1. Words! Words! Words! Alan Marsh MATEFL 2013

2. Today’s agenda 1 1 Numbers and words 2 2 Er …….? Or Is this the most useful lesson I’ve ever taught?

3. Inspirational dictation conveyedwithoutlittle veryvocabulary be grammarnothingcan withoutconveyedbe can

4. A famous quote …… “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. (Wilkins 1972)

5. English words and numbers 50,000 20,000 Half a million 2,000 7,500

6. How many words …? 1 How many words are there in English? 1 How many words are there in English? 2 How many words does an educated native speaker of English understand? 2 How many words does an educated native speaker of English understand? 3 How many words does an educated native speaker of English have as part of their active vocabulary 3 How many words does an educated native speaker of English have as part of their active vocabulary 4 How many words does a speaker of English need to be able to take part in everyday conversation? 4 How many words does a speaker of English need to be able to take part in everyday conversation? 5 How many words are defined in an Advanced Learner’s Dictionary? 5 How many words are defined in an Advanced Learner’s Dictionary? 6 How many words does a reader of English need to understand most texts? 6 How many words does a reader of English need to understand most texts?

7. 1 How many words are there in English? 1 How many words are there in English? Half a million? Half a million? 2 How many words does an educated native speaker of English understand? 2 How many words does an educated native speaker of English understand? 50,000? 50,000? 3 How many words does an educated native speaker of English have as part of their active vocabulary 3 How many words does an educated native speaker of English have as part of their active vocabulary 20,000? 20,000? 4 How many words does a speaker of English need to be able to take part in everyday conversation? 4 How many words does a speaker of English need to be able to take part in everyday conversation? About 2000 About 2000 5 How many words are defined in an Advanced Learner’s Dictionary? 5 How many words are defined in an Advanced Learner’s Dictionary? Macmillan’ Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: 7500 key words Macmillan’ Advanced Learner’s Dictionary: 7500 key words 6 How many words does a reader of English need to understand most texts? 6 How many words does a reader of English need to understand most texts?

8. How many words does a reader of English need to understand most texts? Top 2,000 words = 83% of most texts i.e. 1 out of 5 will be unfamiliar Top 2,000 words = 83% of most texts i.e. 1 out of 5 will be unfamiliar Top 6,000 words = 90%, which means 1 word out of 10 will be unfamiliar to you Top 6,000 words = 90%, which means 1 word out of 10 will be unfamiliar to you Top 10,000 words = 95% i.e. only 1 word out of 20 will be unfamiliar to you - pretty good if you need to work words out from context. Top 10,000 words = 95% i.e. only 1 word out of 20 will be unfamiliar to you - pretty good if you need to work words out from context. Macmillan Advanced Learner’s dictionary identifies 7500 key words that advanced learners should know Macmillan Advanced Learner’s dictionary identifies 7500 key words that advanced learners should know

9. The top 2000 work the hardest! Enable learners to speak, read, write and listen at Elementary (A1) level about everyday subjects (+ some subject specific vocabulary) Enable learners to speak, read, write and listen at Elementary (A1) level about everyday subjects (+ some subject specific vocabulary) Since they’re so frequent, they can help learners to work out meanings, and to ask for help in real situations Since they’re so frequent, they can help learners to work out meanings, and to ask for help in real situations Learners’ dictionaries typically use 2000-2500 words as their ‘defining vocabulary’ Learners’ dictionaries typically use 2000-2500 words as their ‘defining vocabulary’

10. Mmmm ….. Is there a problem? How many new words do you teach every lesson? How many times do learners need to recall and revise words before they’re permanently stored? How many lessons of English do learners have? How long do they need in order to permanently store (and be able to recall) 10,000 words? Is there a problem here?

11. What does ‘knowing a word’ mean? suburbs pronunciationstresses part of speech core meaningconnotationregistercollocatescolligatesantonymstranslationsynonymsword building

12. How can we help? Help them to ….Notice Help them to …Record and Store Help them to …Retrieve and Use Help them to …Extend and Enrich Introduce them to learn…Words for getting around words

14. Going blank

15. Riding to the rescue …..

16. Learner Training Circumlocution and paraphrasing strategies

17. How to ‘switch on the light’

18. CROSSWORD RACE

19. The answers! 3A stale10A fall asleep4D lose 9D improbable8A engine 5D tears 16D toothpaste11A rise 20A error 7D delete14A exhausted 15A look it up2D catch up 12D unemployed17A coach19A shark 1D vehicle10D fuel18A vet 13D delicatessen6D broken up

20. Do you remember the clues? a.It’s the _____ _____ … fresh/wake up/win/probable b.It’s ______ _____ _____… go up/mistake It _______ _____ _____ as cancel c.It’s a _____ _____ means of transport/fish d.It’s _____ _____ _____ _____.. coal, oil, gas etc. / car, bus, van, etc. e.It’s the person _____ …. (vet) It’s the place _____ … (delicatessen) f.It’s _____ you … (engine) It’s _____ _____ _____ you _____ for _____ … (toothpaste) It’s _____ … (tears) g.It’s _____ you _____ _____ you … (unemployed) It’s _____ you _____ _____ you … (look it up / catch up) It’s _____ you _____ _____ you … (exhausted)

21. Paraphrasing and circumlocution It’s a synonym/another word for …. It’s the opposite of ….. It’s a kind/type/sort of.. It’s the general word for …, …., and … It’s the thing/stuff you use when you/to … It’s the place where …. It’s a/the person who … It’s how you (feel) when …. It’s what you (do) when you/to …… An example sentence with a context

22. Useful phrases in Italian Come si dice..? Come si dice..? E un’altra parola che vuol dire ….. E un’altra parola che vuol dire ….. E un sinonomo di... E un sinonomo di... Si dice cosi quando si.... Si dice cosi quando si.... E il contrario di …. E il contrario di …. E un tipo di..... E una specie di... E un tipo di..... E una specie di... E una cosa che si usa quando /per E una cosa che si usa quando /per

23. A last couple of thoughts ….. A last couple of thoughts …..

24. Bricks and mortar …..

25. glimpse exciting killer professor rush experience enigma protection attractive factor leader record awful fair-haired lovely rugged beautiful fair-skinned lover scenic quirky whisper magnificent gutted cute fascinating dangerous encounter flight attendant moving stunningdie gangnewscaster sunburntdoctor good-looking suntannedelegantmurder dramatic handsome pig rescue

26. Words we like …. mellifluous serendipity flabbergasted helter-skelter wishy-washy And in Maltese …. sahansitra

27. Engagement … and marry the words Choose two you like… and say why Connect three in a sentence Write a newspaper headline Make up a story Make up a long sentence And now ….. How many can you remember?

28. Some websites for starters … www.teachingenglish.org British Council www.teachingenglish.org www.onestopenglish.com Macmillan www.onestopenglish.com www.ELTCommunity.com Pearson Longman www.ELTCommunity.com www.matefl.org many more links www.matefl.org www.mes-english.com flashcards www.mes-english.com www.learningenglish.com for your learners www.learningenglish.com www.etprofessional.com practical magazine www.etprofessional.com ??????????

29. Books I’ve found very useful Vocabulary In Use, CUP: the whole series (including Collocations In Use, Phrasal Verbs In Use, etc.) S. Thornbury How To Teach Vocabulary (Longman) S. Redman and R. Ellis A Way With Words (1-3) M.McCarthy, A. O’Keefe, S. Walsh Vocabulary Matrix, Heinle Cengage J. Scrivener Learning Teaching, Macmillan S. Thornbury, An A-Z of ELT, Macmillan J. Richards, J. Platt, H. Platt Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics, Longman All the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge, Macmillan, Oxford, and Collins Cobuild

30. alanmarshinmalta@gmail.com alanmarshinmalta@gmail.com 9942 8447 9942 8447 And ………. And ………. Thank you! Thank you!