View in EDS

Aspects of Lexical Sophistication in Advanced Learners' Oral Production: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use in L2 French and Italian

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Aspects of Lexical Sophistication in Advanced Learners' Oral Production: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use in L2 French and Italian
Language: English
Authors: Bardel, Camilla, Gudmundson, Anna, Lindqvist, Christina
Source: Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Jun 2012 34(2):269-290.
Availability: Cambridge University Press. The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Tel: +44-1223-326070; Fax: 845-353-4141; Fax: +44-1223-325150; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: http://www.cambridge.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Physical Description: PDF
Page Count: 22
Publication Date: 2012
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Basic Vocabulary, Effect Size, Profiles, Vocabulary Development, French, Italian, Language Usage, Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency, Teaching Methods, Oral Language, Advanced Students, Swedish, Difficulty Level, Instructional Materials, Teacher Attitudes, Word Frequency, Comparative Analysis
DOI: 10.1017/S0272263112000058
ISSN: 0272-2631
Abstract: This article reports on the design and use of a profiler for lexical sophistication (i.e., use of advanced vocabulary), which was created to assess the lexical richness of intermediate and advanced Swedish second language (L2) learners' French and Italian. It discusses how teachers' judgments (TJs) of word difficulty can contribute to the methodology for lexical profiling and compares two methods, one purely frequency based and one modified on the basis of TJs of word difficulty. It has been suggested elsewhere that factors other than frequency play an important role in vocabulary acquisition. Here it is argued that cognates and thematic vocabulary related to teaching materials, although infrequent in target language (TL) corpora, should not necessarily be considered advanced and that analyses of learners' lexical sophistication would benefit from integrating these aspects. In this study, the frequency-based method normally used in lexical profiling was modified by recategorizing some low-frequency words considered easy by many teachers. On the basis of the TJs, a basic vocabulary, which consisted mainly of high-frequency words but also of cognates and thematic words, was defined, which was based on the fact that teachers judged certain low-frequency cognates and thematic words as relatively easy. Using the modified method, learners' lexical profiles were found to be more homogeneous within groups of learners at specific proficiency levels. The superiority of the new method over the purely frequency-based one was shown when comparing effect sizes. It is argued that this method gives a more correct picture of advanced L2 lexical profiles.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2012
Accession Number: EJ974862
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ974862
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Aspects of Lexical Sophistication in Advanced Learners' Oral Production: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use in L2 French and Italian
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bardel%2C+Camilla%22">Bardel, Camilla</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gudmundson%2C+Anna%22">Gudmundson, Anna</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lindqvist%2C+Christina%22">Lindqvist, Christina</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Studies+in+Second+Language+Acquisition%22"><i>Studies in Second Language Acquisition</i></searchLink>. Jun 2012 34(2):269-290.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Cambridge University Press. The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Tel: +44-1223-326070; Fax: 845-353-4141; Fax: +44-1223-325150; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: http://www.cambridge.org
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: PhysDesc
  Label: Physical Description
  Group: PhysDesc
  Data: PDF
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 22
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2012
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Descriptive
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Basic+Vocabulary%22">Basic Vocabulary</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Effect+Size%22">Effect Size</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Profiles%22">Profiles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocabulary+Development%22">Vocabulary Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22French%22">French</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Italian%22">Italian</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Usage%22">Language Usage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Second+Language+Learning%22">Second Language Learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Proficiency%22">Language Proficiency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Oral+Language%22">Oral Language</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Advanced+Students%22">Advanced Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Swedish%22">Swedish</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Difficulty+Level%22">Difficulty Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Materials%22">Instructional Materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Word+Frequency%22">Word Frequency</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+Analysis%22">Comparative Analysis</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1017/S0272263112000058
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0272-2631
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This article reports on the design and use of a profiler for lexical sophistication (i.e., use of advanced vocabulary), which was created to assess the lexical richness of intermediate and advanced Swedish second language (L2) learners' French and Italian. It discusses how teachers' judgments (TJs) of word difficulty can contribute to the methodology for lexical profiling and compares two methods, one purely frequency based and one modified on the basis of TJs of word difficulty. It has been suggested elsewhere that factors other than frequency play an important role in vocabulary acquisition. Here it is argued that cognates and thematic vocabulary related to teaching materials, although infrequent in target language (TL) corpora, should not necessarily be considered advanced and that analyses of learners' lexical sophistication would benefit from integrating these aspects. In this study, the frequency-based method normally used in lexical profiling was modified by recategorizing some low-frequency words considered easy by many teachers. On the basis of the TJs, a basic vocabulary, which consisted mainly of high-frequency words but also of cognates and thematic words, was defined, which was based on the fact that teachers judged certain low-frequency cognates and thematic words as relatively easy. Using the modified method, learners' lexical profiles were found to be more homogeneous within groups of learners at specific proficiency levels. The superiority of the new method over the purely frequency-based one was shown when comparing effect sizes. It is argued that this method gives a more correct picture of advanced L2 lexical profiles.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2012
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ974862
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ974862
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1017/S0272263112000058
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 22
        StartPage: 269
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Basic Vocabulary
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Effect Size
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Profiles
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vocabulary Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: French
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Italian
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Usage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Second Language Learning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Proficiency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oral Language
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Advanced Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Swedish
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Difficulty Level
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Materials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Word Frequency
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Comparative Analysis
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Aspects of Lexical Sophistication in Advanced Learners' Oral Production: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use in L2 French and Italian
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bardel, Camilla
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Gudmundson, Anna
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Lindqvist, Christina
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Type: published
              Y: 2012
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0272-2631
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 34
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Studies in Second Language Acquisition
              Type: main
ResultId 1