Teaching Vocabulary

Teaching Vocabulary.


"Vocabulary knowledge is a knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition,but also implies how that word fits into the world."                          Steven Stahl.

Vocabulary knowledge is not something that can ever be fully mastered; it is something that expands and depends over the course of a lifetime.Vocabulary learning is an essential part of a foreign language learning. Learning new vocabulary is one of the major challenges foreign language learners face during the process of a learning a FL. Teaching vocabulary involves far more than looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence. Vocabulary is acquired incidentally through indirect exposure to words and intentionally through explicit instruction in specific words and word-learning strategies.Learning new vocabulary words can be accelerated if u study using a method that fits to your learning style. Vocabulary s the key element in the foreign language class. While grammar is important for meaning,without vocabulary no message is conveyed. One principle of effective vocabulary learning is to provide multiple exposures to a word meaning. There is a great improvement in vocabulary when students encounter vocabulary words often. It is important that vocabulary teaching provide students with opportunities to encounter new words repeatedly and in more than one context. Activities for making notes, using word lists, dictionaries,games, word analysis and similar things can be very useful. 

Why study Vocabulary ?
Learners consider vocabulary as being very important to language learning. That is why we should know why do we have to study vocabulary.
*To learn what words and phrases mean.
*To commit them to memory.
*To recall them as needed.
*To recognize and use them in their own language production.

Principles for teaching Vocabulary.

We should apply a variety of teaching and learning situations :

*We need to focus on the most useful vocabulary first.Some words can be used widely,have a high frequency,others, have much more limited use. Then, the most useful vocabulary depends on the goals of the learners,it depends what kind of vocabulary they are most interested in. So, the first principle has to do with what words to teach and learn.

*Another principle is: Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way,how to use the words taught or learned. The meaning of the words is highly derived from the context. So,if the students know the meaning of of some highly frequently used words ,they can guess the meaning of some low frequency words. This principle focuses on deriving the meaning of words from the context,using word cards and dictionaries.

*Give attention to the high frequency words across the four language skills (reading, listening,speaking,writing).

*Encourage students to to reflect on and take responsibility for learning which requires : a) knowledge of what to learn, b) skill in choosing the best option, c) the ability to monitor and evaluate progress.

Vocabulary Teaching Strategies.

In the Direct Vocabulary Teaching, we as teachers may do exercises and activities in class that focus the learners' attention on vocabulary learning, therefore, a conscious effort is made by the learner to remember new words. While in the Indirect Teaching Vocabulary, learning is still where most vocabulary acquisition takes place, there is a room for more direct teaching methods in the FL classroom,when and if certain factors are taken into consideration. In order to retain learned vocabulary, learners need to "meet" the words in a variety of contexts,anywhere from 5-16 different times. Learners best remember words when they have manipulated them in different ways,so variety is essential for vocabulary teaching.

Building Up Vocabulary.

Building up the learners' vocabulary is the most important part of a language learning process. If we don't have a base vocabulary to work with, we can't teach grammar, the students can't study grammar and  we have absolutely no use for spelling or pronunciation exercises and writing or reading is definitely out of the question. That's why is crucial to have a good vocabulary work-up at the beginning of the studies but also to keep building it up as we go. Let's sum up :

*DIRECT STRATEGIES

-specific word construction

-teaching learners word learning strategies

We as teachers, focus on specific words and may use one of several strategies to teach them by explaining what the words mean, giving definitions, using words associations such as synonyms and antonyms, translation and paraphrasing.

EXAMPLES :  Word Families ...

* Talk...(also introduce its other forms : talk, talked, talking, talk (n), etc.).

* Associate words when teaching Vocabulary : pair 'table' and 'chair' ; pet (dog,cat,fish,rabbit etc.).

* Adjectives- match the words with their opposites : good-bad; rich-poor; happy-sad; wide-narrow; old-young/new,  etc.

* Synonyms and Antonyms are a good way of teaching and learning vocabulary in acquiring a foreign language. They bear a heavy linguistic and expressive meaning in the language discourse. 

*INDIRECT STRATEGIES

- figuring out the meaning of the context

- eliciting vocabulary and meanings

Activities :  words in context, eliciting, sentence completion, mind maps, question game, asking questions, concept question.

Words in Context

By far the most important vocabulary strategy is to guess the unknown words from the context. A procedure for guessing from context begins with deciding whether the word is important, it might be part of an important idea or a word that is often repeated. Use of context clues is an effective approach to teaching students to use context to guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word they come across in their reading. 

In these cases, the learners may:

A.  Look at the word itself : What part of speech is it? , Is it familiar to other words they know?

B.  Look at its immediate context - the word around it.

C.  Look at how the clause containing the word relates to other clauses and sentences around it.

Eliciting

Getting information from learners about vocabulary rather than imparting it to them. It can be prompted by :

*providing visual cues such as pictures,realia or even mime.

*by textual cues when students are reading.

*by usage of the oral cues.

Sentence Completions

There are various types of sentence completions : students have to supply a word, they are given two words to choose from, have a word bank.. The following exercises can be used for almost any type of vocabulary: gap-filling, fill-in-the-blanks, cloze.

Mind Maps

Brainstorming 

*A visual strategy to help students bridge prior knowledge or practice new vocabulary.

*Especially useful for eliciting synonyms and vocabulary in word families.

Question Games

These activities give the students the opportunity to practice using words in different ways

Asking Questions...

*Use the eliciting technique by the way he/she asks questions, e.g. What is the place called where a scientist does experiments? ( laboratory ).

*Using the vocabulary when asking questions, e.g. Who works in a laboratory ? 

*Encourage students to ask questions using the target vocabulary.

Concept Questions...

Concept questions should be asked in groups of at least three, and while they do not have to be yes/no questions,they should be not open-ended. When creating concept questions :

*Think about what the word means or does not mean.

*Turn that knowledge about the word's meaning into simple questions.

*Have a clear idea of what the answers to the questions should be.

Dictionaries...

Having an English language dictionary can help students see the richness of the English language in a way that bilingual dictionaries rarely do. Using dictionaries we may also include and design various vocabulary activities: exercises, pictures, numerical terms, how to address a letter, words- with syllabuses,pronunciation guide,part of speech, definition etc.

Flash Cards, Substitutions and Realia...

Through flash cards students can make the connection between the word and the image, students can recognize the word, we as teachers can drill the word with the whole class and students not only know how to say the word but learn to recognize it when reading.

Using substitution enables students to use words that they are already familiar with...; Synonyms - substitute one word that students are familiar with for another with similar meaning ( when you call someone,do you sometimes have to wait? You have to hold... Antonyms - substitute one word that students are familiar with for one with an opposite meaning, ( Is Ferrari a cheap car?, No, its an expensive one.)

Realia - using real objects can set a more natural learning environment, can motivate students to learn new vocabulary, might involve bringing in specific items that tie in with a topic-based lesson, could mean using objects in the classroom and they make a connection between an object and a new word, and retain the new word more easily.

Thank You .