Helping ESL Students Learn Vocabulary

1. Teaching Vocabulary
Helping ESL Students Learn Vocabulary
For Educational Purposes Only © American TESOL Institute

2. What is Involved in Teaching Vocabulary?
Vocabulary should be integrated with subject matter.
Activities should be cooperative and non- threatening.
Helpful to pre-introduce words before they are encountered in text.
Background knowledge should be tapped.
Students to become independent learners.

3. How can Students Become Effective at Learning Vocabulary?
Students are actively involved in their own learning.
Students self-monitor their progress.
Students are given multiple exposures to new words.

4. What Can Teachers Do?
Integrate vocabulary learning within content.
Offer various vocabulary-building activities.
Build background to elicit student prior knowledge.
Foster development of “word bank.”

5. Pre-Teach
Pre-teach vocabulary words before student reads.
Preview reading material for unfamiliar words or terms.
Define and discuss new words to build understanding.
Teacher receives feedback from student to determine depth of understanding.

6. Background Knowledge
Teacher introduces new vocabulary, terms, definitions, or concepts.
Teacher asks students to share prior knowledge during whole class discussion.
This prepares students for new learning.
Students are able to relate new information to personal experience.

7. Repeated Exposure:
Repeat exposure to new words.
Students need to hear and use words.
Provide multiple opportunities to use new word in written and spoken form.

8. Key Words
Introduce key words before reading text.
Teach students “word clue” to help understand.
May be definition, example, or image that helps make connection.
For example; “peninsula” is a piece of land that projects into a body of water and is connected with the mainland by an isthmus.
Today we will be learning about the Iberian Peninsula.
Create link to facilitate memory of new word when reading in text.

9. Word Maps
Student previews reading material to find unfamiliar words.
Student creates graphic organizer.
New word is placed at top or center of map.
Branching off of word may be examples, qualities, or classification.

10. Example
Vocabulary word: debate
Definition: To discuss opposing reasons; argue
Synonym: discuss
For example: “Joe’s mother said that the decision to buy a new car was not open to debate; she had already chosen a Ford Focus as the family vehicle.”

11. Context Clues
Words may also be defined within a text.
Context Clues such as the following are used to learn meaning while reading.
He ate as ravenouslyas a bear.
A machete, like a sword, can be very dangerous.
Artificial respirationwas applied to the nearly drowned man.
A cockroachhas two antennae, or feelers, on its head.

12. Word Level Analysis
Examine the word for prefixes, suffixes, and/or root words.
This will reveal meanings embedded within words according to their structure.
Teachers can focus on the most common prefixes, suffixes, and root words.

13. Prefix
The prefix “mis” means wrong, bad, no, or not.
For example, “misapply” means to use badly or incorrectly.
The prefix “pre” means before, in front of, or prior.
For example, “prejudice” means a judgment or opinion formed before the facts are known.

14. Prefixes
Some common prefixes include:
re again replay, resend, replace
hyper over hyperactive, hypersensitive
un not unclear, unsure
tri three triangle, tricycle
pre before prepay, prepackage
sub below subway, submarine

15. Suffix
The suffix “ist” means a person skilled in or occupied with; expert.
For example; pharmacist, biologist, mentalist
The suffix “ness” means state of being.
For example; heaviness, happiness

16. Common Suffixes
-shipposition heldfellowship
-er,-orone whotrainer
-ity,-tyquality offormality
-enbecomeenlighten
-alpertaining toregional
-ivenature of creative
-lesswithoutendless

17. Root Words
The root word “form” means shape, structure, or arrangement.
For example, formation, formative, formula.
The root word “flex” means to bend or to tense by contraction.
For example, “inflexible” means unable to bend.
The root word “masculine” means male, or having qualities regarded as manly.
For example, “emasculate" means to deprive of strength; effeminate.

18. Cognates
Cognates are words that are similar in students’ native language and English.
Teaching cognates is a way to relate words in English to the students’ first language.
For example; “possible” is a cognate of the Spanish word “posible.”
“Apple” is a cognate of the German word “apfel.”

19. Summary
Vocabulary development is important in learning to speak, listen, read and write English.
Teachers can help students master new words in a variety of ways.
Ultimately students learn how to become responsible for their own learning.
Learning new words becomes a life-long endeavor.

20. Sources
http://www.k12reader.com/effective- strategies-for-teaching-vocabulary/ Article by Joelle Brummitt-Yale
Stahl, Norman and Boylan,Hunter. Teaching Developmental Reading. Boston, New York; Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. Print