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For Snow: After basic words from lists in textbooks, most words came from reading them in books, stories, news, etc.
Students need to learn vocabulary as they encounter them. SO teach them how to do it. And to do it on their own.
How did you learn most of your vocabulary?2
Vocabulary Acquisition: The Goal
Producing words speaking or writing.
Aspects of words:1. Basic meaning2. Other meanings3. Parts of speech4. Usage5. Connotation6. Collocation7. Level of formality8. Frequency of
appearance
Comprehending words reading or listening.
It’s easier to comprehend than to produce. 1000-2000 words daily
conversation. 7000-10,000 words
most average texts. 45,000-60,000 words
educated native speaker.
Productive Command Receptive Command
NOTE (and CAUTION): Many English courses don’t separate production and reception of vocabulary.
Learning a word using that word. It is more difficult and to produce words.
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Personal Example
You should think of 4 or 5 personal examples or experiences and add them anywhere you want. It can be about one point or a couple points together.
Don’t make an example for each point AND don’t worry to find one example that matches every point.
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Learning and Teaching Vocabulary
Beginning Level Most words come from textbooks. Most words are high frequency words. Students need productive and receptive skills. Try to introduce and practice as much as
possible in class. Quizzes and tests – test productive and
receptive ability.
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Learning and Teaching Vocabulary
Intermediate Level NOTE: At intermediate level for EFL, students become better
readers than speaking and writing (because reading is receptive and receptive is ‘easier’)
Teach students the difference between productive and receptive ability Students start to separate words they need to produce (productive) and words they only need to understand (receptive).
Motivate students to learn more and more words everyday. (ex. daily quizzes, games, activities using target vocabulary)
Quizzes and tests – separate productive and receptive quizzes.
Advanced Level – concerns vocabulary learning when students can almost understand native English.
Read more on p. 174-175 Usually not high school level. Read more on p. 174-175 Usually not high school level.
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1. The Discovery Phase2. The Memorization Phase3. The Familiarization Phase
Strategies for Learning Vocabulary:
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1. The Discovery Phase
A. Dictionaries Many advantages: they show definitions, double
meanings, connotations, usages (example sentences), etc.
Students are self-sufficient to find the words by themselves.
Take time to teach students how to use dictionaries. Questions while checking the dictionary: Does this word have a local language equivalent or not? How is this work used? Does the work have a strong connotation? Is this work markedly formal or informal? How is it spelled? How is it pronounced?
** Caution: Some bilingual dictionaries, especially electronic dictionaries only give one or two translations for words and no example sentences. This makes students think every word is directly translatable (has 1 perfect matching word).
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1. The Discovery Phase (cont.)
B. Guessing Words from Context BE CAREFUL: Students can only GUESS the meaning of a word if
all other words around it are clear (95-98%). Easy texts. Problem: most students don’t read EASY texts. They read
textbooks and prepare for tests. Recommendation: Teach word roots, prefixes (ex. bi~, re~,
un~), and suffixes (ex. ~ed, ~er, ~ation).
C. Texts with Glossaries Glossaries – are vocabulary lists with translations or
explanations. Many advantages: faster than dictionaries, more accurate than
guessing, words in context. Suggestion: Students can/should make their own glossary. When
they see words they don’t know, they can make their own glossaries.
D. Vocabulary Lists If you have textbooks that give lists to students. It’s good if you
help students with definitions to save time (students can work together to define lists in the textbooks, if needed).
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2. The Memorization Phase
A. Concentration Stay alert (everyone knows the feeling that your eyes are reading,
but your brain is not). Mental and physical activity together enhances memory. Response or action (ex. Making a sentence with the word without
looking, or self quiz)
B. Repetition The more you see a word, the more likely you are to remember it.
(ex. Remember the name game from Ch 5) Research says it’s better to encounter (study/find) these words in
natural context reading, listening, or writing (not just repeating them).
C. Meaningful Manipulation Using words in a meaningful way helps you remember (eg. in a
conversation). Therefore, communication with new words helps you remember
them.
Two aspects of memory: long term and short term.Short term memory can hold some information (about 7 items) for a short
time. The goal is to store (=keep) words in long-term memory.
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3. The Familiarization Phase
This stage is for fluency skills for advanced learners. Generally, at this stage, students know definitions well
already pay more attention to usage, connotation, collocation, level of formality, & level of frequency. Laura’s example: buscar = seek/look for/search & procurar =
seek/look for/search “Se vocês querem conversar mais, me *busca depois.”
It’s not a grammatical rule, it’s usage/collocation Teachers can explain some of these things if it comes
up in class, but: Warning: Not too much or you will spend all your time
explaining. Let them read, listen, study, practice. Students mostly learn these these things with extensive
reading.
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Evaluation
Vocabulary is essential to language, SO every test of every skill includes vocabulary.
However, it’s good just to test vocabulary alone, because it has good backwash. Good score = know vocabulary. Bad scores = students don’t know vocabulary.
80% of what you learned, is lost within 24 hours, if not reviewed (Gairns & Redman, 1986,
90). NO CRAMMING (=only study the night before
exams); it’s not a good way to learn.
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Evaluation (Cont.)
1. English word – definition
2. Local country equivalent – target word
3. Fill in the blank4. Sentence with
target word – response
5. Matching6. Writing sentences
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For good BACKWASH
the best evaluation is in listening,
reading, writing, and
speaking activities, not
just translation.
For good BACKWASH
the best evaluation is in listening,
reading, writing, and
speaking activities, not
just translation.
If you have to
give exams or
tests, THEN...
If you have to
give exams or
tests, THEN...
Practice Listening Activity OR Discussion QuestionsNote to presenters: You have a choice to make discussion
questions. AND/OR
You can demonstrate a listening activity in the class. YOU ARE THE TEACHER and the class will be your students. Don’t explain what you would do. You have to teach like a real class.
NOTE: It should be a short and simple activity, do not prepare elaborate materials. It’s just a closing to your presentation.