Review

Reviewed Work(s): Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy by Norbert

Schmitt and Michael McCarthy
Review by: Mahdi Alosh
Source: The Modern Language Journal , Summer, 1999, Vol. 83, No. 2 (Summer, 1999),
pp. 277-278
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers
Associations

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/330347

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations and Wiley are collaborating with
JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Modern Language Journal

This content downloaded from

74.81.180.129 on Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:51:22 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Reviews 277

(lag time, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, The editors explain that the division of the
dyslexia). Diagnosis of language learning difficul- book into three parts corresponds to the three
ties and the factors that contribute to different elements of an applied linguistic theory of vo-
ways of learning may illuminate reasons for differ- cabulary acquisition. "Description" deals with
ential success. such issues as the definition of a lexical item, the
Ehrman's encyclopedic knowledge of learning treatment of idioms and collocations, and the
style measurement and characteristics is adroitly nature of written and oral linguistic data. "Acqui-
applied to well-known (Myers-Briggs, Kolb) and sition" addresses the issue of the representation
less-used (Motivation and Strategies Question- of words in the mind (how they are acquired,
naire) instruments that purport to measure cog- stored, and retrieved) and levels of word process-
nitive, sensory, and personality dimensions. Ehr- ing. "Pedagogy" represents the third leg of a tri-
man guides the reader through specific steps on pod, the applied dimension. The editors' notes
how to conduct productive interviews and inter- elaborate on the chapters in each part, comment-
pret questionnaires and aptitude measures such ing on and evaluating them thoroughly, albeit
as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and indirectly. They also link the issues discussed to
the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT). other chapters, thus infusing the volume with
Teachers will appreciate the instructional coherence and a sense of continuity. This is a very
strategies and advice given for various learning useful feature, rarely encountered in edited col-
situations, particularly when a mismatch in lections.

teacher and student styles is evident. Language In "Description," Nation and Waring provide
professionals, including program directors, answers to quantitative questions concerning the
teacher educators, teachers-in-training, and inter- size of vocabulary a second-language learner
ested students will find Ehrman's even-handed, needs, the number of words in English, the
comprehensible treatment compelling. Readers number of words native speakers know, vocabu-
may become overwhelmed with the complexity of lary and text coverage, and word frequency lists.
some cases, but appreciate that students are not McCarthy and Carter discuss differences between
monolithic entities who can be branded by a style written and spoken vocabulary, particularly the
type and dealt with simplistically. This book is reasons for the paucity of research on spoken
particularly valuable because it is applicable to vocabulary, which they ascribe to the dominance
the entire range of student abilities; viewed real- of studies of the written word. Moon examines
istically, foreign language learners will encounter multiword items in English and their colloca-
challenges at some level during their studies. This tional patterns. She studies semantic- and syntac-
book is about choices and preferences. Such a tic-based models, using two principles to describe
comprehensive and synthetic critical treatment of them: the open-choice principle and the idiom
the learning style literature is rare in the area of principle. Nagy addresses the importance of con-
second language acquisition. text in learning vocabulary in both native- and
second-language situations. He discusses the size
of the mental lexicon, the rate of LI and L2
MARTHA NYIKOS
acquisition, and the types of knowledge that con-
Indiana University tribute to contextual inferencing, including word
schemas and linguistic, syntactic, lexical, world,
and strategic knowledge. He also discusses how
SCHMITT, NORBERT, & MICHAEL MCCARTHY much vocabulary a learner must have to be able
(Eds.). Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Ped-
to guess on the basis of background knowledge.
agogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Melka describes the distance between vocabulary
1998. Pp. x, 383. $64.95, cloth; $24.95, paper. reception and production, as well as the relation-
ships between imitation, reproduction, and com-
prehension on the one hand, and production on
This book assembles the work of a number of the other. She poses a relevant question regard-
leading researchers in vocabulary knowledge and ing L2 learners; i.e., whether they have two lexical
acquisition. It contains an introduction by the stores, one in LI and the other in L2. She blames
editors, 18 chapters, a glossary of terms, refer- testing procedures for the vagueness of these no-
ences, and author and content indexes. It is di- tions and fuzziness of their boundaries. Melka
vided into three parts: "Description," "Acquisi- also discusses the intriguing question of whether
tion," and "Pedagogy." Each part concludes with reception and production have two distinct sys-
notes by the editors. tems or rely on the same underlying base.

This content downloaded from

74.81.180.129 on Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:51:22 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
278 The
TheModern
ModernLanguage
Language
Journal
Journal
83 (1999)83 (1999

In "Acquisition," Meara is critical of the man- examines the role of reference works, such as
ner in which applied linguistic research is con- dictionaries and thesauruses, in the context of
ducted and the pace at which it proceeds. He foreign language learning and teaching. He lists
notes the growing interest among psycholinguists students' reasons for looking up words and rec-
in bilingual lexicons and expresses his preference ommends a number of teaching strategies on dic-
for research designs based on formal models. He tionary use. In the last chapter, Read discusses
advocates this type of model because it attempts issues in testing vocabulary pertaining to integra-
to account for learning, whereas second language tive testing, contextualizing items, and the con-
acquisition (SLA) research employs descriptive struct underlying them. He discusses various vo-
paradigms. Meara characterizes the good formal cabulary testing formats and maintains that
model and then demonstrates research based on vocabulary knowledge needs to be reconceptual-
a simplified formal model that he gradually re- ized in accordance with current testing theory.
fines and makes more complex. In an attempt to He concludes, however, that the links between
answer the question of what is involved in learn- vocabulary and testing are still uncertain.
ing a new word, Ellis argues that the process com- A brief comment on Ryan's chapter is in order.
prises two distinct types of learning mechanisms, She notes that the English as a Second Language
the acquisition of a word's form as well as its literature abounds with references to Arabic
semantic and conceptual properties. Arguing speakers as poor readers, a phenomenon that she
that most meaningful language learning occurs explains on phonological and morphological
in sequences, or chunks, he demonstrates the grounds. Perhaps we should also take into ac-
interactions of short-term and long-term repre- count the different orthographies and line orien-
sentations in the learning process. Laufer empha- tations, as well as the varying levels of complexity
sizes the centrality of lexis in comprehension and within each system. Two other factors must also
production. She believes that both closed systems be considered: (a) the level of reading ability in
(i.e., grammar, phonology) and open systems L1, to determine whether an observed reading
(i.e., vocabulary) are subject to regularity. She deficiency in L2 is due to a general reading defi-
examines the intralexical factors that influence ciency; and (b) the role of motivation. The level
word learnability, deriving some pedagogical of im-motivation of Arab students varies immensely,
plications. From a different perspective, Swan based
dis-on their country of origin and their social
cusses interlingual effects, or the influence of andLIeconomic background. Finally, the Arabic
on L2, as well as intralingual factors that cause verbL2 darrasa (p. 188) "to teach" is glossed "to
learning difficulties. He examines those factors learn."

during the psycholinguistic processes of acquisi- A single, minor error in Ryan's chapter, how-
tion, recall, and production. Ryan studies the ever, does not detract either from the quality of
sources of word recognition problems with refer- the book as a whole or that chapter in particular.
ence to Arabic speakers learning English. She This book makes an excellent reference for lan-
offers a convincing argument, using contrastive guage teachers and researchers.
analysis to identify many sources of difficulty.
Schmitt proposes a taxonomy of vocabulary
MAHDI ALOSH
learning strategies. He assesses which strategies
learners use most and believe to be most helpful The Ohio State University
and which they use least.
Sokmen's chapter in the third part, "Peda-
gogy," represents a shift toward teaching vocabu-STRYKER, STEPHEN R., & BETTY LOU
lary explicitly. She criticizes implicit, incidentalLEAVER. (Eds.). Content-Based Instruction in For-
learning, normally associated with a communica-eign Language Education: Models and Methods.
tive approach, as a slow, error-prone process. SheWashington, DC: Georgetown University Press,
suggests strategies for explicit teaching and for1997. Pp. vii, 328. $24.95, paper.
promoting deep-level processing of words. O'Dell
discusses how vocabulary is treated in both pro-
cess and product syllabuses and how it is incorpo-Although
Although intended
intended primarily
primarilyfor forthose
thosewho
whoteach
teach
rated in different major textbooks. She proposes foreign
foreign languages
languages to
to adult
adultlearners,
learners,this
thisvolume,
volume,
principles for incorporating vocabulary in a sylla-compiled
compiled by
by two
two veterans
veteransin inthe
thefield
fieldofofcontent-
content-
bus, including selecting items, sequencing ac- based instruction
instruction (CBI),
(CBI),isisalso
alsoofofpotential
potentialinter-
inter-
cording to level, and the manner in which effec- est to teachers working in English as a Second
tive teaching may be conducted. Schofield Language and bilingual education. It is particu-

This content downloaded from

74.81.180.129 on Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:51:22 UTC
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms