Estrategias de aprendizaje y conocimiento léxicoun estudio sobre el alumnado de educación secundaria en programas de aprendizaje integrado de contenidos y lengua extranjera

Abstract

In recent years, the relevance of lexical competence in SLA has grown in importance together with an interest in the strategies students use to learn vocabulary in different contexts. In one of these contexts, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), however, most of the attention has been usually placed on the potential increase of learners’ vocabulary, while the analysis of the specific strategies learners use has been neglected. This PhD dissertation explores the development of lexical competence in 138 Extremaduran secondary-school learners following two educational approaches (CLIL vs mainstream EFL), by measuring their receptive and productive mastery of the 2K and academic vocabulary bands and exploring their use of vocabulary learning strategies. Results indicate a clear difference between CLIL and EFL learners as regards their selection of VLSs and their vocabulary levels. CLIL learners outperformed EFL learners in the receptive and productive vocabulary tests. Concerning VLSs selection, both groups demonstrated to use different strategies, with CLIL learners selecting significantly more often VLSs related to greater lexical development. The results may help us elucidate how CLIL may (1) influence the way learners face vocabulary learning and (2) relate to other factors such as Instructed Amount of Exposure. The confirmation of the differences between both groups of learners in general and academic vocabulary and the finding that the teaching context affects the way L2 vocabulary is processed, together with the consideration of the potential influence of IAoE in these findings, may facilitate the understanding of some of the most contentious CLIL issues.