The Role of Context and Dictionary Definitions on Varying Levels of Word Knowledge

Nist, Sherrie L.; Olejnik, Stephen

doi:10.2307/748031

Cited by 44 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…A strong treatment would explain more variance than a weak treatment but the quantification of the strength of a treatment is generally unknown. For example Nist and Olejnik (1995) studied the effect of context and dictionary use on varying levels of word knowledge. In this study the quality of the dictionary definitions and the quality of the context in which the target words were provided were varied.…”

Section: Cautionary Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of Effect Size for Comparative Studies: Applications, Interpretations, and Limitations

Olejnik¹,

Algina

2000

Contemporary Educational Psychology

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578

370

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Although dissatisfaction with the limitations associated with tests for statistical significance has been growing for several decades, applied researchers have continued to rely almost exclusively on these indicators of effect when reporting their findings. To encourage an increased use of alternative measures of effect, the present paper discusses several measures of effect size that might be used in group comparison studies involving univariate and/or multivariate models. For the methods discussed, formulas are presented and data from an experimental study are used to demonstrate the application and interpretation of these indices. The paper concludes with some cautionary notes on the limitations associated with these measures of effect size.

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Section: Cautionary Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measures of Effect Size for Comparative Studies: Applications, Interpretations, and Limitations

Olejnik¹,

Algina

2000

Contemporary Educational Psychology

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578

370

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“…On one hand, a number of scholars have pointed out the critical importance of context or contextual knowledge in vocabulary acquisition (Beheydt, 1987;Miller, 1999;Pavlenko, 2009;Sternberg, 1987); while on the other, empirical studies conducted to verify the effects of context have resulted in mixed findings, providing only partial support to the above claim (Dempster, 1987;Gipe & Arnold, 1979;Laufer & Shmueli, 1997;Lawson & Hogben, 1996;Nist & Olejnik, 1995;see Nation, 2001 for review). Some of these findings indicate a superiority of translation learning over context learning (Dempster, 1987;Laufer & Shmueli, 1997;Lawson & Hogben, 1996) while others reveal the positive effect of enhanced context (Nist & Olejnik, 1995).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…However, how qualitatively different such context is compared to the original text (one of the four modes) 'It was a stereotype seized upon avidly by the film industry' in clarifying the meaning and use of the target word 'avidly', is questionable. A similar concern has been expressed by Nist and Olejnik (1995) regarding the fuzziness of how 'strong' (a notion equivalent to 'elaborated' in Laufer and Shmueli's study) context needs to be to result in adequate mastering of the meaning of a word. Without first establishing a basis to effectively control the independent variable, i.e.…”

Section: International Journal Of Research Studies In Language Learningmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…For instance, in an experiment conducted by Laufer and Shmueli (1997) to compare the learning effect of different modes of vocabulary presentation with varying contextual information, an 'elaborated text' (allegedly the most informative mode) was illustrated by 'People willingly adopted this image and it was a stereotype seized upon avidly (target word) by the film industry as well' (see also Nist & Olejnik, 1995 for similar comparison of learning effect between manipulated contexts). However, how qualitatively different such context is compared to the original text (one of the four modes) 'It was a stereotype seized upon avidly by the film industry' in clarifying the meaning and use of the target word 'avidly', is questionable.…”

Section: International Journal Of Research Studies In Language Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rethinking the role of context and definition in second language vocabulary acquisition (SLVA): An assimilation via a cognitive model of concept formation

Ang¹

2013

IJRSLL

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The motivational base of this study lies in the real-life problem faced by many L2 learners: How can learners achieve target-like lexical competence? It does not take much to demonstrate that knowing a dictionary definition alone is not enough, but how learning from context actually leads to accuracy of production has remained unclear. The present article addresses this issue by proposing a cognitive model that illustrates the role of context and definition as well as L1 translation in the acquisition of conceptual knowledge. Drawing on studies of L1 acquisition, particularly the usage-based theory of language acquisition, this paper discusses in depth how L2 acquisition differs from L1 acquisition in various aspects.Meanwhile, it accounts for the development of accuracy by adopting a gap-filling-oriented acquisition view. In summary, by providing a systematic account for how various components contribute to the acquisition of a word, the proposed model offers a solution to several important debates in SLVA besides giving new insights into a range of pedagogical and learning issues.

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“…The studies have been done on how much learners are successful in inferring meaning from context (Nist & Olejnik, 1995;Schatz & Baldwin, 1986), on the role of proficiency levels (Fraser, 1999;Bengeleil & Paribakht, 2004), on the role of the clues utilized (Paribakht & Wesche 2006;Wesche & Paribakht, 2010), or on the processes of lexical inferencing (Fukkink, 2005). However, to the best of the researchers' knowledge, no study has been conducted to investigate the role of the repetition of the words in the context on the lexical inferencing.…”

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confidence: 99%

Examining the influence of frequent appearance of unknown words and critical thinking on inferencing their meaning

Farahanynia¹,

Nasiri²

2015

IJRSLL

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The influence of repetition of an unknown word on incidental vocabulary learning has always been one of the areas that have attracted the attention of researchers in the vocabulary domain. Although different aspects of inferencing have been studied, the relationship between the repetition of an unknown word in the context and the inferencing of its meaning from the context has not been fully studied by researchers. Another point is that inference is one of the sub-skills of critical thinking, and there may be some relationship between critical thinking and lexical inferencing, but no study on this issue has been undertaken. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate these two relationships. To this end, 68 intermediate learners of English as a Foreign Language participated in this study. They took three inferencing tests which were constructed by the authors of this study. In these tests, the unknown words were repeated once, and three and five times respectively. In order to measure critical thinking ability of the participants, the Persian version of Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) Form A was utilized. The results of repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the repetition of the unknown words had significant effects on the lexical inferencing. This implies that, as the number of times an unknown word is repeated increases, the probability of the learners' ability to infer its meaning properly increases. It was also found that there is a significant relationship between critical thinking and lexical inferencing.

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The Role of Context and Dictionary Definitions on Varying Levels of Word Knowledge

Cited by 44 publications

References 14 publications

Measures of Effect Size for Comparative Studies: Applications, Interpretations, and Limitations

Measures of Effect Size for Comparative Studies: Applications, Interpretations, and Limitations

Rethinking the role of context and definition in second language vocabulary acquisition (SLVA): An assimilation via a cognitive model of concept formation

Examining the influence of frequent appearance of unknown words and critical thinking on inferencing their meaning

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