Vocabulary Acquisition Theory and Practical Applications ETAI Conference
Monday, March 26, 2007 Leo Baeck School, Haifa
Grammar or Vocabulary?
Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing
can be conveyed." (Wilkins 1972:111
When students travel, they don't carry grammar books, they carry dictionaries."
(Krashen in Lewis 1993: iii
Vocabulary compromises the basis of language
To get meaning from reading, students need both a sizeable vocabulary and the ability
to use varied reading strategies (Hiebert, Lehr, and Osborn 2,004).
Insufficient vocabulary means that there are too many words in the text that the
learner does not know.
Guessing from Context is often not helpful 'I saw an X last night,' there is no way to
know what or who X is. Some contexts can even be misleading. In the sentence:
'People were drinking, singing, laughing, brawling,' Most learners interpreted
'brawling' as 'having a good time.' (Laufer, 2003)
How do we help our students build their Vocabulary? 1. Build a large sight
vocabulary 2. Integrate new words with the old 3. Use semantic maps 4. Teach Multi
Word Units (MWUs) 5. Encourage independent learner strategies 6. Use Deep
Processing
1.
uency
– word with picture or translation which have been shown to be an effective tool for the first stage of word
automaticity, especially through
1995) may also be helpful.
2. Integrate new words with the old 1. Organize material in such a way that the
new words will be incorporated into the learner's existing semantic mapping. “
Last week we learned about food. What food do we need to make a cake? ” 2.
Activating background knowledge on a particular subject while introducing
new words “ What do you know about dolphins? ”“ They are friendly animals
”
3. Use semantic maps
Dolphins -friendly -seem to smile -need air
4. Teach Multi Word Units (MWUs)
“ Good Morning ”
“ Stay away from strangers ”
“ I don’t know. ”
5. Ask students to find different kinds of connections between words and then
explain them “ Dangerous and cold go together because if you get too cold it is
dangerous ” Use a group of words to tell friends about an experience in the past.
trip, adventure, pack, chance “ On our trip we had an adventure because my
Mother forgot to pack the map and we got lost. That gave us a chance to see some
new places ” 5. Use Deep Processing
6Encourage independent learner strategies
acquire appropriate techniques.
References
, Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2004). Focus on vocabulary, a. Honolulu:
PREL.
Publications.
N.
t & P. McCarthy (Eds.) Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge University Press
ocabulary into the syllabus. In N. Schmitt & P.
McCarthy (Eds.) Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
-5
, D. (1995). Vocabulary notebooks: theoretical
underpinnings and practical suggestions. ELT Journal 49, 2, 133-143.
Schmitt & P. McCarthy (Eds.) Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.