VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Lexical competence is a central part

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Lexical competence is a central part of communicative competence” (De. Carrico, 2001, p. 285)

Questions to ponder about vocabulary What does it mean to “know a word”? n What are the basic components of word knowledge? n How can we address use, meaning, and function in L 2 vocabulary instruction? n

Facts About Vocabulary Knowledge n Students’ vocabularies grow at an astonishing rate About 3, 000 words per year, or roughly 7 to 10 new words per day n By the time students graduate from high school, their vocabularies may reach 25, 000 words or more n

Questions to ponder: How many vocabularies do you have? n What role does identity play in vocabulary utilization? n How do school, family, and community factors influence vocabulary development? n

Research: Facts about Vocabulary reflects prior knowledge and concepts in a particular area n There is a strong relationship between the knowledge of word meanings (vocabulary) and reading comprehension n

More Research: Facts about Vocabulary n How do children acquire vocabulary? Through wide reading n From context (but need instruction) n With the aid of external resources such as the dictionary n From direct instruction in vocabulary n

ELL & English vocabulary v Learning English vocabulary is a challenge for ELL students because they are often learning the oral and written forms of a word at the same time.

ELL & English vocabulary v Students’ lack of English vocabulary often adversely affects their reading development in English.

Vocabulary Instruction: The debate Deep processing n Incidental learning n

Aspects about words In order to really “know” or “own” a word, students must n Recognize it, n Know its meaning, and n Understand its function

How and when to use direct instruction n Teacher only a few words central to the content Teach in meaningful contexts Integrate with activation and development of prior knowledge

How and when to use direct instruction n Teach words thoroughly by offering rich & varied information about them Expose words in many ways Actively involve students in the process of learning

Elements of vocabulary development Awareness of words (self-awareness and motivation to learn words) n Wide reading and extensive writing (self-selected reading and writing) n Independent strategies that lead to vocabulary learning (direct instruction and independent use) n

Condition 1: Unfamiliar words n Sight words. Students know the word and what it means when they hear someone say it, and can use it orally, but they don’t recognize its written form.

Condition: 2 Unfamiliar word n New word. Students have a concept related to the word, but they are not familiar with the word itself, either orally or in written form.

Condition 3: Unfamiliar word n New concept. Students have little or no background knowledge about the concept underlying the word, and they don’t recognize the word itself.

Condition 4: Unfamiliar word n New meaning. Students know the word, but they are unfamiliar with the way the word is used and its meaning in this situation.

Why do students have difficulty with vocabulary? They may not have the relevant concepts as part of their background knowledge n They may have a different label for the targeted concept n They may have a somewhat different meaning for the label n

DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE

Stages of vocabulary knowledge I never heard/saw the word before. (I have never before seen nor heard the word Koran. ) n I have heard/seen the word, but I don’t know what it means. (I have seen the word Koran in a news article. ) n

Stages of vocabulary knowledge I recognize the word in context, or…it has something to do with… (A dowry has something to do with money. ) n I know the word. (Draconian is very harsh or severe application of the law. ) n

Goals of vocabulary instruction Teach independent vocabulary learning n Teach concepts important for comprehension n Create an environment that promotes general vocabulary development n

Guidelines for vocabulary instruction Relate the new to the known n Promote active in-depth processing n Provide multiple exposures n Teach students to be strategic n

Characteristics of good direct vocabulary teaching Short (limited to a few critical words and concepts) n Connect explicitly to the actual text students are to read n

TEACHER BEHAVIOR Link Relate students’ past experience with present ones Elaborate Add more information about the familiar content, or suggest rewording Input Introduce new vocabulary & reinforce through constant use Connect Tie new words to the activity or activity to new words Clarify Add examples, illustrations, or descriptions Question Stimulate thinking about terms through questioning Relate Show new words compare w/ what students know Categorize Group new words, ideas, and concepts Label Provide names for concepts, ideas, and objects

Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades Function words Ø A, an, the (articles) Ø And, but, or (conjunctions) Ø At, into, over (prepositions) Ø Could, run, had snowed (auxiliary words)

Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades Content words: having concrete meaning Ø House, car, dog (nouns) Ø I, her, they (pronouns) Ø Hot, sticky (adjectives) Ø Then, neatly, suddenly (adverbs)

Tiers of vocabulary focus for lower grades Content-specific words: always having specialized meaning within a particular subject area, must be learned within the context of that area

Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades Basic words Ø Building blocks of everyday language Ø Do not require specific instruction except in the case of ELL

Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades General utility words Ø More complex terms may be used often in speech but these words tend not to be specific to any one subject area Ø Often involves instruction in common root words and affixes Ø Can help readers to discover the meaning of general-utility words

Tiers of vocabulary focus for upper grades Low-utility words Ø Words encountered less frequently Ø Found in a particular content Ø Should be introduced prior to instruction

Types of vocabularies for upper grades Meaning Vocabulary Ø The sum total of a child’s understanding of the meaning of words Ø Readers need to draw from this store as they emerge into reading to learn Ø Readers draw known meanings and use these to figure out new meanings as they read

Types of vocabularies for upper grades Reading Vocabulary Ø Is gained when readers learn to decode words whose meaning they already know Ø Words are already in their meaning vocabulary

Activity: Same word, different meaning Use the word “conductor” in three different sentences that convey three different meanings of the word. n Use the word “staple” in two different sentences that convey two different meanings of the word. n

Activity: Same word, different meaning n Use the word “frog” in two different sentences that convey two different meanings for the word.

Activity: Same word, different meaning How many definitions do you have for the word “up”? n Write five sentences using the word “up” in five different ways. n

Activity: Same word, different meaning Copper is a good conductor of electricity. Give your ticket to the conductor. The orchestra conductor was quite young

Activity: Same word, different meaning She wanted to staple three pages together. Corn was a staple in the diet of some Native Americans.

Activity: Same word, different meaning Look up at the moon. Look up the word in the dictionary. Lock up the car. The drain is stopped up. Sam said he’s tied up and can’t come.