Teaching Vocabulary Vocabulary a.
1983:50. Bearing all this in mind, teachers have to remember to employ a variety of techniques for new vocabulary presentation and revision.
Gairns and Redman 1986: 73 suggest the following types of vocabulary presentation techniques:
1 Visual techniques. These pertain to visual memory, which is considered especially
helpful with vocabulary retention. Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of visual aids. Visual
techniques lend themselves well to presenting concrete items of vocabulary-nouns. They are also helpful in conveying meanings of
verbs and adjectives. They help students associate presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their system of
language values. 2 Verbal explanation
.
This pertains to the use of illustrative situations, synonymy, opposites, scales, definition, and categories.
3 Use of dictionaries. Using a dictionary is another technique of finding out meanings of
unfamiliar words and expressions. Students can make use of a variety of dictionaries: bilingual, monolingual, pictorial, thesauri,
and the like.
Caody 1997:102 explains there are some ways to teach new vocabulary, which are more interesting, more effective, and more
memorable ways and helping to fix in students’ minds, they are: 1. Demonstrate
The demonstration both helps to make meaning clearer, and helps to fix the word in the students’ mind. If every word is ‘explained’ in the
same way, either by translation to verbal explanation, they merge into the sea of language in which it is difficult to distinguish
individual items. 2. Use the real thing
Teacher becomes so pre-occupied with teaching that sometimes they explain or even draw on the whiteboard.
3. Draw or Sketch Teachers do not need to be artists to make simple sketches which
illustrate meaning, particularly if they bear in mind the advice given above about teaching contrast rather than meaning itself.
4. Antonyms It is worth mentioning that the explanations given are not exact
definitions of the words, the level of explanation must be suitable to the students’ level of English at the time, so that dictionary like
accuracy can often be counterproductive.
5. Synonyms Sometimes it is helpful particularly with a relatively unimportant
word of passive vocabulary to provide a quick synonym of explanation.
6. The dictionary The process of learning a new word also provides practice in
important learning skills, dictionary using and for those using a good monolingual dictionary, ensure that they do have other examples for
words used in context, a note on its stress etc. Haycraft 1997: 47 describes that there are many ways of
presenting new vocabulary, they are: 1 In context
The meaning of word can be deduced when the other words in the sentences are already known.
2 Create a context Teaching the meaning of abstract words is by creating a context or
situation from which the students can deduce the meaning. 3 Description or definition
Teacher can also describe and define objects. 4 Outside the classroom
Teacher can take the class out and introduce words for things seen on the street or in a window shop for example.