SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY EFFECTIVELY

SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC –––––––––––––––––– I. THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN 1. Họ và tên: TRƯƠNG MỸ LINH 2. Ngày tháng năm sinh:04101968 3. Nam, nữ: Nữ 4. Địa chỉ: 82 Đặng Đức Thuật, P. Tam Hiệp, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai 5. Điện thoại: 3813378 (NR); ĐTDĐ: 0918405412 6. Fax: Email: datlinhkngmail.com 7. Chức vụ: 8. Nhiệm vụ được giao: Giảng dạy và chủ nhiệm lớp chuyên Anh 9. Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Chuyên Lương Thế Vinh II. TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO Học vị cao nhất: Thạc sỹ Năm nhận bằng: 2007 Chuyên ngành đào tạo: Phương pháp giảng dạy III. KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC Lĩnh vực chuyên môn có kinh nghiệm: giảng dạy Tiếng Anh Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 25 năm Các sáng kiến kinh nghiệm đã có trong 5 năm gần đây: Idiomatic Expressions Vocabulary teaching Themebased vocabulary building The Effects of group work on teaching and learning reading comprehension How to help gifted students do project work HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY EFFECTIVELY I. INTRODUCTION Vocabulary is the most fundamental factor in learning a language. Almost every skill in the language learning process requires learners to have ample and good vocabulary. There is a quote that “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”, which truly proves the significance of vocabulary. Vocabulary is essential and necessary for building up a good command of the language. Without good vocabulary, it is unlikely that learners could use the language correctly and with confidence. It is the first and most fundamental aspect a language learner must master before developing his or her language skills. Good vocabulary is important for passive skills (reading and listening). It enhances learners’ comprehension and understanding of the language, both in literal and figurative sense. Good vocabulary is also important for active skills (writing and speaking). Every English conversation that is marked by some idioms and phrasal verbs helps learners’ expressions becomes clear, interesting and more nativespeakerlike. Essays marked by the good use of academic vocabulary make learners’ writing become more formal for important purposes. All in all, vocabulary is the core of language learning. It is important for language comprehension and expression. Moreover, on a more advanced level of language learning, e.g. as a student majoring in English, a fluent and impressive use of vocabulary in examinations can be the standard to distinguish the excellent students from the good ones. Vocabulary could be used as an instrument to measure learners’ language ability as well as their fluency. However, it is not easy to gain vocabulary at all. It is painstaking, demanding lots of efforts. Most language learners have a question “How do they study vocabulary efficiently and effectively?” Everything has its own difficulty, and learning vocabulary is no exception. There are some common obstacles that language learners often encounter when they learn vocabulary. The first is retention problem. Vocabulary is hard to learn by heart and easy to forget. Some students said, “Vocabulary just can’t go inside my head” or “Water off the duck’s back.” The second difficulty that students cope with is the inability to use the words that have been learned. Students may find some words

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI

Đơn vị: Trường THPT Chuyên Lương Thế Vinh

Mã số:

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY

SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC

––––––––––––––––––

1 Họ và tên: TRƯƠNG MỸ LINH

2 Ngày tháng năm sinh:04/10/1968

8 Nhiệm vụ được giao: Giảng dạy và chủ nhiệm lớp chuyên Anh

9 Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Chuyên Lương Thế Vinh

• Học vị cao nhất: Thạc sỹ

• Năm nhận bằng: 2007

• Chuyên ngành đào tạo: Phương pháp giảng dạy

• Lĩnh vực chuyên môn có kinh nghiệm: giảng dạy Tiếng Anh

Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 25 năm

• Các sáng kiến kinh nghiệm đã có trong 5 năm gần đây:

• Idiomatic Expressions

• Vocabulary teaching

• Theme-based vocabulary building

• The Effects of group work on teaching and learning reading comprehension

• How to help gifted students do project work

HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY EFFECTIVELY

developing his or her language skills

Good vocabulary is important for passive skills (reading and

listening) It enhances learners’ comprehension and understanding of the language, both in literal and figurative sense

Good vocabulary is also important for active skills (writing and

speaking) Every English conversation that is marked by some idioms and phrasal verbs helps learners’ expressions becomes clear,

interesting and more native-speaker-like Essays marked by the good use of academic vocabulary make learners’ writing become more formal for important purposes

All in all, vocabulary is the core of language learning It is important for language comprehension and expression Moreover, on a more advanced level of language learning, e.g as a student majoring in English, a fluent and impressive use of vocabulary in examinations can be the standard to distinguish the excellent students from the good ones Vocabulary could be used as an instrument to measure learners’ language ability as well as their fluency

However, it is not easy to gain vocabulary at all It is painstaking, demanding lots of efforts Most language learners have a question

“How do they study vocabulary efficiently and effectively?”

Everything has its own difficulty, and learning vocabulary is no

exception There are some common obstacles that language learners often encounter when they learn vocabulary

The first is retention problem Vocabulary is hard to learn by heart and easy to forget Some students said, “Vocabulary just can’t go inside

my head” or “Water off the duck’s back.”

The second difficulty that students cope with is the inability to use the words that have been learned Students may find some words

confusing How to use words in correct contexts seems to be a big problem.

The difficulty that often crops up very early in students’ learning

process is that they are exposed to a vast amount of vocabulary It is hard to prioritize a suitable range of vocabulary over the rest at certain stages of learning

Thus, it is both the importance of vocabulary in language learning and the problems the students may encounter when learning vocabulary that enhance the approach to teaching vocabulary effectively

II RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

• Research has long shown that vocabulary plays a critical role in learning

to read and comprehend text and, therefore, in children’s success in

school (Biemiller, 2003; David, 1942; Whipple, 1925) Not only does vocabulary improve reading comprehension, as research has confirmed (Nagy,1998), but it also supports students’ writing and speaking, as well

as learning in the content areas

• Theme-based vocabulary building represents a vast resource of

vocabulary items including collocations and idiomatic expressions not easily retrievable from a standard dictionary Research has shown that learners need to meet a word at least 7 times before they know it properly Doing exercises, practicing words and expressions that learners have already encountered, is a useful way of helping themselves to fix the vocabulary they are working on in their long-term memory

• The value of direct instruction

Researchers agree that although extensive reading is important to

vocabulary growth, direct instruction is more effective and more efficient than incidental learning in achieving deeper, richer levels of lasting

vocabulary understanding (McKeown & Beck, 1988) Stahl and

Fairbanks (1996) recommend using a definitional and contextual

approach to direct instruction, and Nagy (1988) recommends including integration, repetition, and meaningful use

• The value of contextual learning of vocabulary

Research has shown that for vocabulary instruction to be effective, it must not only provide definitions, but also demonstrate how words are used in natural contexts (Nagy, 1988) Many researchers also agree that much of vocabulary growth occurs indirectly through language exposure

• The value of providing multiple exposures to words

If students are truly to gain ownership of new words, vocabulary

instruction must provide multiple and varied encounters with those words (Daniels, 1996; Leung, 1992; Senechal, 1997; Stahl & Fairbanks, 1986) Research also suggests other practices that should inform the way

vocabulary is taught in the classroom; these include using multiple

methods of instruction and actively engaging students in word learning Any word that is introduced should continue to be provided in a variety

of contexts to reinforce and enrich students’ understanding (Beck &

McKeown, 2004)

• The value of building vocabulary through word study

According to Put Reading First (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001),

children need to develop strategies that include using word parts to figure out the meanings of words in text and also using context clues According

to Aranoff (1994), word structure helps to determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word that is derived from the same stem as a familiar word Students benefit when they are taught to use and analyse word parts such

as prefixes, suffixes, and roots (Dale & O’Rourke, 1986; Nagy & Scott, 2000) In fact, research has shown that if students know the meaning of the four most frequently used prefixes, they will have useful clues about the meaning of approximately two-thirds of all English words containing prefixes

• The value of exposing students to nuances of language

According to Beck and McKeown (1988), instruction that offers rich information about words and their uses enhances students’ language comprehension and production Effective instruction should integrate instructed words with other knowledge, including how words relate to one another and how words relate to real-world and personal experiences (Nagy, 1988)

1 Subjects

• The process was implemented from Grade 10 to Grade 12

• 32 students of the English class of Luong The Vinh Gifted High school took part in the study They were chosen as the participants of the study because:

• They all major in English

• They have strong desire to enrich their vocabulary

• They have to go in for some important English contests for the gifted in which vocabulary is the core of all language skills

2 Procedures

• The lessons were taught after every Unit in the textbook, as further

practices

• The Vocabulary lesson must have the same topic as the Unit in the

textbook so that the students can easily enlarge their vocabulary of the same theme It is suitable for use in class and for self-study in view to developing as well as reviewing the vocabulary that the students have studied in the textbook

• The exercises included in each lesson are varied:

- A reading passage:

+ Students are asked to read a passage and will pay attention to the context

of the highlighted words Teachers also help students access their prior knowledge of the theme or topic of the passage This will help improve students’ comprehension and figure out the word meanings as well

+ Depending on the needs of individual students, teachers provide students with a brief explanation of each new word

+ Teachers guide students’ focus and comprehension by having them

answer key questions about the story

+ Teachers invite some students to summarize the story

+ Teachers encourage students to make more connections to the words so that they can easily remember the words and interact with them in other contexts

+ Teachers can have a brief discussion about part of speech of some words

to help students increase their understanding of the definition and word use and point out some words with different parts of speech and with more than one meaning

+ Students are encouraged to use the words in their speaking and writing

- Match the meaning:

+ Teachers help students process the meanings of the words from the

lesson, interact with the words and relate them to their own experiences.+ Students have to think about the meaning of each choice before choosing the answer indicated by the clue

- Synonyms and Antonyms:

+ The exercises help students expand their vocabulary, revisit and discuss the synonyms and antonyms given in the Definitions

+ Teachers encourage students to use some of the words in sentences and relate them to their own experiences

+ Teachers have students begin a Vocabulary Notebook in which they can write the meaning of the new words and add to them as they learn more about the words

- Completing the sentence:

+ The exercises remind students of some words with more than one

meaning Students are exposed to a variety of contexts that represents as fully as possible the semantic range and application of the word

+ Teachers guide students to figure out the intended meaning by using the context clues The tip is that context clues in sentences can be before or

after an unfamiliar word or sometimes a single word located within the same sentence.

- Word association:

+ The exercises are comprised of sentence completions and questions, each containing a highlighted word in the lesson, which helps students continue

to build on the meaning of the words introduced in the lesson

+ Students are asked to connect the word in the lesson to another word or phrase

- Word Study:

+ Word Study can be Multiple-meaning Words, Context Clues, Analogies,

Confusing Words, Suffixes, Prefixes, Roots, or Homophones which teaches word-learning strategies and also provides instructions on topics that can help students build their vocabulary

- Shades of Meaning:

+ The exercises focus on analyzing idioms, proverbs and figurative

language

+ Students are provided with opportunities to interact with word meanings

on a deeper level, which helps them recognize the importance of word choice

• A test including Vocabulary for Comprehension (reviewing words from the previous lessons in the context of a passage), Classifying

(identifying a missing word from words that are alike in some way) and Completing the Idea (completing sentence stems that contain taught words)

is given to students after every three lessons

SAMPLE LESSON (see Appendix)

The lesson was designed to be taught after the students had finished Unit 10 in the Textbook – Grade 10

The teacher dedicated 4 periods to the lesson.

Having exposed to sets of exercises including Word Association, Word pairs, Idioms, Theme-based vocabulary… the students realized that their language skills were improved Using word pairs could help their talk

sound more like a native speaker, which is aim for those who want to

master English Quite much the same as word pairs, idioms, proverbs are also familiar terms to English learners Mastering them is difficult, and knowing how to use them properly in correct contexts is more difficult

That the students have learned them carefully and are able to use them appropriately is the sign that they has started to gain mastery in English.

It is theme-based vocabulary that enables the students to start up and maintain conversations in every topic Life is a diverse range of topics, and a good knowledge about theme-based vocabulary is important for the students’ speaking and writing

The students understand thoroughly and profoundly certain features of a new word, such basic features as pronunciation, part of speech, literal and figurative meanings Then focus should be directed to the usage The students know how to combine words, learn and remember new

vocabulary by their phrases; not learning single words, for remembering phrases is much easier

The synonyms and antonyms also help the students to build up a

vocabulary reservoir that is well-organized Moreover, organizing all the words learned according to their similar and contrast meanings help save tremendous amount of time and efforts for revision since one word can be related easily to others

Making good use of a vocabulary notebook is a helpful tool that makes the students’ writing easier and more interesting

Some of the students won prestigious prizes in many English contests especially the National Contest These students have gained ample and good vocabulary resources that help them much in standardized tests or exams

Learning as well as teaching vocabulary is not an easy task It requires patience, willingness and takes up time of students and teachers

Teaching vocabulary effectively needs appropriate strategies The above approach of vocabulary teaching can be ideal for students

majoring in English They really desire to enlarge their vocabulary to prepare for their exams requiring all the four language skills The lessons can be implemented with a view to supporting as well as

enhancing what are taught in the textbook

However, as mentioned above, this is a long-term strategy that the teacher has to devote much time to The teacher should carry out the process continually to get the effectiveness of the method Thus,

enough time must be provided for both the students and the teacher to practice the strategies

The selection of materials is indispensable for the successful execution

of this method Therefore, it is advisable that the contents be

comparatively straightforward; topics should be interesting and close

to those in the textbooks

• Armbruster, B B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J (2001)

Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read , kindergarten through grade 3 Jessup, MD: Partnership for

Reading

• Biemiller, A (2003) Vocabulary: Needed if more children are to read

well Reading Psychology, 24(3-4), 323-335.

• Dale, E &O’Rourke, J (1986) Vocabulary building Columbus, OH:

Zaner-Bloser

• Daniels, M (1996) Bilingual, bimodal education for hearing

kindergarten students Sign Language Studies,90, 25-37.

• Davis, F B (1942) Two new measures of reading ability Journal of

Educational Psychology, 33, 365-372.

• Leung, C B (1992) Effects of word-related variables on vocabulary growth repeated read-aloud events In C K Kinzer & D J Leu (Eds.),

Literacy research, theory, and practice: Views from many perspectives

Forty-first Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (pp 491-498) Chicago, IL: The National Reading Conference

• McKeown, M G., & Beck, I L (1998) Leaning vocabulary: Different

ways for different goals Remedial and Special Education, 9(1), 42-46.

• Nagy, W E (1998) Teaching vocabulary to improve reading

comprehension Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

• Nagy, W E., & Scott, J A (2000) Vocabulary processes In M L Kamil,

P G Mosenthal, P D Pearson, & R Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading

research (Vol III, pp 269-284) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates

• Seneschal, M (1997) The differential effect of storybook reading on

preschoolers’ acquisition of expensive and receptive vocabulary Journal

of Child Language, 24(1), 123-128.

• Stahl, S A., & Fairbanks, M M (1996) The effects of vocabulary

instruction: A model-based meta-analysis Review of Educational

Research, 56(1), 72-110.

• Whipple, G (Ed.) (1925) The twenty-fourth yearbook of the national

society for the study of education: Report of the national committee on reading Bloomington, IL: Public School Publishing Company.

SAMPLE LESSON

INTRODUCING THE WORDS

Read the following Russian folktale about some clever forest animals Notice how the highlighted words are used These are the words you will be learning in this unit.

Long ago, when the world was as fresh and new as a daffodil in

springtime, the animals faced a serious problem Troublesome Bear was ruining everything in their forest

The songbirds were all terrified whenever Bear passed through the woods

in his usual clumsy way He would blunder into branches, smashing the birds’ fragile nests and eggs Bear also crushed the hives of the bees and stole their honey, so the bees had a continuous argument with him Bear

squashed the tunnel-like homes of the gophers and the rabbits with his nig feet, and in general caused so many disturbances that the animals couldn’t relax As angry as they were, however, the animals didn’t really want to

get into a scuffle with Bear He was much too big and strong!

Desperate, the animals called a meeting to decide on a course of action

“Why don’t we just ask Bear to be more considerate?” suggested Deer timidly

Squirrel was quick to reject Deer’s idea “That won’t work,” Squirrel

insisted, “because Bear never listens to anyone I think he just enjoys walking all over us!”

“Throw Bear in jail,” Rat shouted “Force him to live a solitary life in a

jail cell and he won’t be able to injure and torment us ever again.”

The animals nodded in approval at this idea until Mouse pointed out an obvious problem “We don’t have a jail,” Mouse squeaked, “and if we did, someone would have to feed Bear in his cell.” The very thought of feeding Bear made all the animals shake in fear

Other animals offered more ideas Skunk suggested that Porcupine

distribute some of his extra sharp quills in Bear’s bed Porcupine

suggested that Skunk send some smelly spray into Bear’s den Neither animal was brave enough to try the other’s plan, however, and the ideas probably wouldn’t have worked anyway Indeed, it looked as if there

were no solution to the problem, and the animals were about to cancel the

rest of their meeting

Fortunately, at that moment, Eagle flew in like a bolt of lightning The

animals cheered because Eagle was a veteran problem solver Whenever

there was trouble in the forest, Eagle found a way to put an end to it this

time, Eagle clutched a document in his sharp claws “As we all know,”

Eagle thundered, “Bear can’t hurt anyone or destroy anything when he’s asleep This statement,” he said, waving the document, “requires Bear to sleep from October to April every year I hope you will all sign it!”

What a great idea! The animals read the document and added their names

to it True, it didn’t get rid of Bear permanently, but it gave them

temporary relief At the very least, the animals could look forward to

peace and quiet for six months of every year

The myth doesn’t say how the animals gave their signed document to

Bear or what his reaction was to it Who knows? Maybe he liked the animals’ suggestion, for one thing is certain: Bear has been sleeping away half the year ever since!

DEFINITIONS

You were introduced to the words below in the passage Study the

pronunciation, spelling, part of speech, and definition of each word Write the word in the blank in the sentence that follows Then read the synonyms and antonyms.

1 blunder (v) make a foolish or careless mistake; to move

clumsily and carelessly

I saw the hiker - through the woods.

(n) a serious or thoughtless mistake

I was terribly embarrassed by my -.

SYNONYMS: (v) to err, foul up, bungle, goof; (n) an error, blooper

ANTONYMS: (v) to triumph, succeed; (n) a success, hit

2 cancel (v) call off or do away with; to cross out with lines or

other marks to show that something cannot be used again

Maybe the principal will - classes if it

continues to snow.

SYNONYMS: (v) to stop, discontinue, drop, repeal, revoke

ANTONYMS: (v) to renew, continue, extend, maintain

3 continuous (a) going on without a stop or break

- TV coverage began shortly after news of the

disaster broke.

SYNONYMS: ongoing, endless, ceaseless, unbroken, constant, perpetualANTONYMS: broken, discontinuous, interrupted

4 distribute (v) give out in shares; scatter or spread

Our class will - leaflets announcing the school’s

fund-raising drive.

SYNONYMS: divide, share, deal, issue

ANTONYMS: gather, collect, hold

5 document (n) a written or printed record that gives

information

The librarian found the old - inside a book.

(v) give written or printed proof; support with evidence

Writers often - their sources.

SYNONYMS: (n) a certificate, deed; (v) prove, establish

6 fragile (a) easily broken or damaged, requiring special handling

The - antique was damaged during transit.

SYNONYMS: weak, frail, breakable, delicate, brittle, flimsy

ANTONYMS: sturdy, hardy, strong, rugged, tough

7 myth (n) an old story that explains why sth is; sth imaginary

The play is based on an ancient Greek -.

SYNONYMS: a legend, fable, tale, fantasy, fairy tale

ANTONYMS: a fact

8 reject (v) refuse to accept, agree to, believe, or use

Why did you - the offer?

SYNONYMS: deny, discard, junk, scrap, decline,, dismiss

ANTONYMS: take, accept, receive, welcome

9 scuffle (v) fight or struggle closely with

A witness saw the two men - in an alley.

(n) fight or struggle

Police officers were called in to break up the -.

SYNONYMS: (v) tussle, roughhouse, battle, brawl; (n) a fistfight, clash

10 solitary (a) living or being alone; being the only one

The old man led a - life.

SYNONYMS: single, sole, lone

ANTONYMS: sociable; several, many, numerous

11 temporary (a) lasting or used for a limited time

A blow to the head can cause a - loss of memory.

SYNONYMS: short-term, passing, brief,, momentary

ANTONYMS: lasting, long-lived, permanent

12 veteran (n) a former member of the armed forces; an experienced

person

The army - listened attentively

(a) having much experience in some job or field

The actress will play a - reporter.

SYNONYMS: (a) expert, professional, experienced, skilled, accomplished ANTONYMS: (n) a beginner, newcomer, novice, rookie