ê.ô.í., Èáðàãèìîâà Æ.À., Ðóñàêîâà Ì. Àëèàêáàðîâà
Ê.Í.
Þæíî-Êàçàõñòàíñêèé ãîñóäàðñòâåííûé ïåäàãîãè÷åñêèé
èíñòèòóò , Êàçàõñòàí
Bulding English vocabulary through
the wev
This article presents several strategies that use free digital tools and
Internet resources to engage students in vocabulary learning. The strategies
are designed to support the teaching of words and word learning strategies,
promote students’ strategic use of on-demand web-based vocabulary tools, and
increase students’ volume of reading and incidental word learning.
An eVoc strategy is an electronic or technology-based strategy that
teachers can use to develop students’ vocabulary learning and interest in words.
The term eVoc is used both to highlight that the strategies rely on
digital tools and resources and to suggest the evoking of learning potential
that is possible when technology and media are part of the instructional mix.
Even within our increasingly visual world, words remain our primary means
of communication. To understand a text, one must understand the words that
represent the ideas or concepts. Studies confirm the high correlation (0.6 to
0.8) between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension (Baumann, 2004).
There are degrees of word knowledge, from “I’ve never heard this word before,”
to “I know this word and can apply it in multiple contexts” (Lubliner &
Scott, 2008), as well as metacognitive knowledge about how to apply prior knowledge
and strategies to vocabulary learning [1].
Of particular concern to educators is the development of academic language.
Although students learn oral language that enables them to speak to one another
fairly easily, learning academic language is more complex because it involves
abstract literacy tasks and language not customarily used in oral speech.
Academic language is a second language, because all literate people must learn
it to enable them to access academic content.
Teaching words, morphology, and word origins is an important component in
any vocabulary learning program. It is also necessary to provide multiple
exposures to the word in different contexts and to teach word learning
strategies, such as using context clues, cognate information, and deciding when
a word is important to know and remember. Although teaching can make a real
difference in vocabulary learning, explicit teaching of vocabulary is not
enough; a dedicated teacher can teach perhaps 300-400 words per year [1].
Direct vocabulary instruction is essential, but students with well-developed
vocabulary learn many more words indirectly through reading than from
instruction. Directly teaching vocabulary and word learning strategies is an
important research-based principle that applies across the board, otherwise,
promoting a lively interest in words through student expression and
participation in a learning community that enjoys playing with words, builds on
individual interests as well as curriculum needs, and emphasizes self-efficacy
in word learning.
Despite the ubiquity of technology and media recommended to use to solve
the problem of English vocabulary building, in our opinion, there are 2 groups
of eVoc strategies, that when used flexibly in response to students’ varied
needs and interests can and should be part of the solution to the vocabulary
gap.
The first group of eVoc strategies focuses on explicit teaching of
vocabulary and helping students become independent word learners.
The second group of eVoc strategies highlights online tools that provide
just-in-time support while reading. Students can develop their strategic
learning repertoire as they customize their own collection of supports.
Among the eVoc strategies of the first group it is necessary to single out Wordle – word mapping tools that
support visual representation. By means of this technology tool students have
opportunity to learn from visual displays of word relationships within text.
Wordle is a free Web application that allows students to create a word cloud
based on the frequency of words in a particular text. It can be used to
stimulate students’ thinking about the meaning, importance, and relationship of
words as they analyze, create, and publish Wordles. To create a word cloud,
students paste text into the applet and then manipulate the visual display by
selecting the color scheme, layout, and font. Word clouds can be used to
highlight keywords and themes to prepare students for reading, as well as
prompt discussion after reading.
For some students, the creative design aspect serves as the hook to engage
them in meaning making; for others, it is the words themselves that entice them
to explore meanings and relationships. Although Wordles can be published to the
public gallery and printed, another option is to use a screen capture program
to save the Wordle as an image, creating a bank of images on your desktop or
school server. They can then be inserted into a document, PowerPoint, class
blog, or other text.
Among the eVoc strategies of the second group,
which develop strategic digital readers with
“on-demand” vocabulary help, free online vocabulary game - Free Rice - is of great interest. Free Rice has attracted millions of users, young and old. This strategy combines
vocabulary learning and social service.
Free Rice presents a word and four answer choices on the screen. For each
correct answer, the United Nations World Food Programme donates 10 grains of
rice to countries in need. The game adjusts its difficulty level based on the
response, filling a bowl with rice as the player adds to his or her score. As a
class activity, the teacher could project the website on screen and guide
students in playing the game for 5 minutes daily, discussing choices (e.g., “I
think it must be “x” because “y””) and strategies (e.g., “Any words we can
eliminate? Does the root word give us a clue we can use?”). Students can play
individually or with a partner, reporting back to class on their rice earnings
and sharing intriguing new words.
Reading widely and deeply is important for vocabulary development and
reading comprehension. One more excellent eVoc
strategy is expanding wide reading and
incidental word learning with digital texts.
Class libraries, read-alouds, book clubs, and independent reading time
during the education process can increase the amount and variety of student
reading. However, it is challenging to find the resources and time required to
provide up-to-date material, to be responsive to students' interests, and to
accommodate readers at different reading levels. Teachers can dramatically
expand text options for students by including reading on the Internet and other
digital texts. A high percentage of students already use the Internet for
homework; we can extend their learning and exploration of words in context as
they read and view varied text genres on the Internet, or read texts downloaded
onto a class computer, an e-book reading device, or a smartphone.
Many educational publishers and organizations provide free online content,
including articles and media about current events, some of which are generated
by students themselves. They are as follows:
Îøèáêà!
Íåäîïóñòèìûé îáúåêò ãèïåðññûëêè.
For example, a screen displaying a book that the class is reading, such as
Kate DiCamillo’s The Tale of Despereaux, links to several screens, one
featuring her website and online interviews, another to a site with video clips
from The Tale of Despereaux movie, and still another highlighting other fantasy
books and comics. The splash screens can be printed out to build a wall mural
that students expand as they continue reading.
To recapitulate it all it is essential to add that eVoc strategies use
technology to support the wide reading, direct instruction, active learning,
and interest in words that are essential to vocabulary development. In a
digital world, knowing how to use the tools and resources available online is
part of becoming a strategic learner and a technical competent teacher.
Referens:
1.Dalton, B. and Grisham, D. L. (2011), eVoc Strategies: 10 Ways to Use
Technology to Build Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 64: 306–317. doi:
10.1598/RT.64.5.1