ESLC2025ONTHEMOVE

Vocabulary knowledge and acquisition has often been seen in black and white terms: a word is either unknown/unlearned or it is known/learned. But vocabulary knowledge is too complex to be understood in a dichotomous manner. Rather it is Complex (there are many things to know about a word), Integrated (different aspects of word knowledge are interrelated with each other), Incremental (vocabulary knowledge is learned incrementally over time in a bit-by-bit manner), and a Process (vocabulary learning is a process, rather than a one-off event).

By themselves, these characteristics are well-known to the field. But the implications of these characteristics have not generally been acknowledged. The presenter proposes a unified approach, called a CIIP perspective. He will then outline what a CIIP perspective means in terms of a range of pedagogic and assessment issues. For example, a CIIP perspective has implications for the way vocabulary exercises are designed over time to enhance both a range of word knowledge aspects, and their degree of mastery.

In his plenary talk, the speaker presented the CIIP perspective of vocabulary knowledge and acquisition. In it, he touched on some implications of this perspective for vocabulary assessment. In this breakout session, he will go into much more detail about how to evaluate vocabulary test items, based on a CIIP viewpoint. The session will be workshop-based and hands-on in style, as the presenter takes the audience through a number of popular vocabulary test formats, together working out what each format does (and more importantly does not!) tell us about learners’ vocabulary knowledge. He will introduce the audience to a number of extant vocabulary size tests, and will offer advice on writing bespoke vocabulary tests if none of the existing ones are suitable for your context.

In this workshop, we will work together to create instructional materials for developing vocabulary in both mainstream and ESL classes.  I will begin by outlining key principles to guide instruction and show how these can be used to underpin the selection of texts, the choice of exercises, and methods of assessing achievement.  Participants will work in small groups to create a set of materials that can serve as a template for developing materials in their own settings.