Effective language learning in LSP contextswhat most courses should do but fail to do

Abstract

As today�s students need to be motivated by 'triggers and rewards' to acquire new contents, and 80% of the structures learnt are lost in less than 24 hours, learners need to encounter newly taught structures several times in a relatively short time span, in various ways and always in significant and different contexts (Gijselaers, 2007; Cervero & Pichardo Castro, 2000; Schmitt, 2000). In other words, learning materials should 'trigger' language learning by repeating the new structures several times in different contexts in a short time span. However, many course books do not apply these principles (Maciel, 1997; Veraghtert, 2004), and neither do the course materials we analysed in the context of the present study (Buyse, 2008). In this paper, we will clarify these principles and their possible effect on vocabulary and grammar acquisition by presenting their implementation in a number of LSP courses and their correlation with student performances.