Third Podcast:

Podcast ItunesU : Vocabulary and Oral Language Development (Video Part 1) by Texas Education Agency/ The University of Texas System (20.21)

This is a video about the vocabulary. A teacher shows the importance of vocabulary for the children.

The objectives of this course are:

-          - Look purposefully at vocabulary instruction

-          - Discuss how this component is effectively taught

-          - Collaborate to plan for strategic instruction in vocabulary and oral language   

       development

She gives a definition about vocabulary in oral language development. She says that : “Good vocabulary instruction helps children gain ownership of words, instead of just learning words well enough to pass a test.”

She insists about “gain ownership”:  children access about oral vocabulary and reading vocabulary 

  

            Reading is ….

The ability to read words on a page and understanding those words.

Look the puzzle created by Luis. It presents a muddle which illustrates connections between the reading components.

She suggests an exercise to illustrate this puzzle. She gives real examples to defines important words. 

Exercise :  She gives a word that students don’t know. 

            1.     They repeat this word and they give the essential sound of this word : [N]

     2.  They give the final sound : [T]

1 and 2 : it’s the phonological awareness

  

              3. They write this word :

 3 : It’s the phonics

  

              4. They pronounce this word with different intonations

4:  It’s the Fluency

 

     5. They write a sentence with this word and give a definition of this word.

5:  Nobody arrived because they don’t know the word.

    She gives a definition / a synonym: To wink

    It’s comprehension. 

Now she gives a definition of this word and a synonym: To wink 

When the students know the meaning, they are able to give a sentence with this word and to finish with this exercise the students create a sentence. 

Vocabulary : What it is ?

Words that make up speech or text and their meanings. 

Distinctions : 

-          Oral vocabulary: words students understand by listening to and using them (listening when people speak, listening a conversation…)

-          Reading vocabulary: words students understand when reading them in text.

The students have more oral vocabulary than reading vocabulary, because they hear languages, and express themselves.

For example: When you go in a foreign country, you use more oral than written.

Vocabulary : what is it ?

-          Indirect : engagement in discussions and reading

-          Direct : explicit instruction of words by : 

- Teaching the use of content

- Including models, demonstrations, illustrations, graphic organizers and classroom discussions.

What is not vocabulary instruction ?

-          Expecting students to learn words through reading alone

-          Limiting students talk : When the teacher use BE QUIET, the exchange with students aren’t possible.

-          Confining instruction to reading/language arts

-          Limiting activities to :

-  Matching words with definition

-  Looking up definitions in the dictionary

-   Placing words on a word wall 

Children in high poverty homes speak 500 words monthly whereas in low poverty homes speak 1100 words by month. It’s a big difference because in rich countries have experiences, including vocabulary instruction…  The language at school is different that language at home. 

In reading, lots of students decode words but they don’t understand what they mean.

Supporting English Language Learners in Vocabulary Instruction: 

-          - Vocabulary support is provided throughout all content areas with direct instruction and scaffolding 

      -  Native language is used as a resource

-          - Pictures and visuals are used to help students connect words and meanings

To finish, she shows an exercise with a word “light”. “Light” is writing in several sentences. When the children are confronted with these sentences, the most important is to analyze the different contexts. The context is very important. 

What vocabulary skills do students need to develop ?

-          - Understand words and definitions

-          - Use words in speaking and writing

-          - Apply vocabulary knowledge while reading and listening to understand text.

-          - Use context to clarify or verify words

-          - Understand relationships between words (synonyms, antonyms…)

-           - Develop an initial understanding of affixes

I chose this video, because I think vocabulary is very important in native language and foreign language. Without vocabulary, you can’t express yourself and you can’t communicate. In this video, I think the puzzle is interesting, for example when I have learning English for the first time (in grade school), the teacher pronounced simples words (but when you don’t know the language…) and all children must repeated these words. Or she shown an object and we pronounced the word which corresponded. I think it’s a good activity, the children better memorize.

“Gain ownership” It’s important for children to have confidence in them when they learn a new language.

I think the vocabulary is a base of training. It’s more important to have lots of vocabulary. The most important objective of teachers is: to correct the children when they don’t use correctly a word. The teachers enrich the vocabulary of children thanks to activities, because it’s more fun to learn by the game.