Developing Vocabulary in the Classroom

1. Developing Vocabulary in the Classroom EAL Co-ordinators’ Meeting 30th June 2010 Urchfont Manor

2. I adore blueberry flavour yoghurt. adore

3. I’ve devoured every one of your novels. devoured

4. I’m not sure what current thinking is on this issue. current

5. The grass really wants cutting. wants

6. She’s brought to school every morning by her big sister. big

7. large big older

8. Vocabulary – a “large problem space” (Snow and Kim, 2007) Target of “75,000 words to graduate high school” = about 15 words a day between 2 and 16

9. EAL learners: • Find it relatively harder to develop productive vocabulary in comparison to receptive; • Find it hard to attach more than a single meaning to each word;

10. Best predictors of a wide vocabulary: • Quality of speech heard by learner; • Exposure to a wide variety of words; • Encountering words in semantically rich and recurring contexts; (Snow and Kim 2007)

11. For EAL learners: • Meaningful texts (including bilingual texts); • A variety of contexts; • Spelling is important; • Teach how words are formed; • Teach multiple meanings; • Teach how to derive meaning from context; • Focus on mechanisms for learning rather than word lists; • Encourage learners to compare English and L1. (Carlo et al, 2003)

12. Using L1 What do these Spanish words mean in English? compromiso compromiso matrimonial advertencia embarazada agreement engagement warning/advice pregnant

13. antonyms X build up X strengthen soil erosion coastal erosion erosion by: wind rives animals glaciers waves synonyms weathering wearing down eating away erosion Forms and inflections erosion erode, eroded, eroded eroding modifiers + gradual The gradual erosion of the river bank… + progressive The action of the waves progressively erodes the coast… other uses erode + confidence Lack of goals has eroded his confidence.

14. A Frayer model

15. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics Examples Non-examples

16. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics Erosion Examples Non-examples

17. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics involves making something smaller or less happens gradually, not all at once Erosion Examples Non-examples

18. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics involves making something smaller or less happens gradually, not all at once can be done by water often causes problems sometimes confidence erodes Erosion Examples Non-examples

19. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics involves making something smaller or less happens gradually, not all at once can be done by water often causes problems sometimes confidence erodes Erosion the gradual erosion of the cliff made our house unsafe Examples Non-examples

20. Essential characteristics Non-essential characteristics involves making something smaller or less happens gradually, not all at once can be done by water often causes problems sometimes confidence erodes Erosion the gradual erosion of the cliff made our house unsafe Car tyres wear down, they don’t erode You nibble a biscuit, but you don’t erode it Examples Non-examples

21. Concept questions Questioning designed to test where the limits of a word’s “footprint” are. Where would you see ____________? Would you see ___________ in a _______? What causes it? What effects does it have? Can ________ happen to a person? An animal? A plant? A rock? When is _________ a problem? Is ____________ an example of __________?

22. Headlines • vocabulary is the largest single element in language acquisition (able users of English tend to have receptive vocabularies of about 75,000 words); • many vocabulary items are only likely to be acquired through reading; • EAL learners in general find it disproportionately harder to acquire productive than receptive vocabulary; • all learners need to explore the “footprint” of new vocabulary and build a mental map of the way vocabulary items link and work together.