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UBC Theses and Dissertations

A case study of the acquisition of vocabulary by a group of ESL students examined from the perspective of knowledge structures Henry, David Alexander

Abstract

This case study examined the processes of vocabulary teaching and learning in a sixth grade ESL classroom. In examining the processes of vocabulary teaching and learning, the method used was a qualitative analysis of classroom discourse. The classroom followed a language teaching approach which was content based (or thematic) and was organized primarily around a framework of the knowledge structures of classification and description. The study focussed on classification and description and made a distinction between the language of classifying and describing a specific topic and the metalanguage of classification. In examining the processes of vocabulary teaching and learning the study made a distinction between direct strategies (such as giving definitions) and indirect strategies (which called for contextual use). Results suggested that: 1. indirect strategies of teaching language and vocabulary seemed to be more effective than direct strategies; 2. the teaching focus on classification and description was reflected in the use of the language of classification and description and the metalanguage of classification; 3. teachers used more of the language and metalanguage of classification than the students but not as wide a range as occurs in written discourse; 4. students seemed to acquire and use less of the metalanguage of classification than of the the language of classification and description, and preferred syntactic rather than lexical realizations when discussing classification and description; 5. when the language used corresponded to the knowledge structure of the topic, this appeared to help the learning of words associated with the topic; 6. assessing the quality of students' use of the terms associated with the knowledge structure of a topic seemed to be useful in evaluating their understanding of the topic.

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