Should vocabulary instruction be integrated or isolated? ELIF GENÇ SEZEN SAVAŞ

Outline Recall of isolated and integrated vocabulary instructions Our study Results of the study Discussion Recommendation Limitation

PURPOSE to elaborate on which type of FFI (Form Focused Instruction) (isolated or integrated) is more effective for learning new vocabulary through reading. to investigate the effectiveness of integrated and isolated vocabulary teaching

Types of form-focused instruction In a reading lesson, form-focused instruction can be done in two ways: integrated vocabulary instruction isolated vocabulary instruction

Integrated FFI Learners first engage in meaning; then explore some linguistic features Occasional shift of attention to form Linguistic features are explored in contexts

Isolated FFI Primary attention to form Most attention to form Pre-selected in the syllabus Forms are taught in isolation

Form-focus Instruction and Receptive & Productive We assume that integrated vocabulary instruction develops receptive skills as students are not given enough time to use the words and produce sentences. They interpret the new words as a comprehensive aid. As isolated vocabulary instruction provides learners additional time and opportunities for productive use, it offers greater depth of vocabulary learning. Therefore, it promotes better productive skills.

DEPEND (v) To need someone or sth in order to happen. dependence (n) dependent X independent (adj) Whether or not we go to Spain for our holiday depends on the cost. Sentence production tasks taught and assigned

Our study Five teachers prepared presentations for each unit in Reading Explorer Intro. Some words-especially difficult ones- were taught as isolated, while others as integrated. Target words were graded according to their difficulties and frequency of their usage by these five instructors The most difficult and also the least often used words were chosen. Two tests were prepared for both isolated and integrated taught words as receptive and productive.

Our study 95 words were taught as isolated and 31 of them were asked in the test 135 words were taught as integrated and 31 of them were asked in the test Tests were distributed to these five classes 70 students answered the questions

The Test What meaning does this word form signal? 1. This new drug could be an important step against cancer. A) The act of lifting one foot and putting it down on a different part of ground. B) A stage in a process. C) One of the surfaces that you walk on when you go up or down stairs. Isolated- receptive

The Test What word form can be used to express this meaning? Whole(n): ……………………………………………………. Indeed(adv): …………………………………………………… Integrated - productive

Analysis of the data We collected the tests from the students. We divided the tests into two groups as isolated and integrated. At the first step, each of us checked one group’s answers. As a second step, we changed the tests and checked for the second time.

Analysis of the data We prepared a chart to record the results. There were 8 parts in each of the tests. We recorded the correct answers for each part. Finally, we got the total number of correct answers as receptive and productive

ISOLATED RECEPTIVE TOTAL PRODUCTIVE A (4) C(5) E (3) G (3) 230 B (4)   RECEPTIVE TOTAL PRODUCTIVE A (4) C(5) E (3) G (3) 230 B (4) D (5) F (4) H (3) 452 STUDENT 1  3 2 3  2 4  1  4

Results of The Study The type of vocabulary instruction Isolated VI The number of words taught in class 95 The number of words tested in tests 31 The type of the questions receptive productive The number of questions in test type 15 16 The total of questions / the total of correct answer 1050 /330 1120 /452 Percentage 31 % 40 %

Isolated VI receptive:31% productive:40% promoted productive vocabulary skills more than receptive skills helped students gain more detailed knowledge of words (as they were better at word formation questions)

Results of the Study The type of vocabulary instruction Integrated VI The number of words taught in class 135 The number of words tested in tests 31 The type of the questions receptive productive The number of questions in test type 15 16 The total of questions / the total of correct answer 1050 /501 1212 /253 Percentage 47 % 23 %

Integrated VI Receptive: 47 % productive: 23 % resulted in better usage of receptive skills than productive ones. Students were limited in the word-recognition level as they didn’t have the opportunity to practice the new learned words.

Discussion Webb 2005 Those producing a word in a sentence-production task acquired greater word knowledge than those doing the reading task.

The greater gains achieved in the isolated FFI than in the integrated FFI is thanks to these different types of processing tasks such as Sentence production Processing a word in tasks and using in a sentence may also help learners to understand morphosyntactic features of words. Webb, 2005

Why not Integrated VI new vocabulary gained from a reading activity does not automatically transfer into productive vocabulary and teachers need to provide opportunities for learners to use recognition and new vocabulary in a contextually related writing task. S. H. Lee 2003 .

Recommendation To help students gain the most out of vocabulary learning, instructional conditions that provide opportunities for a maximum amount of processing of the words should be arranged. Language teachers need to invest their time in designing relevant vocabulary activities that can initiate students to interact and negotiate meaning.

Recommendation Vocabulary instruction can be adapted to the needs of the class. In integrated FFI, They may reduce planning time They may not require additional material They can align instruction more closely to the participants’ learning needs

Recommendation In isolated FFI, Teachers may help learners focus attention on vocabulary learning They can teach more aspects of knowing a word Pronunciation Synonyms Antonyms Lexicogrammatical features Specific meaning Collocation etc…

Limitation The tests were given at the end of the semester, so this may be a factor in the low success of the students’ test scores.

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