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 On Their Own Plan vocabulary learning   Extensive Reading Set specific goals within a  time frame  Exposure to target Use a combination of words unpredictable  strategies  Reliance on using Self-Testing  (Rasekh and Ranjbany, 2003-- in Folse, 2004) context clues 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  Collocation  Pronunciation  Register  Spelling  Connotation  Word Families  Frequency o Word lists  Usage o Dictionary usage

(Based on “ Focus on Vocabulary 1-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?  Bore da  Lechyd da ( Good Morning) (Cheers!) Welsh Examples http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/welsh.php  Syllables  How many syllables are in the 2nd word of this Irish expression?  Dia dhaoibh (Hello [plural])

 Stress  Record (n.)  Record (v.)  Educate  Education  Silent Letters and Syllables  Doubt  Elementary  Herbs  Eventually

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

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

Spoken Usage Register    Formal/informal Written Usage  What’s happening  dude? / How are you doing, professor? Frequency   Political Correctness:  Physically challenged Grammar  /crippled people can  Irregular verb forms live full lives.  Count or non-count noun  Direct/ euphemism:  Transitive or Intransitive noun  I heard that your  Phrasal Verbs 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 out 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 SOUNDS WORD PARTS  Double  Number of  Prefix Letters Syllables  Suffix  Shortest  Silent Letters  Base Word  Hard to  Compound  Longest Pronounce Word Word  Different  Appears Spelling — First/Last in Same Sound the Dictionary

 Pattern  Literature  Doubt  Interrupt  Creature  Lifestyle  Guilt  Altruistic  Miserable  Discover  Effect  Reconsider  Experiment  Manufacture  Predict How many have….. X  Which word syllables/double is…first/last in the letters/silent letters/two dictionary/ words/ a prefix that means longest/shortest/harde X? 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 other 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