(Simple) Activities to Help Students Learn Vocabulary

7/29/2019 (Simple) Activities to Help Students Learn Vocabulary

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Memorias del XI Encuentro Nacional de Estudios en Lenguas (2010)ISBN: 978-607-7698-32-6

Universidad Autnoma de TlaxcalaFacultad de Filosofa y Letras | 60

Activities to help students learn vocabulary

Lorena Galvn Hernndez

Centro de Enseanza de Idiomas FES Acatln

Abstract

Recently research on language teaching has paid more attention to the development of

materials and techniques that help our students learn vocabulary. This aspect of language

learning has long been a concern for students who find it difficult to recall words whenengaged in real communication.

ELT materials in the market often assume that by simply providing large numbers of

words and extensive reading learners will pick up the vocabulary they need. Only a few

consider activities that help students not only to learn vocabulary but also to developstrategies they can use to learn words on their own.

Providing students with context, multiple exposures, as well as explicit guidance in the

development of vocabulary learning strategies may be useful to those students who have

problems communicating because of their lack of vocabulary learning training.This presentation reviews some basic concepts related to vocabulary and vocabulary

teaching and suggests practical activities that allow teachers to focus on specific

vocabulary items and at the same time addresses the learners processing cap acities thatlead to retention.

Vocabulary is the most indispensable factor in successful oral and written communication, since

it is the principal means by which we convey the meanings we wish to express. Most teachers of

English as a second language realize that students often fail to communicate with other people

when they dont have sufficient vocabulary. This lack of lexical competence can become a source

of frustration to learners, who find it especially difficult if they havent learned or cant recall the

precise words they need when they are engaged in communication. The purpose of this paper is

to identify some important aspects of vocabulary learning, to offer some brief criteria for

choosing activities that enhance acquisition of vocabulary, and to present some sample activities

that can be adapted to different classroom situations.

Before looking at specific issues involved in vocabulary learning, we need to understand what a

word is, since this is more complex than it first appears, given the fact that the meaning of a word

is related to its use in context. Jeremy Harmer says:

If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary

that provides the vital organs and the flesh. An ability to manipulate grammatical


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structure does not have any potential for expressing meaning unless words are

used. (Harmer, 1991, p. 153)

Words are, then, the vehicles of meaning and most researchers agree that learners need a largestore of words to understand or produce speech. They also must be able to recall the words when

necessary as well as to develop strategies to learn more words or to deal with gaps in word

knowledge (Thornbury, 2002).

What counts as a word? This distinction has important implications for teachers to consider.

Keith Folse (2008) distinguishes five types of words:

1. Single words: These constitute the largest type of words. According to research byNorbert Schmitt (2000), learners should know about 2000 words in order to be able to

maintain a conversation. A word expresses one concept, even if it is like headache

(considered one word) or sore throat (which may be considered two words but refers to

a single idea).

2. Set phrases: These are formed by more than one word and their forms do not vary. Forexample, the expression on the other hand cannot be used with another preposition or

part of the body.

3. Variable phrases: These phrases are also formed by more than one word, but allow forsome variation, especially with possessive adjectives or personal pronouns, as in the

phrase the apple of my / his / her eye.

4. Phrasal verbs: These are usually formed by a verb and one or two particles and may havea literal or an idiomatic meaning, for example, take off your coat or the plane took off.

They are quite common in the spoken language and often have more than one meaning,

which makes them particularly difficult to learn.

5. Idioms: These are groups of words whose meaning as a whole is different from thecombined meaning of the individual words that constitute them. For example, the idiom

to cry your eyes out simply means to weep inconsolably for a long time.


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These five types of words sometimes overlap since an idiom can also be a set phrase and phrasal

verbs usually have idiomatic meanings.

The task of acquiring a functional vocabulary represents an important challenge to learners

because it implies more than just memorizing words from lists. Moreover, because words may

have distinct meanings in different contexts, knowing the definition or translation of a word

without having examples of how and when it might be used does not help learners understand its

meanings (Ying, 2001).

Consequently, knowing a word implies knowing more than just a definition or an equivalent in

another language. It involves taking into account the following five general aspects (Folse, 2008):

1. Polysemy: Most words have multiple meanings, for example the word key may refer toan object used to open a lock or a door, a vital element, a set of answers, a button to type

in a computer, etc. This aspect of vocabulary learning is what most students of English

find difficult.

2. Connotation: This refers to the way native speakers view a particular word. A single wordor a phrase may be accepted as neutral or positive in certain situations whereas in others it

may be considered negative or simply not common. For example, the word spinster is

not appropriate when speaking about a womans marital status.

3. Part of speech: Knowing at least the four basic parts of speech (noun, adjective, verb andadverb) make it more likely that learners will use a word appropriately or be more

successful when dealing with unknown vocabulary.

4. Frequency: There are often several possible ways to express an idea. Knowing the mostfrequently used one will make learners sound more natural when speaking the language.

For instance, both words discard and throw away are appropriate, but it sounds

unnatural to say the man discarded his old shoes.

5. Collocation: This refers to the way words are combined in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing. They are highly predictable for native speakers but not so

for learners, who may use combinations such as make homework or put attention

instead of the correct phrases do homework or pay attention. It is difficult for learners


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to understand that there are seldom rules or explanations to account for collocations, and

that because they are so common in the language, they must be learned as such.

To take into consideration all of these aspects of vocabulary learning in order to promotevocabulary growth requires explicit instruction and planning on the part of the teacher (Eyraud,

Giles, Koenig, & Stoller, 2000). A wide range of vocabulary activities is available to help

learners expand their vocabulary knowledge. Among the most common are dictionary exercises,

word-family activities, word associations, synonym and antonym activities, practice with lexical

sets, classification activities, practice with prefixes and suffixes, and, of course, reading.

What characteristics should vocabulary activities have in order to help learners improve their

lexical competence? The following are some of the characteristics that most successful

vocabulary activities share:

1. Focus on the vocabulary: This means that it is necessary to make sure learners noticethose words that are relevant to fulfill their needs. If words are not highlighted, learners

may not be aware of their usefulness for later production. As pointed out by Merrill Swain

(in Folse, 2008, p. 16), The input needs to be noticed so that it can become intake.

2. Multiple retrievals of the vocabulary: Research has demonstrated that multiple exposures,in diverse contexts, gradually lead learners to develop their lexical competence. Some

researchers claim that a minimum of 10 to 12 exposures is needed for learners to begin to

see the range of meanings and uses for new lexical items (Eyraud, Giles, Koenig, &

Stoller, 2000). Recycling vocabulary and providing students with opportunities to interact

with words in different ways and contexts will increase learning success (Folse, 2008).

3. Development of vocabulary learning strategies: Although classroom instruction isnecessary, it cannot account for all the words students need to learn. Therefore, it is

desirable to show learners different kinds of strategies from which they may select the

ones they prefer to use later on their own.

4. Enjoyment of the learning experience: Activities that promote interaction and requireactive participation of the learners are known to facilitate the learning process. Since most

students consider learning vocabulary a tedious task, teachers must look for techniques


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that make learning easier and more pleasant. By employing action, music and drawing,

strategies that substitute rote repetition can be developed (Gnoinska, 1998).

The following are activities that help students learn vocabulary and address the aspectsmentioned.

Vocabulary cards

This activity can be used to help students learn vocabulary that is found in a reading. Once the

target vocabulary has been highlighted in the text, students are given an index card with one of

those words on one side. On the opposite side they are asked to write anything that will be

helpful for them in remembering the word. They can choose one of the following options:

1. Use opposites. (For example, foe opposite of friend)2. Draw a picture of the word.3. Relate the word to another that sounds similar. (foe sounds similar to four)4. Describe the word. (foe can be described as a personal enemy)5. Put it in context (write a sentence with it). (foe in the sentence they had been political

foes for years)

6. Translate it to their language. (foe can be translated as enemigo o adversario)Once they are ready they walk around the classroom showing the word they worked with to their

classmates. Students will look at each classmates card and say what the word means, if they

remember. When they come across a word whose meaning they do not remember, they have to

ask their classmate to show them what they wrote on the opposite side so that they are reminded

of its meaning. They continue walking around the classroom to check the words they find

difficult to remember. After a few minutes they stop and the whole class is quizzed by the

teacher.


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This activity shows students how mnemonic techniques, such as drawing or writing a sentence of

their own, can help them remember words.

Cinquain poems

This activity can be used to review students knowledge of the basic parts of speech. First

students are introduced to the topic of poetry and then in small groups they are given a poem,

preferably a different poem for every group. They work in their groups to identify the pattern of

the poem, specifically the parts of speech in each line. They also describe the relationship

between the first and the last line of the poem. Each group reports what they found in their poems

to the whole class and writes the pattern of the poem on the board.

The following is an example:

River

by Miki

River

Clear, wonderful

Slapping, whirling, flowingThe river is cold.

Water

Line 1: one noun

Line 2: two related adjectives

Line 3: three descriptive gerunds

Line 4: one complete related sentence

Line 5: one noun (a word related to the noun in line 1)

Once the class has checked the pattern together, the teacher can give some words that can be the

topic for new poems and ask the students to provide nouns related to those words, for example:

vacation/holiday, artist/creator, Paris/paradise, etc.


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The students and teacher can choose one of those pairs and create a cinquain poem all together,

then write it on the board.

Finally, the teacher can either provide a template for students to work with in pairs or ask them tocreate one with a word of their choice. The students paste their poems on the walls and walk

around to look at each others work.

Some sample templates are:

Chocolate____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, _____________________________________________________________________________________________

English____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Homework____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________

Grammar____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________

Love____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________

Music____________________ ____________________

________________, ________________, ____________________________________________________________________

_________________________

Interactive Context exercises

This activity can be used to teach students a word.

The teacher writes three sentences that contain the target word which has been substituted by aninvented word. The first sentence gives the least amount of information about the meaning of the

word, and the last sentence the most. In pairs the students look at the first sentence and make a

guess at the meaning of the word. They will probably have a difficult time drawing out the exact

meaning from the first sentence. However, they should still write whatever they think they know


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about the word. For example, they may be able to tell if the word refers to some kind of person or

if it is some kind of tool. They continue in this way with each of the following two sentences.

These two sentences should help them refine their definitions. The following are two examples of

how this can be done:

THINGAMAGIG

1. She waved to the thingamagig.Guess #1 thingamagig means: ______________________

2. In the accident, the driver was killed, as well as two thingamagigs.Guess #2 thingamagig means: ______________________

3. Both drivers of cars and thingamagigs on the sidewalk must stop at red lights.Guess #3 thingamagig means: ______________________

Answer: pedestrian

WHOJALISH

1. His job isnt a whojalish one.Guess #1 whojalish means: ______________________

2. The bad thing about tattoos is that they are whojalish.Guess #2 whojalish means: ______________________

3. The first few days our class will be in building 10. After that, well move to our whojalishclass in the language center. Well be there until the end of the term.

Guess #3 whojalish means: ______________________

Answer: permanent

The activities described here are just three examples that provide students with context, multiple

exposures as well as some guidance to develop vocabulary learning strategies that help learners

recall words when they face a real communication situation. These activities can be adapted to


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different classroom situations and require little preparation from the teacher. Moreover they make

the learning experience enjoyable and promote creativity in the use of the language.

Thanks to developments in technology it has become easier to design materials that are attractive

to students, as well as to have access to information about the words that are most useful to

students due to their frequency. There are several websites offering games and activities that

show students specific strategies for learning vocabulary. The following are a few that can be

recommended to students to help them work on their vocabulary:

http://www.allwords.com/

http://visual.merriam-webster.com/

http://www.onelook.com/

As for teachers, there are also a number of websites that have ready-made activities designed

especially for vocabulary development. Others provide opportunities for designing activities to

meet specific needs. Two good examples are:

http://quizlet.com/browse/

http://www.onestopenglish.com/

Teachers interested in more information about cinquain poems may find more templates and

information at the following site:

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~leslieob/cinquain.html

Finally, for more theory and activities that have proven to be useful in the teaching of vocabulary,

there are several articles in the English Teaching Forum magazine online and at Keith Folses

website: http://www.keithfolse.com/

http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum-journal.html

With all of the resources available online and recent developments in materials design and

vocabulary learning, it is easier to help students improve their lexical competence. This in turn

will contribute to bettering other aspects of their foreign language proficiency.

References
http://www.allwords.com/http://visual.merriam-webster.com/http://www.onelook.com/http://quizlet.com/browse/http://www.keithfolse.com/http://www.keithfolse.com/http://quizlet.com/browse/http://www.onelook.com/http://visual.merriam-webster.com/http://www.allwords.com/


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Eyraud, K., Giles, G., Koenig, S., & Stoller, F. L. (2000). The word wall approach: promoting L2

vocabulary learning. English Teaching FORUM.

Folse, K. (2008). Six vocabulary activities for the English language classroom. English Teaching

FORUM.

Gnoinska, A. (1998). Teaching vocabulary in colour. English Teaching FORUM.

Harmer, J. (1991). The practice of English language teaching. Malaysia: Longman.

Hess, N. (2001). Teaching large multilevel classes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Rivers, W. (1997). Communicating naturally in a second language. Cambridge. Cambridge

University Press.

Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. Malaysia: Pearson Longman.

Ying, Y. S. (2001). Acquiring vocabulary through a context-based approach. English Teaching

FORUM.

The author

The professor holds the Curso de Formacin de Profesores Diploma from FES Cuautitln and is an

undergraduate of the English Teaching Major at FES Acatln. She has taken teacher training courses fromTrinity College in Mexico City, the English Program for Internationals at the University of South

Carolina, as well as at the UNAM. She has been teaching English as a Second Language in the LanguageCenter of FES Acatln for ten years and is currently doing research on the design of materials to teach

vocabulary to basic-level students.

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(Simple) Activities to Help Students Learn Vocabulary