Student-Centered Academic Vocabulary List Article

IntroductionWhen studying in an academic English program,students require a solid academic vocabulary tobolster their reading, writing, speaking and listeningskills. This is especially true for Bachelor ofEducation students at the Higher Colleges ofTechnology, who need to demonstrate a high levelof proficiency in all skills. To achieve this goal, thestudents need activities that engage them in thefours skills whenever possible. This academicvocabulary lesson, based on a student-centeredapproach, offers a good way for teachers to turnacademic vocabulary practice into a full languageexperience. As a starting point, students must be ableto comprehend articles available on the BBC, TimeMagazine and National Geographic among manyothers. I think that this type of activity works bestwhen implemented as a weekly routine that starts onthe first day of the week and ends on the last day ofthe week, continuing for the duration of thesemester.

Laying the Ground Work Prior to working on their own, the teacher needs toprepare the students by explicitly showing thedifferent types of articles they are expected to read.The students need to be aware of the differencesbetween magazine articles and general websites likeWikipedia, e-how and personal blogs. Classroomteachers can also play a vital role by simplycompiling a list of quality online magazines toensure good choices. Having a reading menu tochoose from and giving students clear guidelinessteers them towards challenging texts, whichgenerally have 20-30 academic words. It is also

important to note that what is consideredappropriate will depend on the ability and readinglevel of each student.

Testing the articles for academic words is a simpleprocess. The Compleat Lexical Tutor Websitedesigned by Tom Cobb of the Universit du Qubec Montral has an excellent vocabulary profiler. First,type Web VP (v 1.0) into Google, or type thefollowing web address into the address box at thetop of the browser:http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/cgi-bin/webfreqs/web_vp.html. To use the Web VP (1.0),erase all the text in the white box in the middle ofthe print screen shown below. After that, cut andpaste the text of the article into the white box andpress the SUBMIT button.

A screenshot of the Web VP website.

Volume 18 No. 1 January 2011 TESOL Arabia Perspectives www.tesolarabia.org

Guy StieglitzFujairah Womens CollegeHigher Colleges ofTechnologyFujairah, UAE

Student-GeneratedAcademic VocabularyLesson

20Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan_reviews 2/6/11 7:56 PM Page 1


Afterwards, the screen will look like this:

This New York Times article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patchhas 30 academic words to choose from. The students learn 6-8 wordsand share with a partner.

This vocabulary profiler will identify the words,from the top 2000, academic, technical and off-listwords. In addition to having ample academicvocabulary for the students to learn, it is veryimportant to exemplify what makes an articleacademically relevant. In the beginning, articlesshould be negotiated with the teacher beforehand toensure that they are subjects that createopportunities for learning and discussion.

Reading Once prepared, the students choose articles, readthem and identify the academic vocabulary with theonline vocabulary profiler. After identifying thewords, the students choose approximately 6-8academic words that they do not know. Then, theylearn them well enough to explain them to aclassmate. Learning the words can be done duringthe week for homework, or, if the teacher prefers,the students can be given time in class to prepare.This way the students have a bit more time to lookup the words in the dictionary, seek clarifyingimages on the internet and, if necessary, ask theinstructor for assistance.

Sharing On sharing day, students pair up and discuss thearticles. They should summarize the articles, expresstheir opinions, discuss the relevant or controversialissues and share the vocabulary. To explain thewords, the students should first show the targetwords in the context of the article and discuss themeaning. The student learning the new wordsshould seek clarification as necessary and showunderstanding by creating original examplesentences, which can be done orally or in writing.The total process of sharing the article and thevocabulary should take approximately 20-30minutes per pair. While pairs discuss, the teachershould move around the room and observe. If a pairneeds assistance starting or sustaining a conversation,the teacher can join them briefly to get them ontrack. When joining the conversation, it is best to actmore as a participant in the conversation rather thanas the instructor. After the discussions, students sharethe academic vocabulary they have learned fromreading their articles with the whole class.

Displaying At this point, the teacher distributes strips of paperbig enough so that all students in class can see themfrom their desk. An easel and attached flipchartlocated in front of the room works well as itshowcases the words and makes them highly visiblefor the students and teacher. Each student choosesone interesting academic word learned from apartner and places the card on the easel. Oncedisplayed, the stage is set for students to notice if thewords, synonyms, antonyms or other derivationalforms are seen in reading and listening activities thefollowing week. The teacher will also have theopportunity to use the words impromptu duringroutine discussions and writings. These opportunitiesare an excellent way to reinforce the vocabulary.These words can also be used for warm upactivities. For instance, it can be helpful to begin theclass with a quick discussion of the words by askingstudents to define them or use them in sentences. Inaddition, to incorporate writing into the process, the

Guy Stieglitz teaches in the BEd program at Fujairah Womens College, holding an MA in TESOL and a BA in English Education.He has taught in South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico and the US. Research interests include technology, reading and writing.

Lesson Plan21


students can write an email or letter that uses asmany of the words as possible.

The students words displayed in the front of the classroom for the week.

Recommended Weekly Schedule:

ConclusionMy freshman BEd students at Fujairah WomensCollege responded very well to this activity. After afew weeks of adjusting to the process and learningto enjoy the conversations with their partner, theylooked forward to Thursdays when we shared thearticles. The following week before each class, wereviewed the words and the students were keen touse vocabulary in subsequent writing and speakingactivities. As a final thought, I think it is importantto adapt this process to the local context and studentneeds. At the heart of this activity is the idea that thestudents read, talk, listen, write and practice the newwords.


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22Lesson Plan

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Choose articles in class and identify AW's withvocabulary profiler.

Read article and prepare vocabulary forhomework



Share articles and vocabulary in class.

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Student-Centered Academic Vocabulary List Article

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