Teaching and Learning Polysemous Lexical Items - Annotated Bibliography Example

Teaching and Learning Polysemous Lexical Items Institution Student’s Name Teaching and Learning Polysemous Lexical Items Introduction Polysemy is the ability of a symbol, word or phrase to have several meanings. In other words, a symbol, word or phrase can have several semes hence multiple senses. Even though the words or phrases might have different senses, they are related. There are three features that are critical for polysemous words. First, each of their numerous senses has the main origin. Second, the senses interlink to form a network. Lastly, the understanding of the main origin of the polysenous words helps in the understanding of the secondary use of such words. Polysemy is critical in the language related disciplines such as linguistics and media studies. It is difficult to determine polysemy since polysemy is a vague concept based on relatedness. The act of applying existing words to develop new concepts is an act of changing a language. It is, therefore, important to understand etymology if one wants to completely understand polysemy. However, that is not enough since some words are lost in etymology. Furthermore, some of the words that share historical origin are not related thus making etymology a fallible test to determine polysemy. In some instances, the writers of dictionary have differed to the intuitions of the writers to determine polysemy. There are several words in English that are polysemous; for instance, the phrase “to get” can mean “understand,” “become,” or “procure.” There are several methods to which polysemy can be tested. One of the ways is called zeugma; in explanation, if a given word shows an element of zeugma in distinct contexts then it is likely to cause different polysemes. When two senses of a given word do not fit despite being related, they are likely to be polysemous. However, such tests depends on the judgments of the speaker on the relatedness even though the test is fallible thus used merely as a concept to help determine polysemous nature of words Literature Review According to Crossley, Salsbury, and McNamara (2010), Second Language learners start to use polysemous words when they are at during the earliest four months of learning. After which, they start to expound on the core meanings of these sounds. However, Joe (2010) argues that vocabulary learning is more determined by the number of times the student has to encounter a given word as opposed to richness of the context. It is important, therefore, that the first four months to which the students has to train should be characterised with high frequency of given words that the students are to learn. The acquisition of the Second Language vocabulary is highly incremental when its context is natural. In agreement, Garnier and Schmitt (2016) indicate that attention should be dedicated to the words that need to be learnt. However, the authors argue that more attention should be given to phrasal verbs in English language since they are more problematic to learners. In addition, Makni (2014) argues that the image-schema-based vocabulary instruction method is better in learning and teaching polyemous vocabulary among the Second Language learners compared to the translation-based vocabulary instruction method. English teachers should, therefore, ensure that the second language learners efficiently and comprehensively understand English language in an easier way. Summary and Discussion Crossley, S., Salsbury, T., & McNamara, D. (2010). The development of polysemy and frequency use in English second language speakers. Language Learning, 60(3), 573-605. Polysemous words are the type of words with multiple related senses. Polysemy is linked to conceptual organization since it connects to distinct words. The authors analyzed the polysemous word use development, word frequency use, and word senses in the production of words in second language learners. The methodology of the study was conducted over a year to ensure the second language learners were more receptive to the given words. The study findings indicated that more words were used in the initial four months but then leveled out. There was also a correlation between words used by the L2 learners and changes in the frequency of the words. Furthermore, there was evidence that time spent learning English increased the TOEFL scores. The study also indicated that learners start with lexical item’s core sense then extend their knowledge to the rest of related senses. In conclusion, L2 learners in an ambient environment start to produce words that are more frequent and more polysemous in the first trimester. But they start to extent the core meaning of the lexical entries only in the following trimesters. The article has both advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage is that the primary analysis conducted helped determine the computational and quantitative examination of the L2 learners. Second, the process was comprehensive and with a large breadth. Third, a more qualitative analysis was also conducted to issue illustrative and supportive evidence for the quantitative analysis. Another strength of the study is that it used a mixed method that entailed the use of qualitative analysis which is critical for L2 lexical acquisition studies. Some of the disadvantages were; first, the approach is not appropriate because in the real sense, words to be learned by the second language learners are usually several and cannot be gauged using some few words. Second, the determination of the infrequent words that advanced learners use also had less information on the acquisition process of the common words. Third, the study does not show how reliability and validity of the study was ensured. In addition, a small number of the L2 learners were examined which is the trend in the longitudinal work (Schmitt, 1998). Another limitation of the study is that WordNet has a limited lexical size with some of the words missing in its database. Garnier, M., & Schmitt, N. (2016). Picking up polysemous phrasal verbs: How many do learners know and what facilitates this knowledge?. System, 59, 29-44. Garnier and Schmitt (2016) conducted a study to determine the quantity of polysemous verbs the L2 learners know and the factors that affect their knowledge. The study argues that formulaic language is a critical part of the English lexicon and should be understood by the L2 learners for them to produce competent and fluent language. The participants of the study entailed 128 English students with Chilean background. The age range was about 18 to 44 years. A test pilot was conducted to determine validity of the study. A questionnaire was included to the test in order to capture the bio-data of the participants. The test was administered in two universities in Chile with each test being marked out of 100. The study indicated that English learning in a mainly instructed environment does not guarantee the acquisition of the language elements. Most of these elements are informal thus can be greatly acquired in contexts that are less formal. The study also argued that it is of insignificant sense to argue that PVs are ‘known’ or are not based on a given meaning sense. On the other hand, some of the factors that had no effect on the PV knowledge included listening to music, watching films, year of study of the BA student, immersion in the L2 country, previous L2 guidelines, and semantic capacity. In conclusion, PVs are considered challenging despite being critical for language use. L2 engagement in leisure activities had effect in knowledge thus indicating that a lot can be learnt outside the classroom. There are a number of advantages and disadvantages associated with the journal article. The first advantage is that the study provided detailed information on the PV of learners compared to the previous studies. Second, the study shows that the use of social media, reading, and COCA frequency affected PV knowledge. First, the PHaVE list is limited to a given meaning thus not holistic. Second, the study does not show how reliability was ensured. Third, it was unclear if phrasal patterning, context availability, and saliency affected PV knowledge. Another limitation of the study is the amount of participants that were assessed were not scientifically driven thus could lead to underestimation or overestimation. Furthermore, the participants were more of a homogenous group thus making the study not to cover diverse society. The study also does not determine the how proficiency affects knowledge. Joe, A. (2010). The quality and frequency of encounters with vocabulary in an English for Academic Purposes programme. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 117-138. The author argues that the challenging issue among teachers and learners is how the acquired vocabulary items can be used in longer and immediate terms. Longitudinal studies can be used to determine the approach of learners when it comes to vocabulary learning (Schmitt, 1998). In addition, it can help determine the vocabulary encounters that can contribute to productive use. The research methodology used was a case study. Four L2 learners that went through a 3 months course on English preparation were engaged to determine the frequency and quality of their encounter with vocabularies. The study was both qualitative and quantitative and focused on three aspects: the frequency of encountering words, the cognitive processing depth, and the richness of oral and written contexts that supports the words (Yasuda, 2010). The results were divided into three parts: the target words that were determined solely through inputs; the target words that were used without changing them from the original text; and the target words that went through semantic or structural modifications. In conclusion, words that were commonly unknown or familiar in post-test and pre-test had less input opportunities and noticing evidence. The study also shows that it will be inappropriate to not recognise other contributions that affect the richly elaborated words and the frequently distributed meeting that have related texts. Some of these contributions include intensive mass encounters and verbatim copying. The study findings also show that there is a cumulative benefit of vocabulary when one becomes familiar with them. The study has shown that the acquisition of vocabulary is an incremental process that needs several encounters with partially or new words in a given number of tasks. The study had a number of advantages and disadvantages. First advantage is that longitudinal study was used to determine the approach of learners in vocabulary learning. Second, the study was both qualitative and quantitative thus comprehensive. One of the weaknesses of the study is that not all data sources and target words could be tracked since would mean high level of intrusion. The study also used appropriate scoring procedure that focused on five critical principles. In addition, the study measured generative process in both learner output and production. Makni, F. (2014).Applying cognitive linguistics to teaching polysemous vocabulary. Arab World English Journal, 5(1), 4-20. The polysemous words are common in both spoken and written English. The goal of the study was to apply insights from the cognitive linguistics to enhance the learning of polysemous words (Yasuda, 2010). The study entails teaching the polysemous words over a two months period taking into consideration the cognitive approach of the participants and the strategies they use in vocabulary learning. The significance of the study is to help the Arab EFL learners and teachers to improve on how they deal with the polysemous words thus improving their language proficiency. The participants of the study were 40 low-intermediate pre-university University students from United Arab Emirates. The participants were divided into two equal groups: experimental and control group. The experimental group was engaged in the study using ISBM group. On the other hand, the control participants were engaged in the study through using the TBM. The study materials could be divided into pre-treatment and post-treatment instrument. Data analysis method used entailed descriptive analysis, paired-samples t-test, and independent samples t-test. The results of the study indicate that the experimental participants outperformed the control group ones on the PWKT that was used to determine the effectiveness of the two treated instructional methods: the TBM and ISBM. In conclusion, cognitive gained through cognitive linguistics are critical compared to the based on translation when it comes to learning the polysemous words. The study, therefore, affects a lot of the teachers’ pedagogical approaches. The study has advantages and disadvantages. First, its methodology entails the use of experimental and control groups thus scientific. Second, the study is comprehensive with vast pedagogical recommendations. However, the study does not show how validity and reliability are ensured. Conclusion All the four articles are comprehensive; however, the second one is the most comprehensive. The second article also has the best of structure since it entails the headings and sub-headings including the pilot study. Most of the studies also lack the validity and reliability test. There is also a limited link between the teaching and learning articles. In explanation, even though the study was to consider comparison between the two group of articles, the similarity is limited and can be borrowed inter- as opposed to intra-groups. In explanation, the articles that dealt with teaching polysemous lexical items seem not to link since the articles measures different aspects of the study. The same can be said on the studies that focus on learning the polysemous lexical items. The first article focuses on determining the creation of polysemy and how often they are used among the second language learners. On the other hand, its counterpart focuses on how the second language learners select their polysemous phrasal verbs. The element of comparison between the two articles is, therefore, limited. Each of the articles has its shares of strengths and weaknesses even though some of them are less significant. The weaknesses and strengths can be used to determine the best of articles. Reference Crossley, S., Salsbury, T., & McNamara, D. (2010). The development of polysemy and frequency use in English second language speakers. Language Learning, 60(3), 573-605. Falkum, I. L. (2011). The semantics and pragmatics of polysemy: A relevance-theoretic account (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)). Garnier, M., & Schmitt, N. (2016). Picking up polysemous phrasal verbs: How many do learners know and what facilitates this knowledge?. System, 59, 29-44. Joe, A. (2010). The quality and frequency of encounters with vocabulary in an English for Academic Purposes programme. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 117-138. Makni, F. (2014).Applying cognitive linguistics to teaching polysemous vocabulary. Arab World English Journal, 5(1), 4-20. Schmitt, N. (1998). Tracking the incremental acquisition of second language vocabulary: A longitudinal study. Language learning, 48(2), 281-317. Yasuda, S. (2010). Learning phrasal verbs through conceptual metaphors: A case of Japanese EFL learners. TESOL Quarterly, 44(2), 250-273. Read More