Download Teaching Vocabulary - American TESOL Institute

Teaching Vocabulary
Helping ESL Students Learn
Vocabulary
For Educational Purposes Only © American TESOL Institute
What is Involved in Teaching
Vocabulary?
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Vocabulary should be integrated with subject
matter.
Activities should be cooperative and nonthreatening.
Helpful to pre-introduce words before they
are encountered in text.
Background knowledge should be tapped.
Students to become independent learners.
How can Students Become
Effective at Learning Vocabulary?
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Students are actively involved in their
own learning.
Students self-monitor their progress.
Students are given multiple exposures
to new words.
What Can Teachers Do?
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Integrate vocabulary learning within
content.
Offer various vocabulary-building
activities.
Build background to elicit student prior
knowledge.
Foster development of “word bank.”
Pre-Teach
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Pre-teach vocabulary words before
student reads.
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Preview reading material for unfamiliar
words or terms.
Define and discuss new words to build
understanding.
Teacher receives feedback from student to
determine depth of understanding.
Background Knowledge
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Teacher introduces new vocabulary, terms,
definitions, or concepts.
Teacher asks students to share prior
knowledge during whole class discussion.
This prepares students for new learning.
Students are able to relate new information
to personal experience.
Repeated Exposure:
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Repeat exposure to new words.
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Students need to hear and use words.
Provide multiple opportunities to use new
word in written and spoken form.
Key Words
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Introduce key words before reading text.
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Teach students “word clue” to help understand.
May be definition, example, or image that helps
make connection.
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For example; “peninsula” is a piece of land that projects
into a body of water and is connected with the mainland
by an isthmus.
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Today we will be learning about the Iberian Peninsula.
Create link to facilitate memory of new word when
reading in text.
Word Maps
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Student previews reading material to
find unfamiliar words.
Student creates graphic organizer.
New word is placed at top or center of
map.
Branching off of word may be
examples, qualities, or classification.
Example
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Vocabulary word: debate
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Definition: To discuss opposing reasons;
argue
Synonym: discuss
For example: “Joe’s mother said that the
decision to buy a new car was not open to
debate; she had already chosen a Ford
Focus as the family vehicle.”
Context Clues
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Words may also be defined within a text.
Context Clues such as the following are used
to learn meaning while reading.
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He ate as ravenously as a bear.
A machete, like a sword, can be very dangerous.
Artificial respiration was applied to the nearly
drowned man.
A cockroach has two antennae, or feelers, on its
head.
Word Level Analysis
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Examine the word for prefixes, suffixes,
and/or root words.
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This will reveal meanings embedded within
words according to their structure.
Teachers can focus on the most common
prefixes, suffixes, and root words.
Prefix
The prefix “mis” means wrong, bad, no,
or not.
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For example, “misapply” means to use
badly or incorrectly.
The prefix “pre” means before, in front
of, or prior.
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For example, “prejudice” means a
judgment or opinion formed before the
facts are known.
Prefixes
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Some common
re
again
hyper over
un
not
tri
three
pre
before
sub
below
prefixes include:
replay, resend, replace
hyperactive, hypersensitive
unclear, unsure
triangle, tricycle
prepay, prepackage
subway, submarine
Suffix
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The suffix “ist” means a person skilled
in or occupied with; expert.
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For example; pharmacist, biologist,
mentalist
The suffix “ness” means state of being.
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For example; heaviness, happiness
Common Suffixes
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-ship
-er,-or
-ity,-ty
-en
-al
-ive
-less
position held
one who
quality of
become
pertaining to
nature of
without
fellowship
trainer
formality
enlighten
regional
creative
endless
Root Words
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The root word “form” means shape,
structure, or arrangement.
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The root word “flex” means to bend or to
tense by contraction.
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For example, formation, formative, formula.
For example, “inflexible” means unable to bend.
The root word “masculine” means male, or
having qualities regarded as manly.
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For example, “emasculate" means to deprive of
strength; effeminate.
Cognates
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Cognates are words that are similar in
students’ native language and English.
Teaching cognates is a way to relate
words in English to the students’ first
language.
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For example; “possible” is a cognate of the
Spanish word “posible.”
“Apple” is a cognate of the German word
“apfel.”
Summary
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Vocabulary development is important in
learning to speak, listen, read and write
English.
Teachers can help students master new
words in a variety of ways.
Ultimately students learn how to become
responsible for their own learning.
Learning new words becomes a life-long
endeavor.
Sources
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http://www.k12reader.com/effectivestrategies-for-teaching-vocabulary/
Article by Joelle Brummitt-Yale
Stahl, Norman and Boylan,Hunter.
Teaching Developmental Reading.
Boston, New York; Bedford/St. Martin’s,
2003. Print