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Vocabulary Expansion: Going Beyond the
TextbookPenny Ur
ETAI
2011
2
The textbook
Essential because:
Language syllabus
Texts
Activities
Coverage of four skills
Interest and motivation
Cultural aspects
3
The textbook
Even the best textbooks need supplementing because
May not always be interesting enough
May not be relevant to my class
Some bits may be too difficult / easy
May not provide enough vocabulary
4
Not enough vocabulary?
Sheer quantity
Words and chunks
Selection
5
Quantity
To read and understand a Bagrut-level text you need:
95%-98% comprehension
between 5,000 – 8,000 word families
Which means …
6
Some numbers:
We teach English for about ten years
About 35 weeks a year
So …
Each week between 15-22 new words
7
Words and chunks
This does not include
added meanings for single words
chunks (Martinez and Murphy, 2011)
8
Selection
Students need the most useful and important items
So we should try not to waste time on unimportant and (relatively) useless ones
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Examples
Rare items
eraser
purple
toe
gray
Common items
something
need
know
feel
10
Frequency as a criterion for selection
The main criterion
Though not the only one!
Easy to check out
http://www.wordfrequency.info/free.asp
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/bnc/
11
An added complications!
Books at the High School level may provide a lot of vocabulary through texts
But…
They may not give enough focused vocabulary work.
12
Need for focused vocabulary work
Incidental learning of vocabulary through reading is not efficient (Laufer, 2003)
You need to ‘notice’ (Schmidt, 1990)
And engage with new items
(And review… lots of times)
13
Bottom line
We need to supplement the textbook with focused vocabulary expansion activities
These need to be a regular feature of lessons
14
Vocabulary expansion activities
Aspects of design
Not too long and heavy: one to six new items at a time
Easily prepared
Interesting / fun / enjoyable
Some examples
Teach new vocabulary based on …
16
1. Your own initiative
‘Word of the day’:
A new word or phrase you want to teach
a proverb, an idiom, paired expressions
A new word or phrase a student wants to know
17
2. Items students already know
Words they know connections
Words they know opposites
Association chain
18
Connections
intelligent
19
Opposites
know
complain
admit
dream
objective
interesting
reflect
http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-synonyms/
20
3. Words students teach each other
‘Show and tell’
‘Experts’
21
Pass it round
You can break
an egg
a cup
a vase
a bottle
a leg
a promise
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Further ideas for ‘pass it round’
Elementary
You can eat
You can enjoy
You can listen to
You can hold
You can sit on…
More advanced
You can suffer from
You can allow
You can organize
You can book
You can oppose…
23
And more…
Adjectives (add nouns)
a hard… (for example, question)
a long… (for example, way)
a bright… (for example, colour)
Nouns (add adjectives)
a/an … book (for example, interesting)
a/an…animal (for example, dangerous)
a/an…suggestion (for example, useful)
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4. Items students discover themselves
Dictionary: derivatives
Thesaurus, internet or ‘Word’: synonyms
Chunks and collocations
What other meanings does it have?
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Derivatives
NounVerbAdjectiveAdverb
useuseuseful
useless
usefully
uselessly
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Synonyms
know
complain
admit
dream
objective
interesting
reflect
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Collocations
range
chance
officer
honest
enjoy
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look it up!
http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/
http://www.forbetterenglish.com/
COCA
COCA (range)
ForbetterEnglish
ForbetterEnglish (range)
29
What other meanings does it have?
table
blue
run
work
train
branch
30
Another part of speech?Objects with a
function
hammernailspoonbrakeclippinApplying a
substance
oilgreasewatersugarpaperpaint
People and their functions
nurse
doctor
guard
boss
pilot
cook
judge
Containersbottlepocketcanboxshelf
Parts of the bodyheadhandelbowskin
Techological functionsgoogleblogtext emailphotoshopchattwitter/tweet
31
Another part of speech: more advanced
Objects with a function
mask
gear
shovel
motor
thread
Containers
bin
file
crate
slot
drain
People and their functions
pioneer
coach
father
mother
author
referee
queen
slave
apprentice
broker
32
Phrasal verbs
Find a one-word verb that means the same as…
Find a two-word verb that means the same as…
33
Examples back up support break down collapse come across encounter come together congregate consist of comprise get up give back give up, give in go away go back go down go up, let down make up
pile up put off put out run away set up sort out, speak to take apart take away talk about throw away turn round wait for work together
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Examples back up support break down collapse come across encounter come together congregate consist of comprise get up rise give back return give up, give in surrender go away depart go back return (intransitive) go down descend go up ascend, mount, let down disappoint make up compose
pile up accumulate put off postpone put out extinguish run away flee set up establish sort out classify, solve speak to address take apart dismantle take away remove talk about discuss throw away discard turn round revolve wait for await work together collaborate
35
5. Items students create on their own
Students are invited to make up their own new words
by combining two words to make a compound word
by adding a prefix or suffix
36
Prefixes and suffixes
email amoral automatic cyberspace non-existent subway telecommunications semi-final deforest prearrange
upgrade monologue philanthropy antiseptic postdated counter-attack outplay overdo underline
37
To summarize: in teaching vocabulary we should
Use the texbook as a basis, but add more!
Base vocabulary expansion activities on… Things you teach yourself (e.g. ‘Word of the day’)
Items the students already know (e.g. ‘Brainstorming’)
Items they teach each other (e.g. ‘Show and tell’)
Items they discover themselves (e.g. Collocations)
Items they create (e.g. Prefixes and suffixes)
38
References
Laufer, B. (2003). Vocabulary acquisition in a second language: do learners really acquire most vocabulary by reading? Some empirical evidence. Canadian Modern Language Review, 59(4), 567-587.
Martinez, R., & Murphy, V.. (2011). Effect of Frequency and Idiomaticity on Second Language Reading Comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 45 (2), 267-290.
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in SLL. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129-158.
Thank you for listening and participating