LA Lexis Essay Louisa Curry

of word knowledge, Schmitt and Mare's (1997) term "word knowledge framework" or "aspects/types of word knowledge" is used interchangeably.If one desires to acquire proficiency in English as a Language Acquisition (LA), they may be referred to as either students or learners, recognizing that education can occur both inside and outside of the classroom. In terms of word knowledge, Cockroach (1942) made the earliest attempts at categorization. His five points were relating to generalization, applicability, breadth, precision, and availability. However, Cockroach's inclusion of the ability to define a word as being part of word knowledge is misleading and superfluous, as even native speakers have difficulty defining certain words. Additionally, many students are comfortable using vocabulary within context but not defining them. Richards (1976) later presented eight assumptions about lexical competency. It is worth noting that Cockroach overlooked several other aspects of word knowledge which will become apparent upon examination of other models.In his work, Richards identified various categories related to word knowledge, including frequency, limitations, syntactic behavior, underlying form, associations, semantic value and polymers. He also noted that native speakers continue to expand their vocabulary throughout their lives. Although this may have implications for language education, it falls outside the scope of word knowledge frameworks. Nation built on Richards' work and divided word knowledge into four aspects - form, position, function, and appropriateness - with each further subdivided into receptive and productive knowledge. Nation later revised his table in 2001, creating three main categories of word knowledge (form, meaning, and concept) that are again divided into subcategories of receptive and productive knowledge. The subcategory of constraints on use includes frequency and register. Notably, the meaning category

includes a subcategory also called "meaning," adding complexity to the framework.The author is uncertain about the reasoning behind certain modifications that have been made and doubts their contribution to our understanding of the overlapping categories in word knowledge. Meanwhile, Miller (1999), a psychologist, has divided word knowledge into two categories: "formative" and "substantive." "Formative" knowledge refers to the ability to define a word and carry out tasks related to word knowledge, while "substantive" knowledge focuses on what someone who knows a word understands. However, Miller's explanation of "substantive" knowledge does not provide any new insights beyond the basic concept of "meaning." Therefore, this essay will focus on the eight subcategories of word knowledge as outlined by Nation in 1990 for the sake of clarity. The framework for these subcategories is explained, with the first subcategory being spoken form. Knowing a word involves being able to recognize its phonetic features and accurately produce it in speech. English pronunciation can be challenging for French speakers due to differences in vowels and vowel length.

A major issue faced by French-speaking students learning English is the retention of word-final phonemes like /s/. In addition, the irregular spelling rules of English can be confusing. Due to a greater emphasis on writing in the French education system or a reliance on visual memory, students often find it easier to grasp spelling than pronunciation, resulting in difficulties with words like bought or law. Furthermore, French is syllable-timed while English is stress-timed, making word stress arbitrary and unpredictable for learners. Accurate stress patterns are critical for avoiding detection as a non-native speaker and preventing the misinterpretation of words. Additionally, understanding a word's written

form is crucial to fully understanding it. Although English spelling can defy explanation at times, French-speaking students typically do not struggle in this area. Finally, complete word knowledge involves an understanding of its grammatical behavior including whether it is countable or uncountable for nouns and more complex issues for verbs. This distinction often does not align with French grammar rules.

Comprehending the meaning of a word alone is insufficient for successful usage in a sentence. It is imperative to be aware of the full structure of the word, such as "to provide someone with something". Additionally, understanding if a verb is transitive and requires a direct object, or intransitive and does not, is crucial. The advanced level French learners particularly need to focus on the gerund/infinitive hooch as lack of knowledge may result in mistakes and even ambiguity for certain verbs like stop, try, and remember. Knowing a word also involves understanding its collocates which increase fluency and avoid misunderstandings. Frequency and appropriateness are also important factors to consider while using a word. Knowing a word's limitations including its register is vital.

The use of words can vary depending on the formality, colloquialism, slang, or vulgarity. Additionally, some words or expressions may be considered outdated or used mainly by adolescents. Geographic location may also affect the choice or even meaning of words, as demonstrated by variations in usage such as subway in the US or LIKE. Furthermore, certain words may be more prevalent among specific social classes, revealing underlying opinions of the user such as describing someone as thrifty versus stingy. For French learners, differences in register between translational equivalents can present challenges, particularly if

a word is considered vulgar in one language but not the other. Understanding a word entails knowledge of both its receptive meaning and productive use, including selecting the appropriate sense in context. Finally, it is crucial to recognize associations between words, as research shows that they are stored in networks linking them to other words in the brain.

According to Slob's (1971), free association tests yield words that have connections to the stimulus word through relationships such as antonymy, synonymy, or hyponymy. These mental links aid in quickly recalling the appropriate word in a given context. The LET would find this framework helpful in achieving native-like fluency if learners acquire receptive and productive knowledge of the eight types. However, Schmitt (2000) argues that word knowledge is gradual and exists on a spectrum; even native speakers may not fully master many words in their lexicon, especially in terms of production. Schmitt and Near (1997) also note that these lists do not explain how different knowledge types are linked or acquired by learners. Learning one aspect of a word should make it easier to acquire others, though teachers may opt to focus on a few aspects at a time. Additionally, learners may only grasp certain aspects of a word and never its collocation or register completely.The different aspects of words can sometimes conflict with each other, causing issues with comprehension, especially regarding contradictory spoken and written forms or the various meanings of polygamous words. Loafer (1997) suggests that certain factors make some words harder to learn than others, which Nation (1990) calls the "learning burden." This includes the learners' previous knowledge of English and their native language.

Knowing the impact of L1 on word learning can help teachers decide which words and aspects of word knowledge need more attention in class. However, this will vary depending on the specific word. For instance, false cognates like "actually" have a small learning burden for French learners regarding their spoken and written form, but understanding its concept requires more effort. Conversely, a word like "women" presents no issue at the concept level but requires more practice regarding pronunciation. Thus, teachers may take a holistic approach to vocabulary teaching by addressing specific aspects of word knowledge when they arise during activities like reading texts.

Alternatively, a teacher may choose to dedicate lesson time towards specific aspects of word knowledge mentioned in section IV of this essay. From my personal observations of French business English learners, issues such as spelling, written form, and appropriateness generally do not pose significant challenges beyond the post-intermediate level. However, one area that still requires explicit attention is collocation knowledge. Section VI of this essay will outline the reasons why collocation knowledge is crucial for this group and suggest some teaching techniques that may aid in its acquisition.

Despite the recognized importance of collocation knowledge among authors such as Harvests (2000), Hill (1997), Hooey (1991), Lewis (2002), and Willard (2000), most business English textbooks currently employed in France tend to overlook it. Ellis (2003) asserts that storing sequences of words in long-term memory is crucial in reducing an otherwise overwhelming vocabulary load. Additionally, Valley and Seder's (1983) hypothesis suggests that storing language in groups enables native-like selection and fluency.

Therefore, attaining collocation knowledge will help learners manage their lexicon

and effectively communicate their ideas.

Due to the vast number of collocates that need to be learned at this level, mastering collocation knowledge can be difficult for business students. This difficulty can be compounded by interference from Al. Students often make the mistake of noting isolated words in their notebooks without considering context and collocations. Business English is a highly formulaic genre, characterized by idiomatic expressions, jargon phrases, and clicks.

However, studying collocation is worth the extra effort if a student's learning goals include approaching native-like fluency. For example, students working for a French subsidiary of a UK-based company may need to travel to the UK for meetings where near-native fluency is expected at top management levels. Prospecting internationally for new clients also demands this kind of fluency. Situations where interlocutors are native English speakers can put more pressure on learners. Additionally, those with contacts in northern Europe may need near-native fluency as it tends to be the norm in the business community there.Accurately using collocations is crucial in international business as it enhances the clarity and overall understanding of the speaker. Teachers should mainly focus on unpredictable collocations without direct French equivalents and highlight English patterns, as well as strong and frequent collocations according to Nation (2001). During vocabulary learning, teachers should encourage learners to analyze words in chunks and explore patterns, phrases, and semi-fixed expressions. Particularly for established vocabulary, learners must be exposed to ample amounts of authentic language from various sources, like trade press texts or TV business reports. Teachers can encourage students to use corpora to identify suitable collocates, but this can be challenging due to the lack of resources in many in-company

language classrooms. Alternatively, using a collocations dictionary such as I-TAP Dictionary of Selected Collocations (Hill & McCarten, 2010) can be useful.One option for substituting Lewis's method of teaching vocabulary (Lewis, 1997) is for teachers to encourage students to brainstorm collocations using spider diagrams or grids. To demonstrate this, a teacher could write the noun "money" on the board and have students suggest verbs that collocate with it, such as spend, save, make, earn, win, waste, and lose. For business learners specifically, these collocations can be recorded in grid format. Additionally, grids can be useful for examining the differences between the meanings of commonly confused words. Take the example of effective and efficient shown in Table 2, which is problematic for French learners as their Al translation for efficacy is singular. After brainstorming and recording collocations on grids, teachers should follow up with written or oral exercises that prompt new sentences illustrating meaning and use. Teachers could introduce opaque collocations as well - even idioms containing "money" - and discuss the similarities and differences between English and French expressions.