How children learn the meaning of words

Young Learners WorkshopCecilia Maller A

Ideas

Bear in mind that kids are still building their L1 vocabulary, still in the process of acquiring and organizing concepts.

So learning L2 complex.

Learning is a continuous process- all your life.

Children faced to 3 diff. But related vocabulary learning tasks:

1. Labelling 2. Packaging 3. Network-building

Labelling

Discover that sequences of sounds can be used as names for things.

Ball

Packaging

Kids must discover which things can be packed together under one label.

Kids learn basic words before their subordinates.

Ex. Chair before furniture

Network building task

Kids must work out how words relate to one another.

Ex. Family relationships

Knowing a word

It involves many diff. types of knowledge.

In the early stages:Less attention to: aspects of form ( spelling, grammatical description,

grammatical changes that a word may suffer, etc.).

More attention to:

How a word is pronounced Its meaning Its use.

* Depends on the use: active or receptive use.

Vocabulary size, selection and learnability

How many words to teach?

500 words a year.- depending on factors like learning conditions, time available and learnability of a word.

Factors related to LEARNABILITY(7)

1.Demonstrability: When a word is easy to convey.

Concrete basic level: CAR

Abstract: Transport

2.Similarity to L1: Similar words?

Vehicle- ……………

3. Brevity: Short or long word? Short=easier. ( assumption)

Plane Aeroplane

4. Regularity of form: A word that has regularity in form.

Ex. Apple______Apples ( easier)

Foot___________Feet

5. Learning Load: Part of a word already known.

Ex. Bed Room Bedroom.( effort to learn it -lower)

6.Opportunism: Relevant word to the kid?

Ex. Classroom environment vocabulary

Vs

How to build a house.

7. Centres of interest: Relevant and of interest to children.

Coursebooks: Basic vocabulary essential for

communication as well as child-centred words.

Fun ________value Kids: like to learn, easiest to learn and

remember. Read pages 83-85 ( whole article)

The vocabulary teaching and learning process

Kids in their effort to learn new words will go through 5 main stages:

Stage 1: Understanding and learning the meaning of new words

Ideally presented in context familiar to the child.

Visual support- to convey meaning and help memorize new vocabulary.

How to introduce them:- Lexical sets: shops, fruit, rooms in a

house- Rhyming sets: bat, rat, hat, mat

Colours sets: things that are green:A pea, a leaf, an apple.

-Grammatical sets: adjectives, verbs, prepositions, nouns. Help recognize patterns; e.i. –or, -er,c- ist for jobs.

Patterns or collocations: Play the piano, ride a bike.

-Opposites or male and female: hot/cold,Boy/girl.

Techniques to introduce new vocabulary

Using objects- Helps to memorize the word through visualization.

Using drawings- board or flashcards* ( card covered with plastic).

Using illustrations, pictures, photos, flashcards ( your own, from magazines)

Using action, mime, expressions and gestures. Sad/happy., swim/run

Pointing, touching, tasting, feeling, smelling whenever possible- pupils use their senses, memorize words and understand meanings.

Using technology

Verbal techniques

Explaining- analytical description.Ex. A present is something….

Definig the context: The winner of the swimming competition gets a medal.

Eliciting What does the winner of the swimming competition get?- more memorable and motivating than a list of words.

Describing: It´s made of metal and looks like a coin----medal. Using opposites

Kids associate words with a concept they understand in L1.

Stage 2. Attending to form

Depending on the age and level.

Listening and repeating

Listening for specific phonological info( consonant and vowel sounds,number

of syllables, stress patterns, etc)

Looking at/ observing the written form( shape, first and last letters, spelling)

Noticing grammatical information.Ex. AN apple

Copying and organizing

Stage 3: Vocabulary practising, memorizing and checking activities

This requires to do things with the words __to make strong memory connections by learning words in groups.

Classifying/sorting. Kids sort words into categories. Ex. Hot and cold drinks.

Giving instructions. T. focuses on specific vocabulary. Ex. Show me a red square

Picture dictation: Kids draw what you say.

What´s missing: Look at a picture ans say what´s missing.

Kim´s game: Objects are used and displayed on a tray or table.

Wordsearchers: Kids love searching for English spelling patterns.

Sequencing: Put pictures on the board as required. Put the red square next to…

Labelling: Kids label a picture in order to practise different nouns from lexical sets.

Christmas tree

Stage 4. Consolidating, recycling, extending, organizing, recording and personalizing vocabulary

Kids seem to learn fast- take care of their long term memory: practise regularly, consolidate and recycle words in diff. contexts.

How?

Vocabulary booksCreate their own VB:

Ex. Alphabetically, pictures and drawings, by topic, situation, grammatical groups, etc.

Collages: Around a particular theme

Word network/ webs/trees.Create their own ones; taking as starting

point a topic.

Ex. Transport….

Clines or steps degrees of temperature:

Hot/ warm/ cold/ freezing. Animals from big to small.

Word stars. Pupils arrange words which rhyme on a star diagram which will help them recognize letter-sound relations.

Reading pg. 90- 91