Learning Vocabulary Through Reading Helen Chon

Objectives Students will be able to… 1. Participate actively/verbally in class discussions. 2. Recognize the difference between singular and plural nouns (e.g. -s). 3. Gain new vocabulary of the adjectives (describing taste) in the reading dialogue. 4. Use prior knowledge (from previous years in school) to make connections to real world situations. 5. Make connections with new vocabulary to pictures shown in activity.

Target Setting and Level Elementary school (sixth graders) in South Korea, learning English. Meets with teacher three times a week (50 minutes each). Context This lesson takes place on the second week of school. This class is focused on learning vocabulary words through reading. Activities consist of silent reading and worksheets. The students have prior knowledge of English since kindergarten. In today’s class, students will learn food names and adjectives (e.g. yummy, round, colors). Materials PowerPoint, whiteboard, markers, handouts

Lesson Plan

Lesson Plan Cont’d

Nouns Fruits Apple ( 사과 ) Orange ( 오렌지 ) Watermelon ( 수박 ) Lemon ( 레몬 ) Banana ( 바나나 ) Vegetables Cucumber ( 오이 ) Potato ( 감자 ) Lettuce ( 상추 ) Broccoli ( 브록콜리 ) Corn ( 옥수수 )

Fruits Apple Orange Watermelon LemonBanana

Vegetables Cucumber Potato Lettuce Broccoli Corn

Adjectives Sweet ( 달다 ) Sour ( 시다 ) Salty ( 짜다 ) Delicious ( 맛있다 ) Yummy ( 아주맛있다 ) Tasty ( 아주맛있다 ) Tangy (a refreshing tangy orange flavor 상큼하게 톡 쏘는듯한 오렌지맛.) Crunchy ( 아삭아삭하다 ) Soft ( 부드럽다 ) Hard ( 딱딱하다 ) Juicy (the watermelon is juicy 수박은 즙이 많이 있어요.) Healthy ( 건강하다 ) Round ( 오렌지는 둥근 모양이다.) Colors ( 색 )

Dialogue At the supermarket: Mom: What would you like to eat this week? Child: I want pizza! Mom: No, that’s not healthy for you. Child: What do you mean healthy? Mom: Fruits such as apples and bananas, vegetables such as cucumber and corn. Child: I like fruits! Let’s get oranges, apples, watermelon and corn! Mom: Corn? Corn is not a fruit, it is a vegetable. Child: Vegetable? Mom: Yes, vegetables come from the ground and fruits don’t. Child: I like fruits more than vegetables because it’s yummy and sweet. My favorite fruit is an orange because it is round, sweet, juicy, and I like the color. What do you like mom? Mom: I like them too but I also like broccoli and lettuce. Child: Yuck! I don’t like lettuce. Mom: Really? I put it in your ham and cheese sandwich for lunch today. Child: Oh! That was a lettuce?

What am I? I usually come in red or green. I am round and hard to bite. It goes “crunch” when you take a bite. Student’s will sometimes give me to a teacher. Be careful of the seeds in me. I am poisonous in a Disney movie.

Rationales Repetition (Behaviorism) “The behaviorists viewed imitation and practice as the primary processes in language development.” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 10) “Thus encouraged by their environment, children would continue to imitate and practice these sounds and patterns until they formed ‘habits’ of correct language use.” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 10) Silent way “It is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible.” (Richards & Rodgers, 1986, p. 99).

Rationales Cont’d Connectionism “…learners gradually build up their knowledge of language through exposure to the thousands of the linguistic features they eventually hear.” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p.41) “After hearing language features in specific situational or linguistic contexts over and over again, learners develop a stronger and stronger network of ‘connections’ between these elements.” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p. 41) Input Hypothesis “Acquisition occurs when one is exposed to language that is comprehensible and that contains i+1” (Lightbown & Spada, 2006, p.37).

Rationales Cont’d Use of L1 (Use of Shared Language) “However, where teacher and students share the same L1 it would be foolish to deny its existence and potential value.” (Harmer, 2007, p. 39) “Using the students’ L1 may help them to see connections and differences between the L1 and the L2, and that, occasionally, the teacher’s use of the L1 may help them to understand things that they are finding difficult to grasp.” (Harmer, 2007, p. 39)

References Harmer, J. (2007). How to Teach English (1 st ed.). Pearson ESL. Lightbown, P. (2006). How Languages are Learned (3 rd ed.). Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. Richards, J.C., & Rodgers, T.S. (1986). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (A description and analysis). New York: Cambridge University Press.