Teaching Vocabulary

Applied Linguistics

By Sergio GM

Vocabulary Definition• “…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. Rather, knowledge of a word should be viewed in terms of the extent or degree of knowledge that people can possess.”

Beck & McKeown, 1991

Vocabulary Definition

“…vocabulary is the glue thatholds stories, ideas, and content

together…making comprehension accessible for

children.”

Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1998/99

Vocabulary Definition

SpeakingListening

Reading Writing

• Word knowledge is essential for comprehension Davis, 1944

• Oral interactions and wide reading in a variety of text types is to be encouraged and supported Nagy & Herman, 1987

• Learning newconcepts requires active involvement rather than passive definition memorization Stahl, 1986

• Multiple exposures to a word is necessary to learn it well –conceptual, contextual, & definitional Miller, 1996

• Writing definitions from dictionaries is not a recommended practice Miller, 1996

• Relate new words to students’ prior knowledge and to other related words when possible U.S. Dept of Education, 1987

• Students need to develop the ability to learn new words from the multiple contexts of reading Johnson & Baumann, 1984

Teaching Vocabulary

• Vocabulary should be taught both explicitly and incidentally.

• Repetition and multiple exposure are important for learning new vocabulary.

• Learning how to construct vocabulary from rich (directive) contexts is valuable.

• Vocabulary learning tasks should be restructured when necessary.

• Vocabulary tasks should entail active engagement.

• Explicit vocabulary instruction should address the use of definitions, context, and concept learning.

What Does it Take to Teach a Word Well?

Teaching Vocabulary

• First, examine the type of text the children will be reading. Is it narrative or informational? Teach Tier II words if the children will be reading narrative, literary texts. Teach Tier III words if children will be reading informational, expository texts (point of contact).

• Next, examine the text to develop a list of 10 Tier II or Tier III words to be taught during the week, 2 per day.

What Words Should I Teach?

Teaching Vocabulary

• Read the text to determine the nature of the context in which each of the selected Tier II or Tier III words appear. – Directive Context

• Gives clues, hints, synonyms to determine an approximate word meaning in the context.

– Non-Directive Context• Mentions the word without giving any clues to

determine word meaning.– Mis-Directive Context

• Gives clues that lead readers to false word meaning construction.

What Words Should I Teach?

Teaching Vocabulary

• If a word appears in a directive context, then teach children how to use context to determine an approximate word meaning.

• If a word appears in a non-directive or mis-directive context, then these are good candidates for your 10 word teaching list.

What Words Should I Teach?

Teaching Vocabulary

• If you have ELL students in your classroom, be sure to determine if there is a Spanish-English cognate that may help them make the translation. For example -

Information (English)Información (Spanish)

What Words Should I Teach?

Vocabulary Instruction

Strategies for Explicit

Vocabulary Instruction

Thinking About Vocabulary Instruction:

Three Tiers• Tier One Words- Consists of basic words and rarely require instructional attention in school and highly frequent in life: clock, baby, ball, happy, walk, run, etc.

• Tier Two Words - High frequency use for mature language users and found across a variety of knowledge domains: coincidence, absurd, industrious, fortunate, etc.

• Tier Three Words - Low frequency use and limited to specific knowledge domains: isotope, lathe, peninsula, refinery, etc. Best learned when teaching specific content lessons such as geography, science, etc.

Teaching Tier II Words

• Characterize a tier 2 word such as tend – to take care of something.

• Explain meaning of tend in everyday life – If you tend something, say a garden, you take care of it by watering, fertilizing, pulling weeds, and keeping the soil loose around the new plants.

Altering Task Requirements

for Teaching Tier II Words• Ask a Question: What do you think the word tend means?

• Have You Ever? Describe a time when you tended something or someone.

• Word Associations: After teaching several tier 2 words have students associate these with questions: Which word goes with baby? (tend).

• Idea Completions: The Little Red Hen asked if the others would help her take care of her garden. Another word that means to take care of a garden we know is _____.

Word Webbing (Unfocused)

asteroid

Word Webbing (Focused)

asteroidExamples

Attributes

Context Use

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching

Definition• Begin by looking up the word in a

dictionary or glossary and get a definition.

• Next construct a “student friendlydefinition” using your own words.

I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching

Context• Next find the page where the word is

found the story or text to read the context.

• List the context clues found in the text.

• Ask the students to use the word in an oral sentence.

• Write the word in sentence.

I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?

Context Vocabulary Teaching

AlbasaAlbasa will usually be found at grocery

stores and restaurants. People like to eat albasa on their

hamburgers, although albasa are tasty with a variety of dishes.

Since albasa are a vegetable, they are also nutritious.

One disadvantage of albasa is the strong odor

which has been known to produce crying symptoms among those who slice them.

Explicit Vocabulary Teaching

Examples• Use pictures or video clips.

• List examples of the word.

• Use a thesaurus to find synonyms, antonyms, and Tier I words.

I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?

Teaching Vocabulary

Characteristics/Attributes• Use pictures or video clips.

• List characteristics or attributes ofthe word.

I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.