Rate of vocabulary learning (was Re: flashcard player)

[seanbc at iprimus.com.au]

Hi Bill

The acquisition rate will depend on a number of factors. Key ones are as
follows: number of hours of instruction per week; whether the target language
is learnt out of context as a foreign language, or in context through immersion;
whether the program was taught using systematic planning using best LOTE
pedagogy and developmentally appropriate for the learner cohort or whether
it was more ad hoc and vocabulary focussed. It's important to remember that
language acquisition is not so much about simple accumulation of vocabulary
as about processing that vocabulary through language use. At the end of a
kindergarten/pre-primary year if learnt as a foreign language I would expect
students to be able to listen and respond (not necessarily orally) to a range
of teacher greetings and classroom instructions, to be able to sing a few
songs in the target language, play some interactive games using target language
vocabulary,and understand something about the context of that language through
understandings of the target culture. I would not bother counting words at
this stage, but focus more on their engagement with the language and enjoyment
of the process of learning it. But yes, the earlier they start the better.


Sean Bruce-Cullen



 
>-- Original Message --
>Date: Sat, 28 May 2011 13:19:09 -0700
>From: Bill Poser <billposer2 at gmail.com>
>Subject: Rate of vocabulary learning (was Re: flashcard player)
>To: rnlist <r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au>
>
>
>On a tangential topic, does anyone have information on the rate at which
>children can be expected to learn vocabulary in second language classes?
>I'm
>especially interested in situations where classes start in Kindergarten
or
>the beginning of primary school. At the end of the first year, how many
>words is it reasonable to expect the children to have learned? How many
at
>the end of the second year, etc.? I understand that there are issues with
>what counts as a word and that one expects variation from language to
>language and situation to situation, but I'd still like to see figures.
This
>kind of information must exist since in at least some places there are lists
>of what to examine and curricula specific enough to list the vocabulary
that
>is taught, but I have found it very hard to obtain this kind of information.
>Thanks.
>
>Bill