Joelson Diedrichs

TEACHING VOCABULARY:

THE STUDY OF A CASE

Curitiba

2005

Monografia apresentada para aobten~ao do titulo de especialista nocurse de p6s-gradua~aoEspecializa~ao em Lingua Inglesada Universidade Tuiuti do Paranasob a orienta9ao do ProfessorMestre Daniel Lacerda.

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ...

2. FACILITATING VOCABULARY ACQUISITION THROUGH STRATEGIES

OF READING ..

3. THE USE OF TEXTBOOKS IN THE TEACHING/LEARNING OF AFOREIGN LANGUAGE... 16

4. THE AUTHORS' METHODOLOGICAL PURPOSE OF THE TEXTBOOK

"NEW INTERCHANGE 2 ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNICATION" AND THEORIES ABOUT VOCABULARY TEACHING

AND LEARNING .... 22

5. CONCLUSiON .... 31

REFERENCES ... 33

1. INTRODUCTION

This work aims at reflecting about the activities of vocabulary proposed by the

textbook New tnterchange 2: Engtish for international communication. together with

practical applications, forming a cohesive linking between the methodology suggested

by the author and theories about vocabulary teaching and leaming

So. we justify this study for the fact that many students present difficulties in

acquiring vocabulary. essential component for English Language proficiency, but even

so, they are not conscious of how powerful reading strategies are in order to enable the

learning process.

The work presents a chapter with bibliographical revision which aims to facilitate

strategies to vocabulary acquisition through reading, by providing the reader with some

updated researches to open new horizons about the topic.

In the second chapter a study is made about the use of textbooks in the process

of teaching/learning of a foreign language at school, since for many students, the

contact, learning and acquisition of vocabulary happen almost exclusively through

textbooks.

In the third chapter one activity of vocabulary is studied in the mentioned textbook

and the communicative theories with theoretical revision of renowned authors about the

subject that presents several questions to be analyzed in the activities of vocabulary in

textbooks.

Thus, through coherent and analytical reflection, this study aims at proving the

theory into practice, establishing insights of the actual pedagogical purpose so that it

can be a worthiness of the topic presented.

2. FACILITATING VOCABULARY

STRATEGIES OF READING.

ACQUISITION THROUGH

A reasonable dominion of vocabulary enriches our text comprehension and

makes the reading faster. The lack of words becomes an impediment for a profitable

reading. So, what would be the most effective strategy to acquire large amounts of

vocabulary in a short period of time?

McCarthy suggests that reading is an efficient way of improving vocabulary.

because while reading, we have time to reflect 1 time to use the dictionary and decide

which words are important to learn (In: Sholes 2001, p.06).

In foreign language teaching, words are essential and indispensable because

every phrase, every grammatical structure, every piece of infonnation consists of them.

To acquire a foreign language in any extent we must also acquire a number of words.

One's learning of the terms and expressions of a language (i.e. its vocabulary) is

fundamental even in the earliest stages of the acquisition of that language. Vocabulary

is the central element in the language which links all skillS. Proficiency in speaking,

listening, writing or reading would be of no use if not for words. Even the best students

often complain about their primary problem in acquiring English, which is lack of

vocabulary .

4

Language teachers are inevitably involved in teaching vocabulary. Although

many syllabuses and textbooks state their aims in terms of skills, functions, grammar

and topics, teachers are still involved in presenting phrases to their students. Teachers

must enable students to communicate accurately. appropriately and fluently in situations

they will find themselves in. The author still says that one of the tools that pemnit

students to do this is the ability to recognize and produce a wide range of vocabulary

items.

We need to be aware that the greatest component of any language course is

vocabulary. No matter how well the student leams grammar, no matter how successfully

the sounds of a secondlforeign language are mastered, without words to express a wide

range of meanings the communication cannot take place in any meaningful way (ibid

poo)

Vocabulary development is a continuous process of learning how to send

messages in a clear and comprehensible way. People do not really have to know

complicated grammatical structures to communicate effectively. A good amount of

vocabulary with a minimum of structure can be better for reading comprehension,

listening, speaking, writing skills and more efficient survival communication than nearly

perfect structures with an impoverished vocabulary of less than 500 words. However,

neither impoverished structure nor vocabulary is needed. They both should be properly

taught and practiced, and should not be neglected in any circumstances.

It is possible to communicate without the knowledge of grammar but it becomes

unthinkable to do it without the "cognizance"of vocabulary. In accordance to this, Cruz

claims that

Reading represents the ideal context lor syntax and voeabul<H), apprehension in meaningfulcontexlS, allowing the learner more time for the resolution or problems and the assimilation ofthe new infonnation presented. The reading, therefore. is fundamental for the improvement ofIhe other skills and for the expansion of knowledge. (200 I, p. 31)

McCarthy claims that during conversation, there is no time for reflections,

making it difficult for the learner to absorb new vocabulary. So, extensive reading is an

efficient way of learning new words. However, according to the author, it is necessary to

be careful. If the text is difficult, has a lot of new words and the context is poor and

insufficient to guess meanings, the reading will become demotivating and the tendency

of the reader is to reject the text. Thus, simpler readings are advisable for beginners (In:

Sholes 2001, p. 06).

According to the "Parametros Curriculares Nacionais" it is important that the

reader learns to infer meanings of unfamiliar words through contextualized clues and

does not worry about knowing all the lexical items in the text. However, he/she must use

strategies that connect the information and establish textual coherence. Thus, it is

relevant that the student learn to distinguish central information in the semantic structure

of the text and its details (1998, p. 92).

It is advisable that the teacher observes these aspects of the texts so that the

learners do not reject the reading because of the degree of the lexicon difficulty.

A useful strategy for beginners to learn new words during the reading, according

to research reported by McCarthy, is to learn word lists as well as memorization and

even translation, which can be efficient. But for more advanced levels, the mechanical

approach to vocabulary will not be so useful. In this stage, they have a more cognitive

style of development, when the mind makes networks and connections during the

learning process. In conformity with the author such process seems to be a powerful

mean of acquiring vocabulary, which consists in the ability offor9in9 new networks in the

brain, reporting the "input" to the already known words, organizing them in a kind of map

in which vocabulary is organized (In: Sholes 2001, p. 06).

Nevertheless, for most teachers and learners the hard work involved in

memorizing lists of words does not make sense for very exciting teaching. More

importantly, knowing a word involves much more than simply having memorized it. Is it

readily accessible? Is it there when you need to say it? Memorization of words without

frequent opportunities to access them can be time misspent

Yet memory is important and perhaps the most important task facing the learner.

And therefore, knowing how memory works, and how to make it work to the leamer's

advantage, is a major responsibility for teachers.

For that reason, it is necessary to observe the major implications that memory

has on the teaching/learning of vocabulary as follows:

Repetition, the time-honored way of "memorizing" new material is through

repeated rehearsal of the material while it is still in working memory. However, simply

repeating an item seems to have little long-term effect unless some attempt is made to

organize the material at the same time.

However, it has been estimated that, when reading, words stand a good chance

of being remembered if they have been met at least seven times over spaced intervals.

Another kind of repetition that is crucial ;s what is called the ~retrieval practice

effect". This means, Simply, that the act of retrieving a word from memory makes it more

likely that the lea mer win be able to recall it again later. Activities that require retrieval,

such as using the new word in written sentences, "oil the pass" for future recall.

It is beUer to distribute memory work over a period of time than to mass it

together in a single block. This is known as the uprinciple of distributed practice" This

means that new vocabulary introduced in one lesson, should be reviewed in the next,

with successive tests spaced at gradually longer intervals over the sequence of lessons.

Putting words to "use", preferably in some interesting way, is the best method of

ensuring they are added to long-term memory it is the principle known as "use it or lose

it".

Cognitive depth means that if the learner is making successively more

demanding judgments about a word, the better the word will be remembered. A

relatively superficial judgment might be simply to match the word with one that rhymes

with it. A deeper level decision might be to decide on its part of speech. Deeper still

might be to use it to complete a sentence.

The judgments that learners make about a word are most effective if they are

personalized. In one study, subjects who had read aloud a sentence containing new

words showed better recall than subjects who had rehearsed the words silently.

Subjects who made up their own sentences with the words - and read them aloud - did

better still.

Best of all were the individuals who were given the task of silently visualizing a

menIal picture to go with a new word. Other tests have shown that words which

immediately evoke a picture are more memorable than words that do not. This suggests

that even for abstract words II might help if learners associate them with a mental image.

This is the principle of the basis of the Ukeyword" technique which involves devising an

image that connects the pronunciation of the second language word with the meaning of

a first language word.

Another important factor is that on the contrary to popular belief, the leamer

cannot improve the vocabulary simply by listening to a tape during the sleep. Some

degree of conscious attention is required. A very high degree of attention called arousal

seems to correlate with improved recall. Words that trigger a strong emotional response,

for example, are more easily recalled than ones that do not.

Affective (emotional) information stored along with cognitive (intellectual) data

may play an equally important role in how words are stored and recalled. Just it is

important for learners to make cognitive judgments about words.

According to research mentioned by McCarthy, another efficient way of learning

new words through reading, is to interact with other people, not just sitting alone trying to

memorize the word, but interacting with other students or teachers, to solve problems of

meaning. Students leam best by making sense of their own vocabulary and internalizing

it (In: Sholes 2001, p. 06). The more they work with the words, and the more deeply they

are processed (1.8. by working with the new words in many different ways) it is more

likely the words will be retained in memory. Such attitudes can be useful to acquire

vocabulary (ibid. p. 08).

Nowadays, Harmer pOints out that methodologists and linguists have given more

attention to the importance of vocabulary in the language teaching, and also the way it is

taught. The author says that the acquisition of vocabulary is as important as grammar,

though they are interdependent (1991, p. 154).

Gower claims that for communicating purposes vocabulary can be more

important than grammar, because at early stages the students are motivated to learn the

words they need, and as the lexical system is "open" there is always something new to

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learn when the grammar is done. At the same time the more advanced students need to

add new words to become more proficient (1995, p. 142)

Several studies show the importance of vocabulary in the reading

comprehension process. Davis et al (Apud OLLER 1993) conducted some analysis and

found out that the knowledge of words is an essential component in reading

comprehension, and the amount of vocabulary becomes the main factor for the

development of the skill

Seal (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) explains that extensive reading is very

important to increase a second language learner's vocabulary at an appropriate level of

difficulty "after having been trained in effective guessing strategies" and the "reading

habit" should be motivated so that the" students can do a large amount of outside-class

pleasure reading at an appropriate level of d~ficulty". In Cavalcanti's opinion (Apud

ZAGO p. 268), the key lexical items represent an important role in the text reader

interaction and the reading comprehension seems to be connected to lexical

competence in a rich concept in which the linguistic, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic

levels interact with each other. The author still claims that,

the elaboration of the reading didactic material capitalizes in the notion of key lexical itemhaving as indexical links between the prepositional content and the pragmatic interpretation, aswell as indicators of potential areas in reading problems.(ibid, p.268).

The linguistic knowledge of the reader is joint with his/her age and experience,

thus Alderson claims that the size and depth of vocabulary as well as the knowledge of

associated conventions with specific kinds of texts, are well developed in the maturity

II

and Ihe abilily of processing more complex linguistic structures especially connected

with the writing language unavoidably developed with the improvement of reading and

writing. Yet, according to the author, the knowledge of vocabulary has been recognized

as crucial in Ihe first language reading. (2000, p. 34)

Zago supports the idea that the competent leamer in the mother tongue

probably transfers his/her knowledge to the second language and still obtains good

achievement in other disciplines, for as much they depend on reading. (p. 265). Thus,

the competence of reading in a foreign language is linked with the competence of

reading in the mother tongue.

Therefore, the size of the readers lexical knowledge comes together with the

size of reading comprehension and it is frequently the best way of anticipating the

textual comprehension. Alderson explains that if the reader comes across with unknown

words, this will obviously affect his/her comprehension and will de motivate him/her in the

reading process (2000, p. 34), so

The competence in reading not only in the mother tongue but nlso in a foreign language docsnOl c.xist without other levels or knowledge such as lexical knowledge, the knowledge or thetext. subject and its rhetorical organi,wtion. These levels. connected in lo\\'er or higher degrees.can inlluence Lhecomprehension in less proficient, intermediate and more proficient readers intext comprehension. (ZAGO p. 266)

Another important factor that affects the reading process is the quantity of words

used by the speaker of a language. According to the rates mentioned by Alderson the

corpus of fluent first language readers varies from 10.000 to 100.000 words. (2000, p.

34). On the other hand, McCarthy {In: Sholes 2001, p. 07} believes that speakers with a

12

deep knowledge of the language use an approximate amount of 20.000 to 30.000

words, which vary greatly if they are active or passive ones.

According to Laufer et al (Apud ALDERSON 2000) readers need to know 95%

of the words in the text so that there is a good reading comprehension. This will enable

them to guess unknown words through the context. McGathy (In: Sholes 2001, p. 08)

says that there is a corpus of approximately 2.000 words which are frequent in texts, and

which are generally mixed with others, being these ones basically nouns, verbs,

adjectives and adverbs. There are also the so called "colored words"- man, woman, boy,

girl, big, small, horrible, lovely, nice and beaut~ul - besides the basic "words of

movement"- going and coming and actions - taking, dOing and so on.

The author explains that basic words of daily conversation include: right, okay,

you see, I mean, you know, uh and others. There are still words used in replies such as

- absolutely, definitely and certainly, which, even being long, are used in conversations.

One of the problems in vocabulary teaching is that on the contrary of grammar

there is not a common sense about the level to be taught. Harmer claims that though the

curriculums consist of word lists, there is not a guarantee that they are Similar to different

groups of beginners of a foreign language. According to the author it is difficult to select

words to be taught since there are lots of different meanings presented by the

dictionaries. (1991, p.154)

13

At this point, Oller says that it is important to prepare beginners for reading. So,

when selecting reading activities the teacher should consider the students' world

knowledge and their present knowledge as well. (1993, p. 376)

The author exemplifies the fact that for a class of beginners in French, familiar

topics to the students should be included and not only the selection of activities related

to the country or to the people's culture.

A general thinking about vocabulary teaching in the past was that in initial levels

more concrete words should be taught, and gradually, more abstract words would be

added. According to this, we understand that some words are more difficult than others.

Research suggests that words which are more concrete and closer to a known concept,

or have a similar form in the first language, tend to be learned before those which are

more abstract and are relatively dissimilar from the first language.

The notion of vocabulary teaching/learning in the English language is very

complex and depends on several factors. McCarthy (In: Sholes 2001, p. 08) says that

one of them is the similarity between the mother tongue and the language being 1eamt.

Dutch people, for example, would have fewer problems in learning English than

Japanese or Korean, due to the proximity of the languages. However, according to the

author, the success in learning words or sentences also depends on the context the

learner is. If the context is clear and the situation is obvious, the level of difficulty in the

other language does not matter, the reader will probably leam the words.

14

The richness of the context is also an important factor in the process, apart from

the personal ones, since some people learn words because they like their sound, learn

Ihem rapidly and do nol forgel them anymore. In the same way people never learn, as

Ihey cannot relale Ihe words to any idiosyncratic way.

Yel, a general principle in Ihe vocabulary seleclion is Ihe frequency one. Harmer

claims that we can decide which words are to be taught according to the frequency of

theif use by native speakers. The words most commonly used should be taught in first

place. (1991, p. 154)

Another principle used in the vocabulary selection is the coverage one. A word

is more useful if it has more meanings than a specific one.

These two principles suggesl Ihat a word like "book" would be an only

vocabulary item. Nonetheless, it is frequently used by native speakers and also has high

coverage, e.g. notebook, exercise book, textbook, among others. Thus, we must

understand that besides the fact that words have more than a meaning, they can also be

used in several ways and combinations in a single text.

According to the author, we can summarize the U knowledge of wordsn this way:

knowledge by meaning, which can be in the context and in the connections of meaning.

Regarding the uuse", it can be metaphors, idioms, collocations, style and register

15

In the formation of words, students need to know affixes and the way they are

spelled, pronounced and how their forms can be changed.

In the grammar connections it is necessary for the students to understand

countable and uncountable nouns, verbs, phrasal verbs, adjectives and adverbs:

positions, among others. (ibid, p.198)

It is very important to observe these aspects in the teaching/learning vocabulary

since many students have difficulties in memorizing new vocabulary, because in the

spoken language there ;s no time to reflect and so, absorb unknown words. Meanwhile,

when reading, we have more time to reflect, use dictionaries and memorize the words.

Therefore, it is useful to know strategies that help the readers of this work to have in

mind how powerful the reading is to acquire vocabulary. So, it is necessary to practice

what has been reported, being relevant to reflect about the use of textbooks in the "real~

teachinglleaming context.

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3. THE USE OF TEXTBOOKS IN THE TEACHING/LEARNING OF A

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

The choice of a textbook is very important since it is the only material available

used in foreign language lessons in many schools. According to Consolo, most of the

students in public schools have the classroom as the only place for contact, learning

and supposed production of a foreign language. (1992, p. 37)

As Coracini pOints out, the pedagogical activity is traditionally assessed by the

use of a textbook. The "knowledge" has been passed on in the institutional context

through teachers·students via textbooks. Still according to the author, the levels of

knowledge that the schools provide must be absorbed by students gradually. Therefore,

textbooks pre-organize elements of knowledge which are considerecl relevant,

organizing, this way, the acquirement. (1995, p. 119)

The selection of a textbook can be a crucial process and the teachers need to

know on a "daily basis" how to evaluate it in order to utilize its assets and compensate

for its limitations in applying it to the needs of the students and the objectives of the

class (SKIERSO Apud CELCE·MURCIA, 1993).

Thus, concerning the choice of a textbook, some criteria must me followed so

that the teaching/learning is efficient; as Caporallni says that

17

The basic referential tool of the teacher, in the process of transmissions/acquisition ofknowledge in elementary schools, is the textbook, it is necessary to help the teachersplace themselves in relation to it. It is necessary to prepare them, giving them possibleperspectives of action, guiding them in the transformation of their teaching practice.The transmitted knowledge must be reconsidered, as well as how it is transmitted.(1990, p. 97)

When evaluating a textbook, it is worth discussing with the class their likes and

dislikes about it. What they find useful, what pieces of reference material are helpful,

what kind of topics the leamers have enjoyed, found stimulating or genuinely taught

them something new, what aspects of grammar have "come alive" and which have

remained without producing any useful results. (Holden-Rogers 1997).

Coraeini states that textbooks provide knowledge whose criteria for selection,

collection in the shape of printed material are unknown not only by the students but also

by the teachers, being presented to the subjects in the school context as a register of

given knowledge, containing subject matters to be learned. Thus, it is necessary for the

teacher to study the author's proposal carefully. (1995, p. 121). According to

Finocchiaro, an author does not expect the teacher to follow the items of the units

exactly as they are presented, for some activities in textbooks can fall apart completely

in real classroom usage. It is hard to believe that some of them have actually been

piloted. Many activities must be modified to make them work, and some have to be

scrapped completely. (1989, p. 85)

The author claims that it is necessary to examine the new material in order to

decide (1) the number of lessons required to assess the material as a whole, (2) if the

review allows the new material to become familiar, (3) the grading of the material in a

18

logical sequence. The teachers need to ask themselves: Which are the communicative

functions to be taught at first? Which practical activities are to be used and in

combination with what kind of functions and structures? When is the new vocabulary to

be taught? How is the material to be presented, through conversation, stories or a

commented structure? What kind of homework can be given? What kind of material is

necessary for the presentation and practice stages? These questions must be carefully

assessed by teachers who are going to use pedagogical materials in their lessons.

Most teachers and students are dissatisfied with textbooks currently available.

Nevertheless, it is essential to choose a textbook that is truly communicative and meets

the needs of the students. Therefore, when teachers search for published materials for

their lessons, they must know what they need and the context of their teaching. Holden~

Rogers (1997, p. 100) claim that some aspects must be observed in textbooks:

• learners' interest and importance;

• easy usage by the teachers and students;

• language level;

• range and difficulty level;

• effective integration of elements;

• cultural adjustment;

• help to the teachers;

• physical production patterns and durability;

• design, layout and handling;

• progress tests.

19

Apart from these characteristics, Hadley (483) explains that it is important to

take into account the fact that textbooks cannot be the only integrating part of a

curriculum, since they consist of much more than a table of instructions. Besides that,

textbooks cannot guarantee success to the language learning. Only teachers and

students are the ones to determine how effective the course is. The author also states

that excellent teachers working with de motivated students and poor materials are still

able to generate enthusiasm in the learning process, despite the adversities. On the

other hand, a mediocre teacher working with excellent materials is liable to fail. (1993,

p.483)

Regarding this, Finocchiaro (1989, p.183) says that if the textbooks are

traditional, the teachers must:

• Examine each unit carefully, reorganizing structures;

• Not use the book exactly as it is presented;

• Classify a limited amount of materials for each lesson and make up

interesting activities with the material;

• Enable or help the students to use the structures of the book to make up

dialogues, helping them to understand, roleplay and maybe read and write

the conversations;

In order to make vocabulary teaching and learning more effective, meaningful

and interesting, making students more aware and interested in vocabulary development

teachers can:

20

• try out different teaching methods

• carefully prepare materials for every stage of the lesson: presentation,

practice and production so that vocabulary learning does not seem obscure

or ambiguous

• extend the range of activities and games used

• use all the necessary teaching aids

A typical language teaching aid is something that is visual and auditory. Video

equipment and computers may both serve these requirements. They may well be used

in teaching children and teenagers as well as adults, for everything which is new,

modem or amusing makes students excited, enthusiastic and willing to learn. This can

work perfectly in the case of vocabulary teaching but, if the school does not have the

necessary materials and sources for the lessons, the teachers must:

• Use the chalkboard, chalk, pictures and other available supplements.

• Use audiovisual sources; the teachers may create a pleasant atmosphere

through their enthusiasm, attitudes towards the students and careful lesson

planning.

As far as the reading activities are concerned, Cavalcanti - Lombello (2000, p.

72) state that they must lead the students to take active part of the interaction with the

world. According to Cruz, the activities aim at building-up meanings and self -learning,

being conceived as an interaction between the reader, the text and the context; the

21

readers are seen as active subjects, good users of strategies and as cognitive learners.

(2001, p. 30)

Thus, when analyzing activities proposed by textbooks, Cavalcanti - Lombello

claim that teachers should ask themselves what the aim of the activity is, in other words,

what it demands from the students, since there are a lot of structural and mechanical

activities which require no more than a copy from the textbook. According to the

authors, the reading activity must lead the students to find grammatical and discourse

markers in the text, which will help them infer, hyphotize and build meanings. (2000, p.

72) So, it is important to have in mind that building blocks of language are not only

grammar and functions. The most essential thing students need to learn is vocabulary,

without vocabulary they have no words to form syntax and no words to pronounce.

Thus, teachers need to help students to become "vocabulary hungry"

Therefore, it can be observed that textbooks are important aids in the

teaching/leaming of a foreign language for teachers and students, making the

preparation of activities easy. Regarding this, it is necessary to compare the

methodological purpose of a textbook and the theories presented in these chapters.

22

4. THE AUTHORS' METHODOLOGICAL PURPOSE OF THE TEXTBOOK "NEW

INTERCHANGE 2 - ENGLISH FOR INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION" AND

THEORIES ABOUT VOCABULARY TEACHING AND LEARNING.

New Interchange covers the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and

writing, as well as improves pronunciation and vocabulary building. The primary goal of

the textbook is to teach communicative competence, that is, the ability to communicate

in English according to the situation, purpose and roles of the participants (Richards V).

When we communicate, we use the language to transmit some function, besides

it, we do it inside a social context. Almeida Filho explains that the speaker will have a

particular way of expressing his/her argument, not only based in his/her intention and in

the level of emotion, but also to whom he/she is speaking. (1993, p. 36)

Therefore, the communicative methods are characterized by the emphasis in the

production of meanings and not only in grammatical rules. The teacher must stimulate

the leamer to think and interact in the target language, giving the opportunity so that

he/she can learn and consciously systematize relevant aspects of the new language.

According to the author, the communicative materials stimulate the students to

express their necessities through interactive techniques with workgroups in the

classroom.

23

The first characteristic of the communicative method is the "focus in the

meaning, in the signification and in the proposal interaction among people in the foreign

language" This method "organize the experiences" of learning through relevant

activities of real interest and necessity of the learners, enabling them to use the target

language to the realization of interactive procedures with other speakers of this

language.

According to this, Richards (1998) (Teachers Manual V) explains that New

Interchange teaches students how to use English for everyday situations and purposes

related to school, social life, work and leisure. The underlying philosophy is that learning

a second or foreign language is more rewarding, meaningful and effective when the

language is used for authentic communication. So, the textbook presents natural and

useful language to the students. In addition, students have the opportunity to

personalize the language they learn, make use of their own knowledge and experiences,

and express their ideas and opinions.

With regard to the vocabulary teaching, which is the aim of this chapter,

Richards (Teachers Manual V) says that it must be a key element in any textbook

because a wide productive vocabulary is essential in leaming a second or foreign

language.

Skierso (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) states that it is necessary to observe how

the vocabulary is introduced and in what context. Richards (Teachers Manual VIII)

explains that he tries to follow a multi-skill syllabus in which each component of the

24

course is linked. So, a vocabulary-building exercise can serve as the basis for a

speaking task; a role play activity may lead into a listening task or vice versa; or a

grammar exercise prepares students for a functional activity.

Skierso (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) argues that if the vocabulary is chosen

and based on frequency counts, thematic units or communicative and sociocultural

functions. Richards (Teachers Manual VIII) explains that before presenting any

exercise, it is helpful to determine which words are needed in order to complete the task

and which are not essential, for not all the vocabulary needs presentation in advance.

Students should recognize that in most language learning situations they will encounter

vocabulary they do not know; however, they do not need to understand every word and

when it is presented an unknown word, the students can guess its meaning from the

situation in context.

Skierso (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) argues if attention is paid to roots,

inflectional endings (e.g.,plurals, possessives, past tenses), cognates, synonyms,

antonyms and thematic groupings.

Richards (Teachers Manual VIII) explains that where necessary the meanings

of words must be provided through definitions, mime, synonyms, antonyms, examples,

or translation. It is not necessary to give long explanations as the majority of adult

students will already understand the concept of the new word{or know the equivalent

word} in their native language.

25

Still according to word roots, Seal (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) says that some

teachers claim to have great success by teaching students some of the more common

Greek and Latin roots to be found in English. When these are combined with a

knowledge of the most common prefixes and suffixes it may be possible to work out the

meanings of a large number of derived words.

Skierso (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993) claims that teachers must observe if the

textbook provides a summarized vocabulary in some way {e.g., in a foreign-language

dictionary section}or in a bilingual list because in some sense the teacher can be

considered a walking dictionary. The teacher's definition may not be as precise as that

of the dictionary, but the teacher has the advantage of being able to give multiple

examples of usage and of being able to discuss the target word at length. (SEAL Apud

CELCE-MURCIA 1993).

The New Interchange contains a summary of the key productive vocabulary

used in each unit at the end of the student's book, together with functional expressions

and grammar extensions. The key vocabulary lists and the productive vocabulary used

in conversations, word power, pair, groups, whole class, and role play activities. The

author still asks teachers to discourage the use of dictionaries during class time, except

where it is suggested in the teacher's notes within an exercise.

After teaching a unit, it is necessary to ask students to review the unit summary

to check how many words and their meanings they can remember. Sometimes, it can be

26

useful if the students keep a vocabulary notebook to write down new words as they

learn them (Richards Teacher's Manual VIII).

In New Interchange vocabulary plays a key role. Student's Book 2 teaches a

productive vocabulary of about 1.200 words, including vocabulary reviews from Level

One. The author explains that vocabulary is introduced in two main ways: Productive

vocabulary is presented through a variety of vocabulary exercises and through speaking

and grammar activities; receptive vocabulary is introduced through reading and listening

exercises.

The textbook has a special section for vocabulary called uWord Power" in each

unit. The Word Power provides the students with activities to develop vocabulary related

to the unit or cycle topics through a variety of interesting tasks, such as word maps and

collocation exercises. These activities are usually followed by oral or written practice that

helps students understand how to use vocabulary in context.

In relation to the term ucollocation", some brief explanations are necessary once

we are going to analise one activity in the mentioned textbook. According to Seal (Apud

CELCE-MURCIA 1993) there is another dimension to vocabulary knowledge that

should be considered-namely, how far a learner knows the combinatory possibilities of

a word and knows a range of other words which can cooccur or collocate wittl it.

27

The term that is most commonly used to describe the cooccurrence of lexical

items is "collocation" Words can collocate with different degrees of frequency and

acceptability.

Such knowledge of words would clear1y facilitate the learner's ability to encode

language, since when selecting items to Gooccur with other items, the learner would be

aware of the restricted range of possibilities. Moreover, even in decoding language,

knowledge of collocation would be useful, since it is easier to decode a message when

we are able to antecipate part of the message. In the Word Power of the sixteenth unit,

Richards (Teacher's Manual 99) explains that the activity practices pairing transitive

verbs with suitable words and phrases. The author suggests that teachers model each

word and phrase in the list and the chari-dealing with any unfamiliar words {students can

repeat} either by explaining it or having students use their dictionaries.

Teachers can help the class get started by asking about one or two of the verbs.

Students can complete the chart either individually or in pairs, reminding them to

find three phrases to match with each verb in the chart. The teacher must go around,

giving help as needed.

To check answers, the teacher can write some verbs on the board and have

volunteers come up to write their answers.

Example:

Express anger, a concern, your regrets

28

Give a compliment, an excuse, a reason

Make a compliment, a criticism, an excuse

Offer your congratulations, an invitation, sympathy

Tell a joke, a lie, the truth

For the pair work activity, Richards (Teachers Manual 99) suggests that teachers

read the instructions aloud and use the AlB dialogue to model the task and help to elicit

a few example questions and write them on the board.

Example: When/why ..

Give a compliment? Tell a joke?

Students work alone to think of five questions and then write them down. The

teacher can go around and do a quick check to make sure students' questions are

grammatically correct. The teacher can still elicit example questions from students

around the class to check them.

Observing the pedagogical considerations that prompted the presentation and

sequencing of vocabulary mentioned by Skierso (Apud CELCE-MURCIA 1993), we can

verify that the vocabulary activity goes after activities of writing and speaking which

provide a follow up to the grammar focus, giving practice with reported requests. The

Word Power also goes before a conversation that introduces reported speech with

statements. So, we observe that the vocabulary activity is not so connected with the

29

others, even though the author argues the textbook has an integrated multi-skills

syllabus which links the topics and activities (Richards Teachers Manual XIV).

New interchange has a set of eighteen words which have a different spelling in

British English but does not distinguish between British and American English nor does

it differentiate between formal and informal speech and writing patterns with regard to

vocabulary and grammatical structures (Skierso CELCE-MURCIA 1993).

According to the distribution of grammatical and vocabulary materials among the

units, we can verify that each unit has two blocks of "Grammar Focus" and only one

"Word Power". Considering this, we know that the essential thing students need to know

is vocabulary and, without it we have no words to form syntax or pronunciation.

The textbook still does not explain anything about universals (i.e., teach items

which differentiate English from other languages) nor does insertion Of error analysis.

Thus, we observe that the textbook does not supply ali expectations, so the

focus should be also on deeping and internalizing the knowledge by dOing activities at a

deeper level, for the quality sometimes can be more important than quantity.

Therefore, the textbook helps the teaching and learning process and can help

the teacher, but this should not be the only pedagogical resource used by tI1e teacher,

because it is necessary to reflect and evaluate the book before using it. For a better

comprehension of what has been reported, here follows the activity proposed by the

textbook which was mentioned.

30

WORD POWER Collocation

,II,"r " UtlUJ,i!JIIl,n1 :!p'Il!i'\~Ei '(l~,' <):\, !, ,~r,'hi

>II :qu:h:~.r,~ :tl1ll1!.,wn ;lfIV':UN! ,.III ""Jill ~:;I h .••

·,;n'F1;;i':1 ~v:r'\'!il'r't'!ll{tt!lju.· iwi1wttuliflH , 1".\',~m.1 \1HI"

!ell

B o,lft iI~{Jf;' 1"0u'ktt !<Itu!l!lhn~: \\'.)dJ yv\l df'lh( thmg':I1n J!J!tA'J \\llk iUt'4'!N:T.!illL' U$1U1{tilt' Hjlimnuw,n 10 til{' dwn TiwH wKe tun;;: ::::,;hJr,~<ln~ fll\[;Wd'mg

Itw ,~Ul'~\lIJn~1

WhIm would Villi tl.'P It i!;;.?

B. ;'la:d1t' lj ,;1JlllrUI:('ll);R"O lIlt" hO\\ oi,lllim,

31

5. CONCLUSION

The objective of this paper was to synthesize the main considerations and

strategies of vocabulary acquisition seeking to contribute as some help for the teacher in

hislher task to open new skylines to the students. These reflections about the

vocabulary learning and teaching, when studied and applied in a best manner in the

classroom can improve the student's knowledge and acquisition of a second language.

The work showed several steps of vocabulary leaching and learning to detach

the importance of its exploration, as well as to establish the value of vocabulary via

textbook in jts scenario, which is the classroom

After this work, we can understand that textbooks are very useful for

teaching/learning the English language but it is essential that teachers choose a

textbook that fills the needs of the students so that both, teachers and learners, do not

feel frustrated.

On the other hand, vocabulary actfvities in textbooks must be contextualized and

authentic, so the students can link the activities and acquire large amounts of

vocabulary as well as respond the activities accordingly. Teachers should therefore,

select adequate material and provide students with vocabulary activities enabling them

to exploit the language more effectively.

The success of this piece of research depends on the teacher's effort and

his/her responsibility to use suitable strategies of vocabulary acquisition to expand

32

his/her work in the best possible way. As a result of this, the learning and teaching

process wjll reach its final objective, which is to have learners who enjoy and know how

to acquire vocabulary in an appropriate way.

33

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