1. ADVANCED
STUDENTS AND THEIR NEEDS
Advanced
learners can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic structures
of the language. However, they need to broaden their vocabulary to express
themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of situations.
Students
might even have a receptive knowledge of a wider range of vocabulary, which
means they can recognise the item and recognise its meaning. Nevertheless,
their productive use of a wide range of vocabulary is normally limited, and
this is one of the areas that need greater attention. At this stage we are
concerned not only with students understanding the meaning of words, but also
being able to use them appropriately, taking into account factors such as oral
/ written use of the language; degree of formality, style and others, which we
are going to detail in Part 2.
2. THE TEACHING
OF VOCABULARY
Traditionally,
the teaching of vocabulary above elementary levels was mostly incidental,
limited to presenting new items as they appeared in reading or sometimes
listening texts. This indirect teaching of vocabulary assumes that vocabulary
expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills, which has
been proved not enough to ensure vocabulary expansion.
Nowadays it
is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the syllabus, and
taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by Lewis (1993)
argue that vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching, because
‘language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar’. We are
going to discuss aspects of the ‘Lexical approach’ in Part 2.
There are
several aspects of lexis that need to be taken into account when teaching
vocabulary. The list below is based on the work of Gairns and Redman
(1986):
· Boundaries between conceptual meaning: knowing
not only what lexis refers to, but also where the boundaries are that separate
it from words of related meaning (e.g. cup, mug, bowl).
· Polysemy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a
single word form with several but closely related meanings (head: of a person,
of a pin, of an organisation).
· Homonymy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a
single word form which has several meanings which are NOT closely related (
e.g. a file: used to put papers in or a tool).
· Homophyny:understanding words that have the
same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings (e.g. flour,
flower).
· Synonymy: distinguishing between the different shades of
meaning that synonymous words have (e.g. extend, increase, expand).
· Affective meaning: distinguishing between the attitudinal
and emotional factors (denotation and connotation), which depend on the
speakers attitude or the situation. Socio-cultural associations of lexical
items is another important factor.
· Style, register, dialect: Being able to distinguish between
different levels of formality, the effect of different contexts and topics, as
well as differences in geographical variation.
· Translation: awareness of certain differences
and similarities between the native and the foreign language (e.g. false
cognates).
· Chunks of language: multi-word verbs, idioms, strong
and weak collocations, lexical phrases.
· Grammar of vocabulary: learning the rules that enable
students to build up different forms of the word or even different words from
that word (e.g. sleep, slept, sleeping; able, unable; disability).
· Pronunciation: ability to recognise and reproduce
items in speech.
The
implication of the aspects just mentioned in teaching is that the goals of
vocabulary teaching must be more than simply covering a certain number of words
on a word list. We must use teaching techniques that can help realise this
global concept of what it means to know a lexical item. And we must also go
beyond that, giving learner opportunities to use the items learnt and also
helping them to use effective written storage systems.
2.1. MEMORY AND
STORAGE SYSTEMS
Understanding
how our memory works might help us create more effective ways to teach
vocabulary. Research in the area, cited by Gairns (1986) offers us some
insights into this process.
It seems
that learning new items involve storing them first in our short-term memory,
and afterwards in long-term memory. We do not control this process consciously
but there seems to be some important clues to consider. First, retention in
short-term memory is not effective if the number of chunks of information
exceeds seven. Therefore, this suggests that in a given class we should not aim
at teaching more than this number. However, our long-term memory can hold any
amount of information.
Research
also suggests that our ‘mental lexicon’ is highly organised and efficient, and
that semantic related items are stored together. Word frequency is another
factor that affects storage, as the most frequently used items are easier to
retrieve. We can use this information to attempt to facilitate the learning
process, by grouping items of vocabulary in semantic fields, such as topics
(e.g. types of fruit).
Oxford
(1990) suggests memory strategies to aid learning, and these can be divided
into:
· creating
mental linkages: grouping, associating, placing new words into a context;
· applying
images and sounds: using imagery, semantic mapping, using keywords and
representing sounds in memory;
· reviewing
well, in a structured way;
· employing
action: physical response or sensation, using mechanical techniques.
The
techniques just mentioned can be used to greater advantage if we can diagnose
learning style preferences (visual, aural, kinesthetic, tactile) and make
students aware of different memory strategies.
Meaningful
tasks however seem to offer the best answer to vocabulary learning, as they
rely on students’ experiences and reality to facilitate learning. More
meaningful tasks also require learners to analyse and process language more
deeply, which should help them retain information in long-term memory.
Forgetting
seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they
have learnt. Therefore, recycling is vital, and ideally it should happen one or
two days after the initial input. After that, weekly or monthly tests can check
on previously taught items.
The way
students store the items learned can also contribute to their success or
failure in retrieving them when needed. Most learners simply list the items
learnt in chronological order, indicating meaning with translation. This system
is far from helpful, as items are de-contextualised, encouraging students to
over generalise usage of them. It does not allow for additions and refinements
nor indicates pronunciation.
Teachers can
encourage learners to use other methods, using topics and categories to
organise a notebook, binder or index cards. Meaning should be stored using
English as much as possible, and also giving indication for pronunciation.
Diagrams and word trees can also be used within this topic/categories
organisation. The class as a whole can keep a vocabulary box with cards, which
can be used for revision/recycling regularly.
Organising
this kind of storage system is time-consuming and might not appeal to every
learner. Therefore adapting their chronological lists to include headings for
topics and a more complete definition of meaning would already be a step
forward.
2.2. DEALING WITH
MEANING
In my
opinion the most important aspect of vocabulary teaching for advanced learners
is to foster learner independence so that learners will be able to deal with
new lexis and expand their vocabulary beyond the end of the course. Therefore
guided discovery, contextual guesswork and using dictionaries should be the
main ways to deal with discovering meaning.
Guided
discovery involve asking questions or offering examples that guide students to
guess meanings correctly. In this way learners get involved in a process of
semantic processing that helps learning and retention.
Contextual
guesswork means making use of the context in which the word appears to derive
an idea of its meaning, or in some cases, guess from the word itself, as in
words of Latin origin. Knowledge of word formation, e.g. prefixes and suffixes,
can also help guide students to discover meaning. Teachers can help
students with specific techniques and practice in contextual guesswork, for
example, the understanding of discourse markers and identifying the function of
the word in the sentence (e.g. verb, adjective, noun). The latter is also very
useful when using dictionaries.
Students
should start using EFL dictionaries as early as possible, from Intermediate
upwards. With adequate training,
dictionaries are an invaluable tool for learners, giving them independence from
the teacher. As well as understanding
meaning, students are able to check pronunciation, the grammar of the word
(e.g. verb patterns, verb forms, plurality, comparatives, etc.), different spelling
(American versus British), style and register, as well as examples that
illustrate usage.
2.3. USING
LANGUAGE
Another
strategy for advanced learners is to turn their receptive vocabulary items into
productive ones. In order to do that, we need to refine their understanding of
the item, exploring boundaries between conceptual meaning, polysemy, synonymy,
style, register, possible collocations, etc., so that students are able to use
the item accurately.
We must take
into account that a lexical item is most likely to be learned when a learner
feels a personal need to know it, or when there is a need to express something
to accomplish the learner’s own purposes. Therefore, it means that the decision
to incorporate a word in ones productive vocabulary is entirely personal and
varies according to each student’s motivation and needs.
Logically,
production will depend on motivation, and this is what teachers should aim at
promoting, based on their awareness of students needs and preferences. Task-based
learning should help teachers to provide authentic, meaningful tasks in which
students engage to achieve a concrete output, using appropriate language for
the context.
2.4. THE LEXICAL
APPROACH
We could not
talk about vocabulary teaching nowadays without mentioning Lewis (1993), whose
controversial, thought-provoking ideas have been shaking the ELT world since
its publication. We do not intend to offer a complete review of his work, but
rather mention some of his contributions that in our opinion can be readily
used in the classroom.
His most
important contribution was to highlight the importance of vocabulary as being
basic to communication. We do agree that
if learners do not recognise the meaning of keywords they will be unable to participate
in the conversation, even if they know the morphology and syntax. On the other
hand, we believe that grammar is equally important in teaching, and therefore
in our opinion, it is not the case to substitute grammar teaching with
vocabulary teaching, but that both should be present in teaching a foreign
language.
Lewis
himself insists that his lexical approach is not simply a shift of emphasis
from grammar to vocabulary teaching, as ‘language consists not of traditional
grammar and vocabulary, but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks’(Lewis,
1997). Chunks include collocations, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and
idioms, and according to him, occupy a crucial role in facilitating language
production, being the key to fluency.
An
explanation for native speakers’ fluency is that vocabulary is not stored only
as individual words, but also as parts of phrases and larger chunks, which can
be retrieved from memory as a whole, reducing processing difficulties. On the
other hand, learners who only learn individual words will need a lot more time
and effort to express themselves.
Consequently,
it is essential to make students aware of chunks, giving them opportunities to
identify, organise and record these. Identifying chunks is not always easy, and
at least in the beginning, students need a lot of guidance.
Hill (1999)
explains that most learners with ‘good vocabularies’ have problems with fluency
because their ‘collocational competence’ is very limited, and that, especially
from Intermediate level, we should aim at increasing their collocational
competence with the vocabulary they have already got. For Advance learners he
also suggests building on what they already know, using better strategies and
increasing the number of items they meet outside the classroom.
The idea of
what it is to ‘know’ a word is also enriched with the collocational component.
According to Lewis (1993) ‘being able to use a word involves mastering its
collocational range and restrictions on that range’. I can say that using all the
opportunities to teach chunks rather than isolated words is a feasible idea
that has been working well in my classes, and which is fortunately coming up in
new coursebooks we are using. However, both teachers and learners need
awareness raising activities to be able to identify multi-word chunks.
Apart from
identifying chunks, it is important to establish clear ways of organising and
recording vocabulary. According to Lewis (1993), ‘language should be recorded
together which characteristically occurs together’, which means not in a
linear, alphabetical order, but in collocation tables, mind-maps, word trees,
for example. He also suggests the recording of whole sentences, to help
contextualization, and that storage of items is highly personal, depending on
each student’s needs.
We have
already mentioned the use of dictionaries as a way to discover meaning and
foster learner independence. Lewis
extends the use of dictionaries to focus on word grammar and collocation range,
although most dictionaries are rather limited in these.
Lewis also
defends the use of ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ material from the early stages of
learning, because ‘acquisition is facilitated by material which is only partly
understood’ (Lewis, 1993, p. 186). Although he does not supply evidence for
this, I agree that students need to be given tasks they can accomplish without
understanding everything from a given text, because this is what they will need
as users of the language. He also suggests that it is better to work
intensively with short extracts of authentic material, so they are not too
daunting for students and can be explored for collocations.
Finally, the
Lexical Approach and Task-Based Learning have some common principles, which
have been influencing foreign language teaching. Both approaches regard
intensive, roughly-tuned input as essential for acquisition, and maintain that
successful communication is more important than the production of accurate
sentences. We certainly agree with these principles and have tried to use them
in our class.
3. RATIONALE OF
THE LESSON
We believe
that the Lexical Approach has much to offer in the area of vocabulary teaching,
and therefore we have tried to plan a lesson that is based on its main
concepts, specially exploring the use of collocations.
3.1 CHOICE OF MATERIAL
As both the
Task-based and the Lexical approach suggest, we wanted to use authentic
material to expose our students to rich, contextualised, naturally-occurring
language.
For the
topic of holidays we chose a big number of holiday brochures (about twenty
five) and read them through, trying to notice recurrent patterns of lexis.
Confirming what Hill (1999) affirmed, this analysis showed us a large number of
collocations, specially adjective + noun ones,
and that some were extremely common, such as golden sandy beaches, rolling
countryside and others.
We did not
want to overload students with much reading, which would detract them from the
main task of working with vocabulary, and therefore we selected twenty-one
short yet meaningful extracts in which common collocations appeared.
3.2. NOTICING COLLOCATIONS AND DEALING WITH MEANING
Although the
extracts are authentic, we do not think students will have many problems in
understanding most of the collocations, as they contain vocabulary which they
probably know receptively. This again should confirm the idea that students
know individual words but lack collocational competence.
We are going
to work as a whole class in step 5 to make students aware of the collocations
we will be focusing on, and hopefully this will enable students to find other
collocations. Regular awareness raising activities like this should help
students improve their collocational competence, and even fluency, as discussed
in part 2.4.
For the few words
that we predict students will not fully understand meaning of, or are not sure
how they are pronounced, we are going to ask them to look these up in
monolingual dictionaries. As we said in part 2.2., dictionaries are a vital
tool for Advanced learners, and so is contextual guesswork, which we are going
to encourage before they look the words up. We are also going to ask students
to notice examples given in the dictionary, observing and recording other
possible collocations of the words, as suggested by Lewis.
We have also
taken into account the importance of recording the vocabulary observed during
the class. The list that students will produce in step 9, to prepare for the
final task, is also a way of recording vocabulary in an organised, personalised
and meaningful way, as suggested by Lewis in part 2.4.
3.3. GROUP WORK
Working in
groups help fostering learning independence, and specially in vocabulary work,
learners can exchange knowledge, asking others to explain unknown items.
We also hope
that group work will be a motivating factor, as students talk about places they
have been on holiday to, trying to remember details together, exchanging
impressions and even good memories!
3.4. CHOICE OF TASK
As we said
earlier in part 2.3, we find it vital that students are given opportunities to
use the language they are learning in a realistic context. Therefore, we have
devised the final task to meet this principle.
Writing a
leaflet is a possible task in the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English, which
these students are preparing for. It is also a relevant, real life task that we
expect will interest students. I always like to mention that the standard of
leaflets written in English in Brazil is very poor, and that they could do a
much better job.
We expect
that this writing should also enable students to use the vocabulary they have
studied in a realistic context, and that they could be motivated to learn even
more vocabulary they feel they need to accomplish the task.
The
completion of the final task for homework will also help to reinforce and
revise the vocabulary learnt, giving students a better chance to store the
items in their long-term memory, as we mentioned in part 2.1.
We are going
to explain what the final task will be right after step 3, in which they should
notice what kind of text the extracts come from. By doing this we want to
motivate students to do the enabling tasks, mainly to show them the need to
learn new vocabulary.
As this is a
borrowed group, it might be the case the students are not yet familiar with the
leaflet format, in which case more input would be necessary before the
conclusion of the final task.
If students
are really interested in the task, this could be transformed into a project,
involving research and the production of a leaflet or web page in the
multi-media centre.
References
Allen, V. (1983) Techniques in teaching vocabulary. OUP.
Gairns, R. Redman, S.(1986) Working with words. CUP.
