Слайд 2
Teacher beliefs about language and learning
Work in groups.
Discuss which sentences you believe. Explain why.
1 Language
is a list of grammar rules and vocabulary.
2 Grammar is the glue that holds language together.
3 Without grammar, you can say little; without vocabulary, you can say nothing.
It’s unimportant if examples are invented and are unlikely to be used in real life as
long as they clearly illustrate the meaning of the grammar.
5 We learn grammar by mastering one structure before moving on to the next.
6 Vocabulary should not be seen as single words, but as collocations and chunks.
7 If you teach grammar, students can learn words to slot into the grammar.
Grammar can be acquired through unanalysed phrases. (i.e. you can learn and
use Have you been here before? without ‘knowing’ the present perfect)
9 How we experience and use vocabulary develops and shapes ‘correct’ grammar.
10 Students shouldn’t see grammar that they haven’t been taught yet.
You can’t separate grammar from vocabulary.
Слайд 3
Teacher beliefs about language and learning
Grammar + words
1
Language is a list of grammar rules and
vocabulary.
Grammar is the glue that holds language together.
It’s unimportant if examples are invented and are unlikely to be used in real life as
long as they clearly illustrate the meaning of the grammar.
We learn grammar by mastering one structure before moving on to the next.
If you teach grammar, students can learn words to slot into the grammar.
Students shouldn’t see grammar that they haven’t been taught yet.
Слайд 4
Teacher beliefs about language and learning
A lexical view
Without
grammar, you can say little; without vocabulary, you can
say nothing.
Vocabulary should not be seen as single words, but as collocations and chunks.
Grammar can be acquired through unanalysed phrases. (i.e. you can learn and
use Have you been here before? without ‘knowing’ the present perfect)
9 How we experience and use vocabulary develops and shapes ‘correct’ grammar.
You can’t separate grammar from vocabulary.
Слайд 5
The difficulty of sustaining a grammar + words
view
It’s six less twenty
It’s two thirds of
five
It exceeds 5 by forty
It’s twenty to six
It’s forty past five
It’s five forty
It’s ten after half five
Слайд 6
The difficulty of sustaining a grammar + words
view
There’s no pleasing some people.
There’s no angering
some people.
It’s no satisfaction for some people.
Making some people pleased is impossible.
Some cannot be ensured happiness.
A few can gain no satisfaction.
Слайд 7
The difficulty of sustaining a grammar + words
view
I bark, you bark, he barks
You’re not
going to go to Norway.
Venus Williams is taller than Messi.
Are you waving?
I’ve only got one back.
There’s a fat man sitting on a blanket playing the
guitar.
Слайд 8
Some key principles of lexical approaches to
language
teaching
Natural usage and choices often cannot be explained
by
grammar rules / ‘deep’ grammar
“Why can’t I say I’ve been fancying seeing that for ages?”
“Why don’t you say It has been happened? I mean, someone made it happen, right? So why isn’t it passive?”
“I know I can’t stand it means I hate it. So if I like it or love it, do I say I can stand it – or I stand it?”
Слайд 9
Some key principles of lexical approaches to
language
teaching
Collocations, chunks and – to some extent –
‘grammar’
are formed through priming (which is essentially traces of
how the words have been used thus far)
Слайд 10
Ultimately, words have more value than grammar
Language is
essentially lexically driven (words with grammar)
Our usage is determined
by our experience of how language is used
There are many patterns in lexis that are generative to at least some degree (including the traditional grammar patterns taught in ELT )
The vast majority of the examples of any one pattern will be made up of a small percentage of all the possible words that are used / possible
Collocations and patterns will be primed to go with other collocations and patterns in similarly limited ways.
EVERYONE’S ENGLISH IS DIFFERENT!
A summary of a lexical view of language
Слайд 11
A brief pause for breath – and reflection!
What do you think so far?
Do you
think it has to be black and white – one view or
the other?
What implications might there be for these two sets of
beliefs on the way we teach?
Слайд 12
What does knowing a word involve?
(Contextual) meaning
Spelling /
pronunciation
Synonyms, antonyms and co-hyponyms
Connotation
Register
Word form / word family
Usage
Which of
these areas is easiest / hardest to learn?
Слайд 13
The easiest to handle is meaning.
Meaning can be
quickly covered by:
– translating
– telling a short story to
paraphrase and explain
– using visuals
– acting
– drawing or pointing at the thing
Слайд 14
The hardest thing to handle is usage.
Usage covers
a wide range of things – but particularly:
– Contexts
of use
– Collocation
– Colligation / the way the word grammars
– Co-text
Слайд 15
Peculiar features of colligation
Hoey notes that:
where a
common sense of a word favours common colligations, then
the rare sense of that word will avoid those colligations.
where two sense of a word are approximately as common – or rare – as each other, both will avoid the colligational patterns of the other.
where either (a) or (b) do not apply, the effect will be humour, ambiguity, or a new meaning combining the two senses.
Слайд 16
Cause:
An event, thing or person that
makes something happen.
This meaning of cause colligates with the
preposition of, with definite articles and with a further noun / noun phrase:
The main cause of these accidents is drivers going too fast.
I have to write an essay on the causes of the First World War.
Слайд 17
Cause:
(3) An aim, organisation or idea that you support,
for example in politics. This kind of cause often
brings benefits to those in need.
This meaning of cause is more usually found near the end of sentences; indefinite / zero articles abound – as do a wider range of prepositions.
It’s hard work, but it’s all in a good cause.
I’m not very sympathetic to their cause.
Give what you can. It’s for a worthy cause.
Слайд 18
And so it goes . . . for
(almost) all words
Different meanings of the same word take
different collocations, but also operate in very different ways grammatically.
This grammar is grammar that frequently lies outside the tense-dominated ELT canon.
Different meanings of words pattern differently.
Слайд 19
So what?
Students often claim to “know words,” but
to “have problems with grammar.”
This may well mean they
struggle when they try to use words then think they know – as these words neither collocate nor colligate in expected ways.
Often this is because students bring L1 primings with them into L2.
How much support do vocab exercises offer with this?
Слайд 20
Exercises that focus on single words
Coursebooks exercises often
just look at single words.
These may be:
words
taken from a text that students have to match to
meanings – or even synonyms
‘spot the odd one out’ exercises
students may also be asked to match single words to
pictures.
Слайд 21
The problems with single-word exercises:
They suggest knowing meanings
is enough.
They can also imply that words have exact
synonyms – when in reality, no two words are always interchangeable.
Because of this, the teacher has to do more work!
Слайд 22
When checking single-word exercises:
add a bit extra
to develop what students know about the items.
you
may just want to add a couple of extra collocations for most words and maybe a whole sentence example for the most useful items.
you may not have time to add extra information for each item, and so need to choose items most worth spending time on.
it’s best to prepare what you plan to add in advance. Write a board plan before class.
Слайд 23
Practice 1
Look at a single-word exercise and:
plan
the extra information you’d write on the board for
each item.
decide which items have the most obvious / useful collocations?
decide which best lend themselves to whole-sentence examples?
if you were short of time, which two or three items would be most worth spending time on?
Слайд 24
Practice 1
1 a person screaming
2 a person getting
fined
3 a person buying a raffle ticket
4 a person
snoring
5 a person with a scar
6 a person being arrested
7 an angry person
8 a person looking amazed
Слайд 25
1 a person screaming
scream in pain
2 a person
getting fined
I got fined €100 for . . .
speeding.
3 a person buying a raffle ticket
4 a person snoring
I couldn’t get to sleep. / He woke me up!
5 a person with a scar under my left eye
6 a person being arrested
He was arrested and charged with murder.
7 an angry person
an angry response / letter
Слайд 26
Exercises that focus on collocations
Exercises that focus on
collocations offer more support and information about the items
in question.
Also, when you check the answers and give feedback, you can add a few extra collocations – and write fully grammaticalised, whole-sentence examples for a few of the more useful collocations.
Слайд 27
Exercises that focus on collocations
Even if students know
a collocation, they still need examples of how the
item is typically used: what co-text it’s used with, what grammar, and so on.
Imagine that students learn the collocation heavy rain.
You might also want to mention the collocations light rain, occasional rain, rain pours down or rain eases off.
However, just knowing that words frequently co-occur doesn’t help students say things like They’re predicting heavy rain for this afternoon or It’s starting to ease off a bit. The rain’s not as heavy as it was earlier.
Слайд 28
Exercises that focus on collocations
Extra examples can help
to better prime students and to expand understanding of
how items are typically used.
Thinking about extra collocations – as well as thinking about how collocations are used (and writing examples that show this) – should be built into planning.
Слайд 29
Practice 2
Look at a collocations exercise from an
Intermediate book.
Plan the extra information you’d write on
the board for each item.
What are the most obvious / useful extra collocations?
Which collocations best lend themselves to whole-sentence examples?
If you were short of time, which two or three items would be most worth spending time on?
Слайд 30
Practice 2
Match the words in 1-8 with the
best endings in a-h.
1 a light a
the TV on
2 a telephone b crashes
3 the screen c a button
4 the computer d rings
5 press e freezes
6 switch f flashes
7 plug g the machine in
8 dial h the number
Слайд 31
Practice 2
Match the words in 1-8 with the
best endings in a-h.
1 a light f flashes
This
light ........... flashing and I don‘t know why.
2 a telephone d rings
3 the screen e freezes
My screen ............. freezing.
What do you think I ............ do?
4 the computer b crashes
The stock market crashed
Their car crashed / They crashed (into a tree)
Слайд 32
Exercises that focus on whole sentences
Plenty of vocabulary
exercises feature whole sentences. Generally, these will be gap-fill
exercises – or part of a matching exercise.
Longer examples allow you to point out a range of features that may be in the sentences: collocations, chunks, common patterns, and so on.
When checking answers and giving feedback, you can also add extra examples of any interesting features.
Слайд 33
Exercises that focus on whole sentences
Imagine students are
doing a gap-fill exercise on doctor-related vocabulary and the
first sentence is :
1 Can I come in late on Friday? I’ve got an ………… with the doctor.
When eliciting the answer (appointment), you could point out the pattern I’ve got (a doctor’s appointment) on Friday - and ask students about other nouns that could fill this slot:
I’ve got an exam on Friday.
a date tonight.
a job interview next week.
a meeting at three.
Слайд 34
Exercises that focus on whole sentences
Alternatively, you could
ask for / point out other people you could
have an appointment with
I’ve got an appointment with my lawyer
the dentist
the optician.
You may even want to point out that come in here means arrive at work and give other examples:
The day after the office party, no-one came in until midday!
He doesn’t normally come in on a Friday.
Слайд 35
Practice 3
Look at the rest of the exercise
on doctor-related vocabulary. The answers are underlined.
What interesting
features / patterns / chunks / collocations do you notice?
Plan what you’d say / ask about each - and then decide what you might write on the board for each item.
If you were short of time, which two or three items would be most worth spending time on? Why?
Слайд 36
Practice 3
That’s a nasty cough you’ve got. You
really ought to stop
smoking.
3
I sometimes get a rash on my arm after eating seafood.
4 I need to pop into the chemist’s later to pick up that
prescription.
5 Are you having any trouble swallowing at all?
6 I’ll give you something to relieve the pain.
7 There’s a really nasty virus going round at the moment.
8 I was jogging and I fell over and sprained my ankle
Слайд 37
Practice 3
That’s a nasty cough you’ve
got. You really ought to
stop
smoking.
That’s a nasty cut. You ought to get that looked at.
3 I sometimes get a rash on my arm after eating seafood.
4 I need to pop into the chemist’s later to pick up that
prescription.
Anywhere else you might need to pop into? Why?
5 Are you having any trouble swallowing at all?
I’ve been having trouble sleeping recently.
I’ve been having trouble logging into my account.
Anything else you might have trouble doing?
Слайд 38
Some final thoughts
Beware material ‘that teaches itself’.
The idea
that matching to meanings / pictures are easier and
less of a test is seductive, but false!
Match the words 1-3 with the English translations a-c.
1 blasport a boots
2 karka b leather jacket
tome c helmet
Matching exercises are as much a test as gap-fills
Слайд 39
Some final thoughts
CELTA-style CCQs about vocabulary in matching
exercises exacerbate the problem and create the illusion of
ease. Questions like those below seem pointless when items have already been matched to meaning / pictures:
Do you wear it on your head or feet?
Is it hard or soft?
Does it protect you?
However, as we’ve seen, meaning is only a (small) part of what students need to know.
Слайд 40
Some final thoughts
Think of better questions to ask
about the word helmet.
In what jobs or activities do
people usually wear a helmet?
Why do people wear them?
What do you do with a helmet – what verbs go with it?
What else might you wear along with a helmet?
When might you say ‘Luckily he was wearing a helmet’?
Слайд 41
Some final thoughts
These questions are messier and more
likely to result in students ‘making mistakes’, but .
. .
they increase the level of challenge and engagement
they create a space for you to teach from where students are at.
they lead to more interesting, productive practice
. . . especially if used in tandem with whole-sentence exercises!
How much of what we’ve discussed here do you do already?
What would you like to next add to what you do?
Слайд 42
How would you explain these words to your
students?
pull table card out
The bad news: even meaning can be tricky
Слайд 43
What about now?
pull out of the deal
pull out
without looking
lay your cards on the table
lay your cards
on a table
lay a card on the table
lay card on the table
Слайд 44
1 He’s applied for several jobs, but he
he hasn’t found anything yet.
2 We were late because
there had been a car crash on the motorway.
3 There’s no harm asking if you can go as well.
4 The weather’s been miserable for the last two weeks.
5 I had to queue for ages in the bank.
6 In the interview, she came across as confident and knowledgeable.
7 I usually take the dog for a walk in the evening.
8 Nothing goes better with spicy food than an ice cold drink.
Decide the unit of meaning based on the words in red.
Слайд 45
Some key ideas
explain, exemplify, expand
vertical / horizontal development
understand, notice, do
Слайд 46
Explaining vocabulary
What does grasp mean?
A It’s this:
mimes grasping a bag
B Seize, clutch.
C If
you grasp something you take it and hold it firmly.
D You grasp someone’s arm, or you grasp a rope or
grasp a bag like this [demonstrate] tightly.
E Translates into students language
F Grasp? What was the sentence? What did they say?
Слайд 47
Explaining vocabulary
The grammar is difficult to grasp. What
does grasp mean?
A Grasp means comprehend.
B Because
the grammar is very complicated – there are lots of rules– it’s hard to grasp – it’s difficult to understand.
C Translates grasp into students language
D It means it’s difficult to comprehend – to understand fully. So you often look back and realise you didn’t fully understand something. For example:
I knew the changes were big, but I didn’t grasp how much they’d affect me.
I didn’t grasp how serious the illness was
I didn’t grasp the importance of planning.
I didn’t grasp the significance of the decision at the time.
E It means XXX [translates]. For example:
I knew the changes were big, but I didn’t grasp how much they’d affect me.
I didn’t grasp how serious the illness was
I didn’t really grasp the importance of planning.
I didn’t grasp the significance of the decision at the time.
Lexical Lab
Слайд 48
How might you improve the way meaning is
conveyed in each of the following?
A a whale
“It’s
like a big fish, like a big dolphin. It’s in the sea. It jumps out of the sea. You know Moby Dick, the book. Moby Dick was a whale. Very big. Woosh! Woosh! [mimes water blowing out of their back].
B do up
“it means refurbish”
C rush
“If you rush you run you do it quickly”. T acts out “rushing” by running to the door.
D portion
“if you had a pizza and divided it into 4, you have a portion for each person”
E make
‘hacer’ in Spanish
F He was screaming in agony
“He was crying loudly because it hurt a lot”.
Слайд 49
Exemplifying language
Think of examples of the words /
phrase.
When would you say it? Why? Who to?
Слайд 50
Noticing: examples and highlighting patterns
We often can help
students speak more fluently by showing ‘chunks’ of language
or patterns in sentences. Tenses are a kind of pattern but there are many more around words or that ‘frame’ sentences. For example:
Sorry. I’m in a rush. (chunk based on rush)
Do you fancy a coffee (pattern based on fancy)
a cigarette?
doing something later?
going out for lunch?
Just because I’m English doesn’t mean I’m cold and unfriendly. (sentence frame)
Слайд 51
Can you see any patterns in the following?
1
I stayed in and watched the latest episode of
Mad Men.
Learning to manage a budget may be boring, but it’s
essential.
3 I didn’t expect it to be so polluted.
4 More and more people are working longer hours.
5 I’m going to run a marathon.
> Really? Rather you than me!
Слайд 52
Can you see any patterns in the following?
1
I stayed in and watched the latest episode of
Mad Men.
Learning to manage a budget may be boring, but it’s
essential.
3 I didn’t expect it to be so polluted.
4 More and more people are working longer hours.
5 I’m going to run a marathon.
> Really? Rather you than me!
Слайд 53
Vertical development
Explore how one conversation develops
(questions /
answers)
A: I’m pregnant.
B: That’s great. When’s it ……..?
A: June.
B:
Do you know if ……. is a boy or a girl?
A: It’s a girl.
B: Have you …………. a name yet?
Слайд 54
Horizontal development
Explore different variations of chunks
Look at varieties
of answer to same question
Give / elicit follow-up comments
to the same answer / function
Have you been to France?
No. I’ve never really fancied it
No, but it’s supposed to be great.
No, but it’s supposed to be awful
No, but I’d love to.
No. Have you?
I’m really sorry. I’ll get a cloth
I’ll clean it up
I’ll buy another one.
I’ll pay for the damage
Слайд 55
Horizontal and vertical development
Think about how you would
explain the items below – and then how you
could give both horizontal and vertically developed examples for each one
run down (adj.)
to undermine
a nightmare
Слайд 56
Expanding examples horizontally and vertically
Horizontal development means thinking
about what a speaker says after – or before
– an utterance.
The whole area’s really run-down.
It’s in dire need of investment.
There’s quite a lot of dealing round there.
Vertical development means thinking about what the other speaker says in response.
What’s it like round where you live?
It’s alright. It’s a bit run-down, but not as bad as it used to be.
How long have you been living there?
Слайд 57
Put the words in each group in order
of frequency
1 ambitious / fun / serious / hard-working
2 arise /
supermarket / store / beard
3 trademark / controversy / criticism / headline
4 paramedic / contend / Muslim / whereby
5 singer / in terms of / after the / by the time
Слайд 58
You have five minutes to write examples of
some of these words / structures
ambitious
beard
Muslim
paramedic
criticism
the past continuous
arise
in terms
of
whereby
Слайд 59
Assessing frequency
serious fun ambitious hard-working
122 52 16 2
arise store supermarket beard
96 93 17 9
criticism controversy
headline trademark
47 21 16 2
whereby Muslim contend paramedic
20 17 9 1
after the in terms of by the
time singer
219 99 37 18
Numbers refer to occurrences per million in BNC:
source phrasesinenglish.org / Macmillan dictionary
Слайд 60
The attraction of simple examples
She is ambitious.
He has
a beard.
She is Muslim.
He is a paramedic.
She faces
a lot of criticism.
The phone rang while I was having a bath.
A problem has arisen.
My job is bad in terms of money.
whereby ….
Слайд 61
You have five minutes to write examples of
some of these words / structures
ambitious
beard
Muslim
paramedic
criticism
the past continuous
arise
in terms
of
whereby
Слайд 62
Explaining the attraction
Availability bias
Representational bias / a simple
X is Y pattern
(ELT) priming
Слайд 63
Why this might be a problem
Frequent words:
- are
what students will see / hear and want to
speak / write.
- might be the ‘glue’ as much as grammar.
Single words / simple examples:
- may not illustrate meaning.
- may not reflect actual use.
- will not provide sufficient exposure to grammar!
will not recycle frequent words sufficiently.
We crave simplicity and yet . . . chess masters & the 10,000 hours
Слайд 64
Getting better at judging frequency
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/red-word-game/
Google
Find a friend
Слайд 65
Giving better examples
START with collocations
ambitious
adverb - adjective
adjective -
noun
Слайд 66
Think about collocations of collocations
extremely, hugely, overly, too,
wildly
ruthlessly
artistically, politically, socially
attempt, plan, programme, proposal, venture
aim, goal, target
adv
- adj - noun
adj - noun - verb
verb -adj - noun
noun - verb - adj - noun
Слайд 67
From collocations to stories to examples
overly ambitious
face criticism
Слайд 68
Giving better examples
How did the workshop go?
> I
was overly ambitious as usual. I didn’t do half
of what I’d planned.
> It was OK, but I was overly ambitious and I ran out of time / I didn’t finish
Theresa May has faced a lot of criticism about her leadership because she’s seen as out of touch with normal people.
Слайд 69
Ask yourself when? Why? Who to?
Beard
Muslim
Paramedic
Whereby
Слайд 70
Giving better examples
Who was the guy with the
beard? I haven’t seen him before.
As a Muslim, I
believe we have a responsibility to help others.
When the paramedics arrived, his heart had stopped beating. They got it going again and then rushed him to hospital.
Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine.
Слайд 71
From examples to noticing: grammar
Who was the guy
with the beard? I haven’t seen him before.
As a
Muslim, I believe we have a responsibility to help everyone.
When the paramedics arrived his heart had stopped beating, they got it going again and then rushed him to hospital.
Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine
How did the workshop go?
> OK, but I was overly ambitious as usual and I ran out of time / I didn’t finish
Theresa May has faced a lot of criticism about her leadership, because she is seen as arrogant and out-of-touch.
Слайд 72
From examples to noticing: grammar
Why haven’t seen
him before?
Why had stopped beating not stopped beating?
Why a person is made immune not a person made immune?
Слайд 73
From examples to noticing: patterns and vocabulary
Who was
the guy with the beard? I haven’t seen him
before.
As a Muslim, I believe we have a responsibility to help everyone.
When the paramedics arrived his heart had stopped beating, they got it going again and then rushed him to hospital.
Immunization is the process whereby a person is made immune or resistant to an infectious disease, typically by the administration of a vaccine
How did the workshop go?
> OK, but I was overly ambitious as usual and I ran out of time / I didn’t finish
Theresa May has faced a lot of criticism about her leadership, because she is seen as arrogant and out-of-touch.
Слайд 74
From examples to noticing:
patterns and vocabulary
Who was
the guy with ………..? I haven’t seen him before.
As
a ………., I believe ……. .
When the paramedics arrived...
… stopped / broke down .... got it going again
rush him to hospital
…….. is the process whereby ...
resistant to
an infectious disease, [academic language]
How did …. go?
as usual / ran out of time
faced a lot of criticism about ...
…. Is seen as (being) …
Слайд 75
Questions that check understanding and generate language
Why might
you ... face a lot of criticism?
How might you
feel if ... you run out of time in an exam?
What might you say if ... you’re asked how an interview went?
What happens if ... a person is ruthlessly ambitious?
What's the opposite of ... a highly infectious disease?
What verbs go with ... beard?
What else .... might paramedics often do?
Exploring networks around words create alternative kinds of lexical sets.
Слайд 76
Some final tips
1
1 Plan what language - not what
activity.
2 Plan not just to complete aims, but to allow
for students’ talk.
3 Think about what students might say in Speaking tasks.
4 Write dialogues for particular situations.
5 Brainstorm new lexical sets / networks.
6 Write your own exercises.
Find a buddy and ...
7 Discuss interesting errors you came across.
8 Discuss interesting questions I was asked in class today.
9 Discuss new language you'd never taught / thought about teaching until it came up in class.
10 Discuss what you learnt about your students.
