Cover not available
Part of
Writing and Language Learning: Advancing research agendas
Edited by Rosa M. Manchón
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 56] 2020
► pp. 357–380

Chapter 15
Can writing facilitate the development of a richer vocabulary?

Advancing research agendas

| Nottingham Trent University
This chapter considers the extent to which existing research on vocabulary acquisition and writing adequately addresses the vocabulary learning potential of writing with the aim of advancing a research agenda for investigating the vocabulary learning potential of writing instruction. It first reviews the challenges L2 writers face with vocabulary size, word knowledge, and lexical fluency from the perspective of vocabulary research. It then considers how vocabulary is commonly operationalised in writing studies. Next, it considers how vocabulary is treated in writing instruction. This is followed by proposals for a research agenda that aims to bring the concerns of vocabulary research and writing research into closer alignment. A stronger word level focus is advocated.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Challenge one: Vocabulary size
  • Challenge 2: Word knowledge
  • Challenge 3: Lexical fluency
  • Interim summary
  • Operationalising vocabulary in writing research
  • Interim summary
  • Writing instruction
  • A future research agenda
    • Input
      • Task 1
      • Task 2
    • Attention
      • Task 3
      • Task 4
      • Task 5
      • Task 6
    • Practice
      • Task 7
      • Task 8
  • Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 20 November 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.56.15sch
References (79)
References
Albrechtsen, D. (2008). Writing in two languages. In D. Albrechtsen, K. Haastrup, & B. Henriksen, Vocabulary and writing in a first and second language (pp. 112–159). Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barfield, A., & Gyllstad, H. (Eds.) (2009). Researching collocations in another language: Multiple interpretations. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, D. (2011). What aspects of vocabulary knowledge do textbooks give attention to? Language Teaching Research, 15(1), 83–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bulté, B., & Housen, A. (2014). Conceptualizing and measuring short-term changes in L2 writing complexity. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26, 42–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chandler, J. (2005). The efficacy of various types of error feedback for improvement in the accuracy and fluency of L2 student writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 12(3), 267–296. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y. (2016). Dictionary use for collocation production and retention: A CALL-based study. International Journal of Lexicography, 30(2), 225–251.Google Scholar
Coyle, Y., Cánovas Guirao, J., & Roca de Larios, J. (2018). Identifying the trajectories of young EFL learners across multi-stage writing and feedback processing tasks with model texts. Journal of Second Language Writing, 42, 25–43. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Csomay, E., & Prades, A. (2018). Academic vocabulary in ESL student papers: A corpus-based study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 33, 100–118. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cumming, A. (1990). Metalinguistic and ideational thinking in second language composing. Written Communication, 7, 482–511. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Daller, H., Milton, J., & Treffers-Daller, J. (Eds). (2007). Modelling and assessing vocabulary knowledge. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R. (2007). Practice in a second language. Perspectives from applied linguistics and cognitive psychology. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Durrant, P. (2016). To what extent is the Academic Vocabulary List relevant to university student writing? English for Specific Purposes, 43, 49–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Elgort, I. (2017). Blog posts and traditional assignments by first-and second-language writers. Language Learning and Technology, 21(2), 52–72.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Engber, C. (1995). The relationship of lexical proficiency to the quality of ESL compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4, 139–155. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ferris, D. (2006). Does error feedback help student writers? New evidence on the short and long-term effects of written error correction. In K. Hyland & F. Hyland (Eds), Feedback in second language writing: Contexts and issues (pp. 81–104). Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010). Second language writing research and written corrective feedback in SLA: Intersections and practical applications. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32(2), 181–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). Treatment of error in second language writing (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Folse, K. (2010). Is explicit vocabulary focus the reading teacher’s job? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 139–160.Google Scholar
Frodesen, J., & Wald, M. (2016). Exploring options in academic writing: Effective vocabulary and grammar use. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gardner, D. (2013). Exploring vocabulary: Language in action. New York, NY: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gardner, D., & Davies, M. (2014). A new academic vocabulary list. Applied Linguistics, 35(3), 305–327. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). A response to “to what extent is the Academic Vocabulary List relevant to university student writing?”. English for Specific Purposes, 43, 62–68. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
González-Fernández, B. (2018). Vocabulary knowledge components: Knowledge, acquisition and conceptualisation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Nottingham.Google Scholar
González-Fernández, B., & Schmitt, N. (2019). Word knowledge: Exploring the relationships and order of acquisition of vocabulary knowledge components. Applied Linguistics. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hartshorn, K., & Evans, N. (2015). The effects of dynamic written corrective feedback: A 30-week study. Journal of response to writing, 1, 6–34.Google Scholar
Hinkel, E. (2002). Second language writers’ text: Linguistic and rhetorical features. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Horst, M., & Collins, L. (2006). From faible to strong: How does their vocabulary grow? Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1), 83–106. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S. (2013a). Capturing the diversity in lexical diversity. Language Learning, 63(Supplement 1), 87–106. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013b). Defining and measuring lexical diversity. In S. Jarvis & M. Daller (Eds), Vocabulary knowledge: Human ratings and automated measures (pp. 13–43). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S., & Daller, M. (Eds.). (2013). Vocabulary knowledge: Human ratings and automated measures. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiang, N. (2000). Lexical representation and development in a second language, Applied Linguistics, 21 (1), 47–77. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jones, M., & Haywood, S. (2004). Facilitating the acquisition of formulaic sequences: An exploratory study in an EAP context. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), Formulaic sequences. (pp. 269–291). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jullian, P. (2000). Creating word meaning awareness. ELT Journal, 54, 37–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kyle, K. (2019). Measuring lexical richness. In S. Webb (Ed.), Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies. (pp. 454–476). London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kyle, K., & Crossley, S. (2015). Automatically assessing lexical sophistication: Indices, tools, findings and application. TESOL Quarterly, 49, 757–786. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). The relationship between lexical sophistication and independent and source-based writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 34, 12–24. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lantolf, J., & Poehner, M. (2005). Dynamic assessment in the language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 9, 233–265. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, L. (1997). What’s in a word that makes it hard or easy: Some intralexical factors that affect the learning of words. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 140–155). Cambridge: CUP.Google Scholar
Laufer, B., & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: Size, strength and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning, 54, 399–536. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B., & Waldman, T. (2011). Verb-noun collocations in second language writing: A corpus analysis of learner English. Language Learning, 61(2), 647–672. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lee, S. Y. (2003). ESL learners’ vocabulary use in writing and the effects of explicit vocabulary instruction. System, 31, 537–561. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leki, I., Cumming, A. & Silva, T. (2008). A synthesis of research on second language writing in English. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Levizky-Aviad, T., & Laufer, B. (2013). Lexical properties in the writing of foreign language learners over eight year of study: Single words and collocations. EUROSLA Monograph Series, 2, 127–148.Google Scholar
Malmstrom, H., Pecorari, D. & Shaw. (2018). Words for what? Contrasting university students’ receptive and productive academic vocabulary needs. English for Specific Purposes, 50, 28–39. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Manchón, R. M. (2009). Writing in foreign language contexts. Learning, teaching, and research. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011a). Learning-to-write and writing-to-learn in an additional language. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011b). The language learning potential of writing in foreign language contexts: Lessons from research. In T. Cimasko & M. Reichelt (Eds.), Foreign language writing instruction: Principles and practices (pp. 44–64). Anderson, SC: Parlor Press.Google Scholar
(2014). The distinctive nature of task repetition in writing. Implications for theory, research and pedagogy. Estudios de Linguistica Inglesa Aplicada, 14, 13–41.Google Scholar
Manchón, R., Murphy, L., & Roca de Larios, J. (2007). Lexical retrieval processes and strategies in second language writing: A synthesis of empirical research. International Journal of English Studies, 7(2), 149–174.Google Scholar
Manchón, R., & Vasylets, O. (2019). Language learning through writing: Theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence. In J. W. Schwieter & A. Benati (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of language learning (pp. 341–362). Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Manchón, R. M., & Williams, J. (2016). L2 writing and SLA studies. In R. M. Manchón & P. K. Matsuda (Eds.), Handbook of second and foreign language writing (pp. 567–586). Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mazgutova, D., & Kormos, J. (2015). Syntactic and lexical development in an intensive English for academic purposes programme. Journal of Second Language Writing, 29, 3–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Milton, J., & Fitzpatrick, T. (Eds.) (2014). Dimensions of vocabulary knowledge. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? Canadian Modern Language Review, 63, 59–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed). Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nicholas-Conesá, F., Manchón, R. M., & Cerezo, L. (2019). The effect of unfocused direct and indirect written corrective feedback on rewritten texts and new texts: Looking into feedback for accuracy and feedback for acquisition. Modern Language Journal, 103(4), 848–873. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nitta, R., & Baba, K. (2014). Task repetition and L2 writing development. In H. Byrnes & R. M. Manchón (Eds.), Task-based language learning. Insights from and for L2 writing (pp. 107–136). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
(2018). Understanding the benefits of repetition from a complex dynamic systems perspective: The case of a writing task. In M. Bygate (Ed.), Learning language through task repetition (pp. 285–316). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Olinghouse, N., & Wilson, J. (2013). The relationship between vocabulary and writing quality in three genres. Reading and Writing, 26, 45–65. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Hodder Education.Google Scholar
Paquot, M. (2010). Academic vocabulary in learner writing: From extraction to analysis. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Parry, K. (1993). Too many words: Learning the vocabulary of an academic subject. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), Second language reading and vocabulary learning (pp. 109–129). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Polio, C., & Shea, M. (2014). An investigation into current measures of linguistic accuracy in second language writing research. Journal of Second Language Writing, 26, 10–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Qi, D. (1998). An inquiry into language-switching in second language composing processes. Canadian Modern Language Review, 54, 413–435. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sachs, R., & Polio, C. (2007). Learners’ uses of two types of written feedback on a L2 writing revision task. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 29, 67–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sasao, Y., & Webb, S. (2017). The word parts levels test. Language Teaching Research, 21, 12–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, D. (2019). Why don’t writing textbooks reflect current vocabulary research? Paper presented at TESOL 2019 Atlanta, GA.
Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research, 12, 329–363. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014). Size and depth of vocabulary knowledge: What the research shows. Language Learning, 64, 913–951. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18(1), 55–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Skehan, P. (2009). Modelling second language performance: Integrating complexity, accuracy, fluency and lexis. Applied Linguistics, 30(4), 510–532. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Snellings, P., van Gelderen, A., & de Glopper, K. (2004). Validating a test of second language written lexical retrieval: A new measure of fluency in written language production, Language Testing, 21, 174–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Storch, N. (2018). Written corrective feedback from sociocultural theoretical perspectives: A research agenda. Language Teaching, 51, 262–277. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1995). Problems in output and the cognitive processes they generate: A step towards second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 16(3), 371–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Van Beuningen, C., de Jong, N., & Kuiken, F. (2012). Evidence of the effectiveness of comprehensive error correction in second language writing. Language Learning, 62, 1–41. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Webb, S. (2008). Receptive and productive vocabulary size. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 79–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Williams, J. (2012). The potential role(s) of writing in second language development. Journal of Second Language Writing, 21, 321–331. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wolfersberger, M. (2003). L1 to L2 writing process and strategy transfer: A look at lower proficiency writers. TESL-EJ, 7. Retrieved from <[URL]>
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Manchón, Rosa M.
2023. Writing and Language Learning. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Leow, Ronald P., Rosa M. Manchón & Charlene Polio
2022. Chapter 13. Writing. In Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research Methods [Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 3], ► pp. 305 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 19 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.