Vocabulary in the Foreign Language Curriculum

Description

Written by experts in the field, this book explains the principles of effective vocabulary instruction for the modern language classroom. While many language classrooms rely on practices which can be outdated, idiosyncratic or ill-advised, this book overviews the research and background necessary to successfully integrate vocabulary instruction into the curriculum in a systematic way. Starting with the common gaps in vocabulary instruction, Milton and Hopwood demonstrate how students’ development of a large, communicative lexicon, with an understanding of word structure and collocations, is an essential component of language instruction. The book addresses goal setting, curriculum design, word selection, how words are learned, learning in and outside of the classroom and more. It also addresses common myths about teaching vocabulary in the United Kingdom and around the world. This comprehensive text fills an important gap in the literature and is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in world language/foreign language methods and language methods courses. Cover Halt Title Title Copyright Contents Preface 1 Introduction and background Introduction Background – why is a book on vocabulary in the curriculum needed? How this book is organised Conclusion References 2 Vocabulary – what is meant by word in teaching words? Introduction The unit of count Lemmas, flemmas and word families Multi-word issues Dimensions of word knowledge References 3 Why is vocabulary so important in the foreign language curriculum? Introduction The importance of a good vocabulary curriculum Coverage Vocabulary, general ability and the four skills References 4 How vocabulary is learned Introduction Learning individual words Retrieval practice and generative processing Incidental and explicit learning Focus on form Spaced and massed repetition Word difficulty Hilton’s four propositions References 5 Vocabulary and attainment – setting vocabulary goals Introduction Target vocabulary sizes: vocabulary and the CEFR Vocabulary and the CEFR in the UK Vocabulary input (teaching) and uptake (learning) Vocabulary uptake per hour Vocabulary in the curriculum: the Saudi example Where will these words come from? Formal and informal learning References 6 Selecting vocabulary for the curriculum Introduction Criteria for selection Frequency and range Frequency profiles Interest and thematic continuity Availability and learnability Choosing vocabulary to fit the requirement of structural content Modelling vocabulary input and uptake in the curriculum Resources to help vocabulary curriculum design Conclusion References 7 British vocabulary myths Introduction Vocabulary myths and the UK culture of foreign language teaching Myth 1: Grammar is most important for communication (and you really do not need vocabulary) Myth 2: Learning a super vocabulary of only the most frequent words means you can communicate Myth 3: Themes, topics and topic-based vocabulary teaching are bad Myth 4: The UK testing system recognises and rewards extensive vocabulary knowledge Myth 5: Grammar and vocabulary are entirely separable entities Myth 6: The vocabulary taught should be reduced to allow every word to be explicitly recycled Myth 7: Vocabulary learning is incidental and is not learned in class Myth 8: Learning verbs is especially important and should be prioritised Explaining these British vocabulary myths References 8 Vocabulary in the textbook Introduction Background – theoretical position and the curriculum Planning vocabulary in the textbook Regularity and manageability in textbooks Qualitative considerations Noticing vocabulary in textbooks Recycling and putting words in context Building vocabulary into the curriculum and textbook Conclusion References 9 Vocabulary beyond the textbook Introduction The language of the teacher Issues in teacher talk Vocabulary notebooks Vocabulary supplementary materials Management of learning expectations Understanding and measuring lexical input Conclusion References 10 Vocabulary learning outside the classroom Introduction Vocabulary learning beyond the teacher and textbook Infant and primary age language learners Activities for growing vocabulary size Learning from lists Developing fluency and depth Informal learning in the curriculum References 11 Curriculum design, implications and dangers in delivery Introduction Vocabulary curriculum design process Implications for teacher education and the culture of learning Implications for materials design Implications for language testing Implications for time and resourcing Dangers and pitfalls Conclusion References Appendix Index