Recycling Vocabulary in the Advanced EAP Reading Class

Eliana Lili

M.A. in TESL, Northern Arizona University Preparation for the ECPE, Fates Language Center,

Ioannina eliana_ll@yahoo.com

Introduction

Motivations for the studyStudents’ complaints about the mastery of

academic vocabulary within a short period of time

Students’ requests for more vocabulary practice

Meeting curricular demands and the needs of the advanced level students

Research on recycling vocabulary in the advanced reading class

Mastery of EAP reading requires comprehension abilities, a large recognition vocabulary above 10.000 words and a good command of grammar patterns (Shiotsu, 2010 cited in Grabe & Stoller, 2013).

There is no vocabulary growth without reading and vice versa (Grabe & Stoller, 2011).

Instructed vocabulary in reading: incidental learning through reading or intentional word-focused activities.

Multiple exposure to words from 5 to 10 times is of paramount importance to vocabulary growth.

Recycling vocabulary activities build receptive knowledge of vocabulary (gap-filling, multiple-choice, sorting/ranking/sequencing) & help students recognize, recall the meaning/form of the words.

Recycling activities that expand students’ productive knowledge by encouraging fluent word usage in speaking and writing activities (oral/written summaries, dialogues, discussions)

A balanced approach of moving from receptive to productive mastery of vocabulary in a meaningful reading context that encourages both incidental and intentional learning of vocabulary.

Research Question 1. Consider the following vocabulary tasks/activities. Which do you like

more? 2. Give reasons for your decision. 3. Checking vocabulary exercises of the textbook4. Oral retell of a text by using key vocabulary words of the text5. Using key vocabulary words in tables, KWL charts or Venn Diagrams6. Using key vocabulary words in the written summary of a text7. Matching chapter key vocabulary with their synonyms/definitions 8. Paraphrasing words and sentences 9. Vocabulary associations (Ethnocentrism is related with…)10. Choosing the correct part of speech 11. Rereading the text for another purpose 12. Reading and listening to the text at the same time.13. Revise chapter key vocabulary through a chapter test14. Use key vocabulary words in class discussions15. Use key vocabulary words in chapter reflection written activities

Example:Vocabulary Associations Do you usually wear handmade clothes? ……………………………………………………………….

What do you usually download or upload? ……………………………………………………………….

What do you consider a best-case scenario? ……………………………………………………………….

Mention 2 leapfrogger countries ……………………………………………………………….

Give 2 examples of a service-based or knowledge-based economy ………………………………………….

Give 2 examples of 2 emerging economies……………………………………………………………….

Mention 2 countries with limited access to internet/education/literacy …………………………………

Give 2 examples of grassroots campaigns ……………………………………………………………….

Do you know anybody who is a well-educated, tech-savvy and speaks

English? ..................................

What is the Craddle to Craddle philosophy? ...................................................................

Example: Correct part of speech Read the following sentences from the text “Hooked on Crime” and circle

one of the underlined words that best fits the sentence structure. There is some irony in the fact that the group steals heavily from the 12

step, spiritually-based Alcoholic/Alcohol/Alcoholics Anonymous program. The program’s strength is that it was created by members and not

imposing/impose/imposed/imposingly on them. He has spent more than half his years in jail, for

robber/robbery/robberies/robbing, extort/extortion/extorting, attempted murder, assault/assaulting/assaults, traffic/trafficker/trafficking, and small time cons.

Crime Addiction Anonymous is dedicated to the content/contentious/contentiously/ contention premise that crime can be an illness as strong as dependent/dependently/dependence/independence/interdependence on alcohol or drugs.

Example: Paraphrasing

What Vodafone people consider the key to their success are their employees. According to Proust, great people make a company, and their people are effusive, innovative, and amicable. They are not people who are just working absentmindedly and are flattered by just one piece of invention. They are people who keep up with research on understanding daily consumer behavior.

Oral summary with key wordsExample: Text Outward Bound/Key Words Grew up in knee-deep rice paddies/tiny

villageNondescript Engineer, ascend career steps,

C.E.O , LG ElectronicsTireless, vigorous, innovative, Chant, croon, rally people, feel comfortable

Leader/commander/infuserGlobal brands, revenues, leading-edge,low-

cost

Example: Chapter Key Vocabulary Match the words/expressions in column (1) with their synonyms/definitions in column (a):

colleague a. end result ethnocentrism b. always, continually hue c. unbelievable despair d. slanted opinion, prejudice, bigotry outcome e. alert, conscious worldview f. receptive to new ideas liberal g. the beliefs and ways of life of a group of people inconceivable h. someone you work with insomnia j. without reason or logic open-minded k. One’s own patterns of behaviour are the best. aware l. outlook/perspective/point of view barbarian m. unpleasing/pleasant omission of syntax n. shade of colour repugnant/repulsive o. tolerant/lenient/permissive irrational p. originally a crude/ignorant person bias s. shortening of phrases culture t. inability to sleep constantly x. a feeling of being hopeless

MethodologyParticipants: Twelve, 19 year-old university

students in an ESL III-EAP Reading class preparing for their university studies in English.

Setting: University of New York/Tirana, Albania

Resources and Instruments Main Textbook Mosaic 1/Reading by Wegmann &

Knezevic (2007) Other textbooks: How to teach vocabulary by Thornbury (2002) Vocabulary by Morgan & Rinvolucri (2004)Reading for Academic Purposes by Grabe & Stoller (2013) New Ways in teaching vocabulary by Nation (1994)Photocopies/handouts with graphic organizers, chapter

reflections and other exercises Student questionnaire provided by Grabe & Stoller (2011)

Data Collection & AnalysisData collection: 5 months, 13

tasks/activities.

Data analysis:

1. Vocabulary tasks/activities that students ticked;

2. Implications for failing activities

Results Nr of Students Activities Chosen

12 / 12 Checking vocabulary exercises of the textbook

9 / 12 Reading and listening to the text at the same time.

8 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in the written summary of a text Revising chapter key vocabulary through a chapter test   Rereading the text for another purpose

7 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in tables, charts or Venn Diagrams  Matching chapter key vocabulary with their synonyms/definitions Oral retell of a text by using key vocabulary words of the text

6 / 12 Using key vocabulary words in class discussions

5 / 12 Paraphrasing words and sentences   Using key vocabulary words in chapter reflection written activities

3 / 12 Vocabulary associations (Ethnocentrism is related with…)

0/12 Choosing the correct part of speech

Future Implications Developing time saving activities to meet curricular demands

and advanced level students’ needs. Doing an action research study on students’ preferences on a

large-scale (not only with 12 students). Collect data in the beginning of the term and in the middle of the

term. More practical and interactive vocabulary tasks/activities for the

advanced level. The creation of a vocabulary program with fewer and more

integrated vocabulary tasks/activities.Cross-comparison with other colleagues who teach the same

subject.More research on students’ choice of less favorite activities.

Selected References Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2013). Teaching Reading for Academic Purposes. In

M. Celce-Murcia, D. Brinton, M. A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (4th ed.). Boston: Heinle Cengage.

Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. L. (2011). Teaching and Researching Reading (3rd.). Great Britain: Longman/Pearson Education.

Morgan, J., & Rinvolucri, M. (2004). Vocabulary. England: Oxford University Press.

Nation, P. (1994). (Eds.). New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary. Alexandria, VA: TESOL.

Schmitt, N. (2008). Review Article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research. 12 (3), 329-363.

Thornbury, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. England: Longman. Wegmann, B., & Knezevic, M. (2007). Mosaic 1/Reading. New York: McGraw-

Hill.