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1. Teaching Vocabulary
Applied Linguistics
By Sergio GM

2. Vocabulary Definition
• “…knowing a word is not
an all-or-nothing
proposition; it is not the
case that one either knows
or does not know a word.
Rather, knowledge of a
word should be viewed in
terms of the extent or
degree of knowledge that
people can possess.”
Beck & McKeown, 1991

3. Vocabulary Definition
“…vocabulary is the glue that
holds stories, ideas, and content
together…making comprehension
accessible for children.”
Rupley, Logan, & Nichols, 1998/99

4. Vocabulary Definition
Listening Speaking
Reading Writing

5. • Word knowledge is
essential for
comprehension
Davis, 1944
• Oral interactions and
wide reading in a variety
of text types is to be
encouraged and
supported
Nagy & Herman, 1987

6. • Learning new
concepts requires
active involvement
rather than passive
definition memorization
Stahl, 1986

7. • Multiple exposures to a
word is necessary to
learn it well –conceptual,
contextual, & definitional
Miller, 1996
• Writing definitions from
dictionaries is not a
recommended practice
Miller, 1996

8. • Relate new words
to students’ prior
knowledge and to
other related words
when possible
U.S. Dept of Education, 1987

9. • Students need to develop the ability to
learn new words from the multiple
contexts of reading
Johnson & Baumann, 1984

10. Teaching Vocabulary
What Does it Take to Teach a Word Well?
• Vocabulary should be taught both explicitly and incidentally.
• Repetition and multiple exposure are important for learning new
vocabulary.
• Learning how to construct vocabulary from rich (directive)
contexts is valuable.
• Vocabulary learning tasks should be restructured when
necessary.
• Vocabulary tasks should entail active engagement.
• Explicit vocabulary instruction should address the use of
definitions, context, and concept learning.

11. Teaching Vocabulary
What Words Should I Teach?
• First, examine the type of text the children will be
reading. Is it narrative or informational? Teach Tier II
words if the children will be reading narrative, literary
texts. Teach Tier III words if children will be reading
informational, expository texts (point of contact).
• Next, examine the text to develop a list of 10 Tier II or
Tier III words to be taught during the week, 2 per day.

12. Teaching Vocabulary
What Words Should I Teach?
• Read the text to determine the nature of the context
in which each of the selected Tier II or Tier III words
appear.
– Directive Context
• Gives clues, hints, synonyms to determine an
approximate word meaning in the context.
– Non-Directive Context
• Mentions the word without giving any clues to
determine word meaning.
– Mis-Directive Context
• Gives clues that lead readers to false word meaning
construction.

13. Teaching Vocabulary
What Words Should I Teach?
• If a word appears in a directive context, then
teach children how to use context to determine
an approximate word meaning.
• If a word appears in a non-directive or mis-directive
context, then these are good candidates
for your 10 word teaching list.

14. Teaching Vocabulary
What Words Should I Teach?
• If you have ELL students in your
classroom, be sure to determine if
there is a Spanish-English cognate
that may help them make the
translation.
For example -
Information (English)
Información (Spanish)

15. Vocabulary Instruction
Strategies for
Explicit Vocabulary
Instruction

16. Thinking About Vocabulary
Instruction: Three Tiers
• Tier One Words- Consists of basic words and rarely
require instructional attention in school and highly
frequent in life: clock, baby, ball, happy, walk, run,
etc.
• Tier Two Words - High frequency use for mature
language users and found across a variety of
knowledge domains: coincidence, absurd,
industrious, fortunate, etc.
• Tier Three Words - Low frequency use and limited to
specific knowledge domains: isotope, lathe,
peninsula, refinery, etc. Best learned when teaching
specific content lessons such as geography, science,
etc.

17. Teaching Tier II Words
• Characterize a tier 2 word such as tend – to
take care of something.
• Explain meaning of tend in everyday life – If
you tend something, say a garden, you take
care of it by watering, fertilizing, pulling
weeds, and keeping the soil loose around
the new plants.

18. Altering Task Requirements
for Teaching Tier II Words
• Ask a Question: What do you think the word tend
means?
• Have You Ever? Describe a time when you tended
something or someone.
• Word Associations: After teaching several tier 2 words
have students associate these with questions: Which
word goes with baby? (tend).
• Idea Completions: The Little Red Hen asked if the
others would help her take care of her garden.
Another word that means to take care of a garden we
know is _____.

19. Word Webbing (Unfocused)
asteroid

20. Word Webbing (Focused)
Examples asteroid
Attributes
Context Use

21. Explicit Vocabulary Teaching
I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?
Definition
• Begin by looking up the word in a dictionary or
glossary and get a definition.
• Next construct a “student friendly
definition” using your own words.

22. Explicit Vocabulary Teaching
I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?
Context
• Next find the page where the word is found the
story or text to read the context.
• List the context clues found in the text.
• Ask the students to use the word in an oral
sentence.
• Write the word in sentence.

23. Context Vocabulary Teaching
Albasa
Albasa will usually be found at grocery stores and
restaurants.
People like to eat albasa on their hamburgers,
although albasa are tasty with a variety of dishes.
Since albasa are a vegetable, they are also
nutritious.
One disadvantage of albasa is the strong odor
which has been known to produce crying symptoms
among those who slice them.

24. Explicit Vocabulary Teaching
I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?
Examples
• Use pictures or video clips.
• List examples of the word.
• Use a thesaurus to find synonyms,
antonyms, and Tier I words.

25. Teaching Vocabulary
I’ve Selected My 10 Words, Now What?
Characteristics/Attributes
• Use pictures or video clips.
• List characteristics or attributes of
the word.

26. THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND
ATTENTION.