Theories and Methods for Vocabulary Development

Mini-Lessons on Vocabulary Building

Target learner population:

Class Grade: Grade 6, Aged from 11-12 years old

Number: 3 boys and 5 girls

Level: on/ above level

Situation: They are all English Language Learners.

William tends to lose focus sometimes

Heterogeneous grouping

Three boys can't be in the same group; they will not share ideas, don't care about group honours, and they would like to mess it up for fun.

Students can use the iPads in the classroom.

Mini-Lesson 1 – Learning Vocabulary from Predicting

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the mini-lesson, the students will be able to:

1. Pronounce target words correctly with at least 85% accuracy
2. Identify the meaning of target words and match them with pictures with an accuracy of no less than 90%
3. Make sentences with target vocabulary and spell them after class with an accuracy of not less than 80%

Lesson sequence (20 minutes):

1. Lead-in 2 minutes (I do)

• Display and read the introduction of pictures or videos related to the topic, encouraging students to freely guess the course topic.
• Share the reading passage with the students and highlight the target vocabulary.

1. Prepare 2 minutes. (We do)

• The teacher plays the reading audio for the students, Students listen and mark words or phrases they are not familiar with.

1. Explore in groups 8 minutes. (You do)

• The students were divided into 2 heterogeneous groups, and the meanings and parts of speech of the target vocabulary were discussed in the group according to the reading context, and recorded on the word list. Students can add the vocabularies they marked before (which are not target words but they may not be familiar with) in the blanks of the word list.
• Students use the iPad to open the practice page, match the target word with the corresponding picture according to the vocabulary and meaning sorted out by the group, and then submit.
• The teacher sets the answers in advance, and if the students submit mistakes, the teacher will display the question words.

1. Check and consolidate 5 minutes (We do)

• According to the results received, the teacher will show the problem words and correct pictures, and use English explanations or examples to illustrate the meaning of the words.
• Students submit the word list after revising it according to the teacher's instructions.

1. Read and record 3 minutes (You do)

• Students read the text with the target vocabulary, record it on an Ipad, and submit it online.
  

After class, the teacher will listen to the students' recordings and review the list of words submitted by the students. Understand the student's mastery.

Students will complete vocabulary homework after class, add related words (synonyms or antonyms) to the word list submitted in class, and complete sentence formation. The teacher will check the corrections and submit feedback to the students online (mainly to check whether there are grammatical errors in the sentences).

Used Theories:

1. Context-embedded- The Lead-in can help students quickly understand and speculate the reading content; When listening to the audio reading, students can speculate on the vocabulary according to the understanding of the article and the context of the target vocabulary, to cultivate students' natural acquisition and improve their perception of vocabulary.
2. Visualization - Students match the pictures according to their own exploration and understanding, and the images help students further deepen their vocabulary impression.
3. Scaffolding - Students can use the graphic organizer to write vocabulary, mark the parts of speech, and make sentences, which can deepen the understanding and application of vocabulary.
4. Sound syllable - Listen to the audio and say the words to help students learn the correct pronunciation of the words and remember the words using the syllables

Means of Assessment: 

1. Formative Assessment - Use pictures or videos to understand students' knowledge of topics and vocabulary related to topics
2. Formative Assessment - As students discuss the completion of the word list, the teacher can walk around and observe the students' analysis and ability to participate in the discussion
3. Formative Assessment -. Through the practice of matching words and pictures, we can understand the students' mastery of vocabulary
4. Summative assessment - After class, students submit a final list of words, check the student's spelling and sentence formation, and determine the student's ability to use vocabulary
   

Reflection on Mini-Lesson and Connection to Vocabulary: 

Liping Wei mentioned “Sheltered Instruction,” in Teaching Academic Vocabulary to ELLs. It is an approach to teaching ELLs that integrates both language and content instruction. Peregoy and Boyle (2017) summarized two main sources of word learning - incidental learning and explicit instruction. Incidental learning refers to learning through exposure to the target language and using the language in communicative contexts. Colorín Colorado encourages the use of scaffolding and attention to cognates. My students are all ELL learners. As second language learners, we do not have many opportunities to contact and use English as native speakers do. I must consider to improve their vocabulary as much as possible, so that they can really use the learned vocabulary correctly, which means that they really master the vocabulary. Therefore, I have to give them word lists as scaffolding to accumulate and consolidate. Cognates also enable students to remember other words related to a word while memorizing it, which is very helpful for students to expand their vocabulary accumulation. Although students cannot remember the words firmly, cognates, related words and pictures can help students build a network in their mind and improve the recurrence rate when they see these words the next time.

Mini-Lesson 2 – Vocabulary Review

This is a word review activity, and I will randomly insert this activity in the middle of a class when students have been in class for about half a month.

At the end of each lesson, I would give students blank cards of different colours, and I would ask students to write the unfamiliar word and part of speech they encountered in the class on the card before the end of the lesson, they should write a sentence with this word on the back of the card. I will also prepare the target word cards for the lesson in advance, and these cards will be placed in the word box in the classroom after each lesson.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the mini-lesson, the students will be able to:

1. Recall the meaning and parts of speech of words to strengthen the impression of words.
2. Use vocabulary correctly and improve the grammatical accuracy of sentences.

Mini-lesson sequence (15 minutes):

1. Prepare-3 minutes (we do)

• The teacher told the students that we had to review the words, and then put the word box among the students.
• Students can each pick out five cards, which may be of various colours.

There are two ways to play this activity

1. Play time 8 minutes (We do)

The first way:

• The teacher sets the time for each person to answer the question, usually 1-2 minutes per person.
• The students were given the cards to quickly recall which topic the words appeared in. They should say the Chinese meaning of as many words as possible and make sentences orally within the prescribed time. Each time they said one point correctly, the student who scored the most points would get a small prize prepared by the teacher.

The second way:

• The students play in a circle, and the 5 cards in their hand are the students' cards.
• The teacher assigns a student to play the first card first and read the correct pronunciation (if the student misreads the card, the teacher needs to correct it in time)
• Start from the right-hand side of the designated student and read the cards in turn, the card colour must be the same as the first student's card colour
• If the student does not have the same colour card in his hand, he needs to take another card from the word box and change the colour of the card, and the students behind him will also change the colour
• At the end of the 8-minute activity, see which student has the fewest cards and which student wins can receive the prize

1. Review 4 minutes (You do)

• The teacher wrote the students' mispronounced words on the whiteboard
• The students were given blank cards again. The students wrote the wrong word on the card, also marked the part of speech and made a sentence on the back of the card, and then put it in the word box
  

In this way, the wrong word in the word box will increase, and it will be repeated the next time you review the game, and students will have the opportunity to consolidate it many times

Theories or Principles of Vocabulary Development Used:

1. Touch and exploration - Students draw cards and review the words again to improve their familiarity with the words.
2. Practical use - Students read aloud again and make sentences orally to deepen the impression of vocabulary and improve the accuracy of use.
3. Gamification-Enhance students' interest in learning through games
   

Means of Assessment: 

Formative Assessment - Read words aloud and accurately, and be able to make sentences

Reflection on Mini-Lesson and Connection to Vocabulary: 

Colorin Colorado emphasizes the focus on cognates and encourages the use of spoken language to learn vocabulary. All my students are ELL students, so they must consolidate and review their vocabulary repeatedly to improve the frequency of vocabulary use and the accuracy of vocabulary mastery. So I designed this activity and interspersed it regularly throughout the course. Remind students to pay attention to the parts of speech, and speak more verbally.

References

Roessingh, H. (2020). Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and Academic Vocabulary Teaching and Learning: An Integrated Approach in the Elementary Classroom. TESL Canada Journal, 37-48.

Colorin Colorado. (n.d.). Vocabulary development with ELLs. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/english-language-learners/articles/vocabulary-development-ells

Liping Wei. (2021). Teaching Academic Vocabulary to English Language Learners (ELLs). Theory & Practice in Language Studies (TPLS), 11(12), 1507–1514.