elt 8.pdf

Session 8: Vocabulary and Grammar 1. Teaching Words 1.1. Building Lexical Knowledge: Knowing a Word dimension types of example difficulty comment example knowledge involved meaning knowing the core r...

Session 8: Vocabulary and Grammar 1. Teaching Words 1.1. Building Lexical Knowledge: Knowing a Word dimension types of example difficulty comment example knowledge involved meaning knowing the core read = lesen synonyms, semantic handy, to meaning and (entnehmen, antonyms, interference become additional wahrnehmen), false friends because of meanings interpretieren, phonological deuten, Lesart similarities form knowing about read / read, to be spelling, one sound in be, bee, spelling, reading word stress English can meat, pronunciation, have many police, key, word stress, different quay, morphology, spellings Phoenix colligations use collocations, proofread, to have collocation, knowing to watch register, semantic a read of sth., to degree of collocations is (not see) range, context be a good read, to formality very complex TV read sb.’s palm 1.2. Criteria for knowing a word 1. Do I recognise a word when it is spoken and written, incl. derivations? 2. Do I know the grammatical features of the word? (occur, occurring, occurred etc.) 3. Do I know the syntactic characteristics of the word? 4. Am I able to use the word spontaneously? 5. Am I able to pronounce the word so that my partner understands it? 6. Do I know the differences to words with a similar meaning? (first aid vs. *first help) 7. Am I aware of the connotation or emotional meaning of the word? 8. Do I know the semantic field of a word or at least highly frequent meanings? 9. Am I able to spell the word? 10. Do I know the register of the word? 1.3. Types of Knowledge Declarative Knowledge − the what: know how words are used and how they relate to other words − syntagmatic relations: collocations, … − paradigmatic relations: synonyms, antonyms, super-/subordinate terms, … Procedural Knowledge − the how: application process − memorisation  − lexical gap: inferencing, consult dictionary or expert, ignore, … − retrieval 1.4. What Lexis Is Worth Learning? − frequency of use − coverage − range − availability − learnability − opportunism or usefulness − learners’ interests 1.5. Strategies of Explaining Unknown Words − background knowledge/socio-cultural knowledge/topic knowledge (contextualisation) − functions, situations (description of usage) − characteristics of a word/linguistic knowledge (grammar, word class, how to use the word) − from general knowledge to specific knowledge − importance of waiting time (process) 1.6. Word Storage − words are stored systematically in our minds o phonologically o semantically o conceptually by association − the mental lexicon is part of the long-term memory (linguistic knowledge and culturally influenced world knowledge) − different kinds of association between words are established o clang/sound associations: words are stored closely together because of their phonological similarity (example: reflect/effect) o paradigmatic associations: words are grouped in the same word classes, e.g. synonyms, antonyms, derivations, compounds (examples: pass away/die, hot/cold, im/possible, whiteboard) o syntagmatic associations: words of different word classes are linked syntactically in collocations or lexical chunks, e.g. adjective-noun pairs, verb-noun pairs, collocations, idioms (examples: heavy traffic, ride a bicycle, the line is busy, to kick the bucket) − multiple encodings of a word (example: summer) o abstract: the opposite of winter o visual: mental images of beach life o auditory: a summer song o tactile: applying sunscreen  o affective: what we like to do in summer o extended according to personal experience: summer in a specific country o further information: noun o referring to a word field, word family of words with a similar meaning: summertime, summer breeze − how to teach new words o teach words in semantic context: words should be embedded in a meaningful context (do not just provide single word input) o teach chunks: support learners in developing fluency, learners should produce language without having to focus on grammar (lexico-grammatical approach) o employ different explanation (see encodings) and learning techniques: movement, pictures, sounds, etc. (multimodal representation) o help students to establish connections between words (e.g. mindmaps) o what to teach when teaching a new word ▪ meaning: core meaning and additional meanings ▪ form: pronunciation, spelling, grammar ▪ use: context, register, semantic range, constraints of use 1.7. Different Phases for Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Input − new words should be presented by pointing out and using different language properties (sounds, orthography, grammar) in a way that different learners with different preferences are able to take in the new lexis − methods: different verbal and non-verbal explanation techniques o definition/explanation o subordination o antonym/synonym o derivation o compound o equation o part-of the-whole o pictures o pointing o realia (everyday items that are used to teach the new lexis) o facial expression o gestures/pantomime o translation o graphic/phonic o similarity to first language Storage/Consolidation − help students structure and store language material: the better words are organised in the learners’ mental lexicon, the easier it will be for them to access and retrieve the words − strategies: teach strategies and different ways of learning vocabulary o mnemonics (visualisation, rhymes, storytelling) o different kinds of vocabulary work (grouping lexical items, word webs, word grids, vocabulary books, index cards, vocab app, etc.) o encourage the storage in chucks (when learning about pets, learners do not just learn the discrete items – dog, rabbit –, instead they also learn them in larger chunks and phrases to be able to use them in a meaningful context, e.g. ‘I like/don’t like dogs because…’; ‘My pet has got black/… eyes’; ‘Her favourite food is grass/…’; ‘My dog is bigger/… than yours.’) o train lexical inferencing (finding out words through context) o teach the effective use of dictionaries Retrieval − repeat vocabulary, design tasks that allow intensive language use and the restructuring of words − lexical items need to be embedded and used in meaningful communication (CLT) − methods o games o tell or write stories o dialogues o poems o role plays 1.8. Assessment: Testing Correct Use − gap texts (practicing syntagmatic connections) − don’t ask for translations, but definitions, paraphrases, drawings, etc. − have students write a free short story with the new lexis 1.9. A New Approach: Lexico-Grammar − breaking down the split between vocabulary teaching on the one hand and grammar teaching on the other hand − recognising that each word has its own grammatical profile and is embedded in a network of grammatical patterns and relations (example: good) o good – better – the best o to be good at + noun / to be good at + V-ing − conclusion: lexis and grammar must not always be separated (learners must become familiar with specific grammatical patterning of individual words and how they combine with other words (lexical chunks)) 2. Teaching Grammar 2.1. Definitions and Roles of Grammar − words in discourse are held together by grammar, which in turn largely depends on sets or words or phrases that are frequently used with them − grammar and vocabulary are intrinsically linked − grammar can be conceptualised as patterns of language through which meaning is created and shared → form-function relationships of grammar 2.2. Teaching and Learning Grammar: Key Terms of Different Kinds of Instruction non-interventionist position on grammar teaching interventionist position on grammar teaching (implicit) (explicit) − comprehensible input − explicit focus on discrete grammatical − learners form hypotheses (similar to L1) features (e.g. tenses, conditionals, …) − strong version of CLT (immersion − PPP (presentation, practice, production) programmes) − focus on form  reactive proactive − grammatical structure comes into focus − teachers prepare instructional materials only if the need arises that facilitate the elicitation of a grammatical structure − planned instruction of specific grammatical phenomena − often associated with PPP paradigm (presentation, practice, production) inductive deductive − teacher presents language examples first − teacher presents grammar rule first and and learners are supposed to discover the learners form examples of the new grammar rules grammar rule to practice its application − example → rule − rule → example − function → form − form → function − discovery learning − rule-driven learning − example: TBLT − example: PPP 2.3. The PPP Model stage explanation examples presentation − learners are exposed to a a text or dialogue is presented new language item (e.g. which contains numerous the simple past) examples of the simple past − the new item is explained and the rules are presented practice learners are provided with drills or gap-filling exercises, opportunities to practice the where learners are asked to fill in selected grammatical items in the correct simple past forms controlled ways production learners use the form more or learners are supposed to talk or less freely in communicative write about an event where they activities are required to use the simple past 2.4. Focus on Form in TBLL/TBLT − activities and lessons that are mainly based on meaning and communication (‘real-world tasks’) − draws students’ attention to linguistic structures that arise incidentally or that are needed to solve the task (several grammatical patterns can appear at once – no linear and isolated progression) − teacher helps students to notice the grammatical feature(s) and engages them in constructing language with the feature(s) − planned FonF (meaning-centred with a pre-determined focus) vs. incidental FonF (‘learning-by-opportunity’) 2.5. Conclusion: Principles of Modern Lexico-Grammar Teaching − teaching grammar and lexis together − working from lexis to grammar − inductive and explorative approaches to create language awareness through noticing new grammatical features  − formalising and contextualising new grammatical features: formal and functional focus/form-function relationships − examples of authentic language use − combine form/accuracy-focused with meaning/fluency-focused activities (deductive and inductive, no either-or-approach) − providing in-depth processing of grammatical and lexical features 2.6. Conclusion: Principles of Communicative Grammar Teaching − fostering communicative competences: command of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and orthography of a language − fostering language awareness: explicit knowledge of the structures and functions of a language − pupils must learn grammar rules but as a primary goal the must be able to use grammar for communication − communicative grammar teaching aims at both − overall aim: understanding and mastering communication (not understanding and mastering grammar as such)