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Teaching VOCABULARY

Teaching Vocabulary 1. What is VOCABULARY? 2. What

needs to be taught in teaching vocabulary? 3. What are steps in teaching vocabulary? 4. What techniques can be used for PRESENTING vocabulary? 5. What activities can be used for PRACTICING vocabulary?

Teaching experience Hi dear teacher, I am writing this in the intermission between classes to tell you of my extolment for your class. It comes without speaking that your class is the best. You help me with the difficultness of English. I’m so much happy to be student of a sagely teacher such as you and getting your advices. Your help is beyond valuability. Bye for now, Teo

1. What is VOCABULARY?

 Word knowledge includes the mastery of the words’: 1. Meaning(a) 6. Register (level of formality) 2. Written form 7. Association (how does it 3. Spoken form relate to other words?) 4. Collocation 8. Frequency (common? rare? 5. Grammatical behavior old-fashioned?) Vocabulary is the set of lexical items in a language (also called lexicon), referring to the total stock of meaningful units in a language-not only the words and idioms, but also the parts of words which express meaning, such as the prefixes and suffixes. Lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language (Schmitt, 2000)

Types of vocabulary ADHOC vocabulary Important for a particular text but unlikely to have any utility outside the text

ACTIVE vocabulary Words over which a learner can understand and use in their own speech and writing (productive vocabulary)

 Content words  Structure words

PASSIVE vocabulary Words likely to be understood by the learner in speech of writing of others but can not be produced (receptive vocabulary)

ACTIVE vocabulary  To give the proficiency in spoken and written

language, words must continuously be added to the active vocabulary of the students.  Active vocabulary of a language calls for: o The use of right word in right place. o The spontaneous recall of words. o Grammatical accuracy o Fluency and ability to reproduce correct sounds, pronunciation, intonation, rhythm etc.

PASSIVE vocabulary  Includes the words of the language which the

learners understand but have not yet learned to use in speaking or writing.  Passive vocabulary calls for: o A recognition of vocabulary in speech or writing. o An acquaintance with major grammatical items or forms. o The skill of stimulating rapidly the sense of large word groups

2. What needs to be taught?

What needs to be taught? Meaning: o synonyms, antonyms o hyponyms, super-ordinate, co-hyponym o denotation, connotation o polysemy o homonym o translation Form: grammar (past form, regular & irregular form, singular/plural form), prefixes, suffixes, compound words) Use: Connotation – Collocation – Register Appropriateness

3. Steps in teaching vocabulary

The teacher’s role in the process of teaching & learning new words Present the word (its form, meaning, usage, pronunciation) both individually and in a context Include both written and spoken form, both receptive and productive Optimize impact of presentation Establish a memory bond between a new word and those already covered. Link words with learners’ personal significance or emotion Help them recall or recognize the word by means of different exercises. Stimulate students to use the word in writing and speech. Teach new items early in the lesson.

Approaches to vocabulary acquisition Words learning involves both: Intentional (explicit) learning  Defined as an activity where learning vocabulary is the purpose Incidental learning  Described as words being acquired when engaging in an activity with another purpose than learning vocabulary, such as reading a book, listening in a native-speaker conversation or trying to decide together with a peer the order of furniture in a room

Approaches to vocabulary acquisition  There needs to be a proper mix of explicit teaching

and activities from which incidental learning can occur. With true beginners, probably necessary to explicitly teach all words Beyond this most basic level, incidental learning should be structured into the program

PPP (Present-Practice-Produce) TBL (Task-based Learning)

2 stages in teaching vocabulary: a) Presentation / Explanation b) Retention / Consolidation

4. Techniques for PRESENTING vocabulary

a) Presentation / Explanation  Present a new word = introduce its form + explain its meaning & usage  The teacher should follow the order: LISTENING => SPEAKING => READING => WRITING when presenting a new word.

HEARING the word: in isolation & in a sentence PRONOUNCING the word: pronounce the word even if their aim is only listening or reading. Grasping the meaning READING the word: see the word in written form

WRITING the word: reproduce the written form

Methods of conveying the meaning of a new word:  The DIRECT method  The TRANSLATION method

Methods of conveying the meaning of a new word:  The DIRECT method - Brings the learner into direct contact with

words. - Establishes links between a foreign word & the thing/the concept directly. - Used when the words denote things, objects, qualities, gestures, movements.

 The DIRECT method (cont.) - Various techniques to group them into visual &

verbal: Visual Technique: The use of visual aids (for concrete items): • realia • pictures • situations • movements • gestures

Verbal Technique: The use of the verbal means for conveying the meaning of unfamiliar words. • definitions • contexts • antonyms/ synonyms • parts of words • enumeration

Example 1: “Referee” is a new word

Definition: The man who is in black uniform and blows the whistle in a football match is a referee. Visual technique

Verbal technique

Example 2: “Collection” is a new word

Context: Jack has collected a lot of stamps. He has a fine stamp collection. His sister has a large collection of picture books. Visual technique

Verbal technique

Example 3: “Policewoman”

is a new word

Parts of words: “police-woman” – you know the words “police” & “woman”, now guess the meaning of the word “policewoman” Visual technique

Verbal technique

Example 4: “Luggage” is a new word Enumeration: Making a list: - Bag - Suitcase - Rucksack - Briefcase … => The meaning of “luggage” will become clear Visual technique

Verbal technique

Example 5: “messy” is a new word Antonym: Previously learned: tidy The opposite of “tidy” is “messy”

Visual technique

Verbal technique

Methods of conveying the meaning of a new word:  The TRANSLATION method - Common translation: often used to explain the

abstract words which have equivalent in the native language.

E.g. determination, charity, generosity, wisdom, etc. - Translation-Interpretation: often used to explain the

words causing the interference of the mother tongue.

E.g. handshake, free way, eggplant, etc.

b) Retention / Consolidation  Students perform various exercises to fix the words in their memory.  3 levels of exercises: 

Word level: words are practiced in isolation,

focusing on meaning, spelling, pronunciation, register, etc.)  Sentence level: words are practiced as they occur in sentences, using collocations and grammatical forms Discourse or fluency level: words are practiced in paragraphs or longer content-rich segments, focusing on fluency along with accuracy

Word level activities

Word level activities

Word level activities

Sentence level activities  Complete the text by writing an appropriate word in each space: ‘’Greta Garbo, the Swedish-born film ___, was born in 1905. She won a scholarship to drama school, where she learned to ___. In 1924 a film director chose her for a ___ in a Swedish film called ..."  Choose the best word from the list to complete each sentence. Use each word once ...  Select words from the list to complete these sentences. Note that there are more words than sentences ...  Choose words from the text you have just read to complete these sentences ...

Sentence level activities  Choose the best word to complete each sentence:

When I feel tired, I can't stop __. a sneezing b yawning c coughing d weeping  Use each of these words to make a sentence which clearly shows the meaning of the word.  Choose six words from the list and write a sentence using each one.  Use each of these words to write a true sentence about yourself or someone you know.  Write a short narrative (or dialogue) which includes at least five words from the list.

Discourse/Fluency level activities  Work in pairs. Ask and say how you feel about your town or village. I love it. It's all right. I can't stand it.  Which of the following adjectives can you use to describe your town or village? (interesting, boring, annoying, depressing, frightening, marvelous, etc. )  Students prepare a survey - using these examples as a model: 1. Is your hometown boring or interesting? Why? 2 Do you find big cities: depressing, interesting, lively or noisy? Why? etc. then ask each other their prepared questions, and report the results to the class

Applying Task-based Learning Approach for Teaching Vocabulary  TBL approach focuses on the concept of communicative task, simultaneously enhancing the learner’s vocabulary and grammar skills, providing a better context for the activation of learning processes.  The task includes three basic components: pre-task: to think of the vocabulary associated with the topic task-cycle: involves the students’ group discussions of the task and presenting the report – accordingly, real-life communication is practiced post-task: includes working with authentic material, focusing on the vocabulary, linguistic patterns, etc. (Richards and Rodgers, 2001, 238-239)

Example Topic: Cooking  Pre-task: 1. Learners brainstorm the topic and answer the

teacher’s questions linked to the theme. Some replies that were considered to be useful for the task phase were put down on the board. 2. Matching task: learners link the definition to the term linked with cooking. Some terms are new for learners

Example Topic: Cooking  Task cycle:

Learners work in groups, each performing a task - to create their own recipe of pizza. 1. Learners brainstorm and discuss their ideas. 2. They write a small report on their recipe. 3. Oral report: one spokesperson from the group has to introduce their recipe; after each recipe, other learners are encouraged to express their suggestions, opinions, remarks, etc. (Teacher monitors and helps; dictionaries were available.)

Example Topic: Cooking  Post Task: 1. After all reports had been discussed, the teacher

provided the learners with an authentic text containing a homemade pizza recipe. Learners read and examine the difference between the text and their own recipes (vocabulary, grammar constructions, style, etc.), and to highlight vocabulary that was considered to be useful for cooking. 2. Learners express their opinions about the activity.