Developing EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Repertoire Through Semantic Relations Techniques
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1408.28Keywords:
EFL, semantic relations, mental lexicons storageAbstract
The study investigates the impact of teaching vocabulary through semantic relations (i.e. including hyponymy, synonymy, antonymy, polysemy, homonymy and metonyms) on the breadth and depth of EFL learners’ vocabulary knowledge. A convenient sample of 50 freshman EFL learners from a state university in Jordan was recruited. The study followed an experimental approach; data were collected through pre- and post-tests over an academic term. An interview was also conducted to elicit students’ attitudes toward this vocabulary-learning strategy. The results of the ANOVA test have revealed that Jordanian EFL learners find certain difficulties concerning the identification and production of all semantic relations. They scored low in identifying semantic fields properly though they were more aware of synonyms and antonyms than others. The T-test analysis of the data revealed that the degree of awareness of the major types of semantic relations significantly differed between both tests. This implies that using this strategy has improved students' semantic awareness. Besides, students have shown positive attitudes towards using this technique asserting that it contributes to the development of their mental lexicon. The study has many pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.
References
Afzal, N. (2019). A study on vocabulary-learning problems encountered by BA English majors at the university level of education. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 10(3), 81-98.
Agustín-Llach, M. P. (2023). Foreign language semantic categorization: Evidence from the semantic network and word connections. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 205-222.
Aitchison, J. (1994). Words in the mind: An introduction to the mental lexicon. Great Britain: Blackwell Publishers.
Akbarian, I. H., Farajollahi, F., & Catalán, R. M. J. (2020). EFL learners’ lexical availability: Exploring frequency, exposure, and vocabulary level. System, 91, 102-261.
Alaee, F. F. (2022). The effect of bilingual-word-list versus semantic network practices on EFL lexical competence. Language Research, 1(2), 87-95.
Alam, S. (2023). Pedagogical implications in EFL classrooms: A reflective praxis of vocabulary strategies and techniques. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 14(5), 1422-1429.
Alameh, S. H. A. (2018). The Role of identifying the lexical relations among target vocabulary words through blended learning on EFL students’ mastery in using target vocabulary. European Scientific Journal, 14(35), 358-371.Doi:10.19044/esj.2018.v14n35p358.
Allott, N., & Textor, M. (2022). Literal and metaphorical meaning: In search of a lost distinction. Inquiry, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2022.2128867.
Altay, M. (2017). Raising awareness of lexical semantic relations in undergraduate EFL context. Novitas-ROYAL (Research on Youth and Language), 11(1), 42-52.
Amer, A. (2018). Teaching/developing vocabulary using semantic feature analysis. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0743.
Armbruster, B.B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2003). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read: Kindergarten Through Grade 3. Jessup, MD: National Institute for Literacy.
Arnon, I. and Snider, N. (2010). More than words: Frequency effects for multi-word phrases. Journal of Memory and Language, 62, 67–82.
Aydemir, T., Özbay, A. L., & Çıraklı, M. U. (2021). Exploring semantic prosodic awareness levels of EFL learners through near-synonym words. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(4), 131-172.
Bahar, M. & M. H., Hansell. (2000). The relationship between some psychological factors and their effect on the performance of grid questions and word association tests. Educational Psychology, 20(3), 349-364. https://doi.org/10.1080/713663739
Balram, Sh. Sholz, Ronald W., and Olaf Tietje. E. (2003). Embedded case study methods: Integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 12(2), 365-367. Retrieved June 11th, 2023, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006229422.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. Guilford Press.
Bengochea, A., & Sembiante, S. F. (2023). A review of the methodological characteristics of vocabulary interventions for emergent bilinguals in preschool to sixth grade. Review of Education, 11(1), 33-86.
Boers, F. Lindstromberg, S. (2008). How Cognitive Linguistics Can Foster Effective Vocabulary Teaching, Cognitive Linguistic Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary and Phraseology, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Boran, G. (2018). Semantic fields and EFL/ESL teaching, International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 5(2), 391 – 399.
Burt, C., Graham, L., & Hoang, T. (2022). Effectiveness of computer-assisted vocabulary instruction for secondary students with mild intellectual disability. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 69(4), 1273-1294.
Chen, Y. C., & Lai, H. L. (2012). EFL learners’ awareness of metonymy–metaphor continuum in figurative expressions. Language Awareness, 21(3), 235-248.
Crossley, S., Salsbury, T., & McNamara, D. (2009). Measuring L2 lexical growth using hypernymic relationships. Language Learning, 59(2), 307-334.
Crystal, D. (1992). An encyclopaedic dictionary of language and languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Cunningham, A. E. & Stanovich, K. E. (1998). What reading does for the mind, American Educator, 22, pp. 8–15.
Darussalam, A. (2022). Analysis Teaching Vocabulary on Semantic Mapping for English Club in Vocational High School. Borneo Educational Journal (Borju), 4(2), 111-120.
Durrant, P and Schmitt, N. (2010). Adult learners’ retention of collocations from exposure. Second Language Research, 26, 163–88.
Dwihastuti, D., Dewanti, R. Sumarni, S. (2022). The Semantic Feature Analysis on Teaching Vocabulary for Young Learners. Lingua, 18(1), 49-59.
Ebrahimi, M., & Akbari, O. (2015). Comparative Effect of Presenting Vocabularies in Semantically Related and Unrelated Sets on Iranian EFL Learners’ short Term Retention. Psychologist, 13(1), 109-120.
Ellis, NC. (2002). Frequency effects in language processing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 143–88.
Fajrah, N. Y. (2018). Improving Students’ Vocabulary Through Semantic Field of Eighth Year Students of SMP Negeri 9 Parepare, State Islamic Institute, Parepare. Retrieved March 23rd, 2023 from http://repository.iainpare.ac.id/751/1/14.1300.161.pdf.
Faraj, G. A. K. (2022). Semantic Field of Utterances in ''Healthy Living Guide''. The International Journal of the Humanities and social sciences, 32, 186-197.
Fitriani, N., Usman, N., & Asrifan, A. (2022). The Implementation of Semantic Mapping to Improve Students Vocabulary Mastery. La Ogi: English Language Journal, 8(2), 150-155.
Fitzpatrick, T., & Clenton, J. (2017). Making sense of learner performance on tests of productive vocabulary knowledge. Tesol Quarterly, 51(4), 844-867.
Gao, C., & Xu, B. (2013). The Application of Semantic Field Theory to English Vocabulary Learning. Theory & Practice in Language Studies, 3(11), 2030-2035.
Gizoli, Y. E., & Bedri, A. M. (2015). Investigating the Use of Lexical Semantic Relations to Enhance Vocabulary Instruction at the 3rd Grade Secondary Level in the Sudan, SUST Journal of Humanities, 16(4), 118-127.
Hakimova, M. A., Nematova, Z. T., & Ziyayeva, D. A. (2020). General Basis of Lexico-Semantic Composition of Words. Theoretical & Applied Science, (6), 145-148.
Ilmiddinovich, K. S. (2021). The methodologies of learning English vocabulary among foreign language learners. ACADEMICIA: An International Multidisciplinary Research Journal, 11(4), 501-505.
Jaashan, H. M. S. (2022). Teaching figures of speech as a productive skill and its influence on EFL learners' creative writing. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 18(1), 423-433.
James, C. (1998). Errors in language learning and use: Exploring error analysis. Harlow: Longman.
Kamil, M. L. & Hiebert, E. H. (2005). “Teaching and learning vocabulary: Perspectives and persistent issues,” in E. H. Hiebert and M. L. Kamil (eds.), Teaching and learning vocabulary: Bringing research to practice, (pp. 1–23) Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Kess, J. F. (1992). Psycholinguistics: Psychology, linguistics and the study of natural language. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Lestari, I. W., & Hardiyanti, N. (2020). Vocabulary Learning Autonomy through Incorporation of English Songs: Indonesian EFL Students' Perspectives. 3L, Language, Linguistics, Literature, 26(2), 94-104.
Liu, J., & Wiener, S. (2020). Homophones facilitate lexical development in a second language. System, 91, 102-249.
Mackey, A. & Gass, S. (2005). Second language research: Methodology and design. New York, NY: Routlege.
Mapesos, R. M. (2017). Traditional approach. Retrieved April 20th, 2023 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321134079.
Mehdi, G. (2008). Lexical relations and the use of communication strategies: A competence analysis study. Adab Al-Kufa Journal, 1(3), 88-123.
Mohammed, M. A. A., & Ahmed, M. A. (2019). Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Use of Lexical Semantic Relations in Vocabulary Teaching. A case Study of Secondary School Level in Omdurman Locality. Sudan University of Science and Technology, 20(4), 165-176.
Mousavi, S. N., & Seifoori, Z. (2022). Differential Semantic Mapping Modes and EFL Learners' Vocabulary Learning and Retention. Language and Translation, 12(4), 49-63.
Murphy, ML. (2010). Lexical and semantic relations. In: Lexical Meaning. Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 108-132. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511780684.010
Nair, S., Srinivasan, M., & Meylan, S. (2020). Contextualized word embeddings encode aspects of human-like word sense knowledge. arXiv preprint arXiv:2010.13057.
Nataliya, L., & Elena, N. (2020). Advanced Russian EFL Learners' Awareness of Idiomatic Synonymy, Antonymy, And Polysemy. Journal of Language and Education, 6(24), 105-120.
Nation, I.S.P (2000). Learning vocabulary in lexical sets: Dangers and guidelines. TESOL Journal, 9, 6-10.
Odinokaya, M. A., Krylova, E. A., Rubtsova, A. V., & Almazova, N. I. (2021). Using the discord application to facilitate EFL vocabulary acquisition. Education Sciences, 11(9), 470-428.
Perez, M. M. (2022). Second or foreign language learning through watching audio-visual input and the role of on-screen text. Language Teaching, 55(2), 163-192.
Phuriudomseth, T. (2010). The study of English vocabulary achievement and retention of Mathayomsuksa 3 students of Patumwan Demonstration School Srinakharinwirot University leaning through the use of semantic field approach. MA Thesis, Srinakharinwirot University.
Piantadosi, S. T., Tily, H., & Gibson, E. (2012). The communicative function of ambiguity in language. Cognition, 122(3), 280-291.
Richards, J. (2015). Bridging the gap between receptive and productive competence. Retrieved May 13th 2023 from http://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2015/08/27/bridging-gapreceptive-productive-competence/
Richmond, J. E. (2007). Bringing Critical Thinking to the Education of Developing Country Professionals. International education journal, 8(1), 1-29.
Rousoulioti, T., & Seferiadou, E. (2023). Memorizing Vocabulary in Multilingual Classrooms: Strategies Adopted by Teachers in Distance Education. Societies, 13(183), 1-14.
Roux, P. W. (2013). Words in the mind: Exploring the relationship between word association and lexical development. Polyglossia, 24(8), 80-91.
Saragih, E. (2019). The effect of semantic mapping technique on technical vocabulary mastery for Midwifery students. Studies in English Language and Education, 6(2), 333-342.
Sathientharadol, P. (2020). The use of semantic field approach to enhance English vocabulary development of Prathomsuksa 4 students at Betty Dumen Border Patrol Police School, Phayao Province, Thailand. Interdisciplinary Research Review, 15(6), 22-30.
Saud, W. I. (2018). Lexical Errors of Third Year Undergraduate Students. English Language Teaching, 11(11), 161-168.
Schmitt, N. (2019). Understanding vocabulary acquisition, instruction, and assessment: A research agenda. Language Teaching, 52(2), 261-274.
Shuang, Z. H. O. U. (2022). Contextual Word Inferencing Strategy and Its Pedagogical Values. Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 12(4), 350-358.
Sinopalnikova, A. (2004). “Word Association Thesaurus as a Resource for Building WordNet”. In Proceedings of the 2nd International WordNet Conference (pp. 199-205).
Sökmen, J. (1997). ‘Current Trends in Teaching Second Language Vocabulary’. In Schmitt, N. and McCarthy, M. (eds.) Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy (pp. 237-257).Cambridge University Press.
Stahl, S. and Nagy, W. (2007). Teaching word meanings. Routledge.
Storjohann, P. (2010). Lexical-semantic relations: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Stringer, D. (2019). Lexical semantics: Relativity and transfer. In Applied linguistics for teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse learners (pp. 180-203). IGI Global.
Sukying, A. (2023). The Role of Vocabulary Size and Depth in Predicting Postgraduate Students’ Second Language Writing Performance. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 16(1), 575-603.
Türker, E. (2016). The role of L1 conceptual and linguistic knowledge and frequency in the acquisition of L2 metaphorical expressions. Second Language Research, 32(1), 25-48.
Udaya, M. (2022). Using semantic maps as a teaching strategy for vocabulary development. European Journal of English Language Teaching, 6(5), 193-205.
Ullrich III, N. J. (2021). The Influence of Text on Coherence of Story Retells, Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Acquisition, and Eye Gaze: A Computer-Based Story Telling Task with Eye Tracking (Doctoral dissertation, City University of New York).
Wahab, I., & Astri, Z. (2022). Students’ Interest in Using Semantic Mapping Technique in Learning English Writing Ability. Journal of Indonesian Scholars for Social Research, 2(1), 68-71.
Wolter, B. (2002). Assessing proficiency through word associations: is there still hope?System, 30, 315-329.
Yaghoubi, S. T., & Seyyedi, F. (2017). The effect of explicit and implicit teaching vocabulary on Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary. Studies in English language and education, 4(1), 15-25.
