Teaching Vocabulary To Advanced Students: A Lexical Approach
by Solange Mora, Sao Carlos, Brazil, July 2001
http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/teachingvocabulary.html
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.
Hill, J. (1999) ‘Collocational competence’ English Teaching Professional, 11, pp. 3-6.
Lewis,
M. (1993) The lexical approach. LTP.
Lewis, M. (1997) Implementing
the lexical approach. LTP
Oxford, R.(1990) Language
learning strategies. Newbury House.
Richards, J. (1985) The context
of language teaching. CUP.
Scrivener, J. (1994) Learning
teaching. Heinemann.
Thornbury, S. (1998) ‘The lexical approach: a journey without
maps’. MET, 7 (4), pp. 7-13
Willis, J. (1996) A framework for task-based learning. Longman.