How to Teach Vocabulary - Teacher Trainer reacts to a Vocabulary Lesson
Summary
TLDRThe video showcases a language teaching method where an instructor, Laura, uses interactive techniques to teach vocabulary. Instead of just writing words on a board, she engages students by showing images, eliciting responses, and reinforcing the meanings through concept-checking questions (CCQs). Laura emphasizes natural pronunciation, word stress, and personal connections to words, making the learning process more memorable. The method also includes binary questions to confirm understanding and frequent repetition, helping students internalize the vocabulary effectively. This approach is practical for teaching vocabulary in an engaging, systematic way.
Takeaways
- 🎯 Eliciting vocabulary naturally helps learners engage more deeply with new words.
- 📝 Instead of simply writing words on a board, use images and questions to present language.
- 🎶 Using songs as a teaching tool can be effective, especially when pre-teaching key vocabulary.
- 🗣️ Pronunciation is modeled naturally by the teacher, encouraging students to mimic the correct pronunciation in context.
- 🔄 Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) are essential for ensuring understanding, especially when using binary or 50-50 options.
- 🔍 Visual aids, like images and body language, can help reinforce vocabulary meanings and usage.
- 🔤 Prompting students with the first letter of a word can guide them to the correct answer during elicitation.
- 🌍 Linking personal experiences to vocabulary helps make language more relatable and memorable for students.
- 📚 Drilling vocabulary and key phrases naturally solidifies language acquisition.
- 💡 Consistency in applying teaching techniques, such as CCQs and natural pronunciation modeling, leads to effective language learning.
Q & A
What alternative way of presenting language is being discussed in the video script?
-The alternative way of presenting language involves using images, body language, and elicitation techniques, rather than simply writing words on the board. The teacher asks questions to prompt responses from students and drills vocabulary in a natural way.
How does the teacher use images to elicit vocabulary from students?
-The teacher shows images to the students without naming them, then asks open-ended questions like 'What do you see?' to encourage students to guess the vocabulary. This leads the teacher to narrow down the vocabulary and confirm correct answers.
What is the purpose of concept checking questions (CCQs) in language teaching?
-CCQs are used to check if students have understood the meaning and usage of new vocabulary. They often involve binary or 50-50 questions, making it easier for students to choose the correct answer and reinforcing comprehension.
How does the teacher correct and emphasize proper pronunciation?
-The teacher corrects pronunciation by modeling the word clearly and marking stressed syllables visually, such as using a circle to highlight where the stress should fall. This helps students internalize the correct pronunciation and word stress.
What technique does the teacher use to teach the word 'promise'?
-The teacher starts by eliciting the word 'promise' through hints and then expands on it by introducing related phrases like 'keep a promise' and 'break a promise.' The teacher uses natural pronunciation to model the phrases, making the language sound more authentic.
How does the teacher link vocabulary to personal experience in the lesson?
-The teacher links vocabulary to personal experience by using relatable examples, such as sharing that both she and her husband have matching tattoos. This personal touch helps reinforce the meaning and usage of the vocabulary in a meaningful context.
What role does body language play in eliciting vocabulary during the lesson?
-Body language plays a crucial role in helping students understand and guess the correct vocabulary. For example, the teacher uses gestures to indicate whether the word 'go' refers to going away or coming closer, guiding students to the correct answer.
Why does the teacher use 50-50 questions during vocabulary elicitation?
-The teacher uses 50-50 questions because they provide two clear and opposite options, making it easier for students to understand and choose the correct answer. This method reinforces learning and ensures comprehension.
How does the teacher encourage natural pronunciation during the lesson?
-The teacher encourages natural pronunciation by modeling how native speakers would say words or phrases in connected speech. For example, 'break a promise' is modeled as 'break a promise' with connected sounds, helping students develop more natural language fluency.
What is the overall impact of the teacher's approach on student learning?
-The teacher's approach, which involves elicitation, visual aids, body language, and concept checking questions, helps students internalize language more effectively. The use of natural pronunciation, personal connections, and consistent drilling ensures that students not only learn vocabulary but also understand how to use it fluently in context.
Outlines
📝 Eliciting Vocabulary Through Visuals and Prompts
In this segment, the instructor uses images to engage students in vocabulary elicitation. Instead of directly writing words on the board, the teacher asks questions about images and encourages students to respond. This interactive approach helps narrow down the meaning of words like 'promise' and 'break.' The teacher also models the correct pronunciation and usage of the words, building on the students' responses to deepen their understanding. Concept checking questions (CCQs) are frequently used to reinforce comprehension, with phrases like 'keep a promise' and 'break a promise' practiced in natural speech.
🎯 Encouraging Language Use with Guided Prompts
The teacher continues to guide students through vocabulary learning, using body language and prompts to encourage them to guess the word 'go away.' This method helps students refine their pronunciation and word stress, such as distinguishing between 'record' as a verb and a noun. By incorporating real-life examples and personal connections, such as the concept of matching tattoos, the instructor creates a more relatable and emotionally engaging lesson. CCQs and prompts help solidify students’ understanding, and stress patterns are visually represented for clarity.
📚 The Importance of Systematic Language Teaching
In the final section, the lesson is summarized with a focus on the systematic approach used by the teacher. The instructor’s techniques—eliciting words through images, modeling natural pronunciation, and using binary CCQs—enabled students to internalize vocabulary quickly. The consistency of applying these principles ensures that students retain and understand language effectively. This method of presenting language highlights the simplicity of using effective, repeatable strategies rather than relying on complex methods.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Elicitation
💡Concept Checking Questions (CCQ)
💡Pronunciation Modeling
💡Pre-teaching Vocabulary
💡Stress and Intonation
💡Vocabulary Expansion
💡Body Language
💡Binary Questions
💡Internalization
💡Personalization
Highlights
The teacher avoids the traditional method of writing words on the board and instead introduces vocabulary interactively.
The teacher uses elicitation through images and open-ended questions to engage students in the vocabulary lesson.
Instead of simply telling students the word 'promise,' the teacher guides them to the answer by narrowing in and using gestures.
Key focus on teaching collocations such as 'keep a promise' and 'break a promise,' with clear explanations and examples.
The use of 'concept checking questions' (CCQs) ensures that students understand the new vocabulary and phrases.
The teacher integrates pronunciation practice by modeling the natural connection of words, such as 'break her promise.'
Students are asked to put sentences in different tenses, encouraging a deeper understanding of vocabulary usage.
The teacher elicits the verb 'lose' and uses parallelism (lose something, lose someone) to reinforce learning.
Binary questions (50/50) are frequently used to reinforce understanding, with yes/no or either/or answers.
Teacher provides first-letter cues to help students recall vocabulary (e.g., 'Go... Away').
The importance of marking stress in pronunciation is emphasized with visual aids such as circles to highlight syllables.
Personal stories are integrated into the lesson, such as the teacher sharing that she and her husband have matching tattoos.
The teacher consistently reviews vocabulary with the use of images and connects words through related expressions.
The teacher incorporates words provided by students, building them into the lesson content to enhance engagement.
The method of systematically eliciting language, using natural modeling and short binary questions, proves effective in helping students internalize the vocabulary.
Transcripts
go so she gives them the first word go
and then she's drilling them again in a
very natural kind of way tattoo
okay so I think for for most people for
most teachers when it comes to
presenting language to a class the the
classic way the default ways to just
write the word on a board and then to
sort of expect the Learners to to know
what that word means and and how we can
use it yeah we're going to look at an
alternative way of presenting language
from an expert so in this class students
are going to listen to a song and Lauren
needs to pre-teach them a set of
vocabulary in order to be able to do
that well
all right what about here what can you
see here in this picture
so she's shown an image doesn't say what
it is and she's asking the general
question of what do you see hopefully
the words that they say Laura can latch
onto and narrow in let's see what the
Learners say in response to this picture
very good but stronger than an agreement
when two people get married they say I
do I will do things I will be good they
make a promise very good narrowing in
right stronger than an agreement and
then she uses her mouth
and then as soon as she does that ah
promise and now what does she do with
the word promise let's see
promise
so when two people get married they need
to
keep the promise right keep a promise
if they don't keep a promise we say they
broke up very good but not broken but
Bray brick very good so we often say
keep a promise we often say break a
promise and she's trying to elicit that
from the Learners in order to build upon
this isolated Word of Promise and expand
their knowledge basically about this
word right
which one is good
good really good concept checking
question or ccq and you want to
continuously do that after each
presentation of any new word that you've
introduced because it really
consolidates uh what the Learners have
understood from what you've just taught
them
so again keep a promise
break a promise
uh Michelle can you try keep up for a
performance very good and Jody can try
this one performance very good break
ready break a promise
instead of separating it into its three
parts break a promise instead she said
it in a much more natural way like you
and I would say it connected the cup
from the break to the uh of the next
word so it sounds more like break her
promise break curve promise break her
promise break a promise
what do you think has happened here in
this picture
another picture another elicitation
question
try and put it in the present lost his
past I want the presents
very good good how do you spell that
yeah
good so you say you can lose something
right you can lose a key for example
like lose
yeah I've done this before
what else can you lose
okay so you can use something
you can also lose
again that parallelism lose something
lose some very good to make the the Gap
a bit shorter for them that information
Gap
good what about these guys yes
do you think they've been together for a
long time or a short time
long long time right
so we can say they have stayed together
yeah yeah
lots of lots of ccqs lots of 50 50s here
when you're asking a question to check
that the Learners have understood
something the the more binary is the the
better it is normally so here what
Laura's done is they say if you stay
together are you together for a long
time or a short time that's a really
good example of a 50 50 question because
there's only two options there and only
one of them is the right answer and
they're opposites if you stay together
do you ever separate or do you always
stay together
yes good so they've been together for I
can say a lifetime
okay good
what about here what can you say
um
try and use the word go go she's giving
them some Clues right she gives them the
first word go and then she's using body
language to show them is it come or is
it like a way right let's see if they
get it
go
so they're almost there
she gives them the first letter
I Heard It Go Go Away really good so
that's like another way that you can
elicit right by doing a first letter
prompting them and seeing if they get it
there as well
very good beer
it's a record record
oh I like what she's done there as well
she's marks the stressed syllable
because the student said record like the
verb instead of record like the noun
which is what Laura wanted here so
marking that stress with a circle really
good way visual representation of stress
yeah the the print on the skin is uh
say it again yeah
sorry tattoo
and she's done the stress syllable again
the visual with the circle on tattoo
so say he has a she's given them a
sentence stem so that they can complete
it by using the same word again so that
she can again check that they know where
the stress is
tattoo
two sounds stress is on the second
tattoo
I have a tattoo
and my husband has a tattoo
we have the same tattoo nice just
bringing in some personal aspect into
this word as well that's always really
good it's the same
it's a heart I have a heart and he has a
heart emotionally engaged and was always
a really good idea so they're the same
so we can say they are matching
matching so this is really good because
she's linking her personal experience to
the actual word that she wants to teach
them as well and using a different color
to denote that collocation aspect from
before we more often than not say
matching tattoos which is why matching
tattoos has a stronger correlation than
say we have identical tattoos good so
matching tattoos do you have the same
tattoo
yeah yeah good ccq concept checking
question again I have a matching tattoo
just me
good okay so one more time
okay keep reviewing the words again with
the images
you can also have I heard sassa say it
earlier
you can also say make
a promise so that's really good as well
she's including words from the actual
Learners and she's making it part of the
the core uh word set here
you're making a promise keep a promise
drilling them again in a very natural
kind of way lovely good lose
for example
so do they break apart if they stay
together good example of another concert
checking question ccq there nice and
quick only yes or no
right yeah because they stay together
right
away go away
body language away away
uh Helen you try yes
very good and may can you try really
nice natural sounding pronunciation for
the learnative because of Laura's very
natural modeling that's that's really
good record record
player
all of these words are in the song So
this technique thing that Laura used to
present language is useful literally
whenever uh you've got like a set of
words to teach students the summary part
the reason why she was able to go so
quickly was because they had
internalized that language really really
well as a result of her teaching it
systematically eliciting it with an
image pronouncing the words in a very
natural kind of way and then also asking
relevant short binary CC cues to cement
that information really good so you can
see there's nothing really complicated
about presenting language well it's more
about applying the same principles and
techniques consistently
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