Widyalankara, R. C. (2012). The Judicious Integration of L1 in ESL Learning Contexts: A Sri Lankan Perspective. LAP publications.

Amazon: ISBN-10: 3848434849 Chapter 5 Pedagogical implications 5.1 Scaffolding the findings of the main research and pre research tasks to pedagogy The primary concern of this component of the chapter is to present a pedagogical format for developing vocabulary systematically in the target population, the undergraduates of the Faculty of Arts who register for ELTU courses, based on the findings of the pilot studies, reviewed literature and the findings of the main research component. This pedagogical procedure incorporates the judicious integration of L1 (Sinhala) at two specific levels: provision of glosses to enhance text comprehension, introducing the phonetic alphabet and instruction on dictionary consultation for pronunciation through the large corpus of English loan words which are used by the Sinhala speech community. Findings of the pilot studies reveal that the low and intermediate level ESL learners in the target population possess very poor inferring skills and weak dictionary skills Findings of the main study reveal that not only the low level learners but also the intermediate learners benefit from the provision of L1 glosses during reading comprehension. The summary of the Chi Square Test for Dependency too indicates that the performance of low and intermediate proficiency ESL learners at text comprehension is dependent on the provision of glosses for difficult lexical items. Summary of the findings of the Mann Whitney Test for Median Comparison identifies that the provision of English meanings, for low and intermediate proficiency learners, results in a performance equivalent to the provision of no meanings. Both proficiency groups out performed when subjected to the Sinhala gloss conditions (Appendix H, Instrument 3). However there is a caveat to bear in mind at this juncture. The strategy followed in instrument 3, where Sinhala gloss conditions were provided, bypassed the decoding, lemma and lexeme levels of lexical processing during meaning identification when testing performance at text comprehension. Thus the learners were provided a boot strapping to semantic level activation of L1 meaning without the need for mapping orthography to phonemes and lemma and lexeme level analysis. Thus it is suggested that this bypass, which is a required limitation of the test instrument, should be assuaged at the pedagogical level. This will necessitate extensive work

on mapping orthography to phonetics if success is to be achieved in lexical acquisition under non experimental conditions. Another caveat to bear in mind is the assumption that the 179 words high frequency words in the 200 word instrument were comprehensible to all the test takers across the three proficiency levels. This assumption was proved wrong as most of the low and intermediate learners identified many high frequency words within the instrument as difficult to understand. Thus the format for vocabulary development will initially attempt to address these problematic areas before learners are required to learn vocabulary through reading. This gains accord from Calderon et al (2005) who highlight the requirement for systematic vocabulary instruction before implicit vocabulary learning commences through reading. They state that it is typical for learners who are in the process of learning English to have limited second language vocabulary, an obstacle that adversely affects their reading comprehension. Paribakht and Wesche (1997) too propose that systematic vocabulary instruction in addition to learning through reading is a successful approach to vocabulary acquisition. Thus before the learners are exposed to learning vocabulary through reading this study suggests that they should be provided explicit teaching of vocabulary to acquire the 2000 high frequency words to the point of automatic receptive and productive activation. Furthermore Lightbown and Spada (1999:169) caution that vocabulary instruction is successful only if methods are appropriate to the learners age, interests and learning styles. Thus this approach takes into account the cognitive (process of acquiring knowledge through reasoning or by intuition) and the metacognitive (strategies of knowledge acquisition regulating, directing, monitoring and evaluating ones own learning) maturity of the learners who are undergraduates with a mean age of 23 years. The goals of a vocabulary component of a language course according to Nation (2001: 380) are to increase usable vocabulary size and for learners to gain control of large vocabulary coping, and learning strategies. Thus the goal of the vocabulary component in this study is to achieve student autonomy in lexical comprehension through strategy development. Such autonomy will provide the target population, the low and intermediate proficiency undergraduate ESL learners, with an escape source from the beginners paradox Coady (1997). Coady defines this paradox as a vicious cycle in which limited lexical knowledge discourages reading and, simultaneously, a lack of reading restricts vocabulary growth. The escape source suggested consists of a

classroom plan for the first year undergraduates who register for ELTU courses and its time frame is one year equating 100 contact hours, consisting of 25 weeks of teaching, 4 hrs. per week.. The academic year consists of 30 weeks and 5 weeks are are set aside for the preparation for evaluations - oral and listening tests, written paper. This classroom plan is based on the premise that vocabulary learning is a continuous and incremental process which has to be addressed at least for 10 minutes during g each 1 hour lesson. Recommendation of short frequent study sessions with distributed practice comes from Baddeley (1998). Aiming to conceptualize a systematic approach, this study uses an adaptation of a framework for developing EFL reading vocabulary (Figure 5) by Hunt & Beglar (2005). Figure 5 - A framework for developing EFL reading vocabulary. Source: Alan Hunt and David Beglar (2005).

The broad lexical goals of the above framework according to Hunt & Beglar (ibid) are: 1. 2. 3. Developing vocabulary breadth. Consolidating and elaborating elabora vocabulary knowledge Building fluency with known vocabulary.

The goal of this study as mentioned is to achieve student autonomy in lexical comprehension through strategy development which will borrow the above as its broad lexical goals. The objectives of this vocabulary teaching/learning component are to provide the learners the ability to: 1. Formulate strategies for learning the decontextualized 2000 high frequency words in one of the following: General Service List (West, 1953) / British National Corpus (http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/ Brown Corpus (Frances and Kucera, 1982). 2. Analyze patterns of spelling, sound symbol correspondence by utilizing loan words within a list to introduce the International Phonetic Alphabet (the dictionary version) leading to enhancing pronunciation skills. 3. Upgrade dictionary skills to consulting monolingual English-English dictionaries for meaning, pronunciation and context. 4. Take responsibility of learning new vocabulary. Identify a personal plan for increasing depth and breadth of vocabulary. 5. Comprehend meanings of high frequency words during reading with the provision of bilingualized glosses for infrequent words. 6. Extend the literal knowledge to other associative meanings through semantic maps. 7. Infer the meanings of low frequency lexis during reading. 8. Gain entry to and progress along the receptive-productive continuum in the vocabulary acquisition process while achieving learner autonomy in explicit vocabulary learning. The timeframe is set down taking advantage of the maturity of the learners and introduce two phases through which the learners progress during the first semester. The following pedagogical procedure introduces the two phases: Phase 1 - Explicit vocabulary instruction through a compilation of 230 loan words1 (content and experience) from the 2000 high frequency word list (Brown Corpus, 1982). Attention is drawn to the fact that the acoustic reduplication of the pronunciation of loan words when produced during Sinhala speech provides instant access to the mental lexicon of a learner facilitating the pronunciation of most of the words.

The Sinhala language borrows a large corpus of English lexical items in the form of loan words which are extensively used by its speech community. Acoustically, the pronunciation is very often identical.

Phase 2 - Explicit vocabulary learning, utilizing the reading passages in the lesson material, during text comprehension through the provision of bilingualized glosses. These two phases will be covered as parallel sessions during the first semester. The main research area of the study through its findings revealed the benefits of the provision of glosses. As the study recommends judicious integration of L1, the provision of glosses in the research instrument is upgraded to bilingualized instead of L1 or L2 glosses in isolation which were utilized at the main research stage. Recall literature on lexical knowledge as a control based functional continuum (Henrikson, 1996) which progresses from a partial precise knowledge continuum through depth of knowledge continuum to a receptive productive continuum. Phase 1, it is suggested, will upgrade lexical knowledge of the 230 loan words selected out of the 2000 high frequency words from a partial precise continuum and enable the learners to upgrade the loan words to the receptive/productive continuum. These 230 loan words as soon their

pronunciation is activated will access the mental lexicon of the learner for semantic values. For this process to occur the study visualizes the following framework which commences with explicit instruction on the learning burden of a lexical item. Learning burden of a word according to Nation (2005) is what needs to be taught in a word. The detection of the learning burden commences with the identification is the word a loan word in L1? and proceeds through explicit instruction on the following aspects of the 230 loan words in the high frequency word list: sound symbol correspondence, pronunciation of the word, phonemic transcription of the orthography, spelling patterns. Phase 1 Explicit vocabulary instruction 230 loan words from the 2000 high frequency words Phase 2 Explicit vocabulary learning of low frequency words through bilingualized glosses in reading passages provided in the lesson material for text comprehension.

5.2 - Explicit lexical instruction Current research (Bogaards, 2001; Coady & Huckinson, 1997; Hunt & Beglar, 1998; Koda, K. 2007; Sokman, 1997; Wang, M., Perfetti, C. A., & Liu, Y. 2004) places significant emphasis on explicit teaching of vocabulary. Theorists state explicit instruction is time efficient (Chung & Nation, 2003), it is suitable for low proficiency learners as they can easily understand explicit

word meaning (Ellis, 1997), and to deal with the problems of implicit vocabulary teaching and learning, prior exposure to explicit vocabulary learning techniques is beneficial (Ziegler & Goswami, 2006).

5.2.1 Phase I - De-contextualized high frequency word instruction Many theorists have argued for de-contextualized explicit word instruction and Beaton, Grunberg and Ellis (1995) after a ten year follow-up study of retention of vocabulary using the key word method state de-contextualized learning is proven to have a consistently positive influence on retention and lexical acquisition. Furthermore the target population who are adult ESL learners have already developed a conceptual and semantic system which links to their first language they can easily understand explicit word meaning (Ellis, 1997). But the number of decontextualized words in English, if gauged by the number of words in a large dictionary (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Websters Third International Dictionary, 1963), is so large that Nation and Waring (2003) state that attempting to learn all the words is far beyond the reaches of ESL learners. They further state that a small number of words in English occur very frequently and these lists of high frequency words can be freely accessed through web sites.

5.2.1.1 - High frequency words The General Service List (West, 1953) has a list of 2000 high frequency words obtained from a corpus of 5,000,000 words, The Teachers Word Book of 30,000 words (Thorndike and Lorge, 1944) provides the first 2000 high frequency words which could be used by teachers of English. This list has been obtained from a corpus of 18,000,000 words. This study utilizes the most recent compilation of frequency words - Brown Corpus (Frances and Kucera, 1982, 1,015,945 words) and its 2000 Most Common Word List to make explicit instruction of decontextualized vocabulary feasible. Learning of the high frequency words is important as objective 3 of this

pedagogical framework is to upgrade dictionary skills to consulting monolingual English-English dictionaries for meaning and context. For this to become viable fluency in the 2000 high frequency words is the basic requirement. Nation ( 1997) states though there is no set number of words learners need to know to make use of a monolingual dictionary a basic vocabulary of 2000 words or more is required to understand definitions in a second language. The seventh objective of creating the ability to infer the meanings of low frequency lexis through reading too

needs the automatic activation of, at least, the 2000most frequent words. According to Coady & Huckin (1997) the high-frequency words should be learned as quickly as possible to the point of automaticizing, because after learning the basic high-frequency words learners can more easily increase their vocabulary size through reading, especially in the case of low-frequency words. Nation and Waring (2003) agree, suggesting that if learners know these words they will know a very large proportion of the running words of a written text. Francis and Kucera (1982) examined the vocabulary size needed for text coverage using a corpus of over 1,000,000 running words taken from 500 texts which had an approximate word count of 2000 words. Table 42 summarizes their findings. Table 42: Vocabulary size required for text coverage Vocabulary size 1000 2000 3000 4000 Text coverage 72.0% 79.7% 84.0% 86.8%

These findings indicate that a learner with a knowledge store of the 2000 high frequency words is capable of covering 80% of a text. Nation and Waring (2003) state that the learners need to know the 2000 high frequency words of the language and this should be given high priority in vocabulary teaching and caution that there is little sense in focusing on other vocabulary until these are learned. Thus the reviewed literature justifies the underlying principle of using decontextualized word instruction utilizing a 2000 high frequency word list as the first phase of the pedagogical format of this study. Addressing the question whether the ESL learners of the present study can cover a 2000 high frequency word learning endeavour, I wish to site the findings of Milton and Meara(1995). Using the Eurocentre Vocabulary Size Test they examined the vocabulary learning capabilities of 53 European adult ESL learner participants. The findings show that a significant growth of vocabulary can occur in an ESL environment. The average growth in vocabulary per person approached a rate of 2500 words per year over the six

months of the vocabulary learning programme. This provides feasibility statistics for the learning of the 2000 high frequency words by the low and intermediate learners of the present study. Furthermore the following criteria will make the learning of the high frequency words easier. A supplementary list of function words - High-frequency words contain a large number of function words (such as prepositions, conjunctions, or articles) that have little semantic content of its own and chiefly indicates a grammatical relationship. Linguists usually draw a distinction between content words, those words whose meaning is best described in a dictionary and which belong in open sets so that new ones can freely be added to the language, and function words, words with little inherent meaning but with important roles in the grammar of a language (Higgins, 2002). This supplementary list of function words will not be included within the de-contextualized high frequency word instruction. But this supplementary list is used to recap grammar instruction at school level. A multitude of English lexical items in the high frequency word list are used as loan words in the learners L1 discourse.

5.2.1.2 Function words These lexical items according to Sawicki (1985) are the most difficult to learn and consist of articles, prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives and pronouns. This study suggests that these grammar parts should be introduced through grammar components within the lesson material as it recognizes that decontextualized instruction for sight words, though feasible, has neither theoretical nor empirical recognition. Function words due to their usage patterns will require a different approach to facilitate acquisition and the research area for this study is text comprehension where lexis is given priority over grammar. Discussing the outcomes of an introspective and retrospective study of 10 undergraduates from a variety of L1 backgrounds where a think aloud data collection method was used Paribakht and Wesche (1999) state that function words occur with high frequency and it is likely that most are already somewhat familiar at least in form to L2 learners. Thus learners do not identify them as unknown. They further state that the preponderance of content words identified as unknown is notable, which justifies the priority given to content words in this pedagogical component of the study. Furthermore school curricula have already given recognition to the importance of these grammar

components by their inclusion. Thus pedagogical approaches to function word instruction will not be discussed though the study considers their inclusion in the material as vital. As a remedial measure it is suggested that the learners should be given the complete list of 320 function words in alphabetical order to recap grammar components learned (Source:

http://www.answers.com/function%20word%20list, Appendix A).

5.2.1.3 Content and experience words Sawicki (ibid) claims that these words can be seen, touched or experienced and decontextualization will not hamper meaning creation. Out of a corpus of the 2000 most frequent words from the Brown Corpus (Francis and Kucera, 1982) the study ascertained that 235 words were loan words (Appendix B) in the L1 (Sinhala) of the target population. Thus the study suggests that explicit teaching should commence with the process of moving these loan words along the partial precise continuum, through depth of knowledge instruction towards the receptive productive continuum.

5.2.1.4 Loan words In an ESL context many first languages borrow a lot from English. Most of these borrowings are lexical items. This is true in the linguistic context described in this study where the L1 of the learner population is Sinhala. The extent of the influence of English loan words on Sinhala is discussed by Premawardana (2003). According to Premawardana the existing morphological structure of Sinhala has undergone change due to English loan words, particularly, the addition of /ek/ one as a singular making for nouns borrowed from English. This extensive usage of loan words with the addition of /ek/ in Sinhala discourse is conveyed by the fact that 8/10 (table 43) words identified in the first ten loan words obtained from the high frequency word list are examples for the above usage.

Table 43: Loan words from English +/ek/ used in Sinhala discourse

Loan word Academy account action activity address affair agency agreement

Addition of /ek/ one as a singular making for the noun Academy /ek/ account /ek/ action /ek/ activity /ek/ address /ek/ affair /ek/ agency /ek/ agreement /ek/

The other two words in the list (Table 44) fall into the loan word category as an extended usage administration building /ek/ and by a common usage Good afternoon which is borrowed for convenience rather than any lexical inadequacy of Sinhala.

Table 44: Other usages

administration afternoon

administration building /ek/ Good afternoon

This unique feature in the L1 of the learners can be used judiciously to accelerate the learning of the high frequency word list. Encouraging learners to notice borrowings and to use loan words to help the learning is a very effective vocabulary expansion strategy. This involves deliberately exploring L1 and L2 relationships (Nation, 2003). But evidence from the test battery used in the main research of the study reveals that though these loan words are used in L1 communication

the lack of sophistication in mapping orthography to sound results in the loan word going uncomprehended by a majority of low and intermediate level learners (Table 45).

Table 45: Performance at identifying L1 equivalent of a loan word Loan word Enzyme Correct mapping of orthography to sound as a % Low proficiency learners 5% Intermediate proficiency learners 29%

The test battery requested test takers to write the L1 meaning of the loan word enzyme and the poor performance indicates that explicit instruction on mapping orthography to phonemes is one of the main pedagogical requisites for vocabulary learning. It is suggested that such phonemic awareness should be created initially through loan words within the high-frequency list as their pronunciation is already established in the L1 mental lexicon of the learners. For example the pronunciation of academic (Table 46) is identical whether it is in the learners L1 or L2. Table 46: Loan words with identical pronunciation

Lexical item academic

Sinhala pronunciation /kdmk/2

English pronunciation /kdmk/

Thus the adult learners, posses a highly developed L1 mental lexicon for the borrowed loan words from English with efficient storage and retrieval facilities. Mental lexicon according to McCarthy (1990) is a store of words, their meanings and associations. It is like a dictionary, a thesaurus, an encyclopedia, a library, a computer and a net. The information in the mental lexicon of a person is always being updated and new words are added, new connections are made to existing words. Thus what loan words provide is not only word knowledge but a simultaneous activation of pronunciation (albeit in their L1) too will occur in the learners mental lexicon. Capitalizing on this pedagogy should utilize the activated pronunciation of loan words
2

Can be realized as /kdmk/too.

which are considered as existing in the L1 mental lexicon to facilitate instruction on mapping orthography to phonemes in the learners L2 English. Figure 6 produces a framework for short listing lemma for explicit vocabulary instruction.

Figure 6: A framework for short listing lemma for explicit vocabulary instruction

Decontextualized high frequency word list (n = 2000) Brown corpus - www.edict.com.hk/lexiconindex/frequencylists/words2000.htm

Identification and categorization of content and experience words (n = 1680)

Provision of 320 function words. (Higgins, 2002; Appendix N)

Pick loan words (n=235, Appendix M)

1445 non loan words

Recap school grammar instruction 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

Example - General English, Volume 1. G.C. E. Advanced level classes (1999) Adjectives Language study (p.44) Adverbs Activity 2 (p. 9) Prepositions Language study (p. 55)

5.2.2- Class plan for Phase 1 - explicit instruction on high frequency loan words Once the loan words are short listed the study suggests the following class plan which commences with 5 hours of instruction on mapping orthography to phonemes which comprises of recapping previous phonetic instruction, introducing the Key to phonetic symbols and leads to the final compilation of Vocabulary Record Books I (loan words) and II (Function words).

Table 47: Class plan for Phase I - explicit instruction on decontextualized high frequency word list (235 loan words)

Semester I approximate total time allotment 50 lessons of 1 hr. each exposure to Key to Phonetic Symbols. Instruction on mapping orthography to phonemes 5 hrs. Explicit vocabulary instruction through loan words (Appendix M) contained in decontextualized word lists (10 minutes per 1 hour lesson). Vocabulary Record Book I 235 loan words (content and experience) from the 2000 high frequency word list (Brown Corpus, Appendix M) in 11 handouts containing approximately 20 words each. The students are required to record phonetic transcription, L2 meaning and a context for the given meaning of the loan word. Vocabulary Record Book II 320 function words (Higgins, 2002; Appendix N) given as one hand out for compilation of individual Vocabulary Record Book II which requires recording of pronunciation, L2 meaning (if feasible) and a context for usage. Oral practice of pronunciation Identify pronunciation differences in L1 and L2 usages Notice correct pronunciation for problem areas. Consult mono lingual English dictionary for pronunciation, L2 meaning and L2 context. Record

5.2.2.1 Instruction on mapping orthography to phonemes 235 loan words This study suggests that exposure to the phonetic symbols - as they are represented in EnglishEnglish dictionaries frequently used by learners - is a much needed explicit instruction at undergraduate level. Experience states that the majority of learners rarely consult pronunciation as their exposure to the phonetic symbols is non existent or minimal. Educating the on phonetic transcription might be construed as an arduous task but most of the non standard usages, it is suggested, can be rectified through exposure to the English phonetic system as given in a dictionary.

Figure 7: Mapping orthography to phonemes - 230 loan words

Re-cap pronunciation

Introduce phonetic symbols which are not represented by letters of the English

Broaden exposure to Key to phonetic symbols in an English English dictionary

Attempt phonetic transcription of loan words. Awareness creation on Spelling and sound symbol correspondences

Consult an English English dictionary for clarification of phonetic

Note down contexts provided in a dictionary for high frequency content loan words

Re-capping pronunciation instruction - (General English, 1999: 104-108) e. g. :- Problems for Sri Lankan learners of English (p.104) 1. 2. The confusion and overuse of the sounds p/f, s/ sh, o/aw The inserting of /i/ in front of words beginning with /sk/, /st/, /sp/

5.2.2.2 Introducing phonetic symbols found in a dictionary which are not represented by letters of the English alphabet Consonants Exercise I Consult an English English dictionary and write the phonetic transcription

Sound

Word sing, finger yes, yellow

Phonetic transcription

she, crash check, church just, large

It is suggested that the transcription /sh/ /sh which was introduced in General English (1999) should s be substituted by / /. This symbol should be compared with the symbol /s/ and its pronunciation. Attention to the symbolic difference will create awareness which is needed to avoid the confusion and overuse of these sounds Vowels Sound Word
cup, luck arm, father cat, black away, cinema turn, learn hot, rock call, ball

Phonetic transcription

The transcription /aw/ which was introduc introduced in General English (1999) should be elevated to the short and long sounds // and /:/ . These two symbols should be given extensive attention as their confusion with /o/ and overuse are identified as a problematic areas for Sri Lankan learners of ESL (Fernando, Fernando, 1978; Gunesekera, 2005; Kandiah, 1981). This is due to the fact that // and
/:/

are new sounds to the speakers of Sinhala and according to linguists, assimilation of new

sounds is difficult for second language learners. Sebastian-Galles Sebastian et al (2005) 2005) state that learning L2 pronunciation once L1 phonology is already internalized can reduce an individuals ability to distinguish new sounds that appear in the L2.

5.2.2.3 Characteristics of SSLE (a) Instruction on identifying the characteristics of S SSLE SLE could be recapped (General English, (1999: 104). We dont use the diphthong /ou/ and say /gou/ for go. We dont use the diphthong /ei/ and say /tudei/ for today (b) Further characteristics of SSLE substitution of consonants

Exercise II Consult an English English dictionary and write the phonetic transcription 5.2.2.4 Phonetic honetic transcription of loan words

Sound

Word think, both this, mother pleasure, vision

Phonetic transcription

How do we pronounce these words? Write in Sinhala

This study identifies that the main advantage of introducing the pronunciation pronunciation of a word through loan words is that is the strong acoustic link between the L2 lexical item and the L1 key word. This basic premise in the key word technique - finding a key-word word in L1 that sounds like the L2 word (Gu & Johnson, 1996) is sa satisfied tisfied through the selection of the loan words. Attempting to broaden exposure to phonetic symbols the learners are provided with a copy of the Key to phonetic symbols in an n English English dictionary (for example Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary). . A ten word sample from the list of loan words (Appendix B) B is given as a student handout (Table 48) as Hunt & Beglar ((2005) caution that learners should be exposed to a small group of lexical items. It will be easier to get repeated exposure to the words wor than when larger groups are studied.

Table 48: Student handout 1 sample of the first 10 loan words of Vocabulary Record Book I Use an English- English dictionary to fill the following. The first word is done for you. Phonetic transcription /kdm/ meaning in L2 L2 Context from dictionary

Loan word academy* account action activity address administration affair afternoon agency agreement

* substituted for academic as academy too is a loanword in Sinhala

5.2.2.5 Spelling and sound symbol correspondences Though good readers process orthography in a highly automaticized, accurate manner theory on low level learners, who can be identified as poor readers, state that they are slow in processing orthography (Foorman et al., 2000; Stanovich, 1998). Thus theorists and researchers (Carver, 2000; Rayner et al., 2002) claim that explicit teaching of spelling and sound symbol correspondences can contribute to vocabulary learning and also generate fluency in reading. One form of orthographic processing involves explicit emphasis on spelling. Mathes and Torgesen (2000), and Stanovich, (1998) suggest explicit instruction on spelling is particularly important to low level L2 readers. Recall literature on the irregularities of the English spelling system (Tables 26, 27, 28) and how they allow the same letter to represent more than one sound or the same

sound to be represented by more than one letter, which provide justification for such explicit instruction. Elaborative processing can take place when learners attend to phonological and orthographic forms of lexical items. Ellis & Beaton (1993b) and Carlisle (1995) state that these two aspects of lexical knowledge can be taught simultaneously. According to Ellis & Beaton (1993b) learners need to hear the pronunciation of the word and practice saying the word aloud as well. Thus when elaborating spelling and sound symbol correspondences teachers would be required commence with writing the word, along with its phonetic transcription, on the board. Then Nation (2005) suggests that teachers should show how the word is like the spelling of known words and point out any spelling irregularity in the word. After the teacher pronounces the word drawing attention to the phonetic translation the learners repeat the pronunciation. If the pronunciation of the in L2 is not identical to the L1 pronunciation (all 10 words of student handout I have identical pronunciations in L1 and L2) attention should be drawn to the deviation and comparisons could be drawn through a phonetic transcription of the L1 word as shown below.

5.2.3 Morphological awareness Researchers Carlisle (1995) who studied the morphological aspects of language processing and Nagy et al (1993) who studied the contribution of suffixes to the meanings of derivatives reveals empirical evidence to prove that morphological awareness plays a significant role in vocabulary acquisition through reading. Proponents Schmitt & Meara(1997) state that ESL learners should be given explicit instruction which will expand their knowledge of morphology. This is due to the fact that ESL learners who know the base form ( simple) do not necessarily acquire the other forms of the word (simplify).

Nation (2005) suggests that the learners attention to the form of the word should be drawn by showing the prefix, stem and suffix that make up a word. Thus affixation too needs explicit instruction and learners should be encouraged to identify affixations to the stem loan words provided. suffixation. Table 49 provides an example for a sample context formed by learners for a

Table 49: Suffixation for a loan word A sample context formed by (Stem) Derivative Academic /kdmk/ (adj.) (n.) Time when teaching is done The academic year is over. Teacher of a university She is a well known academic Meaning learners

academy /kdm/

5.3 Phase 2 - Exposure to texts with bilingualized glosses During the first semester parallel to Phase 1(decontextualized vocabulary instruction on 240 loan words) Phase 2 will expose the learners to texts with bilingualized glosses. According to Nation & Waring (2003) with a vocabulary size of 2000 words a learner knows 80% of the words in a text which means that 1 word in every 5 (approximately 2 words in every line) are unknown. Na & Nation (1985) through research reveal that this ratio of unknown words is not sufficient to allow reasonably successful guessing of the meaning of unknown words which are low frequency words. Thus this study suggests that during semester I the reading passages included in the material should be provided with bilingualized glosses for the low frequency words which the learners encounter during reading. Theory on vocabulary acquisition state that introducing lexis in partially de-contextualized or fully contextualized settings is a combination which is conducive to acquisition (Zimmerman, 1997). Prince (1996) claims that vocabulary retention is enhanced when learners temporarily isolate words from their context and deliberatively process them. This thesis in its main research statistically evaluated the benefits of partial decontextualization of low frequency words along with a fully contextualized setting for high frequency words. Gloss conditions were provided for the partially de-contextualization low frequency words. These gloss conditions in the test battery consisted of two separate independent variables: Sinhala glosses and English glosses. For the weaker learners the research revealed the SG condition was the most beneficial while EG condition did not increase performance. But at pedagogical level, where judicious integration of L1 is the premise, intuition states that gloss conditions provided in lesson material for texts should embody bilingualized lexical information. Each head word should be given L1 and L2 glosses and an L2 sentence example using the head

word in a different context. These provisions will increase the number of lexical items in passive vocabulary or denote an incremental shift in the partial precise continuum. But the vocabulary knowledge gained through the provision of bilingualized glosses will be pedagogically restrictive as it only provides one literal meaning to a word in a given context. If the word contains multi meanings the knowledge of the meanings other than the one in context will be denied.

5.3.1 Elaboration of lexis To elaborate the meaning of the newly learned lexis the teacher should create opportunities for understanding recently learned words in new contexts, or organize exercises that provide new collocations and associations (Hunt & Beglar, 1998). For example the following concept mapping provides new collocations and associations for the word fat which occurred in the test battery of the main research (Appendix F) and glossed the literal meaning lipid. The suggested bilingualized gloss would be as follows: 1. fat/s /ft/ n.- lipids - Vegetable fats are healthier than animal fats. 2. fat /ft/ adj. - large in size (-tter, -ttest) If you eat too much chocolate you will get fat. The introduction of the second meaning of the base form which is a frequently used word will activate world knowledge through the L1 mental lexicon of the learners. Capitalizing on this activation a rich array of semantic associations in the form of antonyms and synonyms and gradation could be introduced through a semantic network. Thus pedagogy should activate associative lexis in L2 which are considered as existing in the L1 mental lexicon. This is suggested as effective teaching of vocabulary entails not only the presentation of new words, but also the elaboration and development of the meaning of old and new vocabulary. Figure 8: Elaborating known vocabulary through concept mapping
Slender, slim Under weight -Most neutral usage Chubby Over weight Most neutral usage

Antonym

Fat Large in size plump, stout

Synonym

Skinny, gaunt

emaciated not healthy

Obese not healthy

5.4 Implicit lexical learning strategies The class plan for semester II given below moves from explicit instruction on lexis to implicit lexical acquisition strategies which need fine tuning such as inferring skills. The poor Mean scores on measures of English inferring skills of the target population (Table 17) justify the need for such fine tuning. The development of inferring skills will be done through reading texts without glosses. Table 50: Classroom plan for the second semester of the first year

Semester II (Approximate time frame 10 mins. during 50 1hr. lessons) Compilation of the balance 1412 high frequency words in Vocabulary Record Book II Reading texts without glosses for low frequency words

30 learners in the class are given a list of 50 Inferring the meaning. words each for completing entries on

pronunciation, L2 meaning, dictionary context Compiling the encountered for one or multiple meanings. Lists are checked low frequency vocabulary for progress and acuracy. The record book items in Vocabulary Record should be done using Microsoft Word other than Book III. pronunciation which should be done manually. The list of each learner should be completed within the first 3 weeks of semester II. Compilation of all 30 lists into one vocabulary completing entries on component. Learners requested to obtain pronunciation, L2 meaning,

photocopies of the compiled collective work dictionary context for one or titled Vocabulary Record Book II. multiple meanings

Oral practice of pronunciation. Identify differences in L1 and L2 usages. Notice correct pronunciation for problem areas Extended reading for fluency development along with broadening the corpus of Vocabulary Record Book III

5.4.1 Developing inferring skills According to Nation (1990) after the high frequency words are learned the next focus for the learners is on helping the learners develop strategies to comprehend and learn the low frequency words. But as the ESL learners of this study are undergraduates with a very limited time allocated for ESL instruction helping the learners develop strategies to comprehend and learn the low frequency words in the form of developing inferring skills commences along with the compilation of vocabulary record book III. Here the study makes note that Nation (ibid) further state that because of the very poor coverage low frequency words give, it is not worth spending class time on actually teaching these words. But class time should be spent on inferring the meaning of the low frequency words which occur in texts given in the material, such as comprehension passages, from context. But Carver (2000) cautions us that ESL learners can tolerate a small proportion of unknown words in a text without disruption of comprehension and can infer meanings of these words from sufficiently rich contexts. However if the proportion of unknown words is too high comprehension is disrupted. Thus texts for developing inferring skills should be carefully selected so that they will be of an appropriate difficulty level (Hu & Nation, 2003). Current pedagogy places high importance on strategic development of inferring skills (Clark & Nation, 1980; Fraser, 1999; Hunt & Beglar, 2005; Nassaji, 2003; Nation, 2005; Nation & Waring, 2003). Thus the texts used in the material during semester II should be graded according to the number of low frequency words in the content. The low frequency words should be in bold and after inferring the meaning clarifying the meaning, consolidating pronunciation and obtaining other meanings and their contexts through dictionary consultation should follow. Fraser (1999) supports the use of a dictionary during classroom activity as there is a need to focus on efficient and effective use of dictionary while reading and suggests that teachers should reevaluate the minimal use accorded to dictionary use in class. Laufer & Hadar (1997) state that learners should practice using all the information in an entry before making conclusions about the meaning of a word and according to Tang (1997) learners need to practice reevaluation of their incorrect inferences so that they do not retain them. Classroom activities should include oral practice of pronunciation, identifying differences in L1 and L2 usages, noticing correct pronunciation for problem areas as they accelerate consolidation. It would benefit the learners if these lessons too could include concept mapping for elaborate processing of at least one low frequency lexical item. All the above have been summarized by clues into a six step inductive

instructional procedure modified from Clark & Nation (1980) and Nation (2001: 257). This study proposes that the procedure has abundant merits for its target population whose inferring skills are very low. 1. Identify the unknown part of the word. 2. Search for clues in the immediate context. This prevents hasty guesses based on word form. 3. Assess both L1 and L2 inferences and explain reasons for the choice. This promotes self inquiry and understanding of inferential strategies. 4. Confirm the part of speech in the learners inference, compare it to the unknown word and attempt to substitute it into the original context. 5. To reduce the probability of erroneous guesses the learners should confirm their inferences by consulting a dictionary. 6. When learners make incorrect guesses they need to reevaluate the contextual clues in order to become aware of any misrepresentation This study suggests that inferring skills should not stop at successful inferring of the meaning of the word. It should work through elaboration, consolidation and recording for future consultation as it will aid retention and recall. Furthermore extended reading should be included in the curriculum and the allotment of marks for discussion of a text (characterization, development of plot, and thematic value to the learner) at evaluation level of the speech component would create the necessary motivation.

5.4.2 Extensive reading Hunt & Beglar (2005) identifying the merits of extensive reading state in extensive reading learners select and read large amounts of material that interest them and that are within their level of assisted comprehension. Material for extensive reading can be obtained from the Extensive Reading Pages website at http://www.extensivereading.net/index.html . This online source provides a range of material which suits learners at different levels of proficiency. This study suggests that fiction and newspapers too provide ample sources for extended reading. It further suggests that learners should be encouraged to include new lexis encountered during extensive reading in their vocabulary Record Book IV.

5.4.2.1 Fiction Material for extended reading for ESL learners is rarely available in university libraries. The classic fiction available serves the literary needs of the undergraduates of the Department of English. A study by Hirsh & Nation (1992) identifies novels written for teenagers as a good source for ESL learners extended reading. They are unabridged and the topics are considered to be interesting to the ESL undergraduate. The writers use simple vocabulary and because it is a continuous novel by one writer the vocabulary is very often repeated. The following table indicates that the density of unknown words is also less than in a formal text. Table 51: Density of unknown words in novels for teenagers Vocabulary size 2000 words 2000 words + proper nouns 2600 words 5000 words % coverage 90% 93.7% 96% 98.5% Density of unknown words 1 in every 10 1 in every 16 1 in every 25 1 in every 67

Source:Table 2 Vocabulary size and coverage in novels for teenagers Hirsh & Nation (1992) cited in Nation and Waring (2003) As the vocabulary size of the learners is expected to reach the 2000 word threshold by the middle of the second semester extended reading in the form of fiction could be introduced during the second semester. Furthermore extensive reading, according to Nation & Waring (2003), will enhance word knowledge and the learners get a lot of exposure to the most frequent and useful words. It is suggested that the resource centre of the ELTU should store novels which could be used for extended reading and make borrowing and reading at least 5 novels compulsory during the second semester. Recapping and evaluation of at least two texts could be included in the oral test at the end of the semester and allocation of 5/20 marks is recommended.

5.4.2.2 Newspapers Another source of material for extended reading is newspapers. Newspapers especially the weekend papers provide material which will interest a varied proficiency level of ESL learners. Ranging from formal/ literary articles which are suited for high proficiency learners to supplements which target young readers the weekend papers are a rich source of ESL material.

Articles cover a range of topics which are taken from Science, History, Environmental Studies, Political Science, Literature, Current Affairs, International Studies and many other fields. As

the study targets the low level learners it is suggested that at least two lessons per month should be set aside for reading newspapers. This will not only consolidate the 2000 high frequency vocabulary learned but also the practice of inferring skills through material meant for young readers will be easier for the low and intermediate ESL learner target population of this study. Resources for provision of material are not needed as extended reading through newspapers require 15 learners in a classroom of 30 being required to bring a supplement from the same publication ( for example the supplements Funday Times from Sunday Times or Junior Observer from Sunday Observer).

5.5 Conclusions The study at its implementation through Chapter I analyzed the complex ESL learning environment under discussion. It records statistics which indicate that the majority of undergraduates in the faculty of Arts who register for ESL courses belong to the lower end of a cline of proficiency (Table 4). Chapter 1 argued that the current practice of using L1 haphazardly in the ESL classroom should come under control given the sociolinguistic developments (such as using the English font to produce Sinhala lexis during texting). Table 11 suggested a mode for controlling the use of L1 in the ESL learning contexts which are detrimental to learning English as a second language. Isolating the receptive skill Reading, the study investigated the performance of the target population at two skills required for reading comprehension. The preresearch tasks in Chapter 2 collected statistical evidence to reveal that the target population has very poor inferring skills, under developed dictionary skills which resulted in poor text comprehension. Data further indicated that they lack the basic vocabulary requirement for reading and comprehending a simple text- the 2000 high frequency words of English. This

indicated that the target undergraduate population possessed a very limited depth and breadth of vocabulary. There is a high probability of these statistics been generalized across similar undergraduate populations from other universities in Sri Lanka. This thesis attempting to find immediate solutions for the vocabulary needs within a short time span investigated whether the provision of glosses for difficult lexis in texts, a much practiced and rarely researched area, benefits the learner population. The analyzed results reveal that the

provision of L1 glosses significantly accelerated text comprehension. But as judicious integration of L1 is the main premise of the thesis the pedagogical procedures in this chapter sited research to argue that the provision of glosses should be upgraded to bilingualized glosses. The rationale further included a framework which explicit instruction on the 2000 high frequency words and this commenced with instruction on the 240 loan words short listed. The second instance of judicious integration of L1 occurred during the selection of the 240 loan words borrowed from English and used in Sinhala discourse to introduce phonetic transcription. As the pronunciation of most words in this list of loan words is already acquired through their use in Sinhala discourse it was argued that exposure to the phonetic alphabet found at dictionary should be handled through phonetic translation of these words using dictionary consultation. Once pronunciation of a word is established the possibility of elaboration through creating morphological awareness and other modes such as concept mapping too were explored. The fundamental reason for a massive pedagogical workload being handled within a short time span is that the school ESL curricula has not been, to large extent, able to fulfill the vocabulary requirements of most learners during the 10 years of ESL instruction. A plausible explanation for this should be found through an evaluation of how lexical development is handled at school level especially during the span of grade 3 11. It is suggested that teachers at school level should place a high priority on research to identify a rationale for improving the vocabulary component of the material used from grade 311. These areas of research could include the following. The main research which identified the effect of the provision of L1 glosses in text comprehension could be reduplicated at school level to ascertain the benefits of such a procedure for low and intermediate level learners. Feasibility of introducing and consolidating the 2000 high frequency word list through a framework such as the procedure suggested in this study at school level during a limited time frame (for example from grade 7- 9). Investigate the possibility of introducing the phonetic alphabet of English (the dictionary version) through the short listed loan words from the 2000 high frequency word list. Maintaining a vocabulary record book, according to literature, is a very effective strategy for increasing the breadth and depth of vocabulary in an ESL learner. Research is needed to identify the suitable age group for introducing methods of maintaining a personal

vocabulary record book. It is suggested that maintaining a personal vocabulary record book should be included as early as possible into the ESL curricula.

If, through research, school curricula accommodates the learning burden of the 2000 high frequency words ELTU curricula can utilize the valuable instruction time saved for introducing the vocabulary needed for academic discourse. Nation (2000) states that if a learner is an undergraduate there is a clear need for general academic vocabulary. This can be found in the 836 word list called the University Word List (UWL). UWL consists of words that are not in the 2000 high frequency list but which are frequent of a wide range in academic texts. Wide range means that the words occur not just in one discipline but occurs within a wide range of disciplines. An alternative source is the Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000) which account for 10% of the running words in academic texts. In summation as this thesis explores the benefits of utilizing the high L1 literacy of the learners and its judicious integration in the ESL classroom it is imperative for the teachers of ESL to adhere to the following. Do not conceive learners through a deficit perspective. Try to avoid the use of deficit labels. View them in terms of their strengths. Remember that ESL learners are fluent users and makers of meaning within their L1 context (Franklin & Thompson, 1994). Thus they have a well developed mental lexicon in L1. Understand that learners may react more positively to the demands of L2 if they experience acceptance and valuing of L1.