Effektiv ordinlärning?
En studie av aktiv ordinlärning i engelska inom gymnasieskolan
The purpose of this essay is to discuss and compare different ways of learning new words and expanding your vocabulary in a foreign language. This is done by an examination of relevant literature and available research, as well as by an empirical study with two upper secondary school classes, in which two different methods are put to the test: one traditional method of the kind that is found to be most common in second language acquisition, and one designed to take existing research into account. The results show that, although effective in the initial stages of acquisition, the traditional method, where words are learned in isolation and via translation to L1, results in a very limited form of knowledge. A big part of the words acquired via this method is also forgotten soon afterwards. The other method, where words were learned and tested in its proper context, was found to result in a broader form of vocabulary knowledge, covering more aspects, and that remained over time. The results were discussed in relation to relevant research, the documents that govern the Swedish school system and the national course tests in English. The conclusion is that traditional methods of teaching and testing vocabulary are in many ways insufficient for advanced learners such as pupils in upper secondary school. New methods, based on research, should be employed in its stead. This essay illustrates one such method.