Teaching
English vocabulary is an important area worthy of effort and investigation. Recently methodologists and linguists
emphasize and recommend teaching vocabulary because of its importance in
language teaching. Vocabulary is needed
for expressing meaning and in using the receptive (listening and reading) and
the productive (speaking and writing) skills. Vocabulary is more than a list of
words, and although the size of one’s vocabulary matters, it’s to know how to
use it which matters most.
Vocabulary o Vocabularies?
In everyday conversation we speak of vocabulary
in the singular; we speak of a person’s vocabulary. This is actually an
oversimplification. The American Heritage Dictionary defines vocabulary as “the
sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person
or group.” On the other hand, it seems important to notice that in the majority
of cases there are some differences in the number of words that a person
understands and uses. Even the terms “uses” and “understands” need
clarification. For example, the major way in which we “use” vocabulary is when
we speak and write; the term expressive vocabulary is used to refer to both
since these are the vocabularies we use to express ourselves. We “understand”
vocabulary when we listen to speech and when we read; the term receptive
vocabulary is used to refer to listening and reading vocabularies. The
acquisition of decoding skills leads to rapid expansion of literate
vocabularies by allowing children to transcode their meaning vocabularies into
their literate vocabularies. This is so much the case that for older students
and for adults our literate vocabularies are probably larger than our meaning
vocabularies. We tend to have a larger group of words that we use in reading
and writing than we use in our own speech. That’s why written language is more
formal, more complex, and more sophisticated than spoken language
P1. Relation between Skills and the Vocabulary.
Practical classroom ideas to support vocabulary
development
Teachers
can help students to extend vocabulary through whole class and guided group
work by:
• Planning
for the introduction of new vocabulary: Teacher could indicate on short term
plans where and how new vocabulary will be introduced.
P2. New Vocabulary.
•
Encouraging “word of the day”: The students and you identify a new word each day
and attempt to use it in context as many times as possible.
P3. Word of the day.
• Modelling
specific reading strategies to develop vocabulary: For example, drawing on
analogies (rain, snow, sleet) or word families (either linked to spelling
patterns or meaning).
• Exploring
prediction of story and dialogue through either the use of textless picture
books or the masking/covering of a specific piece of dialogue or text.
P4. Book with vocabulary.
•
Pre-teaching vocabulary before meeting it in a text: For example key words such
as technical terms, or words in unfamiliar contexts.
• Checking
understanding of vocabulary meaning through targeted questioning particularly
in guided reading and writing sessions.
• Providing
clear objectives for developing vocabulary: For example giving students four
words and asking them to use them during the lesson.
• Modelling
a piece of writing in front of the class, explaining and verbalizing vocabulary
choices as you go.
P5.Teacher is explaining vocabulary.
• Using
guided writing sessions to support small, targeted groups to review a piece of
writing and challenge vocabulary choices made.
Ideas to encourage students to develop
vocabulary during independent tasks by:
• Promoting
the use of dictionaries, thesauruses and spelling investigations to extend the
range of words used.
P6. Dictionary.
• Playing
word games to extend and challenge understanding of vocabulary. You can use the game "Taboo", it's a great option to make your students learn vocabulary and practice.
Video 1. Taboo
•
Developing and extending independent reading experiences. They can read books.
P7. Students read books.
• Giving students a vocabulary notebook in which to record unfamiliar or newly discovered words which can be stored until they need to use them.
As you can see, you can use a lot of options in order that your students can learn vocabulary. Teachers should be prepared to teach different kind of vocabulary because it's the way to express our mind. So, if you want to be a great teacher, make an effort to learn everyday more vocabulary and use it with your students.
