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.
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.
Thank you for your great post on teaching vocabulary.
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