What is Effective and what is not?
Before studying what types of vocabulary teaching strategies work the best (from the pull down menu), let us take a look at what type of vocabulary teaching is less effective. According to the eteach website from Pearson/Prentice Hall, the reason these approaches do not the work best is that students are not actively taking part in making a connection between the new word and to what they already know. Some examples of ineffective strategies are as follows: Looking up long lists of unrelated words from a dictionary and copying their definition. Expecting students to use the new words in a sentence before making the meaning and usage of the word clear enough for them. Using the context as the only source to comprehend the meaning of a word Memorizing definitions. What is Vocabulary
Google defines vocabulary as: "the body of words used in a particular language."
According to book Literacy in Context by Miller and Veatch (2011) there is a strong correlation between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Students with limited vocabulary knowledge struggle with their reading comprehension and thus have a hard time understanding their subject matters (page 14). The most effective vocabulary instruction aims to "build full concept knowledge, teach words in a meaningful context, encourage independent use of strategies." (page13) Take a look some effective vocabulary strategies from the pull down menu. Enjoy! References
Miller and Veatch (2011). Literacy in Context (LinC). Boston, MA: Pearson. "Strategies for Vocabulary Development." Pearson Prentice Hall: ETeach:. Pearson. Web. 15 July 2015. |
|