ABSTRACT

Vocabulary is a crucial aspect of language acquisition and plays a vital role in dictating learners’ proficiency level at different ages. A key aspect of second language acquisition (SLA) is the development of a broad vocabulary. This review looks at how learners approach vocabulary learning, different categories of vocabulary, and the main objectives of vocabulary acquisition. The paper additionally explores Vocabulary Learning Strategies and how they affect vocabulary development in SLA. Cognitive tactics, including memorising techniques or metacognitive strategies, which entail learners reflecting on their learning process and tracking their progress, may be used to approach vocabulary acquisition. Working with peers or teachers to acquire vocabulary is another efficient approach to using social learning tactics. Learners must have word knowledge, which encompasses academic, domain-specific, colloquial, technical, and idiomatic vocabulary, in addition to expressive and productive vocabulary, to improve their vocabulary acquisition. Additionally, grammatical complexity greatly influences word acquisition, and modern learning tools like social media apps, subtitles, and short tales provide new approaches to enhancing vocabulary learning. In summary, effective Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) are crucial in SLA, and learners should use various strategies to pick up a wide variety of vocabulary. When creating language teaching programmes, language teachers should also consider each learner’s requirements and motivations. Utilising fresh learning resources and media may provide learners with more options for enhancing their vocabulary learning and enhancing their overall language skills.

Keywords: Vocabulary learning Strategies, Second Language Acquisition, Literature, Vocabulary Acquisition

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ABSTRACT

Myths reflect the wisdom of ancient people. In the mid-20th century, Northrop Frye proposed archetypal criticism (myth criticism) and claimed that literature is displaced mythology; in other words, literary works are imitations of myths. The forest plays a significant role in mythology and is an essential imagery for archetypal criticism. As the primitive home of humankind, the forest is more than a vegetation world in literature; it is endowed with profound cultural implications, providing the motifs for literature. The forest imagery in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a well-known American Romantic novelist, and The Wilderness (Yüan-yeh) by Cao Yu (Ts’ao Yü), a prominent Chinese playwright, displaces mythological archetypes. However, due to the diverse cultures of the authors and the different themes they intended to convey, the mythological archetypes of the forest in the two works have similarities and differences. According to the holy scriptures and tales from Greek mythology, by using myth and archetypal criticism and qualitative research methods such as comparative method, biographical approach, and textual analysis, this paper attempts to analyze the similarities and differences between the mythological archetypes of the forest in The Scarlet Letter and The Wilderness to reveal the resemblance and diversity of human culture, psychology, and literary creation, as well as the significance of myth to literature. Findings show that the forest imagery in both works primarily displaces the archetypes of the Bible and Greek mythology and that the displacement focuses on the themes of atonement and redemption, expressing both authors’ ideals of goodness and self-redemption.

Keywords: the forest imagery; mythological archetypes; the Bible and Greek mythology; The Scarlet Letter; The Wilderness

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ABSTRACT

Background: As shown by the Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS) findings over four successive cycles (2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021), South African Grade 4 learners’ performance in reading literacy is low, irrespective of the language in which reading is assessed. Xitsonga home language (HL) learners are assessed in Grade 4, but very little research on early reading development in this language has been undertaken.

Objectives: This article aims to examine whether Xitsonga HL reading develops differently when it is used as the language of instruction compared to being used as the second language (L2).

Method: The quantitative case study was conducted in five schools in the Mopani district of Limpopo Province. The early grade reading assessment (EGRA) instrument was adapted to Xitsonga, and 75 Grade 1s were selected in this study simply because Grade 1 is an important reading milestone children have to go through to help them cope with more advanced reading skills in higher grades.

Results: The findings showed significant differences between Xitsonga HL and L2 in favour of L2. It was unexpected for Xitsonga HL learners to be outscored by learners who were taught Xitsonga as an L2, given that HL learners often use the language at home.

Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is evident that teachers need to consider the orthographic nature of African languages when teaching reading in the Foundation Phase (Grades 1-3) classroom. Moreover, teaching reading requires an expert reading teacher who is familiar with the cultural, linguistic, and educational backgrounds of their learners. Thus, this requires teachers to be constantly professionally developed through suitable, accurate, and updated materials to help them improve their teaching of reading.

Keywords: early grade reading, home language, language of instruction, second language, Xitsonga.

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of using pictorial concept mapping on the retention of collocations in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. 59 intermediate-level students were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: collaborative pictorial concept mapping (22 students), individual pictorial concept mapping (17 students), and translation (20 students). All groups received the same material and instruction time. Two concept-mapping groups used pictorial concept-mapping techniques, while the translation group memorized collocations with their Farsi equivalents. After ten weeks, an immediate post-test was administered to test the first hypothesis. The results shows that the collaborative concept mapping group performed the best. A delayed post-test was given after three weeks to test the second hypothesis, and the findings indicate that the collaborative pictorial concept-mapping group performed better than the other two groups. This research suggests that using pictorial concept mapping in a cooperative learning environment has a positive impact on the retention of collocations for both short-term and long-term periods.

Keywords: Collocation; collocation retention; EFL; pictorial concept mapping

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