McCarten_booklet

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gest that an impressive amount of learning can take place when students learn
lists of paired items (English word and translation equivalents); others suggest
that this method of learning does not aid deeper understanding of the words
or help develop fluency. However, most agree that repetition is an important
aid to learning and that having to actively recall or retrieve a word is a more
effective way of learning than simple exposure or just seeing a word over and
over (S�kmen 1997). Researchers also agree that repeating words aloud helps
students remember words better than repeating them silently. Another area of
research is how long students can remember words after first learning them,
and again researchers agree that forgetting mostly occurs immediately after we
first learn something, and that the rate of forgetting slows down afterward [see
Gu (2003)]. The implications for the vocabulary classroom are self-evident:
Review vocabulary as often as possible in activities that have students actively
recall words and produce them rather than merely see or hear them.
Provide opportunities to organize vocabulary
Organizing vocabulary in meaningful ways makes it easier to learn (Schmitt
1997; S�kmen 1997). Textbooks often present new vocabulary in thematic sets
as an aid to memory, but there are other types of organization and these can
be described under three broad headings: real-world groups, language-based
groups, and personalized groups, examples of which are given below.
Lessons for the Classroom 21
J Real-world groups occur in the real world, such as the countries
within each continent, parts of the body, the foods in each food
type (carbohydrate, protein, fats, etc.), activities that take place for
a celebration (e.g., at a wedding), expressions people typically use
in everyday situations (e.g., when someone passes an examination,
has bad luck, etc.). Students can draw on their general knowledge
to group English vocabulary according to concepts with which
they are already familiar.
J Language-based groups draw on linguistic criteria as ways of
grouping, for example, the different parts of speech of a word
family; words that have the same prefix or suffix, or the same
sound; verbs and dependent prepositions; collocations of different
kinds (verb + noun; adjective + noun, etc.).
J Personalized groups use students own preferences and
experiences as the basis for the groups. It might include grouping
vocabulary according to likes and dislikes, personal habits or
personal history, for example, foods that you like and don t like, or
eat often, sometimes, rarely, or that you ate for breakfast, lunch,
and dinner yesterday. Making vocabulary personal helps to make it
more memorable.
There are many different ways of practicing newly presented vocabu-
lary in class, from repeating the words, controlled practice, or reacting to the
content in some way, to using the vocabulary to say true things about oneself.
For example, in learning the vocabulary of countries, students can:
J Listen to the names of countries and repeat them
J Identify the countries they know in English, and add new ones
J Say which languages people speak in different countries
J Say which countries are near their own, or which they have
personal connections with (I m from . . . ; My brother lives in . . . ,
etc.), or which they would like to visit
At this point, a useful step is to take time to organize the new vocabu-
lary in some way that allows students to notice and bring together the target
words as the basis for a communicative activity or to have a clear record for
review purposes, or both. Students often write translations above new words in
their textbook and these can be spread around the page; an organizing activity
like the one shown in Figure 8 helps systematize their note taking and provides
further personalized practice.
22 Teaching Vocabulary
Complete the chart with languages and countries.
Compare your answers with a partner.
I want to
I can speak . . . I can t speak . . . go to . . .
Portuguese Korean Australia
a little English
Figure 8: A vocabulary-organizing activity.
(From Touchstone)
Make vocabulary learning personal
Related to the point above, materials should provide opportunities for students
to use the vocabulary meaningfully, to say and write true things about them-
selves and their lives. Students should be encouraged to add vocabulary they
want to learn, too. And if the experience of learning is also enjoyable, so much [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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