Teaching Vocabulary with Technology

Teaching Vocabulary with TechnologyKRISTI REYESOTANMIRACOSTA COLLEGE, NONCREDIT ESL

Slides and Resources sites.google.com/view/teachvocwtech/home OR goo.gl/bpRPUk

Warm-up1. What does it mean to “know” a word?2. How many exposures to a word are necessary

for a language learner to acquire and retain it?

Pairs Introduce yourself: Name + what, where, who you teach. Compare your answers to the questions1. What does it mean to “know” a word?2. How many exposures to a word are necessary for a

language learner to acquire and retain it?

What does it mean to “know” a word? Receptive knowledge

v. Productive knowledge

Productive Knowledge = form, meaning, use Pronunciation

Spelling

Word parts (prefixes, suffixes) and forms (singular, plural, inflections) and family

Associations and synonyms

Denotative v. connotative (polysemy – different meanings in different contexts)

Grammatical function / part of speech

Collocations

Register

Frequency Source: Nation, I.S.P. (2014). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

What do we need to teach?Vocabulary Preview/Self-Rating

See also “Vocabulary Self-Rating Chart”

How many exposures to a word are necessary for a language learner to acquire and retain it?

One exposure = typical student’s retention rate 5 – 14% 5 – 20 or more exposures / repetitions (depending on several factors, including age of student) Repeated exposures =

New word receptive knowledge productive knowledge

Pairs AgainWhat is your one best / most effective technique or activity to … teach vocabulary?

ORhave students learn/study vocabulary?

ORget students to use target vocabulary?

Six-Step Process for Teaching Vocabulary (Robert Marzano)

RestateExplain Show

Engage Discuss Play

Vocabulary Notebook or Index Cards

Image mnemonics

Step 1: ExplainProvide a student-friendly description, explanation, or example of the new term

◦ Online images or photos taken with cell phone◦ Picture dictionary Web sites ◦ Graphic Interchange Format (GIFS) – search for or make your own

by cutting an online video◦ Comic strips or slideshows◦ Anecdotal story or a current event

Explain Interactive Images: Thinglink

◦ Vegetables◦ House◦ Professions

Explain Videos

◦ narrated PowerPoint slideshows ◦ Jing, Screencast-o-matic - screencasting software◦ video combined with slideshow at Present.me

Step 2: RestateAsk students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words. (linguistic)• Cell phone videos with voice recordings or video• Slideshow • Poster •Audio recording

Restate Thesaurus.com

Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary

Restate Interactive Concept Map Sites and online picture dictionaries

◦ Instragrok

Grok for “immigrant”

Restate Word Wall

◦ Padlet , Lino

Source: http://bcudl.pbworks.com/f/WordWallNedralFlickrCC.jpg

Step 3: Show Ask students to construct a picture, symbol, or graphic representation of the term (nonlinguistic)• Sketchpads: Pencilapp •Google apps: Shared Google slideshow, Google Drawing• Formative - designed for instant polling / formative assessment

(like Kahoot) but students draw

Step 4: Engage Engage students in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms◦ Print flashcards

◦ ESL Flashcards, ESL Games Plus, ESL Library*◦ Word, PowerPoint/Google Slides, Excel/Google Sheets

◦ Digital flashcards◦ Quizlet: Academic Word List Sublist 1◦ Memrise: English Visual Dictionary course

EngageQR Codes – QR Voice (audio)

EngageCompare/contrast, Categorize/classify, Label, Diagramming

EngageCloze - Learnclick Cloze Quiz Creator – 7 question types with app

Text source: http://resources.marshalladulteducation.org/reading_skills_hme.htm Cloze on PDF with Learnclick free account / $29/yr subscription for online quizzes and tracking

EngageWorksheets - Wizer.me (like a hyperdoc)

EngageWord-of-the-Day (or week) presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slideshow, Prezi, Animoto, Powtoon, poster, other visual aide)

Source: New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary, 2014 edition, TESOL Press, pp. 5 – 9 (with rubric).

EngageDialog Writing

◦ Comic strips, digital movies, PowerPoint or Google Slideshow with callouts, videos

Sample comic strip made with StoryBoard ThatNorth Orange County CC Health Video

I hope this finishes soon! I need to get

my lesson plans ready for Monday!

Responsibility is my strongest soft skill!

Step 5: DiscussAsk students to return to discuss the vocabulary with each other◦ Conversation Questions – Teacher or student-composed questions

using target vocabulary words sent via QR code or on a shared Google Doc

◦ Students must reply to questions using full sentences and target vocab1. What is a good method for looking for a job?2. What is your preferred method for studying vocabulary?3. What is the best method for learning another language?4. What is a recommended method for preparing for a job interview?

Discuss◦ Survey and graph results (Excel, Google Sheets, Create a Graph)

Discuss◦ Written discussions - Discussion Boards (LMS or Forumotion), Blog or Wiki (

Blogger, Wikispaces), Google Hangouts (video, phone, chat), Zoom video conference

DiscussLingt for individual spoken or written responses to video or written or audio prompts

Step 6: Play Involve students in games that allow them to play with words

◦ Board games, races, Jeopardy, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Password, etc.

A Vocabulary Review Activity:Soft Skills

Template online

Ready to play?

adaptability

The is…

empathy

The is…

initiative

The is…

Step 6: Play◦ Jeopardy and gameshow sites: eQuizShow, FlipQuiz ,

Jeopardy Labs, Jeopardy Rocks, SuperTeacher Tools◦ Individual or competitive live-play (like Kahoot, Socrative): Quizziz,IQuizalize, Quizlet Live!

Step 6: PlaySugarcane – 18 individual game types – Immigrants’ Rights

Step 6: Play◦ Educaplay – 17 game / activity types

Some key points from research

◦ Use direction instruction for teaching vocabulary◦ Help students develop strategic communicative competence

◦ paraphrasing & expressions such as What is the word for…? ◦ Present vocabulary in context◦ Practice activities: controlled practice (listen and repeat, matching, cloze) to

activities that allow students to use the target words in meaningful, personalized ways

◦ Make time for review in a systematic way with repetition (remember 5 – 20 or more exposures) and recycling

◦ Forgetting occurs soon after learning – review soon after teaching◦ Competitive fun review (games) – motivational, forces faster retrieval ◦ Writing vocabulary in own sentences strengthens memory of target

vocabulary through generative processing

Promote Vocabulary Study Beyond Class Word-of-the-Day Web sites (Learners Dictionary) Apps (Illustrate – vocabulary learning through animated videos, others – see Web site)

Email Subscriptions (A.Word.A.Day at WordSmith.org, Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, Word Central Daily Buzzword, L10)

Provide list of Web sites/apps for supplementary vocabulary practice (Learning Chocolate, General Academic Vocabulary, and Vocabulary Exercises for the Academic Word List)

Printable Vocabulary Notebook ThePocketMod

Wrap-up: The “Take-Away” What is one new activity or technology tool that you are going to try in your class to help students learn vocabulary in your lessons?

Questions? Comments?Handout, PowerPoint slides, and many resources online at sites.google.com/view/teachvocwtech/home OR goo.gl/bpRPUk

Let’s practice! Hands-on!Open a web browser and navigate to the website above…Here we go!