No Cover Image

Journal article 283 views 46 downloads

“From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh

Tess Fitzpatrick Orcid Logo, Steve Morris Orcid Logo

Vocabulary Learning and Instruction, Volume: 14, Issue: 2, Start page: 102660

Swansea University Authors: Tess Fitzpatrick Orcid Logo, Steve Morris Orcid Logo

  • 70085.VoR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2025 Tess Fitzpatrick and Steve Morris. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.

    Download (211.97KB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.29140/vli.v14n2.102660

Abstract

Around twenty thousand adult learners enrol onto Welsh language classes each year, but many do not progress beyond Mynediad level (= Entry, CEFR A1). The study reported here explored techniques to maintain early learning momentum, maximise learners’ returns for their learning efforts, and accelerate...

Full description

Published in: Vocabulary Learning and Instruction
ISSN: 2981-9954
Published: Castledown Publishers 2025
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70085
first_indexed 2025-07-31T14:08:58Z
last_indexed 2025-08-12T06:05:05Z
id cronfa70085
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807 xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><datestamp>2025-08-11T16:47:40.1465879</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>70085</id><entry>2025-07-31</entry><title>&#x201C;From zero to three hundred&#x201D; - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>9597ef45279e137ada70fc75832a45de</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-0715-9009</ORCID><firstname>Tess</firstname><surname>Fitzpatrick</surname><name>Tess Fitzpatrick</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>c696b0282208e9edd88c35b049a8c8d8</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-3789-1233</ORCID><firstname>Steve</firstname><surname>Morris</surname><name>Steve Morris</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-07-31</date><deptcode>CACS</deptcode><abstract>Around twenty thousand adult learners enrol onto Welsh language classes each year, but many do not progress beyond Mynediad level (= Entry, CEFR A1). The study reported here explored techniques to maintain early learning momentum, maximise learners&#x2019; returns for their learning efforts, and accelerate initial vocabulary acquisition. Novice learners of Welsh were challenged to learn 300 Welsh vocabulary items over a period of 50 days. They were provided with physical flash cards and information about learning techniques, and were asked to spend ten minutes per day on their learning. Tests administered immediately after and two weeks after completion of the learning period showed that acquisition success varied considerably between participants, and an end-of-study questionnaire found that the more successful learners had used highly systematic approaches to word selection and revision, and had frequently used the keyword technique of word learning. Test results also revealed that some target words were substantially less successfully acquired than others, and a list of words ranked by &#x201C;learnability&#x201D; was compiled. Outcomes from this study are informing curriculum revision by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, the main provider of Welsh language courses for adults.An earlier, Welsh language paper reporting this study was published in the journal Gwerddon (Fitzpatrick &amp; Morris, 2024).</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Vocabulary Learning and Instruction</journal><volume>14</volume><journalNumber>2</journalNumber><paginationStart>102660</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>Castledown Publishers</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>2981-9954</issnElectronic><keywords>vocabulary learning, flashcards, beginner learners, learnability, learning burden, Welsh/Cymraeg, second language acquisition</keywords><publishedDay>24</publishedDay><publishedMonth>7</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-07-24</publishedDate><doi>10.29140/vli.v14n2.102660</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Culture and Communications School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>CACS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>Not Required</apcterm><funders>The study reported in this paper was co-funded by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, and AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Impact Acceleration Award R874 (Swansea University).</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-08-11T16:47:40.1465879</lastEdited><Created>2025-07-31T15:07:08.2754403</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Tess</firstname><surname>Fitzpatrick</surname><orcid>0000-0003-0715-9009</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Steve</firstname><surname>Morris</surname><orcid>0000-0003-3789-1233</orcid><order>2</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>70085__34940__f9c82663de464ac89f96c2f7296415ab.pdf</filename><originalFilename>70085.VoR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-08-11T15:48:23.8227933</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>217056</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2025 Tess Fitzpatrick and Steve Morris. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language><licence>https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/</licence></document></documents><OutputDurs><OutputDur><Id>330</Id><IsDataAvailableOnline xsi:nil="true"/><DataNotAvailableOnlineReasonId xsi:nil="true"/><IsDurRestrictions xsi:nil="true"/><DurRestrictionReasonId xsi:nil="true"/><DurEmbargoDate xsi:nil="true"/></OutputDur></OutputDurs></rfc1807>
spelling 2025-08-11T16:47:40.1465879 v2 70085 2025-07-31 “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh 9597ef45279e137ada70fc75832a45de 0000-0003-0715-9009 Tess Fitzpatrick Tess Fitzpatrick true false c696b0282208e9edd88c35b049a8c8d8 0000-0003-3789-1233 Steve Morris Steve Morris true false 2025-07-31 CACS Around twenty thousand adult learners enrol onto Welsh language classes each year, but many do not progress beyond Mynediad level (= Entry, CEFR A1). The study reported here explored techniques to maintain early learning momentum, maximise learners’ returns for their learning efforts, and accelerate initial vocabulary acquisition. Novice learners of Welsh were challenged to learn 300 Welsh vocabulary items over a period of 50 days. They were provided with physical flash cards and information about learning techniques, and were asked to spend ten minutes per day on their learning. Tests administered immediately after and two weeks after completion of the learning period showed that acquisition success varied considerably between participants, and an end-of-study questionnaire found that the more successful learners had used highly systematic approaches to word selection and revision, and had frequently used the keyword technique of word learning. Test results also revealed that some target words were substantially less successfully acquired than others, and a list of words ranked by “learnability” was compiled. Outcomes from this study are informing curriculum revision by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, the main provider of Welsh language courses for adults.An earlier, Welsh language paper reporting this study was published in the journal Gwerddon (Fitzpatrick & Morris, 2024). Journal Article Vocabulary Learning and Instruction 14 2 102660 Castledown Publishers 2981-9954 vocabulary learning, flashcards, beginner learners, learnability, learning burden, Welsh/Cymraeg, second language acquisition 24 7 2025 2025-07-24 10.29140/vli.v14n2.102660 COLLEGE NANME Culture and Communications School COLLEGE CODE CACS Swansea University Not Required The study reported in this paper was co-funded by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, and AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) Impact Acceleration Award R874 (Swansea University). 2025-08-11T16:47:40.1465879 2025-07-31T15:07:08.2754403 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics Tess Fitzpatrick 0000-0003-0715-9009 1 Steve Morris 0000-0003-3789-1233 2 70085__34940__f9c82663de464ac89f96c2f7296415ab.pdf 70085.VoR.pdf 2025-08-11T15:48:23.8227933 Output 217056 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 Tess Fitzpatrick and Steve Morris. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ 330
title “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
spellingShingle “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
Tess Fitzpatrick
Steve Morris
title_short “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
title_full “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
title_fullStr “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
title_full_unstemmed “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
title_sort “From zero to three hundred” - intensive acquisition techniques for the 300 most frequent content words in Welsh
author_id_str_mv 9597ef45279e137ada70fc75832a45de
c696b0282208e9edd88c35b049a8c8d8
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9597ef45279e137ada70fc75832a45de_***_Tess Fitzpatrick
c696b0282208e9edd88c35b049a8c8d8_***_Steve Morris
author Tess Fitzpatrick
Steve Morris
author2 Tess Fitzpatrick
Steve Morris
format Journal article
container_title Vocabulary Learning and Instruction
container_volume 14
container_issue 2
container_start_page 102660
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2981-9954
doi_str_mv 10.29140/vli.v14n2.102660
publisher Castledown Publishers
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - English Language, Tesol, Applied Linguistics
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Around twenty thousand adult learners enrol onto Welsh language classes each year, but many do not progress beyond Mynediad level (= Entry, CEFR A1). The study reported here explored techniques to maintain early learning momentum, maximise learners’ returns for their learning efforts, and accelerate initial vocabulary acquisition. Novice learners of Welsh were challenged to learn 300 Welsh vocabulary items over a period of 50 days. They were provided with physical flash cards and information about learning techniques, and were asked to spend ten minutes per day on their learning. Tests administered immediately after and two weeks after completion of the learning period showed that acquisition success varied considerably between participants, and an end-of-study questionnaire found that the more successful learners had used highly systematic approaches to word selection and revision, and had frequently used the keyword technique of word learning. Test results also revealed that some target words were substantially less successfully acquired than others, and a list of words ranked by “learnability” was compiled. Outcomes from this study are informing curriculum revision by the National Centre for Learning Welsh, the main provider of Welsh language courses for adults.An earlier, Welsh language paper reporting this study was published in the journal Gwerddon (Fitzpatrick & Morris, 2024).
published_date 2025-07-24T05:25:41Z
_version_ 1851641290465214464
score 11.090009

Similar Items