WHY IS IT IMPORTANT

FOR SECOND
LANGUAGE
STUDENTS TO LEARN
Vocabulary?
By Suhair M. Oraif
 Definition and usage.

Receptive vs. Productive Vocabulary Knowledge.

Type of vocabulary.

Fact about teaching vocabulary.

Ideas for teaching vocabulary in the classroom.

Contents How do teachers choose words to teach.
Hyponyms Synonyms, Antonyms and words family in
teaching vocabulary.
Importance.

References.
 DEFINITION AND
USAGE
A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. Usually
developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication
and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the largest
challenges in learning a second language.
REMEMBER

Productive and receptive knowledge.

Degree of knowledge.
Depth of knowledge.
Definition of word.

All in one word (vocabulary)

 Receptive vs. Productive
Vocabulary Knowledge
Receptive vocabulary knowledge refers to the ability to understand a word when it is heard or
seen.

Productive knowledge is the knowledge to produce a word when one writes or speaks.

Generally, researchers believed that words are known receptively first and only after intentional or
incidental learning become available for productive use.

Vocabulary knowledge is a continuum on which a word grows from receptive to productive status
the transfer from receptive.

Second language learners’ receptive vocabulary size is much larger than their productive
vocabulary size.
TYPES OF
VOCABULARY
Type of
vocabulary
 Reading vocabulary
 Listening vocabulary
 Speaking vocabulary
 Writing vocabulary
 Final vocabulary
 Type of vocabulary
 Reading vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what
we read. Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in the reading process and
contributes greatly to a reader's comprehension.
 Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what
we hear. Speaking vocabulary consists of the words we use when we speak
 Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing. Good writers can
pull out the right tools at the right time to make good writing even more
powerful. One tool that can “power up” your writing is a strong vocabulary.
Better Dictionary to
use
 Oxford ESL Dict.
 Oxford Picture Dictionary for
the Content Areas
 Any ESL or picture
dictionary
 Facts about teaching
Vocabulary
 Teachers need to spend quite a lot of time on teaching new vocabulary and
reviewing it throughout the year.
 Teachers need to take more care in selecting which items to teach.
 About 12 new items a week in elementary school, about 20 in junior high, about
30 in high school must be selected by teachers
 In order to make sure that students have mastered the items, they need to review
them at least ten times, probably more.
 Teachers will need to review new items she/he have taught not only at the end of
the same lesson or unit but will need to come back to them regularly over the
whole year.
Ideas for Teaching Vocabulary in the Classroom

 Semantic Maps: Teacher chooses a word and displays it for the class on a whiteboard,
etc.. Students read the word and then think of words that come to mind when they see that
word (this is awesome because it activates prior learning).
 Eye Spy: Give students a list of words to search for in a text or have them find unfamiliar
words. You can award points to the words based on different criteria (longest new word,
word with most consonants, etc.). (do this as pre reading activity)
 Word Pairs: Give students words in pairs and have them evaluate if the words are the
same, opposite, go together, or are unrelated.
 Games: Such as bingo and memory games, Many “real” games work well for vocab play
and practice.
Let's play
the Bingo
game
 How Do teachers Choose Words to Teach?

 1.Select the topic for study.

 2. Identify learner outcomes (central ideas students must know).
 3. Identify key vocabulary related to the learner outcomes.
 4. Brainstorm interesting and useful vocabulary.
 5. Determine the extent and level of processing necessary for the vocabulary.
 6. Decide how to teach the vocabulary to increase the extent and level of students’
word knowledge processing.
 7.Each vocabulary teaching method teachers will utilize in their classroom ,will
have a focus from students.
Hyponym, Synonyms, Antonyms and words family in
teaching vocabulary
 Hyponyms are words that are the specific examples of a general word, a 'superordinate'. They can be
compared with synonyms, which mean the same things, and antonyms, which mean opposite things.
Learners can record words in hyponym groups in vocabulary banks and add new words to these groups. .
For example, “spoon is a hyponym of cutlery”.
 Synonyms are words or phrases that mean exactly or nearly the same as another words or phrases in the
same language, for example “shut is a synonym of close”.
 Antonyms are words opposite in meaning to another (e.g., bad and good ).” students can practice
synonyms and antonyms on small computerized machines that give instant feedback and register a score
with happy little dings and clicks”.
 A word family is any grouping of words that have the same vowel sound and contain the same short
sequence of letters, often at the end. Start by teaching your students a few simple word families
Example
 Brainstorm
Write on your paper 5 to 10 words that ending
with(tion, sion).

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

 IMPORTANCE
Importance Of Vocabulary. Vocabulary plays an essential role in creating
understanding of language through what a student hears and reads in school.
Hence, vocabulary becomes even more important than grammar, as it is, this
vocabulary helps students to communicate successfully with people within
and outside their circle.
Note: “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. David
Wilkins
Thank you for attending
Suhair.M.Oraif
 WORKS CITED
https://www.wikihow.mom/Teach-Word-Families

"Best Practices For Teaching Vocab To ELL Students | Reading Comprehension | Vocabulary". Scribd,
2010, https://www.scribd.com/document/30878948/Best-Practices-for-Teaching-Vocab-to-ELL-Students.
Accessed 17 Oct 2019.

Nordquist, Richard. "What Are Hyponyms In English?". Thoughtco, 2019,

https://www.thoughtco.com/hyponym-words-term-1690946.
Accessed 17 Oct 2019.

Zhou, Songbo. "Comparing Receptive and Productive Academic Vocabulary Knowledge of Chinese EFL
Learners". Asian Social Science, vol 6, no. 10, 2010. Canadian Center of Science And Education,
doi:10.5539/ass. v6n10p14. www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/download/6313/5807
Accessed 17 Oct 2019