Computer assisted focus on form to minimise lexical errors in young learners

  1. Agustín Llach, María del Pilar
  2. Fernández Fontecha, Almudena
  3. Moreno Espinosa, Soraya
Journal:
Encuentro: revista de investigación e innovación en la clase de idiomas

ISSN: 1989-0796

Year of publication: 2006

Issue: 16

Pages: 3-16

Type: Article

More publications in: Encuentro: revista de investigación e innovación en la clase de idiomas

Abstract

The lexical component plays a paramount role in the first stages of language acquisition. Hence, it is crucial to learn and use words appropriately. Based on the results obtained on a study carried out on the lexical competence in English of 283 Spanish speaking primary learners, the present article investigates a way of teaching vocabulary to young Spanish learners of English. With the aim of diminishing lexical error production and motivate learners, we adopt a Focus on Form approach enhanced by the use of computer assisted language teaching. Two types of activities are proposed to illustrate this practice: one of them focuses on spelling errors and the other on word choice errors due to transfer.