This document summarizes a research study on recycling vocabulary in an advanced reading class. The study examined 12 university students' preferences for 13 vocabulary activities. Checking vocabulary exercises from the textbook and reading/listening to texts were the most popular activities. Using vocabulary in summaries and revising for tests were also well-liked. Less favored activities included vocabulary associations and choosing parts of speech. The implications are to develop more time-efficient, integrated activities that meet student preferences and curricular needs.

1. Eliana Lili
M.A. in TESL, Northern Arizona University
Preparation for the ECPE, Fates Language Center, Ioannina
eliana_ll@yahoo.com

2. Introduction
Motivations for the study
 Students’ complaints about the mastery of academic
vocabulary within a short period of time
 Students’ requests for more vocabulary practice
 Meeting curricular demands and the needs of the
advanced level students

3. Research on recycling vocabulary in
the advanced reading class
 Mastery of EAP reading requires comprehension
abilities, a large recognition vocabulary above 10.000
words and a good command of grammar patterns
(Shiotsu, 2010 cited in Grabe & Stoller, 2013).
 There is no vocabulary growth without reading and
vice versa (Grabe & Stoller, 2011).
 Instructed vocabulary in reading: incidental learning
through reading or intentional word-focused
activities.
 Multiple exposure to words from 5 to 10 times is of
paramount importance to vocabulary growth.

4.  Recycling vocabulary activities build receptive knowledge
of vocabulary (gap-filling, multiple-
choice, sorting/ranking/sequencing) & help students
recognize, recall the meaning/form of the words.
 Recycling activities that expand students’ productive
knowledge by encouraging fluent word usage in speaking
and writing activities (oral/written
summaries, dialogues, discussions)
 A balanced approach of moving from receptive to
productive mastery of vocabulary in a meaningful reading
context that encourages both incidental and intentional
learning of vocabulary.

5. Research Question
1. Consider the following vocabulary tasks/activities. Which do you like more?
2. Give reasons for your decision.
3. Checking vocabulary exercises of the textbook
4. Oral retell of a text by using key vocabulary words of the text
5. Using key vocabulary words in tables, KWL charts or Venn Diagrams
6. Using key vocabulary words in the written summary of a text
7. Matching chapter key vocabulary with their synonyms/definitions
8. Paraphrasing words and sentences
9. Vocabulary associations (Ethnocentrism is related with…)
10. Choosing the correct part of speech
11. Rereading the text for another purpose
12. Reading and listening to the text at the same time.
13. Revise chapter key vocabulary through a chapter test
14. Use key vocabulary words in class discussions
15. Use key vocabulary words in chapter reflection written activities

6. Example:Vocabulary Associations
 Do you usually wear handmade clothes? ……………………………………………………………….
 What do you usually download or upload? ……………………………………………………………….
 What do you consider a best-case scenario? ……………………………………………………………….
 Mention 2 leapfrogger countries ……………………………………………………………….
 Give 2 examples of a service-based or knowledge-based economy ………………………………………….
 Give 2 examples of 2 emerging economies ……………………………………………………………….
 Mention 2 countries with limited access to internet/education/literacy …………………………………
 Give 2 examples of grassroots campaigns ……………………………………………………………….
 Do you know anybody who is a well-educated, tech-savvy and speaks English?
..................................
 What is the Craddle to Craddle philosophy? ...................................................................

7. Example: Correct part of speech
Read the following sentences from the text “Hooked on Crime” and circle
one of the underlined words that best fits the sentence structure.
 There is some irony in the fact that the group steals heavily from the 12
step, spiritually-based Alcoholic/Alcohol/Alcoholics Anonymous
program.
 The program’s strength is that it was created by members and not
imposing/impose/imposed/imposingly on them.
 He has spent more than half his years in jail, for
robber/robbery/robberies/robbing, extort/extortion/extorting, attempt
ed
murder, assault/assaulting/assaults, traffic/trafficker/trafficking, and
small time cons.
 Crime Addiction Anonymous is dedicated to the
content/contentious/contentiously/ contention premise that crime can
be an illness as strong as
dependent/dependently/dependence/independence/interdependence
on alcohol or drugs.

8. Example: Paraphrasing
What Vodafone people consider the key to their
success are their employees. According to Proust, great
people make a company, and their people are
effusive, innovative, and amicable. They are not people
who are just working absentmindedly and are flattered
by just one piece of invention. They are people who
keep up with research on understanding daily
consumer behavior.

9. Oral summary with key words
 Example: Text Outward Bound/Key Words
 Grew up in knee-deep rice paddies/tiny village
 Nondescript Engineer, ascend career steps, C.E.O , LG
Electronics
 Tireless, vigorous, innovative,
 Chant, croon, rally people, feel comfortable
Leader/commander/infuser
 Global brands, revenues, leading-edge,low-cost

10. Example: Chapter Key Vocabulary
Match the words/expressions in column (1) with their synonyms/definitions in column (a):
 colleague a. end result
 ethnocentrism b. always, continually
 hue c. unbelievable
 despair d. slanted opinion, prejudice, bigotry
 outcome e. alert, conscious
 worldview f. receptive to new ideas
 liberal g. the beliefs and ways of life of a group of people
 inconceivable h. someone you work with
 insomnia j. without reason or logic
 open-minded k. One’s own patterns of behaviour are the best.
 aware l. outlook/perspective/point of view
 barbarian m. unpleasing/pleasant
 omission of syntax n. shade of colour
 repugnant/repulsive o. tolerant/lenient/permissive
 irrational p. originally a crude/ignorant person
 bias s. shortening of phrases
 culture t. inability to sleep
 constantly x. a feeling of being hopeless

11. Methodology
 Participants: Twelve, 19 year-old university students in
an ESL III-EAP Reading class preparing for their
university studies in English.
 Setting: University of New York/Tirana, Albania

12. Resources and Instruments
 Main Textbook Mosaic 1/Reading by Wegmann & Knezevic
(2007)
 Other textbooks:
 How to teach vocabulary by Thornbury (2002)
 Vocabulary by Morgan & Rinvolucri (2004)
 Reading for Academic Purposes by Grabe & Stoller (2013)
 New Ways in teaching vocabulary by Nation (1994)
 Photocopies/handouts with graphic organizers, chapter
reflections and other exercises
 Student questionnaire provided by Grabe & Stoller (2011)

13. Data Collection & Analysis
 Data collection: 5 months, 13 tasks/activities.
 Data analysis:
 1. Vocabulary tasks/activities that students ticked;
 2. Implications for failing activities

14. Results
Nr of Students Activities Chosen
 12 / 12 Checking vocabulary exercises of the textbook
 9 / 12 Reading and listening to the text at the same time.
 8 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in the written summary of a text
Revising chapter key vocabulary through a chapter test
Rereading the text for another purpose
 7 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in tables, charts or Venn Diagrams
Matching chapter key vocabulary with their synonyms/definitions
Oral retell of a text by using key vocabulary words of the text
 6 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in class discussions
 5 / 12 Paraphrasing words and sentences
Using key vocabulary words in chapter reflection written activities
 3 / 12 Vocabulary associations (Ethnocentrism is related with…)
 0/12 Choosing the correct part of speech

15. Future Implications
 Developing time saving activities to meet curricular demands
and advanced level students’ needs.
 Doing an action research study on students’ preferences on a
large-scale (not only with 12 students).
 Collect data in the beginning of the term and in the middle of
the term.
 More practical and interactive vocabulary tasks/activities for the
advanced level.
 The creation of a vocabulary program with fewer and more
integrated vocabulary tasks/activities.
 Cross-comparison with other colleagues who teach the same
subject.
 More research on students’ choice of less favorite activities.

16. Selected References
 Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2013). Teaching Reading for Academic Purposes. In
M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a Second
or Foreign Language (4th ed.). Boston: Heinle Cengage.
 Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2011). Teaching and Researching Reading (3rd.). Great
Britain: Longman/Pearson Education.
 Morgan, J., & Rinvolucri, M. (2004). Vocabulary. England: Oxford University
Press.
 Nation, P. (1994). (Eds.). New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary. Alexandria, VA:
TESOL.
 Schmitt, N. (2008). Review Article: Instructed second language vocabulary
learning. Language Teaching Research. 12 (3), 329-363.
 Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. England: Longman.
 Wegmann, B., & Knezevic, M. (2007). Mosaic 1/Reading. New York: McGraw-
Hill.