Abstract

Vocabulary is a core feature of language proficiency, requiring explicit attention in the language classroom. As teachers’ conceptualizations influence their teaching, their understanding of vocabulary deserves closer attention. Yet, few teacher cognition studies focus on vocabulary, and even fewer on non-native teachers’ conceptualizations of vocabulary. This paper presents an interview study with Swedish EFL teachers at secondary school level. Fourteen teachers were interviewed about their beliefs and practices in relation to vocabulary development in the classroom. The study shows that despite a general understanding of the importance of vocabulary in language learning among the teachers, vocabulary was not seen as a learning objective in its own right. Closely connected to this understanding, the teachers showed a great reliance on incidental vocabulary learning, where words were understood as “picked up along the way” while doing other things, such as reading and playing games. It was also found that although the teachers showed an awareness of the many aspects involved in word knowledge, they mentioned few methods to work with them. The study suggests a need for a more explicit focus on vocabulary instruction in the language learning classroom.

摘要

词汇是语言能力的核心特征，需要在语言课堂上给予明确的关注。由于教师的概念化会影响他们的教学，因此他们对词汇的理解值得密切关注。然而，很少有教师认知研究关注词汇，更不用说非母语教师对词汇的概念化。本文介绍了对瑞典中学 EFL 教师的访谈研究。14 名教师接受了采访，了解他们对课堂词汇发展的看法和做法。该研究表明，尽管教师普遍了解词汇在语言学习中的重要性，但词汇本身并未被视为学习目标。与这种理解密切相关，教师们非常依赖附带的词汇学习，在这种情况下，单词被理解为在做其他事情（例如阅读和玩游戏）时“一路上捡到的”。研究还发现，尽管教师们对词汇知识涉及的许多方面表现出意识，但他们提到的处理这些知识的方法却很少。该研究表明需要在语言学习课堂上更加明确地关注词汇教学。