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The Five Principles of Effective Second Language

本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Vocabulary Instruction in Before You Know It

I. Introduction
For years, the popular methodology for learning a second language was to focus on grammar and sentences first and then on vocabulary. Recently, however, there has been a shift toward recognition that learning vocabulary first leads to more success. Having a base of vocabulary to draw from makes learning grammar and sentence structure easier. The Before You Know It program from Transparent Language was based on this concept of building a solid foundation of vocabulary before tackling other aspects of the language. This paper describes how Before You Know It makes use of the five principles of effective vocabulary learning described in Joe Barcroft's Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Lexical Input Processing Approach. Following these guidelines helps make this program the best way to vocabulary mastery and ultimately to learning a new language.

II. Barcroft's Five Principles of Effective Second Language Vocabulary Instruction

Present new words frequently and repeatedly in input The more frequently language learners are exposed to foreign vocabulary; the more likely they are to remember it. Studies suggest that most learners need between 5-16 ‘meetings’ with a word in order to retain it. Before You Know It does an excellent job providing this repeated exposure. Every word and phrase must be correctly identified multiple times to obtain the highest score, while the variety of exercises and activities prevents this repetition from being boring. Language learners are thus more likely to use and enjoy the program long enough to accomplish a sufficient number of ‘meetings’ to master the new vocabulary terms. At the same time, a proprietary algorithm tracks each learner's progress and presents the words that need the most work more often than those that have already been mastered. In that way, language learners get more exposure to the words that they find most difficult. By seeing these words more often, they can focus their attention where it is needed most.
Use meaning-bearing comprehensible input when presenting new words In order for learners to successfully make the association between a foreign language word and its meaning, that meaning must be conveyed in a comprehensible manner. One method for making foreign terms comprehensible and thus promoting vocabulary learning is to present each word in a variety of ways. Before You Know It therefore uses a number of techniques to make foreign language vocabulary memorable for language learners. For example, every foreign language term is presented not only as text, but also as audio, so that language learners can hear the correct pronunciation as many times as they need to fix it in their mind. The pronunciation can even be slowed down to help language learners focus on the smaller nuances. Many of the foreign language terms in Before You Know It are also presented along with pictures that convey the meaning in yet another form. This additional input reinforces the word's meaning and assists the learner in remembering it.
Limit forced output during the initial stages of learning new words Forcing language learners to rush into sentence formation can interfere with vocabulary learning during the beginning stages of acquiring a new language. Instead, learners should be given time to absorb the meanings of individual words at their own pace before being required to use them in a larger context. Language learners who take that time are far more likely to use the words correctly when they do choose to form sentences. Before You Know It gives language learners all the time they need to focus on foreign language terms. It allows learners to concentrate exclusively on words, so that they can master the necessary vocabulary before moving on to the next stage of learning a new language. When language learners who use Before You Know It do feel ready to form sentences on their own, they will have a solid base of vocabulary with which to do so.
Limit forced semantic elaboration during the initial stages of learning new words In addition to not forcing beginning language learners to immediately produce whole sentences, a vocabulary program should also avoid other kinds of elaboration that might produce negative effects on the learning of new words. Some learners may find it distracting or confusing if they are asked to perform other tasks at the same time that they are trying to commit new words to memory. Studies have shown, for example, that learners who were asked to either list their emotional associations for foreign language terms or count the letters in each foreign term they were learning actually had poorer recall for those vocabulary words than learners who concentrated just on the words themselves. Before You Know It focuses on creating accurate one-to-one associations between the foreign language terms and their native language meanings. Each flash card displays one foreign language term and its meaning, with no extraneous information to distract the learner. The association between the word and its meaning is further enhanced by allowing the learner to translate the word from both language directions - first, by seeing the foreign word and having to produce the native language meaning, then by seeing the native language word and having to produce the foreign language equivalent. Before You Know It thus sets the stage for truly effective vocabulary learning.
Progress from less demanding to more demanding vocabulary-related activities Vocabulary learning is most effective when learners start off with a small group of words, then gradually add more terms as the first ones are mastered. Before You Know It handles this process automatically, by keeping track of the words that a learner has worked with and introducing new vocabulary at the most appropriate times. The exercises in Before You Know It also progress from easier to more challenging, allowing learners to steadily build their confidence and their ability to produce the foreign language.
Before You Know It is thus an excellent first step in the language learning process. After language learners have made their way through the Perfect Recall learning cycle in Before You Know It, they are ready to move onto other, more advanced aspects of language learning.

III. Conclusion
The methodology of Before You Know It is based on the theory that learning vocabulary is a great place to start when learning a foreign language and that concentrating on individual words and their translations is an effective method of vocabulary learning. The foreign language words and phrases should be reinforced along the way with pictures and pronunciation, but elements that could distract from vocabulary learning - such as sentence building - should be avoided at the beginning stages of language learning. A solid vocabulary is an important foundation for successfully mastering a new language.

Bibliography
Barcroft, J. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Lexical Input Processing Approach, Foreign Language Annals Vol. 37 No. 2
Barcroft, J. Semantic and structural elaboration in L2 lexical acquisition. Language Learning 52(2) 323-363
Nation, I.S.P. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press
Waring, R. Basic Principles and Practice in Vocabulary Instruction, The Language Teacher 2002

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  • 工作学习 / 外语学习 / 母语和二语心理词汇的比较
    本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛来源:杰克 作者:杰克 2009-06-20 07:46:59
    母语和二语心理词汇的比较*

    解放军外国语学院 张淑静**

    摘 要:母语习得者和二语学习者的学习环境有相同之处,也有不同之处。这就决定了其心理词汇也必有同有异。本文从两个方面对母语(L1)和二语(L2)的心理词汇进行比较:心理词汇中词条的内部结构和心理词汇本身的结构。就词条的内部结构而言,结论比较一致:两者之间存在着明显的差异。就心理词汇本身的结构而言,情况要复杂得多:既有证据支持其相似性,也有证据支持其差异性。两方面均尚需进一步的研究以得出更有说服力的结论。

    关键词:心理词汇 学习环境词目 词位

    1. 引 言

    大致说来,心理词汇的研究始于20世纪60年代末。在此之前,词的辨认属于模式辨认(pattern recognition)这一研究领域。但从60年代末起,人们开始从一个新的角度研究词的辨认:语言感知。心理词汇的研究大致可分为互相联系却又互不相同的三个方向:(一)词汇通达(lexical access), 研究辨认或产出时从记忆中提取词汇的机制;(二)心理语义学(psychological semantics),研究意义的心理表征;(三)语义记忆(semantic memory),研究意义在记忆中的组织结构。

    最初对双语者的心理词汇发生兴趣的是Weinreich。他第一次勾画出双语者的心理词汇中词汇知识的三种可能的组织结构[1](Weinreich, 1953)。另外两个标志着人们的兴趣向双语者的心理词汇转移的主要人物是Meyer& Ruddy (1974)。自他们的开创性研究以来,双语者的词汇知识成为人们关注的焦点,从而把双语者心理词汇(bilingual mental lexicon)缩略为双语者词汇(bilingual lexicon)(Schreuder & Weltens, 1993)。自80年代以来,对双语者的心理词汇的研究一直经久不衰。

    就研究内容而言,也存在一个转向问题。首先,早期的研究(主要是指50年代至60年代的研究)大都是纯理论的,而后期的研究几乎都是实验性的。其次,早期的研究强调双语者的语言学习历史及复合型/并列型的区别(Weinreich, 1953; Ervin & Osgood, 1954)。70年代前后的研究主要回答一些概括性的问题:双语者的两种语言是储存在一起的还是分别储存的(Kolers, 1963)?而近期的研究更关心影响表征之间的联系的不同语言层次及因素。最后,不同时期的实验任务也不同。起初,主要的实验任务是回述和自由联想。然后是跨语言范畴(cross-language categorization)的研究。目前,比较常用的实验任务有:启动(priming),图画/词汇命名加翻译,或翻译。

    通过上述对心理词汇研究历史的简单回顾,我们不难看出,到目前为止,学者们要么注重单语者的心理词汇,要么注重双语者的心理词汇。这些研究都相对比较独立。但很少有人把母语者的心理词汇与外语学习者的心理词汇进行系统的比较。正是出于这一点,本文通过研究有关心理词汇方面的研究文献,拟以对母语和二语心理词汇的异同进行比较。

    2. 母语习得者与二语学习者学习环境的比较

    2.1 不同之处

    母语习得和二语习得的一个不同之处在于输入的贫乏。虽然对母语习得者和二语学习者来说都存在着输入贫乏的问题,但两种输入贫乏的性质不同,而且二语习得者所面临的输入贫乏问题更严重。对母语学习者来说,输入的贫乏主要是就句法而言:儿童所能接触到的语言素材是不规范的,往往是错误百出的,比如说走嘴、开错头等等。这些不规范的语言素材很难为儿童归纳出高度概括的句法基础提供足够的证据。由此看来,对母语学习者来说,输入的贫乏主要是就其质量而言。而对于二语学习者而言,无论是在质量上还是在数量上,都有一个输入的贫乏问题。就质量而言,二语学习者缺乏足够的、高度语境化的(highly contextualized)目的语输入,这使他们很难从中析取出有关一个词的各种信息:语义的、句法的、词法的,并把它们融入心理词汇的词条中。就数量而言,输入贫乏问题更加明显。据估计,18年的二语课堂教学才能提供相当于一年的自然条件下的语言接触(Singleton, 1989:236)。

    母语习得和二语习得的另一不同之处在于,二语学习者已经有了一个与母语词汇系统紧密联系的概念/语义系统。而对于母语习得者来说,尽管有证据表明语前概念(prelinguistic concepts)的存在,但他们还要经历相当长的一段时间,来弄明白什么是词,如何用词来指代事物,某些词可用于哪类事物等(Harris, 1992:69ff)。二语习得者在开始学习二语时已经经历过了这一阶段,已经建立起一个比较完整的概念/语义系统。对于二语学习者学习外语来说,这并不见得是件好事情。因为他们会依赖这一系统来学习外语的新词汇。这一点很久以来就已经为人们所承认(Lado, 1957),而且被很多外语学习者和外语教师所证明了的(Jenkin et al., 1993:119)。由于二语词汇的意义可以通过母语翻译来理解,二语学习者的语言处理器或者语言习得机制就得不到足够的激发,因而不去注重利用语境线索来析取意义。

    2.2 相似之处

    诚然,母语习得和二语学习之间也有相似之处。在语音领域,儿童要咿呀学语来练习发音。同样,二语学习者可能也要学习与其母语毫无相似之处的二语语音。在语义领域,儿童要从头开始,建立一种概念/语义系统。同样,二语学习者有时也要面对一些全新的概念,因为无论两种文化之间的重叠部分多大,总有一些领域或项目的意义不吻合。在学习过程中,母语习得者和二语学习者得到类似的帮助:儿童受益于母式语(motherese)或对儿童说的话(child-directed speech),而二语学习者也受益于教师用语(teacher talk)。两者有许多共同的特点:从语音方面看,母式语和教师语的速度都普遍放慢,吐词清楚,发音更趋于标准,停顿更明显;从句法方面看,两者都倾向于更简单:句子更短,变化更少;从词义方面看,词汇使用范围更窄。然而,与两种学习者之间的区别相比,这些共同之处更显得无足轻重。

    鉴于两种学习者之间的差异,两者的心理词汇之间存在着相似之处同时也存在着巨大的差异也就不足为奇了。本文主要从两个方面对两者进行比较:一个从微观的角度,一个从整体的角度,来考察母语和二语心理词汇的异同。

    3. 母语和二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构的比较

    3.1 母语心理词汇中词条的内部结构

    一般说来,一个词条通常包括有关一个词汇项目的语义的、句法的、词法的以及形式上(发音与拼写)的各种信息。这些不同类型的信息表征储存于词条的两个成分中:词目(lemma)和词位(lexeme)。词目包括语义和句法信息,词义及词性;词位包括词法及形式信息:一个词的各种不同变体,拼写和发音(Garrett, 1975; Levelt, 1989)。图1大致描述了词条的内部结构。

    母语词汇表征的一个重要特征是,在一个词条中,这些不同类型的信息高度融合。一个词条一旦被打开,所有这些信息都可以同时得到。在词汇辨认研究中,有证据表明词条中不同类型的信息同时自动激活。人们发现,在视觉词汇辨认中,语音信息被自动激活(Van Orden, 1987)。即使是在汉语这种语音信息不太可能帮助视觉词汇辨认的语言中,也是这样(Perfetti and Zhang, 1995)。在语言理解中,有歧义的词汇的两个意义能同时被激活,即使是在上下文明显地趋向一个意义时也是这样。这一点也表明词条中不同类型的信息可以同时自动激活(Swinney, 1979)。





    二语读音/拼写

    phon/orth

    语义 句法



    词法 读音/拼写

    M

    phon/orth





    词目

    词位





    图1 母语心理词汇中词条的内部结构 图2 二语词汇发展的第一阶段

    (根据Levelt 1989改编)

    3.2 二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构

    如果想了解二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构,我们必须首先弄清楚二语词汇发展的不同阶段。Nan Jiang (2000)把二语词汇发展的过程分为三阶段。第一阶段叫做形式阶段(formal stage)。在这一阶段,词条中只包括形式(读音和拼写)信息,很少有内容信息。但有时也可能包括一个指示器,把注意力指向母语翻译对应词。指示器的作用在于把二语词汇及其母语对应词联系起来(见图2)。也就是说,第一阶段的二语词汇项目中没有词目,或者说,词目结构是空的(De Bot et al., 1997)。

    二语词汇发展的第二阶段为母语词目中介阶段(L1 lemma mediation stage)。在这一阶段,二语词汇与其母语翻译词之间的联系得到进一步加强。这些紧密的联系意味着在使用二语词汇时,二语词形及其母语对应词的词目信息也同时激活。二语词形及其母语词目信息的反复的同时激活,导致了两者之间的联系更紧密、更直接。我们也可以换一种说法:母语词目信息被复制强加于二语词形,构成一种同时拥有二语词形和母语翻译对应词的语义及句法信息的词条。这一阶段之所以被称作母语词目中介阶段,是因为二语词的词目空间被母语翻译对应词的词目信息所占据(见图3)。学习者使用二语时,首先想到母语,然后才去找相对应的二语词形。

    母语语义 母语句法



    二语读音/拼写

    二语语义 二语句法



    二语词法 二语读音/拼写





    词目



    词位





    图3 二语词汇发展的第二阶段 图4 二语词汇发展的第三阶段

    二语词汇发展的第三阶段叫做二语整合阶段(L2 integration stage)。这是二语词汇发展的理想状态。在这一阶段,二语词汇的语义的、句法的、词法的信息得到高度整合,并融入词条中。到这一阶段,二语中的词条与母语词条极为相似(见图4)。

    3.3 母语和二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构的差异

    二语词汇发展的问题在于,二语学习者可能根本就达不到第三阶段,而只能停留在第二阶段上(见图3)。这就是说,二语词汇发展会停止(fossilize)。有足够的证据表明,即使有足够的高度语境化的输入,二语词汇发展也会停滞(Lardiere, 1998; Dulay and Burt, 1974)。由于这些证据不是本文的焦点,所以此处不再详细展开。但是现在,我们已经可以清楚地看到,母语和二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构有着根本的区别:

    1)在二语词条中,词目空间为母语对应词的词目信息所占据;

    2)在二语词条中,没有词法信息,因为词法信息因具体语言而异,不太可能迁移。

    到目前为止,我们都是从微观的角度来探讨词汇表征,我们所涉及的是母语和二语心理词汇中词条的内部结构。我们也不妨从一个整体的角度来探讨一下母语和二语心理词汇的异同。

    4. 母语和二语心理词汇的结构比较

    4.1 支持二者不同的证据

    到目前为止,二语心理词汇研究的结果大都支持这一观点:二语心理词汇在很多方面都与母语心理词汇有着本质的区别。Channell (1988)在回顾了母语和二语两方面的研究后,得出结论:很少有证据表明二语心理词汇与母语心理词汇是相似的。Meara (1982)也得出类似的结论。基于Birkbeck词汇工程(Birkbeck Vocabulary Project)中一系列自由联想测验的结果,Meara声称:有足够的理由相信(二语)学习者的心理词汇与母语者的心理词汇有重大差异。更具体地说,Meara的研究结果表明:

    二语学习者的心理词汇中词与词之间的联系不如母语者的那么紧密;

    语音在二语心理词汇中的作用似乎要大于其在母语者的心理词汇中的作用;

    二语心理词汇中词与词之间的语义联系与母语者的有系统的差异。

    4.2 支持二者相似的证据

    然而也有很多证据支持母语和二语心理词汇结构相似这一观点。这种观点认为,二语心理词汇与母语心理词汇一样,语义关系占主导地位。

    Maréchal (1995)的研究调查了两组学习法语的英语学生对50个刺激词的反应类型[2]。这些刺激词来自Kent-Rosanoff (1910)的词表,该词表中的100个词都是高频的、不带任何感情色彩的词。这50个反应词以英语(母语)、法语(二语)两种版本呈现给受试者。结果表明,不论是母语还是二语,受试产出的大都是语义反应(包括聚合型和组合型反应),只有一小部分语音反应:母语刺激词所诱发的语音反应占0.2%,二语刺激词所诱发的语音反应占3%。

    O’Gorman (1996)调查的是22个说广东话的英语学习者。这些受试的英语为中级水平。O’Gorman的出发点是想证实Meara的观点,但结果却推翻了他的结论。所有的反应词中,只有health—wealth 算是语音反应,其余全部是语义反应。

    支持二者相似的进一步的证据来自Singleton(1999)的研究。Singleton主持了三一学院都柏林现代语言研究工程(MLRP),进行了一系列跟踪调查,来监察二语的发展过程。尽管该工程的目的不是专门研究心理词汇,但对一些颇有争议的问题得出了自己的结论。这项研究的结果表明,高级二语学习者所产出的反应大都与刺激词有语义---语用联系。

    4.3 支持二者既相似又不同的证据

    然而,最近,当Wolter (2001)试图证明母语和二语心理词汇结构相似这一观点时,结果却是复杂的。Wolter使用自由联想测验,比较了一组13个日本的英语学习者和一组9个英语母语者对两组刺激词的反应类型:一组词频略高、一组词频略低。研究结果如下:1)对于不熟悉的词,两组都产生了很多幼稚的反应;2)对于中等熟悉的词,非母语组产出的语音反应的比例高;3)对于非常熟悉的词,母语组产出的聚合型反应要多,而非母语组产出的组合型反应要多。

    对于不熟悉的词,两组的反应类似,这一点无可争议。但问题出在对于中等熟悉的词及非常熟悉的词的反应。对于中等熟悉的词,二语学习者产出的语音反应的比例相对来说比较高(42%)。这表明,对于中等熟悉的词语而言,语音在二语心理词汇的作用更大。然而,对于非常熟悉的词,语音联系就失去了其主导地位。对于非常熟悉的词,母语者产出了48.9%的聚合型相同的反应,及 39.8% 的组合型反应。非母语者更喜欢产出组合型反应(54.1%), 而产出的聚合型反应占35.4%。

    最后,Wolter得出结论:母语和二语心理词汇虽然有很多共同之处,但就非常熟悉的词而言,两者之间有着本质的区别:句法(syntagmatic)联系在二语心理词汇中的作用更大。

    5. 小 结

    基于以上的对比,我们基本上可以对母语和二语心理词汇的异同做出一个基本的结论。我们已经看到,母语和二语两种学习环境,虽然在某些方面有可比之处,但其差别占主导地位。其可比之处在于:在语音领域,儿童和二语学习者都要对付新的语音系统;在语义领域,儿童要从头开始,建立一种概念/语义系统。同样,二语学习者有时也要面对一些全新的概念;在学习过程中,母语习得者和二语学习者得到类似的帮助:儿童受益于母式语或对儿童说的话,而二语学习者也受益于教师语。然而,与两种学习者之间的区别相比,这些共同之处就显得无足轻重。虽然两者都面临着输入的贫乏的问题,但二语学习者所面临的输入贫乏与母语学习者所面临的输入贫乏却不能同日而语:二语学习环境下,输入贫乏不仅体现在质上,更体现在量上。正如有人估计的那样,18年的二语课堂教学才能提供相当于一年的自然条件下的语言接触。母语学习者和二语学习者的另一大区别在于,二语学习者已经有了一个与母语词汇系统紧密联系的概念/语义系统。已经存在的概念/语义系统,使二语学习者更多地依赖这一系统来学习外语的新词汇,因而不注重利用语境线索来析取意义。

    就心理词汇中词条的内部结构而言,两者的差异非常明显:

    1)在二语词条中,词目空间为母语翻译对应词的词目信息所占据;

    2)在二语词条中,没有词法信息,因为词法信息因具体语言而异,不太可能迁移。

    就母语和二语心理词汇的整体结构的异同而言,两种结论都有很多证据:有足够的证据表明两者的结构有着本质的不同,也有证据表明两者结构相似。但最近的研究结果没能完全证明两者结构相似。所以,两方面都需要更多的研究和更有力的证据。弄清二者的相似或不同之处,既有理论意义也有实践指导意义。只有找出共同点和差异,才能更有效地组织、指导外语教学。



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    (责任编辑:陈雯、朱安莉、费飞)



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    * 二语, 即second language,L2。指除母语以外的任何一种语言。有时人们试图把二语和外语加以区分:二语在社区内被当做一种交流手段,而外语在社区内没有人使用,是在课堂内学到一种语言。如今,更多时候人们不再区分二语和外语。本文用二语来指“除母语以外的任何一种语言,包括第二、第三语言及外语”。

    **张淑静(1966-),女,河北东光人,解放军外国语学院英语副教授,心理语言学博士;研究方向:心理语言学,心理词汇,二语词汇习得;通讯地址:河南省洛阳市036信箱30号;邮政编码:471003;电话:0379-4543353,4543399;电子邮箱: zhangshujing-ly@163.net

    [1] Weinreich认为有三种不同的双语类型:附属型(subordinative),复合型(compound)和并列型(coordinate)。附属型双更多精彩文章及讨论,请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
    • The Five Principles of Effective Second Language
      本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Vocabulary Instruction in Before You Know It

      I. Introduction
      For years, the popular methodology for learning a second language was to focus on grammar and sentences first and then on vocabulary. Recently, however, there has been a shift toward recognition that learning vocabulary first leads to more success. Having a base of vocabulary to draw from makes learning grammar and sentence structure easier. The Before You Know It program from Transparent Language was based on this concept of building a solid foundation of vocabulary before tackling other aspects of the language. This paper describes how Before You Know It makes use of the five principles of effective vocabulary learning described in Joe Barcroft's Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Lexical Input Processing Approach. Following these guidelines helps make this program the best way to vocabulary mastery and ultimately to learning a new language.

      II. Barcroft's Five Principles of Effective Second Language Vocabulary Instruction

      Present new words frequently and repeatedly in input The more frequently language learners are exposed to foreign vocabulary; the more likely they are to remember it. Studies suggest that most learners need between 5-16 ‘meetings’ with a word in order to retain it. Before You Know It does an excellent job providing this repeated exposure. Every word and phrase must be correctly identified multiple times to obtain the highest score, while the variety of exercises and activities prevents this repetition from being boring. Language learners are thus more likely to use and enjoy the program long enough to accomplish a sufficient number of ‘meetings’ to master the new vocabulary terms. At the same time, a proprietary algorithm tracks each learner's progress and presents the words that need the most work more often than those that have already been mastered. In that way, language learners get more exposure to the words that they find most difficult. By seeing these words more often, they can focus their attention where it is needed most.
      Use meaning-bearing comprehensible input when presenting new words In order for learners to successfully make the association between a foreign language word and its meaning, that meaning must be conveyed in a comprehensible manner. One method for making foreign terms comprehensible and thus promoting vocabulary learning is to present each word in a variety of ways. Before You Know It therefore uses a number of techniques to make foreign language vocabulary memorable for language learners. For example, every foreign language term is presented not only as text, but also as audio, so that language learners can hear the correct pronunciation as many times as they need to fix it in their mind. The pronunciation can even be slowed down to help language learners focus on the smaller nuances. Many of the foreign language terms in Before You Know It are also presented along with pictures that convey the meaning in yet another form. This additional input reinforces the word's meaning and assists the learner in remembering it.
      Limit forced output during the initial stages of learning new words Forcing language learners to rush into sentence formation can interfere with vocabulary learning during the beginning stages of acquiring a new language. Instead, learners should be given time to absorb the meanings of individual words at their own pace before being required to use them in a larger context. Language learners who take that time are far more likely to use the words correctly when they do choose to form sentences. Before You Know It gives language learners all the time they need to focus on foreign language terms. It allows learners to concentrate exclusively on words, so that they can master the necessary vocabulary before moving on to the next stage of learning a new language. When language learners who use Before You Know It do feel ready to form sentences on their own, they will have a solid base of vocabulary with which to do so.
      Limit forced semantic elaboration during the initial stages of learning new words In addition to not forcing beginning language learners to immediately produce whole sentences, a vocabulary program should also avoid other kinds of elaboration that might produce negative effects on the learning of new words. Some learners may find it distracting or confusing if they are asked to perform other tasks at the same time that they are trying to commit new words to memory. Studies have shown, for example, that learners who were asked to either list their emotional associations for foreign language terms or count the letters in each foreign term they were learning actually had poorer recall for those vocabulary words than learners who concentrated just on the words themselves. Before You Know It focuses on creating accurate one-to-one associations between the foreign language terms and their native language meanings. Each flash card displays one foreign language term and its meaning, with no extraneous information to distract the learner. The association between the word and its meaning is further enhanced by allowing the learner to translate the word from both language directions - first, by seeing the foreign word and having to produce the native language meaning, then by seeing the native language word and having to produce the foreign language equivalent. Before You Know It thus sets the stage for truly effective vocabulary learning.
      Progress from less demanding to more demanding vocabulary-related activities Vocabulary learning is most effective when learners start off with a small group of words, then gradually add more terms as the first ones are mastered. Before You Know It handles this process automatically, by keeping track of the words that a learner has worked with and introducing new vocabulary at the most appropriate times. The exercises in Before You Know It also progress from easier to more challenging, allowing learners to steadily build their confidence and their ability to produce the foreign language.
      Before You Know It is thus an excellent first step in the language learning process. After language learners have made their way through the Perfect Recall learning cycle in Before You Know It, they are ready to move onto other, more advanced aspects of language learning.

      III. Conclusion
      The methodology of Before You Know It is based on the theory that learning vocabulary is a great place to start when learning a foreign language and that concentrating on individual words and their translations is an effective method of vocabulary learning. The foreign language words and phrases should be reinforced along the way with pictures and pronunciation, but elements that could distract from vocabulary learning - such as sentence building - should be avoided at the beginning stages of language learning. A solid vocabulary is an important foundation for successfully mastering a new language.

      Bibliography
      Barcroft, J. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Lexical Input Processing Approach, Foreign Language Annals Vol. 37 No. 2
      Barcroft, J. Semantic and structural elaboration in L2 lexical acquisition. Language Learning 52(2) 323-363
      Nation, I.S.P. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge University Press
      Waring, R. Basic Principles and Practice in Vocabulary Instruction, The Language Teacher 2002

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