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Learning Vocabulary Through Underlying Meanings: An Investigation of an Interactive Technique

Annette Visser

English Language Institute Wellington

This study investigated the effects of a task-based vocabulary learn ing technique which focuses learners' attention on the underlying meaning of a word. The words selected for the study came from Xue and Nation's University Word List (1984). The subjects were a class of adult second language learners preparing for English-medium uni versity study.

In the experimental treatment, learners were exposed to different meanings of a polysemous word and were required to perform a task relating to each meaning. A further task required them to state the underlying meaning of the word. In the comparison treatment, learners were exposed to a single meaning of a word and they per formed three tasks relating to that meaning. The subjects were then tested to see if they could select the correct meaning of further uses of the polysemous word. It was predicted that the experimental exer cises would lead to good quality of discussion of underlying meaning and also to superior test performance by the experimental group.

The results showed that the experimental exercises encouraged high quality of discussion. Although the experimental group did not out- perform the comparison group, subjects in the experimental group were significantly more likely to utilise context clues to determine word meaning.

RELC Journal, Vol. 21, No. 1, 11-28 (1990)
DOI: 10.1177/003368829002100102
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