L2 Spanish vocabulary teaching in US universities: Instructors’ beliefs and reported practices

Sánchez‐Gutiérrez, Claudia; Robles‐García, Pablo; Serrano, Mercedes Pérez

doi:10.1177/13621688221074443

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 52 publications

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“…Here, frequency explains how likely an item is to be encountered, and possibly learned if noticed (N. Ellis, 2002). In the context of Spanish learning, it has been stated that L2 learners need to master the most frequent 3000 words in the first two years of coursework, although this is not always achieved (Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Miguel, & Olsen, 2018). Also, as reported before, HSs struggle with academic registers requiring lower frequency words (Valdés & Geoffrion-Vinci, 1998).…”

Section: Pedagogical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Social interaction in the Spanish classroom: How proficiency and linguistic background impact vocabulary learning

Tocaimaza‐Hatch

Santo

2020

Language Teaching Research

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Spanish learners engaged in two-way interaction gap tasks where, through social interaction, they identified and defined low-frequency vocabulary. Participants (referred to as actors to differentiate them from task partners) completed two such tasks. Each time, they collaborated with different partners of varying degrees of Spanish proficiency and linguistic background, either an L2 learner or a heritage speaker (HS). The purpose of the study was thus to shed light on if and how features of the collaborating partners in mixed (HS–L2) and matched (L2–L2; HS–HS) partnerships impacted vocabulary learning. Through a mixed methods analysis of the data (perception measures and qualitative responses, plus pre- and post-vocabulary tests), it was deduced that learners’ language proficiency level alone was not associated with differences in vocabulary gains. Rather, the nature of the partnerships among learners was more salient. In particular, learners in mixed partnerships had greater gains than those in matched partnerships. In addition, actors’ perceptions of the experience of working with their partner had no discernible effect on vocabulary, except for HSs who increased less when working with partners’ whose linguistic abilities they had rated as low. Pedagogical implications address learners’ social interaction in mixed language classrooms.

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Section: Pedagogical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Social interaction in the Spanish classroom: How proficiency and linguistic background impact vocabulary learning

Tocaimaza‐Hatch

Santo

2020

Language Teaching Research

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‘The wisdom of crowds’: When teacher judgments outperform word-frequency as a predictor of students’ vocabulary knowledge

Robles‐García

Stewart

Nicklin

et al. 2023

Language Teaching Research

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This study investigated the effectiveness of word-frequency and teacher judgments in determining students’ vocabulary knowledge and compared the predictive powers of both approaches when estimating vocabulary knowledge. Twenty-nine second language (L2) Spanish teachers were asked to predict how likely their students would know words from a 216-word Yes/No test that measures knowledge of the first 3,000 words in Spanish. The accuracy of their responses was compared with the results of 1,075 L2 Spanish students who completed the same test. To examine if the results could generalize to other L2 settings, 394 L2 English students completed a 70-word Yes/No test that measures knowledge of the first 14,000 words in English, and 15 L2 English language instructors attempted to predict which words would or would not be recognized. Results showed that for both language contexts, (1) the median teacher rater could assess students’ vocabulary knowledge with an accuracy roughly comparable to frequency, (2) the combination of teachers’ judgments displayed a stronger relationship with students’ performance on the vocabulary test than frequency, since the average of three or more teachers’ ratings improved upon frequency when examined with 1,000 bootstrapped samples, and (3) using teacher judgments and frequency together did not substantially improve the prediction of students’ vocabulary knowledge.

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Unveiling vocabulary teaching and learning beliefs of teachers and learners in an EFL context

Alshumrani

2024

Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ.

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Vocabulary is often considered as a key predictor of second language ability, and how teachers and learners’ beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary affect their teaching and learning has recently gained unprecedented momentum in the field of second language education. However, despite their importance, there is a paucity of research that has combined data from teachers and learners to illuminate their beliefs and conceptualizations. The main aim of this quantitative study is to combine data from English language teachers and learners to explore their beliefs and conceptualizations about vocabulary learning and knowledge. The study voluntarily recruited 113 learners and 91 teachers from a major Saudi university to fill out an online questionnaire. The findings revealed that both teachers and learners generally valued vocabulary on a par with grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and that both groups showed a general understanding of the basic components of word knowledge; however, their beliefs differed significantly. The results also indicated that despite showing an awareness of the role of textbooks and the incidental approach to vocabulary learning, there were significant differences in teachers and learners’ beliefs. The study concluded with a range of suggested implications, as well as suggestions for further studies on how to address the present lacunae in the field.

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L2 Spanish vocabulary teaching in US universities: Instructors’ beliefs and reported practices

Cited by 4 publications

References 52 publications

Social interaction in the Spanish classroom: How proficiency and linguistic background impact vocabulary learning

Social interaction in the Spanish classroom: How proficiency and linguistic background impact vocabulary learning

‘The wisdom of crowds’: When teacher judgments outperform word-frequency as a predictor of students’ vocabulary knowledge

Unveiling vocabulary teaching and learning beliefs of teachers and learners in an EFL context

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