Teaching English Vocabulary to ESL Learners
By Assoc. Prof. Pratin Pimsarn, Ph.D.
Language Institute, Thammasat University
For many ESL learners, vocabulary is the most important factor for comprehending the
language. Therefore, it is highly important that students be taught vocabulary in every class
before learning the language. In fact, they should be taught extensively so that they will be
able to place words in their memories. Without extensive vocabulary teaching and practice,
student will probably not be able to attain good language skills.
This paper presents vocabulary teaching techniques which are quite common for language
teachers to do. Before the teaching techniques, suggestions for vocabulary teaching are
provided as follows:
1. Select about 10 vocabularies from a reading comprehension text that students will read.
2. Design pre-reading activities using the above vocabularies, encouraging students to
encounter these vocabularies.
3. Expose students to these vocabularies in a variety of contexts using various kinds of
interesting techniques and visual aids to make them recognize the vocabularies and
stimulate them cognitively.
4. After completing the vocabulary recognition activities, ask students to do something else
with the vocabularies productively such as speaking and writing using the vocabularies
taught.
5. Assign more exercises for the students to have ample practice.
6. Review the vocabularies before starting new lessons.
Please note that vocabulary learning just once, but it is a recursive process by which the
teachers keep teaching the vocabularies often enough to make students assimilate them.
Here are four tips for teaching vocabularies:
1. Using Synonyms with Examples
1.1 Planning stage:
1. Select vocabularies from the reading passage to be taught
2. Find synonyms for the selected vocabularies
3. Find an example of each selected vocabulary
4. Write a complete sentence containing each vocabulary
Example:
1. Selected vocabulary = renowned
2. Synonym = famous
3. Example = King Ramhhamhaeng
4. A sentence = If you invented something new, you would be
renowned.
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1.2 Teaching stage:
1. The teacher pronounces the word “renowned” and have
students repeat it.
2. The teacher writes or shows the word then ask students to
pronounce it..
3. The teacher explains the meaning of the word “renowned”
Renowned means the same thing as famous.
4. The teacher writes a sentence containing the word “renowned”.
A person becomes renowned by doing something that no
one else has ever done or by doing something extremely
well. For example, Bill Gates is renowned for……….
2. Using Definitions and Examples
2.1 Planning stage:
1. Select vocabularies from the reading passage to be taught
2. Prepare sentences showing definitions of the selected
vocabularies
2.2 Teaching stage:
1. The teacher talks to students using the prepared sentences.
2. Then the teacher writes those sentences on the board. For
example, “A car collided with a bus this morning making
the car badly damaged. The bus driver was said to be
careless.
3. The teacher asks a question “What happened to the car?”
The expected answer is “It was collided into or hit by a bus.”
So the definition of collide is to hit or to crash.
4. The teacher keeps repeating the same pattern using
interactive activities in his/her entire teaching
3.
Using Positive and Negative Instances
3.1 Planning stage:
1. Select vocabularies from the reading passage
2. Prepare phrases or sentences using the selected vocabularies
with both positive and negative contexts
3. Sample phrases or sentences should be simple and close to
students’ background knowledge.
3.2 Teaching stage:
1. The teacher pronounces the word “drift” and shows /writes it
on the board
2. The teacher writes a sentence containing the word “drift”
We also see some leaves drifting in a canalm, but we always see
a speedboat moving very fast.
3. Then, the teacher asks a question, “If something is drifting,
is it moving very fast or very slowly?
4. Next, the teacher asks a question, “What else do you always
see drifting? This is to activate the students’ schema.
4.
Using Definitions and Uses
4.1 Planning stage:
1. Select vocabularies from the reading passage
2. Find a definition for each vocabulary item
3. Write a phrase or a sentence using each vocabulary item
4. Type and print these and distribute them to all students
Example: 1. Unique = different from anyone or anything else
= One thing that makes elephants unique is that ……..
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2. Consume = to eat or until it is gone
= Big vehicles tend to consume………….
3. Grief = a very sad feeling
=My grandfather was overcome with grief when …….
4.2 Teaching stage:
1. The teacher asks students to look at each vocabulary.
2. The teacher pronounces each word and has students repeat.
3. The teacher randomly asks a question, “What is the
definition of unique?”
4. After the students can give a correct answer, the teacher asks
a question showing the use of “unique”, “What makes Thai
foods unique?”
or “What makes Phuket unique?”
“What else can you think of that is unique?
This can make the students generate more background
Knowledge and in turn classroom interactions take place.
Read more: How to Teach Vocabulary to ESL Students | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/how_4499229_teach-vocabulary-esl-students.html#ixzz1PykE6NzI
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