teaching

vocabulary

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Challenges in Vocabulary Learning
• Words often have multiple
meanings
• Context affects word usage
• One word doesn't always
equal one meaning
• Example: "mug" as a noun
(cup) and verb (to rob)

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 Challenges with Meaning: Register
● Some words are more formal than others
● Example: "begin" (informal) vs. "commence"
(formal)
● Cognates can lead to overly formal language use
● How does formality differ in your native
language?
 Traditional way 
Write the new words 5 times / 10 times in your
note books.

Kupa: mug, mug, mug, mug, mug

Raf: shelf, shelf, shelf, shelf, shelf
Saat: clock, clock, clock, clock, clock
Kol saati: watch, watch, watch, watch, watch
Radyo: radio, radio, radio, radio, radio
etc
etc

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DRILLS
Drill-based
vocabulary
teaching

A threatening
weapon?

Your opinion about

drills?

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 Vocabulary

Best learned when the meaning of the word is

illustrated ( picture, action, real object)

When taught in context

Not just learn the words superficially, but put

them into practice to communicate

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 Language

Structure/grammar Word ------------------

---- skeleton of a ---- vital organs &
language flesh

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• Choosing the right word(s) at the right time
can even (sometimes) overcome structural
mistakes.

e.g. * I have sawed him yesterday.

e.g. * I water

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Normally people should be
able to understand you,
when you use the right “key
word” in the context but …
Watch the YOUTUBE video …
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!!! Teaching only grammar / structure is not
enough.
!!! On the other hand memorizing a mini
dictionary is not enough either.

Grammar

Vocabulary

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 Vocabulary vs. Grammar
• Quick to learn words, slower to learn structure
• Words (tangible, immediate meaning)
________________________________________
• Coffee! ( Can I have a coffee, please?)

• Structure ( repeat the same structure over and

over again in different meaningful contexts)

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 From which
languages did
English borrow
words ?

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From which languages did English borrow words ?

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 From which languages did English borrow words
Latin: Due to Roman influence and the spread of Christianity,
many academic and religious terms come from Latin.
French: After the Norman Conquest, French influenced legal,
governmental, and cultural vocabulary.
Germanic Languages: English’s core vocabulary comes from early
Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, Jutes).
Greek: Scientific and technical terms were borrowed from Greek,
especially through academic influence.
Dutch: Trade and maritime terms were borrowed during intense
commercial interaction in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Arabic: Scientific and mathematical terms came via cultural
exchanges during the Middle Ages.
Other Languages: English also absorbed words from global
languages due to British colonization and trade. 14
 TEACHING LEXIS / WORDS
Meaning - Meaning in context
- Sense relations

Word use -Metaphor, idiom

-Formal, informal

Word info -Prefix, suffix

WORDS -Spelling
-Pronunciation

Word grammar Noun (countable, uncountable)

Verb (action, non-progressive)
Adjective,
Adverb
Preposition 15
Active vocabulary vs Passive Vocabulary

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 How important is vocabulary?
Consider the following text
Like many other ancient XXXXXXX, the XXXXXXX
of XXXXXXX Egypt developed around a river – the
Nile. It is the country’s XXXXXXX … The river provided
a XXXXXXX supply of water in a land that had
XXXXXXX no rain. It’s XXXXXXX floods XXXXXXX the
fields in which the XXXXXXX was planted.
Pre-teaching Vocabulary

● Share a list of words before

the lesson
● Refer to the list throughout
the class
● Teach words using common
phrases or collocations
 Contextual Learning

● Make vocabulary relevant to

students' lives
● Create connections between
words and real-world situations
● Students explain words in
context or tell stories using word
lists
● Can you think of a personal
example for a new word you've
learned?
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
Teaching Techniques
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 1 - Word walls
Word Wall e.g. A board in the classroom where teachers write words/phrases

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 2 - Word Families
We can teach our students word families, words derived from the same stem.

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 3 - Explanation

a) You don’t have enough money and you

get some money from the bank…
_____________________________

b) You don’t have money and the bank

gives you some money but they own the
machine/estate until the money is paid
back to the bank …
___________________________

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4 - Using Realia (real objects)

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5 - Mime, action and gestures

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6 - Total Physical Response (TPR)

● Use actions to represent words or

phrases
● Especially effective for younger
learners
7 - Enumeration

( ? ) ------> cat, dog, mouse, horse etc.

Verkehrsmittel: .......

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 English ---- Turkish

8)
Translation

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9 -Grouping words

A B C
Group ??? Group ??? Group ???

Biology, run, gear, seat, geology, sit, kick,

bumper, driving wheel, psychology, chemistry,
sleep, …

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10 - Using dictionaries, Audio
dictionaries, Electronic dictionaries, Audio
books
With your smart devices you can listen to new words
on the street, on the bus etc.

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11 - Concordance (Br Nat Corp)
http://bncweb.lancs.ac.uk

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concordance

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12 - Telling stories
Now I am going to tell you a story, help me when I can’t find
the right word.
The last time when I was …

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13 - Tango-seated pairs

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14 - Using pictures

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Using pictures

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15 - Two sided flashcards

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 16 - Word-building
e.g. Suffixes for JOBS
Use –er -or -ee -ist suffixes for the people to describe their jobs

- A person who plays football …………………….

- A person who trains other people …………….
- A person who is being trained ……………….
- A person who works at the reception ………..
- A person who teaches at the university ……
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17 - Word (grammatical) classes
NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB

Dancer To dance - -

Production To poduce productive -

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18 - Matching
• Steam • son
• Step • tray
• Church • ladder
• Step • cleaner
• Oven • train
• ash • bell

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 19 - Odd one out

a) Hair-restorer, plant-holder, step-ladder, oven-cleaner

b) car, train, horse, ship, boat
c) Worker, cooker, writer, cleaner, teacher 42
20 - Guessing from the context
I am the Loch Ness Monster. My nickname is 'Nessie' and people
have been hunting me for generations. I am 947 years old and have
lived in my cave in Loch Ness all my life. I am basically quite a
friendly monster. I have only ever eaten one human, but he tasted
very bad so I went back to fish. I know I look a bit scary because I am
so huge and my neck is so long, but I really can't help the way I look
any more than you can. This is my mum and dad. Do I look like
them? My mum had a very long neck and my dad was very dark and
furry so I have inherited all of these features. On top of that I come
from a very long line of monsters that date back to Prehistoric times.
I believe I am distantly related to a dinosaur called
'Mamenchisaurus', which lived in the late Jurassic period. It had a
body about 25 metres long and a 14-metre neck! It also had a tiny
head, a huge, bulky body and possibly it had two brains – that's
probably why I am so intelligent and no one has ever caught me. This
is my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great
grandfather!

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21 - Synonyms – Antonyms - Homonyms

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22 - Word maps / word forks / word matrices

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23 - Word maps / word forks / word matrices

shoot
edit
direct …………………
star in
review

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24 - Pictograms

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25 - Word Games

• Please find words that start with the last letter of the preceding
word. For example…
World -> devil -> long -> green -> new -> w…

S1. S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 ….
26 - Word / Language Games (Boardgames)
27 - Word Games (Digital)
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Word Search Crosswords Hangman

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Quiz Match Game Jumble 50

28 - www.quizlet.com

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Quizlet video – How to use Quizlet

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Short videos just teaching the related
word …

>
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29 - www.englishcentral.com

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30 - Short videos that teach vocabulary
• Videos from Youtube

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 31 - www.wordtaboo.com
teaching words with video scenes

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