*

Ways of
Presenting
Vocabulary
Presented by: Susana Marie Diampoc
Drill:
How many words can you
form in 25 seconds?

MINUTES
If you got :

9 above – excellent

6-8 – very good

4-5 – good

2-3 – fair

0- 1 - poor
Why Vocabulary?
“Without grammar verylittle can
be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed”
( David Wilkins )
A. Realia

This is the word we use to

B. Pictures
refer to the use of real objects in
the classroom. This is clearly
satisfactory for certain single
words, but the use of realia is
limited to things that can easily be
taken into the classroom.
A. Realia

By pictures, we mean
B. Pictures
blackboard drawings, wall pictures
and charts, flashcards and any
other non- technical visual
representation.
Pictures can be use to explain
the meaning of vocabulary items.
A picture can also be used to
create a situation or a context.
A. Realia

Actions in particular, are probably

better explained by mime. Thus, concepts
B. Pictures
like running and smoking are easy concepts
to explain if the teacher pretends to run, or
takes a drug on a imaginary cigarette.
Gesture is useful for explaining words like
“from”, to, etc.
A. Realia

B. Pictures

Running
A. Realia

B. Pictures
Reading

Video
A. Realia

Crying
B. Pictures

Video
A. Realia

Sometimes a visual element may

not be sufficient to explain meaning
B. Pictures
and contrast can be used. Thus, the
meaning of full is better understood in
the context of empty.. The meaning of
the past continuous is often explained
by contrasting it with the simple past.

E.g I was having a bath when the

telephone rang.
A. Realia

The teacher rapidly lists or

B. Pictures
enumerates, the meaning will
become clear.

1. apple, orange, grapes, pear

-fruits
-2. singing, dancing, acting
-- verbs
Video
A. Realia

Explaining the meaning of vocabulary

items can be extremely difficult just as
B. Pictures grammatical explanation can be, especially at
elementary levels. It will be important, if giving
such explanations, to make sure that the
explanation includes information about when
the item can be used. It would be
unsatisfactory just to say that mate was a word
for friend unless you pointed out that it was
colloquial informal English and only used in
certain text.
A. Realia
We need to explain that:

1. A bunch of numpties – means group of idiots

B. Pictures
2. To bamboozle – means to deceive
3. Go babanas- go insane or be very angry
4. Wanna- want to
5. Gonna- going to
6. Y’all- you all
7. Go nuts- go insane
8. Look blue- look sad
9. Buzz off- go away
10.What’s up- in formal “ How are you” or “How do
you do?”
A. Realia

If the students don’t understand a word and

the teacher can’t think how to explain it, he can
quickly translate it; the same is true in principle, of a
B. Pictures
piece of grammar. The big danger, though, is that
not all words and phrases are easily translated from
one language to the other and it takes a
communicatively efficient speaker of both languages
to translate well. Translation. Then, seems a useful
measure if used sparingly but it should be used with
caution.
A. Realia

Using translation is economical and

especially suitable for dealing with incidental
vocabulary that may crop up in a lesson.
B. Pictures

Disadvantages:
*Learners fail to develop an independent L2 lexicons
( indirect access of L2 words by means of L1
equivalents)
•Words are less memorable
•* Translation can develop too much reliance on
direct translation from the mother tongue.
 Example:
A. Realia
Scene 1
Teacher: Does anyone know the English for pantalon? It’s
trousers..Listen it’s trousers. Trousers repeat.
Students: Trousers.

•Children are exposed to a lot of English than the target

B. Pictures
vocabulary item.

•Alternative to Translation
•Using real objects
•Illustrate or demonstrate
•Visual aids
A. Realia

Concept questions are particularly

useful to check the understanding of
B. Pictures
vocabulary items. In here, you are checking
and clarifying the limits of the meaning of
the item.

Video
 How to create concept questions:
A. Realia
The first thing to consider is what exactly the word
or phrase means. You will probably feel you know
this, but it can often really be worth looking it up in
a dictionary to get all the elements of meaning.
B. Pictures
For example, the word “cosy”. The dictionary says: “
A place that is small, comfortable and warm: the
living room was warm and cosy.”

The key elements would be

•Small
•* Comfortable
•Warm
•Used to describes rooms
 What makes a
vocabulary item
B. Pictures

easy or difficult?
A. Realia
1. Similarity to L1
The difficulty of a vocabulary item often
depends on how similar the items is in form
and meaning to the students’ first
B. Pictures language.
2. Similarity to English words already known
Once students have learned some English
words, then a word which is related to an
English word they are already familiar with
is easier than one which is not.

E.g friendly- unfriendly

 3. Connotation - an implied meaning that is
A. Realia
associated with a word in addition to its literal
meaning.
Does the word have a positive or negative
connotation to a native speaker?
Positive Connotations
B. Pictures •Childlike
•*Dove( peace )
•Hollywood( fame)
•Modest
•Youthful
Negative Connotations
•*Babe(woman)
•*chick ( woman)
•Skinny ( slim)
•Stout ( obese )
A. Realia
Connotation Pairs
Cheap – Inexpensive Cocky – confident
Difficult- challenging Fired- terminated
B. Pictures

Job- career Lazy- relaxed

Old- elderly Foolish- unwise
A.4.Realia
Spelling and Pronunciation
The spelling of many English words can cause
problems for students who speak languages with
very regular spelling systems. Particular spelling
B. Pictures
patterns can also cause confusion where the
pronunciation is concerned.

E.g. Affect- effect

through- though
thought- tough- thorough
A.5.Realia
Multi- word items
A lexical item may consist of more than one word, as in a compound
noun such as tennis shoes or sports car or a phrasal verb such as to
put someone up.
B. Pictures

e.g putting someone up- putting someone down

Look up the chimney- look chimney up
 Types
A. Realia of lexical items
Words, e.g. cat, tree
Parts of words, e.g. -s in trees, -
er in
B. Pictures
worker, non- in nondescript, -
est in loudest
Phrasal verbs, e.g. put off or get out
Polywords, e.g. by the way, inside out
Collocations, e.g. motor vehicle, absolutely
convinced.
Institutionalized utterances, e.g. I'll get
A. Realia
it, We'll see, That'll do, If I were
you, Would you like a cup of coffee?
Idioms, e.g. break a leg, was one whale
of a, a bitter pill to swallow
B. Pictures

Sayings, e.g. The early bird gets the

worm, The devil is in the details
Sentence frames and heads, e.g. That is
not as...as you think, The problem was
Text frames, e.g., In this paper we
explore...; Firstly...; Secondly...; Finally
....
A. Realia 6. Collocation
How a lexical item collocates can
also cause difficulty
B. Pictures
•Let's give Mr Jones a round of
applause.
•The ceasefire agreement came into
effect at 11am.
•I always try to do my homework in the
morning, after making my bed.
•We had to return home because we had run
out of money.
A. Realia 7. Appropriate Use

•When to use vocabulary appropriately is also a

problem.
B. Pictures

Strategies in teaching Vocabulary

Introducing new vocabulary to young
learners
A. Realia

•Game Chain
B. Pictures
• Listen Carefully
• Game Password
• Quick Fire Vocabulary
• Word Squares
•Word Search
• Secret Spies
•Telegram
• Leave the room
*
A. Realia

B. Pictures