... Teacher`s Innovations ...

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Requirements for Research Innovations 2011

Professor: Robertho Mesèn Hidalgo

Implementation Plan

Students:

Karla Castro

Mirya Cubillo

Laura Morales

Hellen Ramìrez

August, 2011.

CHAPTER #1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 ABSTRACT
This research has the intention of coping with an essential need most learners have: to avoid the initial frustration of not knowing the usage and meaning of new vocabulary items even if one’s proficiency level is advanced. The first part refers to the background of the problem and to the relevance of this topic. On the second part it can be found the theoretical part of this research which supports the importance of this common and sometimes neglected issue.






1.2 INTRODUCTION
Certainly, when teaching vocabulary to an advanced group of students, teachers might feel frustration to evidence the learners’ lack of knowledge regarding the use and meaning of new vocabulary items. It is said that it is up to each learner’s motivation toward the language which can bring them to enhance their mastery at vocabulary level. However, there are a lot of aspects to take into account regarding the improvement and the usage of methods and systems that are able to help the learner, in a more precise manner, to acquire new vocabulary.
The most important aspect of vocabulary teaching for advanced learners is to foster learner independence so that learners will be able to deal with new lexis and expand their vocabulary beyond the end of the course. Therefore guided discovery, contextual guesswork and using dictionaries should be the main ways to deal with discovering meaning.
Another strategy for advanced learners is to turn their receptive vocabulary items into productive ones. In order to do that, we need to refine their understanding of the item, exploring boundaries between conceptual meaning, polysemy, synonymy, style, register, possible collocations, etc., so that students are able to use the item accurately.
We must take into account that a lexical item is most likely to be learned when a learner feels a personal need to know it, or when there is a need to express something to accomplish the learner’s own purposes. Therefore, it means that the decision to incorporate a word in ones productive vocabulary is entirely personal and varies according to each student’s motivation and needs.
Logically, production will depend on motivation, and this is what teachers should aim at promoting, based on their awareness of students needs and preferences. Task-based learning should help teachers to provide authentic, meaningful tasks in which students engage to achieve a concrete output, using appropriate language for the context.

1.3 BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM
When teaching new vocabulary items, teachers might experience an initial frustration to notice that learners are probably having a difficult time when working with words they do not know about even though they have an advanced proficiency level. Learners themselves readily admit that they experience considerable difficulty with vocabulary, and once they have got over initial stages of acquiring their second language, most learners identify the acquisition of vocabulary as their greatest single source of problems.
Learning vocabulary is a complex process. The student’s aim to be reached in learning vocabulary process is primarily their ability to recall the word at will and to recognize it in its spoken and written form.
Generally, knowing a word involves knowing its form and its meaning at the basic level. In deeper aspects it means the abilities to know its meaning, usage, style and register, connotations and associations the word might have, word formation, and grammar.
Unlike the learning of grammar, vocabulary knowledge is a largely a question of accumulating individual items. The general rule seems to be a question of memory. And during the process of teaching and learning vocabulary an important question arises: How does memory work? Memory researchers identify three important systems: short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory.
From the three previous systems the long-term memory is the richest and broadest of them all, by allowing the learner to retain as much content as possible. However, to ensure moving new materials into permanent long-term memory, it requires a number of principles to be followed, described by Thornbury, 2002: repetition, retrieval, spacing, pacing, use, cognitive depth, personal organizing, imaging, mnemonics, motivation, and attention.

Nevertheless, it is vital to remember that there are much more fundamental factors that determine success in language learning such as motivation, acquisition of data like samples of the language and information about the language, opportunities to experiment with the data, feedback to confirm that you are heading in the right direction or re-direct you if you are not, and of course the desire of becoming an empirical learner in order to never cease the learner’s own learning process

1.4 JUSTIFICATION

Vocabulary acquisition is part of the psychology of second language learning. For this reason it is an essential part of the teaching-learning process.

Advanced learners can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic structures of the language. However, they need to broaden their vocabulary to express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of situations.
Students might even have a receptive knowledge of a wider range of vocabulary, which means they can recognise the item and recognise its meaning. Nevertheless, their productive use of a wide range of vocabulary is normally limited, and this is one of the areas that need greater attention. At this stage we are concerned not only with students understanding the meaning of words, but also being able to use them appropriately, taking into account factors such as oral / written use of the language; degree of formality, style and others.
Traditionally, the teaching of vocabulary above elementary levels was mostly incidental, limited to presenting new items as they appeared in reading or sometimes listening texts. This indirect teaching of vocabulary assumes that vocabulary expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills, which has been proved not enough to ensure vocabulary expansion.
Nowadays it is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by Lewis (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching, because ‘language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar’.
There are several aspects of lexis that need to be taken into account when teaching vocabulary. The list below is based on the work of Gairns and Redman (1986):
• Boundaries between conceptual meaning: knowing not only what lexis refers to, but also where the boundaries are that separate it from words of related meaning (e.g. cup, mug, bowl).
• Polysemy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word form with several but closely related meanings (head: of a person, of a pin, of an organisation).
• Homonymy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word form which has several meanings which are NOT closely related ( e.g. a file: used to put papers in or a tool).
• Homophyny: understanding words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings (e.g. flour, flower).
• Synonymy: distinguishing between the different shades of meaning that synonymous words have (e.g. extend, increase, expand).
• Affective meaning: distinguishing between the attitudinal and emotional factors (denotation and connotation), which depend on the speakers attitude or the situation. Socio-cultural associations of lexical items is another important factor.
• Style, register, dialect: Being able to distinguish between different levels of formality, the effect of different contexts and topics, as well as differences in geographical variation.
• Translation: awareness of certain differences and similarities between the native and the foreign language (e.g. false cognates).
• Chunks of language: multi-word verbs, idioms, strong and weak collocations, lexical phrases.
• Grammar of vocabulary: learning the rules that enable students to build up different forms of the word or even different words from that word (e.g. sleep, slept, sleeping; able, unable; disability).
• Pronunciation: ability to recognise and reproduce items in speech.
The implication of the aspects just mentioned in teaching is that the goals of vocabulary teaching must be more than simply covering a certain number of words on a word list. We must use teaching techniques that can help realize this global concept of what it means to know a lexical item. And we must also go beyond that, giving learner opportunities to use the items learnt and also helping them to use effective written storage systems.
Learning new items involve storing them first in our short-term memory, and afterwards in long-term memory. We do not control this process consciously but there seems to be some important clues to consider. First, retention in short-term memory is not effective if the number of chunks of information exceeds seven. Therefore, this suggests that in a given class we should not aim at teaching more than this number. However, our long-term memory can hold any amount of information.
Our ‘mental lexicon’ is highly organized and efficient, and that semantic related items are stored together. Word frequency is another factor that affects storage, as the most frequently used items are easier to retrieve. We can use this information to attempt to facilitate the learning process, by grouping items of vocabulary in semantic fields, such as topics (e.g. types of fruit).
Oxford (1990) suggests memory strategies to aid learning, and these can be divided into:
• creating mental linkages: grouping, associating, placing new words into a context;
• applying images and sounds: using imagery, semantic mapping, using keywords and representing sounds in memory;
• reviewing well, in a structured way;
• employing action: physical response or sensation, using mechanical techniques.
The techniques just mentioned can be used to greater advantage if we can diagnose learning style preferences (visual, aural, kinesthetic, tactile) and make students aware of different memory strategies.
Meaningful tasks however seem to offer the best answer to vocabulary learning, as they rely on students’ experiences and reality to facilitate learning. More meaningful tasks also require learners to analyse and process language more deeply, which should help them retain information in long-term memory.
Forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they have learnt. Therefore, recycling is vital, and ideally it should happen one or two days after the initial input. After that, weekly or monthly tests can check on previously taught items.
The way students store the items learned can also contribute to their success or failure in retrieving them when needed. Most learners simply list the items learnt in chronological order, indicating meaning with translation. This system is far from helpful, as items are de-contextualised, encouraging students to over generalise usage of them. It does not allow for additions and refinements nor indicates pronunciation.
Teachers can encourage learners to use other methods, using topics and categories to organise a notebook, binder or index cards. Meaning should be stored using English as much as possible, and also giving indication for pronunciation. Diagrams and word trees can also be used within this topic/categories organisation. The class as a whole can keep a vocabulary box with cards, which can be used for revision/recycling regularly.
Organizing this kind of storage system is time-consuming and might not appeal to every learner. Therefore adapting their chronological lists to include headings for topics and a more complete definition of meaning would already be a step forward.


2. HYPOTHESIS

It is frustrating for teachers to teach new vocabulary items to advanced students because they might not know the use of these new vocabulary items.

3. TERMINAL OBJECTIVES

• Teaching new vocabulary items to avoid the initial frustration in advanced level students.


3.1 ENABLING OBJECTIVES

• Providing visual material for students to relate new and advanced vocabulary to illustrations in order to convey meaning.
• Putting into practice six tips to avoid the initial frustration in students when not knowing new vocabulary items’ meaning and usage.

CHAPTER # 2
4. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

VOCABULARY
“If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh.” (Harmer 1993: 153)
Learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning a language. The more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read; and the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing.

4.1 MEMORY AND STORAGE SYSTEMS
Understanding how our memory works might help us create more effective ways to teach vocabulary. Research in the area, cited by Gairns (1986) offers us some insights into this process.
It seems that learning new items involve storing them first in our short-term memory, and afterwards in long-term memory. We do not control this process consciously but there seems to be some important clues to consider. First, retention in short-term memory is not effective if the number of chunks of information exceeds seven. Therefore, this suggests that in a given class we should not aim at teaching more than this number. However, our long-term memory can hold any amount of information.
Research also suggests that our ‘mental lexicon’ is highly organised and efficient, and that semantic related items are stored together. Word frequency is another factor that affects storage, as the most frequently used items are easier to retrieve. We can use this information to attempt to facilitate the learning process, by grouping items of vocabulary in semantic fields, such as topics (e.g. types of fruit).
Oxford (1990) suggests memory strategies to aid learning, and these can be divided into:
• creating mental linkages: grouping, associating, placing new words into a context;
• applying images and sounds: using imagery, semantic mapping, using keywords and representing sounds in memory;
• reviewing well, in a structured way;
• employing action: physical response or sensation, using mechanical techniques.
The techniques just mentioned can be used to greater advantage if we can diagnose learning style preferences (visual, aural, kinesthetic, tactile) and make students aware of different memory strategies.
Meaningful tasks however seem to offer the best answer to vocabulary learning, as they rely on students’ experiences and reality to facilitate learning. More meaningful tasks also require learners to analyse and process language more deeply, which should help them retain information in long-term memory.
Forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they have learnt. Therefore, recycling is vital, and ideally it should happen one or two days after the initial input. After that, weekly or monthly tests can check on previously taught items.
The way students store the items learned can also contribute to their success or failure in retrieving them when needed. Most learners simply list the items learnt in chronological order, indicating meaning with translation. This system is far from helpful, as items are de-contextualised, encouraging students to over generalise usage of them. It does not allow for additions and refinements nor indicates pronunciation.
Teachers can encourage learners to use other methods, using topics and categories to organise a notebook, binder or index cards. Meaning should be stored using English as much as possible, and also giving indication for pronunciation. Diagrams and word trees can also be used within this topic/categories organisation. The class as a whole can keep a vocabulary box with cards, which can be used for revision/recycling regularly.
Organising this kind of storage system is time-consuming and might not appeal to every learner. Therefore adapting their chronological lists to include headings for topics and a more complete definition of meaning would already be a step forward.
4.2 DEALING WITH MEANING
In my opinion the most important aspect of vocabulary teaching for advanced learners is to foster learner independence so that learners will be able to deal with new lexis and expand their vocabulary beyond the end of the course. Therefore guided discovery, contextual guesswork and using dictionaries should be the main ways to deal with discovering meaning.
Guided discovery involve asking questions or offering examples that guide students to guess meanings correctly. In this way learners get involved in a process of semantic processing that helps learning and retention.
Contextual guesswork means making use of the context in which the word appears to derive an idea of its meaning, or in some cases, guess from the word itself, as in words of Latin origin. Knowledge of word formation, e.g. prefixes and suffixes, can also help guide students to discover meaning. Teachers can help students with specific techniques and practice in contextual guesswork, for example, the understanding of discourse markers and identifying the function of the word in the sentence (e.g. verb, adjective, noun). The latter is also very useful when using dictionaries.
Students should start using EFL dictionaries as early as possible, from Intermediate upwards. With adequate training, dictionaries are an invaluable tool for learners, giving them independence from the teacher. As well as understanding meaning, students are able to check pronunciation, the grammar of the word (e.g. verb patterns, verb forms, plurality, comparatives, etc.), different spelling (American versus British), style and register, as well as examples that illustrate usage.
4.3 USING LANGUAGE
Another strategy for advanced learners is to turn their receptive vocabulary items into productive ones. In order to do that, we need to refine their understanding of the item, exploring boundaries between conceptual meaning, polysemy, synonymy, style, register, possible collocations, etc., so that students are able to use the item accurately.
We must take into account that a lexical item is most likely to be learned when a learner feels a personal need to know it, or when there is a need to express something to accomplish the learner’s own purposes. Therefore, it means that the decision to incorporate a word in ones productive vocabulary is entirely personal and varies according to each student’s motivation and needs.
Logically, production will depend on motivation, and this is what teachers should aim at promoting, based on their awareness of students needs and preferences. Task-based learning should help teachers to provide authentic, meaningful tasks in which students engage to achieve a concrete output, using appropriate language for the context.
4.4 THE LEXICAL APPROACH
We could not talk about vocabulary teaching nowadays without mentioning Lewis (1993), whose controversial, thought-provoking ideas have been shaking the ELT world since its publication. We do not intend to offer a complete review of his work, but rather mention some of his contributions that in our opinion can be readily used in the classroom.
His most important contribution was to highlight the importance of vocabulary as being basic to communication. We do agree that if learners do not recognise the meaning of keywords they will be unable to participate in the conversation, even if they know the morphology and syntax. On the other hand, we believe that grammar is equally important in teaching, and therefore in our opinion, it is not the case to substitute grammar teaching with vocabulary teaching, but that both should be present in teaching a foreign language.
Lewis himself insists that his lexical approach is not simply a shift of emphasis from grammar to vocabulary teaching, as ‘language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary, but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks’(Lewis, 1997). Chunks include collocations, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and idioms, and according to him, occupy a crucial role in facilitating language production, being the key to fluency.
An explanation for native speakers’ fluency is that vocabulary is not stored only as individual words, but also as parts of phrases and larger chunks, which can be retrieved from memory as a whole, reducing processing difficulties. On the other hand, learners who only learn individual words will need a lot more time and effort to express themselves.
Consequently, it is essential to make students aware of chunks, giving them opportunities to identify, organise and record these. Identifying chunks is not always easy, and at least in the beginning, students need a lot of guidance.
Hill (1999) explains that most learners with ‘good vocabularies’ have problems with fluency because their ‘collocational competence’ is very limited, and that, especially from Intermediate level, we should aim at increasing their collocational competence with the vocabulary they have already got. For Advance learners he also suggests building on what they already know, using better strategies and increasing the number of items they meet outside the classroom.
The idea of what it is to ‘know’ a word is also enriched with the collocational component. According to Lewis (1993) ‘being able to use a word involves mastering its collocational range and restrictions on that range’. I can say that using all the opportunities to teach chunks rather than isolated words is a feasible idea that has been working well in my classes, and which is fortunately coming up in new course books we are using. However, both teachers and learners need awareness raising activities to be able to identify multi-word chunks.
Apart from identifying chunks, it is important to establish clear ways of organising and recording vocabulary. According to Lewis (1993), ‘language should be recorded together which characteristically occurs together’, which means not in a linear, alphabetical order, but in collocation tables, mind-maps, word trees, for example. He also suggests the recording of whole sentences, to help contextualization, and that storage of items is highly personal, depending on each student’s needs.
We have already mentioned the use of dictionaries as a way to discover meaning and foster learner independence. Lewis extends the use of dictionaries to focus on word grammar and collocation range, although most dictionaries are rather limited in these.
Lewis also defends the use of ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ material from the early stages of learning, because ‘acquisition is facilitated by material which is only partly understood’ (Lewis, 1993, p. 186). Although he does not supply evidence for this, I agree that students need to be given tasks they can accomplish without understanding everything from a given text, because this is what they will need as users of the language. He also suggests that it is better to work intensively with short extracts of authentic material, so they are not too daunting for students and can be explored for collocations.
Finally, the Lexical Approach and Task-Based Learning have some common principles, which have been influencing foreign language teaching. Both approaches regard intensive, roughly-tuned input as essential for acquisition, and maintain that successful communication is more important than the production of accurate sentences. We certainly agree with these principles and have tried to use them in our class.

4.4 RATIONALE OF THE LESSON
We believe that the Lexical Approach has much to offer in the area of vocabulary teaching, and therefore we have tried to plan a lesson that is based on its main concepts, specially exploring the use of collocations.

4.5 CHOICE OF MATERIAL
As both the Task-based and the Lexical approach suggest, we wanted to use authentic material to expose our students to rich, contextualised, naturally-occurring language.
For the topic of holidays we chose a big number of holiday brochures (about twenty five) and read them through, trying to notice recurrent patterns of lexis. Confirming what Hill (1999) affirmed, this analysis showed us a large number of collocations, specially adjective + noun ones, and that some were extremely common, such as golden sandy beaches, rolling countryside and others.
We did not want to overload students with much reading, which would detract them from the main task of working with vocabulary, and therefore we selected twenty-one short yet meaningful extracts in which common collocations appeared.
4.6 NOTICING COLLOCATIONS AND DEALING WITH MEANING
Although the extracts are authentic, we do not think students will have many problems in understanding most of the collocations, as they contain vocabulary which they probably know receptively. This again should confirm the idea that students know individual words but lack collocational competence.
We are going to work as a whole class in step 5 to make students aware of the collocations we will be focusing on, and hopefully this will enable students to find other collocations. Regular awareness raising activities like this should help students improve their collocational competence, and even fluency.
For the few words that we predict students will not fully understand meaning of, or are not sure how they are pronounced, we are going to ask them to look these up in monolingual dictionaries. A dictionaries are a vital tool for advanced learners, and so is contextual guesswork, which we are going to encourage before they look the words up. We are also going to ask students to notice examples given in the dictionary, observing and recording other possible collocations of the words, as suggested by Lewis.
We have also taken into account the importance of recording the vocabulary observed during the class. The list that students will produce in step 9, to prepare for the final task, is also a way of recording vocabulary in an organised, personalised and meaningful.
4.7 GROUP WORK
Working in groups help fostering learning independence, and especially in vocabulary work, learners can exchange knowledge, asking others to explain unknown items.
We also hope that group work will be a motivating factor, as students talk about places they have been on holiday to, trying to remember details together, exchanging impressions and even good memories!
4.8 CHOICE OF TASK
We find it vital that students are given opportunities to use the language they are learning in a realistic context. Therefore, we have devised the final task to meet this principle.
Writing a leaflet is a possible task in the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English, which these students are preparing for. It is also a relevant, real life task that we expect will interest students. For example: to mention that the standard of leaflets written in English in Brazil is very poor, and that they could do a much better job.
We expect that this writing should also enable students to use the vocabulary they have studied in a realistic context, and that they could be motivated to learn even more vocabulary they feel they need to accomplish the task.
The completion of the final task for homework will also help to reinforce and revise the vocabulary learnt, giving students a better chance to store the items in their long-term memory.
By doing this we want to motivate students to do the enabling tasks, mainly to show them the need to learn new vocabulary.
As this is a borrowed group, it might be the case the students are not yet familiar with the leaflet format, in which case more input would be necessary before the conclusion of the final task.
If students are really interested in the task, this could be transformed into a project, involving research and the production of a leaflet or web page in the multi-media centre.
4.9 WHAT VOCABULARY TO TEACH
Every language teacher must make a difficult choice on what and how much vocabulary to teach. Furthermore, they must consider what vocabulary items to teach first (during early stages of the course) and what vocabulary to leave for later on. The teacher’s choice of vocabulary is influenced into some extent by the course book and supplementary materials they use. However even here, “teacher decides on emphasis given to individual items.” (Gairns and Redman 1992: 54)
4.10 USEFULNESS
When making a decision about what vocabulary to teach preferentially, the teacher should take into consideration mainly usefulness of the words. Yet, what words are actually useful? To be able to answer this question, it might be helpful to look into several aspects.
In the first place, the teacher should consider the learner’s needs. Allen (1983) pointed out that it is useful to provide the learner with words for ‘classroom language’ just at the early stages of the course. She continues that it is important for the teacher to predict what words the student needs to know for talking about everyday life, people and things surrounding them. “When such words are learnt, the new language can immediately be put to use”. (Allen 1983: 108)
One of the criteria affecting the teacher’s choice is the frequency in which the particular item is used in common language. In general, “The words which are most commonly used are the ones we should teach first.” (Harmer 1993: 154) However, most frequent words do not usually convey much information, being so-called ‘empty’ words(i.e. grammar words) and to be able to communicate, learners need considerable amount of words bearing some meaning. (McCarthy 1992: 82)
Another aspect to consider is coverage. As Harmer (1993: 154) stated, the words covering more things are likely to be taught before words with only one specific meaning. E.g. the word ‘book’ will be taught before words ‘notebook or exercise book’. McCarthy (1992: 84) also speculates on the range of an item. It is generally advisable to avoid the vocabulary with a restricted range, since the wider range an item has, the more useful it is likely to be.

4.11 LEARN ABILITY
Besides usefulness, “learn ability” is another factor influencing the order in which chosen vocabulary will be taught. There are a lot of reasons why words might be easy or difficult to learn. Of them all, let us mention that complicated spelling, pronunciation or meaning might be a reason for a word to be difficult to remember. Generally, concrete things are more learnable then abstract ones, therefore they are always taught first. (McCarthy 1992: 86)
4.12 PICTURES IN FOREING LANGUAGE TEACHING
As Hill (1990) pointed out, “the standard classroom” is usually not a very suitable environment for learning languages. That is why teachers search for various aids and stimuli to improve this situation. Pictures are one of these valuable aids. They bring “images of reality into the unnatural world of the language classroom.” (Hill1990: 1) Pictures bring not only images of reality, but can also function as a fun element in the class. Sometimes it is surprising, how pictures may change a lesson, even if only employed in additional exercises or just to create the atmosphere.

Pictures meet with a wide range of use not only in acquiring vocabulary, but alsoin many other aspects of foreign language teaching. Wright (1990: 4-6) demonstrated this fact on an example, where he used one compiled picture and illustrated the possibility of use in five very different language areas. His example shows employing pictures in teaching structure, vocabulary, functions, situations and all four skills.

Furthermore he pointed out that “potential of pictures is so great that only a taste of their full potential can be given” in his book. (Wright 1990: 6) To be more specific, beside lessons where pictures are in the main focus, they might be used just as a “stimulus for writing and discussion, as an illustration of something being read or talked about, as background to a topic and so on” (Hill 1990: 2)

However, “pictures have their limitations too”. (McCarthy 1992: 115) For example in teaching vocabulary, pictures are not suitable or sufficient for demonstrating the meaning of all words. (McCarthy 1992: 115; Thornbury 2004: 81) It is hard to illustrate the meaning of some words, especially the abstract ones such as ‘opinion’ or‘impact’. Therefore, in some cases, other tools are used to demonstrate the meaning.

There are many reasons for using pictures in language teaching. As Wright(1990: 2) pointed out, they are motivating and draw learners’ attention. This fact will be repeatedly demonstrated in the Practical Part of this thesis. Furthermore, Wright (1990: 2) refers to the fact that they provide a sense of the context of the language and give a specific reference point or stimulus. Pictures, being suitable for any group of learners independently on age or level, can be used in lots of various ways. As Hill (1992: 2) stated,
Hill (1990: 1) listed several advantages of pictures, such as availability (one can get them in any magazines, on the internet, etc.); they are cheap, often free; they are personal (teacher selects them); flexibility - easily kept, useful for various types of activities (drilling, comparing, etc.), they are “always fresh and different”, which means they come in a variety of formats and styles and moreover the learner often wonders what comes next. (Hill 1990: 1)
Learners always pay attention and are curious about what are they going to do with the pictures shown. However, there is always a downside: it can be quite time consuming to find the right pictures for a specific type of activity for a beginning teacher who lacks his or her own collection. Still on the whole, this drawback is greatly outweighed by the above-mentioned pros. Furthermore, when the collection of pictures is once made, it can serve for a long time.
Another matter is the question of how to use pictures effectively. It counts as general methodological knowledge that in learning languages, students should perceive the input through as many channels as possible. Therefore it is important to include variety of stimuli in teaching. It is important to find a balance and not to use pictures or visuals only but to combine them with other techniques and different types of stimuli(movement, verbal stimuli, sound, etc). Moreover, pictures used for demonstration of the meaning should be repeatedly connected with the spoken and subsequently also written form of the word or chunk of language.






4.13 TIPS TO TEACH VOCABULARY

Drawing: For visual students, drawing can be a fun medium to explain vocabulary. You do not have to be a perfect artist - stick figures and basic sketches will often work well. You can even have students do their own drawings, which further reinforces their understanding of the vocabulary.
Rankings: If you have several gradable words to introduce at the same, you can introduce them together on a scale. For instance, you can use frequency, such as always-often-occasionally. Or you can do emotions in this way, with cheerful-happy-joyous-ecstatic.
Cuisenaire Rods: This is another tactic to help visual students. You can use different colored rods to symbolize different types of words, such as prepositions, verbs, or adjectives.
Pictures: Some words work well with pictures, particularly nouns. This can also be a good way to introduce blocks of related words, which is often utilized in foreign language classes, such as nouns and verbs related to the classroom or the house. Pictures can also be used in printable worksheets and flashcards, where pictures are matched to the word they represent.
Mime: Miming works well with younger students. You can mime out emotions and everyday activities to teach new words.
Sound: Sound can be an easy way to illustrate words that describe sounds, such as whistle, scratching, and tinkling. You can make the sounds yourself, or bring in tapes or CDs for students to listen to and write down the words that they hear.
Reality: When it is convenient, bringing in the actual item can help students remember the word better and allows for a hands-on experience. You can also use this to introduce step-by-step concepts, like how to play a card game or run a computer program.






5. OUTLINE
Thesis Statement: If teachers provide good visual material for the learning of new and advanced vocabulary, and also use some tips such as pictures, mine, sounds, drawing, and reality, then students could avoid initial frustration and feel motivated.

I. Teachers should provide good visual materials.
A. To help students understand better vocabulary.
B. To learn new and advanced vocabulary.

II. Usage of tips that help students to learn in different environment.
A. Mine activity can motivate students.
B. Sounds can be an easy way to learn vocabulary.
C. Drawing represents new words by drawing.
D. Pictures help students to understand meaning of vocabulary.
III. Good teaching process can avoid initial frustration.
A. Usage of good techniques by the teacher.
B. The ability the teacher has to teach and motivate students.
IV. Students will feel more motivated using different tips to learn.
A. Motivation is very important.
B. Attitude is part of motivation.
V. Concluding sentence:
Learning vocabulary will be easier if there are good techniques and also great motivation by the teacher and students.



6. BIBLOGRAPHY

 ALLEN, Virginia French. Techniques in Teaching vocabulary: Teaching techniques in English as a second or foreign language. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. SBN 0-19-434130-5

 BELL, Jane. Inspiration: Teacher's resource pack Builder 1. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2006. ISBN 10: 1-4050-2955-2.


 GAIRNS, Ruth. REDMAN, Stuart. Working with Words: A guide to teaching and learning vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-521-31709-6.


6.1 WEBGRAPHY


 http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/teachingvocabulary.html
 http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/teachingvocabularywords.html



7. Appendix

TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF (LESSON PLAN)

AIMS (OBJECTIVES):

1. To develop an interest from student to acquire new vocabulary through unknown culture.
2. To learn and apply the new vocabulary previously seeing.

Procedures:
Warm- up:
Personality Test
Students are going to select a shape below that appeal in a Power point presentation, reflective on the board then they have to scroll down and read about their personality.It’s suppose when the student choose a shape is going to be related with their personality.


Answers:
1.

Introspective
Sensitive
Reflective
You come to grips more frequently and thoroughly with yourself and your environment than do most people. You detest superficiality; you'd rather be alone than have to suffer through small talk. But your relationships with your friends are highly intensive, which gives you the inner tranquility and harmony that you need in order to feel good. However it is no problem for you to be alone for extended periods of time, without becoming bored.

2.
Independent
Unconventional
Unfettered
You demand a free and unattached life for yourself that allows you to determine your own course. You have an artistic bent in your work or leisure activities. Your urge for freedom sometimes causes you to do exactly the opposite of what expected of you. Your lifestyle is highly individualistic. You would never blindly imitate what is “in"; on the contrary, you seek to live according to your own ideas and convictions, even if this means swimming against the tide.




3.

Dynamic
Active
Extroverted
You are quite willing to accept certain risks and to make a strong commitment in exchange for interesting and varied work. Routine, in contrast, tends to have a paralyzing effect on you. What you like most is to be able to play an active role in events. In doing so, your initiative is highly pronounced.
4.


Down to Earth
Well-Balanced
Harmonious
You value a natural style and love that which is uncomplicated. People admire you because you have both feet planted firmly on the ground and they can depend on you. You give those who are close to you security and space. You are perceived as being warm and human. You reject everything that is garish and trite. You tend to be skeptical toward the whims of fashion trends. For you, clothing has to be practical and unobtrusively elegant.



5.

Professional
Pragmatic
Self-assured
You take charge of your life, and place less faith in your luck and more in your own deeds. You solve problems in a practical, uncomplicated manner. You take a realistic view of the things in your daily life and tackle them without wavering. You are given a great deal of responsibility at work, Because people know that you can be depended upon. Your pronounced strength of will projects your self-assurance to others. You are never fully satisfied until you have accomplished your ideas.
6.

Peaceful
Discreet
Non-Aggressive
You are easy-going yet discreet. You make friends effortlessly, yet enjoy your privacy and independence. You like to get away from it all and be alone from time to time to contemplate the meaning of life and enjoy yourself. You need space, so you escape to beautiful hideaways, but you are not a loner. You are at peace with yourself and the world, and you appreciate life. and what this world has to offer.



7.

Carefree
Playful
Cheerful
You love a free and spontaneous life. And you attempt to enjoy it to the fullest, in accordance with the motto: "You only live once." You are very curious and open about everything new; you thrive on change. Nothing is worse than when you feel tied down. You experience your environment as being versatile and always good for a surprise.
8.

Romantic
Dreamy
Emotional
You are a very sensitive person. You refuse to view things only from a sober, rational standpoint. What your feelings tell you is just as important to you. In fact, you feel it is important to have dreams in life, too. You reject people who scorn romanticism and are guided only by rationality. You refuse to let anything confine the rich variety of your moods and emotions.



9.

Analytical
Trustworthy
Self-assured
Your momentary sensitivity represents that which is of high quality and durable Consequently, you like to surround yourself with little "gems," which you discover wherever others overlook them. Thus, culture plays a special role in your life. You have found your own personal style, which is elegant and exclusive, free from the whims of fashion. Your ideal, upon which.
you base your life, is cultured pleasure. You value a certain level of culture on the part of the people with whom you associate.


Chinese Astrology: Let`s know little bit about this culture.
All astrology derives from ancient Chinese philosophy as it developed between 4000 and 2000 BC. At its heart is the concept of complementary opposites, and the interaction between elemental forces within a 60 year cycle dominated by the Moon. No one force or element dominates another, but each requires the others for its existence. As time progresses through the cycle, life forces change, but are always held in balance by an opposing force.
The present 60 year cycle started in 1984 – the year which George Orwell foresaw as a new world dominated by what he believed to be the dark forces of information technology in an age of fearsome new weaponry – and will end in 2044.
The Chinese divided the 60 year cycle into 5 smaller 12 year cycles, and to each one of those 12 years was assigned the name of an animal. Hence in the life of a 60 year cycle, each animal year will be repeated 5 times. However, on each of those 5 occasions the animal year is dominated by one of 5 different elements, such that every year in the 60 year cycle has its own distinctive character, and each person born in that year will share those distinctive annual characteristics.
That is not to assume that the millions of people born in a particular year share exactly the same characteristics. Each month, day and hour bring different forces to bear. At a minimum, there are 8,640 different permutations of character traits – and that number takes no account of sexual orientation or gender. Add to that the influence of other people, particularly during childhood (defined as the first 12 years of someone's life), and the result is a rich diversity of human existence that makes our world the fascinating place that it is.
To identify an individual's character requires information about the year of his/her birth, the lunar month of birth, and the day and hour of birth. Then the various programs in this site can pinpoint the forces that will determine the important things that life demands by identifying personality, relationships, employment, health and the future.

WORKSHEET #1
Talking About Yourself
Students are going to receive a photocopy which they can look for his/her years of birthday and at this way the pupils can discover to which animal do they are part according to Chinese culture and match the characteristics with your personality.

After student discover to which animal they are. Students are going to receive a vocabulary about unknown words presented in the description of the characteristics according to the Chinese astrology.


Chinese astrology organizes years into cycles of twelve with each year named after an animal. The Chinese believe that the year you are born in affects your character.



WORKSHEET #2




Teacher can demonstrate the vocabulary using pictures . example:
• Obliging



WORKSHEET #3
After students are going to receive a word sheet with the chart in which they have to write about positive and negative characteristic about partner who they do not know very well. For example: student A: ask to her classmate about her negative or positives characteristic according to worksheet #1 and then he will right it in the chart.
Follow the instructions:
1. Pair up with a classmate you usually do not know pretty well.
2. Ask him/her about positive and negative characteristics and write them in the chart according with Chinese astrology.

Positive Negative
________ _________
________ _________
________ _________


ACTIVITY # 4
Sequence: Talking about myself
Students in a circle are going to develop an oral activity; it consist that the learners are going to share or tell his/her year of birthday and some of the astrology animal characteristics about the animal they are part according to the Chinese astrology, but also the pupils have to remember very well the information from others because they have to say the data given by the previous classmates and add his/her information and so on, until the last participant could give the characteristic and info about the rest of the classmates.

WORKSHEET# 5
Students with a dictionary if it is necessary are going to match the words from the left side with their opposites in the right side.




WORKSHEET #6


FOLLOW UP:

Find some useful vocabulary for describing your own or others personality by doing an internet search on the Word “horoscopes” and following any link which interest you. On some websites it is possible to do personality quizzes to find out what sort of person you are.




WORKSHEET ANSWERS
Worksheet # 5
Opposites

Worksheet # 6


What are abstract nouns from the adjectives?

By using the words of the left on worksheet #5 are going to give a synonym for each word.