HOW SHOULD WE PROVIDE DIRECT VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION?

From: Teaching English Language and Content in Mainstream Classrooms: One Class, Many Paths, 2nd ed. (2012). Linda New Levine & Mary Lou McCloskey. Boston: Pearson.

English learners have a special need for direct vocabulary instruction, because they have not had the opportunities proficient speakers have to encounter the words throughout their lives and through extensive reading in English. Several authors have proposed steps for the direct teaching of vocabulary in school (for example, Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Marzano & Pickering, 2005).

We recommend the following six steps for direct vocabulary instruction for English learners.

Steps for Direct Vocabulary Instruction1. Present, pronounce, and define the word. If it is appropriate, display and point to a

picture that shows the meaning of the word. Write the word on the board. Pronounce the word and provide a brief definition or explanation of its meaning. “Our new word is site. A site is a place, like a space of ground where something is built. It can also be a place where an event is held. Our school was built on this site 23 years ago. The site of our performance yesterday was the auditorium. Plymouth Rock was the site where the pilgrims landed in 1620.” It is not always necessary to present a new word entirely in English. Sometimes it is more efficient to help the learner grasp the meaning quickly by using his or her L1. If the word has a cognate in a language known by English learners, make the connection. When appropriate, provide a translation that can serve as a quick bridge from L1 to L2. “Site is sitio in Spanish.” Whenever possible, present the word in a context that is meaningful and known to the learner.

2. Help the learners read and pronounce the word a number of times. Have learners count the syllables in the word and tap out the syllables on their desks. Include action games, call and response, and other techniques to make this activity lively and motivating.

Ok, everyone, let’s read this word: site.Say it soft: siteSay it loud: siteSay it slow: s‐i‐t‐eSee how you smile and hold your mouth open a little when you say that /i/ sound?Left side of the room: siteRight side of the room: siteWhisper site to the person next to you: site.

3. Provide examples of the word used in several different contexts—beginning with contexts familiar to learners, and adding newer and more sophisticated contexts as their knowledge of the word develops.

What do you think? Does this look like a good site for a picnic?The beavers found the right site on the creek to build a new dam.Sharon Creech has a really cool website.Gettysburg is the site of an important battle in the Civil War.

4. Carry out many activities that help learners engage with the word. The activities should progress from less demanding responses (such as signal responses) to more active participation with oral and written responses. They should provide a variety of encounters with the word that lead to rich, deep understanding. The games and activities discussed below offer many examples. Help learners find ways to use the word appropriately in the classroom context, and celebrate when they do so.

5. Have learners create their own visual representations of the target word. They may choose to use Pictures, Word Squares, Word Circles, a Semantic Map, or other graphic organizers. Have them keep their notes on important words in their personal dictionaries or on their personal word walls (see below).

6. Discuss a. alternate forms of the word, for example, for the word hope:

noun hope, hopesverb hope, hopes,

hopingadjective hopefuladverb hopefully

b. Alternate parts of the word, for example for the word contradiction:contra (against) dict (speak) tion (noun ending)

c. How the word is and is not used: We say: make a mess, not do a mess.

d. Other interesting features of the word, for example, that it has a homophone:Site is pronounced just like sight. Isn’t that interesting? How are the meanings different? Can you think of a sentence that uses both words correctly? What is special about a website?