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Traditionally,
vocabulary used to be offered to learners in the form of lists.
Nowadays, the tendency is to present vocabulary in texts.
For vocabulary building purposes, texts - whether spoken or
written - have enormous advantages over learning words from
lists. For a start, the fact that words are in context increases
the chances of learners appreciating not only their meaning
but their typical environments, such as their associated collocations
or grammatical structures. Moreover, it is likely that the
text will display topically connected sets of words (or lexical
fields). Research evidence suggests that words loosely
connected by topic may be easier to learn than more tightly
connected lexical sets.
Short
texts are ideal for classroom use, since they can be subjected
to intensive grammatical and lexical study, without overtaxing
learners' attention or memory, as may be the case with longer
texts. Learning to cope with short texts is also good preparation
for independent reading and listening, including dealing with
longer texts. Moreover, short texts provide useful models
for student production, in the form of speaking and writing.
A characteristic
feature of cohesive texts is that they are threaded through
with words that relate to the same topic - what are sometimes
called lexical chains. This is even more likely if
the text is authentic - that is, if it has not been
especially written or doctored for the language classroom.
Here, for example, is a short authentic text that contains
a number of lexical chains, the main one being a snake
chain. Words in this chain are underlined
Snake sneaks into Auckland suburb
The hunt is on for a live snake which could be on the
loose in Auckland. The reptile has left behind a freshly
shed skin in the inner-city suburb of Freeman's Bay. Experts
believe it has come from a boa or python nearly
two metres long. Ten-year-old Victor McKenney found the skin
near his home. "I thought it was like fish scales and
then my friend pointed out it looked like snake skin,"
Victor said. The skin is now being tested at a site
near Christchurch but experts believe it is a harmless variety
and definitely still alive.
It
is not the first snake to sneak into New Zealand this
year. In March a poisonous eastern brown snake was
found alive in Wellington and two others were discovered dead
in Auckland and Wellington.
The
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is worried. Although
it is not a dangerous variety, MAF points out that all reptiles
could be carriers of bacteria such as salmonella. The MAF
snakecatcher team will be out again with dogs in a
bid to find the snake. Meanwhile, MAF is urging anyone
who spots the missing snake to call 0800-809 966
Intertwined
with the snake chain is a hunting chain, which
includes the words: hunt, on the loose, snakecatcher, dogs,
find/found, discovered, missing. A skin chain includes
skin ( x 4), shed and scales. Alive, dead
and live form a chain of their own, while harmless,
dangerous and poisonous form a danger chain,
to which could perhaps be added carriers, bacteria
and salmonella. Notice how the dominant lexical chains
provide a summary of the gist of the story: The hunt
is on for a harmless live snake after its skin
was found.
Activities designed to exploit this characteristic of texts
include setting the students the task of identifying the lexical
chains for themselves - by, for example, underlining or circling
associated words. They can then attempt to identify the type
of relationship between words in a chain, such as collocations
(live snake; shed skin; snake skin; fish scales); synonyms
(on the loose, missing; found, discovered); antonyms (harmless,
dangerous); and hyponyms and their superordinates: reptile
- snake - boa/python/eastern brown snake. The reader may
even note the juxtaposition of snake and sneak - this
time a sound relationship, rather than a meaning one. Having
done this "lexical detective" work, learners can
then attempt either to reconstruct the text from memory, or
write a 50-word summary of it.
Different
kinds of texts (or genres) are likely to display different
lexical features. Academic writing, for example, is noted
for having a higher proportion of nouns over verbs than non-academic
texts. Not only that, but the nouns are often stacked together
with adjectives or nouns (or both) to form relatively long
sequences, as in this example, in which the compound noun
phrases are underlined:
We
investigate the suitability of deploying speech technology
in computer-based systems that can be used to teach
foreign language skills. In reviewing the current
state of speech recognition and speech processing
technology and by examining a number of voice-interactive
CALL applications, we suggest how to create robust interactive
learning environments that exploit the strengths of speech
technology while working around its limitations. In the
conclusion, we draw on our review of these applications to
identify directions of future research that might improve
both the design and the overall performance of voice-interactive
CALL systems.2
On the other hand, less formal kinds of texts also have their
own lexical characteristics. Horoscopes in magazines, for
example, are typically rich in idiomatic language, including
phrasal verbs. In this example, idioms and idiomatic phrasal
verbs have been underlined:
LIBRA
23 September - 22 October
LOVE A new man on the scene sheds a fresh light
on a past relationship and you'll wonder if you can make
a fresh start with him. Give it a spin. It won't
be the same as the last one.
AMBITION Nothing comes easy now with a project,
and your instinct is to pack it in. Don't! You'll get
your inspiration back when Venus joins Neptune on the 22nd.
INSIGHT You hang out with so many people that
every now and again you need to hole up and
take stock. Deal with those jobs on your 'to do' list
and you'll feel back in control.
There
are a number of ways these lexical feastures can be exploited.
Here, for example, is a procedure that can be applied to both
the academic text and the horoscope text:
· Ask learners to skim the text and decide a)
what kind of text it is, b) what its purpose is, c) who it
is written for and d) what style it is written in (e.g. formal,
informal).
· Learners read the text again and are asked
to attempt a rough summary of its gist - e.g. "what is
it about?" (in the case of the academic text) or "what
three pieces of advice are offered?" (in the case of
the horoscope).
·
Ask learners to find all the examples of the lexical feature
that is being targeted - e.g. long noun phrases (in the academic
text) or idioms (in the horoscope). To ease the task, you
can tell them how many to look for.
·
Learners then work out the meanings of the phrases either
from their components, or from their context, or both. At
this point, they could be allowed to consult dictionaries.
·
Alternatively, provide definitions, synonyms or L1 translations
of the targeted words, and ask them to find the words in the
text that match. For example: Try it. (For Give it a spin).
·
Ask leaners to study the targeted items and analyse them
in terms of their formal features - e.g. in the academic text,
to separate the noun phrases into adjective + noun, or noun
+ noun combinations, or, in the horoscope, to distinguish
between the phrasal verbs and other idiomatic phrases.
·
Provide the learners with the same texts, but with the
targeted items blanked out. See if they can complete the texts
by replacing the items. Alternatively, provide them with a
list of the items (including one or two extras, perhaps) to
re-insert in the text.
·
Ask learners to write their own texts, to include some of
the items they have been studying.
So far, we have been looking at only written texts. But spoken
language also comprises a wealth of exploitable material.
Two lexical features of spoken language that are difficult
to teach in isolation are discourse markers and tags.
Discourse markers are words or phrases, such as well, anyway,
I mean, I'll tell you what, that tend to occur at the
onset of an utterance and indicate a change in the direction
of the talk. Tags, on the other hand, occur at the end of
an utterance, either to qualify what has been said (such as
I suppose, actually, really), or to elicit the listener's
involvement (such as isn't it? you know, yeah?). In this extract
(between a driving instructor and his client), the discourse
markers underlined and tags in italics:
Instructor:
All right?
Learner: [Sighs] Yeah [laughs]
Instructor: Well done, Maria,
you did well on that lesson. You can switch off now.
Learner: Yeah, great, thank you
very much.
Instructor: So how d'you find
it okay?
Learner: Yeah, it was great actually.
Instructor: That's good.
Learner: I really enjoyed it.
I thought I was more in control
Instructor: You've come on a
lot on that lesson actually.
Learner: D'you think so?
Instructor: Yeah. Since the last
one even, you know.
Learner: I think the last one
was a bad one though. I mean, I felt I wasn't patient you
know.
Instructor: Yeah but, you see,
you had a gap before that.
Learner: That's why.
Instructor: That's what was wrong
really.
[after McCarthy, M., in Coupland, J, Small Talk, Longman
2000]
Exactly
the same identifying and categorising tasks, as suggested
for the academic and horoscope texts, can be applied to a
transcript of real talk such as this one. If the talk is recorded,
so much the better, since learners can get the benefit of
the prosodic features of the text - that is, the stress and
intonation.
Finally, short literary texts offer multiple possibilities
for vocabulary development. It goes without saying that writers
and poets choose their words carefully, not only for their
meanings but for their formal features as well. (Someone once
defined poetry as "the right words in the right order").
Seeing how writers put words to use for their expressive function
can only help enrich the network of word associations for
the learner. Here, for example, is a poem that imbues rather
mundane objects with special significance:
HANDBAG
My mother's
old leather handbag,
crowded with letters she carried
all through the war. The smell
of my mother's handbag: mints
and lipstick and Coty powder.
The look of those letters, softened
and worn at the edges, opened,
read, and refolded so often.
Letters from my father. Odour
of leather and powder, which ever
since then has meant womanliness,
and love, and anguish, and war.
(Ruth
Fainlight, Selected Poems, Cassell)
The
following lexical features are worth drawing students' attention
to (or helping them discover):
· The things in
the text, and their relationship, i.e. handbag (which
contains) letters, mints, lipstick, powder, and which
is made of leather. Students could talk about the things
they carry with them, or that they remember their mother or
grandmother having.
· The complex noun
phrases: My mother's old leather handbag; The smell of
my mother's handbag… Students could construct complex
noun phrases along similar lines to describe the things they
have talked about previously.
·
The describing function of participles: softened,
worn, opened, read, refolded. Students could describe
their own (or remembered) objects using sequences of participles.
·
The sensations in the text: the smell of…
the look of… Other expressions that follow this pattern
are the sound of and the feel of… Students
could apply these expressions to the objects they have been
describing.
·
The abstract nouns in the text: womanliness,
love, anguish and the way these are connected to concrete
objects and actions: womanliness - lipstick, powder; love
- letters; anguish - opened, read, refolded. Students
could search for abstract nouns which capture their own emotional
associations with the objects they have been talking about.
·
The pattern of two syllable words ending in a schwa (unstressed
central vowel sound): mother, leather, powder,
letter, father, odour, ever.
Students could add to this list, especially words that could
fit the kind of loose associations created by the poem (lover,
brother, feather, lighter, never, etc).
Finally
students could attempt a "personalised" version
of the poem, following a similar pattern:
an extended
noun phrase
+
the smell/look/feel/sound of…
+
a list of items
+
the smell/look/feel/sound of…
+
single item from the list + sequence of participles
+
Odour/Sound/Appearance/Feel of…
+
…which ever since then has meant + abstract nouns
The patterned
nature of many literary texts, especially poems, and the intricate
"web of words" that knits them together, means that
the above approach can be generalised to almost any poem.
(It is important, at some stage of the process, that learners
hear the poem read aloud, in order to appreciate its
formal characteristics, such as metre and rhyme).
To summarise, short authentic texts (including literary texts)
are rich in vocabulary learning potential. They display words
in loose association and also in ways that are typical of
their particular text type. Moreover, a large part of their
coherence is due to their lexical patterning. Access to the
Internet means that such texts are relatively easily available.
Compiling a collection of such texts - and encouraging learners
to find their own - can provide a valuable resource for learners
at all levels.
1.
This is an edited extract from How to Teach
Vocabulary, Pearson Education (2002).
2. http://llt.msu.edu/vol2num1/article3/index.html
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