Hernández Jamasmie, Carolina Patricia; (2024) Exploring Chilean teaching and learning vocabulary practices in fifth-grade. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Carolina_Hernandez Jamasmie_CarolinaHernandez_15140280_PhDThesis.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 June 2025. Download (4MB)

Abstract

Vocabulary plays a pivotal role in a child’s language abilities development and academic success. Differences in vocabulary knowledge among children emerge in early childhood and endure throughout their schooling years. These disparities have been attributed to social and school-related factors. To adopt a comprehensive approach to this issue and to examine a less-explored stage of childhood, this thesis considered different actors involved in vocabulary teaching and learning in Chilean fifth-grades, with a special interest on two vocabulary learning strategies: Derivation from Context (DfC) and Morphological Awareness (MA). Given the pronounced social inequalities within Chilean educational system, particular emphasis was placed on potential differences related to socioeconomic status (SES). The research was divided into three studies a multi-method approach. Study 1 involved teacher training, an essential stage for effective vocabulary pedagogy implementation, but a topic often overlooked in vocabulary teaching research. An inductive thematic analysis was used to gain insights from 12 semi-structured interviews with teacher trainers specialising in Language Pedagogy working along Chile. Study 2 explored differences in children's performance in the use of DfC and MA, which have been considered particularly relevant for children over 9 years old. A comprehensive battery of assessments was administered to 126 fifth-graders. Children’s performance was analysed by SES on the measures taken. Study 3 examined teaching practices to determine the type and frequency of discourse moves implemented by 26 language teachers working in different SES communities in fifth-grade to promote children’s vocabulary gain. To observe vocabulary teaching practices a tailored observation tool was developed. Frequencies were compared by SES. Findings from both teacher training (Study 1) and teacher practices (Study 3) revealed that vocabulary teaching is promoted by short-meaning explanations, but with scarce target words’ reinforcement and assessment. Furthermore, DfC and MA strategies were scarcely encouraged. Additionally, those studies showed no special pedagogical actions were promoted to improve vocabulary gain in low-SES contexts. According to study 2, the ability to perform well on MA showed to be sensitive to SES differences, with children attending lower SES schools performing worse than their peers, in three out of four tasks measuring MA. Recommendations for teacher training and policymakers were proposed.

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