Teaching and learning vocabulary for second language learners
1. Cheryl Boyd Zimmerman is an associate professor of TESOL in the Department of
Modern Languages and Literatures at California State University
PhD in International Education, specializing in second language vocabulary acquisition
Teaching and learning vocabulary for second
language learners
2. Teaching and Learning
Vocabulary for LL2
Knowing a
word
Word count
Historical
look
GT
approach
Reform
approach
DM
Reading
approach
ALCLTchanges
Intentional
incidental
learning
Conceptual underpinnings
Incremental
nature of WL
Role of material
Selecting the
words
3. Teaching and Learning
Vocabulary for LL2
Word
level
activities
Discourse
level
activities
ranking
Word
parts
Phrasal
verb
Word
learning
activities
Classroom Applications
Word
learning
strategies
Beyond the planned lesson
Sentence
level
activities
Picture
stories
Strip
stories
Story
re-
working
dictation
games
Vocabulary
notebooks
Dictionary
use
Memory
aids:
word
cards
reflection
Defining
words
Answering
questions
about words
Strength
of
words
strength
4. Word
level
activities
Ranking
Word
parts
Phrasal
verb
Strength
of
words
* Easy to difficult in spelling, pronunciation or grammatical form
Ranking 5 to 8 words according to:
* Frequent to infrequent
* Importance for work, study, personal relationship, travel, etc.
* Their relation to specific topic (e.g. Affordability, practicality, dependability, entertainment value, etc.)
Line Resist Adumbrate Zephyr Vociferous
Day Important Knowledge Scarce Periodical
Goodbye Lost Request Destination Voyage
8. Sentence
level
activities
Picture
stories
Strip
stories
Choose a story divide it
into sentences Group students, give each student a
sentence of the story
Have students memorize and
restate the sentence to group
Group decide the order
of the sentence
Group retell the story to class
Strip stories
Picture stories
11. Word
learning
strategies
Vocabulary
notebooks
Dictionary
use
Memory
aids: word
cards
reflection
The ability to ask
insightful questions
that will lead to
accurate word use
Promote learner
independence
Learner’s dictionary practice: correct the errors in a text by using dictionary
Navigating the dictionary: where is the letter?
word learning strategy: planned approach that a word learner takes as an agent of his or her own word learning
12. Beyond the planned lesson
Defining
words
Answering
questions
about words
There are always surprises
Begin the definition by
focusing on the basic
meaning before moving
on to the details
Examples
Negative examples
Synonyms
Antonyms
Situational context
Realia
Gesture, pantomime,
demonstration
The more the teacher can develop his or her own awareness of how words
are used the more the teacher will be able to assist the L2 learners
And concept map of rest of the chapter
Effective activities in word learning: content-rich, promote authentic language use, have FOF as well as FOM, opportunities for engagement, interaction and repetition of the word
Zimmerman divides word learning activates into 3 levels
Ask your students to work in pairs and write at least one item and encourage them to write as many as possible.
e.g. you can encourage students by do it like a game and give a point for each item that thay add
List several adj pairs with opposite meaning
Draw a continuum
Students In pairs copy the continuum in they note book
Write 3 to 4 words between this continuum
Discuss the answers
We should make a discourse here, we can do this for example by asking students to suppose …
Hear and retell: clarify the word use…. Students use the word tell the story to the teammate and try to transmit the meaning.
Read and retell: half of the class receive the sample text and read it ….. Good to have two text to students change the roles.
Synonym search: replace as many word as possible
Register reword: changing the register of the text not meaning
In dictation we have an educational goal not assessment so we should not make a full of nervous situation for students
Slow, several times, pairs, show the original text
Speller line-up: round robin
Hangman: divide the class to two teams, choose, draw spaces for the number of the letters in a word that we manna work with and emphasis on. Start to draw a stick figure of a hanged man.
Password: select target word, appropriate level, facing the class, one word clues, contestant (مسابقه دهنده), student who gave the final clue remains, another version: half of the class face the board
Adverb: choose a verb and adverb combination act it out/ use the combination in a sentence.
Question: choose noun or verb, yes no question, team or person. “Is it sth u can do?”
Just a fraction of the words, partial knowledge, students should have strategies to enfront with new words in text.
Useful tool for independent word learning
Word cards: efficient practice in terms of time and effort, most effective simple
Notebooks; teacher should help them, intent to choose from one text and ignore other sourses
Dictionary: Zimmerman :analytic tool that organize language, not easy work for students.
Effective teachers analyze their own unconscious knowledge about words as questions and needs arrive
Effective teachers should have these two skills so they can deal with the surprises!
These two skills will improve with experience and insightful awareness about the nature of word knowledge
Context matters in both two skills
In answering questions about words should think beyond the meaning.