Swedish EFL Students' Awareness of Connotations

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Degree Thesis

HALMSTAD

Teacher Eduation (Upper Secondary School) 300hp

Swedish EFL Students' Awareness of Connotations

A quantitative and qualitative study on students' awareness of connotations

English for Students in Teacher Education 15hp

Halmstad 2021-06-17

Gustaf Wallin, Jonathan Jaginder

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Acknowledgement

We wish to express our sincere appreciation towards our supervisor Stuart Foster, which without his assistance and patience, this research and writing process would have been painstakingly hard. And lastly, our spouses for always being there and encouraging us during many late nights when working on this research.

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Abstract

This study aimed to analyse Swedish EFL students' efficiency on connotations. Connotation is a word's implied meaning which brings neutral, positive, or negative associations in a conversation. In this study, connotations were examined in terms of their appropriateness if used in different contexts. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether Swedish students of an intermediate level showed sufficient skills in comprehending a word's appropriateness when compared to a native speaker. Furthermore, this study also aimed to analyse in what ways students engaged in English during their spare time show a correlation to higher test scores. The results indicate that the Swedish students' combined score on the connotation test showed less than half of the full score. The results also highlight that the students who are engaged in English more frequently compared to those who are not showed higher test scores.

Keywords: Connotations, Words Implied Meanings, English as a Foreign Language, Vocabulary, Vocabulary depth, Swedish English Learners

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1 Introduction

Since comprehension is the desire of any speaking or reading encounter, the importance of vocabulary proficiency in the English language cannot be overestimated. Vocabulary and grammar are both parts of the structure of building a language. If the grammar can be compared to the foundation, vocabulary should be considered the bricks that form the final building, with adjectives being the supporting pillars. Second language acquisition includes four skills for students to practice inside and outside the classroom: writing, reading, listening, and speaking.

The interaction that takes part inside the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom might be limited to the cultural background of its participants. However, once outside of the classroom, other pragmatic skills are necessary to engage in communication.

The English language may be considered a global lingua franca, and it thus becomes the bridge between nations, widening the possibilities of merging different cultures and beliefs by bringing them closer together through a shared language. The greater the vocabulary a person possesses, the better the chances of using English or any language.

According to the Internet foundation (Internetstiftelsen, 2020), Swedish EFL learners are in general exposed to English regularly through, for example, social media and pop culture.

Furthermore, the cultural aspects of English-speaking countries are a part of the Swedish curriculum, and English usage is also taught through real-life simulations implicitly by, for example, pretending to order food in a restaurant as a classroom activity.

According to the Swedish Academy's lexicon (Svenska Akademin, 2015), the Swedish language consists of approximately 126,000 words. Lundahl (2012) contends a vast difference between the Swedish and English languages in vocabulary size. The second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1989) affirms that as it claims it contains approximately 290,500 words [ibid]. Guthrie (1981) states that an expansive vocabulary is necessary to produce efficient communication. There may never be a time when a language user understands a sentence the same way as any other speaker does, no matter how many words they know.

Even though one has learned a word's denotation as it appears in a dictionary, other problems might arise when conversing. Words have implied meanings and associations called connotations which are more or less appropriate to different contexts and might be hard for non-native speakers to recognise. The vocabulary size difference between the Swedish and the English languages may lead to problems for Swedish EFL learners because of the language transfer between the two languages. Choosing the most appropriate word, or an approximation

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or a near-synonym of that word, is essential since the word's implied meanings suggest how a sentence might be interpreted. Connotations embed the word's implied meanings to invoke concepts and feelings to the reader or listener. Certain words might spark an emotion or concept that would not be present in a dictionary and might pose a challenge for a non-native speaker to comprehend.

Hatch and Brown (1995) argue that in some cultures, the word "white" is associated with death and "red" with joy, whereas, in the Swedish and English culture, white can be worn as the colour of a wedding dress, presumable to signify purity while red, the colour of blood and fire, is more likely to represent danger. It indicates that cultural concepts can influence the understanding and misunderstandings of a language due to connotations and words' implied meanings and should, therefore, be considered an essential aspect while teaching the English language. Byram (1997) points out that second language students are generally within the environment of their target language as they implicitly practice and become more proficient in the target language. Language acquisition involves an awareness of the target language's cultural settings. With the use of technology and the internet's instant and global properties in contemporary society, culture has become a topic fully integrated into the language classroom, and learners are anticipated to converse with an awareness of these cultural aspects.

Previous studies on connotations, and words' implied meanings, on Swedish EFL learners, have seemingly not been conducted. This study aims to acquire data on the awareness of words' connotational meaning in Swedish EFL classrooms using quantitative and qualitative research methods. Connotations are essentially adjacent in every sentence heard, read, written, or spoken. Thus, a specific word is chosen having regard to its purposes. When forming a sentence, a word's connotations support the speaker's attitude as negatively or positively charged. Therefore, without knowing a word's connotations, the intent when building a sentence could become completely different and misinterpreted by the receiving party in a conversation.

To illustrate this point, the adjective "skinny" represents a negative intention in a sentence. If the word "skinny" is chosen while describing a person, the adjective would be negatively charged since it refers to the person being underweight, which is an undesirable trait in terms of attractiveness and/or health. However, an invariably positively charged connotation would be "slender" or "thin," which are desirable traits in terms of attractiveness and/or health.

It is manifest that the Swedish language does not always offer vocabulary that is sufficient to directly transfer Swedish words to English because of it being significantly smaller in size, thus limiting the way to communicate in certain situations. Learning English entails

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learning new vocabulary that does not have perfect Swedish translations, whereby certain conditions require a broader range of words from which to choose. However, because of advances in technology and the rapid progress of globalization which puts Swedish second language learners within the environment of the target language, the amount of language input has the potential to impact positively on their ability to select an appropriate word to a particular context.

1.1 The study

No matter how proficient the speakers are in the language used in conversation, misinterpretations are likely to occur from time to time. The problem might not always be that the speakers lack vocabulary, but their misunderstanding or misuse of words of terms that are present within their mental lexicons. Daller et al. (2007) explain that vocabulary efficiency could be portrayed through three dimensions: breadth, depth, and fluency. "Breadth" refers to the number of words a speaker remembers, not concerning how well they understand the word.

"Depth" refers to how well a speaker understands a word, including the aspects of denotation, theories, and relationships. "Fluency" refers to how the speaker makes use of the language associated with the specific situation. It is beyond the scope of this study to contemplate all three of these aspects in all circumstances so that the focus will be limited to connotations and the aspect of lexical depth and how it applies to Swedish students in English as a second language (ESL) classroom.

The purpose of the present study is to resolve the following research questions:

• How successfully do Swedish EFL Learners in the 14-16 age range comprehend the connotations of English words and how do they compare with respect to native speakers?

• What, if any, correlations can be established between (a) the awareness of, and ability to invoke, connotations for such students and (b) their exposure to and use of English outside the school environment?

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2 Background

This chapter will begin by considering what constitutes a word from semantic, lexicological, and phonological perspectives. It will then discuss denotations and connotations, outlining the difference between the two and their implications for language users. The third sub-chapter will focus on early approaches to understanding connotations from a semiotic perspective. The following five sub-chapters will bring an emphasis to synonyms and near-synonyms, colloquialism, euphemism, and hyperboles, as well as metaphors. The following sub-chapter involves connotations' cultural concepts, which describes how a word's connotations change in different contexts and cultures. The final sub-chapter will discuss English in Swedish society and school, focusing on Swedish students' English habits in and out of class.

2.1 What counts as a word

Before describing connotations, what does and what does not constitute a "word" must be considered. The term "word" might be easily defined when asking the general population. A language user might recognize and achieve some level of comprehension of a word as part of a sentence, put together by letters to refer to phenomena and their qualities using grammatical components such as verbs, nouns, or adjectives. Aikhenvald (2002) states that the criteria of what defines the term "word" cannot be readily and non-controversially established as there is no agreed definition or consensus among lexicologists and linguists. However, from a lexical semantics point of view, the term is quite ambiguous.

Vocabulary and words in their base form are referred to as "lemmas" and is the form of a word listed in a dictionary without any infections or derivational morphemes attached.

A lemma is, in a manner of speaking, the basic structure in the corresponding reference work.

For example, in a word set such as "jump," "jumps," and "jumping," the lemma would be its base form, "jump." Milton (2009) considers lemmas to be a suitable word form to use when contacting novice speakers or speakers at the intermediate proficiency level. Speakers at this level are generally assessed by their ability to communicate when speaking about familiar topics concerning their everyday lives as their language efficiency is not yet at the level of mastery.

He states that the base form is generally the part of the word intermediate speakers first encounter when learning new vocabulary. Katamba (2005) further explains that lemmas are the smallest units of speech, which can stand independently.

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Palmer (1981) states that there are words that have some to no meaning as he differentiates words that have a lexical meaning from the function words that govern the relationship between words to generate the combined sense that derives from syntax. He further explains the phrase: "Boys like to play" and how some of the words have a meaning in the terms and others do not. "Boys," "like," and "play" add definable meaning to the sentence, but the definition of "to" is not as quickly defined. In the sentence, "boys," "like," and "play" could be replaced to change the meaning of the sentence. For example, "girls hate to fight," "to" cannot be exchanged in the sentence and is therefore required.

Language is representatively used to convey ideas, refer to objects and express feelings through speech. However, as stated above, defining a language is neither uncontroversial nor straightforward. Murphy (2010) claims that the meaning of the word defined in a dictionary might not convey a complete impression of the meaning encompassed in all usages. Dictionaries offer a simplified explanation of a substance intended to be denotative. These definitions are formulated by lexicographers who will generally utilise a corpus and account for entries' etymologies. Definitions offered in dictionaries are merely a guide; they are of limited use in linguistic analysis as they do not usually consider all possible connotations or contexts of usage.

2.2 Connotation and Denotation

Bieswanger and Becker (2008) state that the identification that the word refers to is called

"denotation." For instance, the definition of the word "poison" would be a substance causing illness or death when eaten or drunk. However, the meaning of the term "connotation" is not so effortlessly explained. The connotation has the word's implication in mind when building a sentence. Connotations set a positive, neutral, or negative tone to the sentence using the most appropriate synonym or near-synonym of a word concerning the concept. Therefore, the connotation is an alternative meaning of a word, using a negative, positive, or additive neutral association. When speaking about exterminating vermin and pests, the word "poison" is acceptable but may not be the preferred word choice; instead, the word "pesticide" may be selected. The definition of the term "pesticide" refers to a poison specifically formulated to kill insects and other organisms considered by humans to be pests, whereas the term "poison"

encompasses connotations of a substance that is aimed to be harmful to humans. While the two nouns may be considered synonyms, the former focuses on the utility to the user while the latter conveys possible danger.

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According to Van Leeuwen (2005), one of the earlier distinctions of the term

"denotation" and "connotation" is believed to have been made by the philosopher John Stuart Mill in 1843, who described them as that words can have two types of meaning. He gives the example of the colour "white," which denotes all white things, such as snow, teeth, and paper.

However, it also connotes the abstract concept of "whiteness," whereas all white items can be referred to with the single word "white." Carter (1998) points out that, although most world languages are able to offer a direct translation for the word "white," the implied meaning is not easily explained. For someone learning the term for the first time, just being able to point out objects that possess the property of whiteness is not enough. Visually, a speaker can indicate that an aspect of snow is, for example, white; however, when combining that word such as in

"white wine," the identical property of whiteness does not apply anymore as the drink referred to is for the most part colourless, perhaps with a faint yellow tinge.

2.3 The semiotic view of connotations

Hoopes (1991) explains semiotics and semiology to be two related theories of languages consisting of signs. The researchers come from or express interest in a diverse range of disciplines in semiotics, such as marketing, literature, communication, linguistics, anthropology, and film study. In semiotic theory, which was initially considered a branch of philosophy, a sign is anything that stands for any concept or object, and in language, signs can be both nonverbal and verbal. Smith et al. (2004) consider language to be ambiguous, and the signs in language convey an intended concept. However, this concept needs to be interpreted correctly by the respondent for consensus in communication. Van Leeuwen (2005) asserts that, from a semiotic perspective, connotations occur when a semiotic resource is brought over from one domain into another where it is not frequently used. Connotations stand for the ideals and values of those who import the resource associated with the domain from which they have imported it. Rather than referring to specific concrete people, places, or things, connotative signs commonly signify ideas and values.

Van Leeuwen (2005) opined that the most significant approach to connotations in semiotics came from the semiotician Roland Barthes, where elements of Mill's views clearly can be seen. Barthes referred to the works of the Danish linguist Louis Hjelmslev to define denotation and connotation. He emphasizes that different ways of expressing the same concept can have different meanings between languages. However, this only applies if the same notion can be expressed in the same idea in their native language. Instead of developing his approach

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on denotation and connotations relating to language, Barthes (1973) linked it to photographic images and established an application to semiotic modes other than language itself. Signs are divided into two groups of meaning in language, whereas denotation would resemble the "who"

or "what" group described in the image. Connotations would resemble the layer of ideas and values expressed through what is pictured and how it is intended. In that sense, Van Leeuwen (2005) states that Barthes' (1973) views are similar to Mill’s because his visual denotation attributes to concrete people, places, and things, and his view on connotations refers to abstract concepts. Beasley and Danesi (2002) likewise discuss Barthes' (1957) work from a semiotic standpoint, where he concluded that advertising is essentially the art and science of connotations.

2.4 Synonyms and near-synonyms

Synonyms are essentially different words that share the same meaning as each other. According to Palmer (1981), it is apparent for the dictionary-makers that several concepts of meaning could be described through different words that refer to "sameness of meaning." For example, the adjective "fat" is a sign that could be referring to the phenomenon of being overweight, which is an undesirable trait in terms of attractiveness. A synonym of the word "fat" is "plump,"

which serves as a euphemism (see 2.6) in the context. It is logical that the English lexicon has a high frequency of synonyms due to it deriving from several sources. The English language originates from the Germanic language, mainly from the Anglo-Saxon with some Norse influences. Added to this are French words and a few from Latin and Greek which are primarily borrowings from scientific fields.

Murphy (2010) suggests that synonyms refer to words with the same meaning;

however, it is rare for two words to have precisely the same meaning or use. Therefore, this begs the question as to whether words that are not perfect synonyms should be considered synonyms. The substitutability test is used to determine if two words are synonyms [ibid]. Two words are substitutable if there is no change in the meaning of the sentence if one word is substituted for the other. Perfect synonyms are, as mentioned, uncommon; however, it is common to find words that have overlapping meanings, making them near-synonyms. Near- synonyms are words that can act as a substitute to the other word in some, but not all, contexts.

Synonyms, as mentioned by Palmer (1981), often deviate only in their connotations. Therefore, the term "synonym" is not applicable as it frequently refers to emotive or evaluative meaning,

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which is debatably not practical from a cognitive standpoint. Palmer (1981) further describes the ambiguity of synonyms as being "also used to refer to stylistic or even dialectal differences or even to the small differences that are found in near synonyms" (p. 92).

The word "drunk" is represented by a variety of expressions that refer to the condition and used in other sentences and contexts. However, "inebriated" and

"intoxicated" can be considered pure synonyms, whereas words such as "lit," "tipsy," "flushed,"

and "wasted" have other aspects to them and are typically used in different contexts than the first two examples. "Lit" is a colloquial expression, as are the other examples, but "tipsy" and

"flushed" are euphemisms as they understate the condition. Conversely, "wasted"

is hyperbolic and strongly negative, making it a dysphemism¹.

2.5 Colloquialism

Colloquial words are suited for conversational and informal speech and are usually less appropriate in formal speech and writing. However, they can help depict characters' personalities and other traits in fiction. Palmer (1981) gives the example of the phrase: "A nasty smell" (p. 89) and how it could be replaced with "obnoxious effluvium" to be more erudite. An

"orrible stink" would be a colloquialism of the two phrases describing an unpleasant odour.

Sornig (1981) further explains that colloquialism is often mistaken for jargon or slang since they are all types of informal speech; there are, however, differences. Slang is generally associated with certain ethnic minority communities, or social groups from the lower socio- economic strata in society. Carlson (2020) describes jargon as a particular language that is used in a specific framework in various professions such as construction, science, or trade. She further explains slang as a highly informal everyday variability of the language used by people sharing similar social backgrounds or different age groups, such as teenagers. On the other hand, according to Sornig (1981), colloquialisms are typically associated with specific geographical areas or historical eras. One such example would be the word "lit" is a colloquial term for drunk and can be read in novels in the early twentieth century. For example:

1The italicized linguistic terms will be explained in the following sub-chapters along with other expressions denoting figurative language such as metaphors.

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"We walked into the vamp's house. We all got lit and had a hell of a time".

—John McGavock Grider, War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator, (1926, p.82)

Sornig (1981) points out that the language is constantly changing, therefore words such as "lit"

have switched from being used in contexts relating to alcohol consumption and towards referring to a facial expression indicating joy, more often when the adverb "up" follows to create a multi-word verb as in: "his face lit up when he saw his wife." Therefore, the meaning of the word "lit" could cause a misinterpretation if used poorly and in the wrong context. However, the connotation of "lit" in the example above is a positive euphemism for drunk.

2.6 Euphemism and Dysphemism

Sornig (1981) describes that euphemisms refers to words or phrases used to avoid saying something unpleasant or offensive. They are used as substitutions for words considered too harsh or blunt in specific contexts. For example, instead of saying an "old person," the euphemism, a "senior citizen" incorporates the word "senior" and "citizen," both of which presuppose a level of respect and, therefore, the term carries a positive connotation. Palmer (1981) asserts that a euphemism is not considered a word's true meaning, but rather it is associated with specific characteristics. Palmer (1981) gives the example that women have the connotation of "gentle", while pigs may hold a connotation of "dirty", following certain cultural beliefs and norms (p. 92). Palmer (1981) further explains that euphemistic words are helpful substitutes for words considered taboo and inappropriate in a particular context. For example, the word "toilet" is associated with socially unpleasant subjects, such as human excretions and odours and has, therefore, notably gone through euphemistic changes in the English language.

Synonyms to replace the word "toilet" such as: "privy," "W.C.," "lavatory," "bathroom," and

"loo" exist to make the subject less harsh or unsavoury; thus, it is a euphemistic change used to replace the word, even though it is the object itself that is unpleasant and not the word (p.10).

The previously mentioned word "drunk" is frequently substituted in euphemisms in words such as "tipsy" and "flushed," where the notion of being drunk is finessed because being drunk is considered inappropriate in some contexts.

Palmer (1981) outlines how the opposite of euphemisms is dysphemisms, and these have the function of providing alternatives that may appear more explicit, harsh, or potentially offensive substitutes. These tend to be slang terms, and they vary between cultures

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and varieties of English, such as American English and British English. There are many dysphemisms for "drunk," such as "wasted," "pissed," "smashed," or "munted," which are also generally classed as hyperbolic, which is explained in the next sub-chapter.

2.7 Hyperboles

According to Dahlöf (1999), the term "hyperbole" refers to terms which constitute an obvious exaggeration within a statement or claim, used in everyday speech and fiction that should not be taken literally. A word's hyperbolic references are commonly used in informal storytelling to make it more enjoyable and add character and humour by exaggerating a word to the point that the statements become absurd. For example, a hyperbolic statement may refer to someone who has consumed alcohol in such quantity as to be less than coherent with their speech being described as being "dead drunk." The implication here is that the referent has achieved a state of life-threatening intoxication. This example is an exaggeration an intermediate-level speaker would likely recognize as such. However, other hyperbolic utterances might be more complex and risk being misinterpreted by an ESL speaker. For example, Larry Rayfield Wright, a professional American footballer, made a hyperbolic statement during an interview for, Pro Football Hall of Fame (2006):

"That year, 1967, the Dallas Cowboys had 137 rookies in training camp. Gil Brandt was signing everybody that could walk. Only five made the team that year, and I was one of the five"

-Larry Rayfield Wright (2006). The hyperbolic statement "Gil Brandt was signing everybody that could walk" is another example of an exaggeration not to be taken literally. However, a person not familiar with American football or an English speaker at an intermediate level might misinterpret this hyperbole and accept this statement as any moderately competent player would have been accepted, which is clearly not the case and would not have been so interpreted.

2.8 Metaphors

Metaphors are figures of speech in which the word or phrase used to describe an object or action is not literary applicable. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) explain how metaphors can be used in conversations through different word choices and, in many cases, metaphorical likening starts from similarities to visual objects or relatable concepts. Nordquist (2020) further explains conceptual metaphors as a figurative comparison in which one idea is understood in terms of

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another. For instance, the word "wasted" in the phrase: "You've wasted my time" operates as a metaphor, treating time as a concrete commodity. Lakoff and Johnson (1980) state that, while metaphors can be considered cognitive phenomena, the study of metaphors is an embryonic branch within the linguistic field of rhetoric; understanding how metaphors work plays a vital part in understanding how people use and comprehend language. Nordquist (2020) suggests that metaphors are a regular part of language, and they are shaped through different cultural backgrounds through members of that language community, eventually leading to a collective cultural understanding.

2.9 Connotations cultural concepts in vocabulary cohesion

Cultural background information affects a speaker's understanding and use of a word. Lundahl (2012) claims that a word's cultural connotations could potentially cause misinterpretation in the conversation. Lundahl [ibid] further argues that the distinction to understand the full potential, the meaning, form, and range of usages, must first be understood in the speaker's native language. For example, for a Swedish EFL learner to understand an English word such as the adjective "tall," the learner is required to know the word's denotation in Swedish, which would translate into either "lång" or "hög." Secondly, the speaker must know in which form to use the adjective "tall" besides in its lemma, such as the superlative form: "tallest." Finally, the speaker should know how to use the word accurately, for example, in the prevailing context.

Sornig (1981) further argues that to understand word usage, a speaker must know what words operate best in conjunction with one another depending on the context. When describing a person or an object, the word "tall" would be appropriate when describing the characteristics of that being or entity, for example, a "tall building." However, a near-synonym to the word "tall"

is the adjective "high," which would be an inappropriate word choice when describing a person's physical characteristics.

Jeffries (2006) describes connotations from a lexical semantics point of view as denotations' different cultural meanings. For example, the denotational definition of the verb

"lie" is suggesting an action of making an untrue statement. Therefore, a cultural connotation to the verb "lie" would be the near-synonym "fib" with a similar denotation, but different in its connotation. The denotation of the word "lie" is an untrue statement, capable of misleading a hearer and with possible negative consequences. However, the verb's near-synonym, "Fib,"

which is a euphemism, would relate to a very trivial lie, often told by adults to avoid causing hurt, as in saying "your hairstyle looks really nice" when the speaker believes the contrary.

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Hence, these near-synonyms facilitate deviation in meaning through connotations; in the first case, "fib" implies an innocent utterance or otherwise childish, that is untruthful, while "lie"

involves a more serious attempt to deceive. Jeffries (2006) further acknowledges that it is essential to know the difference between a word's connotations and denotation to understand the perception of how a term is used.

Gabrovšek (2007) identifies the term "denotation" as the word's definition that could be found in a dictionary. For example, the denotation of the word "dove" denotes a species from the bird family and separates a word's denotational meaning from its potentially intended meaning. Understanding a word's connotations is of great importance in a conversation as it enables the planned speech act to be fulfilled. The word "dove" may be usually understood in its strictly denotational sense as a large species of bird; it also has connotations as a signifier of peace. For example, in the United States, politicians are sometimes referred to as "doves,"

where they are seen as peacemakers and contrasted with "hawks," who tend to be more inclined to confrontation and military intervention. This term can be used about anyone who naturally inclines towards peacemaking, e.g., "she is a dove at heart." The same word could relate to a different connotational meaning in other contexts, such as during a poem. In the phrase: "She is a dove at heart," the connotational meanings of the word "dove" would implicate "peace,"

"harmony," or "innocence."

In conversation, misinterpretations often lie in the misconception of the connotations used in the conversation. The risk of people intending something that was not supposed to be planned or vice versa is a risk emanating from the misuse or misinterpretation of the connection of a word's denotation and connotation. Keith (2007) highlights that a word's denotative meaning often has other related words, i.e., synonymy. Some of these words are considered near-synonyms and possess similar or identical denotative purposes, as shown in dictionaries. However, words that are considered synonyms are rarely appropriate in all contexts; each given context gives rise to a different connotation in meaning. The social and cultural significance of a word is related to the connotational purpose. Thus, the speaker's cultural and social context is fundamental when considering the connotational meaning of words used in a particular situation. Finegan (2004) argues that the speaker's cultural background may affect how certain words are comprehended. A problem can arise when a non- native speaker applies their cultural background to the target language. If that speaker fails to appreciate the potentially loaded words that are used in the conversation, using synonyms of a word with unintended connotative meanings might cause misinterpretations, such as if one were to use the word ''high'' to describe a tall person.

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Words' intended meaning constitute one of the main components in figurative and expressive speech, as well as the ambiguity in its meaning, according to Salah (2006). Language is fluid and full of implications. Users design their language with various narrative techniques, suggesting a deeper meaning in their word choices. An example is the use of the expression shown above: "she is a dove at heart." The connotative meaning of the word "dove" is used as a metaphor with a deeper meaning. Milton (2009) asserts that the meaning of a word is often difficult and risky to translate ultimately into another language because of the cultural aspects that could potentially make using a word in one language offensive in another.

Various semantic scholars divide the definition of culturally loaded words into two categories: these are the basis of lexical semantics and the terms of types. Yewu and Qin (2015) concluded that the classification based on lexical semantics is divided into words of connotation and denotation, which could be further categorised into four sub-categories. The first sub-category is the words with the same denotation but a different connotation in the two languages. The second sub-category is the words with the same connotation and similar as well as complemental connotations in the two languages. The third sub-category is the words with the same denotations although with separate connotative meanings between the languages. The final sub-category is words that have different connotations and denotations in both languages.

Jeffries (2006) states that the connotational meanings of words change continually, depending on how the language evolves. They are used to evoke feelings of various sorts, from loving language, to aggressive, as an effect of the word choice. For example, when speaking to a teenager, the language use is more than likely to be different from an older adult.

Words such as "brilliant" or "astonishing," which are used more commonly by mature speakers, are less likely to be used by teenagers. Instead, the teenager would more likely select a word choice such as "cool" or "awesome" [ibid].

2.10 English in Swedish society and school

According to the Internet foundation (Internetstiftelsen, 2020), Swedish youths' exposure to English outside of the EFL classroom is remarkable. One reason is the students' habit of using social media platforms, where English serves as a lingua franca to communicate with other users globally. Lundahl (2012) argues that English encountered in a learner's spare time strengthens their language abilities, contributing to explaining why Swedish students have greater competence in the language than those from elsewhere. A study conducted by Education First (2020) confirms Lundahl's statement that Swedish students' proficiency in the English

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language is high compared to most European countries. Lundahl (2012) argues that students' substantial ability in the English language can be traced back to the language's status in the global society. For the EFL students, the English language is encountered and used regularly, day-to-day, and experienced in areas other than education, such as politics, economics, and pop culture, mainly through internet-based resources. According to Skolverket (2011), an individual's opportunities to participate in different language-based contexts increase with better English language proficiency. Furthermore, Lundahl (2012) states that many adolescents report that they learn more English outside of school than in school due to the constant presence of the language in Swedish society. Thus, a significant amount of English input is given to the Swedish people implicitly. In a survey by Hammero (2006) involving 1,094 participants from Sweden, 39% of them reported using English in speech or writing over the past week in their work, indicating that the English language is used by Swedish people daily, although it is their second language.

As seen in Skolverket (2011), parts of the core content in the curriculum include living conditions, traditions, social relations, and cultural phenomena in various contexts and areas where English is used. These language phenomena such as pronunciation, intonation, grammatical structures, sentence structure, words with different registers, and fixed language expressions are parts of the language. Students will learn the productive skills of spoken and written English to communicate ideas and interact with others using the language. Furthermore, they will learn to adapt their speech to various circumstances, purposes, and recipients.

Skolverket (2011) further states that teaching the English language productive skills should additionally involve developing the students' confidence in using the language.

Language ability mainly derives from knowledge acquired implicitly. The usage of the language is therefore typically practiced without knowing the grammatic rules of the language. Lundahl (2012) states that some researchers believe that implicit knowledge derives from explicit knowledge that is learned consciously, and other researchers claim that implicit knowledge develops if a chance to use the language is presented to the acquirer. However, there is consensus about the importance of using the language to establish implicit knowledge.

Language learning research often proceeds from the premise that the learner is surrounded by a language flow, known as "input." When the input reaches the receiver, it converts to "intake."

"Input" is the insight that the immediate environment offers to a learner, whereas "intake" is

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that specific volume of an input that a learner successfully develops to build up internal knowledge of the second language. Lundahl (2012) further opines that successful language teaching implicates a large amount of input; thus, English should be used consistently in the classroom.

2.11 Measuring implied vocabulary knowledge

Ahlquist and Lugossy (2015) concluded that the more extensive the vocabulary a person possesses, the greater are the opportunities for that person to both acquire and to be able to use the language. The word "lexis" originates from the Greek language and is characterised as a single word or a compound of words creating a full vocabulary called "lexis of sustainability."

Feng (2014) Describes that the breadth of vocabulary knowledge considers the speaker's vocabulary magnitude in terms of words known. Lexis, or lexis of sustainability, refers to the group of words needed in a person's life to adapt to their surrounding culture. A broad vocabulary is essential since it takes a substantial role in an individual's way of making him or herself understood in that language.

Skolverket (2020) outlines the importance of an extensive vocabulary for language comprehension. It helps select words that describe thoughts or feelings and is a crucial part of the English language. Likewise, Lundahl (2012) argues that a well-established vocabulary is needed for good communication to occur. Lundahl [ibid] further argue that, to know a word fully, three factors are required:

1. To know the definition of a word.

2. To know how the word is supposed to be used, its connotations, and how to use them in context.

3. To know how the word is spelled.

Myrberg (2015) indicates that a person needs approximately 50,000 words to express themselves fully. Thus, even as a native speaker, it is not realistic to expect a person to know all words in a language's vocabulary. According to Holmström (2015), acquiring language is achieved through a passive pattern that children follow from an early age. Children start with single learning words to which others are added continuously to become more efficient. The language acquiring pattern used in a child's first language is later translated into their second language acquisition. Sekar (2017) affirms Holmström's opinion and argues that understanding

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connotative and denotative meanings of words used in the English language is essential for attaining full proficiency in the language, as they effectively improve a student's oral and written English proficiency. Goodman (1986) describes connotations as words being symbols set by people to form meaning for that specific context, and language users ascribe meaning to everything that surrounds them, and no words have a true meaning before users assign them an intended meaning.

When assessing research on vocabulary depth, Nation and Webb (2011) mention two methods: "the word associates test" and "vocabulary knowledge scale." These are tests designed in various ways to measure vocabulary depth. However, these test methods of testing vocabulary depth do not supply evidence for a word's associative and implied meaning or if they are in context, cultural, and emotionally positive, neutral, or negatively charged. Thus, further research methods must be assessed.

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3 Method

This chapter will present the method and materials used to acquire the data for this study. The chapter will be divided into sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter describes the choice of method and how the study is accumulating the data through a digital questionnaire. The second sub- chapter discusses the reliability and validity of the study, the third sub-chapter describes the ethical aspects of the research, and the final sub-chapter concerns the students who participated in this study.

The digital questionnaire was designed to establish:

• What were the students’ extra-curricular activities that involved the comprehension and/or use of English?

• How proficient were they at calculating implied meanings in English? (This would be assessed by testing their recognition of connotations)

3.1 Method

In this subchapter, a description of the connotations test and the method used to analyse the data will be presented. The connotation test (see appendix) was used to assess the students' connotational knowledge. Furthermore, a questionnaire concerning the students' English habits was simultaneously added to the test. The questionnaire and the connotation test were sent to the students through a Google Forms application, a free online-based survey tool that collects and shows statistics on the participants' answers in real-time. Moreover, according to Cobanoglu et al. (2001), online-based research tools are more efficient than traditional research tools considering the economic factors and response time. Leavy's (2017) descriptions of methods aided the design of the digital questionnaire, which is mainly quantitative, as the results from the connotation test will be presented in statistics. Quantitative methods are used in explanatory research to discover important patterns when building a hypothesis or thesis.

Furthermore, a qualitative section of the questionnaire, in the form of a comment section following each question, was included.

Lundberg (2019) highlights the importance of a well-designed method when conducting research. When selecting the suitable research method, Makel's and Plucker's (2014) description of conceptual replication was used. By choosing this research style, a

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replication of Zhao's (2004) connotation test, aiming at measuring EFL students' awareness of connotations, was designed. The test conducted by Zhao (2004) was aimed at Chinese EFL students of an advanced level, in comparison to this study, aiming at Swedish EFL students of an intermediate language level. Therefore, a redesigned test was needed, with more straightforward sentences that were more convenient to the student's English proficiency. Thus, 20 new sentences, which consisted of various connotations concerning "appearance," were constructed to be more straightforward and more suitable to the participants' English proficiency. An issue with designing new sentences instead of using Zhao's (2004) existing test was that her results could have been compared to this study's results.

Moreover, Zhao's (2004) test was graded by language experts who together chose an ideal answer for the selected word in each sentence. Therefore, by conducting a test using other sentences than those in Zhao's (2004) study, the possibility of using her optimal answer sheet when grading the participants' answers was no longer viable. However, to have a similar grading system as Zhao's (2004) study, a native English-speaking academic, who is a university lecturer, was asked to answer the connotation test for various reasons. Firstly, the university lecturer's answers functioned as both an experimental group and were used as the optimal answers for assessing the participants' test answers. Also, if the lecturer had considered a constructed sentence in the test unsatisfactorily, those sentences would be replaced.

The connotation tests were conducted at the start of the participants' lessons. In those tests, they were asked to evaluate selected words' appropriateness, based on specified contexts, using a five-point scale:

1. Appropriate

2. Somewhat appropriate 3. Not sure

4. Somewhat inappropriate 5. Inappropriate

If the participants answered according to the optimal answer's appropriateness, that would result in two (2) points and a maximum score of 40 points through the 20 sentences. For example, as seen in Table 4 (see appendix), the first sentence's selected word had the optimal answer of "4.

Somewhat inappropriate". If a student chose the optimal answer, he/she would be rewarded with two (2) points. However, if the participant recognises the word to be "5. inappropriate",

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he/she has acknowledged the word's connotative meaning to a certain degree and is awarded one (1) point. Would the participant have selected, for example, "1. Appropriate", no points would have been given. If a student selects "3. Not sure", no point is given at any time.

Dörnyei (2007) presents a method called descriptive statistics when assessing the participants' knowledge of connotations. Descriptive statistics typically form the basis of a quantitative analysis of data. They illustrate the fundamental features of the data in a study and offer simple summaries regarding the measured variables together with graphical analysis. As stated above, the research is mainly quantitative. However, the comment section in the questionnaire, together with oral remarks from the participants at the end of the test, resembles the qualitative part of the study. Following each sentence in the connotation test, an optional comment section was provided. In this section, the participants could comment on their thoughts on a word's appropriateness level, the sentence, or if they had any general thoughts or questions. A selection of these answers will be presented in subchapter 5.3, together with a selection of comments the students provided orally.

3.2 Reliability and validity

Bryman et al. (2019) write that the study's reliability and validity are fundamental in quantitative research while designing the research. The reliability of a study could be described as the stability of the collected data. They further present the arguments to emphasize that to have reliability in a study, the accumulated data should show the same results if tested multiple times and in different proportions. Bryman et al. (2019) further remark that, in quantitative research, the validity aspect of a study is of importance concerning if the research method is reliable or not. The researcher needs to question if the method, which the study is using, is a tested and approved research method and if it is suitable when collecting and assessing the data.

Research conducted on Swedish EFL students' vocabulary depth, focusing on connotational knowledge is to the researchers' awareness not accounted for, thus resulting in a lowered validity and reliability in this study. However, this study has positive aspects concerning its reliability, such as it is based on Zhao's (2004) research method. Furthermore, there was also an assessment made to locate potential participants who randomly selected their answers. If the authors had considered that a participant might or might not have participated in the connotation test and that he/she answered the test at random, those tests would not be counted into the results. However, some aspects had a negative impact on the study's reliability.

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Firstly, Zhao's (2004) test's sentences were not used because this test's sentences were redesigned to suit the participants' English proficiency. Secondly, due to the strict time aspect, the method of obtaining the data was tested only once by the university lecturer.

3.3 Ethical aspects

In this study, the four ethical principles from the Swedish research council (2020) were considered before initiating the research. The four principles state:

• Necessity of information

• Necessity of consent

• Necessity of confidentiality

• Necessity of usefulness

Before this study was established, the participants were notified about the research that was about to be conducted. They were instructed both in oral and written form about the aim of the study and how participation would be entirely voluntary. The participants were also informed that their anonymity is a priority, and their social information and their answers could not be traced back to them. The test results were gathered through a Google Forms document that did not collect the students' personal information. However, if a student would have written information in the comment section, which could have led to a person being identified, those comments would have been removed. Finally, the data collected is only acquired for this specific study and will therefore not be saved, readjusted, or used for other research purposes.

3.4 Participants

The participants are Swedish students studying in "högstadiet" or high school, ranging between 14-16 years of age. The participants, who came from two different schools, are considered speakers at an intermediate language level if compared to speakers with English as their native language. There was a total of 64 participants, with a variety between the sexes. They were volunteers who agreed to participate in the present study and were therefore not forced to participate or finish the test in any way.

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3.5 Literature assessment

Before conducting this study, a literature assessment on research connected to this study's research area was made. Snyder (2019) opines that by assessing literature, helpful analysis of the subject is shown, which could guide a specific research predicament, which is useful when creating a hypothesis. Snyder (2019) proceeds to explain three ways of assessing literature;

however, for this study, only one of her stated assessment methods, "the systematic literature review," is used. For this method, a selection of keywords was utilized, and the researchers were able to locate relevant information and research from studies and articles conducted within this study's research area.

After the systematic literature review was conducted, the lack of established research concerning EFL students' connotational knowledge was evident. An examination of the study suggests that, at the time of writing, no entirely reliable study of measuring connotative understanding has been devised. The reasons for this may be the complexity of connotational knowledge, as stated in subchapter 2.3. Because of the complexity, it is difficult to measure the participants' proficiency of words' implied meanings because of how a word's connotative implications depend on various aspects such as social status and culture, thus relying on these aspects, the same piece of language could potentially possess two distinct meanings, both could be equally correct. Therefore, measuring the general connotative knowledge of learners in an EFL classroom poses a challenge, as it would be unwise to consider all individuals as counterparts in a classroom since they derive from various social statuses and cultures.

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4 Result

In this chapter, the results provided by the questionnaire will be presented. The chapter will be divided into sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter covers the results acquired from the first part of the questionnaire concerning students' habits and frequency of using English outside the EFL classroom. The second sub-chapter covers the second part of the questionnaire concerning the participants' connotative skills.

4.1 Result of the participants’ English habits

Table1 - frequency of personal communication in English

Quanitative research is used to acquire insight into the students' habits and frequency of using English outside the EFL classroom to answer the research question. Descriptive statistics of three different English habits relating to the use of English are presented together with their correlation to the test results.

Table 1-3 shows the participants' frequency of using English during their spare time. Table 1 confirms that most Swedish students (62%) frequently communicate in English outside of school. Most of the participants picked the option "a few times a week" or "every day." Furthermore, the results show that the participants who regularly communicate in English outside of school scored higher on the connotation test than those who communicated less.

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Table 2 - frequency of reading in English

In Table 2, the participants' reading habits in English outside of school are presented. The results show that most Swedish students (80%) read in English at least once a week. Those students who read in English regularly outside of school scored higher on the connotations test than those who read less. In this regard, Tables 1-2 show similar patterns.

However, those students who read less than once a month showed similar results to those reading regularly. Although, the students who read regularly are more in number than those who read less than once a month.

Table 3 - frequency of watching movies or TV series in English

The results shown in Table 3 illustrate the participants' habits of watching English language television series and movies. The results show that 85% of the participants watch television in English at least once a week. Those participants scored higher on the connotations test. To summarise the data shown in Tables 1-3, the participants are frequently exposed to and use English outside the EFL classroom. There is a correlation between their exposure and usage of English outside the school environment and the awareness of and ability to invoke connotations.

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4.2 Result of participants’ connotational knowledge

Table 4 - Answer sheet and combined points per sentence

A total of 64 participants participated in the survey and, if all of those had received a total score on the connotations test, that would have resulted in a combined score of 2,560 points. Their combined score was 1,027 points in total, which roughly translates to around 40% of the total score. In Table 4, the optimal answer is presented for each sentence, together with the collected data of the participants' selection of different connotations appropriateness in specific contexts.

Furthermore, Table 4 shows each sentence's combined scores and answers in the questionnaire, indicating which sentences in the questionnaire that the participants had troubles with or were successful. For example, sentence four showed the highest combined score, whereas sentence nine showed the lowest combined score.

Table 5 – Participants’ individual scores on the connotations test

Table 5 provides the results of every participant's combined score in the connotations test. If a participant had answered accordingly to the optimal answers, the maximum score would have resulted in 40 points. The results show that the 64 participants had an average score of 16 points, the highest score was 33, the lowest score 5, and together they had a median value of 16 points.

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5 Analysis and discussion

In this chapter, the results provided by the questionnaire will be analysed and discussed. The chapter will be divided into sub-chapters. The first sub-chapter concerns the participants' English habits, whereas the second sub-chapter concerns the participants' connotational knowledge. The final sub-chapter involves the optional comment section provided to each sentence in the second part of the questionnaire and some oral comments made by the participants.

5.1 Analysis and discussion of the participants’ English habits

Lundahl (2012) argues that English, encountered in learners' spare time, highly enhances their language abilities as implicit input increases. He further states that this explains why the Swedish people are perceived to possess excellent knowledge and ability in the language.

However, Lundahl (2012) also contends that the students' English abilities mostly derive from knowledge acquired implicitly, and the usage of the language is, therefore, practiced without knowing the grammatical rules.

As shown in Tables 1-3, most participants frequently encountered English during their spare time, where the lowest frequency of the variables is shown in Table 1. The statistics illustrate that the participants who communicated in English a few times a month or less were 38%. Thus, the statistics show that Swedish students' English input is relatively high since 62%

of the participants communicate in English weekly. However, through an interpretation of Table 1, frequent communication had a modest connection to the higher test scores. This might be explained with a spoken remark from one of the participants after the connotation test. In the participant's statement, it was said that the communication that students take part in is often with people from other EFL countries, which might result in the students not advancing in their vocabulary depth as efficiently as if they were to communicate with native speakers.

The results shown in Table 2 depict a moderate relationship with higher test scores in the connotation test of those who read weakly compared to those who read a few times a month or less. Ahlquist and Lugossy (2015) concluded that a person with an extensive

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vocabulary breadth would also have more significant opportunities to use the language.

Therefore, the statistics shown in Table 2 are unexpected according to the authors because they deem reading an efficient way to acquire language breadth and depth implicitly. In Table 3, the frequency of watching television series or movies in English has the highest relationship in terms of comprehending connotations' appropriateness. Byram (1997) argues that there are many positive aspects of implicit language learning through televised sources. He states that it puts the EFL learners in the environment of the target language, thus giving them both vocabulary breadth and depth implicitly. Moreover, televised language exposure provides the viewer with the appropriate language input in different scenarios and contexts.

5.2 Analysis and discussion of participants’ connotational knowledge

The connotation test data show mixed results, where the participants in some sentences exceed proficiently, but in other sentences made misinterpretations. The fact must also be established that the participants who took part in the survey are high school students, and their language proficiency is considered intermediate, meaning that they are most likely not yet fluent in English. The data analysis poses a challenge, considering the participants' intermediate level of English, and that research on connotational knowledge of Swedish EFL students at the age range of 14-16 is seemingly not done before. Although the participants' combined score of 40%

in total could, and perhaps should, be deemed as relatively low, it is hard to determine if the students' results on the test are high, low, or merely satisfactory. Moreover, the sentences' optimal answers were graded by someone who is significantly more mature than the students, which substantiates Jeffries' (2006) statement that the connotational meanings of words change continually depending on how language evolves. Therefore, the younger population could potentially disagree with the university lecturer's opinions and how the optimal answers were graded, demonstrated with an example in sub-chapter 6.3 where a student commented on the inappropriateness of discussing a person's physical appearance. Furthermore, there are no mentions of connotational knowledge in the Swedish curriculum for the English subject, although there are areas where it could be implemented. Therefore, the authors cannot determine if connotational knowledge is an aspect of the English language that the participants should already possess. However, it can be determined that it is a skill that the participants are yet to develop when looking at the general score on the connotations test.

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Some noticeable patterns can be established in the results, where one of those was further confirmed in subchapter 6.3. The pattern indicated that the participants were often answering according to the general tone of the sentence, which resulted in misinterpretations.

For example, sentence number nine (see appendix) had the lowest combined score on the test.

In the sentence, the context is positive as it offers a compliment; however, the chance of securing a job because of looking "cute in a suit" must be deemed unlikely. The word "cute"

might have been appropriate in the context of two parents discussing their young daughter's outfit before her high school prom. However, a word such as "elegant" would better describe an outfit in a more adult or serious context. In the situation of job interviews, "successful" would be a more appropriate word choice to describe a person wearing a suit since it can give the impression of that person being experienced and professional.

As stated above, a dilemma appears to be that the students were considering the context of the sentence rather than the specific word. For example, in the first sentence of the questionnaire, the appropriateness level of the word "skinny" was tested. Skinny is used in a context where it is supposed to operate as a compliment. The word "skinny" used as a compliment is considered somewhat inappropriate because it indicates that the person is malnourished, which cannot be deemed healthy. However, the word "skinny" is in some instances of society an approved ideal that can be mediated through, for example, advertisements that are influencing people to become skinny to appear like models. Advertising is often associated with the field of semiotics, where the semiotic study of advertising can be seen as a study of connotations, as previously mentioned. Beasley and Danesi (2002) explain how advertising generates connotational chains, and these determine how the features of the advertisements operate as signifiers to consumers. For instance, an ad by the fashion magazine Vogue can trigger a connotative chain where an hourglass figure can be associated with femininity, sexuality, and fertility. The denotation of the word "vogue" is fashion, and the person covering an edition of the Vogue magazine is usually an attractive individual. While looking at the ad, the interpretation could eventually lead to the belief that "this is what a body is supposed to look like" to be feminine, attractive, or desired. A norm considering supermodels' body types is that they have a low body fat percentage. If considering the norm of supermodels, those body types of low body fat percentage could be considered skinny. However, because of the association to attractiveness from the ad, the connotations of skinny become ambiguous in some contexts.

Swedish EFL Students' Awareness of Connotations

Degree Thesis

Teacher Eduation (Upper Secondary School) 300hp

Swedish EFL Students' Awareness of Connotations

A quantitative and qualitative study on students' awareness of connotations

English for Students in Teacher Education 15hp

Halmstad 2021-06-17

Gustaf Wallin, Jonathan Jaginder

Acknowledgement

Abstract

Table of contents

1 Introduction

2 Background

3 Method

4 Result

5 Analysis and discussion