The Teacher as a Reader and the Reader as a Teacher

Topic: Teaching Vocabulary

The National Reading Panel in 2000 recognized the significance of vocabulary knowledge to reading achievement. Many studies reveal that children with a wide vocabulary range often succeed in the reading process, while those who have limited vocabulary often experience comprehension bog down.  Given the importance of vocabulary to reading success and to learning, teachers began to focus more on explicit vocabulary instruction.  In 1983, Chall distinguished between two types of vocabulary needed for reading:  word-recognition vocabulary and meaning vocabulary.

• Word-recognition vocabulary consists of words that a student can pronounce when seen in print, whether by sight or by use of word attack skills.
• Meaning vocabulary consists of words that a student can attach appropriate meaning to or define.

Strategies in Teaching Vocabulary

A.    Word Formation Processes

The English language is a very dynamic language.  There are many processes by which new words are added to a language. Teaching students the different word formation processes helps students recognize words and hypothesize about their meanings.

1. Acronym are words that are formed from the initials of several words

·         RAM - Random Access Memory

·         SCUBA – Self-contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

·         RADAR – Radio Detection and Ranging

·         LASER – Light Amplification of Stimulated Emission of Radiation

2. Back-formation occurs when words are morphologically interpreted incorrectly

·         peddle - formed from the word peddler (It was incorrectly interpreted as meaning “one who peddles”)

·         lasing - formed from the noun laser; it means the process of using laser 

3. Compounding is formed by combining two or more pre-existing words together

doghouse birdbath

pigeonhole bookcase

4. Blending is formed like compound words, but parts of the combined words are deleted in the process

motel - motor + hotel modem - modulator + demodulator

camcorder - camera + recorder smog – smoke + fog

5. Borrowing is the integration of a word from one language into another. Almost 40% of English words are borrowed from other languages

cliché (French)   concerto (Italian)

café  (French) yacht (Dutch)

6. Clipping is the process of shortening a word, and marks the acceptance of an abbreviation as a word in its own right.

gym - gymnasium deli - delicacies

math – mathematics phone - telephone

7. Coinage is the creation of a novel or  new word for something, many times something that is new to the language

·         Many brand names of products are coined words: Jell-O, Vaseline, Plexiglas (which is also a blend of plastic, flexible, and glass), and Kleenex are all examples

·         Words may also be formed from the names of people and places, which are known as eponyms

·         For example, sandwich is named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who placed food between two hunks of bread to be able to eat and gamble at the same time

·         Another example is use of john as a synonym for the restroom

8. Derivation is formed by adding derivational morphemes to existing ones The infamous example:

·         anti + dis + establish + ment + ary + an + ism

9. Functional Shift A new word may also be formed by treating an already existing word as if it were a member of a different syntactic category

·         Meal (n) – has become a verb meal

·         Beach (n) – has become a verb meaning “to get stuck on a beach”

B.    Context Clues.  The meaning of a word may be determined by its environment, the words that surround it, either coming before or after it in the sentence or in the paragraph.

1.     Definition is considered the simplest and most obvious way by which the meaning of a word is revealed.  The be verb is used to equate the term to be defined to the familiar word in the sentence.

·         Biology is a branch of science that deals with the study of living things.

2.     Restatements may be in the form of synonyms, examples, elaboration by the use of modifiers, and pairing closely related words.  It is usually introduced by signal words: that is, for example, such as, like, in the way, that, in other words, what this means, etc.  It may also be signaled by the dash and the parentheses.

·         Many garment companies are downsizing – or reducing the number of employees – in order to save money and increase the amount of profit.

·         The river was full of noxious materials such as cleaning agents from factories and pesticides from the nearby farms.

3.     Synonym is a word that means essentially the same thing as another word.  It is usually preceded by the function word or.  Sometimes the synonym may be found in another sentence within the paragraph.

·         Sports are universal, and very few people have not succumbed, or given in, to their lure at one time or another.

·         Mrs. Barron loves to chat, and her friends are similarly loquacious.

4.     Antonym is the opposite or contrasting word that may serve as a clue to the unfamiliar word.

·         The girl who used to be very vociferous doesn't talk much anymore.

·         Andrea is one of the most supercilious people I know. Her brother, in contrast, is quite humble and meek.

5.     Inference requires reading between lines to see connections and relationships not explicitly stated in a particular passage.

·         Josie received a bauble for Christmas from her great aunt. This she put with her others, a pair of imitation earrings, a fake emerald pendant, and a ring that looked like a ruby.

·         From the lugubrious expressions of people coming out of the theatre, I could tell that the movie had a tragic ending.

6.     Homophones & homographs – homophones are words with the same pronunciation but with different spellings; homographs are words with more than one definition.

 Homophones: Site-sight-cite-scythe    martial-marshal

Rite, right, write                       new-knew

Aisle, I’ll, isle                           course-coarse

 Homographs:  If the judges are fair, our rabbit will win a ribbon at the fair.

Jim hunts, but he does not shoot does.

Andrei didn’t feel well after falling into the well.

7.     Words of Various Disciplines are the basic meaning of specialized vocabulary in a particular subject area.

·         The capital of the Philippines is Metro Manila. (Social Science)

·         His capital for the new business is one million pesos. (Math)

·         The mouse is not working.  Call the technician. (Computer Science)

·         The mouse belongs to the rodent family. (Science)

8.     Multiple Context make the meaning of unfamiliar words clearer and easily understood.

·         Butterflies fly from flower to flower.

·         How high did the boy fly his kite?

·         Airplanes fly regularly from Manila to Hongkong.

C.    Vocabulary Cs

1.     Collocation refers to the combination of words bring about different shades of meaning

·         sugar is sweet ·         sweet face ·         sweet tooth

·         sweet potato ·         sweet talk ·         sweet someone

                                   

2.     Cline places related words within a slope to show degrees

Temperature: Boiling/ hot/ lukewarm/ warm/cold/ freezing

3.     Cluster refers to the process of grouping similar or related things

·         LARGE in SIZE - big-great-huge-tremendous-massive-beyond-outside-stupendous-gigantic-gross-colossal-grand

4.     Chain: synonym words are arranged in chains to show gradation of difficulty

·         hunt-seek-trace-track-search-inquire-pursue-look for

Source: M.A Class ( TESL) with Professor Marla Papango,Philippine Normal University

Sample Annotated Bibliography

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ABOUT ESL PROGRAM EVALUATION: INPUT TO A PROPOSED MODEL TOWARD A REVITALIZED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY PROGRAM

Prepared by:

Paulo C. Dorongon

MAEd-English Language Teaching

ELT 507  : Research Methods in Language

Philippine Normal University

The National Center for Teacher Education

Echevarria, J., & Graves, A. (2003).Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching English Language Learners with Diverse Abilities.USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

     This book indicates the author’s investigation of the effectiveness of the sheltered instruction when utilized in ESL classrooms. Specifically, the book discusses the ways on how to teach content area knowledge and skills in a way that students will not only learn the content area skills but at the same time, learn the target language as well. Sheltered content instruction, as evident in this book, also addresses the diverse abilities of students through the use of different teaching methodologies (e.g functional approach, cooperative learning, etc).This is a great help to my research since I am also looking into the effectiveness of ESL teaching methodologies that will help ESL students acquire the necessary skills in the target language.

Murcia, M.(2006). Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Singapore: Heinle & Heinle.

     The book is a collection of various articles contributed by the leading American experts in teaching English as a second or foreign language. Topics in the book include, Teaching Methodology ( e.g.: Language Teaching Approaches, Communicative Language Teaching for the Twenty-First Century, Guidelines for Language Classroom Instruction, etc), Language Skills ( e.g.: The Teaching of Listening, Speaking, reading and Writing), Integrated Approaches, and Skills for Teachers. Various authors investigate the effectiveness of different language teaching strategies which can be adopted by English language practitioners. Additionally, this book also tackles the different issues in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language ( TESL/TEFL)like Factors Affecting Second Language Acquisition, the Teaching of Four Macro Skills, etc.This book is of great help to my research because of its in depth discussion of the various teaching strategies for an effective classroom discussion and interaction.

Fromkin, V. , Rodman, R. and Hyams, N.( 2003) An Introduction to Language, Seventh Edition. Massachusetts :Thomson-Heinle Corporation.

An Introduction to Language has been widely used by language practitioners and the students of linguistics. The authors have included concepts and ideas about the very nature of the English language and how human beings process these ideas to acquire the target language. Useful topics in this book range from the nature of language, second language acquisition, language variations, first language acquisition, the features of English grammar (semantics, pragmatics, syntax, morphology, phonology). The authors, being expert in the field of Linguistics, explored and discussed the very nature of language, how we acquire it, what are the factors concerning second language acquisition, strategies in teaching ESL,etc. This will definitely help my research in supporting the review of related literature particularly that of the mechanism of language acquisition and the second language teaching methods.

Crystal, D. (1995). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.USA: Cambridge University Press.

David Crystal has intelligently explained in this book the very nature of language (its history, how humans acquire it, how it evolved, how it developed and changed, English language variations, and English being the international language)The author has substantially explained the developments  of the English language and the processes in acquiring a second language .For instance, section 23: Learning English as a Mother Tongue thoroughly explores the different stages one has to undergo in order to acquire the language. Specifically, the author provides evidences about the issues faced by second language learners when studying the target language. This, on the other hand, will guide the teachers in coming up with meaningful teaching strategies that will suit the needs of ESL learners.

 Faltis, C. (2001). Joinfostering: Teaching and Learning in Multilingual Classrooms.USA: Merill Prentice Hall.

     This book was written with three audiences in mind: (1) education majors who are in the process of becoming classroom teachers, (2) established researchers/teachers who are interested in changing the way they teach to accommodate students who are adding English to their already-developed native language(s), and (3) teachers in dual-language bilingual education programs. The author of this book explained the ways on how teachers can revolutionize the ways in teaching the language particularly in a multi cultural classroom. The author further explained that a classroom is not always composed of native speaker of a particular language like English, but most of the time, composed of students from different cultural backgrounds. With this, careful consideration on the part of the learners must be given importance. Hence, devising the appropriate teaching materials and utilizing the best teaching approaches according to the level of the learners must be given importance. These insights are of great help to my research because the author suggested ways on how to revitalize the English program in the classrooms.

Diaz-Rico,L. and Weed, K. (1995). The Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development Handbook: A Complete K-12 Reference Guide. Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.

     This book tackles about the relationship of the culture and the language of the learners. Additionally, it also discusses the different factors affecting second language acquisition; the best teaching practices that promote learning; and the strategies teachers can employ in the ESL classrooms

Nunan, D. (1992). Research Methods in Language Learning.USA: Cambridge University Press.

     Knowledge in Research is a must for language practitioners. David Nunan has substantially explored the very nature of Research Methods in Language learning in this very useful book. The author has thoroughly discussed the paradigm for second language research, the preparatory stages of research, contextualization of research, the components of research, research designs: qualitative and descriptive research, etc.This book will definitely guide me on how to design my research paper, which research design to use, and how to gather, collect data and analyze the data.

    

Nunan, D. (2009). Introduction to Task-Based Teaching. Philippines: Cengage Learning.

This book tackles one of the best teaching approaches in teaching English as a second language. Specifically, the author thoroughly discussed here the nature of task-based teaching, how it developed and how it fits in to a broader curriculum framework, and, most importantly, how it works in the classroom. The book suggested various activities taken from authentic materials which can be adopted by English teachers. This book is certainly a big to my research because Task-Based Teaching is one of those teaching approaches teachers can utilize to revitalize the English proficiency program in school.

Nunan, D. (2009). Second Language Teaching and Learning.Philippines: Cengage Learning.

     This book basically talks about the theoretical foundation of Second Language Teaching.Nunan explored on the topics such as the Conceptual Basis of Second Language Teaching and Learning where he further discussed Humanistic and Experiential Learning, Taske-Based Teaching and Communicative Teaching. These are of great help to my research topic since I presume that some of the ESL programs of different international schools I will be visiting( as participants ) currently use these approaches.With this, I can easily connect the information discussed by the author in this book to the existing ESL practices of the participating schools. Moreover, the topic on Empirical Basis of Second Language Teaching and Learning will give me more insights about the factors affecting second language acquisition, the role of chronological age on the acquisition of a second language, and the effect of the instructions on acquisition.

Muijs,D. and Reynolds, D. (2005). Effective Teaching: evidence and practice. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

This book tackles the different theories of learning and what teachers can do to help students become proficient and productive not only in acquiring a second language, but generally with their studies. Teaching strategies such as Direct instruction, Interactive teaching, Collaborative small-group work, and Constructivist teaching will help me improve my Related Literature. These will also guide me as to what best practices can be used to improve the English proficiency program in school.

Tupas,R.( 2002). Second Language Teaching. Philippines: UP Open University.

This book discusses the different methods and approaches in teaching English as a second or foreign language. Specifically, the author discussed the perspectives on second language teaching, current issues in second language teaching, methods and approaches in second/foreign language, and theories of language which are really of great help to my study. These survey of topics found in this book will surely give me great insights in evaluating the ESL program of different schools.

McIntyre,E.,et al.(2009). 6 Principles for Teaching English Language Learners in All Classrooms.USA: Corwin Press.

     This book is all about addressing both content and language development in a regular classroom.The authors discussed several principles for teaching English language learners and how all these fit in the ESL clasrroms. This in particular will help me analyze the teaching approaches currently use by schools running ESL programs.

A Contrastive Analysis of Tagalog and English Third Person Singular Pronouns

By: Paulo C. Dorongon

I. Description of ( L1) Tagalog Third Person Singular Pronoun

            A. Form

                          Siya is a Tagalog Third Person Singular Pronouns

            B. Function/Meaning

                           Siya refers to male or female genders

                           Example: Siya ay matalino ( He is intelligent)

                                                                       ( She is intelligent)

            C. Distribution/Position

                          Siya occurs in the beginning of the sentence

                          Example: Siya ay matalino ( He/she is intelligent)

II. Description of (L2) English Third Person Singular Pronoun

            A. Form

                         He and she are third person singular pronouns

                         Examples; He is rich; She is rich

            B. Function/Meaning

                         He refers to male gender

                        She refers to female gender

                        Example: He is happy.

                                       She is happy.

            C. Distribution/Position

                        He occurs in the beginning of a sentence

                        Example:                                                                   

                        She occurs in the beginning of a sentence.

                        Example:

III. Contrastive Analysis

	Tagalog	English
Form	Siya is a third person singular pronoun Ex:	He and she are third person singular pronouns. Ex:
Function/Meaning	Siya refers to male or female gender. Ex:	He refers to male gender. She refers to female gender. Ex:
Distribution/Position	Siya occurs in the beginning of a sentence. Ex:	He occurs in the beginning of a sentence. Ex: She occurs in the beginning of a sentence. Ex:

            As shown in the chart, there is only one (1) form for Tagalog third person singular pronoun while in English; there are two (2) forms. He refers to a male gender; she refers to a female gender.

Prediction of difficulty of Tagalog learners learning English

1.      There’s a possibility that Tagalog learners learning English will have difficulty on how or when to use “ he” or “ she” third personal pronouns since the counterpart of the said English third person personal pronouns in Tagalog is only one, and that’s “ siya”

2.      Tagalog learners might interchange the use of third person personal pronouns ( he, she) when speaking in English since the counterpart of the said English third person personal pronouns in Tagalog is only one, and that’s “ siya”