1.0 Introduction
Vocabulary is an essential part of learning a language, without which communication would be hindered. A message could still be conveyed somewhat without a correct usage of grammatical structure, but without vocabulary nothing is conveyed. Words are the building blocks of language and without them there is no language (Milton, 2009) . For ESL learners, learning a language is essentially a matter of learning new words (Read, 2000). Vocabulary is also closely tied to comprehension; it is generally believed that vocabulary assessment may be used to predict reading comprehension performance (Read, 2000). This implies that to be able to comprehend text fully, vocabulary is much needed. Vocabulary is thus important both for communication and comprehension.
The area of vocabulary assessment does not receive the attention it deserves, therefore, interesting only to a handful of scholars.(Schmitt, 2000) It should be of interest to everyone involved in the field of language testing. It can help teachers and administrators set appropriate targets for learning so that learners can have the language skills that are expected. It can help teachers and learners monitor progress so they can tell whether they have achieved the kind of knowledge needed for an examination. It can even help academics to understand the nature of language knowledge and the learning process. (Milton, 2009).
Schmitt et al. (2011:106) support this view in saying that “vocabulary knowledge can be
The educator will assess the words mastered through the students writing and reading them aloud. As the students focus on writing and saying the words this can help them remember and retain the words. A list of words will be provided to the students to read correctly in one minute. As the students read the words the educator will record how many words were read in a minute. The Fluency assessment will be completed throughout the year to help guide instruction and increase reading fluency.
All students need direct instruction of vocabulary, but it is especially imperative for ELLs. They need much more exposure to new vocabulary than their native-English-speaking classmates. ELLs need to learn cognates, prefixes, suffixes, and root words to enhance their ability to make sense of new lexicon. Beginning ELLs and more advanced ELL students should actively engage in holistic activities to practice new vocabulary because learning words out of context is difficult for these students. If they memorize the meanings of the words on a list, they will not be able to use the words in their own writing or verbal production until they really understand the meanings. When vocabulary instruction includes explicit, implicit, and strategy instruction, students are repeatedly exposed to the target vocabulary in a variety of contexts which increases their individual vocabulary development and the other resources that help in doing so is the Semantic Mapping primary focus on visual relationships, which is helpful to students from all backgrounds.
Informal assessment of vocabulary will happens during and after the students read the text aloud.
In this paper, I will discuss definitions of literacy, review research related to the transfer of literacy skills, and suggest practical applications of research findings of ways Linguistics (L1) support literacy in L2 for individuals learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Further, I will explore instructional practices implemented as L1 is transferred to L2 knowledge-base. As learning practices for L1 and L2 are outlined, cognates of L2 will be demonstrated in this paper for further understanding. In addition, L1 proficiency learners stem from individuals’ first language also known as their “mother language.” L1 can be described in four acquisition stages from the following: (1) babbling (2) one-word (3) two-word (4) string of words
It is important to develop a basic understanding of concepts and vocabulary before reading simply because if a student does not understand what they are reading, they will not only lose motivation and relevance, they will also learn nothing and benefit nothing. It will have been a waste of both their time and yours as the teacher. Having a basic understanding of vocabulary is key because content and concepts are taught through vocabulary. IF students do not understand vocabulary before reading, they will not
“A Read Aloud Curriculum integrates intentional direct comprehension and explicit vocabulary instruction into read alouds while maintaining the integrity of an authentic read aloud experience that would be highly engaging for students (Fien, et al., 2011).” The Read Aloud program is structures as to “(a) set a purpose for reading, (b) building vocabulary knowledge, (c) making text-to-text and text-to-life connections, and (d) having students retell stories or information on a regular basis (Fien, et al., 2011).” The problem is that Read Alouds by themselves do not help close the gap between children who enter school with strong vocabularies and children who enter school with weak vocabularies, accordingly the gap between students with strong and weak vocabularies only grows as the children progress through school. Another setback for students with weak vocabularies is that there is a direct link between word knowledge and comprehension, consequently the children with weak vocabularies will struggle with comprehension. Small-group instruction shows promise in improving student’s vocabularies thus improving their comprehension. By spending more time with the text and receiving instruction in a group of 2-5 students, those with weak vocabularies have shown improvement in their word knowledge and
Building vocabulary is an important task in the early grades. There has long been debate on how one should go about teaching vocabulary such as, it is better to teach a limited number of words fully and more intense or expose children to many words to enhance “incidental learning”. Research has proven that incorporating both into instruction is most effective. Read-aloud and teachers increase use of vocabulary have also been proven to help vocabulary and word knowledge. There are three tiers of words that children are presented in their life. Tier one words are those that they are most familiar with such as park, tier 2 are the increasingly hard words such as fortunate and finally the tier 3 words are words that students have rarely been exposed
Studies confirm a high correlation of 0.6 to 0.8 between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Baumann & Kame’enui as cited in Dalton and Grisham, 2011 p. 307). However, the rate at which individual children develop vocabulary knowledge is enormously varied. At 5 years old there is already a 30 million word exposure gap (Hart & Risley as cited in Dalton and Grisham, 2011 p. 307). Linguistic morphology, the study of words and word origins, is a significant component of vocabulary learning programs. Children should be actively supplied with multiple exposures to words and exposures in varying contexts. Walbank and Bisby (2016, p. 11) describe how building adjective vocabulary adds dramatically more interest, accuracy and detail to students oral and written language. To encourage this development, students can work in small groups to brainstorm alternative, more interesting words, for commonly used adjectives. For example, replacing the word ‘good’ with ‘magnificent’, ‘superlative’ or ‘exceptional’. This direct vocabulary instruction is essential, but having only explicit teaching is insufficient. Beck et al (2008) estimate that educators can only actively teach 300-400 words per year (as cited in Dalton and Grisham, 2011 p. 307). Also, research indicates that children learn a far greater number of words indirectly through reading, than from instruction (Cunningham & Stanovich as
First, vocabulary teaches pronunciation and the definition of words used in a particular language. If you know the meaning of a word, it is easier to use and understand when communicating. I also learned that vocabulary teaches
This gives students the words they need to know in order to communicate in a proper way. The two different types of vocabulary are oral and reading; oral is words that are used while speaking or notice when listening and reading is the words that are noticed in text. This concept is important because when children start to speak, they eventually start to understand and notice words in text. Also, it is important for them to understand the meaning of the words in order to understand the text the are reading. This is why the teacher in my class has the children become familiar with the books and reading them by going over the words and their meanings, so they can understand the story in general and they’d be able to sequence things more
English language learners need direct instruction of new vocabulary (Haynes, 2010.) Educators must provide practice saying new words. ELL’s should have more exposure to new terms, words, idioms, and phrases than their English fluent classmates. Educators must tie new vocabulary to previous knowledge and use pictorials to highlight significance. Content area Educators are encouraged to teach new vocabulary that occurs in text as well as that related the subject materials.
Vocabulary instruction: Shared Reading to Build Vocabulary and Comprehension by Ted Kesler, Numerous Scholars value shared reading for children’s vocabulary, and link vocabulary knowledge and overall comprehension (Coyne, Simmons, Kame’enui, & Stoolmiller, 2004; Fisher, Frey&Lapp, 2008, McKewon & Beck, 2006). Having children explain, elaborate, and connect ideas, produce language. Shared reading format, Blachowicz and fisher (2010) stated, good instruction emphasizes that talking, thinking, and planning before reading enhance comprehension as they aid readers in developing strategic approaches.
Although vocabulary is the sub-skill of a language, it plays a very important role in language learning and teaching. In fact, vocabulary is central to language and is of paramount importance to language learners. On the other hand, words are the building blocks of a language that are used to label objects, actions, and ideas. In other words, people cannot convey the intended meaning without knowing vocabulary. It is widely accepted that vocabulary is a very important part in English language learning because no one can communicate in any meaningful way without vocabulary. As McCarthy (1990) stated, the single, biggest component of any language course is vocabulary. Nation (1990) also affirms that vocabulary can be considered as the most important element in language learning because Learners think that many of their
Vocabulary plays a significant role in English as second language learning process. For the majority of English as Second Language(ESL) learners, the ultimate goal of learning the language is to understand (read and listen) and communicate (write and speak) with little difficulty and the lack of sufficient vocabulary may be the constraint of such goal (Folse, 2004). As the bedrock of English and as well as language, vocabulary also facilitates the development of other language skills: lexical richness leads to the progress in the use of language, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing skills (Nation, 1994). Reversely, The improvement in such skills may enhance learners vocabulary size as the exposure to more learning materials improves the capacity to acquire new vocabulary. (The importance of learning vocabulary/ why vocabulary?)
* In the educational field, the teaching learning cycle is a model used in contemporary teaching in both school and adult educational settings. Rothery (1996 in Derewianka & Jones 2012, pg 43) who originally developed the model used this to aim at disadvantaged children for teaching literacy and writing in the KLA (Key learning areas) who were from socially disadvantaged areas. Over time the model has been phased across other areas of the English language such as listening, speaking, reading as well as writing. The key involvement of the teacher also known as ‘expert other’ in the teaching learning cycle is guiding the learner to understand key concepts in academic literacy through use of scaffolding strategies to transform students