Post on 07-Nov-2014
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VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENTR. Grant
Lexical competence is a central part of communicative competence” (DeCarrico, 2001, p. 285)
Questions to ponder about vocabulary
What does it mean to “know a word”?
What are the basic components of word knowledge?
How can we address use, meaning, and function in L2 vocabulary instruction?
Facts About Vocabulary Knowledge Students’ vocabularies grow at an
astonishing rate About 3,000 words per year, or roughly
7 to 10 new words per day By the time students graduate from
high school, their vocabularies may reach 25,000 words or more
Questions to ponder: How many vocabularies do you
have? What role does identity play in
vocabulary utilization? How do school, family, and
community factors influence vocabulary development?
Research:Facts about Vocabulary Vocabulary reflects prior knowledge
and concepts in a particular area There is a strong relationship
between the knowledge of word meanings (vocabulary) and reading comprehension
More Research:Facts about Vocabulary How do children acquire vocabulary?
Through wide reading From context (but need instruction) With the aid of external resources such
as the dictionary From direct instruction in vocabulary
ELL & English vocabulary Learning English vocabulary is a
challenge for ELL students because they are often learning the oral and written forms of a word at the same time.
ELL & English vocabulary Students’ lack of English vocabulary
often adversely affects their reading development in English.
Vocabulary Instruction: The debate Deep processing Incidental learning
Aspects about words
In order to really “know” or “own” a word, students must
Recognize it, Know its meaning, and Understand its function
How and when to use direct instruction Teacher only a few
words central to the content
Teach in meaningful contexts
Integrate with activation and development of prior knowledge
How and when to use direct instruction Teach words
thoroughly by offering rich & varied information about them
Expose words in many ways
Actively involve students in the process of learning
Elements of vocabulary development Awareness of words (self-awareness
and motivation to learn words) Wide reading and extensive writing
(self-selected reading and writing) Independent strategies that lead to
vocabulary learning (direct instruction and independent use)
Condition 1: Unfamiliar words Sight words. Students know the
word and what it means when they hear someone say it, and can use it orally, but they don’t recognize its written form.
Condition: 2 Unfamiliar word New word. Students have a concept
related to the word, but they are not familiar with the word itself, either orally or in written form.
Condition 3: Unfamiliar word New concept. Students have little or
no background knowledge about the concept underlying the word, and they don’t recognize the word itself.
Condition 4: Unfamiliar word New meaning. Students know the
word, but they are unfamiliar with the way the word is used and its meaning in this situation.
Why do students have difficulty with vocabulary? They may not have the relevant
concepts as part of their background knowledge
They may have a different label for the targeted concept
They may have a somewhat different meaning for the label
DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE
Stages of vocabulary knowledge I never heard/saw the word before. (I
have never before seen nor heard the word Koran.)
I have heard/seen the word, but I don’t know what it means. (I have seen the word Koran in a news article.)
Stages of vocabulary knowledge I recognize the word in context, or…
it has something to do with… (A dowry has something to do with money.)
I know the word. (Draconian is very harsh or severe application of the law.)
Goals of vocabulary instruction Teach independent vocabulary
learning Teach concepts important for
comprehension Create an environment that
promotes general vocabulary development
Guidelines for vocabulary instruction Relate the new to the known Promote active in-depth processing Provide multiple exposures Teach students to be strategic
Characteristics of good direct vocabulary teaching Short (limited to a few critical words
and concepts) Connect explicitly to the actual text
students are to read
TEACHER BEHAVIORLink Relate students’ past experience with
present ones
Elaborate Add more information about the familiar content, or suggest rewording
Input Introduce new vocabulary & reinforce through constant use
Connect Tie new words to the activity or activity to new words
Clarify Add examples, illustrations, or descriptions
Question Stimulate thinking about terms through questioning
Relate Show how new words compare w/ what students know
Categorize Group new words, ideas, and concepts
Label Provide names for concepts, ideas, and objects
Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades
Function words A, an, the (articles) And, but, or (conjunctions) At, into, over (prepositions) Could, run,had snowed (auxiliary
words)
Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades
Content words: having concrete meaning
House, car, dog (nouns) I, her, they (pronouns) Hot, sticky (adjectives) Then, neatly, suddenly (adverbs)
Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades
Content-specific words: always having specialized meaning within a particular subject area, must be learned within the context of that area
Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades
Basic words Building blocks of everyday
language Do not require specific instruction
except in the case of ELL
Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades
General utility words More complex terms may be used often in
speech but these words tend not to be specific to any one subject area
Often involves instruction in common root words and affixes
Can help readers to discover the meaning of general-utility words
Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades
Low-utility words Words encountered less frequently Found in a particular content Should be introduced prior to
instruction
Types of vocabularies for upper grades
Meaning Vocabulary The sum total of a child’s understanding
of the meaning of words Readers need to draw from this store as
they emerge into reading to learn Readers draw known meanings and use
these to figure out new meanings as they read
Types of vocabularies for upper grades
Reading Vocabulary Is gained when readers learn to
decode words whose meaning they already know
Words are already in their meaning vocabulary
Activity: Same word, different meaning Use the word “conductor” in three
different sentences that convey three different meanings of the word.
Use the word “staple” in two different sentences that convey two different meanings of the word.
Activity:Same word, different meaning Use the word “frog” in two different
sentences that convey two different meanings for the word.
Activity:Same word, different meaning How many definitions do you have
for the word “up”? Write five sentences using the word
“up” in five different ways.
Activity:Same word, different meaning
Copper is a good conductor of electricity.
Give your ticket to the conductor.
The orchestra conductor was quite young
Activity:Same word, different meaning
She wanted to staple the three pages together.
Corn was a staple in the diet of some Native Americans.
Activity:Same word, different meaning
Look up at the moon.Look up the word in the dictionary.Lock up the car.The drain is stopped up.Sam said he’s tied up and can’t come.