Introducing Vocabulary To Lower Level Learners Through The Use Of Word Lists (2) Article Summary
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4.2 Needs (i)
Different students have contrasting needs in terms of the vocabulary that is essential to them. Gairns and Redman (1986) exemplify this point, stating that students who are required to read technical reports in English will have different requirements to language students who need English for survival purposes in English-speaking countries . This again is a major consideration within my teaching environment. At this point I will qualify this consideration.
Words that are high frequency are considered to be target vocabulary, as the students will come across these words (in similar contexts) throughout their academic careers, whereas words that are not regarded as high frequency are labelled as content words, i.e. words that are only of use to the student for any given unit of a coursebook. In this way a differentiation is made between lexical items that can remain as passive (basically, the Word is recognised by the student but not produceable) and those whose importance is such that they need to become part of a student’s active vocabulary (the student not only recognises the word but can use it correctly in language production).
While Gairns and Redman (1986) acknowledge that coursebook writers have access to word frequency counts and are able to ensure that high priority items are introduced at appropriate stages, they also note that certain considerations must be made with regard to the adaptation and supplementation of coursebook materials . The word lists I have discussed are the key to enhancing the level of vocabulary teaching in my classrooms. I will discuss the tools used to implement this in section 7 of this paper.
4.3 Level
The level of the student’s English is strongly linked to their present needs in terms of vocabulary. Gairns and Redman (1986) state that elementary learners, for example, are aware of their limited choices of lexical items when compared to upper-intermediate students . However, a problem is evident when students are expected to be able to produce active vocabulary that seems ill at ease with their current level of study. Gairns and Redman cite the problems faced by lower level students embarking on Business English courses . This is also an issue that I face in my day-to-day teaching environment (with relatively low level students introduced to academic language), and is an issue I will now discuss in more detail.
4.4 Needs (ii)
As I have just exemplified, a problem may arise when a student is expected to achieve a level of active vocabulary that seems unnatural in relation to their current level of study. In an environment in which students are being prepared for academic study using English for communication, it is natural that these students should be taught the most relevant academic vocabulary, i.e. the lexical items that they will encounter again and again during their academic careers. With this in mind, it is necessary to consider the pitfalls of teaching English for academic purposes. Jordan (1997) suggests that all too often there is a tendency for vocabulary acquisition to become incidental to skills such as reading comprehension, and that as a consequence vocabulary learning is consigned to the students’ indirect (and perhaps inefficient) learning . The word lists I identified in section four have been introduced specifically to eliminate just such a problem. Furthermore, by presenting word lists effectively, and relating it to the students’ level of study, it has been possible to eliminate one of the major motivational problems that Gairns and Redman (1986) identify, namely that effective learning is reduced when the student doesn’t perceive the usefulness of the vocabulary input and consequently is not engaged in learning .
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