Understanding vocabulary and its role in language learning is one of the central tasks of applied linguistic research. It is also an area that has seen, and continues to see, huge progress in terms of the complexity and diversity of work being done. While this makes for a rich and exciting research scene, it can also make the task of developing vocabulary research skills a daunting one as specialist subfields develop ever more sophisticated concepts and methods. This book aims to give readers an understanding of the area that is both detailed and rounded by introducing them to understanding and doing vocabulary research from four key perspectives: corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics, language testing, and teaching and learning. Within each area, a state-of-the-art review describes fundamental concepts and commonly used methods, evaluates ongoing methodological debates, and points to areas for future development. It aims both to give readers a solid grounding in the specialized methods and debates associated with each area and to build connections across these specializations, considering points of contact and ways in which they can work together.

This book introduces an innovative collection of easy-to-use computer programs that have been developed to measure and model vocabulary knowledge. The book aims to help researchers discover new instruments for lexical analysis, and provides a theoretical framework in which studies with such tools could be conducted. Each of the programs comes with a short manual explaining how to use the program, an example of a published paper that uses the program and a set of questions that readers can develop into proper projects. The programs can be used in real research projects and have the potential to break new ground for research in L2 vocabulary acquisition. The book will be of great use to final year undergraduates and masters students in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, psycholinguistics and language testing and to PhD students doing research methods courses.

A practical guide to the methodologies used in language teaching and learning research, providing expert advice and real-life examples from leading TESOL researchers Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning provides practical guidance on the primary research methods used in second language teaching, learning, and education. Designed to support researchers and students in language education and learning, this highly accessible book covers a wide range of research methodologies in the context of actual practice to help readers fully understand the process of conducting research. Organized into three parts, the book covers qualitative studies, quantitative studies, and systematic reviews. Contributions by an international team of distinguished researchers and practitioners explain and demonstrate narrative inquiry, discourse analysis, ethnography, heuristic inquiry, mixed methods, experimental and quasi-experimental studies, and more. Each chapter presents an overview of a method of research, an in-depth description of the research framework or data analysis process, and a meta-analysis of choices made and challenges encountered. Offering invaluable insights and hands-on research knowledge to students and early-career practitioners alike, this book: Focuses on the research methods, techniques, tools, and practical aspects of performing research Provides firsthand narratives and case studies to explain the decisions researchers make Compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of different research methods Includes real-world examples for each research method and framework to highlight the context of the study Includes extensive references, further reading suggestions, and end-of-chapter review questions Part of the Guides to Research Methods in Language and Linguistics series, Research Methods in Language Teaching and Learning is essential reading for students, educators, and researchers in all related fields, including TESOL, second language acquisition, English language teaching, and applied linguistics.

This volume brings together a collection of chapters focused on the learning, testing, and researching of L2 vocabulary by leading international researchers including Paul Nation, Batia Laufer, Frank Boers, Elke Peters, Ana Pellicer-Sánchez, Anna Siyanova-Chanturia, and Stuart Webb. Questions that are examined include: Is it useful to read a book to learn vocabulary? Which types of input encountered outside of the classroom contribute most to vocabulary knowledge? What are the most useful words to learn to understand the academic spoken language in mathematics, biology, and engineering lectures? Does writing words contribute to vocabulary learning? What should a test measuring the skill of guessing from context consist of? Should loan words be included in vocabulary tests? How should we evaluate vocabulary learning that occurs through watching captioned video? How has eye-tracking been used in vocabulary research? Together, the chapters in this volume highlight innovation in vocabulary studies and many directions for researching, testing, and learning words. Originally published as special issue of ITL – International Journal of Applied Linguistics 169:1 (2018)

This book illustrates the use of ethnography as an analytical approach to investigate academic writing, and provides critical insights into how academic writing research can benefit from the use of ethnographic methods. Throughout its six theoretical and practice-oriented studies, together with the introductory chapter, foreword and afterword, ethnography-related concepts like thick description, deep theorizing, participatory research, research reflexivity or ethics are discussed against the affordances of ethnography for the study of academic writing. The book is key reading for scholars, researchers and instructors in the areas of applied linguistics, academic writing, academic literacies and genre studies. It will also be useful to those lecturers and postgraduate students working in English for Academic Purposes and disciplinary writing. The volume provides ethnographically-oriented researchers with clear pointers about how to incorporate the telling of the inside story into their traditional main role as observers.

This highly regarded work brings together prominent authorities on vocabulary teaching and learning to provide a comprehensive yet concise guide to effective instruction. The book showcases practical ways to teach specific vocabulary words and word-learning strategies and create engaging, word-rich classrooms. Instructional activities and games for diverse learners are brought to life with detailed examples. Drawing on the most rigorous research available, the editors and contributors distill what PreK-8 teachers need to know and do to support all students' ongoing vocabulary growth and enjoyment of reading. New to This Edition*Reflects the latest research and instructional practices.*New section (five chapters) on pressing current issues in the field: assessment, authentic reading experiences, English language learners, uses of multimedia tools, and the vocabularies of narrative and informational texts.*Contributor panel expanded with additional leading researchers.

Incidental language acquisition is the language that is learned informally, outside the constraints of the typical classroom, and vocabulary is one of the key elements in language learning and knowledge. This unique text is the first comprehensive overview and hands-on methodological guide for researching second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition. Expert contributors from around the world synthesize the state of the art by defining key concepts and laying out the major theoretical perspectives, research methodologies, empirical findings, and pedagogical considerations involved in incidental L2 vocabulary learning research. By connecting research techniques to the theory that underpins them, detailing practical steps for designing and conducting rigorous new studies, and highlighting areas that deserve additional research attention, they further set the agenda for future work in this field and put readers in a strong position to understand and carry out this research independently. This book will be an invaluable resource to advanced students and researchers of second language acquisition, vocabulary studies, applied linguistics, education, and related areas.

The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies provides a cutting-edge survey of current scholarship in this area. Divided into four sections, which cover understanding vocabulary; approaches to teaching and learning vocabulary; measuring knowledge of vocabulary; and key issues in teaching, researching, and measuring vocabulary, this Handbook: • brings together a wide range of approaches to learning words to provide clarity on how best vocabulary might be taught and learned; • provides a comprehensive discussion of the key issues and challenges in vocabulary studies, with research taken from the past 40 years; • includes chapters on both formulaic language as well as single-word items; • features original contributions from a range of internationally renowned scholars as well as academics at the forefront of innovative research. The Routledge Handbook of Vocabulary Studies is an essential text for those interested in teaching, learning, and researching vocabulary.

In this special edited volume, the editors and invited English Medium Instruction (EMI) researchers, from different parts of the world, outline the latest EMI research methods. Providing academic instruction using English is rapidly spreading in many countries where English is a second or foreign language, and there is a growing interest in researching the effectiveness and effects of EMI across different educational levels. This volume includes chapters on everything from research into classroom interaction to teachers’ and students’ perceptions and motivations to language challenges and strategies and the pedagogical implications of translanguaging in EMI classrooms. These specific topics were chosen to reflect different approaches to researching EMI. Each chapter focuses on a specific type of research methodology. It begins with an overview of the literature of the topic under discussion. Then an example study is provided to illustrate how this methodology can be used to investigate EMI. Each chapter identifies the process that the EMI researcher used to conduct their research and discusses key dilemmas they faced, focusing particularly on the methodological issues they encountered. By exploring these issues, this volume hopes to inform theory (or the lack thereof) underlying research into the phenomenon of EMI. This volume is indispensable for EMI tutors, curriculum developers, policymakers, and teachers, as well as students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is particularly valuable for researchers from across the globe working in the fields of applied linguistics, language education, English for Academic Purposes (EAP), English Language Teaching (ELT), and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

The Continuum Companion to Research Methods in Applied Linguistics is designed to be the essential one-volume resource for students. The book includes: * qualitative and quantitative methods * research techniques and approaches * ethical considerations * sample studies * a glossary of key terms * resources for students As well as covering a range of methodological issues it looks at numerous areas in depth, including researching gender and language, language and identity, pragmatics, vocabulary, and grammar. Comprehensive and accessible, this will be the essential guide to research methods for undergraduate and postgraduate students in applied linguistics and language studies.