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TEFL 9
TEACHING VOCABULARY
Mihaela Tănase-Dogaru
Spring semester 2018

In the previous lecture, we said that vocabulary teaching is as important as the teaching of grammatical structure.
In the following examples, we will look at a range of activities that are designed to teach and practise words and
their various senses. We will look at Presentation, Discovery techniques and Practice.

1. Presentation
Not all vocabulary can be learnt through interaction and discovery techniques. Even if such techniques are
possible, there are many occasions when some form of presentation and/or explanation is the best way to bring
new words into the classroom. We will look at different ways of presenting vocabulary:
1. Realia
One way of presenting words is to bring the things they represent into the classroom. Words like ‘postcard’,
‘ruler’, ‘pen’, ‘ball’, etc. can obviously be presented in this way. The teacher holds up the object, says the word
and gets the students to repeat it.
2. Pictures
When using realia is impossible, one solution is the use of pictures. Pictures can be board drawings, wall pictures
and charts, flashcards, magazine pictures, etc. Pictures can be used to explain the meaning of vocabulary items or
can be used to illustrate concepts such as above or opposite.
3. Mime, action, and gesture
It is often impossible to explain the meaning of words and grammar either through the use of realia or in
pictures. Actions, in particular, are better explained by mime. Concepts like running or smoking are easy to
present in this way; so are ways of walking, expressions, prepositions (‘to’, ‘towards’) and times (a hand jerked
over the shoulder to represent past)
4. Contrast / Opposites
We can present the meaning of ‘full’ by contrasting it with ‘empty’, ‘cold’ by contrasting it with ‘hot’, etc. We
may present these concepts with pictures or mime, and by drawing attention to the contrasts in meaning we
ensure our students’ understanding.
5. Enumeration
We can say ‘clothes’ and explain this by listing various items. The same is true for ‘vegetable’ or ‘furniture’, for
example.
6. Explanation
Explaining the meaning of vocabulary items can be very difficult, especially at beginner and elementary levels.
But with more intermediate students such a technique can be used. Explaining the meaning of a word must
include explaining any facts related to word use that are relevant. If we are explaining the meaning of ‘mate’ we
have to point out that it is a colloquial word used in informal contexts and that it is more often used for males
than for females.
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7. Translation
Translation is a quick and easy way to present the meaning of words but it is not without problems. In the first
place, it is not always possible to translate words, and in the second place, it may make it a bit too easy for
students by discouraging them from interacting with words. Where translation can quickly solve a presentation
problem it may be a good idea but we should make sure that students do not become over-reliant on translation.
8. Paraphrase
One way of avoiding translation is by using equivalent phrases/words in the target language. This way, students
are encouraged to think in the target language and not rely extensively on the mother tongue.
9. In a dialogue
New words can be introduced in a dialogue between teacher and students. However, you have to make sure that
the context is transparent enough for the students to really get the meaning.
10. In a situation
New words can be contextualised in a situation, e.g. going to the supermarket. This way, they can easily
associate new words with the topic.
11. From a (authentic) text
Written texts are often one of the major sources of new vocabulary. They have the great advantage of
contextualising new language items for the learner, and an interesting reading text also serves to make that
language more memorable. There are, however, some problems with using reading texts as sources of new
words. One of them is length: interesting texts are often far too long and can lead to vocabulary overloading.
Another significant problem is the absence of exercises that activate useful vocabulary. You should always
design vocabulary exercises based on the text.
12. A combination of different things

When presenting vocabulary, pronunciation is very important. We should not introduce words without making
sure that the students know how they are said. There are a number of ways of presenting the sounds of words:
1. Through modelling
Just as with grammatical structures, the teacher can model the word and then get both choral and individual
repetition. When the teacher is modelling the word he or she can use gesture to indicate the main stress in a
word.
2. Through visual representation
When teachers write up new words on the board they should always indicate where the stress in the word is.
They can do this by:
a. Underlining
e.g. photograph
b. Using a stress square
e.g.

photographer
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c. Using a stress mark before the stressed syllable

e.g. photographic
d. Writing the stress pattern of the word next to it
e.g. photography
3. Through phonetic symbols
For more advanced students, a basic knowledge of the symbols will help them to access pronunciation
information from their dictionaries.

2. Discovery Techniques
We will look at a number of discovery techniques from simple matching tasks to more complex understandings
of connotation and context.
1. Matching Tasks
Students are given numbered pictures, which they have to match with the names for the objects. While doing it,
they may use bilingual dictionaries or they may work in pairs. The use of simple matching activities like these as
a prelude to repetition and practice allows the students more involvement than a presentation led by the teacher.
However, the same procedure repeated for the introduction of all new words would become boring.
2. Multiple Choice Exercises
This time, students have to choose the right vocabulary item from a range of similar items to complete a
sentence. They are advised to look up any words they do not know. Do you think this exercise is easy or
difficult? Do you think is useful? Why?
3. Mind Maps
Mind maps are usually used as discovery activities because they help students understand and use lexical fields.
The activity on your handouts uses the mind map technique to help students put a list of words into different
groups.
4. Using a reading text
In this example (Sounds People Make) – the new words are given in texts first. When they have read the text,
they are in a position to guess the meaning of words. The follow-up exercises help them activate and use in
actual speech the new items of vocabulary.

1. It's been a hard day's night, as they used to say. My boss made my life hell today. Read the passage and find
out what my job is.
I've never known a boss like him; you hardly ever hear him talking normally. He starts as soon as he comes into the office
in the morning. If I'm two minutes late, he starts shouting at me. And you should hear him on the phone, yelling at some
poor junior. When he asks you to do something, he just barks - like a fierce dog. And when he finds a mistake in your work,
he roars like a lion. When someone asks him a question, he nearly always just grunts. He'll sit for hours grumbling about
the weather, the business, his colleagues, the market. And he will mutter! Half the time you can't understand a word he's
saying. The worst thing is his dictation. He just mumbles all the way through the letter; I have to guess every other word.
Then he bites my head off when I've written something he didn't want. I just start stammering and stuttering, and get out
of the room as soon as possible.
2. Read the passage and decide whose thoughts are being described.
I'm awake, lying there moaning, and nothing's happening at all. Oh well, better start crying properly. Still no reaction.
Right, they've asked for it. Here we go with a real scream. Ah, now I hear something next door. Must go on sobbing, so
they realise it's serious. Here she comes, muttering to herself. Why is it always her? Never him? Ah, a bottle. Excuse me,
but it's difficult to suck a bottle without making sucking noises you know. Oh no, I've got hiccups again. Sometimes I seem
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to spend half my day hiccuping. Over the shoulder I go again. Oh dear, a burp. Pardon. Back to bed. Ah, I like it when she
hums that song to me. Oh dear, we're both yawning. Time to sleep again. I can hear him snoring next door. " Not a
murmur now," she says to me, the same as always. There's no need to sigh like that, you know. You were a baby once.
3. The third group of noises comes from a theatre. Read the text and find out what is happening on stage.
You can hear the audience whispering excitedly. Some of them are clearing their throats. Could they be nervous?
Something's happening. The audience are clapping; polite applause at the moment. Two of the audience are being invited
onto the stage. The rest of them are cheering and calling out things. Now something is happening on stage; you could hear
a pin drop. The two members of the audience are doing exactly what they are told and the chairs they are sitting on are
beginning to rise into the air. The audience are gasping. Oh dear, what's happened? They've suddenly fallen to the ground
and look most upset. The audience are booing loudly. It hasn't worked. Now they're whistling. The whistling has changed
to hissing, but there's nobody on stage except the two members of the audience. Now they're chanting that they want their
money back. The manager's coming out on stage. Listen to them groaning.
4. I was so ill last week. Find out what was wrong with me.
It started on Monday. I really wasn't well at all. I was sniffing all day. On Tuesday I hardly stopped blowing my nose and
sneezing. By Wednesday I had a pretty bad cough. I tried gargling with salt water but it didn't seem to do much good. If I
had to go upstairs, I'd reach the top stair panting like a thirsty dog, and I'd still be wheezing five or ten minutes later. By
Friday I'd lost my voice almost completely. I was croaking like a frog all day at the office.
5. The fifth group of sound-words shows how different people reacted to the same joke.
Lady Thackeray-Smythe laughed politely. Her husband was chuckling minutes afterwards. A class of schoolgirls
giggled. A class of schoolboys sniggered. An American TV audience shrieked and howled with laughter. Lady
Thackeray-Smythe's maid tittered. Billy Bloggs laughed like a drain.
What noises made by other people annoy you most, and in what situations?
E.g.; I hate the sound of people making the bones in their fingers click and people singing out of tune.
List the sounds you would expect to hear:
a) In the maternity ward of a hospital
b) In a traffic jam
c) In the audience at a rock concert

5. Using suffixes and prefixes

In the previous lecture we said that students need to know about word formation. This exercise is designed to
make them aware of how suffixes work. After the students are reminded of how prefixes work, they are asked to
form opposites of nouns, adjectives or verbs using the right prefix.
6. Using collocation.
In the previous lecture, we said that it is crucial for students to know aspects related to word use, such as
collocative meaning.
7. Using Connotation
Understanding how words relate to each other also involves understanding which words are weaker or stronger
than others. In the example on your handouts, upper intermediate students are being prepared to read a short
story by Janet Frame called You are Now Entering the Human Heart. Since fear is a major theme of the story, the
preparation stage may consist in a quick discovery activity on words associated with fear.
Everybody experiences fear at some time or other, for example when you are woken by a strange noise at night,
before you go to the dentist, or when you are on top of a high building. The following words describe different
kinds of fear. Using a dictionary if necessary, put the words in the appropriate place on the lines. You may want
to put more than one word on a line.
afraid, nervous, terrified, petrified, sacred, frightened

A little fear

A lot of fear

3. Vocabulary Practice
In this section we will look at activities designed to encourage students to use words in an involving way.
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1. Actions and gestures

In this example students have studied words connected with body language and movement (e.g. shrug, shake,
cross + shoulders, fist, arm). They have done an exercise on the way verbs and nouns collocate (you can’t shrug
your fists). Now they complete the following questionnaire:

What actions or gestures do you use to do the following?

INTERVIEWEE NUMBER 1 2 3 4
Say hello
Say goodbye
Express anger
Express surprise
Express indifference
Express agreement
Express disagreement

2. Traits of character
In this example for advanced students,, students are led through three exercises that practice the use of
vocabulary related to character. We must assume that students have a knowledge of a majority of the words. That
being so, the genuine discussion in exercise 2 about the characteristics of various professions will provoke the
use of a number of these words. The same kind of activity can be done with emotional reactions, for example.
How would students expect to feel if they went to see a horror movie, a love story, a Shakespeare play?

1. Ladies and gentlemen, which of these traits of character do you most dislike in a partner? Place them in order.
Vanity hypocrisy pomposity stubbornness
Obstinacy selfishness dishonesty pettiness
Arrogance snobbishness timidity possessiveness
Shyness meanness rashness aggressiveness
Ladies and Gentlemen, which of these qualities is most important for you in a partner? Place them in order of importance:
Compassion vivacity frankness self-assurance
Tolerance patience generosity ambition
Sincerity imagination passion humility
Modesty sensitivity courage creativity
2. Discuss or write down the personal characteristics (good and bad) that you would expect to find in these people:
a. a nurse
b. the chairman of a multinational company
c. an actor
d. a politician
e. a teacher

3. Headlines
Headlines, both real or imagined, are a very good way of providing practice, particularly if they refer to well-
defined topic areas. Suppose that students have been studying words related to age and ageing (infant, child,
middle age, etc.) they could be asked to write an article to accompany the headline (X on your handouts):
OLD LANGUAG LEARNERS ARE BEST SAYS PENSIONER GRANDMA
If students have been studying vocabulary related to families and weddings they could be asked to expand a headline like
this:
BIGAMY DOUBTS CAUSE WAR AT WEDDING
Students who have been studying vocabulary related to death and dying might write a story to accompany this headline:
CEMETERY FACES M-WAY THREAT

4. Exercises
Read the following text. Devise presentation procedures, a set of discovery techniques procedures, and a set of
practice procedures.
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A quarter of a century since American men bowed to the onset of feminism, they are standing up for their rights. Things
have, in the opinion of many US males, gone too far in favour of women.It is not as if women had taken power; there are no
women presidential candidates, no female bosses of the big corporations, and only one woman Supreme Court Justice. In
fact, the feminist movement has over the past two years beaten a tactical retreat into the demise of the sexual revolution, the
return to conservative values, and the realisation that combining childbearing with a successful career is difficult.
But more than two decades of female assertiveness have left the American male bruised and defensive, a victim of what
spokesman for the emerging men's movement call "reverse sexism". Their creed is that women cannot have it both ways.
"There is a revolution brewing," says Mr William Farrell, author of the successful book Why Men Are the Way They Are. "It
is spreading slowly among men who are getting the courage to say, < I've been attacked long enough. I need to tell women
that I have hurts and hang-ups, too>". Men are weary of the derision heaped on them in magazines and a spate of best sellers,
the latest of which is Shere Hite's ‘Women and Love’. Sales of that book have fallen since Miss White was accused by (male)
sociologists of using false data and pseudo-science to support her ideology. Such man-bashing words usually assign
unflattering stereotypes to the gender such as "poodles, wolves, turkeys, sharks and worms", as one recent book listed
them. Mr Sidney Siller, a New York divorced lawyer who has founded the National Organisation for Men, says men have
been politically threatened. "Men have been wimpified. They are intimidated by what amounts to a female party." Mr Siller
and like-thinkers are enraged by Supreme Court decisions that effectively give priority to women’s rights over individual
liberties. In the most celebrated ruling, the court last March upheld the principle of "affirmative action", the practice
enforced in some states under which female employees are promoted over better-qualified males to rectify past injustices to
women. The organisation this month filed lawsuits in New York against two exclusive women's clubs, the Colony and the
Cosmopolitan, because they rejected male members. This was a response to court rulings this year that have forced celebrated
men-only establishments, such as the Century in New York and the Bohemian in San Francisco, to open their doors to
women. Men's advocates say the state has no right to interfere with privacy and free association.
On another legal front so far dominated by women, men's organisations say they are gathering evidence of sexual
harassment of men at work by female colleagues. Mr Farrell, a psychologist who has undergone a conversion since serving as
an officer of the trail-blazing National Organisation of Women, says Women must face up to some of their own shortcomings.
Among these, he says, is a tendency to view men as "success objects", just as men have treated women as sex objects.
Popular fiction, television soap operas and films show that, despite all the propaganda about sensitive, caring males, women
still prize strong, successful and sometimes violent men - the knight with the black Porsche, the bullet-proof Superman.