and also understand and can use it in
sentence context.
As teachers we need to take this into account and find ways of helping students to struggle
the effects of memory decay and give them the tools to improve their retrieval ability to
learn vocabulary effectively. We also need to think of ways of making the experience of
learning it more memorable and of recycling the information that we teach.


2.2.3 The importance of vocabulary to ESL

L2 learning of vocabulary is not just learning a word once and for all, but learning
the range of information that goes with it. It is unlikely that everything about a word is
learnt simultaneously; we might not know its spelling; we might be missing some of the
components of its meaning; we certainly will not know all the word combinations in which
it can occur. The problems associated with going from the first language to the second are
not just the transfer of the actual words, but also the relationships and overtones they carry
in the L1. As an English speaker, I cannot conceive how postpone and reject could be
the same word in another language, as they are in Hebrew lidchot (Levenston, 1979).
Most uses of vocabulary in textbooks imply that words have single meanings: books that
have vocabulary lists usually give single-word translations. The German course English for
You (Graf, 1983), for instance, lists one translation for bar (Bar) and one for write
(schreiben), where many might be necessary.


2.3 Leaning strategies

The main objective of this research is to identify the vocabulary learning strategies that the
students from four to six semester of the BA in ELT used to learn vocabulary. Some
students are extrovert and experiment liberally and frequently while learning a new
language. Other students are more reserved, preferring a more individual, private approach
to the way they learn and practice the language. The strategies used by an outgoing student
may vary significantly when compared with the strategies of a more reserved student.

2.3.1 Definition of learning strategies
Oxford (1990:8) learning strategies are the specific actions taken by the learner to make
learning easier, faster, enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable
to new situation.


2.4 Strategies for teaching vocabulary


2.4.1 How can we learn new vocabulary?

A huge variety of strategies have been identified, researchers are also attempting to
develop a categorization framework which could adequately describe them. O'Malley and
Chamot (1990) divide language learning strategies into three major types: metacognitve
(strategies for overviewing the processes of language use and learning, and for taking steps
to efficiently plan and regulate those processes), cognitive (strategies which involve the
manipulation of information in an immediate task for the purpose of acquiring or retaining
that information) and social/affective (strategies dealing with interpersonal relationships
and those which deal with controlling one's emotional constraints).
Each of these major categories describe a large number of strategies. Oxford (1990) has
attempted one of the most comprehensive classification systems to date. It includes six
major strategy categories, Cognitive, Metacognitive, and Social.
2.4.1.1 Cognitive Strategies
Cognitive Strategies are similar to Memory Strategies, but are not focused so specifically
on manipulative mental processing; they include repetition and using mechanical means to
study vocabulary. Written and verbal repetition, repeatedly writing or saying a word over
and over again, are common strategies in many parts of the world. They are so entrenched
that students often resist giving them up to try other ones (O'Malley and Chamot, 1990).
Word lists and flash cards can be used for the initial exposure to a word, but most students
continue to use them to review it afterwards. One main advantage of flash cards is that
they can be taken almost anywhere and studied when one has a free moment (Brown,
1980).
Another kind of cognitive strategy is using study aids. Taking notes in class invites
learners to create their own personal structure for newly learned words, and also affords
the chance for additional exposure during review. Students can also make use of any
special vocabulary sections in their textbooks to help them study target words. One
expedient for making L2 words salient is to tape L2 labels onto their respective physical
objects. Students who prefer a more aural approach to learning can make a tape recording
of word lists (or any other vocabulary material) and study by listening.
Vocabulary notebooks have been recommended by a number of writers (Allen, 1983: 50;
Gairns and Redman, 1986: 95-100; and McCarthy, 1990: 127-29). Schmitt and Schmitt
(1995) suggest a type of notebook which incorporates the progressive learning of different
kinds of word knowledge for each word, and also the use of expanding rehearsal.
2.4.1.2 Metacognitive Strategies
Metacognitive strategies have an indispensible part to play in effective language learning.
OMalley and Chamot (1990) emphasized the crucial role that metacognition plays in
learning in that.
Students without metacognitive approaches are essentially learners without direction or
opportunity to plan their learning, monitor their progress, or review their accomplishments
and future learning directions. (p. 561)
Metacognition has the potential to empower students to take charge of their own learning
and to increase the meaningfulness of students learning (Amado Gama, 2005, p. 21), it
also encourages learners to learn what to do when they dont know what to do (Wade,
1990; Claxton, 2002).
Similarly, Chamot et al. (1999) stated that metacognition or reflecting on ones own
thinking and learning is the hallmark of the successful learner (p. 2). In the metacognitive
approach to teaching, the teacher models and provides guided practice in some specific
strategies employed by skilled readers.

2.4.1.3 Social Strategies
A second way to discover a new meaning employs the Social Strategy of asking someone
who knows. Teachers are often in this position, and they can be asked to give help in a
variety of ways: giving the L1 translation if they know it, giving a synonym, giving a
definition by paraphrase, using the new word in a sentence, or any combination of these.
L1 translations have the advantage of being fast, easily understood by students, and make
possible the transfer of all the knowledge a student has of the L1 word (collocations,
associations, etc.) onto the L2 equivalent. The disadvantages are that the teacher must
know the learners' mother tongue, and that most translation pairs are not exact equivalents,
so that some erroneous knowledge may be transferred. Likewise, though synonyms have
similar meanings, students need to know collocational, stylistic, and syntactic differences
in order to use them effectively in a productive mode (Martin, 1984). Paraphrasing well
involves similar kinds of complexities (Scholfield, 1980). Of course classmates or friends
can be asked for meaning in all of the above ways, but to condense the taxonomy, only the
general item 'Ask classmates for meaning' is listed. In addition, learners can be introduced
to new words and discover their meanings through group work.
2.4.2 How can we teach new vocabulary?

Hammer (1991:151-161) says that teaching vocabulary is clearly more than just presenting
new words. This may, of course have its place but there are other issues too. However, not
all vocabulary can be learned through interaction and discovery techniques. Thus statement
implies that learning vocabulary cannot always be done through interaction and discovery
techniques for the beginners. The reason is that, in doing such as technique, the learners are
demanded to have an adequate number of vocabularies. It means that the students need to
memorize and recall many vocabularies that have been mastered before.



2.4.3 The role of strategies in vocabulary learning

The main advantage obtained from all learning strategies, as well as vocabulary learning
strategies, is that learners are able of taking more control of their own learning so that
students will fell more responsible for their studies (Nation, 2001). Consequently, the
strategies develop learner autonomy, independence, and self-direction (Oxford &
Nyikos, 1989, p.291). When the students are promoted with different kind of vocabulary
learning strategies they can decide how exactly they would like to implement/use with
unknown words.
In Nation (2001) view learners are able to acquire a large amount of vocabulary with the
help of vocabulary learning strategies and that these strategies are truly useful for students
of different language levels. Cameron (2001) believes that children may not be able to
make use of vocabulary learning strategies themselves in order to make this happen they
need to be trained to use the strategies effectively.