<p> TEACHING VOCABULARY</p><p>I. What is vocabulary?</p><p>“ 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.</p><p>It is best to refer to vocabulary as ‘items’ rather than ‘words’. The following are examples why:</p><p>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</p><p>II. What Needs to be Taught?</p><p>1) Form: Pronunciation and Spelling</p><p>2) Grammar</p><p>Examples: Verbs  irregular past forms(think/thought); transitive/intransitive</p><p>Noun  plural forms if irregular (mice/mouse); uncountable/countable (advice, info, homework)</p><p>Adjectives or Verbs  used with prepositions (responsible for; talk about something but talk to someone)</p><p>3) Collocation Examples: Decision: take or make Conclusion: come to Throw: ball Toss: coin 4) Aspects of Meaning</p><p>4.1) Denotation, connotation, appropriateness</p><p>SWIM FAME CHILDISH POLITICAL KID IMPERTINENCE GUY BASTARD</p><p>4.2) Meaning relationships  Lexical Sets</p><p>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</p><p>-Antonyms  items that mean the opposite e.g. rich/poor</p><p>-Hyponyms items that serve as specific egs. of a general concept e.g. dog, lion, mouse are hyponyms of animal</p><p>-Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates  other items that are the ‘same kind of thing’ e.g. red, blue, green and brown are co-ordinates</p><p>-Superordinates  general concepts that ‘cover’ specific items e.g. animal is the superordinate of dog, lion, mouse</p><p>-Topics  items that are associated e.g. tractor, farming, milking, irrigate are associated w/agriculture</p><p>5. Word Formation</p><p>-Suffixes/Prefixes  grateful - ungrateful; soft – softly</p><p>-Compound words bookcase, backpack, follow-up, swimming pool III. What different techniques can be used to teach vocabulary?</p><p>A. Showing meaning 1. Realia 2. Pictures 3. Mime</p><p>B. Giving Examples</p><p>C. Meaning in Context: Reading & Listening</p><p>IV. How can students practice new vocabulary?</p><p>Many simple vocabulary practice activities are based around the following ideas:</p><p>- discussions, communicative activities & role-play requiring use of the words;</p><p>- making use of the vocabulary in written tasks.</p><p>Examples of exercises on vocabulary:</p><p>- 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</p>