Vocabulary Learning Strategies教材-Norbert Schmitt.docVIP

PAGE 33 Vocabulary Learning Strategies Norbert Schmitt University of Nottingham Introduction In the last 25 years, the field of second language acquisition has seen the reemergence of interest in one area of language study, vocabulary (Meara, 1987), and the appearance of a newly recognized aspect  learner strategies. Appreciation of the importance of both these areas has led to considerable research in each, yet the place where they intersect vocabulary learning strategies has attracted a noticeable lack of attention. The research which has been done on vocabulary learning strategies has tended to deal with individual or small numbers of strategies, with very few studies looking at the group as a whole. The current state of the area is typified by the lack of a comprehensive list or taxonomy of lexically-focused strategies. This chapter will first overview some general conclusions about vocabulary learning strategies which can be made from prior strategy research. Then a taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies will be proposed and the individual strategies discussed in more detail. Finally, there will be a report on the results of a large-scale study undertaken to assess which vocabulary learning strategies learners actually use and how helpful they believe them to be. General Conclusions About Vocabulary Learning Strategies Research into the area of language strategies began in earnest in the 1970s as part of the movement away from a predominantly teaching-oriented perspective, to one which included interest in how the actions of learners might affect their acquisition of language (acquisition and learning will be used interchangeably in this chapter). Concurrently, there was a growing awareness that aptitude was not the governing factor in language learning success, implying that language achievement depended quite heavily on the individual learners endeavours. This naturally led to a greater interest in how individual learners approached and con