Teachers can build on students' familiarity with and respect for the Harry Potter books to create source-based vocabulary lessons. The idea is to work with the Latin roots that J. K. Rowling uses to create original names for places, people, and magical charms and then to extend students' knowledge through exploration of additional English words…

This paper describes a set of simulations which explore the way different features of lexical organisation affect the probability of finding a pair of associated words in a set of five randomly selected words. The simulation is equivalent to giving Ss a set of five words and asking if they can identify a pair of associated words among them. The…

One of the questions frequently asked in second language (L2) lexical research is how L2 learners' patterns of lexical organization compare to those of native speakers (NSs). A growing body of research addresses this question by using word association (WA) tests. However, little research has been done on the role of language proficiency in the…

Three studies examined two-year olds' understanding of novel terms for objects that they are already familiar with under another name. The studies found that the new term was most likely to be treated as a second basic-level name for the category to which the object belonged. (MDM)

Sound symbolism is the notion that the relation between word sounds and word meaning is not arbitrary for all words, but rather there is a subset of words in the world's languages for which sounds and their symbols have some degree of correspondence. This research investigates sound symbolism as a possible means of gaining semantic knowledge of…

A brief survey of research on second-language (L2) vocabulary focuses on the following: knowledge of the lexicon; lexical simplification; the role of native language to L2 vocabulary development; prototypes; and vocabulary in context. (29 references) (GLR)

One of the ways to investigate the mental lexicon is to use word association tests. Empirical studies comparing associations by children and adults have indicated a tendency for children to give syntagmatic responses, whereas adults give paradigmatic responses. In order to investigate lexical development in L2 acquisition of Swedish we collected…

A lesson focusing on the names of muscles but relating them to more common words is presented, as current research suggests that the best way to teach vocabulary is to group related words. Students create visual representations of word groups and teach the words to the class.

This article examines the effects of synonymy (i.e., learning words with and without high-frequency synonyms that were known to the learners) on word knowledge in a study of 84 Japanese students learning English. It employed 10 tests measuring 5 aspects of word knowledge (orthography, paradigmatic association, syntagmatic association, meaning and…

Four models for accounting for reading difficulties are described: defect, deficit, disruption, and difference. Poor readers fitting two of these (difference and deficit) are compared with each other and with good readers. (Author)

Results of a study using the keyword method of vocabulary learning showed increased comprehension of English vocabulary in context, as well as usage of that vocabulary in a novel context. (MKM)

In two experiments, the use of mutual exclusivity in the naming of whole objects was examined in monolingual and bilingual 3- and 6-year-olds. Once an object has a known name, then via principles of mutual exclusivity it is often assumed that a new name given to the object must refer to some part, substance, or other property of the object.…

Young children are readily able to use known labels to constrain hypotheses about the meanings of new words under conditions of referential ambiguity. At issue is the kind of information children use to constrain such hypotheses. According to one theory, children take into account the speaker's intention when solving a referential puzzle. In the…

IT IS GENERALLY ADMITTED THAT THE VOCABULARY OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IS MORE EASILY LEARNED IF IT IS ORGANIZED IN COHERENT SEMANTIC GROUPS AROUND "SITUATIONS" OR "CENTERS OF INTEREST." WHAT IS NEEDED IS A LOGICAL AND NON-ARBITRARY TAXONOMY OF SITUATIONS. WE DISTINGUISH, FIRST, OPEN AND CLOSED SITUATIONS. CLOSED SITUATIONS (FOR EXAMPLE, DAYS OF THE…

Five teachers used exploratory talk as a tool for learning as they developed policy concerning the use of writing across the curriculum. Transcripts were analyzed for development of scientific concepts (learning) through increased use of specialized vocabulary (language growth). (Author/MT)