How To Teach Vocabulary Scott Thornbury Power

 

UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE TEMUCO FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PEDAGOGIA EN INGLÉS VKD2014

TEACHING MAINVOCABULARY ISSUES

2014

 

WHAT IS VOCABULARY? VOCABULARY

all used the words known and by a particular person

Receptive/passive

Productive/active

all the words which exist in a particular language or subject

 

Vocabulary is the most important aspect of language to teach 1. You can understand a reading reading text and make yourself understood with almost no grammar at all

2. you can’t get get anywhere without vocabulary. vocabulary. 

 

3. Vocabulary is more important than reading strategies stra tegies for unders understanding tanding a text. 4. Vocabulary is the best measure of proficiency

 

  WHAT IMPLIES “KNOWING VOCABULARY”..?  FORM

PRONUNCIATION+ SPELLING GRAMMAR

(Thornbury, 2002).

MEANING

DENOTATION CONNOTATION

USE

COLLOCATIONS APPROPIATENESSformality level, context etc

 

HOW MANY WORDS …..?  •

•

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ADVANCED LEARNERS……8000  ADVANCED INFORMAL SPOKEN LANGUAGE……..6000  TO FULL FULLY Y UNDE UNDERST RSTAND AND A TEX TEXT…… T…… % 

So.....Our students need to learn……. 

 

REASONS TEACHER HAVE FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY

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•

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 USEFUL FOR THE TOPICS RELEVANT RELEV ANT TO STUDENTS´LIVES STUDENTS´LIVES INTERESTING TO STUDENTS EASY TO LEARN EASY TO TEACH

 

“Learners can’t acquire enough

vocabulary voc abulary only through incidental encounters”  •

By ‘picking up’ through extensive reading or

listening: learners appear to learn one new word per 2,000 read read - VERY slow! •

So we need deliberate teaching and reteaching of new items. Penn Pennyy Ur

 

How do you introduce new vocabulary? •

“If you can introduce them in an interesting

and impactful way, learners are likely to master them more quickly and find it more enjoyable” Penny Ur 

 

PRESENTING VOCABULARY •

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Most researchers agree that anshould item should not beofpresented in isolation and not be learned through memorization. Vocabulary items should be presented in context conte xt rich enough to provide clue to meaning and that students be given multiple exposure to items they should learn.” (CelceMurcia, 2001)

 

  Any word…..? 

 

It’’s most It importantwords important to teach the commonest •

•

700 most common words make up 70% of text Then in order to get up to 85% you need 2,500 (an extra 1,800) And so on… 

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It’s vitally important to make sure that the

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commonest items are mastered, and not to spend too much time and energy on the ones ones learners are unlikely to encounter very much. Facts and figures taken from Penny Ur´s lectures

 

Every language has a set of this… 

 

Some Techniques ILLUSTRATION:

This is very useful for more concrete words: dog, rain, tall and •

for visualcan visual learners. It has its though, though, not all items be drawn….. Ex.limits Patience, hate.  

 

  MIME: •

Best if used with action verbs and it can be fun and memorab memorable. le. Run, kick, jump, look etc

 

Synonyms/Antonyms/Gradable Antonyms/Gradable items: items: Synonyms/ •

Using the words a students already knows can be effective for getting meaning across.

 

DEFINITION: •

Make sure that it is clear (maybe check in a learner dictionary. Remember to ask questions to check check they have understood understood properly properly..

 

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Some principles… 

 

1. The Principle of Cognitive Depth:  •

“ The more one manipulates, manipulates, thinks about, and

uses mental information, the more likely it is that one will retain that information. In the case of vocabular vocabulary… y… 

 

….the more one engages with a word

(deeper processing), the more likely the word will be remembered for later use” (Schmitt (Schmitt 2000: 120). 

 

2. The Principle of Retrieval:  •

recalling an item  “ The act of successfully recalling increases the chance that the item will be remembered. It appears that the retrieval route to that item is in some way strengthened by being successfully used”

(Baddeley).

 

3. The Principle of Associations:  •

“ The human lexicon is believed to be a

network of associations, of interconnected links.) a web-like structure

 

•

When students are asked to manipulate words, relate them to other words and to their own experiences, and then to justify their choices, these word associations are reinforced” (Sökmen 1997

 

of Multiple 4. The Principle Encounters : •

“Due to the incremental nature of vocabulary

acquisition, repeated exposures are necessary to consolidate a new word in the learner’s mind” (Schmitt & Carter 2000)