ANALYZE the MEANING of
LEXICAL ITEMS
Thee are three ways of doing it, looking at :
1.
The components of meaning of lexical items,
2.
The meaning of lexical items in context,
3.
Meaning in relation to other words.
COMPONENTS of MEANING
• The definition : should use language that Ss understand or
avoid using more complex grammar;
• Distinction between (1) the everyday meaning and (2) the
much rarer second usage;
• Examples of how the word might be used
• Common everyday knowledge, feelings and reactions that we
carry around in our head ( about the word ).
T HELPS Ss UNDERSTAND THE
MEANING of LEXICAL ITEMS by :
1.
Avoiding language more complex than the word he/she’s trying to
explain (e.g. avoid complex grammar, keep sentences short );
2.
Focusing on the most important usages;
3.
Using examples;
4.
Using his/her own and the Ss’ knowledge and feelings to focus on
what we understand by this word.
WAYS to HELP Ss UNDERSTAND
COLLOCATIONS through MEANING in CONTEXT
• Pointing out collocations when they occur;
• Designing activities that focus attention on the collocations of
particular lexical items ( eg finding a number of words that might
come after );
• Encouraging the use of dictionary research to check whether a
collocation is typical or not;
• Setting text gap-fill exercises;
• Asking learners to guess meaning from clues in the context, rather
than always relying on explanations or dictionaries;
• Getting learners to predict likely meanings or lexical items before
seeing or hearing a text ( eg the story is about two people arriving in a
strange town at night. What words do you think might be in the story ?
).
RELATION BETWEEN WORDS
• ANTONYMS or OPPOSITES : hot and cold
• UNGRADABLE ANTONYMS : on and off
• SYNONYMS : stroll and amble
• ONE WORD INCLUDES THE OTHER : drink and lemonade
• A GROUP of SUBJECT : gardening: flower, pot, spade, seeds
• FORMATION of ROOT WORD ( by adding prefixes or suffixes ) : nation –
national – international – internationalist.