Building Meaning Vocabulary: Lessons from Language Acquisition

Georgia Reading First ConferenceJune 19-20, 2007

David CokerUniversity of Delaware

dcoker@udel.edu

Who am I?

father teacher

runner Delaware transplant

researcher

frustrated fisherman

Georgia native

Partner Talk

Turn to someone next to you (preferably someone you don’t know) and:

1. Say hello and introduce yourself. This is your partner for today’s session.

2. Find out what he or she would like to know about vocabulary and language learning in 2nd and 3rd grades.

3. After you discuss, write down your own question(s).

What’s so important about oral language skills?

In 2nd & 3rd grades,

we’re worried about

reading and writing.

Language Skills & Reading

Word Recognition

• Phonology

(esp. phonological awareness)

Reading Comprehension

• Vocabulary• Morphology• Syntax

Our Guiding Question

How can we enhance students’ oral language in 2nd & 3rd grades?

Where we’re headed…

1. What can language acquisition teach us about how kids learn words?

2. How can we teach vocabulary in the classroom by taking advantage of language-learning strategies?

3. An extension: How can we use language-learning strategies to help students with language differences in the classroom?

I. Language Learning

How do they do it?

Language is a Social Tool

• Kids want to talk to interact

– Engage adults (“ball!”).

– Express needs (“more cookie”).

• Language in a social frame: Joint reference

How Parents Help

• Motherese

(Child-Directed Speech)

– Slower

– Higher pitch

– Exaggerated intonation

– More repetition

– Shorter sentences

Strategies for Talking with Children

• Adults use a variety of specific strategies to support language learning

Expansions

The adult echoes the child’s talk and expands it, modeling how to speak.

Example

child: Juice!

mother: You want more juice?

child: More juice.

Extensions

Adult comments on (and extends) child’s talk in ways related to its meaning.

Example

child: Juice!

mother: Oh you’re thirsty.

TurnaboutsAdult picks up a thread from the child’s utterance and then asks a question related to it. Adult scaffolds the conversation.

Example

child: [Tells story of skinning knee]adult: “How did that happen?

or“Why did you fall?

or“I wonder if you need a band-aid?

Common Turnabouts

• Wh-question “How, where, why...?”

• Tag Question “It’s raining, isn’t it?”

• Requests for Clarification “What did he say?”

• ‘I Wonder’ Statement “I wonder what’s for lunch?”

Partner Talk

How do you think these strategies help children learn language?

II. Vocabulary Learning in the Classroom

Can we take advantage of language-learning strategies to improve classroom vocabulary instruction?

Context for Vocabulary

• Adults use the physical context to teach words to children.

• Classroom context is limited, but books provide limitless context for new words.

ALA Award Books

How Could We Use the Strategies during Read-Alouds?

• What is a central goal of language-learning strategies (expansions, extensions, turnabouts)?

Turnabouts during Read-Alouds

• Teachers can draw on the story to pose turnabout-like questions to the class.

Example from Where the Wild Things Are

“Why do you think Max wanted to leave home and live with the wild things?”

Turnabout + Expansion

• Teacher poses a turnabout (e.g. open question).

• Student responds with an incomplete answer.

• Teacher can expand or extend the response in an effort to elicit more relevant talk.

Turnabout + Expansion

Students: “Mad.”

Teacher: “Right, Max was mad” [expansion].

Teacher: “Why was Max mad?” [turnabout].

Student: “Sent to his room.”

Encouraging Student Talk During Read-Alouds

• Allows for students to engage with the vocabulary and the story.

• Shown to boost vocabulary and reading comprehension.

(Brabham & Lynch-Brown, 2002; Dickinson & Smith, 1994)

An Example: Text Talk

• Uses open-ended questions (like turnabouts) to stimulate student discussion during reading.

• Follow-up questions (like extensions and expansions) used to extend and elaborate.

Additional Instructional Methods(Also very important)

• Direct explanation of new words during reading.

• Multiple opportunities to interact with new words (in addition to reading)

(Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2002)

How Much Exposure?

• A recent study found that students in K and 1st benefited from more than 2 readings of a book.

• However, 2nd graders learned the same percentage of words with 2 and 4 readings

(Biemiller & Boote, 2006)

What to do when reading aloud to support vocabulary acquisition

1. Use interesting books with good words.

2. Provide direct explanation of word meanings.

3. Pose open-ended questions (turnabouts) and expansions and extensions to encourage student talk.

4. Provide students lots of opportunities to revisit target words (through rereading and extension activities).

An Example…

“An umbrella?”

“A bear. He’s really big. And he’s in the backyard.”

“What’s he doing?” Michael asked.

“He’s sitting. He has an umbrella,” said Karl.

“Michael! There’s a bear outside!” said Karl.

“A what?” called Michael

By the time the boys got outside, their sister, Addy, was already talking with him.

“I’m sorry for arriving unannounced,” said the bear.* “The wind carried my umbrella all the way from my backyard to your backyard. I thought I would retrieve it before it became a nuisance.” * He spoke with a slight panda accent.

*“unannounced” means he came without telling them first.

* A “nuisance” is something that bothers you.

Now some turnabout questions…

“Why do you think the panda’s umbrella would be a nuisance?”

OR

“How do you think Karl, Michael and Addy felt about finding a panda in the backyard?”

Partner Talk—You Try It

With your partner, do a mini-read aloud. Each of you take several pages from Zen Shorts and,

1. Provide an explanation of at least 2 words.

2. Create turnabout-like questions.

Michael introduced himself. Then Addy introduced Karl because Karl was shy around bears he didn’t know.

And this is how Addy, Michael, and Karl met Stillwater. The next day,

Addy went to have tea with Stillwater.

“Hello?” Addy said as she stepped inside.

“Come in! Come in!” a faraway voice called.

Then she heard the voice say, “Oh yes…Come out! Come out!”

Stillwater was in the backyard.

He was in a tent.“This is a birthday

present from my Uncle Ry,” Stillwater said.

“He always gives presents on his birthday, to celebrate the day he was born. I like it so much that I’m not staying in my house right now.”

Stillwater invited Addy to sit with him.

“You brought me some cake!” said Stillwater. “That was very nice of you. Is it your birthday?” he asked.

“No,” said Addy.

“It’s not mine either,” said Stillwater. “But let me give you a gift for my uncle’s birthday. I will tell you a story.”

My Uncle Ry lived alone in a small house up in the hills. He didn’t own many things. He lived a simple life.

One evening, he discovered he had a visitor. A robber had broken into the house and was rummaging through my uncle’s few belongings.

The robber didn’t notice Uncle Ry, and when my uncle said, “Hello,” the robber was so startled he almost fell down.

Uncle Ry and the Moon

My uncle smiled at the robber and shook his hand.

“Welcome! Welcome! How nice of you to visit!”

The robber opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t think of anything to say.

Because Ry never lets anyone leave empty-handed, he looked around the tiny hut for a gift for the robber. But there was nothing to give. The robber began to back toward the door. He wanted to leave.

At last, Uncle Ry knew what to do.

He took off his only robe, which was old and tattered. “Here,” he said. “Please take this.”

The robber thought my uncle was crazy. He took the robe, dashed out the door, and escaped into the night.

My uncle sat and looked at the moon, its silvery light spilling over the mountains, making all things quietly beautiful.

“Poor man,” lamented my uncle. “All I had to give him was my tattered robe. If only I could have given him this wonderful moon.”

III. Extension—Students with Language Differences

Language-learning strategies can also be used to help students whose languages or dialects don’t match the one used in school.

Language Differences?

• 2nd Language Students

• Students who don’t speak school dialect (Edited American English)

Why Would These Strategies Work?

• Many students are used to being corrected. Correcting student talk usually discourages students from speaking and can be counterproductive.

• We know children learn about the features of language (or dialect) by participating in it (doing it).

Expansions

• Teachers model how English is used in the classroom

Extensions

• Teachers create new contexts for conversation.

• Extensions offer a scaffold for students.

Turnabouts

• Encourages student talk, providing practice.

When Should We Use Them?

All the time!

-During any lesson

-Informal exchanges

Take Home Points

Language-learning strategies can enhance our vocabulary teaching.

Turnabouts, expansions, and extensions support vocabulary learning during read-alouds.

These strategies can also be used to benefit students with language differences.

Last Question

Did we address you and your partner’s initial questions?

– If not, have a discussion with your partner, with me during the conference, or send me an email later (dcoker@udel.edu).

References

Beck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2001). Text talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. Reading Teacher, 55(1), 10-20.

Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Biemiller, A. & Boote, C. (2006). An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 44-62.

Brabham, E. G., & Lynch-Brown, C. (2002). Effects of teachers' reading aloud styles on vocabulary acquisition and comprehension of students in the early elementary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 465-473.

Dickinson, D. K., & Smith, M. W. (1994). Long-term effects of preschool teachers' book readings on low-income children's vocabulary and story comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 29(2), 104-122

Muth, J.J. (2005). Zen Shorts. New York: Scholastic Press.