Unit 6 Teaching Vocabulary Aims of this unit

Unit 6 Teaching Vocabulary

Aims of this unit What are some of the assumptions about vocabulary? What does knowing a word involve? How can we present new vocabulary items? What are some effective ways to consolidate vocabulary? How do we help students develop vocabulary learning?

1. 1 Language, Linguistics and Lexicology What is language? ◦ Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication. It is a specific social action and a carrier of information. “Language is man’s way of communication with his fellow man and It is language alone which separate him from the lower animals” 3

1. 1 Language, Linguistics and Lexicology What is linguistics? ◦ Generally speaking, linguistics can be defined as the scientific study of language. To be more exact, linguistics studies the general principles upon which languages are constructed and operate as systems of human communication 4

1. 1 Language, Linguistics and Lexicology What is lexicology? ◦ Lexicology is a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of the vocabulary of a given language. It deals with words, their origin, development, structure, formation, meaning and usage. 5

1. 2 Aims and Significance of the Course What is lexicology? ◦ English lexicology is a theoretically-oriented course. It is chiefly concerned with the basic theories of words in general and of English words in particular. However, it is a practical course as well, for in the discussion, we shall inevitably deal with copious stocks of words and idioms, and study many usage examples. Naturally, there will be a large quantity of practice involved. English Lexicology(I) 6

1. 2 Aims and Significance of the Course The role of vocabulary in the language system ◦ Vocabulary is the building material of the language system. It is one of there essential elements of language: speech sounds, grammar and vocabulary. ◦ “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. ” ◦ “…there is a sense in which learning a foreign language is basically a matter of learning the vocabulary of that language. Not being able to find the words to express yourself is the most frustrating experience in speaking another language. ” English Lexicology(I) 7

1. 2 Aims and Significance of the Course Aims of the course ◦ Give a systematic description of the English vocabulary. ◦ Offer an insight into the origin and development of the English vocabulary. ◦ Discuss the problems of word-structure and wordformation ◦ Study the use of English words , their meanings and changes in meaning, their sense relations. English Lexicology(I) 8

1. 2 Aims and Significance of the Course The significance of the course ◦ Develop your personal vocabulary and consciously increase your word power (active vocabulary). ◦ Understand word-meaning and organize, classify and store words more effectively. ◦ Raise your awareness of meaning and usages, use words more accurately and appropriately. ◦ Develop your skills and habits of analyzing and generalizing linguistic phenomena in your learning experiences. ◦ Ultimately improve your receptive and productive skills in language processing as well as language production. English Lexicology(I) 9

2. 1 What Is a Word? The definition of a word ◦ It is quite difficult to state the criteria by which a word can be defined; so far no completely satisfactory definition has been given. ◦ In brief, a word may be defined as a fundamental unit of speech and minimum free form; with a unity of sound and meaning (both lexical and grammatical meaning), capable of performing a given syntactic function. Therefore, from the lexicological point of view, a word is a combination of form (phonological) and meaning (lexical and grammatical). In addition, a word acts as a structural unit of a sentence. English Lexicology(I) 10

2. 1 What Is a Word? The definition of a word ◦ To sum up, the definition of a word comprises the following points A A minimal free form of a language sound unity unit of meaning form that can function alone in a sentence English Lexicology(I) 11

Compare: Book books bookish bookcase Tolerate tolerance tolerant toleration tolerable intolerable Telephone telegram telescope telecommunication English Lexicology(I) 12

book+s book+ish book+case Toler+ate toler+ance toler+ant toler+ation toler+able in+toler+able -ate Tele-phone Morpheme English Lexicology(I) 13

2. 2 Word, Lexical Item, Vocabulary Lexical item ◦ A unit of vocabulary is generally referred to as a lexical item. A complete inventory of the lexical items of a language constitutes that language’s dictionary. English Lexicology(I) 14

2. 2 Word, Lexical Item, Vocabulary ◦ Broadly speaking, all the words in a language together constitute what is known as vocabulary. The term vocabulary usually refers to a complete inventory of the words in a language. But it may also refer to the words and phrases used in the variants of a language, such as dialect, register, terminology, etc. There is a total English vocabulary of more than 1 million. English Lexicology(I) 15

2. 2 Word, Lexical Item, Vocabulary Relation ◦ Nation—a lexical item, also a word ◦ National, nationalize, nationalism, the Chinese nation, the United nations—words and word equivalents ◦ All the words and word equivalents constitute the vocabulary of a language. English Lexicology(I) 16

2. 3 Sound and Meaning There is a debate over the connection between sound and meaning. Mainly there are two positions. ◦ The naturalists maintain there is a natural connection between sound and meaning. ◦ The Conventionalists, on the other hand, hold that the relations between sound and meaning are conventional and arbitrary. The meaning of a word is a kind of linguistic social contract. Facts have proved this argument to be valid. Words that convey the same meaning have different phonological forms in different languages. Alternatively, the same phonological forms may convey different meanings; e. g. : sight, site, cite. English Lexicology(I)

2. 4 Meaning and Concept Relation ◦ Meaning is closely related to a concept. A concept is the base of the meaning of a word. A word is used to label a concept. The concept is abstracted from the person, thing, relationship, idea, event, and so on, that we are thinking about. We call this the referent. The word refers to the referent through a concept. ◦ This approach to meaning can be diagrammed as followings: word concept referent. 18

2. 4 Meaning and Concept But meaning is different from concept: ◦ A concept is an abstraction from things of the same kind. A concept refers to something in general, but not in particular, while meaning can refers to both something in general and in particular. For example: …some have begun to realize that the automobile is a mixed blessing. The automobile was stalled in a snowstorm. 19

2. 4 Meaning and Concept But meaning is different from concept: ◦ Meaning in the language context may have emotional and stylistic colors, express one’s emotion, attitude and position. Therefore, meaning adds supplementary value to the concept the word expresses. For example, dog might include the connotations of friend, helper, loyalty, etc. other examples are: motherland, home, candle, locust, panda, etc. 20

2. 5 Classification of Words The English vocabulary consists of different kinds of words, which may be classified by different criteria. In this section we will discuss three main criteria: ◦ By origin ◦ By level of usage ◦ By notion 21

2. 5 Classification of Words By origin ◦ Native words ◦ Loan words 22

2. 5 Classification of Words Native words ◦ Words of Anglo-Saxon origin are native words. They form the great majority of the basic word stock of the English language. The basic word stock is the foundation of the vocabulary accumulated over a number of epochs. Most native words in modern English are monosyllabic. Though small in number, these words are the ones used most frequently in everyday speech and writing; they play no small part in linguistic performance and communication. 23

2. 5 Classification of Words Native words ◦ In the native stock we find the most frequently used words denoting the commonest things necessary for life, such as names of natural phenomena (sun, moon, rain, frost, snow…), names of animals and plants (horse, dog, tree, flower…), names of parts of body (head, hand, foot…), adjectives denoting size and color (big, small, red, white…), verbs expressing concrete actions (live, eat, work, go, come…) auxiliary and modal verbs, pronouns, most numerals, prepositions and conjunctions. 24

2. 5 Classification of Words★ Native words ◦ The fundamental features of the basic word stock National character: Words of the basic word stock denote the most common things and phenomena of the word. These words cannot be avoided by any speaker of a given community, irrespective of class origin, education, profession, geographical regions, culture, etc. Stability: as words in the basic word stock denote the commonest things necessary to life, they are likely to remain unchanged. 25

2. 5 Classification of Words★ Native words ◦ The fundamental features of the basic word stock Productivity: Words of the basic word stock are mostly root words or monosyllabic words. They are very active in forming new words. For example, the word hand forms such derivatives and compounds as: handful, handy, handily, handbag, handball, handwriting, etc. Collocability: Basic words combine readily with other words to form habitual expressions and phrases. The word hand again can be found in phrases like at first hand, hand in hand, to show one’s hand, to play into sb. ’s hands, and so on. 26

2. 5 Classification of Words Loan words ◦ The English vocabulary has replenished itself by continually taking over words from other languages over the centuries. Those words borrowed from other languages are loan words or borrowed words. The historical development of the English language shows that English is a heavy borrower; it has adopted words from almost every known language, especially from Latin, French, and Greek. After World War II the English vocabulary expanded at a rate much faster than ever before. 27

2. 5 Classification of Words By level of usage ◦ Common words ◦ Literary words ◦ Colloquial words ◦ Slang words ◦ Technical words 28

2. 5 Classification of Words Common words ◦ Common words are connected with the ordinary things or activities necessary to everyday life. The core of the common words is the basic word stock. They are stylistically neutral, hence they are appropriate in both formal and informal writing and speech. 29

2. 5 Classification of Words Literary words ◦ Literary words are chiefly used in writing, especially in books written in a more elevated style, in official documents, or in formal speeches. They are comparatively seldom used in ordinary conversation. In English, most of the literary words are of French, Latin or Greek origin. Many of them have their everyday synonyms. For example, cast (throw), edifice (building), endeavor (try), purchase (buy), etc. ◦ More examples: recognition, distinction, inclination, dubious, amelioration… 30

2. 5 Classification of Words Colloquial words ◦ In contrast with literary words, colloquial words or expressions are used mainly in spoken English, as in conversation among friends and colleagues. They can also be use in informal writings, but are inappropriate in formal speeches or writings. They are marked colloq. or informal in dictionaries. Such as: kid, guy, fellow, gay… 31

2. 5 Classification of Words Compare: ◦ Feeling fatigued, tom retired early. (literary) ◦ Tom felt so dog-tired he hit the sack early. (colloquial) ◦ John was dismissed for petty thieving. (common) ◦ John was fired for petty thieving. (colloquial) ◦ Penalties for overdue books will be strictly enforced (literary) ◦ You have got to pay fines for overdue books. (colloquial) ◦ They approved of the plan. (literary) ◦ They agreed to the plan. (common) 32

2. 5 Classification of Words Slang words ◦ Slang is defined as language, words or phrases of a colorful, facetious (playfully jocular; humorous), or taboo nature, invented for specific occasions, or uses, or derived from the unconventional use of the standard vocabulary. The chief reason for the formation and use of slang expressions is to secure freshness and novelty. A slang usage is not generally used in formal conversation unless the speakers are on intimate terms; slang embraces those daring and new expressions that have not been accepted by the majority of people as Standard English. 33

2. 5 Classification of Words Slang words ◦ ◦ Beaver(girl) Smoky, bear (police) Nut, dome, upper, bean, block (head) Elevated, merry, jolly, comfortable, boiled, tight, blue-eyed, stiff (drunk) 34

2. 5 Classification of Words Technical words ◦ Technical or special words refer to those words used in particular disciplines and academic areas. They are also called terminologies or technical terms. Every branch of science, every profession or trade, every art and every sort of sports has its own technical terms. The function of those technical words is partly to denote things or processes which have no names in ordinary English, and partly to increase precision in nomenclature. 35

2. 5 Classification of Words Technical words ◦ In music: symphony, sonata, orchestra, concerto. ◦ In education: audiovisual, microteaching ◦ In mathematics: algebra, geometry, calculus, trigonometry ◦ In biology: clone, embryo, cell , organism, DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid), gene English Lexicology(I) 36

2. 5 Classification of Words Technical words ◦ Most of these technical terms are Latin or Greek in origin. In fact, they are part of literary words. Most of the technical words remain essentially foreign to outsiders, even to educated native speakers. However, under the influence of radio, television, newspaper and the Internet, we are witnessing a remarkable breaking down of the barrier between technical and common words. Many technical neologisms created yesterday by specialists are today heard in ordinary conversation, e. g. moonwalk, space shutter, gene, transgenic, clone, etc. English Lexicology(I) 37

2. 5 Classification of Words By notion ◦ Function words ◦ Content words 38

2. 5 Classification of Words Function words ◦ Function words are often short words such as determiners, conjunctions, prepositions, auxiliaries, and so forth. Although they do not have much of their lexical meaning, they have a special kind of meaning---grammatical meaning. They act as grammatical signals to show the connection between content words. ◦ Another important characteristic is that function words belong to a relatively small and permanent set of words, in comparison to content words. The total number of functional words is about 154. They are stable; they do not come and go with changing fashions and ideas. English Lexicology(I) 39

2. 5 Classification of Words Content words ◦ Content words have independent lexical meanings. Content words belong to an open list. New lexical items are constantly being created, and no one could make a complete list of all the content words in English. 40

I．Understanding vocabulary and vocabulary learning. Although grammar is usually integrated with the teaching of vocabulary, we still consider it necessary to introduce ways to present and consolidate vocabulary.

The teaching of vocabulary has been studied for many decades, there are still many uncertainties regarding: What constitutes a vocabulary item; Which vocabulary items should be taught and learned; How vocabulary can be taught and learned most effectively. (or similar questions of Task 1 on P 117. )

1. 2. 3. Task 2 Vocabulary does not just mean single words: compounds, phrases and even on occasion, whole sentences can be items of vocabulary. Most words in one language can be translated into another language, but not every single word an equivalent. The article “the” in English, for example, has no exact equivalent in Chinese. Students can be consciously taught about ways of learning vocabulary so that they become keenly aware of every opportunity for vocabulary expansion.

4. 5. 6. If teachers and students know the difference between active and passive vocabulary, they can treat them differently. Translation is not the best way to explain new words. English-English explanation is better than translation, but again it is not the best for vocabulary teaching. There are many other more effective ways.

7. 8. 9. 10. An English-English dictionary can be very helpful, though beginners may find it more comfortable to use a bilingual dictionary. It is more effective when words of related meaning are taught and learned together. Studying vocabulary in language contexts are more effective. Forgetting is inevitable. But if words are frequently used, they are less easy to forget.

II. What does knowing a word involve? knowing a word means knowing: its pronunciation and stress; its spelling and grammatical properties; its meaning; how and when to use it to express the intended meaning.

1. What does it mean to know a word? Learning a word involves learning more than just the word itself. e. g. post office, mother-in-law There are multi-word units, such as: phrasal verbs, compound words According to Hedge (2000), vocabulary learning involves at least two aspects of meaning: the understanding of its denotative and connotative meaning; understanding the sense relations among words

Denotative meaning of a word or a lexical item refers to those words that we use to label things as regards real objects, such as name or a sign, etc. in the physical world. E. g. apple connotative meaning A connotative meaning of a word refers to ‘the attitudes or emotions of a language user in choosing a word and the influence of these on the listener or reader’s interpretation of the word. This words that may express a positive or negative attitude or subtle feelings towards something. E. g. running-dog, dragon, big apple.

collocations Collocations refers to words that co-occur with high frequency and have been accepted as ways for the use of words. It is believed that teaching word collocations is a more effective way than just teaching one single word at a time. synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms[hai’ponimi] Synonyms refer to items that mean the same, or nearly the same. Antonyms refer to items that mean the opposite of a word. Hyponyms refer to words which can be grouped together under the same superordinate concept.

Receptive and productive vocabulary Receptive/Passive vocabulary/: the words one is able to recognize and comprehend in reading or listening but unable to use automatically in speaking or writing. Productive/Active vocabulary: the words one is not only able to recognize but also able to use in speech and writing.

Native speaker: Passive vocabulary: up to 100, 000 words, Active vocabulary: between 10, 000 and 20, 000. Learners of intermediate to upper intermediate level Active vocabulary: 3000 to 5000 words Passive vocabulary: 5000 to 10, 000 words For the teacher: guide and help students to add active vocabularies. At the beginning of language learning, all the words which are taught must be acquired for active use, later, for passive use.

Task 3 The implications of the English lexical system • Both denotative and connotative meaning need to be learned: • Words are better understood in context. • A group of related words is likely to be more memorable than a list of unrelated items, i. e. words learned with synonyms, antonyms or hyponyms; • Knowledge of word formation is a useful source for developing vocabulary. • Exploring sense relations among/between words kelp learning and remembering words. • Teachers and learners need to be aware of the difference between receptive and productive vocabulary

III. Ways of presenting new words 1. Some suggestions for the teachers Different teachers have different ways to present new words. Whatever methods are used, the following suggestions may help teachers: 1) Try to provide a visual or physical demonstration whenever possible. 2) Provide a verbal context to demonstrate meaning.

3) use synonyms or antonyms to explain meanings. 4) Use lexical sets pr hyponyms to show relations of words and their meaning. 5) Translate and exemplify, especially with technical words or words with abstract meaning.

• 6) Use word formation rules and common affixes to build new lexical knowledge on what is already know. • 7) Teach vocabulary in chunks. • 8) Think about the context in real life there the word might be sued.

• 9) Think about providing different context for introducing new words. • 10) Prepare for possible misunderstanding or confusion that students may have. • (Look at Task 5 on P 125) • Task 6: Choose four items and give a mini demonstration.

2. Words are best taught in groups. Language is a system and each word has its meaning defined in relation to other words. This insight leads to an easier, more effective and sounder way of explaining. It is helpful to explain difference of meaning rather than meaning itself. An individual word in a language acquires a meaning because of the relationship between it and other words. Awareness of certain kinds of relationship makes explaining vocabulary easier for the teachers, and learning it simpler for the students. Here are some relationships.

(1) synonyms. Big-large (2) Antonyms. Hot—warm—cool—cold (3) Complements. single/married. (4) Converse. parent/child, employer/employee. (5) Hyponyms. Car, van, bus , lorry are hyponyms of vehicle.

IV. Ways of consolidating vocabulary 1. Libeling. Students are given a picture. They are to write the names of the objects indicated in the picture. 2. Spotting the differences. Students are put into pairs. Each member of the pair receives a picture which is slightly different from his partner’s. 3. Describing and drawing. The student having the picture must tell his partner what to draw so that the drawing ends up the same as the original picture.

• 4. Playing a game. Students are shown a picture or a tray with many objects on it, or a series of different flash cards or magazine pictures. They have to tell what they saw, or write everything they can remember seeing. • 5. Using word thermometers. These are useful for indicating different degrees in size, speed, age, distance, emotion etc. Students are given a list of words in jumbles order. They have to place these words in the correct place on thermometer.

• 6. Using word series. Students construct the series following the example. Cutlery: knife, fork, spoon • 7. Word bingo. Students draw nine squares on a piece of paper and put nine words connected with shopping in the squares. The first student who cross out a line of three words either horizontally, vertically or diagonally should shout “ Bingo” and he or she will be the winner.

8. Word association. The teacher says a key word, e. g. traveling. The students have to write down all the words they can think of connected with the traveling. 9. Odd man out. The teacher writes a set of words on the blackboard and ask students to find the “odd man out”. For example, in the set: cheese eggs oranges, bread soap and meat, the word “soap” is the “odd man out”.

10. Synonyms and antonyms. The students are given a list of words and ask students to find pairs of words, either synonyms or antonyms. 11. Using word categories. Students put the jumbled words in the middle into the box marked with different categories. 12. Using word net-work. Students fill in the blanks in a network with words that are under the same category or sub-category.

IV. Developing vocabulary building strategies Due to the limitations of time, students cannot learn all the necessary vocabulary in the class. We need to help students develop their own vocabulary building strategies so that they can effectively acquire more vocabulary on their own. 1. Review regularly. Evidence shows that regular review helps students to maintain largest amount of recall. Look at the following figure.