Monday 23 July 2012

Teaching Vocabulary


Teaching Vocabulary
Syllabus: Unit VI

§  Nature of words:
§  Types of vocabulary – active vocabulary – passive
§  Expansion of vocabulary
§  Selection and grading of vocabulary
§  Strategies to develop vocabulary

Teaching of vocabulary:
          Teaching vocabulary is an essential aspect in the language teaching. Vocabulary refers to a list of words.
          There are about a million words in English which are given in most of the standard dictionaries. There are also new words emerging through various ways.
          So the selection was made on the basis of the well known principle of frequency, usefulness, range and teaches ability. The meaning of words and phrases is of great importance for the students.
          F.W. frisby say “the large number of words in the English language, the wealth of synonyms, the large number of sentence patterns in common use present a bewildering problem to the untrained mind”
          Vocabulary items connate be used in isolation. They are used in suitable structures without suitable vocabulary, structures alone cannot be thought sincerely. Structural is needed to communication effectively. Through, teaching of vocabulary and structure must go hand in hand.

Nature of worlds:
          The student acquires a through mastery of the 200 – 300 words, for purpose of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
          Memorizing the dictionary (or) knowing the rules of grammar by heart is not mastery. The dictionary gives meanings, grammar deals with categories and their sub- divisions.
          What the student needs is a grammar of words and their use in context. Then he will not make mistakes.

Words are difficult to master for various resource:
Some words belong to two (or) more parts of speech
          E. g:   ‘since’ is a preparation, a conjunction and also adverb different contexts.
Some words have two (or) more meaning and stretches of meaning. The different meaning have to be taught as new words, spreading them over a period of time.
          E.g.:   “think’ has about 8 meanings of while has a different equivalent in the student’s mother tongue
iii)              Some words enter into two or more sentence patterns each occupying its own particular place in the sentence.
iv)              Each word may be a component of a compound word the meaning of which cannot be deduced from the units.
E. g: Black board, walking stick
 No two words in English have exactly the same meaning
There are very few perfect synonyms many are loose synonyms.
          E. g:   right and correct, right hand but not correct hand.
                   To deal with these problems effectively, the teacher must have a clear grasp of some of the aspects of vocabulary.
They are
1.                 relative importance of structure and vocabulary
2.                 kinds of vocabulary that are individual uses
3.                 the nature of word meaning
4.                 various implication of learning a new word, and
5.                 Various teaching of vocabulary.
It has all along been emphasized that the learning of structure in more important as the learning of vocabulary.


Types of vocabulary:
          There is the vocabulary we use and the vocabulary we understand. There are three types of vocabulary.
? Active vocabulary
? Passive vocabulary
? Island vocabulary

Active vocabulary:
          This active vocabulary of a person consists of these words that the can use correctly in his won speech and writing. He fully understands the meaning of those words.
          Active vocabulary is also called working or functional vocabulary. And it changes from person according to their personal application. One man’s active vocabulary may be another passive vocabulary and vise vessa.
          It can be developed by showing objects, pictures, words through action, using in context, word association (synonyms & antonyms) definitions and explanation, uses of prefixes and suffixes and using mother tongue equivalents.

Passive vocabulary:
          It is called respective recognition vocabulary. Learners can recognize such words when he listens to them or reads them but rarely use them
          Such words or phrase which can be recognized when seen or heard, but of rare use is farmed as passive vocabulary. One can understand or least guesses the meaning.
          E. g;   ‘enemy’ is an active vocabulary where as ‘antagonist’; ‘adversary’ are passive vocabulary.


Expansion of vocabulary:
i)                   expansion through reading:
                   Reading is one of the best ways of expanding vocabulary. The teacher tells the students the meanings of new words. He also makes them use the words in their own sentences.
          When the students read supplementary books, they are further able to master the words or to guess their meaning from there context.

ii)                Expansion through families of words:
Students are asked to build several derived words from a basic one y analogy
Example:
                    Care  carefully      Carefulness           Careless      Carelessly
                   Fear   _____          _________   _______       _______
                   Use    _____          _________   _______       ________

iii)              Expansion through patterns of forms:
Vocabulary is increased by giving example of a derivation pattern and asking the students to build derived word by analogy.  
          Word                    Adjective
          Hope                      Hopeful
          Care                      Carefull
          Fait                       _____
          Cheer                    _____
          Doubt                             _____

iv)              Expanding through word lists:
                             There are the lists of words grouped around a keyword
                    Example:
                              Key Word    =        Railway station

Wordlist:
          1)       Ticket          2.       Passenger     3.       Train
          4)       Coolies        5)       Guard          6)       Green flag

v)       Expansion through word groups:
          Students may be asked to arrange words according to contain groups
a)                 word groups with similar idea:-
E. g: end, finish, close.
                   b)       Word groups with opposite idea:-
                             E.g.:   Slow, fast, upper, lower.
                   c)       Word groups with man, his works, his place or work
                             E. g:   teacher, teach, school.

vi)      Expansion through words games:
a)                     Memory game:
                             In this game the teacher abows the class some 15 objects for minutes and hides the. The student’s area asked to write their names by remembering them. Later the teacher writer some wo9rdas on the board. He teacher the students to see the words for a while and then rubs them off. The students are asked to writes these words out of their memory.

b)                Completion Games:
The class is divided into two groups. A student from the first group letters a letter. A student from the second groups adds another letter to it. If a particular group fails to add the appropriate letter, that group loses the mark.
vii)            add – or govern -------, collect------., act,------, diect----
viii)         Add suitable ending ---ity, ---ility, ---city.
ix)              Make nouns by adding –ness or –ment
a.      Wicked____          impression____
b.     Blind ____            manage____
c.      Appoint____                   cold____
d.     pay____                punish____

x)                 A man who teacher is a teacher
a.      A boy who runs a ____
b.     A man who bakes bread is a ____
c.      A man who sells meat is a ____
xi)              A workbook may be maintained in which all new words and illustrative sentences may be written.

Technique of teaching new words:
Teacher should teach the importance of teaching the meaning as well the forms according to Adrian doff (1988)
·        Say the words clearly and write the word in chorus.
·        Ask the students word into the students own language
·        Give the meaning
·        Give some expanses in English
·        Ask question using the new word

Demonstrating two different ways of prosecuting a new word:

1)                 showing meaning visually:
a.      Teacher can use real objects, pictures or model to show the meaning of new words
b.     It is a very effective method. Because it is under sting. Of course. Not all words can be presented visually.

2)                     Giving Example:
a.      The teacher gives examples using the new word in a context.
E. g:       Lazy
          The teacher gives the meaning by simple sentences. I have a brother. He is very lazy. He get up late and then he does nothing all day. I say to him “don’t be so lazy! Do some work”
          This presents a natural opportunity for vocabulary expansions.

Selection and grading of vocabulary:
          List of principles in the selection of vocabulary.
English is rich language having more than five lack words. It is written possible not desirable to teach all these words. We have naturally to make a selection. We should aim at teaching 2,500 to 3, 000 words during a sox year course.
i)       Universality:  the words to be selected should be of a universal use, in almost all walks of life
ii)      Frequency:  the words which are most frequency used in peach and writing are the best words for the pupils to acquire first.
iii)              Structural Value:
a.      Words which help in forming sentence but linking content in a word should be thought early in the course. Al the structural words. That is essential for making basic sentence structural is being taught earlier.
iv)              Utility: The words should be useful for the learner and should not be above his mental level.
v)       Validity:      words of current usage are included under this head. Out of date words would hence be rejected.
vi)      Popularity:  words used in speech. News and those which are very popular should be included.
vii)     Regionality: Some words are very important in a particular redefine. While other regions do not require them. A regional usage would be an important guiding principle.
vii)     Productivity: Such words, which produce more words, with prefixes and suffixes, like harm, harmful, harmless, and read, cared, readable etc., should be selected.
ix)      Applicability:        words which can be used in various situations should be selected.
x)                 Suitability:  ‘easy to memorize, ready to spell and easy to utter’. Such should have a priority.
xi)              Teach ability:        words which are easily demons ratable and teachable should have a high priority with the teacher.
xii)            Simplicity:  words which are simple appear before those which are different in pronunciation, spelling and meaning.

Greeting:
          For grading the vocabulary of 3000 words the same principle as above may be followed in dividing them class wise over and 6 to 7 years. Words which are useful and teachable, simple and concrete should be taught first, difficult, abstract and high sounding words may be postponed to a later stage.

Strategies to develop vocabulary:
? Learning a new language in basically a matter of learning the vocabulary of that language.
? In the early stages of learning
? Students learn less number of words and in later stages they use more number of words through reading habits.
Certain strategies to develop vocabulary:
          Each new and word need to be taught in the four aspects.
Isosceles Triangle: New words                                         Pronunciation    
                                                         
                     Written                                  spoken         permanent
                                                                             Usage and function
                             Spelling                          meaning
·        Spelling through (syllabification)
·        Meaning through (through Pictures or any TLM)
·        Pronunciation through (the teacher’s model)
·        Usage (in different sentences)
The following are some strategies to develop vocabulary

Material demonstration:
          Instead of telling the meaning of certain words orally, the teacher should show the reach objects association either the meanings.

Picture association:
          By showing relevant pictures, the students will catch the meaning very easily.

Words Association:
          New words can be taught by associating them with the words which are already known to them.
                   E. g:   synonyms              Antonyms
                             Correct – right       right x wrong
                             Accurate – exact    coward x brave

Definitions and explanation:
          Meaning can be explained by definition and explanations
          Difficult words can be taught giving explanations in simple English already known to them.

Knowledge of prefixed and suffixes
                   Enough knowledge of prefixes and suffix should be possessed by the students. The teacher should see that such knowledge is acquired by the students. This will enrich the vocabulary of the students.  


Word Chain:
          Students should connect words through association or connection
          Key words:  Hospital, nurses, doctors, injection, ward, ward boys, medicines, saline.
          One student should utter the keyword and every student connected in the group should say another word in connection to the word “hospital”.

Connotation:
          Connotation means adding a word addition to this literal meaning.
          E. g:   slim person, their person, skinny person, may all be the same weight. But the choice of the phrases indicates how the speaker feels about the person. Unfavorable connotation for which students may ask to find out favorable connotation.

Collocation or word relations:
          Two key words for example garden and school are given. Students should select what are all the words coined under the word school and garden.

Association:
Similar to the connotation of a word is its association, where –as connotation relates to the system of the language and association relate to the individual or the culture.
          E. g:   Words like doctor and treatment. Favorable association for lost people, they may have unfavorable association for someone who has very unhappy experience during his treatment.
          The word market is a work used by the city develler and he may not know the word ‘sandy’ and for someone coming fr4om rural area may not be familiarized with word market.
          So it is the responsibility of a teacher to make favorable association. Which relate to the culture of his target language.
         

Given by the previous child
                     e. g:
                             Student       1: tree
                                                2: Branch
                                                3. Nest
                                                4. Bird
This exercise can be played as a game by awarding scores.
Name first letter game:
          One player should start with a naming letter.
                             E. g:   Arun – A
          We should say Arun loves running game
? Arun loves rose flowers
? Arun makes paper rocket ect.
The answers must take the of an adj + noun or both
          In higher classes pupils may be asked to read story books and write down new words and to look up their meaning in a dictionary.
          Different words may be written on a chart and word building may be played as a game.

Translation:
          Passages, proverbs can be given to the students they may asked to translated it in their mother tongue.
          In other exercise the students have very little importuning to practice using the foreign vocabulary in conversation. But in translation their thinking mind alerts and search for equal ant words. Hence translation is a best method of teaching vocabulary.


Types of vocabulary

Active and passive (already given)
Island vocabulary:
          It refers to the vocabulary which is totally new to the learners. They have to make additional efforts to get familiar with new words. It is possible either consulting some one or referring a dictionary
          E. g: ferule, cockade etc.
English words an be classified as
i)                   content words and
ii)                classified as
Content words refer to the nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives. These words are numerous in number and are ever growing.
          Structural words are words like auxiliaries, preposition, articles, conjunctions etc. there are static and around 300 in number
          There structural words should be imbed to the learners completely as they the base to from and structure sentence

Principles of gradation:
          Grading of language material means putting it in a suitable order. At the early stages, simple, and conman words and students are kept for teaching while the different once are at higher stages. Graduation involves grouping and sequence.
a)     Phonetic groping:
This involves grouping according to students, Words having similar sounds should be target together example. Cow, bow, love. Pat, rat, cat, sit, bit, tint, etc.
b)    lexical grouping:
Words that can be used in the same situation come under this type of grouping. For example. Hospital doctor, nurse, patient, tablet, tonic etc.
c)     Grammatical Grouping:
Sentence patterns which are similar should be taught.
d)    semantic grouping:
Words that convey similar meaning should be taught.

          2)       Sequence:
          a)        Lexical Sequence:
Some words may be taught in a sequent ion order which will be effective. For example. Sit, stand, come, go, etc,
b)                                    semantic sequence:
The various meaning and usage of a word are put in order and thought on different occasions. For example. ‘These’ indicates place, it is also used as introduction.
? The table is there (which indicate place)
? There are many stories (introduction)
c)       Sequence of structure: 
The structures should also be taught simple to complex in sequence. For example, phrases to clauses, clauses to sentences. Sentences to paragraphs.
  Thus the principles of selection and gradation are important for convenient and effective language teaching.

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