Transcript Slide 1

Why Vocabulary?

Without grammar very little can be conveyed,
without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”
(David Wilkins)
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“If you spend most of your time studying grammar,
your English will not improve very much. You will
see most improvement if you learn more words and
expressions. You can say very little with grammar,
but you can say almost anything with words!”
(advice from a coursebook Innovations)
How many words does a learner need to
know?
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An educated native speaker
Adult second language learners
20,000 word families
5,000 if they’re lucky
It has been calculated that a classroom learner would need
more than eighteen years of classroom exposure to supply the
same amount of vocabulary input that occurs in just one year
in natural settings.
interactive
optimal
Input that infants receive
highly repetitive
conditions
patterned
for learning
What is the thresold level? (core vocabulary that one needs)
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About 2,000 high frequency words (The size most native
speakers use in their daily conversations, nine out of ten
words in most written texts)
How are Words Remembered?
How can vocabulary be transformed into
long-term memory?
 Repitition:
Repeated rehearsal of material
while it is in the working memory.
Repeat and organize new material at the
same time
What is important is the number of
encounters with the word
 Retrieval:
Retrieval practice effect
Words that are retrieved from memory are
more likely to be recalled (Using the new
word in written sentences)
How can vocabulary be transformed into long-term
memory?
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Spacing: Distributed practice
Distribute memory work across a period of time (present
test, present and backtrack)
 Interval between successive tests should gradually be
increased
 Newly presented vocabulary should be reviewed in the
next lesson
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Use: Use it or lose it
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Put words to use in some interesting way so that they
can be added to long-term memory
Cognitive Depth:
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The more decisions the learner makes about a word the
better the word is remembered
 Use it to complete a sentence
How can vocabulary be transformed into longterm memory?
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Personal Organizing:
 Which group best recalled the words?
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Subjects who read a sentence aloud containing new words
Subjects who silently rehearsed the words
Subjects who made up their own sentences containing the
words and read them aloud
Imaging: Studies show that easily visualized words
are more memorable than words that don’t evoke a
picture
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Mnemonics: Techniques for remembering things which
have a visual element and self-generated
 (keyword technique) Devising an image that
connects the pronunciation of the SL word with the
meaning of the L1 word
Why do we forget words?
Forgetting is rapid at first but gradually slows down
 80 % of material is lost within 24 hours of initial
learning
 A study on learners’ retention showed that in the
absence of opportunities to use the language rapid
forgetting occured in the first 3 to 4 years, but then
levelled out.
 Forgetting can be caused by both INTERFERENCE
from subsequent learning and by INSUFFICIENT
RECYCLYING.
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SPACED REVIEW of learned material can
grammatically reduce the rate of forgetting
 Words that are easy to learn are better retained
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What makes a word easy or difficult?
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Words that are identical both in meaning and form
are the easiest to learn
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COGNATES (words that derive from a common origin
LOAN WORDS
X FALSE FRIENDS: sempatik and sympathetic
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Words that have concrete meanings are easier than
ones with abstract meanings
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Factors that make a word difficult
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Pronunciation: Research shows that words that are
difficult to pronounce are difficult to learn
Spelling: Words that yield to sound-spelling mismatches
are difficult to learn
Length: Long words are more difficult to learn
Grammar: the grammar associated with the word can
make it problematic to learn (tell versus say)
What can be done for Effective
Memorization
When teaching students a new set of words it is best to
1. Present the first two or three items
2. Then go back and test these
3. Present some more
4. Backtrack again
 Need to take into account the principles of distributed
practice (distribute memory work across a period of
time).
 It is important to keep reviewing the previously
introduced items.
 Teacher should allow learners to work at their own
pace.
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It is important to keep reviewing the previosly
introduced items, preferably in a varying order
Example:
present shirt
present jacket
. present trousers
review shirt
review trousers
present dress
review jacket
present sweater
review dress
review shirt
present socks
Etc.
As each word becomes better learned, the testing
interval can gradually be extended. The aim is to
teast each item at the longest interval at which it
can reliably be recalled.
Similarly, over a sequence of lessons, newly
presented vocabulary should be reviewed in the
next lesson, but the interval between successive
tests should gradually be increased
How to Present Vocabulary?
 Using
Translation
 İllustrating
Meaning
 Explaining
Meaning
 Highlighting
 Involving
the Form
the Learner
USING TRANSLATION
Using translation is economical and especially suitable
for dealing with incidental vocabulary that may crop up
in a lesson.
Disadvantages:
Learners fail to develop an independent L2
lexicon (indirect access of L2 words by means of L1
equivalents)
Words are less memorable
Translation can develop too much reliance on
direct translation from the mother tongue
 Extract
1.
Teacher: Pantolon İngilizcede trousers
dır. Trousers. Hadi hep beraber trousers…
Student: Trousers.
learners are deprived of valuable L2 input
 Learners aren’t actively involved in the
learning process other then merely repeating
words
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Extract 2.
Teacher: Does anyone know the English for
pantolon? No? Listen, it’s trousers.
Trousers. Repeat.
Students: Trousers
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Students are exposed to a lot more
English than simply the target
vocabulary items
Extract 3.
Teacher: What’s this? [pointing to picture of a
pair of trousers] Do you know what this is in
English? No? Listen, it’s trousers. Trousers.
Repeat.
Students: Trousers.
Teacher: How do you say trousers in Turkish?
Büket?
Büket: Pantolon.
Teacher: That’s right
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The presentation is entirely in English and
translation is used to check understanding.
Illustrating Meaning
 An
alternative to translation is to somehow
illustrate or demonstrate especially if
vocabulary items are concrete. This can be
done by:
 Using real objects (realia)
 Pictures or mime
 Using Visual Aids
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Flashcards(published and home made)
Wall charts
Transparencies projected on the board or wall
using the overhead projector
Board drawings
Explaining Meaning
 We
can teach concrete objects by showing or
demonsratıng them,but for abstract words, such
as intuition, become or tustworthy we should
create new methods.
An alternative way of conveying the meaning of a
new word is simply to use words- other words.
Non visual, verbal means of clarifying meaning
include:
 Providing
an example situation
 Giving
several example sentences
 Giving
synonyms,antonyms,or superordinate
 Giving
a full definition.
terms
Explaining Meaning
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Although a verbal explanation may take a little longer
than translation, or visuals or mime, the advantages are
that
 the learners are getting extra ‘free listening’ practice
which justifies the relatively long time spent on just
one or two vocabulary items
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By being made to work a little a harder to get to the
meaning of a word they are cognitively engaged.
The defining words used to explain the new words should
be within the learners’ current range.
Providing an Example Situation
A
situational approach presentation involves
providing a scenerio which clearly
contextualises the target word or words.
 You
can make the example situation more
intelligible and memorable by
 Reinforcing the situation with pictures and
board drawings
 Making use of personal experiences when
making up the situations
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One day I was at the bus stop waiting for the
bus. There was a man in front of me. His back
was turned but from the behind he really looked
like a friend of mine from school. I wanted to
scare him so I sneaked behind him and suddenly
I hit him on the shoulder quite hard and said
“hey you!” My friend turned around and I
realized he was a complete stranger.
How would you feel? I felt terribly embarrased.
IT WAS A VERY EMBARRASİNG SITUATION.
Providing Example Sentences
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Each example sentence should be a typical
instance of the target word in context.
From the cumulative effect of the sentences, the
students should be able to hypothesize the
meaning of the target word--using induction
An example of a teacher using example sentences
to teach the word “fancy”
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Listen to these sentences and see if you can work out what
the verb “fancy” means:
Sentence One:
 He’s really nice, but I don’t fancy him. [pause]
Sentence Two:
 I fancy eating out tonight. Don’t you. [pause]
Sentence Three:
 Do you fancy a cup of coffee? [pause]
Sentence Four:
 fancy a drink? [pause]
Sentence Five:
 That guy on the dance floor-he really fancies himself.
Sentence six:
 I never really fancied package holidays much. [pause[
OK, talk to your neighbor and then I’ll read them
again….
 Allow
the students as many hearings of
the sentences as they think they need.
 For
particularly difficult words, students
can write down the sentences.
 The
teacher can elicit a translation of the
target word, or, alternatively, a synonym
or definition.
Advantages of using the example sentences
approach
Hearing the word several times increases the
likelihood of retention in memory
 Students are able to hear the word in a variety of
typical contexts (rather than just one) so they can
start to get a feel for its range of uses as well as
its typical collocations (e.g., fancy a drink, fancy
eating out)
 They get information on the word’s form and
grammar- whether, for example, it is irregular or
transitive (if a verb), or countable (if a noun)
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HIGHLIGHTING THE FORM
 Highlighting
the spoken form of a word is very
important in terms of ensuring it is
appropriately stored.This in turn means drawing
learners’ attention to the way the word
sounds.There are a number of ways of
highlighting the spoken form of the word.
Essentially these are:
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Listening drills
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Oral drills
•
Boardwork
Listening Drill:
Repeat the word two or three times drawing
learners’ attention to the syllable structure and
stress of the word. (use of fingers for visual
stimulus , asking class to identify the stressed
syllabus, using the board).
In the beginning do not want students to repeat
after you. However encourage them to mumble or
mutter the word to themselves at their own pace.
(use subvocalization rather than instant
vocalization. Subvocal repitition triggers the
functioning of the articulatory loop which enables
the short-term store to be kept freshed) .
Oral Drills
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Get learners to vocalize the new words after they
have first subvocalized them, by means of
individual or choral repitition.
When teaching students a new set of words it is best
to
1. Present the first two or three items
2. Then go back and test these
3. Present some more
4. Backtrack again
BOARDWORK
 After
dealing with sounds of words,how soon
should learners meet the written form of a new
word?
 Should
it be postponed until learners are
thoroughly familiar with the spoken form?
Does written form INTERFERE with correct
pronunciation habits?
SHOULD THE WRITTEN FORM BE POSTPONED?
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NO!
Students should be introduced to the written form
as soon as possible.
Students form mental representations of words
once they hear them. Seeing the written form helps
them avoid making inaccurate mental
representations’
 Its easier to make sense of the word once students
see it. Handbag can sound like hambag.
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HOW TO INVOLVE THE LEARNERS
 Elicitation
technique
 Personalization
 Peer
Teaching
ELICITATION TECHNIQUE
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A standard elicitation procedure is for the
teacher to present the meaning of word and
asking learners to supply the form.
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rationale underlying elicitation is that:
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It actively involves the learners in the lesson
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It maximises speaking opportunities
 It
keeps the learners alert and attentive
 It
challenges better learners who might
otherwise ‘’turn off’’
 It
acts as a way of checking the learners’
developing understanding
 In
the case of form-first presentation, it
encourages learners to use contextual clues.
Disadvantages:
•If overused, only the better learners may be
involved,while the others remain passive bystanders
•Prolonged elicitation sequences can end up being very
frustrating for learners if they simply do not know the
answers the teacher is seeking
Personalisation
 Personalisation
is simply the process of using
the new word in a context that is real for the
learner personally.
 Example:
 Ask
learners to write a true sentence using the
new word, preferably applying it to themselves
or someone they know. To help, provide a
sentence frame such as “The last time I felt
frightened was when…. OR The biggest waterfall
I have ever seen…
Peer Teaching (Information Gap Exercises)
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Finally,an alternative to teacher presentation is
peer teaching. This is an activity in which
information is distributed between students in
pairs or small groups. In order to complete task,
students must exchange information.
HOW TO PUT WORDS TO WORK
 Integrating
new knowledge into old
 Decision–making tasks
 Production tasks
 Games
INTEGRATING NEW KNOWLEDGE
INTO OLD
The presentation of new language items should
swiftly be followed by the practice of these
items. New knowledge needs to be integrated
into existing knowledge.
As we also saw in the discussion on memory,
there is a greater likehood of the word being
integrated into this network if many decisions
have been made about it. In other words, to
ensure long-term retention and recall, words
need to be ‘put to work’. They need to be placed
in working memory. They might best be
thought of as integration activities.
DECISION-MAKING TASKS
There are many different kinds of tasks that teachers
can set learners in order to help move words into
long-term memory. Some of these tasks will require
more brain work than others. Tasks in which learners
make decisions about words can be roughly arranged
in an order from least cognitively demanding to most
demanding:
 identifying
 selecting
 matching
 sorting
 ranking
and sequencing
Identification Tasks
List all the clothes items that you hear
 Raise your hand when you hear a clothes item
 Put these items in the order that you hear them
 Listen for clothes words and write them in the
correct coloumn
 Find words connected with fying in the text
 Find eight comparative adjectives in the text
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Selection Tasks
More complex than identification tasks
 Involves both recognizing and making choices
amongst them
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Work in pairs. Choose five words to describe
yourself.
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Careful, interesting, clever, cold, confident, fit, funny,
imaginative, intelligent, kind, lazy, nervous, patient
Choose the odd one out in each group:
1. trousers
2. blouse
3. T-shirt
socks
skirt
suit
jeans
tie
shorts
t-shirt
dress
trainers
A matching task involves first recognising words and
then pairing with them with – for example – a visual
representation, a translation, a synonym, an
antonym, a definition, or a collocate.
Sorting activities require learners to sort words into
different categories. The categories can either be
given, or guessed.
Ranking and sequencing activities require learners to
put the words into some kind of order. This may
involve arranging the words on a cline.
DECISION-MAKING TASKS
 Decision-making
tasks are RECEPTIVE
 Learners
make judgments about words, but
necessarily don`t produce them
 We
also need learners to produce them
either in speaking or writing
PRODUCTION TASKS
Tasks which are productive from the outset
require learners to incorporate the newly
studied words into some kind of speaking and
writing activity. These can be classified as being
of two main types:
 Completion-of sentences and texts

context is provided and students are required to slot
the right word in
 creation
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–of sentences and texts
Learners are required to create the contexts for the
given words
COMPLETION TASKS
 Complete
the text by writing an appropriate
word in each space (open gap)
 Choose
words from the text to complete
these sentences (close gap)
 Listen
to the song and fill in the blanks
CREATION TASKS
Use each of these words to make a sentence which
clearly shows the meaning of the word
 Use each of these words to write a true sentence
about yourself or someone you know
 Work in pairs. Ask and say how you feel about your
town or village.
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It`s all right
I can`t stand it
Which of the following adjectives can you use to
describe your town or village?
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I love it
Interesting boring annoying depressing beautiful noisy
Can you explain why?
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I find it boring because there is nothing to do in the
evenings
GAMES
The more often a word is successfully
retrieved from memory, the easier it becomes to
recall it. Therefore, useful games are those that
encourage learners to recall words and,
preferably, at speed.
Consistent with the principle that learners
need to make multiple decisions about words
useful games are those which let learners do
many tasks such as the dictionary game.
(sorting words into alphabetical order, then into
parts of speech and then into lexical sets)
GAMES
 Since
many word games deal solely with
isolated-rather than contextualised-words, and
often require only shallow processing on the
part of the learner, they should be used
judiciously.
Here are some word games:
 Word clap
 Categories
 Noughts and crosses
 Coffeepot
 Back to board
 Pictionary
 Word snap
 Word race
 Spelling race
Thank you
Berna Çöker
Buca Eğitim Fakültesi
DOKUZ EYLÜL ÜNİVERSİTESİ