Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” Acknowledgement Firstly, I would like to express my sincere thank to all the leaders of Phuc Yen Education and Training Department for organizing this seminar and for giving me the precious chance to do it. Secondly, I am very grateful to all the teachers of English in Cao Minh school for offering me useful advice in realizing my ideas. Lastly,thank you very much for your presence and observation. Your comments and advice would be highly appreciated. Thank you very much. A.aims: Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 1 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” Vocabulary words are simple enough to begin learning on the first day of a class and they are powerful enough to encourage communication from the very beginning .Words are small pieces of language which carry bits of meaning.Knowing many words does not guarantee a person will be able to speak a language ,but not knowing words can prevent a person from effectively speaking or understanding a language.That’s why vocabulary must be taught from the very start. In the new text book series (Tieng Anh 6 – Tieng Anh 9 ), vocabulary is enlarged so much to provide four main skills : Listening , Speaking , Reading and Writing. Therefore , teachers must have the most effective metthod of teaching vocabulary to present vocabulary effectively.A good method of teaching vocabulary will get more students’ attentions. This seminar aims at two main points : First : To show teachers several principles for teaching vocabulary . Second : To show teachers a range of steps for teaching vocabulary It is hoped to bring about all of you here some good hints. B.content: I. What vocabulary to teach? II. Principles for teaching vocabulary III. Steps for teaching vocabulary IV. Checking vocabulary I. What vocabulary to teach ? Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 2 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” As you know,there are two types of vocabulary .They are : Passive vocabulary and active vocabulary . Passive vocabulary are words which a student can recognize but not necessarily use in speaking or writing .If a student sees a word in their passive vocabulary ,he/she will understand what it means .Passive vocabulary words are especially useful for receptive skills of reading and listening. Active vocabulary are words which students can both understand and use in communication .Active vocabulary words are especially useful for the productive skills of speaking and writing . ∗The process of vocabulary expansion looks something like this: Unknown - > Passive vocabulary -> Active vocabulary A teacher should expect his/her students to understand words in reading and listening before they can use those same words in speaking and writing .When teaching , it is best to first train students to recognize words .Later the teacher will find the students can actively use those same words in communication. II.Principles for teaching vocabulary : There are many different ways of teaching vocabulary ,but some ways are more effective than others. 1. Provide a context for new words : We will help the students guess the meanings of the new words and remember easilier. E.g : The word “ study” Grammatical context : “Children go to school to study” ( students can guess “study” is a verb and an action happening at school) 2. Do not present too much new words at once .Teach a few words and allow students to practise and use them a lot . This will help them remember new words easily. Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 3 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” 3. Practising new words in context is more important than memorizing isolated words .Students may be required to learn the meanings of words but they must also be given the opportunity to use them productively in speaking and writing. 4. Teach your students skills for guessing new words , especially when reading .The meaning of words can be inferred from the different types of contexts and from looking at affixes (parts) of the word. E.g: My mother teaches at Cao Minh school What is a teacher ? ( Students can guess from the suffix “-er” that “a teacher is a person who teaches students” ) happy>< unhappy ……. 5. Avoid translation as much as possible. If the students are always having words translated, they are really only communicating in their own language , not in Eglish. Also, students do not usually remember vocabulary that has been translated.Only use translation as a last resort , when it would otherwise take too long to communicate in English. 6. Avoid using the dictionary a much as possible .When reading or listening ,students should first try guessing or ignoring new words so that they can continue without stopping .Also using a dictionary when speaking or listening often slows down communication .In writing ,using a dictionary can be beneficial.It helps students express themselves more clearly. 7. Practise the new words in context first ,practise in chorus ,and then individually. 8. Active words are needed to teach first,ignore the passive words. Those are the priciples for teaching vocabulary . Have you taught vocabulary follow those principles ? In my opinion , If all of us follow those principles strictly, we will get the best feedback from our students .Do you agree with me??? Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 4 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” III.steps for teaching vocabulary : 1.Presentation: a.Present pronunciation : By reading words in context , emphasise it by some receptions. E.g : My father has got a car b. Present dictation : Write new words on the board and then helps students copy them in their notebooks. c. Present the meanings of new words : There are 12 techniques for communicating the meanings of words . c1. Paraphrase and define : We can explain a word by using a different word,words or a definition E.g : A boy is a male child A car is a vehicle that carries people A jacket is also called a coat c2. Drawing : We can draw a picture of some words on the board that will quickly convey the meanings E.g: -> happy -> sad c3.Realia and objects : When we teach abut nouns in semantic fields , We can bring a series of real object to class. c4. Flash cards or charts: We can use flash cards or charts on which we have a picture on one side and words on the other side E.g : Flash cards with animals on them Cards with vehicles on them A chart with body parts marked c5. Mime: We can act out to demonstrate its meaning ( ofcourse,without saying ) Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 5 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” E.g : Verbs – sit down, stand up , smile , …. c6. Pictures : We can use pictures to communicate about many types of words. E.g : Photographs from magarines Personal photographs of family members c7. Opposites : When students know a word we can give them the antonym E.g : happy > < sad big > < small c8. Semantic field : To show words in relation to other words , we can present words in semantic fields. E.g : School – classroom,black board, teacher ,student ,…. c9. Guessing from context : Have students guess the meanings by reading the whole sentence. c10. Guessing from stems and affixes : Meaning of some words can be understood through affixes . E.g : disconnect = dis + connect c11. Translation : This will save much time ,teacher will give a similar word in the students’ first language . c12. Using dictionary : If we need to save time or communicate about a difficult word, the dictionary might be the best option. d. Present the forms / functions / the uses : E.g : beautiful (adj) -> a beautiful girl beauty (n) -> The beauty of nature ………… 2.Practise the new words: a,Have students repeat the new words in chorus and then individually. b,Have students use new words to make sentences.student IV. checking vocabulary : Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 6 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” 1.What to check? After teaching vocabulary , every teachers should check their students on vocabulary of pronunciation , dictation , using and meaning. If their students give good feedbacks , it means they are successful in teaching vocabulary . There fore , vocabulary are needed to check . It means pronunciation , dictation , using and meaning are needed to check . Do you think those are all what to check vocabulary ? 2. when to check ? In my opinion , After teaching vocabulary ,we can check our students’ understanding vocabulary ,or we can check in the end of the lesson as free stages . But some teachers check vocabulary while students are practising language skills . In short , we can check vocabulary at any stages of the lesson ,provided that our students can understand and use vocabulary to make sentences and practise language skills . Do you agree with me ??? 3. How to check ? There are many ways of checking vocabulary,They are considered as games such as : noughts and crosses , slap the board , wordsquare , networks , hang man , shark attack , jumbled words , rubout and remember , what and where, matching , … .teachers should use some of those games to check vocabulary .With new text book series, If teachers use games to check vocabulary as well as other skills , they will not onlyget the best feedbacks from their students but also make classroom climate always merry. c. conclusion Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 7 Seminar on methodology : “How to teach vocabulary effectively” To sum up , there are many methodologies of teaching vocabulary , each teacher has her/his own methodology of teaching vocabulary but the characteristics of presenting vocabulary are the same in any language . The final perpose of every teacher are to enlarge students’ vocabulary to help them tobe good listeners, speakers, readers , and writters in any language. I think those I have mentioned above are the most effective methodology . If we are to help students tobe good learners of English , it is necessary to obey priciples and steps for teaching vocabulary above. Ng« ThÞ Thu HiÒn 8