Paul Nation: Knowing a Word

Presentation by Zsuzsanna Lnrt-Muszka, 2015

Nation, P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. CUP. Ch. 2. Knowing a word. Pp. 23-59.

Overview:

1. Key concepts
1. Learning burden
2. The receptive/productive distinction
1. The scope of the distinction
2. Experimental comparisons of receptive/productive vocabulary
2. Aspects of knowing a word

The Learning Burden

Def.: the learning burden of a word refers to how .. or
it is to learn it: the amount of . required to learn it.
What makes the learning burden light or heavy?
Patterns:
from L1
from L2
from knowledge about international words

The Receptive/Productive Distinction

The receptive skills are and ..
The productive skills are and ..
Receptive knowledge of a word refers to
Productive knowledge of a word refers to .
Receptive/productive vs. active/passive
Knowledge vs. motivation
example:
(The lexical bar: Graeco-Latin words are passive)
Productive use may be more difficult:

The amount of knowledge explanation

The practice explanation
The access explanation: p29.
The motivation explanation

Experimental Comparisons of Receptive/Productive Vocabulary

tests are easier than .. tests

It is better to do receptive learning for receptive tests and productive learning

for productive tests

Aspects of Knowing a Word

1. Spoken form
2. Written form
3. Word parts
4. Connecting form and meaning
5. Concepts and referents
6. Associations
7. Grammatical functions
8. Collocations
9. Constraints on use
10.
Aspects of Knowing a Word: Spoken Form

Being able to produce the spoken form and being able to .

Tip of the tongue phenomenon and its implications

Recall on the basis of

The importance of pattern

Phonological memory

Nonsense words

Repetition vs. patterns

Depends on level of proficiency

The importance of strategies: learn, group, and avoid

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Written Form

Mainly a question of

Learning burden depends on patterns, parallels

Improvement: read, categorize (rhyme), relate spoken and written form

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Word Parts

Knowledge of affixes and stems, but also:

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Connecting Form and Meaning

Brunch

it is possible to know the meaning but not the form, or to know the
form and meaning but not connect the two

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Concept and Referents

High frequency words and different meanings

How to deal with a word that has several meanings?

Look for a concept that runs through all of the senses: FORK

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Associations

It is necessary to distinguish between parts of speech to describe the

organizational structure of the lexicon

Nouns: hierarchies

Verbs: event and state, hierarchies, opposites

Teaching activities: group verbs, then change text (restate, say

the opposite, generalize or make precise)

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Grammatical Functions

Lexicon plays a role in grammar

to be able to use a word you need to know what part of speech it is

and what grammatical patterns it can fit into

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Collocations

What the word typically occurs with

Teacher should

Draw attention to

pattern

similarities between L1 and L2

Aspects of Knowing a Word: Constraints on Use

Frequency notes on overuse

Politeness, PC cross-cultural differences

Item Knowledge and System Knowledge

How much attention should be given to structures (affixation, etc.)?
Is it better to first learn the word unanalyzed and then devote time to show
structure, or to talk about structure first and then learn first which fit into the
already familiar structures?