Vocabulary Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual Classroom

• Main Author: Solberg, Elin
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Stockholms universitet, Institutionen för språkdidaktik 2013
• Subjects: recently arrived; English; vocabulary; multilingualism
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-86933

This paper presents a case study of the strategies used for vocabulary teaching and learning in a multilingual adult education English classroom with recently arrived students in Sweden. Through classroom observations, an analysis of the textbook used, an interview with the teacher, and interviews with recently arrived students, several strategies and approaches to teaching or learning English vocabulary were found. The most common strategies for teaching vocabulary were to explain the word in the target language and to put it in context, although Swedish translations were also frequently used. Among the students’ strategies found were the use of dictionaries, flash cards, wordlists, and guessing from similar words in other languages. The students reported some difficulties with Swedish translations of English words and the use of Swedish in the classroom, albeit some also appreciated the opportunity to learn more Swedish. From these findings, some potential challenges for a multilingual classroom with recently arrived students were drawn.