TEACHING

VOCABULARY
 THE IMPORTANCE OF
TEACHING VOCABULARY

Vocabulary is the base of any language learning.

Neither oral, nor written speech is possible without
learning a certain amount of vocabulary.

In other words, to master a language means to

acquire a certain number of words and word
combinations which can be understood in listening
and reading (receptive speech), and used in speaking
and writing (productive speech).
 SELECTION OF
VOCABULARY
The major scientific principles of selecting FL
vocabulary are as follows:

• The Principle of Frequency

• The Principle of Combinability
• The selected words should be included in the
school topics as much as possible.
• The Principle of Word-building Value
• The Principle of Stylistic Neutrality
 The Principle of Frequency–Words frequently used in
the language.

The Principle of Combinability – To master a FL,

learners must be able to combine words fluently and
correctly to form meaningful word combinations and
sentences.If the words selected have high value of
combinability they will be easily combined with other words
which will be a great help for learners in creating meaningful
phrases and sentences.
The Principle of Word-building
Value – The words selected should
have high value of word-
building. It is a very effective
means to enrich pupils` vocabulary,
especially their potential
vocabulary.(e.g., use, used, useful,
useless, usefully, user, usage,
useable).
The Principle of Stylistic Neutrality–The words selected should be stylistically neutral,
unlimited from the viewpoint of style.

The words selected may be grouped under

the following two classes:

Form or structural
Content words
words
 Psychological and Linguistic Peculiarities of
the English Vocabulary

Psychological peculiarities. From the viewpoint of psychology

each word in vocabulary is a complicated phenomenon which
stimulates perceiving and understanding the speech. As stimulators
of speech there are two aspects of the words: on the one hand we
hear, listen to the words and see them in written form, and a person
gives an answer with the help of words on the other hand. There
exist one more aspect (the third) : word-action aspect. The
pronunciations and writing (spelling) of the words are realized by
actions (by brain activities).
Linguistic peculiarities of the English vocabulary can be grouped according to:
• silent letters in words. e.g. whom, take, light, autumn;
• polysemy of words; e.g. light, host, lead;
• the presence of conversion. e.g. to work - work;
• the exceptions from the reading rules of some letters. E.g. put [p t], gone [ n], come [ k m];
• difficult pronunciation of some letter combinations in words: thin, this, mathematics;
• the presence of the 4 forms of English verbs: go - went - gone – going, etc.
 METHODOLOGICAL
ARRANGEMENT OF SELECTED
VOCABULARY

Vocabulary should be arranged from

the teaching/learning point of view.

Every word has its form, meaning and

usage.
WORDS MAY BE CONCRETE, ABSTRACT AND
STRUCTURAL

Concrete words are easier to learn than abstract words.

Structural words are the most difficult to learn. So,
arranging a group of words according to the difficulties
for assimilation is one of the significant components of
methodological arrangement.
THE VOCABULARY TO BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL IS DIVIDED
INTO RECEPTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE MINIMA

That part of a FL vocabulary which is

used for comprehension through hearing
and reading is considered to be receptive,
that is for receptive speech activities. The
part of vocabulary which is used to express
thoughts (ideas) through speaking and
writing is considered to be productive, that
is for creative speech activities.
 The selected vocabulary should be
divided into school forms through the
instruction taking into consideration:

• the aim of teaching/learning,

• the peculiarities of the words, such
as concrete, abstract and structural,
difficulties in form, meaning and
usage,
• the age of the learners.
STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING/LEARNING
VOCABULARY
In teaching/learning vocabulary three stages are underlined:

presentation and
usage in conveying the
explanation of new
communica meaning of unfamiliar
lexical material
tion words
 In teaching lexical items the teacher should
present and explain the form, structure and meaning
of each unfamiliar word.
Presentation and The form of the word includes its pronunciation,
spelling and grammatical structure. As an example
explanation of new lexical let`s take the word ,,teacher,,
Pronunciation -/she/he demonstrates the perfect
material pronunciation of the word several times/,
Spelling - t – ea - ch – er /she/he illustrates and
explains reading rules of the word/,
Structure -teach + er /she/he writes on the
blackboard and explains its grammatical structure/,
Grammatical forms - a teacher, teachers,
teacher`s, teachers`/she/he explains grammatical
phenomena.
 Conveying the meaning of unfamiliar words
The meaning of unfamiliar words can be conveyed mainly in two ways:
 Non-verbal ways of conveying the meaning of words are usually realized by means of visual aids: pictures,
photographs, drawings, blackboard, objects, gestures, performing actions, etc. Showing an object, or thing, or
an action are direct ways bringing the learner into direct contact with unfamiliar words, thus establishing links
between a FL word and its meaning. Non-verbal ways are usually used when words to be taught denote things,
objects, gestures, and movements which can be shown to and seen by the learners.
Verbal ways of conveying the meaning
of unfamiliar words are as follows:

a definition - all the words of definition should be known to learners,

putting the unknown word in a word combination or sentence which will enable to guess its
meaning,
using the unknown word in a clear and comprehensible situation,
giving a word in the opposite meaning, e.g. use – misuse, regular –
irregular
giving a word in the same meaning, e.g. nice - pretty, lovely
analyzing word-building elements, e.g. un-believe-able
guessing the meaning of the unfamiliar word from the similarity of the word in the mother tongue
etc.
Through translation into the mother tongue

Two types of translation are usually used :

• common translation - when the range of meaning of the unknown word
coincides in the target language and the mother tongue, e.g. important,
beautiful
• translation – interpretation - when the range of meaning doesn`t
coincide in both languages, e.g.
to arrive in/at – հասնել, ժամանել
to throw to - նետել, որ բռնեն
to throw at - նետել, խփելու նպատակով
 SET OF EXERCISES FOR
TEACHING/LEARNING THE ENGLISH
SCHOOL VOCABULARY
Usage and Retention of Vocabulary

In T/L foreign languages practice is the most efficient

activity. In case of FL vocabulary its formation and development is
directly connected with the practice of usage and retention of the word
stock to be learnt. The best way of retention of words is constant use of
them. To fix the words in one’s long-term memory one should use them as
frequently and constantly as possible. To enlarge and deepen vocabulary
words should be used in text-books, in class exercises and home tasks, in
different types of reading, in different interactions and group or pair work in
the classroom etc.
 In systematic organization of T/L vocabulary
the following two essential factors should be taken
into consideration:
• In T/L receptive vocabulary, thinking of learners
should be directed from form to content of the lexical
material, i.e. they should recognize words in oral and
written speech and comprehend the meaning.
• In T/L productive vocabulary, thinking of learners
should be directed from content to form of the lexical
material, i.e. they should be able to select adequate
words and form correct sentences to express
meaningful thoughts in oral and written speech.
FL learners need two kinds of vocabulary skills:
for comprehension and production of speech,
which should be formed and developed through a
definite set of vocabulary exercises. For this
reason two groups of exercises are
recommended for vocabulary assimilation.
• Exercises designed to develop comprehension
(receptive) skills, i.e. for recognizing and
understanding words in listening and reading..
• Exercises designed to develop production
skills: i.e. for using words in speaking and
writing.
RIMBERIO CO

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