TEFL Navarino Wisconsin

There are many components to teaching english as a second or foreign language. They range from grammar, to listening skills, to speaking and pronunciation. However, the component I enjoy teaching the most is vocabulary. In this essay I would like to touch on what exactly vocabulary is and what it encompasses, how to select vocabulary to teach, and methods and ideas for teaching vocabulary. Vocabulary consists of the words a person knows within a language and is one of the first steps in leaning a second language. When a student learns vocabulary they must be able to understand the meaning of the word along with how to properly use it in context, they need to know it, not just recognize it. Increased vocabulary leads to increased ability to communicate, and increased reading comprehension. There are two distinctions of vocabulary. There is receptive vocabulary, which are the words that a person knows but rarely uses, and there is productive vocabulary, which are the words a person knows and uses the most often. An average person knows more words than they actually use, thus they have a large receptive vocabulary. Within the english language, the average english speaking college student recognizes about 17,000 words, however, the knowledge of just 2,000 words covers the 80% of the most commonly spoken words in the english language – so for an english language learner this information should be encouraging. An english language teacher, a lot of times, may be responsible for choosing vocabulary for their students. When selecting vocabulary for students it is important to consider how appropriate the vocabulary is to the particular student's level and how relevant the vocabulary is to the lesson being taught. It's important to consider choosing vocabulary that is frequently used and can be applied to a number of situations and/or materials that they are likely to use in the future. Additionally, the “teachability”, or how easy or difficult it will be to teach, to that specific level, also needs to be considered. For example, for lower level students it might be easier to convey the meaning of common nouns, feelings, and actions through pictures, acting out, or flash cards, rather than choosing idioms or words with double meaning. So, when a teacher is choosing vocabulary based on the student's level, what they may want to consider is how similar the vocabulary is to the student's native language, how similar it is to the english words the student already knows, and how easy or difficult it is to spell and pronounce. When actually teaching new vocabulary, it is important that each student knows certain things about each word. They need to know the meaning, or the actual definition of the word. They need to know the word's grammar, or where the word belongs in a sentence. Also, the word's use, or when and where it is appropriate to use the word, the word's spelling, so how the specific word is spelled and if there are variations. Lastly, they need to know the pronunciation, or how the word sounds when spoken. Methods that can be used to teach new vocabulary to efl/esl students range from games to memorization. For example, pictionary, hangman, crosswords, and word searches are all helpful games and activities that can be utilized in the classroom. Personally, I have found pictionary has worked on all levels for my students and they really enjoy getting creative with their images. Additionally, flashcards made at home and practiced at home to memorize meanings and spellings are also effective. As a teacher, visuals and “acting out” are extremely helpful in conveying meaning while in class. A quick drawing on the board will almost always suffice when trying to explain meaning, especially with lower levels. While vocabulary seems relatively basic in the scheme of things, it can be rather complex and incredibly essential to developing reading, listening and communication skills. What is important to remember while teaching vocabulary is that there should be criteria followed when choosing what vocabulary is taught, and that the students needs to know certain components to fully understand each word. Methods that will work best in the classroom will depend on the teacher and the level of the class, it is up to the teacher to determine what is the most effective and interesting. What is certain is that learning vocabulary will be an invaluable tool to expanding each student's knowledge and comprehension of the english language. Works Cited: "Vocabulary." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 Mar. 2012. Web. 07 July 2012. . "Teaching New Language – Vocabulary, Grammar and Functions." International tefl teacher Training. Vol. 007. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1- 4. Print.