VOCABULARY- basic knowledge for students.

OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this presentation, you will be able to know:

ü what is vocabulary?

üWhat does it mean to “know” a word?

ü Importance of vocabulary.

ü how many words do students need to know?

ü Types of vocabulary and Functions of vocabulary. 

WHAT IS VOCABULARY? [1]

According to online cambridge dictionary:

“All the words known and used by a particular person”

                                OR

“All the words which exist in a particular language or subject”

•The word vocabulary entered the English lexicon in the 1530s and is derived from the Latin word ‘vocabularium,’ meaning ‘a list of words.’ [4]

• It gained its modern meaning, “the sum of all words known by a person”, in the 1700s.

•Eminent writers such as William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens are known for their large vocabularies.

What Does It Mean to “Know” a Word?

Establishing exactly what it means to know a word is no easy task.

Q. Is “knowing” a word being able to recognize what it looks and sounds like?

Q. Is it being able to give the word’s dictionary definition?

Research suggests that, in general, the answer to these questions is NO

   “Knowing a word by sight and sound and knowing its dictionary definition are not the same as knowing how to use the word correctly and understanding it when it is heard or seen in various contexts” (Miller & Gildea, 1987).

Knowing and using a word[2]

word knowledge also comes in two forms

1. Receptive vocabulary:  includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them.
2. Productive vocabulary: includes words that we use when we speak or write.

The Importance of Vocabulary to Reading Comprehension

• One of the most persistent findings in reading research is that the extent of students’ vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to their reading comprehension and overall academic success (see Baumann, Kame‘enui, & Ash, 2003; Becker, 1977; Davis, 1942; Whipple, 1925).

•   Young students who don’t have large vocabularies or effective word-learning strategies often struggle to achieve comprehension. Their bad experiences with reading set in motion a cycle of frustration and failure that continues throughout their schooling (Hart & Risley, 2003; Snow, Barnes, Chandler, Goodman, & Hemphill, 2000; White, Graves, & Slater, 1990). 

• This sets in motion the well known “Matthew Effects,” Stanovich’s (1986) application of Matthew, 25:29–“the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” In terms of vocabulary development, good readers read more, become better readers, and learn more words; poor readers read less, become poorer readers, and learn fewer words.

The Importance Of a Vocabulary

• An extensive vocabulary aids expressions and communication
• Vocabulary size has been directly linked to reading comprehension.[3]
• Linguistic vocabulary is synonymous with thinking vocabulary.[3]
• A person may be judged by others based on his or her vocabulary.

How Many Words Do Students Need to Know?

Early vocabulary researchers reported figures ranging from 2,500 to 26,000 words in the vocabularies of typical grade 1 students and from 19,000 to 200,000 words for college graduate students (Beck & McKeown, 1991)

TYPES  OF VOCABULARY[4]

Following are some types of vocabulary

• Listening vocabulary
• Speaking vocabulary
• Reading vocabulary
• Writing vocabulary.

Reading  Vocabulary

A read vocabulary is a passive one.

“ This means it is the words understood by the reader when he or she is reading a piece of written text.”

•  The person is able to recognize the form of the letters and how they correspond to one another, and how their sum is understood.
•  This also includes understanding a word’s spelling, meaning and the exact meaning in its context.

Listening Vocabulary

“A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he and she can recognize when  listening to speech”

• Listening is also a passive type of vocabulary. 
• The listener is able to link the words being spoken to their meaning. This level of understanding is aided by word context, intonation and, if there is visual contact with the speaker, by gestures and facial expressions. Listening is, like reading, an interpretational form of vocabulary.
• Listening vocabulary provides the foundation for developing phonological awareness and building reading and writing skills.

Speaking Vocabulary

“A person's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech”

• It demonstrates a person’s knowledge of words. 
• It is an active demonstration that can also rely on other elements such as facial expressions, intonation, pitch and gestures to help others understand its meaning. 
• Knowledge of a word is demonstrated by its good usage and pronunciation.
• Due to the spontaneous nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse – though slight and unintentional – may be compensated by facial expressions, tone of voice, or hand gestures

Writing vocabulary

• Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing.
• Writing is the active vocabulary equivalent to reading. 
• With reading, it forms the core skills needed for someone to be literate. 
• The writer demonstrates his or her knowledge of a word in terms of its meaning and how to spell it and use it correctly.

FUNCTIONS OF VOCABULARY[5]

Following are the grammatical functions of vocabulary

Noun

Adjective

Verb 

Adverb

NOUN

DEFINITION

“A noun is a word use to name a person , animal, place, thing and abstract idea.” 

Examples

1 A bunch of bananas.

2 The bank closes at three in the afternoon .

3 You should read this book.

4 Give me a call when you arrive? 

5 He drove his car very fast.

6 Do you see that boy over there?

ADJECTIVE

DEFINITION

                 “Adjective are words that describe or modify another person or things in the sentence. The articles a, an, the, are adjectives”.

EXAMPLES:

The tall Professor

A Solid Commitment

A six year -old child 

The un-happiest richest man 

ADJECTIVE MODIFY NOUN

DEFINATION:

Adjectives are added to nouns to state what kind, what color, which one or how many Adjectives are said to modify nouns and are necessary  to make the meaning of sentences clear or more exact.

EXAMPLES:

Follow the yellow Cabs.

The girl is beautiful.

The principal objective is to make profit.

VERB

DEFINITION:

“The word that describes an action or indicates the state of being.”

EXAMPLES:

I am waiting for the train

The earth is slowly gets warmer.

We were working on a new project.

I will play basket tomorrow.

ADVERB

DEFINITION:

“An adverb is a word that modifies a verb , an adjective, an adverb and even a whole clause or sentence.”

EXAMPLES:

They walked quickly

He was very tired.

Adverb usually express time, place, manner, frequency or degree.

Example:

They arrived soon.

He stood there alone

REFERENCES:

1.^http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=88554&dict=CALD

2.^http://www.prel.org/products/re_/ES0419.htm

3.^ a b Stahl, Steven A. Vocabulary Development. Cambridge: Brookline Books, 1999. p. 3. "The Cognitive Foundations of Learning to Read: A Framework", Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, [1], p. 14.

4. ^http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-vocabulary.htm

5. ENGLISH TEXT BOOK  BBA-1.