Practical research for the development of “vocabulary learning ability”: Significance and Methods of Vocabulary Instruction in Expression Learning

Abstract

This study examined ways to instruct students to understand the meanings of words systematically to develop their “vocabulary learning ability.” The research focused on the following two points: first, we asked students to create a semantic network of words on their own, and second, I instructed them to keep in mind the context in which each word was used when they made the network. I used our vocabulary instruction method in a Japanese class for third-grade junior high school students. I evaluated whether the students could understand the meanings of words systematically, whether they could use those words effectively in writing, and whether they could improve their “vocabulary learning ability” based on their “word maps (semantic network of words)” and reflections on the “word map” activities.

I found that by visualizing the network of words, considering the words in their context, and utilizing the network in writing, the students’ interest in vocabulary increased. Additionally, they became more reflective about how to use words and realized the importance of vocabulary. Therefore, this vocabulary instruction method helped them to improve their “vocabulary learning ability.”