Perspectives on Teaching and Learning Academic

Vocabulary

Keith FolseDepartment of Modern

LanguagesUniversity of Central Florida

keith.folse @ gmail.com

An IEP CurriculumAn IEP Curriculum9:00-9:50 Grammar10:00-10:50 Reading11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-1:50 Communication2:00-2:50 Writing

Another IEP Another IEP CurriculumCurriculum

9:00-10:50 Grammar/Writing

11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-2:50

Reading/Speaking/Listening

Another IEP Another IEP CurriculumCurriculum

9:00-10:50 Grammar/Speaking/Listening

11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-2:50 Reading/Writing

What is What is Academic Academic Language?Language?

What is What is Academic Academic Language?Language?

(1) language that sounds academic“according to the previous research on

which this study was based, several aspects of xyz emerged…”

(2) a set of vocabulary that will enable you to understand academic texts

????????

Does the AWL equal Academic Language?

Does Academic Language equal the AWL?

What is the What is the Academic Word Academic Word

List?List?Coxhead (2000)a corpus study (3.5 million words)570 words (word families)For a word to be designated as an AWL

item, that word had to occur frequently in her corpus AND it had to appear across certain areas AND it had to appear in 15 of 28 subdisciplines

Today’s Talk Today’s Talk (blurb)(blurb)

Coxhead’s Academic Word List highlights the importance of vocabulary for academic study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and similar word lists. This panel revisits the notion of academic vocabulary, exploring it from different perspectives in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs.

Categorizing WordsCategorizing Words(function: a/the/of; content:

cat/adjacent/fun)GSL 1000: _____, _____, _____GSL 2000: _____, _____, _____AWL: _____, _____, _____OFF-LIST: _____, _____, _____

(1) (1) Today’s Talk Today’s Talk (blurb)(blurb)

Coxhead’s Academic Word List highlights the importance of vocabulary for academic study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and similar word lists. This panel revisits the notion of academic vocabulary, exploring it from different perspectives in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs.

Find the 6 AWL Find the 6 AWL items?items?

Coxhead’s Academic Word List highlights the importance of vocabulary for academic study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and similar word lists. This panel revisits the notion of academic vocabulary, exploring it from different perspectives in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs. *****************************************

Today’s Talk (6)Today’s Talk (6)Coxhead’s Academic Word List highlights

the importance of vocabulary for academic study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and similar word lists. This panel revisits the notion of academic vocabulary exploring it from different perspectives in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs.

What about the What about the leftovers?leftovers?

Coxhead’s Academic Word List highlights the importance of vocabulary for academic study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and similar word lists. This panel revisits the notion of academic vocabulary exploring it from different perspectives in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs. *************

Look at the Look at the GREAT LEFTOVERSGREAT LEFTOVERS

Coxhead’s _______ Word List _______ the importance of vocabulary for _______ study and has inspired a host of teaching materials and _______ word lists. This _______ revisits the _______ of _______ vocabulary exploring it from different _______ in order to offer teaching and learning ideas for IEP programs.

******************************************

1000? 2000? AWL? 1000? 2000? AWL? OFF?OFF?

0-1000 different ideas importance learning materials offer order study teaching word

1001-2000 exploring host list programsAWL academic highlights notion panel perspectives similar

OFF coxhead iep inspired revisits vocabulary vocabulary

(2) (2) wikipedia.orgwikipedia.orgThe Academic Word List (AWL) was developed

by Averil Coxhead in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English (the General Service List), thus many of the words are specific to academic contexts.

Find the 6 AWL Find the 6 AWL words?words?

The Academic Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English (the General Service List), thus many of the words are specific to academic contexts.

wikipedia.orgwikipedia.orgThe Academic Word List (AWL) was developed

by Averil Coxhead in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English (the General Service List), thus many of the words are specific to academic contexts.

What about the What about the leftovers?leftovers?

The Academic Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were selected because they appear with great frequency in a broad range of academic texts. The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English (the General Service List), thus many of the words are specific to academic contexts.

Look at the Look at the GREAT LEFTOVERSGREAT LEFTOVERS

The _______ Word List (AWL) was developed by Averil Coxhead in New Zealand. The list contains 570 semantic fields which were _______ because they appear with great frequency in a broad _______ of _______ _______ . The list does not include words that are in the most frequent 2000 words of English (the General Service List), thus many of the words are _______ to _______ _______ . *****************************************

1000? 2000? AWL? 1000? 2000? AWL? OFF?OFF?

0-1000 appear broad contains developed english fields general great include most new number service word

1001-2000 frequency listAWL academic contexts range selected specific texts

OFF averil awl coxhead semantic zealand

(3) (3) webmd.comwebmd.comWhile adults need to eat breakfast each day to perform their best, kids need it even more. Their growing bodies and developing brains rely heavily on the regular intake of food. When kids skip breakfast, they can end up going for long periods of time without food and this period of semistarvation can create a lot of physical, intellectual, and behavioral problems for them.

Find examples for Find examples for GSL 1000, GSL 2000, AWL, and GSL 1000, GSL 2000, AWL, and

OFFOFFWhile adults need to eat breakfast each day to

perform their best, kids need it even more. Their growing bodies and developing brains rely heavily on the regular intake of food. When kids skip breakfast, they can end up going for long periods of time without food and this period of semistarvation can create a lot of physical, intellectual, and behavioral problems for them. *********************************

1000? 2000? AWL?1000? 2000? AWL?1000: best bodies day developing eat end

even food going growing heavily long more need number problems time

2000: behavioral brains breakfast lot perform regular

AWL: adults create period periods physical relyOFF: intake intellectual kids semistarvation

skip

1000? 2000? AWL?1000? 2000? AWL?1. To function in an academic setting, you

need A LOT of vocabulary.2. The AWL is good, but it is not enough.3. I can teach you the 570 words, but the

students need to practice heavily.4. Even with these 570, it’s still not enough.************************************

In our classes…In our classes…1. Is academic vocabulary being

taught?2. If so, how?3. But wait… To what degree is ANY

vocabulary being taught?

Is explicit Is explicit vocabulary the vocabulary the

reading teacher’s reading teacher’s job?job?

Reading in a Foreign Language

April 2010, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 139-160

To find: Google RFL FOLSE28

the studythe study a case study one upper intermediate class at an IEP EVF: explicit vocabulary focus goal: number of EVFs in 1 week of classes

(25 hrs) RQ: how many EVFs? where? who? why?

29

backgroundbackground TRAIN WRECK: ELLs + “lexical plight” Ss need to know 95%-98% of the words to

comprehend a reading passage TIME CRUNCH: “Ss typically need to know

words measured in thousands, not hundreds, but receive language instruction measured in months, not years” (Cobb, 1999, p. 345)

Publications frequently conclude with “Ss need more vocab instruction,” BUT what is really happening right now?30

Research QuestionsResearch Questions1. To what extent is vocab being covered in an intensive English program?

2. Are explicit vocabulary focuses (EVFs) being initiated by the teacher, the students, or both?

3. Is there more attention to vocab in a particular course than in others? If so, why?

31

Students/Students/ParticipantsParticipants

① a typical IEP at a large university in 2002② Level 3 (upper intermediate) of a 4-level program③ 475 on paper-based TOEFL; 4 on IELTS④ 14 ELLs (1 Arabic; 1 French; 3 Japanese; 4

Korean; 1 Portuguese; 3 Spanish; 1 Thai)⑤ 5 teachers of 5 classes (Communication,

Composition, Grammar, Reading, TOEFL)⑥ 1 Researcher (hid as a student in classes,

multilingual)

32

RQ1: To what RQ1: To what extent is vocab extent is vocab

covered in an IEP?covered in an IEP? 121 EVFs/week, 24 EVFs/day, 4.8 EVFs/class often orally with no visual cues rarely wrote on the board rarely drew class attention to the

word/meaning/strategy for remembering the word

problem: small number and limited quality

33

An IEP CurriculumAn IEP CurriculumIs anyone teaching vocabulary?Where?Is it systematic (at all)?

An IEP CurriculumAn IEP Curriculum9:00-9:50 Grammar10:00-10:50 Reading11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-1:50 Communication2:00-2:50 Writing

Another IEP Another IEP CurriculumCurriculum

9:00-10:50 Grammar/Writing

11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-2:50

Reading/Speaking/Listening

Another IEP Another IEP CurriculumCurriculum

9:00-10:50 Grammar/Speaking/Listening

11:00-11:50 Elective1:00-2:50 Reading/Writing

Where is vocab Where is vocab taught?taught?

it depends…“we all do that”…in the reading class…in the elective class…in the TOEFL class…

Vocabulary ElectiveVocabulary ElectiveUniversity of South Florida’s ELIsummer 1999new vocabulary electiveVocabulary in Use (McCarthy &

O’Dell)

In conclusion, In conclusion,

In conclusion, In conclusion,

DO SOMETHING!

Focus on Vocabulary: Mastering the Academic Word List

(Schmitt & Schmitt, Pearson)