Vocabulary Instruction and ELL’s

How can vocabulary instruction help your LEP/ELL student? Again and again, researchers have pointed out that limited vocabulary is a primary reason that LEP/ELL students do not have success in the content areas. Limited vocabulary prevents a student from fully understanding academic texts or instruction, so explicit vocabulary instruction is necessary to help students gain new knowledge. Finally, vocabulary instruction is necessary so that students can discuss and write about technical and academic subjects.

Put yourself in their shoes! Read the follow excerpt, which has many words left out. The purpose of this exercise is to see what it would be like to read an article when you do not know many of the words that have pivotal/meaning-changing effects on the text. This is to simulate what it would be like for an ELL to read this text: SHARKS: Although sharks are often __________ as killers that hunt and eat as many humans as they can, this is _________ ____________. Sharks __________ kill humans. Only 74 people have have been reported killed by great whites in the last ____________. Many ELL’s may read this text, and believe it is describing how sharks are dangerous killers. In fact, this text is describing the opposite!

Put yourself in their shoes! So what did the text really say??? Although sharks are often categorized as killers that hunt and eat as many humans as they can, this is factually inaccurate. Sharks infrequently kill humans. Only 74 people have have been reported killed by great whites in the last century. Therefore, always remember that the vocabulary in a text can be very prohibitive to understanding. We must be conscious of the effect that vocabulary plays in understanding, so that we are mindful of how to help ELL’s succeed, despite the difficult vocabulary.

Which content teachers should be concerned with vocabulary instruction? Every content teacher must be aware of the effect that vocabulary plays in their classroom. This is an example of a math word problem that students may struggle to understand due to vocabulary: 1)Terrence is scuba diving in Jackson sound. When he jumps off the boat, he descends 83 ft into the water, and then ascends 42 ft. How far is Terrence under the water? Which words may have prevented an ELL student from understanding the question???

Which content teachers should be concerned with vocabulary instruction? Every content teacher must be aware of the effect that vocabulary plays in their classroom. This is an example of a math word problem that students may struggle to understand due to vocabulary: 1)Terrence is scuba diving in Jackson sound. When he jumps off the boat, he descends 83 ft into the water, and then ascends 42 ft. How far is Terrence under the water? Due to these words, an ELL student may be unable to determine the answer to what is actually a simple subtraction question.

How do I teach vocabulary? 1)Direct instruction of vocabulary definitions 2)Teaching Word Roots 3)Teaching Context Clues

Direct Definition Instruction Teach vocabulary whenever it will be beneficial to your students. This could occur: – Before reading an article – Before watching a movie – During reading, if the reading is teacher-guided – Before answering writing prompts – At the beginning of new units – Whenever the mood strikes you =)

To teach new vocabulary & defintions: Make sure the student has an easily understood definition of the word Make sure the student sees the word used in context (the more times, the better!) Make sure the student as connected to word to their own lives or prior knowledge about a subject. If possible, have images to help the students have a mental conception/image of the word. Have students use the word as frequently as possible. The more frequently a student is exposed to a word, the more likely they are going to retain it. Please remember: You can teach vocabulary in many ways, but it is NEVER effective to just have students copy down large lists of vocabulary.

A BAD example to teach a new word: Horizon- the distance point in which the land and the sky form an imagery, yet visual line. Why is this a bad example? -the definition is not simple to understand -there are not images to help a student visualize the “Horizon” -there are no examples of how the word is used, and therefore no context for the appropriate use of the word.

Horizon- the line where the earth meets the sky (out in the distance) EX: I love walking on the beach, and looking out to the horizon EX: Every night, the lonely owl would soar into the night sky, always trying to get close to the horizon, but never reaching it. A good example to teach a new word:

Graphic organizers to help students learn new vocabulary:

How else can we teach vocabulary? Word Roots!

Word Roots This is a great way to give language awareness, and gives students access to understanding many new words. Examples of great word roots to teach: Re= again, back – Retell, rerun, reverse, react, rewrite, return, refurnish Scrib/Script= to write – Scribble, Script, Inscribe, Inscription, Scribe, Scripture Cred= to believe – Credible, credulous, incredible, credit, incredulous, credentials Port= to carry – Portable, import, export, porter, deport, report

How else can we teach vocabulary? Context Clues! This is a great way to teach students to become self-reliant and skilled at attacking unknown words.

Context Clues To teach context clues, you should have students actively guess unknown words, by: 1)Look for synonyms of the unknown word: Example: Jack was a muscular and burly man. 2) Look for antonyms of the unknown word: Example: Alice used to be boisterous, but she suddenly turned quiet and withdrawn. 3) Have students cover the unknown word and guess what a word that could fill in the blank: Example: The knight suspected someone behind him, so he grabbed his sword by the hilt.

Long-Term Effects of Focused Vocabulary Instruction By introducing new vocabulary word and word roots every week, you will be actively preparing ELL’s to be successful in the academic areas. By stressing the importance of using context clues, you will be pushing students to become capable readers.