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16. Chinese Lexical Knowledge Development: Strategies for Decoding Unfamiliar Words
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
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ChineseLexicalKnowledge Development:Strategiesfor DecodingUnfamiliarWords AnnaS.F.Kwan andBenjaminK.Y.T'sou This stud y i s par t o f a n internationa l stud y o n th e Chines e lexica l development o f secondar y an d tertiar y student s i n Hon g Kong , Taipei , Shanghai an d Singapor e (T'sou , Kwa n & Liu , 1997) . The majo r ai m o f this pape r i s t o explor e th e relationshi p betwee n learners ' lexica l development an d strategie s use d i n decodin g unfamilia r Chines e lexica l items isolated fro m context . Researc h show s tha t vocabular y acquisitio n can resul t fro m intentional an d incidental learning . Intentiona l learnin g is learnin g a s bein g planne d for , wherea s incidenta l learnin g i s a by product o f doin g somethin g else . Onl y a smal l proportio n o f ou r vocabulary i s acquired b y intentional learnin g (Anderso n & Nagy , 1992 ; Anglin, 1993 ; Nagy & Anderson , 1984 ; Shu, Anderson & Zhan g 1995) . To hel p student s develo p thei r vocabulary , bot h direc t instruction s and inferencing technique s are essential (Bec k&c McKeown , 1991) . Direct instructions ar e importan t a t the earl y stage o f vocabulary development . As languag e teacher s w e shoul d hel p student s maste r frequentl y use d words, aspects o f which may include form (spoke n an d written), positio n (grammatical pattern s an d collocations) , functio n (frequenc y an d appropriateness) an d meanin g (concep t an d association ) (e.g. , Bai, 1991; George, 1983 ; Hatch&c Brown , 1995) . Strategies t o develo p student s a s mor e effectiv e independen t wor d learners, such a s inferencing strategies , should b e introduced t o student s to empower them in their vocabulary development (Nagy , 1985). Learners 308ANN AS.F.KWANANDBENJAMINK.Y.T'SO U should lear n makin g us e o f informatio n o r cue s availabl e suc h a s morphology o f th e wor d (Carton , 1971 ; Nagy & Anderson , 1984) , cognate informatio n (Carton , 1971 ; Haynes, 1984) , grammatical clas s of the word (Carton , 1971 ; Clarke & Nation , 1980) , semantic relationship s between word s (Alderso n & Alvarez , 1978) , rhetorica l relationship s (Alderson & Alvarez , 1978 ; Clarke & Nation , 1980) , and knowledg e o f the worl d (Carton , 1971 ; Haastrup, 1985 ; Honeyfield , 1977) . Also , learners shoul d b e encourage d t o follo w systemati c procedure s i n th e inferencing process . Typical step s include havin g learners firs t examinin g the prefi x an d o r suffi x o f th e unknow n wor d t o determin e it s par t o f speech, then looking at relationship between adjoining clause s or sentence s and othe r sentences , guessin g th e meanin g o f th e unknow n word , an d replacing th e unknow n wor d wit h th e guess to chec k i f it fits an d make s sense (e.g. , Bruto n &c Samud a 1981 ; Clarke & Nation , 1980 ; Fischer , 1994; Hatch & Brown , 1995 ; Nation, 1983) . However, i t has bee n observed that in language classrooms , commo n practice in helping students develop their vocabulary seem s to rely mainl y on direc t instruction , dril l an d practice , whereas th e incidenta l learnin g of wor d meaning s ha s bee n les s emphasized (Anderso n & Nagy , 1992 ; Shu & Anderson , 1997 ; Shu , Anderso n & Zhan g 1995) . Incidenta l learning involve s inferrin g meanin g i n th e process , whic h require s inferencing skill s at both context and word levels. Context leve l skills play a significan t rol e i n students ' vocabular y knowledg e developmen t (d e Glopper, va n Daalen-Kapteijn s & Schouten-va n Parreren , 1996) . I f learners can fin d enoug h clues , they can infer th e meaning o f 80 % o f th e unfamiliar word s fro m contex t (Saragi , Nation & Meister , 1978) . Wor d level inferencin g i s anothe r importan t contributin g facto r t o th...