Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocabulary. Show all posts

Monday, March 29, 2010

RECEPTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE VOCABULARY SIZES OF L2 LEARNERS

Webb
1. The author is working within the Processing approach of cognitive linguistics. I know this because he is interested in the limits of human vocabulary, and wants to know what the human mind, independent of social circumstances, is capable of.
2. This article investigates transition theory, as the author often contrasts L1 learners to L2 learners and is interested in SLA.
3. This article pretty much confirmed something I already knew. There are passive bilinguals whose entire L2 vocabularies are receptive and non-productive. Of course learners can understand more than they can speak: almost every L2 learner knows the feeling of tip-of-the-tongue. I suppose it’s interesting that Webb spent so much time confirming an aspect of SLA that I had always simply assumed was true.

Rate of Acquiring and Processing L2 Color Words in Relation to L1 Phonological Awareness

Hu
1. This article falls within processing theory (and, more specifically, as described in our book, into the Lexical/Functional Grammar), as the authors attempt to account for both ELLs’ grammar and the cognitive processing speed and accuracy of their grammars. The authors also discuss saliency, and therefore also write within the Teachability Hypothesis.
2. This article addresses Transition theory, as it concentrates on language learners’ processing models.
3. I think this study lends support to the Hierarchical nature of language, in that people who have trouble with lower strata of language, like phonology, will also have trouble with higher levels of the hierarchy, like vocabulary. I would not be surprised if the author found that students who have poor phonological awareness have trouble at all levels of the grammar.