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Second article review
Strategies and Success in Technical Vocabulary Learning: Students’ Approaches in One Academic Context by Michael Lessard-Clouston.

The learning strategies that students use in order to learn technical vocabulary cause success or not when acquiring technical vocabulary. Important aspects about this topic are technical vocabulary and the challenges faced when learning this type of words like recoding and writing. Another important part is learning strategies, the way students develop and use them in order to acquire new terms, and the success that those strategies cause. Two approaches for learning terminology are explained: structured learning (inside the classroom and directed by the teacher) and unstructured learning (outside the classroom and carried out by the student). The main questions to answer in this article are the following: which learning strategies do students in a specific field use in order to learn technical vocabulary? How can those strategies be classified? What kinds of words are acquired? and Does a certain approach or strategy predict success in acquisition?

This research follows a mixed method. The context of this study is a Christian Graduate School of Theology; the course is Introduction to Theology I. The method in order to carry out the research follows different steps. First, two types of tests are applied at different times in the course: a Test of Theological Language (students’ background knowledge and progress) and a Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (learning strategies, their application and the success of such strategies). These tests are applied in order to compare information gotten at the beginning and at the end of the course. The transcriptions of individual interviews at different times generate more information about learning strategies. The researcher makes general and individual descriptions of the group of students, the information is analyzed. The results of this research demonstrate that students with less knowledge about technical words use a structured approach. The selection of learning strategies depends on the personality of each student. However, applying a structured approach to technical vocabulary learning helps to achieve a deeper knowledge of the specific terms in the fields of study.

The results demonstrate some differences with the previous theory about the topic. Those results make English teachers reflect about taking into account the learning strategies that predominate in a certain group in order to take advantage and help students learn new terms easily. This research promotes the teaching of learning strategies to students. Teaching becomes a big challenge when teaching technical vocabulary; however, teachers can solve this problem by teaching students how to apply different learning strategies (Austermuehle, Kautz &amp; Sprenzel, 2007). Other researchers can be attracted by the topic in order to improve and develop new ways of teaching specialized terminology.

The main contributions to the field of English for Specific Purposes are that technical terms will be easier to teach by taking into account the learning strategies that students apply. For teachers, different strategies, which are helpful for students, are porposed. Learning can be easier to achieve by matching teaching and learning strategies. An important point is that students can find different strategies that help them to success when learning and applying technical terms. Finally, this research helps in different areas of English language teaching by providing new and useful strategies to learn Technical terminology.

References

Austermuehle, D., Kautz, T. &amp; Sprenzel, J. (2007). Improving the knowledge and application of vocabulary within content areas. Retrieved from Education Resources Information Center.

Lessard, M. (2008). Strategies and success in technical vocabulary learning: students’ approaches in one academic context. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 34(1-2), 31-63.

First article review
Teaching Technical Vocabulary: Before, During, or after the Reading Assignment? by David M. Memory.

The main topic of this research paper is to identify if the best moment to teach technical vocabulary is before, during or after a reading assignment. In the theoretical framework, three approaches: reading before, during, or after a reading assignment are explained by supporting information with the use of other authors’ ideas. In general, the theory about this subject does not mention which of the three options is the most appropriate for teaching this type of vocabulary. The main question to answer in this article is the following: should technical vocabulary be taught at a certain time in a reading assignment?

This research followed a mixted method. The method in order to carry out the research follows different steps. First, the researcher looks for different subject classes in order to apply the research: 12 government classes, 12 economics classes, and 36 biology classes. The researcher reviews the textbooks used in the classes before staring the year course in order to identify technical words. Then, the researcher takes into account definitions, sample sentences and meaning clues in order to design materials according to the three approaches. The teachers receive the materials, and the instructions about the procedures to follow when teaching the three methods. Finally, a test is applied at the end of the application of each approach; however, no classroom observations are applied. The results of this research do not differ in a significant way because the three approaches cause similar outcomes. As a conclusion, the most appropriate time to teach technical vocabulary can be after, during, or before reading texts.

This article is based on theoretical aspects that support the main ideas of the research. It does not contain relevant breakthrough information because the results do not show differences with the previous theory. Additionally, this article just contributes just one important idea to the field of English language teaching that is the use of glossaries to teach technical terminology. According to Lessard (2008), the use of glossaries is promoted not only by teachers, but also for students as a learning strategy. This article can cause a sense of curiosity in other researchers in order to look for reliable results and to solve the main question of the research.

This article helps in the field of English for Specific Purposes, and so technical terms will be easier to teach by using different strategies. For English teachers, this article provides them different ideas in order to help students learn specific terminology by using different materials and strategies. Also, teachers are encouraged to develop their own teaching strategies by looking for new ideas. Additionally, students can develop their own learning strategies, so they can learn new words without the help of an English teacher. Finally, this research helps English teachers to identify new and useful strategies to teach Technical terminology.

References

Lessard, M. (2008). Strategies and Success in Technical Vocabulary Learning: Students’ Approaches in One Academic Context. Indian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 34(1-2), pp. 31-63.

Memory, D. (1990). Teaching Technical Vocabulary: Before, During, or after the Reading Assignment. Journal of Literacy Research, 22(1), pp. 39-53. doi: 10.1080/10862969009547693.