Contributed by Vivian Simmons
Enhancing vocabulary lessons by building all 4 language skills is indeed an essential part of students’ ESL growth. Yet, this should not be an overwhelming task for teachers to tackle.
Margarita Calderon is the author of Teaching Reading and Comprehension to English Learners K-5. In this book, she introduces ExC-ELL: Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners as a framework of instruction to increase English comprehension. She talks about 7 steps to teach vocabulary to the students. Let’s not forget that before we [teachers] attempt to do this, we should stick to a well-established [lesson] plan.
Use a base reading tool to begin the classroom session (book, reading passage, newspaper article, book app, etc.).
Pre-teach vocabulary: tier 1 (words most people will know, or social language), tier 2 (information processing/connector/ transition words) and tier 3 words (subject-specific or academic language). According to Calderon (2011) students should be exposed to 5 new words, per day, per subject area.
Her 7 steps include:
1. Say the word 3 times.
2. Use the word in a sentence.
3. Give the dictionary definition.
4. Give the student friendly definition.
5. Highlight any difficult part of the word.
6. Think-pair-share (use the word 10-12 times).
7. Summarize the word orally and in writing.
Build background knowledge (introduce/read the story). Teacher can read aloud and then allow students to pair up and read one more time on their own.
Check the vocabulary again.
Reading, writing, listening, and speaking should be used throughout the lesson.
Wrap the lesson up with a writing activity.
Finally, I would like to share 2 nice strategies to enhance vocabulary acquisition.
Make a Picture or Mental Image: This strategy is useful since it will help students get a mental image of the stories read, hence, vocabulary knowledge will be put to the test.
Teaching Paragraph Writing: I have always thought that if you can say it, you should write it. This is a useful strategy to help students put their thoughts on paper. This will for sure help them practice spelling and vocabulary knowledge.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Seven-Step-Vocabulary-Posters-for-ELLs-1964607
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