It Can Be Defined Roughly, As the Words We Teach in the Foreign Language

TEACHING VOCABULARY

I. What is vocabulary?

“ It can be defined roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language”. Ur., P., 1996,A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 60.

It is best to refer to vocabulary as ‘items’ rather than ‘words’. The following are examples why:

Single words: books pencil paper 2 or 3 words: post office mother-in-law Mutli-word idioms: call it a day when hell freezes over

II. What Needs to be Taught?

1) Form: Pronunciation and Spelling

2) Grammar

Examples: Verbs  irregular past forms(think/thought); transitive/intransitive

Noun  plural forms if irregular (mice/mouse); uncountable/countable (advice, info, homework)

Adjectives or Verbs  used with prepositions (responsible for; talk about something but talk to someone)

3) Collocation Examples: Decision: take or make Conclusion: come to Throw: ball Toss: coin 4) Aspects of Meaning

4.1) Denotation, connotation, appropriateness

SWIM FAME CHILDISH POLITICAL KID IMPERTINENCE GUY BASTARD

4.2) Meaning relationships  Lexical Sets

There are various relationships, here are some of the main ones: -Synonyms  items that mean the same or nearly the same e.g. intelligent = clever, bright, smart

-Antonyms  items that mean the opposite e.g. rich/poor

-Hyponyms items that serve as specific egs. of a general concept e.g. dog, lion, mouse are hyponyms of animal

-Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates  other items that are the ‘same kind of thing’ e.g. red, blue, green and brown are co-ordinates

-Superordinates  general concepts that ‘cover’ specific items e.g. animal is the superordinate of dog, lion, mouse

-Topics  items that are associated e.g. tractor, farming, milking, irrigate are associated w/agriculture

5. Word Formation

-Suffixes/Prefixes  grateful - ungrateful; soft – softly

-Compound words bookcase, backpack, follow-up, swimming pool III. What different techniques can be used to teach vocabulary?

A. Showing meaning 1. Realia 2. Pictures 3. Mime

B. Giving Examples

C. Meaning in Context: Reading & Listening

IV. How can students practice new vocabulary?

Many simple vocabulary practice activities are based around the following ideas:

- discussions, communicative activities & role-play requiring use of the words;

- making use of the vocabulary in written tasks.

Examples of exercises on vocabulary:

- matching pictures to items; - matching parts of words; - using prefixes & suffixes to build new items from given words; - classifying items into lists; - using given words to complete a specific task; - filling in crosswords, grids or diagrams; - filling in gaps in sentences; - memory games