Barcroft, J. (2012). Input-based incremental vocabulary instruction. Alexandria, VA: TESOL International Association.

While vocabulary used to be considered a neglected aspect of language teaching (Meara, 1980), the same cannot be argued today, given that it is the focus of so many current books, textbooks, and journal articles in TESOL. Vocabulary has indeed come a long way, as reflected in the new edition of Nation’s (2013) important work on learning vocabulary in another language. Joe Barcroft’s Input-based Incremental Vocabulary Instruction reflects the current importance of vocabulary in ESL/EFL teaching, yet also draws heavily on research conducted both by Barcroft and others.

A professor of Spanish and second language acquisition (SLA) at Washington University in St. Louis, Barcroft is an active researcher who applies his findings to teaching in a way that emphasizes both input and the incremental nature of vocabulary learning, as the title suggests. Barcroft seems to draw on his early experience as an ESL instructor and director of studies in California, but has also made sure that all of the included lesson plans have been field tested. As a result, the book’s suggestions and complete lesson plans will be of particular interest and value to readers who teach in a variety of educational contexts. The book is concise and includes seven chapters, a references section, and an index.

Chapter 1, “Getting Started with 5 Key Questions,” specifies that the purpose of the book is to consider “the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes involved in L2 vocabulary learning,” as well as to emphasize how target vocabulary is presented as “input (samples of the target language)” and how teaching can “support the incremental buildup of different aspects of vocabulary knowledge over time” (p. 3). Hence, there is an emphasis on input-based incremental (IBI) vocabulary instruction throughout the book. Following a short history of L2 vocabulary instruction, the chapter distinguishes between incidental and intentional vocabulary learning and outlines five important questions for instructors concerning how we teach vocabulary, what resources are available to help us do so, what our current ideas for effective vocabulary learning are, why we should adopt an IBI approach, and how we might be able to use it for classroom vocabulary teaching. [Note: Chapter 1 is available as a downloadable pdf sample online from TESOL.]

Chapter 2, “Ten Principles of Effective Vocabulary Instruction,” lists each principle along with a clear rationale and research support. As discussed further in the chapter, the ten principles are to:

• Develop and implement a vocabulary acquisition plan
• Present new words frequently and repeatedly in the input
• Promote both intentional and incidental vocabulary learning
• Use meaning-bearing comprehensible input when presenting new words
• Present new words in an enhanced manner
•  Limit forced output without access to meaning during the initial stages
•  Limit forced semantic elaboration during the initial stages
•  Promote learning L2-specific word meanings and usage over time
• Progress from less to more demanding activities over time
• Apply research findings with direct implications for vocabulary instruction
  (Adapted from Barcroft, 2012, p. 18, Table 2.1)
  
  

In this chapter, of special note is the way Barcroft addresses various types of students, including those with higher levels of proficiency. He artfully connects the IBI vocabulary instruction principles to recent research and writing, for example on Nation’s (2008, 2013) four strands in a balanced language course (p. 24), and in using chunks to enhance sentence- and discourse-level input (p. 25). Principle seven, on limiting forced semantic elaboration during early stages (i.e., not focusing on more aspects of a word’s meaning than necessary), receives the most attention (almost seven pages). Because this may seem counterintuitive to some teachers, the length on this aspect is perhaps not unwarranted.

Following the above foundation, Chapter 3 briefly outlines and comments on a “Checklist for Designing and Implementing Vocabulary Lessons.” The chapter ends with a sample lesson and demonstrates aspects of the points addressed with the checklist. The seven points follow naturally from the questions and principles of the two first chapters, and lead well into the remaining four chapters, three of which introduce sample lessons and designing activities.

Chapters 4 and 5 are “Lessons for Your Classroom,” parts 1 and 2, and introduce using various sources of input (such as words from the Academic Word List, Vocabulary Levels Test, and online resources) in planning and carrying out lessons that reflect IBI. Chapter 5 emphasizes reading and includes a range of sources, such as Shakespeare, Stephen King, and TOEFL preparation materials, in the sample lesson plans, which could be adapted for various contexts. Chapter 6 on “Designing Activities to Supplement Your Existing Materials” is useful for its three lessons that supplement vocabulary in common ESL/EFL textbooks—textbooks that my graduate students or I have used. Finally, Chapter 7 briefly connects the IBI principles with possible future vocabulary research and instruction, in terms of new technologies and areas of interest in cognitive and psychological approaches to SLA.

Barcroft’s book is a gift to ESL instructors in higher education. If you are searching for ways that recent research connects with vocabulary learning and teaching practices, look no further. This practical work challenges some current practices while also showing explicitly how IBI vocabulary teaching fills key gaps. Although Barcroft focuses on cognitive and psychological approaches to SLA, I couldn’t help but wonder how other (e.g., sociocultural) approaches to ESL learning might deal with some of the issues and examples he discusses. As Barcroft continues his research, teachers can use this excellent resource to enhance their students’ vocabulary learning.

References

Meara, P. (1980). Vocabulary acquisition: A neglected aspect of language learning. Language Teaching and Linguistics Abstracts, 13, 221–245.

Nation, I. S. P. (2008). Teaching vocabulary: Strategies and techniques. Boston, MA: Heinle.

Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.