A good vocabulary learner - methods and techniques of teaching vocabulary

A GOOD VOCABULARY LEARNER - METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF TEACHING VOCABULARY

It is commonly known that people learn a language by repeating single words at first and then joining them together into more complicated phrases. Undoubtedly, it is the reason why the existence of a communication act would be impossible without the presence of words, phrases and expressions. The significance of the vocabulary is stressed by many methodologists. For example, Thornbury (2002: 1) states that “language emerges first by words, both historically, and in terms of the way each of us learnt our first and any subsequent languages.” Zhihong (2000) assumes that if learners do not know how to enrich their vocabulary they systematically become less interested in learning. Teachers' mission of training students in sufficient vocabulary knowledge is a daunting task, however, not impossible to fulfil. There are many useful and interesting methods of vocabulary presentation, practice and production that can help learners to acquire and keep a satisfying track of items needed in communication.
A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used for instruction. While in the past the focus was laid on grammatical description, and procedures of drilling, modern methods reflect on promoting real communication in the classroom, help students understand spoken as well as written language. Commonly used teaching methods may include class participation, demonstration, recitation, memorization, or combinations of these. The choice of teaching method or methods to be used depends largely on the information or skill that is being taught, and it may also be influenced by the aptitude and enthusiasm of the students.
Before looking at the language teaching methods the term method should be described and the differences between an approach, technique and the method should be clearly stated. The term approach is the widest of the three. Brown (2010: 171) defines approach as “theoretical position and belief about the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical setting”. It is the teacher's task to understand the properties of the relationships between himself, the learner and the context so he can choose particular method and technique of foreign language teaching. Brown (2010: 14) claims that:

“Each teacher is called on to develop a sound overall approach to various language classrooms. This approach is a principled basis upon which the teacher can choose particular designs and techniques for teaching a foreign language in a particular context. Such a prospect may seem formidable. There are no instant recipes. No quick and easy method is guaranteed to provide success. Every learner is unique. Every teacher is unique. Every learner-teacher relationship is unique, and every context is unique.”

Within one approach, there can be many methods of teaching. Anthony (1963: 63-7) defines method as “an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach”.1 According to Brown (2010; 171), method is:

“a generalized, prescribed set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviours, and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing and materials. They are almost thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of context.”

Finally, the concept of technique referred to the actual implementation in the language classroom. Anthony (1963: 63-7) stated that a technique is "a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective."2 He saw techniques as being consistent with a given method and by extension, with a given approach. In Brown (2010: 171) the following definition of technique can be found: “any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives”.

A variety of methods of vocabulary teaching

“If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much. You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words!” (Thornbury 2002: 13). When language teachers try to decide which view of the language learning process should be adopted as most suitable for meeting the needs of their students they often face a major source of problems. Reading opposing views, language teachers face a dilemma in trying to decide how to organize their lessons as well as choose the most effective method. Teaching of grammatical structures was given for a long time a greater priority over the communicative function itself. The number of words introduced in such courses was kept fairly low. Those words which were taught were often chosen either because they were easily demonstrated, or translation even used to be the only way of demonstration. The access of the communicative approach set era for reconsidering the role of vocabulary, as well as debates about effectiveness and optimization of teaching process.
There is a wide variety of methods of language teaching, and it is the teachers role is to choose the best to meet his student’s needs. The earliest method which aim was to translate ancient literature from Greek and Latin was Grammar-Translational Method. It consisted mainly of exhaustive use of dictionaries, explanations of grammatical rules in native language, some sample sentences, and exercise drills to practice the new structures. There was little opportunity for real second-language acquisition and practice. In this method vocabulary selection was based on written texts and the lists of vocabulary items were presented with their translation equivalents. Although the method neglects oral and communicative language practice, it is still used in contemporary language classrooms.
Undoubtedly all human beings learn to speak before they learn to read or write so it can be assumed that speech has a priority in teaching a foreign language. The theory of language underlying Audio-Lingual Method was derived from a view that came to know as structural linguistics. An important tenet of structural linguistics was that the primary medium of language is oral, which means that speech is a language. Lessons often began with a sample dialogue to be recited and memorized. This was followed up with substitution pattern and saturation drills in which the grammatical structure previously introduced was reinforced, with emphasis given to rapid fire student response. Repetition, substitution, transformation, and translation became the order of the day. This method was strongly influenced by B.F. Skinner's behaviorist view toward learning which favored habit-forming drill techniques. Unfortunately, most students couldn’t transfer these dialogues into their own real-life experiences.
The interest in developing principles for foreign language teaching out of naturalistic principles of language learning, such as are seen in the first language acquisition led to the development of the Direct Method in language teaching. This method presented discussion in the target language as the major priority. Reference to English equivalents became discouraged. Grammar learning became inductive in nature without overt explanations given the pupil. Teacher/student interaction became fuller, guessing of context or content, completing fill-ins, and doing “cloze” exercises were the order of the day. Accuracy in pronunciation and oral expression became vital and students were asked to follow the examples of correct phrases and sentences.
The communicative approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as communication. The goal of language teaching is to develop what Hymes (1972) referred to as “communicative competence”. In this acquisition-focused approach communicative competence progressing is seen through three stages: aural comprehension, early speech production, and speech activities, all fostering "natural" language acquisition, much as a child would learn his/her native tongue. Following an initial "silent period", comprehension should precede production in speech, as the latter should be allowed to emerge in natural stages or progressions. Only the target language is used in classroom and auditory input for the student becomes paramount. Errors in speech are not corrected aloud. In the Communication Language teaching the study of grammar is considered to have only modest value in the language learning process. The major focus is put on practicing newly acquired structures using pair work. Visualization activities that often make use of a picture file, slide presentations, word games, dialogues, contests, recreational activities, empirical utterances, and realia provide situations with problem-solving tasks which might include the use of charts, maps, graphs, and advertisements, are performed on the spot in class. The language classroom becomes more student-centered with the teacher allowing for students to output the language more often on their own.
Total Physical Response, also known as TPR, is a method in which both language and body movement are synchronized through action responses and use of the imperative (direct commands). TPR may be used in conjunction with some other methods involving psychoneuro-kinetic techniques wherein the teacher gives a host of commands with the students then responding by “acting out” the command: “Stand up”, “Go to the door”, "Sit down", etc. Kinetic movement of the hands and arms is incorporated in lieu of rote memorization. Student speech is delayed until they feel comfortable enough to give other students commands too. TPR is very effective in teaching temporal states, personal pronouns, and other deep grammatical structures and also teaching the youngest learners.

Ways of presenting vocabulary

The word presentation itself connotes that someone else than the learner is responsible for the process of encountering the new vocabulary. Hence, awareness of the central role of the teacher as the person mediating the learning process should be underlined. In literature of the subject there is a discussion about the role of a teacher in the vocabulary teaching process and of how a teacher could improve his role to make learning easier for the student. It is taken it for granted that it is the teacher who is responsible for the way vocabulary is presented in the classroom in the end.
There are three ways vocabulary can be taught in the classroom. It can be presented in the form of a lexical set – a group of thematically linked words – introduced in a lesson dedicated to teaching vocabulary on its own. For Scrivener (2006: 234) it seems very useful to teach a small set of lexical items connected in some way at the same time. Though, Scrivener (1998: 80) suggests that “a great deal of vocabulary work in class occurs in relation to reading and listening skills work”. In such cases vocabulary is presented either as a preparation for the listening or reading task, a process called pre-teaching vocabulary, or the new lexis arises as a ‘by-product of these skills’ (Thornbury, 2006: 240), when the focus on lexis occurs before, during or after the learner reads or listens.
First, it is important to focus on what should be included in a presentation. When presenting a new set of lexical items in a dedicated vocabulary lesson, it must be decided whether to present the meaning or the form first. As mentioned before to “know” a word the learner needs to learn both the form and the meaning of the new item and that they should be presented as close to each other as possible to connect in one’s mind. Both of the following approaches seem to be equally valid. Thornbury (2002: 76) suggests that “presenting the meaning first creates a need for the form [...] and [makes] the presentation more efficient and memorable”. On the contrary, starting with the form is typical of vocabulary work which is based on a text or listening or when a word emerges in a lesson naturally. This kind of presentation provides the learners with the context from which they can guess the meaning rather independently from the context.
The next step is the choice of the means of presentation – the techniques which are used to present new vocabulary items to the learners. There is a great variety of possible ways of presenting new vocabulary in the ELT methodology. New vocabulary can be presented through visual techniques such as flashcards, real objects, pictures or mining or verbal techniques such as explanation, translation or giving definitions. To help learners memorize new vocabulary it is a good idea to use mnemonic techniques.
Human brain can be compared to muscles, to be strong and healthy it must be used. In other words, the more an individual exercises his/her brain the more he/she will remember. There are some techniques for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall – mnemonics. According to the freedictionary.com, mnemonics “a device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.3” The idea behind using mnemonics is to encode difficult-to-remember information in a way that is much easier to remember. Our brains evolved to code and interpret complex stimuli such as images, colors, structures, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, positions, emotions and language. We use these to make sophisticated models of the world we live in. Our memories store all of these very effectively. Unfortunately, a lot of the information we have to remember in modern life is presented differently – as words printed on a page. People' brains do not easily encode written information, making it difficult to remember. Hence, it is a good idea to use these mnemonic techniques to help students to store presented vocabulary in long term memory.
An extremely efficient method of studying language concepts and foreign vocabulary is the use of the flashcards in language learning. Flashcards are very versatile teaching resource. They can be used virtually in any lesson and at every level of teaching foreign language. In fact flashcards are indispensable for the beginner and elementary level as at these stages the learners are engaged in developing their vocabulary. Flashcards are useful for teaching vocabulary in a number of ways: matching words to pictures, drilling vocabulary, concentration games, singular and plurals, every part of speech and grammar structures as well. They are also very useful for sequencing activities, pair work and group work. Other visual aids such as pictures or real objects can be used in the same way. Some ideas of using flashcards in language classroom are given below.
1. Teaching vocabulary: presentation and games:
Hold up a flashcard. Elicit or give the target word. Have the class repeat it in chorus and than choose individual students to repeat the word. Don't write it. Stick it to the board. Repeat it with maximum of six or seven cards.
Point to each card and have a class or individuals tell you the word.
Say the word and have class point to the correct flashcard.
Tell the group to close their eyes. Take one card away and make them guess which one.
Whisper one of the words. Have the class guess which one.
Write the word under each flashcard and have students copy them. Take the card off the board. Ask individuals to put the flashcards on the board again in the right place.
Reorder the flashcards so the cards do not match the words. Ask students to come to theboard and order them correctly.
2. Teaching grammar: presentation and practice:
Put flashcards on the board as prompts for example sentences from the students when teach or reviewing grammar, e.g.: to practice like +ing and sports vocabulary put six sports flashcards on the board. Use one of them to drill, e.g. I like swimming. Point to other flashcards to elicit substitute sentences.
Adapted from: How to use flashcards when teaching vocabulary (Bright 2012: 9)

On the other hand, there are verbal techniques of presenting new vocabulary such as explanation, translation or giving definitions. Explanation conveys information about language in explicit way. The technique can be useful to introduce something for the first time and is associated with highly deductive teaching approaches. According to Johnson (2008: 246), “a potential problem with explanations is that they can be highly intellectually challenging(...)” which makes them inaccessible especially to younger learners. Furthermore, when presenting new language the teacher can simple translate the target vocabulary in students native language or ask them to look the word up in the dictionary. For many years, the practice of having students look up words, write down definitions, and memorize those definitions was the main strategy teachers used to teach vocabulary. Nowadays, it is known that having students follow this practice is one of the least effective strategies. That does not mean that students should not use dictionaries; however, their use should be limited and students must be taught how to use a dictionary and choose the right definition. Students need explicit instruction in how to use what they find in a dictionary entry so they are able to transfer that information into something useful. Since, students may be confused by different meanings for the same word, it is the teachers role to explain or translate them meaning of presented words. It is advisable to translate non-target vocabulary which comes up during the lesson and the teacher wants to deal with it quickly, however, key vocabulary should always be presented in target language first even in weak classes. Below can be found ideas of how to effectively teach vocabulary to foreign language learners.
Make sure you know which of the target vocabulary in your course book is new to your students and which they may have met before. This affects how quickly you move on to the practice stage.
Use the pictures and photos in the course book, flashcards, realia and the students themselves to teach the target lexical sets, e.g. use a tall student to teach the word tall.
Always try to elicit words if you think your students have some knowledge. This is motivating for them.
Remember to teach meaning first. Then make sure all the students have said the target word at least once before you write it on the board.
Help students to say the words correctly by marking stressed syllables when you write the word on the board.
Do not try to introduce to much vocabulary at the same time as you will overload your students. Six or seven completely new words are plenty. If your students already know some words, increase the number.
Give students plenty of practice so they can integrate the new words into their vocabulary. Understanding a word is very different from being able to say it and use it appropriately.
You can play a short game as a warmer in one lesson to recycle vocabulary taught in the previous one.
Adapted from: Some ideas of how to teach vocabulary (Bright 2012: 10)

Teaching vocabulary through receptive skills

One of the oldest findings in educational research is the strong relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading and listening comprehension. Reading and listening are often labelled as receptive skills because learners do not need to produce language, they just receive and understand it. These skills are sometimes known as passive skills. However, Saville-Troike (2007: 153) states that naming them receptive or passive “does not imply that L 2 learners perform them passively and without effort” since successful learning always requires active effort.
Extremely popular method of teaching new vocabulary and language structures to foreign language learners are through written texts and dialogues. In most course books they provide carefully structured context for language presentation and practice. Before students are asked to read or listen to the text it is strongly advised to introduce the topic and to per-teach the key vocabulary as the knowledge of words is crucial to reading or listening comprehension and determines how well students will be able to comprehend the texts they read. As students struggle to read or listen to the text, they encounter many new words. These are words for which they may or may not know the meaning. Yet in order to comprehend the text, the students are forced to learn the meaning of the unfamiliar words and incorporate them into his lexicon.
Chants and songs have long been recognised as fun and child-friendly tools in vocabulary learning, therefore they cannot be underestimated. Especially, with younger learners songs play an important role in the language development and learning. Their clear, repetitive language enables the learners to remember the newly presented vocabulary. They also provide the essential examples of correct pronunciation and intonation and they can be useful in the teaching of vocabulary and sentence structures. Moreover, songs and chants can reflect culture and increase students’ overall enjoyment of learning a second language. One advantage of using them in the young learner classroom is their flexibility. Songs and chants can be used for a number of purposes and there are many reasons why they can be considered a valuable pedagogical tool. Songs can help young learners improve their listening skills and pronunciation, therefore potentially help them to improve their speaking skills. Songs and chants can also be useful tools in the learning of vocabulary, sentence structures, and sentence patterns, not to mention their reflectivity of mother tongue culture. Perhaps the greatest benefit to using them in the classroom is that they can be fun. Getting pleasure from language learning is an important factor, as songs and chants can add interest to the classroom routine and potentially improve student motivation. Students can become bored by repeatedly listening to a narration or dialogue as they attempt to understand the meaning of new words or phrases in context. In contrast, listening to a song over and over again can seem less monotonous because of the rhythm and melody. Some songs contain common expressions and can be used as good listening activities. They can also help to improve listening skills because they provide students with practice listening to different forms of intonation and rhythm. Murphey (1992: 3) believes that music has the power to engrave itself into our brains, stating that “songs work on our short- and long-term memory” and are therefore adequate tools for using in the language classroom. Children are often keen to learn how to make new sounds and this can take a great deal of practice. Some teachers use minimal-pair drills, yet these types of activities are rarely interesting for young learners. Songs and chants, on the other hand, can allow young learners to practice a new sound without producing the same level of boredom. They also have a natural rhythm with a recurring beat that is similar to the stress patterns of spoken English. These patterns make songs and chants useful for practising rhythm and stress. Practising the different sounds by singing songs or chanting can be more interesting and enjoyable than other activities such as minimal-pair drills. Songs and chants can provide the opportunity for vocabulary practice. They are usually based around a theme or topic that can provide the context for vocabulary learning. Most children’s songs are characterized by monosyllabic words, many of which are frequently repeated. This repetition offers greater exposure to these words and can help to improve vocabulary acquisition. Some ideas why it is worth to teach vocabulary through songs and chants are collected by the author.

Students knowledge of vocabulary increases considerably.
Students knowledge of language structures such as greeting, requesting etc. increases considerably.
Students improve their pronunciation and intonation.
They give a chance to feel pleasure and fun while practice language.
Music and rhythm can motivate students to learning since the lessons are not boring and monotonous.
Reasons why it is worth to teach vocabulary through songs and chants (created by the author)

Teaching vocabulary through productive skills

When learning a language students are encouraged to produce sentences in the target language orally or in writing. This production involves a wide variety of practice types often called productive activities. Saville-Troike (2007: 193) defines productive activities as “second language use that involves communicating meaning to others by writing or speaking.” The activities require prior knowledge of vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling and grammatical structures as well. Productive activities for language make much use of repetition of vocabulary and language structures. The most common examples of productive activities are games and drama.
Foreign language students very often feel boredom in vocabulary lessons because they have not changed their learning habits, such as writing words on paper, trying to learn by heart or learning passively through the teacher's explanations. In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately. To help students achieve the goal and make the vocabulary lessons more interesting it is a good idea to use vocabulary games in language classroom. Games are very valid teaching tool, since, such activities focus on helping learners develop and use words in different contexts. What is more, they make the lessons enjoyable for students motivating them to learning. The role of games in learning should not be underestimated, because they provide meaningful, motivating context for language practice. When planning a lesson games should be included as an integral part of every lesson, moreover, the reasons why the game is assigned should be stated clearly. The most common reasons include: to practice and review vocabulary, to practice and revise structures, to improve students' communication skills and to improve students' listening comprehension such as their ability to follow instructions. It is a good idea to use games at the beginning of the lesson as a warmer, or as settler to calm students down. However, they should not be often used only as the final activity at the end of a lesson when the teacher has some spare time. The game should not be let to continue for too long, since, fast finishers will get restless and the activity may be found boring or demotivating. Below are shown some examples of games commonly used in the teaching practice to revise and practice vocabulary.
I – spy
Class interaction: Pair work, Group work, whole class (lockstep)
Procedure:
Choose a known object in the classroom all the students can see, do not tell anyone.
Say I spy with my little eye something beginning with (B).
Make students to put their hands up before they guess.
The student who guesses the word is the winner and continues the game.
Bingo
Class interaction: whole class (lockstep)
Procedure:
Give students a grid and have them write one word from a given set in each square.
Read the word from the chosen set and tell students to cross it out if they have it.
Repeat the process.
Tell students to put their hands up and say: Line when they cross off all the items in a row.
Tell students to put their hands up and shout Bingo! When they cross all their words.
Check the students words and declare him/her a winner.
Touch and guess
Class interaction: whole class (lockstep), group work
Procedure:
Ask the student to come to the front and blindfold him/her.
Give him/her an object from the bag to feel.
Ask him/her to guess what it is.
Allocate points for correct guesses.
Student who gets the most points wins.
Hangman
Class interaction: Pair work, Group work, whole class (lockstep)
Procedure:
Think of a word bud do not tell anyone what is it.
Write a dash on the board representing each letter.
Ask volunteer for a letter.
If the word contains the letter write it on the board.
If it does not, write the letter on the board so the students know not to use it again, and draw part of a gallows. The student must guess the word before a gallows and the man are drawn.
Snap
Class interaction: Pair work, Group work, whole class (lockstep)
Procedure:
Hold up one flashcard at a time.
Have the students tell the word.
If a flashcard from the same vocabulary set is hold up, the students shout SNAP!
Chinese Whispers
Class interaction: whole class (lockstep)
Procedure:
Whisper the word or a sentence to a student.
Tell the student to whisper the word or sentence to the person sitting next to him /her.
Continue until the students have whispered the same word/sentence to each other. Ask the last student to tell the class what he/she thinks the sentence is.
The most common games used in vocabulary teaching (chosen by the author)

Drama activities are used in the language classroom as good activities for language production. They broaden vocabulary and provide varied opportunities for different uses of language and because they engage feelings they can provide rich experience of language for the students. What is more, they are entertaining and fun, and can provide motivation to learn. The drama integrates language skills in a natural way. It brings the classroom interaction to life through an intensive focus on meaning. Drama activities, according to Maley and Duff (1979: 56), "Are activities which give the students an opportunity to use his own personality in creating the material in which part of the language class is to be based". Drama activities can provide students with an opportunity to use language to express various emotions, to solve problems, to make decisions. They are also useful in the development of oral communication skills, and reading and writing as well. Such activities give also an opportunity for students at the beginning of their learning to communicate in the target language. Children, especially, enjoy pretending to be a famous actor or a sport star. What is more, playing the role they sometimes forget they are speaking a foreign language and they feel relaxed and calm. Drama activities can be used in the classroom easily by practising introductions, greetings, suggestions etc. Furthermore, there is no need to use special props, the favourite mascot speaking for the student is enough. Dressing up and being under the disguised is a lot of fun for students it is the reason why even the most shy and unsure student disposes fear of making a mistake or feeling foolish.
Contemporary world is perceived as a global village with the need to communicate with its linguistically diverse citizens. The idea to teach English as a lingua franca emerged many years ago as a solution to this problem. Since then, there has been a significant increase in teaching and learning the language at schools. Without any doubt the basic element of any language knowledge is vocabulary, and it can be said that the more words the student knows the better his/ her knowledge of a language is.
AUTHOR: MARIA BRUDEK – PSP W NIEDŹWIEDZIU
References
Bright, Catherine 2012. Discover English – teachers book. Pearson.
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Gardner, H. 1993. Multiple Intelligence: The Theory in Practice. New York: New York Basic
Harmer, Jeremy. 2003. The practice of English language teaching. Harlow: Person Education Limited.
Johnson, Keith. 2008. Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. Edinburgh: Pearson Education Limited.
Komorowska, Hanna. 2002. Metodyka nauczania języków obcych. Waszawa: „Fraszka Edukacyjna”.
Troike-Saville, Muriel. 2006. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ur, Penny. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.