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V O C A B U L A R Y F O R E L S
M E L A N I E G O N Z A L E Z ,
S A L E M S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
AGENDA
• Part I: Evidence-based practices for developing English Learners’ vocabulary
– What does the research say
– Best practices in teaching second language vocabulary
– Resources
• Part II (Break-out session): Vocabulary development activities
– Four vocabulary best practices
– Q&A discussion
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
ANTICIPATIONS
PAIR-SQUARE-SHARE
In pairs, read the quote you receive and reflect on the following:
• What does this quote mean for our English Learners?
• What are the challenges and successes posited by this quote?
• What connections (examples, anecdotes, etc.) can you make between your teaching and what
the researchers/teachers/ELs are saying?
Square with another group and share your discussion.
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
IN THE AGE OF COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING
• Explicit, direct vocabulary instruction all but disappeared from the curriculum
• Debate between whether students learn better through incidental or intentional exposure
• Errors in vocabulary tends to resist correction
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
WHAT IS VOCABULARY?
VOCABULARY ITEMS EXAMPLE
• Single words
• Set phrases
• Variable phrases
• Phrasal verbs
• idioms
• Destructive; elephant; hypothesis
• In other words; it’s up to you; back and forth
• Subject + poised to deliver a +adjective + noun; off and on
• Put away; come up with; take away
• Get with it; case of the Mondays
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “KNOW” A WORD?
WORD KNOWLEDGE EXAMPLE
• Polysemy
• Denotation/Connotation
• Frequency
• Usage
• collocation
• conduct
• slim vs. skinny
• Purple vs. aubergine
• synonyms for dying
• commit*; argue*
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PREDICTING LEXICAL ISSUESWHOLE GROUP: What are potential vocabulary words for ELLs in this
passage from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby? What word knowledge is required?
I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house, I was one of
the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited — they
went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island,
and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were
introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted
themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement
parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came
for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.
Mark up/highlight Passage 1 in Appendix B in your handout
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PREDICTING LEXICAL ISSUESCOMPARE AND SHARE: What are potential vocabulary words for ELLs in
this passage from Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby? What word knowledge is
required?
I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house, I was one of
the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited —
they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long
Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were
introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted
themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement
parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all,
came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of
admission.
Now, complete Passage 2 on your own, then compare and share
with a colleague. M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
MYTH 1: ELS WILL LEARN VOCABULARY IMPLICITLY.
• Introduce, highlight, repeat, and revisit
vocabulary
• Hold ELs accountable for word
development
• Drills, keep word walls, vocabulary
notebooks, etc.
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
Myth 1: Folse (2004)
MYTH 2: PRESENT VOCABULARY IN SEMANTIC SETS.
• Present new vocabulary thematically,
through the content
• Present through tiers or types
• Vocabulary walk throughs/previews
• Revisit often
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
Myth 2: Folse (2004)
MYTH 3: DON’T KNOW A WORD? USE CONTEXT CLUES.
• L1 translation is definition #1
• Teacher/peer guided definitions
• Create vocabulary notebooks or word
walls
• Teach context clues as a reading strategy,
not vocabulary acquisition
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
Myth 3: Folse (2004)
VOCABULARY RESOURCES
TOOL WEB ADDRESS USES
VocabProfile
Classic;
VocabProfile Kids
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/kids/
Profile lexical complexity of an
electronic text; Categorize words
based on frequency of occurrence
Word and Phrase http://www.wordandphrase.info/
analyzeText.asp
Similar to VocabProfile, but more for
academic content areas; Can
concordance the words to find
collocations
Academic Word
Finder
http://achievethecore.org/academic-
word-finder/
Profiles the words according to
grade level and tiers
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
VOCABULARY RESOURCES
TOOL WEB ADDRESS USES
VocabProfile
Classic;
VocabProfile
Kids
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/kids/
Profile lexical complexity of an
electronic text; Categorize
words based on frequency of
occurrence
Word and Phrase http://www.wordandphrase.info/anal
yzeText.asp
Similar to VocabProfile, but more for
academic content areas; Can
concordance the words to find
collocations
Academic Word
Finder
http://achievethecore.org/academic-
word-finder/
Profiles the words according to
grade level and tiers
Go to:
http://www.bostonteapartyship.com/boston-tea-
party-facts
Click on: “Who organized the Boston Tea Party?”
What do you find? How might this tool be useful?
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
VOCABULARY RESOURCES
TOOL WEB ADDRESS USES
VocabProfile
Classic;
VocabProfile Kids
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/kids/
Profile lexical complexity of an
electronic text; Categorize words
based on frequency of occurrence
Word and
Phrase
http://www.wordandphrase.info/
analyzeText.asp
Similar to VocabProfile, but
more for academic content
areas; Can concordance the
words to find collocations
Academic Word
Finder
http://achievethecore.org/academic-
word-finder/
Profiles the words according to
grade level and tiers
Use the same passage for Word
and Phrase
What do you find? How does it
compare to the VocabProfile?
How might this tool be useful?
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
VOCABULARY RESOURCES
TOOL WEB ADDRESS USES
VocabProfile
Classic;
VocabProfile Kids
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/eng/
http://www.lextutor.ca/vp/kids/
Profile lexical complexity of an
electronic text; Categorize words
based on frequency of occurrence
Word and Phrase http://www.wordandphrase.info/anal
yzeText.asp
Similar to VocabProfile, but more for
academic content areas; Can
concordance the words to find
collocations
Academic Word
Finder
http://achievethecore.org/acade
mic-word-finder/
Profiles the words according to
grade level and tiers
Use the same Boston Tea Party Passage
What do you find? How does it compare to
the VocabProfile? How might this tool be
useful?
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
“MAD 3 MINUTES”
• You have three minutes to think of all
the keywords/phrases used or related to
this afternoon’s discussion
• When the three minutes is up, select one
or two of the keywords/phrases to share
with the group
• Select one from the board that you feel
best summarizes vocabulary
learning/teaching and why you feel this
way
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
V O C A B U L A R Y D E V E LO P M E N T
P R A C T I C E S
M E L A N I E G O N Z A L E Z ,
S A L E M S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
VOCABULARY TEACHING INVENTORY
• Turn to Appendix A in your packet
• Take a moment to put a: +, , or - next to each of the aspects of word knowledge to rank
how well your ELs are developing each aspect of word knowledge in the classroom
• Review your checkmarks: Where are the strengths? Where can we do better?
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PRACTICE 1: KEEP A RUNNING LIST OF WORDS
• Word walls
• Vocabulary notebooks
• Academic word lists
Which of Nation’s (2001) aspects of word
knowledge do these types of activities fall?
Can you think of other ways to have our ELs
keep a running list of words?
Word: photosynthesis My definition: how plantsuse the sunlight to eat food
Example sentence: Photosynthesis begins when plants absorb energy from the sun’s light.
My understanding:
1 2 3 4
Picture clue:
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PRACTICE 2: VOCABULARY CARDS
• Flashcards
• “Find your partner”
• Word sorts
• Ranking
• “Odd man out”
Which of Nation’s aspects of word
knowledge do these types of activities fall?
Can you think of other ways to use
vocabulary cards?
Ranking: The following three items were bought at Market Basket yesterday. Look at the advertisement and rank these from the cheapest (1) to the most expensive (3).
__ a box of cereal
__ a bunch of bananas
__ two packs of gum
From Folse, 2008
“Odd Man Out”: Read the three words on your card.
Circle the word that does not belong in this group. Why?
convert photosynthesis oxygenOR
make a bed make homework make a mistake
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PRACTICE 3: WORD PUZZLES AND GAMES
• Sentence auction
• Vocabulary ladder puzzle
• Sentence scrambles
• Analogies
Which of Nation’s (2001) aspects of word
knowledge do these types of activities fall?
Can you think of other ways to use word
puzzles and games?
Vocabulary ladder puzzle: The three missing
words in the
vocabulary ladder all have three letters.
Each word differs from the word immediately
above or immediately below by
only one letter. Use this information and
the clues to solve the puzzle.
1. __ __ __ Would you like a ___ of tea?
2. __ __ __ A baby dog is called a puppy or a
___.
3. __ __ __ Let’s ___ some popcorn! I’m
hungry!
From Folse, 2008
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
PRACTICE 4: DRILLS
• Revisit and review vocabulary by asking a
series of quick questions – takes very little
prep to do!
Which of Nation’s (2001) aspects of word
knowledge do drills fall?
Can you think of other ways to use drills?
Sample questions:
• Which word means “when plants convert
light into food?”
• Which words do we use when we add?
• Which words mean something negative?
• Which words are proper nouns?
• How many words end in –ing? Are you
sure?
And so forth!
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
IN SUM…
• Vocabulary development activities do not need to take up a lot of class time – key is to develop high impact activities
• Multiple retrievals are key – an average of 13 encounters are needed to acquire a word
TURN & TALK:
3- new things we want to try
2- challenges we are facing
1- discussion question for the group that we still have
Be prepared to share the question with the large group
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
REFERENCES
• Folse, K. S. (2004). Vocabulary myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching. Ann
Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
• Folse, K. (2008). Six vocabulary activities for the English language classroom. English Teaching
Forum, 3, 12-20.
• Nation, I.S.P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge
University Press.
M.Gonzalez 1/13/2016
