James M Hall
The Iwate University Faculty of Education
Department of English Education

Thank you for visiting my vocabulary notebook page. This web page serves as an outline of a couple of studies I have done on vocabulary notebooks. Please keep in mind that it is a work in progress and I am sure that there are errors and inaccuracies. I have put this page on the internet as a reference for other teachers, and I will be continuously making changes over the next few months. If you have any questions or comments, please send me an e-mail. I also have a blog and personal home page, please visit them!

I am a believer in quizzes. In my own personal language learning experience for both Japanese and Spanish, I had quizzes almost every day. I would come to my second language class every day having studied the words and although I forgot a lot of them after the quizzes, enough of these words eventually entered my long term memory. From last year, I started to teach an English for nurses class once a week at a nursing school and my belief on the effectiveness of quizzes began to change. In the nursing school class, I used quizzes as a way to motivate students to learn important vocabulary but this method was not as effective. Students would come to class with their notebooks and a pile of papers. Five minutes before class I would see students frantically rumbling through their papers attempting to find the word list for that week. Once they found the word list they would hurriedly try to memorize the words. Quizzes left blank blank were not unusual. In many cases, by the following week, many students had lost the previous week’s word list so by the time the mid-term or final examination came, I would have to give students a new word list with all the words we had “studied” in the previous semester. Those students who kept a notebook seemed to do well on the mid-term and final exams, but those that did not performed poorly. Through this experience, I realized that many students did not know how to

1. keep a notebook.
2. study English words apart from learning the L1 meaning of the word.

Thus, I decided to introduce vocabulary notebooks to encourage students to:

1. keep track of their own learning in the class so that they can recall what we did in the class and they can prepare for tests and quizzes more easily.
2. develop strategies for learning and remembering words so that they become more effective word learners
3. become autonomous learners. By teaching students how to become autonomous learners, I mean teaching students how to learn vocabulary effectively, encouraging students to make better use of their dictionaries and ultimately make them independent of teachers, dictionaries and textbooks (Waring, 2002). Because we do not have enough time to teach everything about a word, students have to become independent word learners.

On April of this year the project began!

I decided to try vocabulary notebooks in two different learning contexts to compare how students used them. The nursing school class consisted of 40 students and the freshman English class consisted of 21 students. The objective of the nursing school class was to teach students English necessary to use in a hospital. The objective of the freshman English class was to concentrate on the students reading and listening skills to help them use English for their university studies. To compare the two groups, I conducted the Vocabulary Levels Test originally designed by Nation (1990) and revised by Schmitt (2001). Although the test is designed to test learners’ knowledge of English vocabulary at the 2000, 3000, 5000, and 10000 word levels, that is their knowledge of the 2000, 3000, 5000, and 10000 most frequent words in English, the researcher only gave the 2000 level test to the students. One reason for giving only the 2000 level test was practical: time was limited. It was thought that this test would suffice to get an idea of students’ basic knowledge because words from the 2000 level account for 87% of the words in an average text (Nation, 1990, cited in Beglar & Hunt, 1999, p.133). The 2000 Level test was also validated by Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham (2001).

In Schmitt (1997) it was observed that the pattern of word use strategies changes as Japanese learners get older:

• Younger learners prefer shallow strategies strategies such as written repetition, memorizing word lists, and using flash cards.
• Older learners show in increase in deeper learning strategies such as connecting a word to a personal experience, imagining a word’s meaning, and guessing the meaning of the word through its context.

It was also shown that the keyword method was one of the least popular word learning strategies.
In Schmitt and Meara (1997) a study on the vocabulary knowledge of intermediate Japanese learners of English was conducted. It was found that

• Japanese learners were only able to produce 60% of the possible inflected forms of base words (ex. base word:walk; inflections: walking, walks)
• Japanese learners were only able to produce correct derivations of base words 15% of the time. (ex. base word: stimulate; derivations: stimulation, stimulative) but they were able to recognize derivations of words 50% of the time.

Nakamura (2002) conducted a very detailed study on the word learning of Japanese learners. Comparing the word learning strategies of Japanese learners who differed in gender, level, and whether they were learning English in England or in Japan. Among his findings were

• Using bilingual dictionaries was learners' most popular strategy when they encountered a word they did not know.
• Bilingual dictionaries were used more than monolingual dictionaries by all learners.
• Verbal and written repetition of an L2 word with its L1 meaning was one of the most popular studying strategies.
• Learners at higher levels are more likely than learners at lower levels to associate an L2 word with another L2 word to remember it.

Nakamura (2002, pp.46-53) reviews the literature on note taking strategies and L2 learning. Among the highlights in his review are the following:

I would like to emphasize this last point. To truly master a word the amount of information a learner must know is astounding: First they must know how the word is written, and pronounced as well as the meanings of its affixes. Next, they need to know the various forms and derivations of the word, the concept behind the word, and synonyms of the word. Lastly, they need to know the grammatical functions of the word or in what kind of patterns it occurs, collocations of the word, and constraints on the use of the word or in what contexts we can use the word and it what contexts we cannot use the word. In conclusion, for learners to use vocabulary notebooks effectively, we need to encourage them to record various information about a word, not just its meaning.

The question now is how can we encourage learners to keep a notebook that will help them develop this knowledge? To consider this, I would briefly like to review the literature on vocabulary notebooks:

Vocabulary notebooks have been recommended by many writers (Allen, 1983, p.50; Gairns and Redman, 1986, pp.95-100; McCarthy, 1990, pp.127-129; Woolard, 2000, p.43-44). Schmitt & Schmitt (1995) in a much-referenced paper on vocabulary notebooks, list possible information about an L2 word that a vocabulary notebook entry can include to help students learn a word:

They recommend that learners choose which of the previous L2 word information to include in an entry and fill in the information over time as their understanding of the word increases. They also advise that words in the notebook be recycled regularly in the classroom and that words be studied based on a memory schedule. Lastly, they give teachers a concrete plan for implementing such a notebook.

Fowle (2002) introduced vocabulary notebooks based on the Schmitt & Schmitt (op. cit) model in the language center of a secondary school in Thailand. The aim of the project was to make learners more independent language learners by teaching them how to use strategies for learning words through using vocabulary notebooks. He concluded that the vocabulary notebook was effective in helping the learners develop a number of word learning strategies and showed that 18 of 19 students wrote positive responses about the learning experience. He did not mention which word strategies (e.g. the keyword method, memorizing the L1 meaning of a word, etc.) they tended to prefer.

Kim (2002) introduced vocabulary notebooks into an extensive reading course at a university in Japan Students were encouraged to read extensively about a topic of their choice, and enter the words they did not know into their vocabulary notebook. For each entry, students wrote the word that appeared before and after the target word, the definition of the word, how many times the word appeared in a given passage, and any other notes they had. Kim did not write how students responded to the notebooks. Kim wrote that notebooks are effective as a means for “collecting words” but not for memorizing words because they encourage serial learning**.
** Serial learning is when a learner uses the order in which words appear to memorize their meanings. Nation (2001) recommends that learners use vocabulary cards to memorize words, because the cards can be mixed so that serial learning is not an issue.

The Schmitt & Schmitt (1995) study gives the teacher many useful suggestions on how to use vocabulary notebooks. However it does not discuss which information their students actually tended to enter in their vocabulary notebooks. The Fowle (2002) study reveals some learning strategies that students learned but like the Schmitt study does not elaborate on which kinds of word information students entered in their vocabulary notebook. The Kim (2002) study does not discuss how learners respond to using the notebooks. It was hoped that question 1 could determine the kinds of information learners actually preferred to enter into their vocabulary notebooks. Furthermore, it was hoped that question 3 could add to some of the practical advice from the aforementioned researchers about implementing vocabulary notebooks. Lastly, it was hoped that question 2 could give some concrete answers as to specifically what kind of new learning strategies learners used together with the vocabulary notebooks.

The first week of each class I told learners to purchase an A4- sized binder with dividers, because I wanted them to keep a vocabulary notebook. In the second class, I provided learners with forms for their notebooks and said that they could supply some of the 10 kinds of information about a word show below. I told them that knowing the Japanese meaning of an English word was useful but it was not enough to truly be able to use the word. I demonstrated how to enter the information about a word and had students enter some of the words we were to learn that day into their notebooks for practice. Each week after that I tried to highlight a different way to write information about a word. In each institution, I collected learners' notebooks after the fourth class to monitor if they understood how to use the notebook. Learners were not expected to enter all the information about a word at once, but rather gradually as their understanding of the word increased. For example, learners might enter just the L1 translation of a word they want to learn one week and enter the word's collocations, derivations, or phonetic transcription as their understanding of the word increases. In both classes I told learners what words from the textbook I wanted them to enter in their notebooks and encouraged them to enter additional words that they did not know.

The answer to the first part is yes

• University Freshman: 18 of 21 learners had all words that I had asked them to enter. Nineteen of the 21 learners turned in vocabulary notebooks.
• Nursing students: 30 of 40 students recorded all the words I had asked them to. All of the learners turned in vocabulary notebooks.

To answer the second part of this question, I will share with you some of the results of a questionnaire done at the end of the semester and show you students' notebooks. In the following questionnaire, learners in both classes were asked to rate the frequency with which they wrote each piece word information and the usefulness of each piece of information. The original questionnaire can be viewed here.

Ranking of frequency of word Information and Helpfulness of word information depended on the goal of the class. In the nursing school there were many speaking exercises and writing exercises where students had to use the words they learned communicatively in a situation in the hospital. The contexts in which they used the words did not differ so much from the textbook. Thus it is logical that the top 3 useful and helpful pieces of information would be Japanese Word, Phonetic Symbol and Sample Sentence. In the freshman English class, there was a lot of in-class and out-of-class reading. In each chapter the textbook presented base words and their derivations (ex. Coincidence: coincidental, coincidentally). We spent a lot of time learning the derivations of the different words, writing them in essays and reading the essays to one another. Words and their derivations were also on tests.

The freshman English class wrote more information more frequently and they also found the information more helpful. This lends support to the hypothesis that the higher the level of the learner the more information about a word they are likely to record (Gu, 1994).

The key word technique was the least used technique by both classes and was not ranked as helpful as the other kinds of word information by either of the classes.This lends support to the findings by Nakamura (2002) and Schmitt (1997) that the keyword technique is not frequently used by Japanese learners. This is a little misleading though, as some learners made good use of the keyword method and other learners did not. Please click here to see how the learners used the keyword method.

This lends support to the finding that the most popular way of recording an L2 word is to note its meaning in the L1.

As the semester progressed, students started to develop their own format for writing the vocabulary notebooks based on their own study preferences. Please click here for a demonstration.

To determine which of the students’ vocabulary learning strategies might have changed during their use of vocabulary notebooks, students were asked to fill out a Questionnaire on Vocabulary Learning which was adapted from Nakamura (2002).

5. When you memorize a new vocabulary item, what do you do aside from repetition?					Rankings 1.Never true 2.Rarely true 3.Sometimes not true 4.Sometimes true 5.Generally true 6.Always true
	As a nursing student now		As a high school student
	Never true	Always True	Never True	Always True
37. I create a clear mental image of the item or draw a picture.	1　２　�B　４　５　６		1　�A　３　４　５　６

6.22 The Results from the Questionnaire

6.221 Table of the Results

Students Vocabulary Learning Strategies that might have Changed (+) Students are more likely to use a strategy at the present. (―) Students were more likely to use a strategy in high school.
Nursing School English Class		University English Class
Strategies when students meet a word they do not understand.		Strategies for using dictionaries
1. Use the prefixes and suffixes (unpleasant, treatable) of a word or its compound parts manhandle = man + handle) to guess its meaning.	Present: 3.25 HS: 2.86 (+)	11. Use a Japanese/English dictionary (和英辞典).	Present: 4.5 HS: 3.95
3. Guess the meaning of a word from its context (topic of discourse, text structure, situation) with background knowledge.	Present: 3.75 HS: 3.37 (+)	17. Use a dictionary not just to know the meaning of the context in which it was found but also learn how a word is used in other contexts.	Present: 4.1 HS: 3.5
6. I ask my English teacher for the Japanese translation of the word.	Present: 1.97 HS: 2.78 (-)	Vocabulary Note-taking Strategies
7. I ask my English teacher for a synonym or paraphrase of the word.	Present: 2.02 HS: 3.34 (-)	18. Write words in a notebook designed exclusively for vocabulary.	Present: 5.15 HS: 3.9 (+)
How students use repetition when learning a vocabulary item		19. Use a section of their English notebook for English words.	Present: 3.47 HS: 4.6 (-)
36. During class, I repeat after my teacher when he says a word.	Present: 4.23 HS: 3.84 (+)	25. Write the part-of-speech as well as the Japanese translation of a word I do not know.	Present: 4.47 HS: 3.5 (+)
What students do apart from repetition when memorizing a vocabulary item:		What students do apart from repetition when memorizing a vocabulary item:
37. Create a clear mental image of the item or draw a picture.	Present: 2.71 HS: 1.89 (+)	37. Create a clear mental image of the item or draw a picture.	Present: 3.5 HS: 1.5 (+)
42. Learn the word in a sentence or within context.	Present:2.84 HS: 2.53 (+)	Students general word learning strategies:
43. Use the key word method (e.g. to select hosu as a keyword to form an acoustic link with the first syllable of the English word “hospital”, and then create a mental image like byoin de sentakumono wo hosu as an imagery link.	Present: 2.61 HS: 1.59 (+)	47. Make use of a vocabulary notebook to study words.	Present: 5.3 HS: 3.5 (+)
		48. Use the vocabulary list in the notebook to study words.	Present: 3.8 HS: 4.25 (-)
Students general word learning strategies:		49. Make use of the word list given by the teacher when studying words.	Present: 3.8 HS: 4.25 (-)
46. Use a memory schedule to plan their studying between English classes	Present: 2.89 HS: 2.53 (+)
47. Make use of a vocabulary notebook to study words.	Present: 4.12 HS: 2.94 (+)	50. I study new words with friends.	Present: 2.45 HS: 3.55 (-)
49. Make use of the word list given by the teacher when studying words.	Present: 4.64 HS: 4.07 (+)

6.222 Summary of Table: Changes in strategies students use when they meet a word they do not understand:

6.2221 Changes in strategies for using dictionaries:

6.2222 Changes in Vocabulary Note-Taking Strategies:

• more likely to write words in a notebook designed exclusively for vocabulary not than in high school.
• less likely now to use a section of their English notebook for English words than they were in high school.
• more likely to write the part of speech as well as the Japanese translation of a word they do not know.

6.2223 Changes in Memorization Strategies other than repetition

• more likely to use the keyword method now than in high school.
• more like to try to learn a word in the context of a sentence or passage now than they were in high school

6.2224 Changes in General Word Learning Strategies

6.23 General Conclusions about the Change in Word Learning Strategies

• University freshman and nursing school students demonstrated different changes in strategies. The only similar changes they exhibited were that they were more likely to use vocabulary notebooks to study words now than in high school and they were more likely to think of the mental image of a word in order to remember it. The reasons for this difference is that the goals of the class and the profile of the students from each class were substantially different.
• Students did not write that they were more likely to enter information about a word such as its phonetic symbol, part of speech, derivations, sample sentence, collocations or synonyms. This was partly a mistake on the researcher’s part as I did not ask them about collocations, sample sentences or definitions. My hypothesis is that there would not have been a significant difference about the word information that students were most likely to enter. The reason is that different students had different information about a word that they liked to enter; there was not one particular type of word information that a large number of students preferred to write. One exception, though, would be derivations for the university freshman class. Most students consistently wrote derivations for the words they learned.
• The fact that university students study words less with friends could be advocating the importance of using vocabulary notebooks university.

7.0 Results - General Tips for Using Vocabulary Notebooks

Note to the Reader: This section will be better organized and easier to follow in the near future. Thank you for your patience.

7.1 Things to know before you start

• Students at higher levels might write more word information than students at lower levels. This was the case in my project and is supported by other researchers.
• Vocabulary notebooks should be used to help attain class goals. Class goals will have a tremendous impact on how vocabulary notebooks are used. Do not expect students to use vocabulary notebooks if they are unrelated to the class goals.
• The literature says that words are best learned when grouped into themes such as vacation, family words, Japanese politics, etc. However, if you are using vocabulary notebooks in combination with a textbook, words will most likely be grouped by the lesson.

7.2 Tips for using Vocabulary Notebooks in the Classroom

7.21 When Introducing the Vocabulary Notebooks

• Show how to write the different types of word information, do not over-explain!
• Learning how to use vocabulary notebooks is a gradual process <See student quote.>. Encourage students to experiment with writing different kinds of word information. Do not require them to write all the word information at once. Students should understand that the more information we know about a word the better <See student quotes about writing word information.>, but that we should also not spend too much time writing detailed information about each and every word that we encounter.
• Collect the vocabulary notebooks after the students have used them for a few weeks to make sure they know how to enter words in their notebooks. Write short comments of encouragement in the notebooks.

7.22 During and after the Introduction Period:

• Give students time to work on books in class: encourage students to write in their notebooks when you are introducing words. Introduce words in such a way that will give them advantageous information for their notebooks. One example is to write the derivation of each word introduced on the blackboard. After practicing the derivations, cover them and have students try to recount the derivation of each word. A similar exercises can be done for words and sample sentences.
• Do not penalize students for not updating their vocabulary notebooks but make their use an integral part of class so that students will need to update and use their notebooks. Here are some examples of activities:
  1. Have students work together in writing words into their notebooks, or study each other's notebooks for a surprise word quiz. Students giving feedback to each other is more effective than the students receiving feedback from the teacher.
  2. Play derivation jeopardy to help students understand how a word's derivations are used and the significance of words having different parts of speeches:
     • Students are divided into pairs and receive word cards of the base words and derivations studied in the class.
     • Students divide all the words studied in class into the following categories: Noun, adverb, verb, adjective. Microsoft Access can be used to make word cards. Click here for a sample sheet.
     • After students have divided the word cards into categories, the teacher confirms the part of speech of each word.
     • The teacher draws the jeopardy board and reads sentences which are missing one of the words students just studied. Students can reference their vocabulary notebooks to try to find the answer. The blackboard will look something like the picture below:

     

  3. Encourage students to use their vocabulary notebooks and not their textbooks as a reference for a variety of activities.
• At the beginning of each class, make sure to periodically review old words so students do not forget them and they can add more information to their vocabulary notebooks.
• Vocabulary notebooks will not work if students do not study them. If vocabulary notebooks are studied they can be helpful. (Student comments on studying) Introduce a memory schedule as mentioned in Schmitt & Schmitt (1995).
• Vocabulary notebooks give the teacher a chance to demonstrate to the learners what kind of information about a word they can find in a dictionary. Try to take advantage of it! (Student comments on dictionaries)
• Some students will use the keyword method and other students will not. Demonstrate the keyword method to students and if some decide not to use it, please accept it. (Student comments on keywords)
• Design tests so that the information in the vocabulary notebooks will be useful. (Student comments on Studying for the Test)
• If supplying word sheets, expect and accept that that some students will prefer to study using a different format. (See Student Quotes on the Formatting or view how student notebooks varied.)
• Make your own vocabulary notebook and eat your own cooking. Remember, never have students do what you yourself would not do. If you cannot use the vocabulary notebook, then how can you expect your students to?

8.0 Issues for Further Investigation

• From what level should students start learning about the other kinds of word information besides the L1 meaning of a word?
• Would vocabulary notebooks in combination with word cards be a better way to learn words than a vocabulary notebook alone?
• Do pre-formatted word sheets word best or should learners be free to format their own notebooks?
• From what level can learners start to keep a vocabulary notebook like the one mentioned on this page? Are simple wordlists best for beginning learners?

9.0 Bibliography

Allen, V. (1983). Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Belgar, D. & Hunt, A. (1999) Revising and validating the 2000 Word Level and University Word Level Vocabulary Tests. Language Testing. 12(2), 131-162.
Fowle, C. (2002). Vocabulary notebooks: implementation and outcomes. ELT Journal. 56(4), 380 - 388.
Gairns R. & Redman, S. (1986). Working with Words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gu, Y. (1994). Vocabulary learning strategies of good and poor Chinese EFL learners (ERIC Document Reproduction Service NO. ED370411) The article can be downloaded here.
Kim, S. (2002). Using Vocabulary Notebooks to Collect Words. 大阪女学院短期大学紀要. 32, 93-102.
Leeke, P. & Shaw, P. (2000). Learner’s independent records of vocabulary. System 28, 271-289.
McCarthy, M.J. Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McCulloch, W. (2006). www.WORDSURFING.co.uk Vocabulary Book. Retrieved May 30, 2006, from http://www.wordsurfing.co.uk/WordSurfingBook.pdf
Nakamura, T. (2002). Vocabulary Learning Strategies: The Case of Japanese Learners of English. Kyoto: Koyo Shobo
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
Nation, I.S.P. (2001). Learning Vocabulary in another Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Saunders, B. (2002). Giving Learners Access to Vocabulary Enrichment. In P. Lewis. (Ed.) The Changing Face of Call. Tokyo: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers, 109 - 122.
Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary Learning Strategies. In N. Schmitt & McCarthy, M. (Eds.) Vocabulary, Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy (pp. 199 - 227). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. & Schmitt, D. (1995). Vocabulary notebooks: theoretical underpinnings and practical implications. ELT Journal, 49 (2), 133-143.
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behavior of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18(1), 55-88
Waring, R. (2002). Basic Principles and Practice in Vocabulary Instruction. The Language Teacher, 26 (07). Retrieved May 30, 2006, from http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/2002/07/waring
Woolard, G. (2000). Collocation - encouraging learner independence. In Lewis, G. (Ed.) Teaching Collocation. (pp. 28-46). Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications.
熊谷美奈子. (20006). 教室における語彙指導. 第25東北英語教育学会 シンポジウム

10.0 Appendix 1: Student quotes about using vocabulary notebooks