teaching grammar and vocabulary tyl spring 2013
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Teaching Grammar and Vocabulary TYL Spring 2013. Agenda. Quiz When you finish, work on page with hearts! Cloze Activity: Big Ideas Practical Ideas for Grammar and Vocabulary. Agree or Disagree?. I’ll read a statement. You move either to the Agree side or the Disagree side. . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Agenda
• Quiz– When you finish, work on pagewith hearts!
• Cloze Activity: Big Ideas
• Practical Ideas for Grammar and Vocabulary
Agree or Disagree?
• I’ll read a statement.
• You move either to the Agree side or the Disagree side.
Directions:
1) Work with a partner to compare answers. • You have 2 minutes!
2) Finally, ask more people if you need more
help.
Answers
1) Acquiring , Learning2) Explicit3) Implicitly4) Chunks5) Fun, meaningful, themes, narratives6) Meaning7) Error correction, accuracy
#1
1) The instruction of young learners should be natural. Like a first language learner, they should be acquiring—not learning—English.
• The difference?
#2
• In general, with very young learners, explicit, or direct, grammar instruction doesn’t work.
• Why not?
#3
• Grammar should mostly be taught implicitly.
• Ways to do this?– Pattern Books (Brown Bear, etc.)– Songs (Mr. Monkey)– TPR– Classroom commands – Games
#4
• There should be a lexical, or vocabulary, focus. Grammar should be learned through chunks, which can later be broken apart and used in creative ways.
• What does this mean?
• Weinhart: Grammar is “the evolution from chunks to creativity”
Grammar: “Evolution of Chunks to Creativity”
• Example 1: – “Could you please pass me the salt?”– You could add many nouns there: ketchup, my phone, the menu, etc.
• Example 2: – “If I were you, I would get a new car.”– You could add many verbs/predicates there: get a divorce, quit my
job, etc.
• These grammar rules are difficult, but a learner can MEMORIZE the chunks and get creative with them.
#5
• All instruction—in grammar, vocabulary, or any of the four skills—needs to be fun and meaningful. It should be based on themes and on narratives and should have a social focus.
Older Young Learners #6
• You can start to deliver some mini-lessons on grammar, but the focus should still be on meaning. These mini-lessons should be short, interactive, and highly visual.
• Remember FonF?
#7
• Some grammar instruction can come through error correction. When judging whether to correct errors, consider the aim of the activity: Are you practicing fluency and the communication of meaning, or are you working on accuracy?
• Also, ask yourself: Do I need to correct on the spot, or can I do it in a whole-group format after the activity?
Delayed Feedback: Step 2
• Mini-lesson– Look at your anecdotal notes– Write common sentences on board– Maybe: Change some nouns– Have students analyze in pairs– Show corrections on board
On-the-Spot Error Correction
• Research: Mackey and Oliver (2002)– On-the-spot correction = not for kids under 7
• Research is contradictory – However, one form of correction that has the lowest
rate of uptake = recasting– Recasting = Correcting what the student said with no
explanation• Child: “I eated dinner last night.”• Teacher: “You ate dinner last night.”
Error Correction Strategies that Work
• Clarification Request– Student: “He walk to the store yesterday.”– Teacher: “Sorry--I didn’t understand.”– Studies: Somewhat effective
• Metalinguistic Feedback– Student: “He walk to the store every day.”– Teacher: “He is 3rd person singular and needs an –s at the
end.”– Studies: Somewhat effective
Error Correction Strategies that Work
• Repetition– Student: “He eated.”– Teacher: “He eated?” (with rising intonation)– Among the most successful strategies
• Elicitation– Student: “Last night, he eated.”– Teacher: a. “Last night, he . . .” OR b. “How do we talk
about the past in English?” OR “Please say that again correctly in English.”
Battleship
1) Look at the top table.
2) Choose 1 box in each row. Draw a “battleship” in the box. (There should be 7.)
3) Find a friend to play with you, but don’t look at your friend’s paper!– Decide: Who’s Partner 1? Who’s Partner 2?
Battleship (cont.)4) Fold you paper under the first box.
5) Partner 1 will look only at the top of the page. • Partner 2 will look only at the bottom.
5) Partner 2 will ask 2 questions for each row. – (Do you have __ on __?)
6) Partner 1 answers• “Yes, I do” = Partner 2 marks an X• “No, I don’t” = Partner 2 marks a dot
7) Switch roles when you finish the last row!
8) The winner is the person who “sunk” the most battleships!
Step 2: Make a chart with the students (whole group)
Adjectives Nouns Verbs
Plural nouns = add –s or –ies
Step 3: Choose which words you want to use.
• Write them in the top right box.
• Just do numbers 1 – 5 (to get the idea)
Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals
• Blog
For beginners . . .
• It’s all about filling the refrigerator.
• Vocabulary instruction should be thematic.
• It should be taught with appropriate sentence frames, too.
For example . . .
• Family Vocabulary– Frame: I have a ____ / 1 have 2/3 ___s.
• Weather Vocabulary – It is ______. / It is ____ in the _____. – When it is _____, I like to ______.
Beginners
• Re-use and recycle vocabulary hundreds of times!
• Games, games, games!
• Meaningful activities: Songs, books, projects, etc.
Posters
• Practice writing: Groups write on them with whiteboard markers
• “Teacher, Student”: Students quiz each other using the answerson the back
• Sticky Ball or Fly Swatters
Guessing Games
• Is it a/an _____? (vocab word) • Do you ____ with it? (verb)• Is it ______? (adjective)• Do you do it _____? (at the park? At school?)
• Formats: – Magic Bag (whole class)– Hot Seat with cards (whole class or small groups)– Cards (pairs)
When the refrigerator is filling up . . .
• Do more intensive word work!
• What does it mean to “own” a word? You know . . – Definition– The part of speech– Some common collocations– Synonyms/Antonyms– Spelling– Pronunciation – Count/non-count?