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Vocabulary handling strategies in ESL reading : a study of Singapore secondary three students
Author
Wang, Dakun
Supervisor
Gu, Peter Yongqi
Abstract
This study explored how Singapore secondary three students handled vocabulary in natural reading settings and investigated the relationship between the use of vocabulary handling strategies and text difficulty, English language proficiency, accuracy of constructed meanings, and the retention of words handled.
A qualitative analysis of the data identified 21 different strategies used by the students. A frequency count of the total times the strategies were used and the number of cases of vocabulary handling indicated that students employed multiple strategies instead of using only one strategy when handling individual vocabulary items. Of the strategies identified, sentence meaning, rereading, clue word association and dictionary consulting were the most frequently used strategies; delayed reprocessing, imagery, sentence structure and part of speech were the least frequently used.
The difficulty of reading texts had an effect on the use of strategies. The students used a wider range of strategies with higher frequencies on individual words in the more difficult passage than in the easier one. Whereas they mobilized more strategies focusing on individual words in the more difficult passage, they invoked more strategies integrating global understanding in the easier passage. However, the predominant strategy types across the two passages were quite similar, substantiating that the students tended to rely on a small number of strategies.
The findings showed that strategy use was closely related to English proficiency. The high proficiency students mobilized a greater variety of strategies and used more strategies per word handling case than their low proficiency counterparts. Fourteen vocabulary handling strategy types were used by the majority of the high proficiency students and only eight by the majority of the low proficiency students. The strategy use suggested that whereas the high proficiency students handled unfamiliar words by constantly shifting the modes of bottom-up and top-down processing, the low proficiency students tended to over-rely on processes in one direction. The qualitative comparison of strategy use suggested that the high proficiency students differed from the low proficiency ones in metacognition and the quality of strategy use.
Strategies used on two selected words revealed miniature strategic profiles of the strategy use of the high and low proficiency students in general. The high proficiency students were more skilled in interactive processing, enjoyed greater strategic flexibility, possessed more confidence and motivation than the low proficiency students. But the low proficiency students were more ambiguity tolerant.
With regard to retention effectiveness of the strategies, some strategies consistently emerged as more effective across text types and student groups, some constantly turned out to be less effective, but some appeared to be affected by certain factors. The examination of the retention effectiveness of the strategies suggested that in general those strategies that involved deeper level semantic and cognitive processing and personal engagement with the words yielded higher retention rates. On the contrary, those strategies that were less effective seemed to be shallower in terms of cognitive and semantic processing and these strategies involved less personal engagement. The inconsistent retention effectiveness rates of some strategies were also largely due to the variations in the depth of semantic and cognitive processing and the amount of personal engagement. Thus, it was concluded that vocabulary acquisition can be facilitated by deeper semantic and cognitive processing and greater personal engagement.
A qualitative analysis of the data identified 21 different strategies used by the students. A frequency count of the total times the strategies were used and the number of cases of vocabulary handling indicated that students employed multiple strategies instead of using only one strategy when handling individual vocabulary items. Of the strategies identified, sentence meaning, rereading, clue word association and dictionary consulting were the most frequently used strategies; delayed reprocessing, imagery, sentence structure and part of speech were the least frequently used.
The difficulty of reading texts had an effect on the use of strategies. The students used a wider range of strategies with higher frequencies on individual words in the more difficult passage than in the easier one. Whereas they mobilized more strategies focusing on individual words in the more difficult passage, they invoked more strategies integrating global understanding in the easier passage. However, the predominant strategy types across the two passages were quite similar, substantiating that the students tended to rely on a small number of strategies.
The findings showed that strategy use was closely related to English proficiency. The high proficiency students mobilized a greater variety of strategies and used more strategies per word handling case than their low proficiency counterparts. Fourteen vocabulary handling strategy types were used by the majority of the high proficiency students and only eight by the majority of the low proficiency students. The strategy use suggested that whereas the high proficiency students handled unfamiliar words by constantly shifting the modes of bottom-up and top-down processing, the low proficiency students tended to over-rely on processes in one direction. The qualitative comparison of strategy use suggested that the high proficiency students differed from the low proficiency ones in metacognition and the quality of strategy use.
Strategies used on two selected words revealed miniature strategic profiles of the strategy use of the high and low proficiency students in general. The high proficiency students were more skilled in interactive processing, enjoyed greater strategic flexibility, possessed more confidence and motivation than the low proficiency students. But the low proficiency students were more ambiguity tolerant.
With regard to retention effectiveness of the strategies, some strategies consistently emerged as more effective across text types and student groups, some constantly turned out to be less effective, but some appeared to be affected by certain factors. The examination of the retention effectiveness of the strategies suggested that in general those strategies that involved deeper level semantic and cognitive processing and personal engagement with the words yielded higher retention rates. On the contrary, those strategies that were less effective seemed to be shallower in terms of cognitive and semantic processing and these strategies involved less personal engagement. The inconsistent retention effectiveness rates of some strategies were also largely due to the variations in the depth of semantic and cognitive processing and the amount of personal engagement. Thus, it was concluded that vocabulary acquisition can be facilitated by deeper semantic and cognitive processing and greater personal engagement.
Date Issued
2001
Call Number
LB1050 Wan
Date Submitted
2001