Ethóks: A new Latin/Greek etymology course for EFL vocabulary development among university-level learners Abstract Introduction

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1 Ethóks: A new Latin/Greek etymology course for EFL vocabulary development among university-level learners L.C.E. Veronika de la Cruz Villegas Izquierdo Sandoval, Manuel Jesús Ph.D.(Co-author) Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. División Académica de Educación y Artes. Abstract My experience in teaching Greek and Latin Etymologies of the English Language to Spanish-speaking university-level learners of English has made evident to me the necessity of the incorporation of technology in language classrooms to facilitate EFL vocabulary development. ETHÓKS is a new multimedia application to teach Latin/Greek etymologies of the English language to university learners. The application was conceptualized for my M.A research project answering the following two research questions: Can explicit multimedia instruction on English Latin/Greek etymologies facilitate vocabulary learning? Can the proficiency level of the students mediate the effects of explicit multimedia instruction on English vocabulary learning? This application was designed to provide learners with a funny, entertaining and productive instructional tool based on research examining the potential use of technology to enhance learners vocabulary storage. The application was designed based on the information-processing model of the cognitive theory. Based on this model, Ethóks is organized into six sections. The first section is the presentation of the software and its contributions to vocabulary learning and L2 language learning. The second section describes the syllabus of the ETYMOLOGIES course in which the application is to be implemented. Section three presents students with 5 different Latin/Greek roots of the English language. The presentation includes information about the roots, its Spanish translation, meanings and examples. In order to help learners internalize this knowledge, students are provided with multiple activities in section number four. These activities include filling the blanks, multiple choice and drop down exercises. Section number five is a section, originally thought, to provide students with further practice contributing to his/her better understanding of new vocabulary. The last section was called Links In this section; students can find different Websites about Latin/Greek etymologies of English vocabulary. Finally, the multimedia application is shown and some findings from the experimental study are presented in order to provide some empirical evidence for the beneficial effects of Ethóks on EFL vocabulary learning. Introduction ETHÓKS, the new multimedia application to teach Latin/Greek etymologies of the English language to university learners, was conceptualized for my M.A research project answering the following two research questions: Can explicit 122

2 multimedia instruction on English Latin/Greek etymologies facilitate vocabulary learning? Can the proficiency level of the students mediate the effects of explicit multimedia instruction on English vocabulary learning? Basically, the study examined, first, the impact of a multimedia application on L2 vocabulary learning among university level learners of English enrolled in an Etymology course and second, the role of the L2 proficiency of learners in L2 vocabulary learning. It was a classroom-based experimental study using a mixed method design: Quantitative and Qualitative. The purpose of the study was to examine whether the ESL proficiency of multimedia application users can mediate vocabulary learning resulting from multimedia instruction on English Latin roots words. The experimental multimedia application (De la Cruz & Izquierdo, 2009) was based on Groot s (2006) cognitive vocabulary developmental stages explained in a later. The Multimedia instruction was conceptualized by the researcher (de la Cruz & Izquierdo, 2009); before the study, the participating university did not have any technological tool to teach etymologies; based on experiences in teaching etymologies at the university level, the researcher designed an on-line multimedia application about the Latin and Greek roots of English language vocabulary, the software was called Ethóks having as a reference the roots compounding of the word etymology (etymos, 'truth' and logos 'word'). The following sections describe the purpose, theoretical foundations, the organization and implementation of the Software. Ethóks: Multimedia Application 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this software is to provide learners with a funny, entertaining and productive tool based on technology advances to enhance vocabulary learning through the study of the Latin/Greek roots of English language. 1.2 Theoretical Foundations Ethóks is a multimedia application for vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language which takes learners systematically through the sequence of mental operations which make up the cognitive acquisition process. The stages of this program are 123

3 based on the theoretical bases used by Groot (2000) for the development of CALL applications. While the author points out that, in learning new vocabulary, the different stages of the cognitive position cannot always be clearly distinguished because learning a word is an incremental process that gradually develops with repeated exposure and because there is constant interaction between the various stages, one way to operationalize vocabulary learning through multimedia applications can be through these stages. 1. Notice of the various properties of the new word: morphological and phonological, syntactic, semantic, stylistic, collocational, and so forth. 2. Storage in the internal lexicon in networks of relationships that correspond to the properties described in (1). 3. Consolidation of the storage described in (2) by means of further exposure to the word in a variety of contexts which illustrate its various properties. This results in a firmer embedding in the memory needed for long term retention (Groot, 2006). In Ethóks (de la Cruz & Izquierdo, 2009), the first stage is represented by the presentation of a new root and new vocabulary containing the root and the different properties of these words (Prefix, suffix, type of linguistics element and pronunciation). Then, in the second stage students are provided with different examples to show them the uses of the new word into different context and the way these new words interact with other words to have a significant meaning. Finally, in the third stage, students find different exercises (Ex. multiple choice, fill in the blank) which help them to consolidate the new vocabulary through the practice of the analysis of all the components of the new word and the way it interacts with the component of the sentence. 1.3 Description Based on Groots (2006) cognitive stages for vocabulary development, Ethos was organized into six sections. The first section is the presentation of the software and its contributions to vocabulary learning and L2 language learning. The second section is for the description of the ETYMOLOGY course. The first stage of Groots (2006) indicates that students have to notice the various properties of the new word like the morphological and phonological, 124

4 syntactic, semantic, stylistic, and collocational and section three tries to figure out this stage, here, the presentation of the roots takes place, students are provided with 5 different Latin/Greek roots with their meanings and examples. The student can learn the type of linguistics element of the words (adverb, verb, noun, adjective), the translation and pronunciation giving them all the facilities to acquire the new vocabulary. In section number four, students are provided with different kind of activities like filling the blanks, multiple choices and matching exercises to provide students with possibilities to practice the new root and the new vocabulary. Through the previous section, the storage of the new vocabulary in the internal lexicon in networks of relationships is possible. Section number five is a section, originally thought, to submerge students into more practice what figures out the last stage about the consolidation of the new vocabulary and contributes to his/her better understanding of new vocabulary. The last section was called links; here students can find different websites about Latin/Greek English etymologies and vocabulary. This section was created to spur on students to read and learn more about this. Each vocabulary session contains 10 words which are derived from the same Latin/Greek root taking about 15 minutes to complete each. Each session is divided into three sequential stages. The first contains the Latin/Greek root and its meaning in Spanish and English, the pronunciation of the words and the syntactic property. The second part has the intention of storing the lexicon; here learners can see the use of the words in two different sentences. In the last part, learners are presented to different kind of activities which illustrate the various properties of the words. The Latin/Greek roots included in the program are Ped, Man, Sect, Dict and Port, the roots were selected at random from the source book Greek and Latin Roots by Trisha Callela, in which there are 27 Greek and Latin roots presented by the author. 1.4 Specifications Ethóks is a software for vocabulary learning through learners exposure to Latin/Greek etymologies. Basically, the software provides learners with Latin/Greek roots of English vocabulary through a multimedia application. 125

5 Access MEMORIAS DEL V FORO DE ESTUDIOS EN LENGUAS INTERNACIONAL (FEL 2009) To have access to the software, the student has to get a username and a password to become a member. He/she enters into a registration section to enter his/her personal information and to write its own username and password. (See figure 2.1). After registration, they go back to the access page to enter the information required and a welcome message appears. Once in the software, the student finds the main menu containing the seven sections of the software and three more icons, one for exit the software, another to add a new user and another to see the list of members of the software. (See figure 2.2). Figure 2.1 Registration to Ethóks 126

6 Figure 2.2 Presentation Section 1. PRESENTATION. In this section, learners find a welcome message. (See figure 2.3). This section is important because it tries to contextualize learners providing them with the definition of etymologies and the importance of its study in Language degree programs. Section 2. DESCRIPTION. The purpose of this section is to provide students with training to work with the software. It describes the content of the software and the order he/she can follow to surf on it. (See figure 2.4). Section 3. VOCABULARY. Section number three about Latin/Greek roots is also identified as vocabulary section; here the five Latin/Greek roots are presented. The roots are Ped, Man, Sect, Dict and Port. (See figure 2.5). First, the student is provided with the root and its meaning in English and Spanish. Students can also find the pronunciation of the words and a picture 127

7 which support the meaning of the word. For instance, the first word in the software is Ped and it looks as in figure 2.6 in the software. (See figure 2.6). Secondly, 10 words containing the root are presented (See table 2.1) with its meaning in English and Spanish, its pronunciation, the type of linguistic element and examples through which students can see the use of the word into different contexts. (See figure 2.7). Figure 2.3 Welcome message at Ethóks Figure 2.4. Description of the software at Ethóks 128

8 Figure 2.5. Vocabulary section Figure 2.6. Root presentation at Ethóks 129

9 Section 4. PRACTICE. In this section the student finds different kind of exercises like matching, filling the blank and multiple choices, the intention is to provide students with a space to practice the vocabulary learned. Figure 2.7 Rooted words presentation Figure 2.7. Practice menu at Ethóks 130

10 Ped Man Sect Dict Port Biped Emancipate Bisect Contradict Deport Centipede Manacles Dissect Dictation Import Impediment Manager Insect Dictator Export Millipede Mandate Intersection Diction Portable Pedal Maneuver Section Dictionary Portage Peddler Manipulate Sector Verdict Porter Pedestrian Manual Transect Dictum Portfolio Pedicure Manufacture Trisect Edict Report Quadruped Manuscript Vivisection Indictment Support Tripod Manipulate Sectional Predict Transport Table 2.1 Presents the words presented per root There are 10 exercises in his section; the first five exercises are identified as FOCUS VOCABULARY. Here, the student finds exercises about each root in a separate way. Figure 2.8. At the bottom of each exercise, students find an icon with the title SCORES, they can click on it and see their correct and incorrect number of items and they also find another icon with the title FEEDBACK where they can find the correct answers of the exercises. Figure 2.9. After that, students find 5 more exercises in which the rooted words were included but mixed. The purpose of these exercises is to know whether the students are able to identify the root and the rooted word in a multiple context in which he faces different words. Section 5. MORE PRACTICE. In this section the student finds more exercises in English and Spanish where students have to infer the meaning of a word or to analyze sentences and words. Figures 2.10 and

11 Figure 2.8 Exercise 1 Figure 2.9 Correct answers of the exercise 132

12 Figure More practice section Figure 2.11 Sample of the More Practice Section Section 6. LINKS. In this section students find the name and addresses of some websites about English Latin/Greek etymologies which will be of great interest for them. Figure

13 Figure Links Preliminary conclusions The experimental study in which Ethóks was used, was built on the assumption that multimedia environments in language degree curriculum, especially in Etimologías subject, can provide learners with a different strategy to help students to increase their knowledge of English. The effectiveness of the multimedia environment is hypothesized to depend on one variable: English proficiency level learners in a classroom environment using a multimedia software with respect to their understanding of English Latin/Greek roots. The quantitative findings of this study has provided support to these hypotheses showing the effectiveness of the application of multimedia environments in Etimologías subject with diversity in the English proficiency level of learners. The English proficiency level of students has not be an impediment to learned the vocabulary included in the software. Results from the qualitative instruments have provided indications that learners attitudes and interest in the Latin/Greek roots learning depend on the learning condition they are exposed to. Students have shown great interest in the multimedia activities. Based on the results of this experiment, Ethóks is being modified and improved in its presentation and activities and it is being used in current classes. 134

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16 Biodata Veronika de la Cruz Villegas (L.C.E) is associate professor at the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. She studies the master in teaching at UJAT and her research and teaching focus on the integration of computer applications in language classrooms to facilitate second/foreign language vocabulary acquisition. She is a 11-years-experienced teacher. Along this time, she has worked for UJAT and Ce.Ca. T.I 95, teaching subjects like Translation, etymologies, tourism, English, Methodology, Human Rights, Ethics, among others. veronika.delacruz@daea.ujat.mx. Manuel Jesús Izquierdo Sandoval (Ph.D., McGill University, Canada) is associate professor at the Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. His research and teaching focus on the integration of computer applications in language classrooms to facilitate second/foreign language grammar acquisition