INTRODUCTION About half a century ago, Sweet (1964) supported that the real intrinsic difficulty of learning a language lies in that of having to master its vocabulary. This claim was made at a time when vocabulary was notably neglected in language learning for a plethora of reasons. Decontextualised vocabulary instruction had been emphasised too much in the classroom during the years of the Grammar Translation Method, so there was a need for a shift of emphasis on the structural component of the language. This was also partially due to the specialisation in linguistic research on syntax and morphology, which fostered a climate in which vocabulary was thought to be less important (Carter, 1987). Thus, teachers tended to concentrate less on lexis for fear of students making mistakes in sentence construction, if a large amount of vocabulary was acquired before the basic grammar (Allen, 1983). Carter moves on to say that this neglect was in accordance with the “underlying perception that significant structural description and generalisation is possible within syntax, where relations are finite, but less likely in lexis, where relations are theoretically infinite” (1987:145). Furthermore, there may have been more practical reasons for this aversion to teaching vocabulary, since measurement of lexical knowledge can be difficult and only approximate, and vocabulary items do not lend themselves to clear-cut specifications in a syllabus, in terms of either their number, type, or range – unlike syntactic structures (ibid.). Having said the above, we come to the present practice of teaching English, where teachers and learners realise and admit the value of vocabulary, since lack of the necessary words results in failure in communication.... ... middle of paper ... ...aknesses of word lists will be presently examined based on Michael West’s GSL since it is still considered “easy to use [and] deservedly popular” (Fox and Manhood, 1982:128). It contains 2000 headwords and was developed in the 1940s, based on a five-million-word written corpus. The GSL was compiled in order to be used as a resource for developing simplified reading texts categorised into stages or steps. The entries can be divided into the most frequent 1000 words, which according to Carter (1987) and Nation (2001) cover over 75% of the running words in an academic text, and the second 1000 most frequent ones which cover 5-6% of the running words. Elsewhere (Nation and Newton, 1988) it is claimed that the percentage amounts to 85% of the words in any page on any book no matter what the subject matter and that the coverage provided is even greater is spoken language.
Teachers who work with English Language Learners know that academic language takes longer to achieve proficiency in than does conversational language. On average, ELL students need at least two years to achieve conversational language and, five to nine years to develop academic language proficiency. Many English words ELL students are exposed to in school, they have not yet learned or even heard in their first language, which makes transference of knowledge impossible. The vast differences in the ability to use conversational versus academic language can be a hindrance to these students and have lasting effects on their academics and therefore, their lives.
The problem to be investigated is whether the students are increasing their vocabulary through the current methods used in the classroom. Students’ vocabulary knowledge will be assessed through expressive knowledge of current vocabulary words. Those results will be compared to standardized vocabulary measures to determine the relationship to overall vocabulary ability. The following questions will be explored:
Both shared book reading and independent reading can develop learners’ vocabulary. The idea is to expose learners to new words as much as possible to implant these new words in their vocabulary knowledge. However, monitored reading should be done where possible for the amplification of some words during reading. Moreover, explicit approach to vocabulary should also work hand in hand with extensive reading. (Min, 2013). ESL/EFL class should have dictionaries at their disposal and if possible, have posters around the wall with different vocabulary; to create a vocabulary rich
According to Freda (2006), Statistical Measure of Gobbledygook is among the simplest methods, which can be used to determine the reading level of any written material. Several calculations are performed without using computer programs. A sample of sentences is obtained from the start, middle, and end of the text. After w...
In an effort to create a context for learning, one needs to define the language that will be used to teach a subject. So often in schools, from first grade through graduate studies, when teaching a new subject matter or concepts it is necessary to teach the vocabulary that will accompany that subject. However, we often spend little time making sure that vocabulary is learned and consequently without the prerequisite knowledge of vocabulary of learning the learning of information related to it is difficult. This need for definition of relevant language is seen in multiple sources with textbooks being on of the greatest sources of it. The books highlight, bold, or italicize critical words and provide definitions of the word or within the text or margins. This definition of terms gives the reader the knowledge basis to understand the content of what they are reading. If the books authors did not define these terms, then understanding the information they are trying to convey would be difficult.
This is addressed through the idea of the Matthew Effect, which is applied to vocabulary instruction through SES groups. Beck and Mckeown shed light on the problems associated with teaching vocabulary and propose a change, which will undoubtedly help struggling students. The teacher’s responsibility is to instill a curiosity and love for words in his/her students. Reading through the article, it became evident that in order to know a word you must be able to apply it in different situations. As stated in the article “Simply put, knowing a word is not an all-or-nothing proposition: It is not the case that one either knows or does not know a word (9).” The authors propose a theory that student’s knowledge of vocabulary words lies on a continuum. This ranges from limited knowledge, narrow knowledge and finally a rich understanding of the word and use of it in context. Overall, the article has made it evident that direct instruction is correlated with student achievement in the classroom.
The article Successful Strategies for Teaching to Middle Grades for English Language Learners by: Nicole Bolos. Reading the article, I realized we are all reading teachers, we are all literacy teachers despite if we are teaching math, history, and science. We cannot teach without introducing Vocabulary terms of science, math and writing terms. I can reflect going back to my school days as a Kindergarten through high school student that my past teachers would not introduce any vocabulary words to help build the CALP language. I would sit there quiet, without asking any question about the lesson because I did not know the academic language of the lesson or instruction.
Learning of vocabulary as one of the basic communication tools is often considered by language learners as the
THEME: Influence of vocabulary in oral expression. Design of a teaching guide with vocabulary of the English language.
There is no acceptable or unacceptable ways to teach vocabulary. Everything depends on the teacher, student and methods that are used by everyone involved. It is important to have the desire to teach and to learn, it is relevant to explain why vocabulary learning is significant to know and where it will come in handy in life. However, one of the most important elements is to make an interest in the pupils. It is the only way how the teacher can to give them not only the will to learn basic vocabulary, but to find a willingness to look for additional information. (Schmitt, 2000: 142)
Vocabulary development should give the students the ability to learn the meaning of new words and concepts that are presented to them in their text. Learning this skill will help students with comprehension and their content area curriculum. By teaching students vocabulary development, students will have a reserve of new words, connect new words with their previous knowledge, gain the ability to understand and comprehend the text, and lastly, it will increase a students’ word knowledge to connect with their comprehension and success.
Although Nagy (1997) asserts that intentional teaching of vocabulary is a vain attempt to develop learners vocabulary learning, Nation (2001) disagrees. His argument is that intentional learning of words can add to learners incidental learning as they increase their conscious awareness of individual words. In doing so, learners develop a conscious awareness of 'noticing' selected words in the text. Not to mention strengthening learners´ strategic competence in reading.
How do children acquire language? What are the processes of language acquisition? How do infants respond to speech? Language acquisition is the process of learning a native or a second language. Although how children learn to speak is not perfectly understood, most explanations involve both the observations that children copy what they hear and the inference that human beings have a natural aptitude for understanding grammar. Children usually learn the sounds and vocabulary of their native language through imitation, (which helps them learn to pronounce words correctly), and grammar is seldom taught to them, but instead that they rapidly acquire the ability to speak grammatically. Though, not all children learn by imitation alone. Children will produce forms of language that adults never say. For example, “I spilled milk on hisself” or “Debbie wants a cookie”. This demonstrates that children have the desire to speak correctly and have self-motivating traits to communicate. This supports the theory of Noam Chomsky (1972)-that children are able to learn grammar of a particular language because all intelligible languages are founded on a deep structure of universal grammatical rules that corresponds to an innate capacity of the human brain. Adults learning a second language pass through some of the same stages, as do children learning their native language. In the first part of this paper I will describe the process of language acquisition. The second part will review how infants respond to speech.
Vocabulary leads to a more accurate and effective communication and sharing of students’ ideas. In other words: “vocabulary is the foundation to build languages, which plays a fundamental role in communication” (Hatch and Brown, 1995, p. 1). It has a great impact to the students when they want to convey and share their opinions and ideas. Not being able to find the words you need to express yourself is the most frustrating experience in speaking English or another language. The more words one learns, the more effective he/she share and express his/her ideas. For that reason, how well learners can communicate in English is partly dependent on how many vocabulary they have
Children’s acquisition of language has long been considered one of the uniquely defining characteristics of human behaviour.