Talk #3

Time/Date: 3:30-5PM, Thursday, November 7

Speaker: Joe Barcroft, Washington University in St. Louis

Title: Promoting vocabulary learning in meaning-oriented instruction: Evidence from research on lexical input processing and beyond

Abstract: In this talk we connect theory, research, and practice when it comes to promoting vocabulary development effectively in contemporary language teaching. The talk is divided into three main parts. In Part 1, we begin by highlight the centrality of vocabulary knowledge in communicative competence and the multifaceted nature of what it means to know words and multiword phrases. We then present, in Part 2, an overview of research on second language (L2) vocabulary learning to date with particular focus on theoretical advances and research findings in the study of lexical input processing, which refers to how learners process words and other types of lexical items as input. Emphasis is placed on ways in which L2 vocabulary learning is affected by different types of tasks (task-based effects) and different ways of presenting target vocabulary in the input (input-based effects). Finally, in Part 3, we explain and exemplify how the input-based incremental (IBI) approach to vocabulary (Barcroft, 2012), which is grounded in theory and research on lexical input processing, can be applied to improve vocabulary learning in meaning-oriented language instruction.

Bio: Joe Barcroft is Professor of Spanish and Second Language Acquisition and Affiliate Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. His research focuses on vocabulary learning, lexical input processing, effects of acoustic variability in language learning, the bilingual mental lexicon, use of structured input in auditory training, and psycholinguistic approaches to other issues in second language acquisition. His publications include the books Input-Based Incremental Vocabulary Instruction (2012, TESOL International)