The Effects Of The Keyword Method In Japanese Students Acquisition Of English Vocabulary

Author : Natsuko Shintani
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (776 download)

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Download or read book A Comparison of the Effects of Comprehension-based and Production-based Instruction on the Acquisition of Vocabulary and Grammar by Young Japanese Learners of English written by Natsuko Shintani and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis reports a process-product study that compared the effects of comprehension-based instruction (CBI) and production-based instruction (PBI). It was motivated by both pedagogical and theoretical issues. The pedagogical issue was my need to find an effective way of teaching very young beginner-level children English in my own private language school in Japan and my dissatisfaction with the present-practice-produce approach (PPP) found in the available published teaching materials for learners of this age and level. This issue is of considerable importance in Japan given that English has now been introduced as a compulsory subject in the primary school curriculum. The theoretical issues concerned the relative contributions of input and output to both vocabulary and grammar acquisition and the roles of incidental and intentional language learning in second language (L2) classrooms. The thesis examined these issues by comparing a task-based approach consisting of only input-based tasks (i.e. CBI) and a PPP approach consisting of explicit instruction followed by controlled and meaning-focused practice activities (i.e. PBI). In Chapter 2 of the thesis I examine the theoretical basis for the two types of instruction and discuss key constructs. Chapter 3 reports a meta-analysis of published studies that compared the effectiveness of CBI and PBI. The analysis included 18 vocabulary studies and 30 grammar studies published in the last 20 years. The results showed that PBI had larger effect sizes than CBI in the case of vocabulary acquisition but CBI had larger effect sizes than PBI in grammar acquisition. It showed that there was lack of research on incidental grammar acquisition especially with young learners. It also found that many of the vocabulary studies had failed to include a pre-test, thus making the results they reported of doubtful value. The meta-analysis informed both the research questions investigated in my own study and the design of the study. Chapter 4 reports the results of a pilot study and Chapter 5 the methodology of the main study. This took the form of a between-subject design with a pre-test, immediate post-test and delayed post-test. Forty-five participants aged six were divided into three groups (the CBI, the PBI and the control group), and received nine lessons. In each CBI lesson, the learners received a set of input-based tasks and in each PBI lesson they received a set of production based activities. Given that comparative method studies have been criticized in the past for not demonstrating that the two approaches being compared actually differed in terms of their process features, I first investigated the instructional processes that occurred in the two experimental treatments using conversation analysis (CA) - see Chapter 6. The analysis showed that the interaction in the two groups differed in organization of turn-taking, occurrence of different types of repair, and the frequency and function of private speech. Overall it indicated that the interaction in the CBI classroom was 'conversational' whereas that in the PBI classroom was 'pedagogical'. Chapter 7 reports the results for vocabulary. The acquisition of 24 nouns and 12 adjectives was investigated. The CBI tasks were focused on the target nouns but the adjectives appeared only in the teacher's implementation of the task. The PBI activities were planned to teach both nouns and adjectives. Acquisition was measured by four tests involving two contrasted aspects (comprehension versus production) and two assessment methods (task-based versus discrete-item). The results showed that both types of instruction led to successful acquisition of both receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. The results, however, also indicated that in some respects the CBI was more effective than the PBI. In particular, the CBI demonstrated better acquisition of the adjectives than the PBI - an advantage that was sustained over time. Further examination indicated that this advantage could not be explained in terms of either the quantity of input or the output opportunities available to the two groups. Rather it was the quality of the interactions that was found to be important. The CBI provided more (1) meaningful input and (2) opportunities for the negotiation of meaning and (3) occasions of learner-initiated production. The results were discussed in terms of the Involvement Hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001). The study also investigated the incidental acquisition of two grammatical features (i.e. plural -s and copula be) - see Chapter 8. Incidental acquisition was operationalized as exposure to the grammatical features while the instruction was focused on teaching new vocabulary. Learning resulting from the CBI and PBI was measured by means of both discrete-item and task-based tests. The results showed that incidental acquisition had taken place but only in the CBI group and largely only for receptive knowledge of plural -s. There was no evidence of any acquisition of copula be. The results were discussed in terms of the saliency of the features and the processing demands of the two types of instruction. They suggest that an important factor in incidental grammar acquisition is whether or not the instruction induced 'noticing' (Schmidt, 1990; 1994) of the target features. The CBI did for plural -s; the PBI did not for either structure. Chapter 9 concludes by summarising the results and considering the theoretical and pedagogical implications of the study. There has been doubt expressed about whether task-based language teaching is viable for beginner learners. This may be one reason why available teaching materials opt for present-practice-produce (PPP). A general finding of this study is that it is possible to design and implement highly motivating input-based tasks for young beginner learners in an EFL classroom and that these are as effective as PPP materials (and, in some respects, more so) for teaching both vocabulary and grammar.