A Study of Word Meaning Acquisition of Polysemous Words for English Majors
Affiliation(s)
1 College of Foreign Language, Hunan University, Changsha, China. 2 School of Foreign Languages, Yangtze University, Jinzhou, Hubei, China.
1 College of Foreign Language, Hunan University, Changsha, China. 2 School of Foreign Languages, Yangtze University, Jinzhou, Hubei, China.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the word meaning acquisition of polysemous words for English majors by the way of questionnaire and two word meaning tests. The conclusions are drawn as follows: providing primary meaning to students can help them guess the extended meaning of unfamiliar polysemous words than providing the other extended meanings; the English majors at different language proficiency level show similar acquisition effects in primary meaning but different acquisition effects in the extended meanings. Therefore, in vocabulary instruction, if the word meaning acquisition sequence can be followed and the connections of word meanings can be cherished, the word meaning instruction outcome will be more efficient.
This study investigates the word meaning acquisition of polysemous words for English majors by the way of questionnaire and two word meaning tests. The conclusions are drawn as follows: providing primary meaning to students can help them guess the extended meaning of unfamiliar polysemous words than providing the other extended meanings; the English majors at different language proficiency level show similar acquisition effects in primary meaning but different acquisition effects in the extended meanings. Therefore, in vocabulary instruction, if the word meaning acquisition sequence can be followed and the connections of word meanings can be cherished, the word meaning instruction outcome will be more efficient.
Cite this paper
Wei, X. and Lou, Y. (2015) A Study of Word Meaning Acquisition of Polysemous Words for English Majors. Creative Education, 6, 1993-2001. doi: 10.4236/ce.2015.618204.
Wei, X. and Lou, Y. (2015) A Study of Word Meaning Acquisition of Polysemous Words for English Majors. Creative Education, 6, 1993-2001. doi: 10.4236/ce.2015.618204.
References
[1] Cuyckens, H., & Zawada, B. (1997). Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistic. Selected Papers from the Fifth International Cognitive Linguistics Association, Amsterdam. [2] Durkin, K., & Manning, J. (1989). Polysemy and the Subjective Lexicon: Semantic Relatedness and the Salience of Intraword Meanings. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 18, 577-612.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01067161 [3] Hatch, E., & Brown, C. (2001). Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [4] Hulstijn, J. (1998). Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language. Applied Linguistics, 22, 1-26. [5] Hulstijn, J. (2001). Some Empirical Evidence for the Involvement Load Hypothesis in Vocabulary Acquisition. Language Learning, S1, 539-558.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00164 [6] Laufer, B. (1996).What’s in a Word that Makes It Hard or Easy: Some Intralexical Factors that Affect the Learning of Words. Applied Linguistics, 22, 1-26. [7] McCarthy, M. (Ed.) (1997). Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. [8] Verspoor, M., & Lowie, W. M. (2001). Making Meaning of Polysemous Words. Language Learning, 53, 547-586. [9] Zhou, R. Y. (2003). A Study of Teaching English Word Meaning. Changsha: Hunan Normal University.
[1] Cuyckens, H., & Zawada, B. (1997). Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistic. Selected Papers from the Fifth International Cognitive Linguistics Association, Amsterdam. [2] Durkin, K., & Manning, J. (1989). Polysemy and the Subjective Lexicon: Semantic Relatedness and the Salience of Intraword Meanings. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 18, 577-612.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01067161 [3] Hatch, E., & Brown, C. (2001). Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. [4] Hulstijn, J. (1998). Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language. Applied Linguistics, 22, 1-26. [5] Hulstijn, J. (2001). Some Empirical Evidence for the Involvement Load Hypothesis in Vocabulary Acquisition. Language Learning, S1, 539-558.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00164 [6] Laufer, B. (1996).What’s in a Word that Makes It Hard or Easy: Some Intralexical Factors that Affect the Learning of Words. Applied Linguistics, 22, 1-26. [7] McCarthy, M. (Ed.) (1997). Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. [8] Verspoor, M., & Lowie, W. M. (2001). Making Meaning of Polysemous Words. Language Learning, 53, 547-586. [9] Zhou, R. Y. (2003). A Study of Teaching English Word Meaning. Changsha: Hunan Normal University.