David English House

Dealing with vocabulary in the Japanese classroom

Rob Waring

Notre Dame Seishin University

[email protected]

http://www1.harenet.ne.jp/~waring/vocabindex.html

ETJ Vocab 2007 -1 Some opening questions

1. How do you teach vocabulary?

2. What kinds of words do Japanese students need?

3. What is the best way to deal with vocabulary for Japanese learners?

ETJ Vocab 2007 -2 Typical vocabulary teaching

 Most vocab teaching is from context  Haphazard selection of materials  Too many words at once  Rare words are favoured over common words  Learning is focused on single words  All students learn the same words  Word teaching = definition and spelling  Teachers give meanings  Low recycling of vocab in coursebooks  Low recycling of vocab by teachers  Teachers leave vocab learning to learners  Vocab learning strategies are rarely taught  Vocab learning techniques are rarely taught  Vocabulary learning goals are rarely set  Dictionary skills are rarely taught  Vocab notebooks not encouraged  Words are kept in lists  Vocab exercises test not teach Teachers trust the coursebook to deal with vocab

ETJ Vocab 2007 -3 Common sense stuff we know about vocabulary learning

 Because we teach a word does not mean they learned it (teaching does not cause learning)  Because they finished the textbook does not mean they know all the words in the book  There are many things to learn about a word *spelling *pronunciation *meaning *affixes *register *collocation *frequency *topic area etc.  There are 2 stages in word learning 1. the initial ‘form – meaning’ relationship (spelling and sound) 2. deepening the knowledge of the word (collocations, register, multiple meanings etc)  Initial word knowledge is very fragile as memories of new words that are not met again soon, are lost  8-50 meetings (or more) to ‘learn’ a word  They cannot guess new meaning from context if the surrounding text is too difficult  Not all words are equally frequent, or useful  Students only need to learn the most frequent and useful words first, later they can specialize  Some words are more difficult to learn than others  Words live with other words, not in isolation (collocations)  Written and spoken vocabulary are different  Fewer words are needed for speaking than writing

ETJ Vocab 2007 -4 Stages in word learning and how to develop word knowledge

Initial stage Deepening stage To develop a ‘sight’ To get a sense of how vocabulary the word lives with Aim? other words and grammar

Spelling Collocation, meaning colligation, register, What? pronunciation usefulness, topic area

Word cards / Lots of extensive memorization reading and listening How? to develop automaticity and fluency

ETJ Vocab 2007 -5 What does this mean for vocabulary learning and teaching?

 We should teach words the students need (the 2000 most useful words come first)  We don’t need to teach every word in the book  There is not enough class time to teach everything about a word  Because time is limited, we have to teach students how to deal with new words (independent learning)  They need extensive practice with words so they can meet them often to work out word relationships to build recognition automaticity  Students need to learn word relationships  They need chances  to observe new things about words  to hypothesize about their knowledge  to experiment with their vocabulary

ETJ Vocab 2007 -6 How should we teach vocabulary?

 Focus on units larger than a single word awful day high season clear conscience traffic jam blonde hair beautiful woman

 Focus on basic concepts fork branch

 Demonstrate collocational differences

light vs. light suitcase vs. heavy suitcase light green vs. dark green light rain vs. heavy rain

rough rough / calm sea rough / smooth sandpaper big surprise large area great success big smile large family great importance big problem large population great pleasure big difference large volume great artist

 Concentrate on word grammar give vs. give someone something give something give something to someone borrow vs. borrow s/thg from s/one

ETJ Vocab 2007 -7 What do they need?

 Direct word learning activities focused on word grammar (e.g. word cards) to get an initial ‘form – meaning’ relationship  Teach vocab learning strategies and memory techniques  Learners try many methods to find ones they like  Direct vocab exercises to broaden the collocational knowledge / depth  Recycle, recycle, recycle  Extensive reading / extensive listening to build recognition speed, fluency in understanding / depth  Active use in speech and writing for experimenting / testing hypotheses / confirming and rejecting their own use

ETJ Vocab 2007 -8 Main principles

Work against the forgetting curve Let them do the work Give them only what they can take in Expect a lot of them Set goals Select words wisely Teach dictionary skills Work above the single word level Perform a needs analysis Teach something they are going to meet again soon Words found in a wide range of texts (range) before specialized vocab Words with a wide meaning before sub-meanings (e.g. teach go before travel) Words that will be easy to learn (e.g. loanwords) to build the start-up vocab and empower the learner Teach culture-specific vocabulary Teach the classroom vocabulary Teach ‘instructions’ vocabulary Teach the base meaning first Work hard on common words with many meanings

ETJ Vocab 2007 -9 When looking at vocabulary activities

 Look for what the activity is trying to do  Single words or phrases?  Working with collocation?  Natural context?  Is the meaning given with the correct part of speech?  Is the meaning clear and unambiguous?  Do the opposites interfere with learning?  Are the words too similar? (Interference)  Are pictures clear and unambiguous?  Is the vocabulary relevant for the learners?  Is the exercise just a test?  What new connections can learners make?  Do definitions fit smoothly into the context?

If in doubt, try it out

ETJ Vocab 2007 -10