Category Archives: Research

Krashin: The Case for Narrow Reading

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The Case for Narrow Reading is a 4 page paper by Steven Krashin.  In it, he suggests that “It may be that narrow input is much more efficient for second language acquisition.” than the wide anthology style reading tought in most classes. 

The basic idea is that single subjects or individual authors use repeated phrases and a subset of vocabulary making the input more comprehensible.  Comprehensible input makes for better practice and familiarity with grammatical patterns.  He cites the existence of the “first few pages” effect where it is the first few pages of a book that are the most difficult and gets easier after further reading.  He also cites research showing that children who read a series end up being better readers.

In other articles Krashin suggests that narrow reading and narrow listening is best for intermediate learners who are just beginning to grasp the language but have difficulty reading or following conversions.

Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge

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The supermemo website has a lot of useful information about learning strategies, theory and research.  The following is a summery of a page Twenty rules of formulating knowledge:

  1. Do not learn if you do not understand
  2. Learn before you memorize – build the picture of the whole before you dismember it into simple items in SuperMemo. If the whole shows holes, review it again!
  3. Build upon the basics – never jump both feet into a complex manual because you may never see the end. Well remembered basics will help the remaining knowledge easily fit in
  4. Stick to the minimum information principle – if you continue forgetting an item, try to make it as simple as possible. If it does not help, see the remaining rules (cloze deletion, graphics, mnemonic techniques, converting sets into enumerations, etc.)
  5. Cloze deletion is easy and effective – completing a deleted word or phrase is not only an effective way of learning. Most of all, it greatly speeds up formulating knowledge and is highly recommended for beginners
  6. Use imagery – a picture is worth a thousand words
  7. Use mnemonic techniques – read about peg lists and mind maps. Study the books by Tony Buzan. Learn how to convert memories into funny pictures. You won’t have problems with phone numbers and complex figures
  8. Graphic deletion is as good as cloze deletion – obstructing parts of a picture is great for learning anatomy, geography and more
  9. Avoid sets – larger sets are virtually un-memorizable unless you convert them into enumerations!
  10. Avoid enumerations – enumerations are also hard to remember but can be dealt with using cloze deletion
  11. Combat interference – even the simplest items can be completely intractable if they are similar to other items. Use examples, context cues, vivid illustrations, refer to emotions, and to your personal life
  12. Optimize wording – like you reduce mathematical equations, you can reduce complex sentences into smart, compact and enjoyable maxims
  13. Refer to other memories – building memories on other memories generates a coherent and hermetic structure that forgetting is less likely to affect. Build upon the basics and use planned redundancy to fill in the gaps
  14. Personalize and provide examples – personalization might be the most effective way of building upon other memories. Your personal life is a gold mine of facts and events to refer to. As long as you build a collection for yourself, use personalization richly to build upon well established memories
  15. Rely on emotional states – emotions are related to memories. If you learn a fact in the sate of sadness, you are more likely to recall it if when you are sad. Some memories can induce emotions and help you employ this property of the brain in remembering
  16. Context cues simplify wording – providing context is a way of simplifying memories, building upon earlier knowledge and avoiding interference
  17. Redundancy does not contradict minimum information principle – some forms of redundancy are welcome. There is little harm in memorizing the same fact as viewed from different angles. Passive and active approach is particularly practicable in learning word-pairs. Memorizing derivation steps in problem solving is a way towards boosting your intellectual powers!
  18. Provide sources – sources help you manage the learning process, updating your knowledge, judging its reliability, or importance
  19. Provide date stamping – time stamping is useful for volatile knowledge that changes in time
  20. Prioritize – effective learning is all about prioritizing. In incremental reading you can start from badly formulated knowledge and improve its shape as you proceed with learning (in proportion to the cost of inappropriate formulation). If need be, you can review pieces of knowledge again, split it into parts, reformulate, reprioritize, or delete.

See also: Incremental reading, Devouring knowledge, Flow of knowledge, Using tasklists

Book: Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (Cambridge Applied Linguistics)

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Learning Vocabulary in Another Language (Cambridge Applied Linguistics)

Book Description

Learning Vocabulary in Another Language provides a detailed survey of research and theory on the teaching and learning of vocabulary with the aim of providing pedagogical suggestions for both teachers and learners. It contains descriptions of numerous vocabulary learning strategies which are justified and supported by reference to experimental research, case studies, and teaching experience. It also describes what vocabulary learners need to know to be effective language users. Learning Vocabulary in Another Language shows that by taking a systematic approach to vocabulary learning, teachers can make the best use of class time and help learners get the best return for their learning effort. It will quickly establish itself as the point of reference for future vocabulary work.

Study: Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading

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Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study

Maria Pigada
and
Norbert Schmitt

University of Nottingham

 

Abstract

A number of studies have shown that second language learners acquire vocabulary through reading, but only relatively small amounts. However, most of these studies used only short texts, measured only the acquisition of meaning, and did not credit partial learning of words. This case study of a learner of French explores whether an extensive reading program can enhance lexical knowledge. The study assessed a relatively large number of words (133), and examined whether one month of extensive reading enhanced knowledge of these target words’ spelling, meaning, and grammatical characteristics. The measurement procedure was a one-on-one interview that allowed a very good indication of whether learning occurred. The study also explores how vocabulary acquisition varies according to how often words are encountered in the texts. The results showed that knowledge of 65% of the target words was enhanced in some way, for a pickup rate of about 1 of every 1.5 words tested. Spelling was strongly enhanced, even from a small number of exposures. Meaning and grammatical knowledge were also enhanced, but not to the same extent. Overall, the study indicates that more vocabulary acquisition is possible from extensive reading than previous studies have suggested.
keywords: vocabulary acquisition, extensive reading, incidental learning, word frequency, testing, French as a foreign language

Meta-Study: Omega-3 improves brain Activity

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http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hup.2370/abstract

Objective

While the cardiovascular, anti-inflammatory and mood benefits of omega-3 supplementation containing long chain fatty acids (LCPUFAs) such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) are manifest, there is no scientific consensus regarding their effects on neurocognitive functioning. This review aimed to examine the current literature on LCPUFAs by assessing their effects on cognition, neural functioning and metabolic activity. In order to view these findings together, the principle of neural efficiency as established by Richard Haier (“smart brains work less hard”) was extended to apply to the neurocognitive effects of omega-3 supplementation.

Methods

We reviewed multiple databases from 2000 up till 2013 using a systematic approach and focused our search to papers employing both neurophysiological techniques and cognitive measures.

Results

Eight studies satisfied the criteria for consideration. We established that studies using brain imaging techniques show consistent changes in neurochemical substances, brain electrical activity, cerebral metabolic activity and brain oxygenation following omega-3 supplementation.

Conclusions

We conclude that, where comparison is available, an increase in EPA intake is more advantageous than DHA in reducing “brain effort” relative to cognitive performance.

Melatonin Could Hurt Memory Formation At Night

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According to a 2007 study on zebra fish, Melotonin may inhibit memory formation at night.  This is important for a language learner to know when to study long vocabulary lists.

“It was tremendous – the results were, excuse the expression, like night and day. We saw dramatic improvements in nighttime memory formation by inhibiting melatonin signaling, indicating that the reason the zebrafish did not form memories at night was because of the melatonin hormone.”

US State Department: Foreign language Lessons learned over 50 years.

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Lessons learned from fifty years of theory and practice in government language teaching.

http://www.639-3.org/archives/sla/gurt_1999_07.pdf

Introduction.
This paper is about the interface among theory, practice, pur-
pose, and result during the fifty years of existence of the Foreign Service Institute
(FSI), and the lessons that have been learned from that interface. We will present
our view of what has been learned from FSI’s half century of practical experience
preparing thousands of adult learners to carry out complex, professional tasks in
foreign languages. The core of the paper will be ten pragmatic lessons about adult
language learning and instruction at FSI. Although most of these lessons will be
seen to be congruent with recent thinking in the field of Second Language Acqui-
sition, some of them present a different perspective…
——-
Lesson 1. Mature adults can learn a foreign language well enough
through intensive language study to do things in the language (almost) as
well as native speakers.

Lesson 2. “Language-learning aptitude” varies among individuals and
affects their classroom learning success (but at least some aspects of aptitude
can be learned).

Lesson 3. There is no “one right way” to teach (or learn) languages, nor
is there a single “right” syllabus.

Lesson 4. Time on task and the intensity of the learning experience ap-
pear crucial.

Lesson 5. Learners’ existing knowledge about language affects their learning.

Lesson 6. A learner’s prior experience with learning (languages or other
skills) also affects classroom learning.

Lesson 7. The importance of “automaticity” in building learner skill and confidence in speaking and reading a language is more important than has
been recognized by the SLA field over the last two decades.

Lesson 8. Learners may not learn a linguistic form until they are
“ready,” but FSI’s experience indicates that teachers and a well designed
course can help learners become ready earlier.

Lesson 9. A supportive, collaborative, responsive learning environment,
with a rich variety of authentic and teacher-made resources, is very impor-
tant in fostering effective learning

Lesson 10. Conversation, which on the surface appears to be one of the
most basic forms of communication, is actually one of the hardest to master.

1975 Study: 35% better vocabulary retention using keyword method.

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Mnemotechnics in second-language learning.

ABSTRACT Discusses the author’s keyword method, a mnemonic aid for vocabulary learning. According to this method, a foreign word is connected to its English translation by a chain of 2 links-similarity in sound (acoustic link) and a mental image of the interaction between the 2 words (imagery link). Experiments using Russian and Spanish vocabularies are described to illustrate that the keyword method produces significantly greater vocabulary recall than the rote-rehearsal method of second-language learning. Results also suggest that (a) providing the keywords for the S is better than having him generate his own keywords, (b) imagery instructions have a significant advantage over sentence-generation instructions when the keyword method is used, (c) the keyword method does not affect word retrieval times, and (d) the keyword method produces significantly better backward associations than the rote-rehearsal method. Problems in the application of the method are considered.

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232565697_Mnemotechnics_in_second-language_learning