مجال التميز | تميز دراسي وبحثي |
البحوث المنشورة |
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البحث (1): | |
عنوان البحث: |
A Survey of Issues, Practices and Views Related to Corpus-based Word Lists for English Language Teaching and Learning |
رابط إلى البحث: |
https://www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/IJALEL/article/view/5938 |
تاريخ النشر: |
30/11/2019 |
موجز عن البحث: |
Word lists have been recognized as a valuable pedagogical resource that can be used by language teachers and learners, materials developers and syllabus designers to identify vocabulary that needs attention. The increase in the accessibility of electronic corpora and the recent advances in corpus software tools has led to a proliferation of various types of corpus-based word lists informed by frequency counts, in some cases combined with other measures. However, there is a lack of research into how word lists are used in real pedagogical contexts. This exploratory study explores current practices and views related to the exploitation, construction, and evaluation of corpus-based word lists for English language teaching and learning purposes. The survey results indicate that word lists are used for a variety of purposes and in different settings, and that the context and goals for use of the word list should determine the nature of the list. Furthermore, while word lists are thought to be useful, several factors need to be considered to ensure successful implementation of lists into pedagogical contexts. Finally, the survey captured misuses and misconceptions of word lists that practitioners need to be aware of. |
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المؤتمرات العلمية |
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المؤتمر (1): | |
عنوان المؤتمر: |
BAAL Vocabulary Studies SIG Conference |
تاريخ الإنعقاد: |
25-26/04/2019 |
مكان الإنعقاد: |
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK |
طبيعة المشاركة: |
Poster presentation |
عنوان المشاركة: |
Towards a Framework for Word List Evaluation |
ملخص المشاركة: |
There has been a long tradition of compiling lists of important words for different purposes to direct the vocabulary teaching and learning process (Miller, 2012). With advances in corpus software tools, it is now easier and quicker to make word lists and this has led to a proliferation of various types of word lists that are informed by frequency counts, sometimes in combination with other measures (Schmitt, 2016). However, this has created problems for practitioners and language learners. Firstly, it is not always easy for them to decide which list is of maximal usefulness for their purpose and context. To address this, researchers have attempted to evaluate many published word lists (e.g., Dang & Webb, 2016; Nation, 2016). This has led to further problems: • Most evaluations have been focused on widely known published lists, whereas teachers may choose to use unpublished lists or make their own. • They have not included certain elements to judge usefulness (such as learner needs fit, age, etc) that would be informative for specific purposes. • They reported different results when different criteria were used (Dang & Webb, 2016). The current research project aims to develop a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of word lists for different pedagogical purposes. The poster will present the findings of the first stage of the study: a survey of current practices related to the construction, exploitation and evaluation of word lists for language teaching and learning purposes. The survey reported different types of word lists being used for a variety of pedagogical purposes in different situations. It also reported the measures taken into consideration when making or selecting word lists as well as problems related to using word list for vocabulary instruction. The findings will be used to develop the framework adapted from Nation (2016). |
المؤتمر (2): | |
عنوان المؤتمر: |
The International Corpus Linguistics Conference 2019 |
تاريخ الإنعقاد: |
23-27/07/2019 |
مكان الإنعقاد: |
Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK |
طبيعة المشاركة: |
Poster presentation |
عنوان المشاركة: |
Towards a Framework for Word List Evaluation |
ملخص المشاركة: |
The use of language corpora for compiling lists of important vocabulary items to be focussed on in the teaching and learning process has a long tradition (Miller, 2012). With advances in corpus software tools, it is now easier and quicker to make word lists and this has led to a proliferation of various types of corpus-based word lists that are informed by frequency counts, sometimes in combination with other measures (Schmitt, 2016). However, this has created problems for practitioners such as teachers, materials developers, course designers and testers as well as language learners as it is not always easy for them to decide which list is of maximal usefulness for their purpose and context. Researchers, acknowledging the pedagogical value of word lists, have attempted to evaluate many published word lists (e.g., Dang & Webb, 2016; Hartshorn & Hart, 2016; Nation, 2016, p. 182; Schmitt, 2016). One problem is that most of these evaluations have been focused on widely-known published lists, whereas teachers may choose to use unpublished lists or make their own. The evaluations have also focused on certain elements to judge usefulness that may not be informative for specific purposes. As Brezina & Gablasova (2017, p. 154) observe, learners’ needs, proficiency level, age, personal aims, academic disciplines and the receptive versus productive knowledge distinction are factors that are not transferable across various contexts. Thirdly, those evaluations reported different results when different criteria were used (Dang & Webb, 2016). The current research project aims to develop a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of corpus-based word lists for different pedagogical purposes. The first stage of the study is a survey of current practices related to the construction, exploitation and evaluation of word lists for language teaching and learning purposes, with particular attention given to what measures are taken into consideration when making or selecting word lists. The survey has been completed by researchers, teachers, learners and materials writers. Findings of the online survey will be reported, based on an analysis of the results using a framework adapted from Nation’s (2016) framework for evaluating word lists. |
المؤتمر (3): | |
عنوان المؤتمر: |
Lexical Studies Research Network Conference |
تاريخ الإنعقاد: |
05-06/03/2020 |
مكان الإنعقاد: |
Swansea University, Swansea, UK |
طبيعة المشاركة: |
Paper presentation |
عنوان المشاركة: |
Towards an Evaluation Framework for Using Wordlists in English Language Teaching Contexts |
ملخص المشاركة: |
Towards an Evaluation Framework for Using Wordlists in English Language Teaching Contexts This study proposes an evaluation framework for the use of corpus-based wordlists in ELT contexts. The proposed framework is an adaptation of Nation’s (2016) critique framework. It is motivated by the paucity of evaluative research that takes into account the key considerations that should be made before implementing a wordlist in the language classroom. It is also a response to a call for making existing lists more suitable to a particular context (Dang, 2019, p.20). Even though the framework may not provide conclusive answers, it should allow the evaluator to adapt a given wordlist to the target context for maximum usefulness. The paper intersections The proposed framework targets practitioners in ELT contexts, primarily, teachers, curriculum or assessment coordinators, language testers or materials developers who have been involved in directing vocabulary acquisition. They may be (a) individuals highly involved in curricular development and coordination with a management role; or (b) novice teachers who are implementing the wordlist in the classroom for different purposes, and may or may have a management role. The framework addresses different levels of expertise and knowledge, and it provides guidelines and presents a summary of the debates in the field to allow the evaluator to consider the most important elements of using wordlists. It has been reviewed by experts in corpus-based wordlist development and implementation, and practitioners in ELT who have been using wordlists in their contexts for different pedagogical purpose. |
المؤتمر (4): | |
عنوان المؤتمر: |
1st online biennial BALEAP Conference BALEAP Glasgow 2021 |
تاريخ الإنعقاد: |
6-10/04/2021 |
مكان الإنعقاد: |
University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK |
طبيعة المشاركة: |
Paper Presentation |
عنوان المشاركة: |
A Proposed Tool for Evaluating Corpus-based Word List for Use in EAP Contexts |
ملخص المشاركة: |
After the success of The Academic Word List (AWL) by Coxhead (2000), word lists in EAP have been recognised as a valuable pedagogical resource for vocabulary research and instruction. The accessibility of electronic corpora and advances in corpus software tools has led to a proliferation of various types of corpus-based word lists developed for all-purpose EAP contexts such as the AWL and others addressed to specific discipline language learners such as the Agrocorpus List by Martínez et al. (2009) for Agricultural students. However, this wide variety of available lists in EAP has created problems for practitioners, for whom it is not always easy to decide which list is most useful for a given purpose and context. This study proposes an evaluation tool for the use of corpus-based word lists in ELT contexts. The proposed tool is an adaptation of Nation’s (2016) critique framework. It is motivated by the paucity of evaluative research that takes into account the key considerations that should be made before implementing word lists in the language classroom. It is also a response to a call for making existing lists more suitable to particular EAP contexts (Dang, 2020). The target users of the tool are EAP practitioners, among others, such as teachers, curriculum or assessment coordinators, or materials developers involved in directing vocabulary acquisition. The tool aims to cater to practitioners with different levels of expertise and knowledge, and especially those who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of developing corpus-based word lists. It summarises the debates in the field to help an evaluator consider the most important elements associated with word list usage. The tool was revised (two phases) by 14 experts in corpus-based word list development and implementation and was tested in real-life EAP scenarios by 11 practitioners who have been using word lists in their contexts for different pedagogical purposes. In this talk, I will present the tool and argue for its usefulness in making informed decisions when selecting word lists leading to more effective use of word lists in the classroom. Even though the tool may not provide conclusive answers, it should allow the practitioner to critically assess their lists in a structured manner and adapt it to the target context for maximum usefulness and raise awareness about word lists and how they should be utilised. |
الرابط: |
سارة ناصر مرشد الزير
دكتوراه
دراسات إنسانية وعلوم إجتماعية
University of Birmingham