According to Nation (2013, p.102), learning conditions for vocabulary learning include motivation, noticing, retrieval, creative use, and retention, but the two most important cognitive conditions are repetition and quality of processing.
I. Repetition
Repetition can be exact (verbatim) repetition or varied repetition.
Repetition is most effective if it is spaced. Repeating new words one hundred times is not as effective as repeating it a couple of hours later, and then repeat them the next day, a couple of days later, and then another couple of days. The number of repetitions needed for learning varies but is at least seven, and the more the better.
Table 1: The different types of repetition activities
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Immediate repetition
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Delayed Repetition
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Verbatim repetition
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Speeded listening
Unexploded dictation 4/3/2
The best recording
Repeated reading
Rewriting with less time
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Relistening
Retelling
Rereading
Rewriting
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Varied repetition
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Pyramid discussion
Linked skills
Discuss and report
Mind map and write
Varying across outcomes (suggest, choose, rank)
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Varying across group size
Recalling through a different skill (listening, speaking, reading, writing)
Narrow listening or reading
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Repetition of a task may be monotonous; therefore, it requires adding a challenge to the task to keep the learners engaged. These challenges can include increasing the speed, memory demands, change of audience, and decreasing support. For example: the 4/3/2 activity, students might be required to retell a story to a partner in about 4 minutes; then they are asked to find another partner to retell the same story in three and two minutes in their second and third retelling. The decreasing time limit and new partners during the activity help keep learners engaged during this activity.
This activity might be modified to match the objectives of a specific task. For example, in speaking part 3 - Picture description of B1 Speaking exam, students are given 1 minute to describe a picture. Teachers might reduce time allowance for the activity and ask students to do 3/2/1 activity, in which students have to repeat their description to the same story to a new partner in decreasing time limit: from three to only one minute.
II. Quality of Processing
Processing of vocabulary include three levels: Noticing, receptive or productive retrieval, and varied meetings or use (or creative processing) (Nation, 2013, p.103).
Noticing means giving attention to an item. Learners need to notice the word, and be aware of it as a useful language item (Ellis, 1991; Schmidt, 1990).
The second major process that may lead to a word being remembered is retrieval (Baddeley, 1990, p.156). “A word may initially be noticed and its meaning comprehended in the textual input to the task, or through teacher explanation or dictionary use. If that word is subsequently retrieved during the task then the memory of that word will be strengthened” (Nation, 2013, p. 107). Receptive retrieval involves perceiving the form and having to retrieve its meaning when the word is met in listening or reading. Productive retrieval involves wishing to communicate the meaning of the word and having to retrieve its spoken/written form as in speaking or writing. Retrieval does not occur if the form and its meaning are presented simultaneously to the learner.
Creative processing occurs when previously met words are subsequently met or used in ways that differ from the previous meeting with the word. The new meeting with the word forces learners to reconceptualize their knowledge of that word.
E.g.: “cement”
First meeting: “We bought half a ton of cement” – NOUN
Second meeting: “We cemented our relationship with a drink” – VERB
Learners will need to rethink the meaning and use of “cement”, and this will firmly establish the memory of this word (Nation, 2013, p.110).
Table 2: Vocabulary learning conditions and example activities
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Quality of processing
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Incidental attention
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Deliberate attention
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Noticing
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Guessing from context
Noticing a gap when speaking or writing
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Text highlighting, Making word cards, Dictionary or Glossary look up, Being taught words
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Receptive or productive retrieval
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Meeting a previously met word while listening or reading and recall its meaning.
Recalling and using a recently met word in conversation or writing.
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Retrieval using word cards
Doing vocabulary exercises after reading a text
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Varied meetings or use
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Meeting a previously met word in a new form or context while listening or reading and recall its meaning.
Recalling and using a recently met word in a new way in conversation or writing.
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Filling the blanks
True/false sentences
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III. Some recommendation for Repetitions and Quality of Processing
Nation (2013) offers some recommendations for repetition and quality of processing in a course as follows:
1. Build a repetition schedule into a language course (for verbatim and varied repetition): About one-third of the time in a course should be spent revisiting old material.
2. Run a well-monitored extensive reading program and an extensive listening program: Large quantities of input provide plenty of opportunities for repetition and varied meetings.
3. Train learners in strategy use and understanding of how to learn including principles of learning: Increase motivation and focus.
4. Give deliberate and systematic attention to word building (prefixed, suffixed, stems), and the analysis and interpretation of multiword units.
5. Use theme-based learning and activities that give repeated attention to the same topic across different skills.
References
Baddeley, A. (1990). Human Memory. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ellis, R. (1991). The interaction hypothesis: A critical evaluation. In Sadtono, E. (ed.), Language Acquisition and the Second/Foreign Language Classroom. RELC Anthology: Series 28 (pp. 179-211). Singapore: SEAMEO-RELC.
Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.
Schmidt, R. W. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 2, 129-158.
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