The Study Of 'Noticing' In Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

The second language acquisition has always been the focus of the researchers in the fields of linguistics and cognition. Furthermore, many researchers hold the view that the vocabulary acquisition is the focus of the second language acquisition because the vocabulary is the foundation to learn a second language. With the development of the cognitive linguistics, the application of concepts in psychology into the study of second language vocabulary acquisition can study the vocabulary acquisition from a deeper and a more fundamental aspect. Noticing, the important concept in psychology, has aroused great attention and interest of researchers in the field of linguistics.As the emergence of the'Noticing Hypothesis'initiated by Schmidt in 1990, researchers paid much attention to noticing and studied the relationships between the vocabulary acquisition and the concept of'noticing'in psychology. In Noticing Hypothesis, Schmidt (1990) proposes that noticing is the necessary but not the sufficient condition for second language acquisition. In Noticing Hypothesis, Schmidt (1990) proposes that noticing is necessary for converting input to intake; and he also points out that learning is enhanced by noticing instead of demonstrating that leaning cannot take place without it. Schmidt (1990) proposes that not all input has equal value and only that input which is noticed then becomes available for intake and effective processing. In the process of language input, the language points with different values will evoke noticing of different levels. The input which is paid great attention will impress the learners and become intake for further effective processing. Schmidt also proposes six factors influencing noticing in input process, that is, instruction, frequency, perceptual salience, task demands, skill level and comparing.Based on the previous studies on Noticing Hypothesis, the thesis investigates the role of noticing in second language vocabulary acquisition. The participants in the study consisted of 90 Chinese-speaking learners of English. They were non-English majors in their second semester of study at ChangChun University of Technology. 90 participants completed all the required tasks, of whom 30 females and 60 males, ages 19-21 years. The study was consisted of three parts in order to answer the three questions respectively. By employing case study, questionnaire, material reading and dictation, the data were collected and analyzed. The results of the experiments show that: (1) The times needed for learning new words are quite different when learning with concentrated attention and learning with casual attitudes. There exist great differences between learning with concentrated attention and learning with casual attitudes. The study demonstrates the significance of noticing in the process of vocabulary acquisition. (2) Most students have the basically correct knowledge about frequency in vocabulary input and they have realized the important role of word frequency in their daily word studies. Students also expect teachers to increase word frequency at class in order to have more opportunities to acquire new words in different contexts. It can be concluded that other things being equal, the more prominent a form is, the more likely it is to be noticed. If some aspects of language are noticed before others, it is because they are'salient'in their context. The perceptually salient words have more opportunities of impinging on consciousness. (3) Related vocabulary exercises can"force"students to think about the new words and to know the usage in reality. In vocabulary learning process, learners need to'notice the gap'between their present output and the input with consciousness. The comparison may prompt language learners to recognize consciously some of their linguistic problems. It may direct their attention to something they do not know and to the relevant input. Comparing is an effective method to promote noticing and develop vocabulary acquisition abilities for language learners.The implications for vocabulary teaching and learning through three different angles, that is, materials, learners and teachers are presented: (1) It is helpful for the vocabulary acquisition by using materials with variable attention resources including perceptually salient words, notes, pictures, tape recordings and relevant vocabulary exercises. The new words are repeated in the subsequent materials for reinforcement. The distribution of the core vocabulary in various contexts and in different phases contributes to alleviating vocabulary load and acquiring them. (2) The learners can increase the word frequency in their own vocabulary learning processes. It is advised for the language learners to acquire the new words in different contexts. Learners can make new words perceptually salient by themselves. The underlined and high-lighted words made by the learners can help them notice the new words easily. Learners need to make a comparison between their current language output and the input language. The differences help learners to notice the gap between their interlanguage and the target language. (3) Teachers can try to increase the word frequency of new words intentionally in different contexts in order to assure learners to have more opportunities to acquire the new words. Teachers can use different tones, gestures and body languages to attract the learners'attention in order to make the new words salient. The teachers can also make the new words salient by instruction, repetition and class activities. Teaching process should be arranged reasonably to draw learners'noticing.This thesis is an exploratory research on noticing in second language vocabulary acquisition. It brings new insight to the reform of college English vocabulary teaching and learning.