Designing vocabulary tasks contents introduction

Question Types
Encourage your students to use a variety of question types in their questionnaires, for example:
- open-ended questions
- yes/no questions
- wh- questions
- true/false statements
- multiple choice
- ranking four items in order of importance,
preference etc.
- ‘finish the sentence’ or gap-fill sentences
- ‘what would you do if … ?’ questions
Make a word box for each class at the beginning of the course. This box will fill up with new lexical items that occur in the class and provide you with a valuable resource. Explain to your students that the box is a bank of all the words they will learn and practise. Use these activities frequently for lexical practice. Choose a cardboard box with a lid and cover it with colourful paper. It should be quite big as it will fill up very quickly! Cut up pieces of durable card in advance. Cards can all be the same colour, or different. A new colour can be used to show when new students have come into the class, or a different colour can be used for each week. This will help you to decide how recent the vocabulary to be recycled should be. Colourcoding can provide a helpful topic guide if the course is topic-based. Alternatively, colour-code the cards according to verbs, nouns, phrasal verbs, adverbs, etc.
What can be put in the box? Not only individual words but also collocations, set expressions, idioms, phrasal verbs etc. Additional useful information that may be marked on the cards can include phonemic script, small drawings, opposites, (partial) synonyms, definitions, example phrases, and indication of register or connotation. Students should not be encouraged to put all of these on the cards, but it is useful to make them aware of some of the possibilities. At lower levels it can be useful to mark the stress patterns on the other side, using bubbles. This helps the student reading the word to pronounce it in recycling activities, and creates opportunities for pronunciation games. Students enjoy being responsible for putting new words in the box. A class rota (daily/weekly) generally works well. Pair students up for this so that choosing the words for the box becomes a communicative activity in itself.

This section is concerned with the use of monolingual, or ‘English-English,’ dictionaries. Most of the major publishers offer a wide range. Monolingual dictionaries come in different sizes and vary in the features they offer. These features may include phonemic transcriptions showing word stress, definitions pitched at different levels, and information on how the word is used to ‘do things’. They may also offer information on grammar, collocation, connotation, as well as denotation, partial synonyms and antonyms. A number of dictionaries also provide guidance on register and social acceptability. The activities in this section show the dictionary as an everyday tool in the language classroom, and also equip students with strategies needed for their own independent study. Activities cover familiarization with monolingual dictionaries, the use of dictionaries to diagnose student errors and expand errors, and the development of specific dictionary skills.

In this section, the activities assume the availability of a class set of dictionaries. The first part (Familiarization ) helps students to get to know their way around a dictionary, and what it is capable of. The second part (Problem Diagnosis ) shows them how to use a dictionary to help them with their individual language difficulties. The third part (Practice Activities ) presents a variety of other dictionary activities.
Many English language teachers now have access to TV and video recorders. Many schools keep recordings of programmes taken directly off-air, as well as commercial videos designed for language learners. In this section we are chiefly concerned with using off-air recordings, including news programmes, documentaries, dramas, pop programmes and chat shows. Students and teachers alike have mixed feelings about the role of video in language-learning. Some students might see a video lesson as a ‘soft option’ whereas others may see it as a bewildering or even threatening listening exercise. Some teachers feel a degree of professional guilt about using the video in class and tend to overburden students with lengthy ‘as you listen’ comprehension questions and checklists. On the other hand, most students enjoy using what is probably the primary means of communication in the modern world – television. This gives the teacher a classroom tool that comes from the real world, and towards which most students feel a great deal of goodwill. The visual aspect of video can be used to support learners by providing a context, as well as a guide to meaning. If this relationship is exploited positively, students can be supported in their exposure to a valuable authentic source, and given a great deal of confidence as English language users. This section is divided into two parts: Techniques and Resources and Activities. In the first part we look at a variety of basic techniques that can be used with almost any video. We also offer a number of ideas for using less conventional resources, such as subtitled films. The second part comprises group activities which can be used with a variety of students and types of off-air recording. They involve intensive and extensive listening activities and use the techniques listed in the first part.
Beginners have had so little exposure to the English language, they have absolutely nothing to build on. Naturally, you`ll start with the basics, but consider what they will need to know first. Does it make sense to start with a list of foods in English? Or colors or numbers? Probably not. What they need to know first is how to introduce themselves and greet others. The natural progression from there is the use of the verb “to be”. For example, I am from…, He is from…, etc.
Then you will progress on to possessives. For example, my country, your name, his family and so on. Give priority to the language they will need first and foremost.
Don`t make assumptions about what your students know. Assume they know nothing. For example, to practice the verb to be, you ask them what nationalities they are only to find out they don’t know how to say nationalities in English. Countries and nationalities should be taught first, and then practiced with the verb “to be”. And this goes for a multitude of vocabulary and expressions. Don`t assume a student will be able to answer you if you ask, “How are you?”. Absolute beginners won`t know how to reply, unless you`ve specifically taught them.
Beginners will tell you they don`t speak English – till the very end of the course. What they are thinking is that they don`t speak English fluently, or like you, for example. But make sure they are aware of what they can do. If on the first day of class they have learned to greet each English, end your lesson by celebrating this, “Congratulations! you can now introduce yourself and greet each other in English”. Take the focus away from what they can`t do and focus on what they can do instead. This proves to be tremendously encouraging!
Beginners may not have enough knowledge to understand explanations, synonyms, definitions, and others you describe with words. Instead, use their senses to maximize learning. The easiest to use with beginners are visual aids like flashcards, but don`t forget to include plenty of gestures, as well as real life objects. The use of realia will allow you to utilize several senses at the same time, and it is often more engaging than two – dimensional pictures. Don`t forget to use things they can smell and taste too !
Next one is they haven`t been exposed to the English language enough, try to minimize their reading of dialogues and conversations, and act out the situations, instead. Consider this: when you teach students to reply to a “How are you?” do you have them read this short exchange first or just act it out directly? Of course, it`s a lot better to simply show them how to reply. This goes for most of the expressions and functions they will have to learn.
It is essential for absolute beginners to review what they have previously learned, and it`s a great idea to start each lesson with a brief review. But you can also re-use previously taught language points and introduce them into a new context. Say you are now teaching your students how to ask for directions. Student A is walking down the street with a friend, student B, when they run into Student C. A introduces B to C (they review how to introduce someone), and then C asks A for directions.
Just because students are beginners, it doesn`t mean they can`t handle real life situations. You should still teach in context, and provide as many examples of real life situations and real props as you can. Even though real maps, brochures or catalogues are filled with vocabulary they won`t understand, it is important to help your beginners deal with, precisely, these types of things. Show them how to pinpoint the information they may need like a phone number, address or website. Make sure they understand that the entire brochure the important thing is that they learn to obtain what they need from it.
By the time your beginners finish their course, they will probably still not feel confident enough to say they “speak” English. Try providing them with some specific examples of what they can do now: go shopping by themselves, ask for assistance, order food in a restaurant, ask etc… Ask them to remember what it was like when they knew none of this. Tell them they are your heroes for learning so much and overcoming their language barriers. They will feel like heroes, too!
ESL beginners may not be able to say a whole a lot, after all their vocabulary and grammar are rather limited. But in order to start speaking, they have to start listening. And not just listening to the correct pronunciation, intonation and stress. I mean really listening. For example: a) Listening for meaning. b) Listening for context. c) Listening for real comprehension. You may think there is not a whole lot beginners can comprehend, but you will be surprised. Try playing these simple listening games. They may be easy, but for students who are just starting listening games. They may be easy, but for students who are just starting out in their English learning journey, they can be highly effective ways to train in the basic skills they will use on a daily basis in the near future.