How? Presentation for Summer Literacy Institute July, 2015 Allyson - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What? Why? How?

Presentation for Summer Literacy Institute July, 2015 Allyson Marceau allyson.marceau@sjcd.edu

Allyson Marceau

 Masters in Linguistics  TESOL certificate  ESOL at San Jacinto College 15 years

 Reading and Writing  Oral Communication  Grammar  Reading and Vocabulary NCBO

From the Experts

 Keith Folse, textbook author and reading

expert “Arguably, vocabulary is perhaps the most important component in L2(second language) ability.” (Vocabulary Myths, p.22)

 Jack C. Richards, reading expert

“Vocabulary and lexical units (phrases) are at the core of learning and communication.”

 Paul Nation, reading expert

“I feel vocabulary development is one of the most critical areas of second language reading.”

 “The main obstacle for L2 readers is not lack of

reading strategies but rather insufficient vocabulary knowledge in English”

(Lauder and Simon 1985)

 Probability of learning a new word from context: 5

to 20% (Nagy et al 1987, Nation and Waring, 1997)

 Learners are just as likely to infer a wrong

meaning as the correct meaning. (Hulstijn 1992)

 Read a million words →Learn 1,000 words  Guessing word meanings requires a vast

vocabulary.

 Meaning not transparent in conversation.

INCIDENTAL LEARNING INTENTIONAL LEARNING On Their Own

 Extensive Reading  Exposure to target

words unpredictable

 Reliance on using

context clues

On Their Own



Plan vocabulary learning



Set specific goals within a time frame



Use a combination of strategies



Self-Testing

(Rasekh and Ranjbany, 2003-- in Folse, 2004)

In the Classroom



Intensive Reading



Direct Instruction



Testing

 Word knowledge is complex and incremental.  Multiple encounters are required.

Recognize a word Understand a meaning of the word in one context Understand the various meanings of a word in different contexts Be able to use the word in speaking and/or writing

• Meanings
• Pronunciation
• Spelling
• Word Families
• Usage
• Collocation
• Register
• Connotation
• Frequency
• Word lists
• Dictionary usage

(Based on “Focus on Vocabulary1-Bridging Vocabulary-Diane Schmitt et al, 2011)

 I sat on the bank of the river.  I deposited my paycheck in my bank.  I donated some blood to the blood bank.  There’s a bank of slot machines in the Las Vegas

airport.

 The bank in the road made it safer to make a sharp

turn.

 Sounds

Which is easier to learn? Why?

Welsh Exampleshttp://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/welsh.php

 Syllables

How many syllables are in the 2nd

word of this Irish expression?

• Bore da

(Good Morning)

• Lechyd da

(Cheers!)

• Dia dhaoibh (Hello [plural])

 Stress  Silent Letters and Syllables

• Record (n.)
• Educate
• Record (v.)
• Education
• Doubt
• Herbs
• Elementary
• Eventually

Commonly Mispelled Misspelled Words Occasion Ambidextrous Accommodate Plural Nouns Boxes Pianos Heroes Grammatical Forms Wait Waiting Let Letting Stop Stopped One sound—Multiple Spellings beat keep piece ski key

Noun: interest Verb: to interest Adjective: interesting, interested Adverb: interestingly



Spoken Usage



Written Usage



Frequency



Grammar

 Irregular verb forms  Count or non-count noun  Transitive or Intransitive

noun

 Phrasal Verbs



Register

 Formal/informal

 What’s happening dude? / How are you doing, professor?

 Political Correctness:

 Physically challenged /crippled people can live full lives.

 Direct/ euphemism:

 I heard that your uncle died/passed away.

: I figured out the meaning of the word form the context. : The suspect committed a crime. : Sherry is interested in sailing. : A tall building. A high

• building. A tall man. A high man.

: I’m sick and tired of him.

 Skinny/thin/slender/scrawny  Bossy--Dominant  Frugal---Miserly  Cowardly--Prudent

 Frequency

 Word Lists

 General Service List—Accounts for about 85% of words

encountered in non-academic language.

 New General Service List—Accounts for about 92% of

words encountered in non-academic language.

 Academic Word List List—Accounts for about 8-9% of

what students encounter in college texts.

 Three important factors for remembering

words.

 Raising Consciousness--Noticing  Number of encounters/retrievals

 Folse “What might be more important is not what you

do, but how many times you do it.”

 Retrieval = When the learner recalls the meaning or

form of a word from memory. (Coxhead, )

 Spacing between retrievals

 1 day, 2 days, 4 days etc..

Depth of Processing—Little evidence of improved learning.

 “It would appear that when new words are

first presented, it may be best to present them

• ut of context.” (Clipperton 1994)

 Paul Nation (1993) strongly advocates what he

calls a “Vocabulary Flood” for beginning learners.

 Word lists definitely can play a role in

vocabulary learning

 Do not teach synonym with antonym  Do not teach “Semantic Sets” (Folse)

Examples: Family members, Body parts, Colors

 Do teach in “Thematic Sets”

Examples: Eating out, Cooking, Going on a date

 Make target words salient—underline, highlight,

italicize, capitalize—Make the learners notice.

 Do allow learners to use bilingual dictionaries.  Do not ask learners to use a new word in a

• sentence. (negative impact on learning)



Focus on form—Introducing a new word lists



Input before output

 Give plenty of receptive activities before requiring production

 Word definition match  Reading and Listening (Students listen and check the word

when they hear it.)



Multiple encounters of any kind—Depth of processing not important

 Matching  Odd-man-out  Cloze Activities  Picture Files



Recycle

 Bring words from previous lessons back for review  Draw attention to previously-taught words in the reading or

listening activities

 Use the vocabulary in exercises and tests



Maintenance

 Continue to go back to previous words



Testing

 Testing is essential– Make students accountable for learning the

vocabulary

Putting the guidelines into practice with quick, easy activities

During discussion



Write words in numbered columns as they occur.



Deflect questions about unimportant (infrequent) words



Result: List of 15 words-Write on poster paper for recycling



Take them out later in class for recycling



Use them for review



Drill 3-5 minutes--Teacher-centered=Okay

• What does X mean?
• Which word means X?
• Which are living?
• Which word has a prefix that means “take away”?
• Which words are about the natural environment?
• How many describe a person? Are you sure? Are there more?
• How many could be over 100?

 Familiarize students with form before meaning

SPELLING

• Double

Letters

• Shortest

Word

• Longest

Word

• Appears

First/Last in the Dictionary SOUNDS

• Number of

Syllables

• Silent Letters
• Hard to

Pronounce

• Different

Spelling— Same Sound WORD PARTS

• Prefix
• Suffix
• Base
• Compound

Word

 Pattern  Doubt  Creature  Guilt  Miserable  Effect  Experiment  Predict

How many have….. X syllables/double letters/silent letters/two words/ a prefix that means X?

 Literature  Interrupt  Lifestyle  Altruistic  Discover  Reconsider  Manufacture  Which word

is…first/last in the dictionary/ longest/shortest/harde st to pronounce

Offer Vertical Panels Encouragement Wind Turbines

 Require students to learn 20-25 words per week

and record them in their notebook. (Experts often recommend this number.)

 At random intervals, ask students the meaning of

a word.

 If they can’t answer, they don’t receive any points.

(Keep them accountable!)

 If they only know the translation, you can ask

them if they got it right—Don’t discourage translations! (Isn’t that how you learned a second language?) (Thanks to Dr. Qin Riley for this idea!)

 Give students a list of target vocabulary words.  Play or read a reading that includes the words.  Students check off the words as they hear

them.

 Alternatively: Use flash cards

 Students place each card in front of them in order as

they hear the word

 Note: Listening to different voices and in different

tone of voice is beneficial to learning.

 Ask students to bring their flash cards to class.

Fill in those slack times—Get them to test each

• ther if they finish a group task early.

 Have a class set of flash cards. Students can

pull out some flash cards and test themselves as a review for an upcoming exam. (More about flash cards later)

Use Hot Potatoes to create online interactive activities---Save class time and give them something fun to do at their own pace

 Scrambled Sentences  Crossword Puzzles  Matching  Cloze Activities (Fill-in-the-blank)

http://hotpot.uvic.ca/

Word List Websites: New General Service List (Quizlet) http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/ Academic Word List Exercises http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/A WL/index.htm

 The New General Service List—Quizlets

http://www.newgeneralservicelist.org/ngsl-for-quizlet-soon/

 English Vocabulary Exercises-Academic Word

List

http://www.englishvocabularyexercises.com/AWL/

Teach students how to take responsibility for their own vocabulary learning.

 Vocabulary Notebooks

 Keep it Simple  Use translation into native language  Test yourself

 Cover parts with paper “L”  Fold page

 Flash cards

 Spaced Retrieval

 Dictionary use  Here’s 10 words-Learn them tonight, we’ll use

them tomorrow—learn meaning at home, use in class

 Show students how to make them.

 Add drawings or pictures  Include word aspects according to individual needs  Ask your students to share ideas and cards

 Illustrate –Spaced Retrieval

 Practice until you “know” the word  Put the word aside in a separate pile  Pick up that pile again in –24 hours, 72 hours, one week

 Share cards in class

 Test each other  Show how they use or make them

: Make an acoustic association between the target word and a word in L1 : Form an image link between target word and L1 or other known languages. Moroccan Arabic “Sharire” (street) Shah +Rire (French=laugh) Shah’s head in the middle of the street laughing.