TEMA 11. CAMPOS LXICOS Y SEMNTICOS EN LENGUA INGLESA.

LXICO
NECESARIO PARA LA SOCIALIZACIN, LA INFORMACIN Y LA EXPRESIN
DE ACTITUDES. TIPOLOGA DE ACTIVIDADES LIGADAS A LA ENSEANZA Y
EL APRENDIZAJE DEL LXICO EN LA CLASE DE LENGUA EXTRANJERA.
In this unit we will study how we can order vocabulary (lexical fields) and
how vocabulary is organised (semantic features), then we will see some vocabulary
needed to express some common communicative functions (socialization,
information and attitude expression and finally techniques used in learning and
teaching vocabulary.
Without vocabulary, structures and function havent got any sense. We can
see the importance of vocabulary when we dont find the words we need to
express something. However,
many teachers spend more time in teaching
grammar than in teaching vocabulary.
Firstly, I am going to start talking about the semantic structure. There are
several ways of oraganizing lexemes. We can try to group them into fields of
meaning, or studying the types of paradigmatic relationships existing between
them, or analyzing lexical items into a series of semantic features or components.
Talking about semantic or lexical fields we can say that lexemes can be
organised into a system, in which these lexemes interrelate, and define each other
in specific ways, For example, the various lexemes for parts of the body (head,
neck, shoulders, etc.) It has been argued that the whole of a languages
vocabulary is structured into fields; but there is in fact a great deal of variations as
we move from one part of the language to another. There would be little difficulty
gathering together all the English lexemes for body parts, for example; but it
would be very difficult to do the same job for noise or sociology.
There have been many philosophical and linguistic attempts to classify the
concepts or words in a language. In recent times, the most influential and popular
work has been the Thesaurus of Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), fir published by
Longman in 1852. Roget divided the vocabulary into six main areas: abstract
relations, space, matter, intellect, volition and affections. Each area was given a
detailed and exhaustive subclassification, producing 1.000 Semitic categories in
all. The first three classes cover the external world. Abstract relations deals with
such ideas as number, order and time; Space is concerned with movements,
shapes, and sizes. Matter covers the physical world and humankinds perception of
it by means of the five senses. The last three classes deal with the internal world of
human beings. Intellect studies the human mind. Volition deals with the human
will. Affections, whose original tittle is emotion, religion and morality, deals with
the human heart and soul. There is a progression from abstract concepts through
the material universe, to mankind itself, culminating in what Roget saw as
humanitys highest achievements: morality and religion.
Oral: One path through the thesaurus is the following:
affections
general terms personal sympathetic moral religious
obligation

sentiments

conditions

practice institutions

temperance intemperance sensualism aceticism

Thesauri of this kind have now been produced for several languages, and
prove to be a useful adjunct to many practical linguistic activities, such as
professional writing, translating, and setting or solving crosswords. For the

semanticist, however, their value is limited, as they contain no information about

the sense relationships between individual lexemes, and items that come from
different regional, social, or professional varieties are juxtaposed without comment.
To study the structure of a semantic field, more precise means of plotting the sense
relations between lexemes need to be used.
In this point we have to talk about sense relationships too. The organization
of the lexemes of a language is based on our intuitions that groups of lexemes are
related in sense. The relationships between lexemes can be analyzed under two
main headings:
1. Syntagmatic relationships that refer to the tendency of lexemes to work
together or collocate in predictable ways, for example we know what items are
commonly associated with kitchen, for instance.
2. Paradigmatic relationships that refer to the way in which lexemes can
substitute for each other. Several types of paradigmatic relationships have been
recognized. These include:
a) synonymy that is the relationships of sameness of meaning, for
instance, kingly, royal, regal. And the search for synonyms is a traditional
pedagogical exercise
b) Hyponymy that refers to the notion of inclusion, whereby we can say that
something is a kind of something else, for example, an orange, or an apple are
fruits. apple or orange are hyponyms.
c) Antonymy that is the relationship of oppositeness. where there are a
variety of different forms of oppositeness, such as: complementary (they cannot be
graded (single/married), converseness (two-way contrasts that are interdependent)
(husband/wife), gradability ( permit the expression of degrees)(big /small).
d) Incompatibility that refers to groups of lexemes that are mutually
exclusive members of the same superordinate category. For example red and green
are incompatible lexemes within the category colour.
For language learners, there is a further type of sense relation but most
learners find this useful to make a conscious effort to link words between a foreign
language and their own.
The second main point of the theme refers to the necessary lexicon for
socialization,
information
and
expressing
attitudes.
In
verbal
communication, six main categories within the functions of language can be
distinguished:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Communicating and searching for information based on facts.

Expressing and finding out emotional attitudes.
Expressing and finding out moral attitudes.
Expressing and finding out intellectual attitudes.
Telling someone to do something (persuasion).
Socializing.

Each one of these categories, and each one of the functions, can be carried
out separately in speech acts. Often, however, two or more functions will combine
in the same speech act. Moreover, a person can search for information and at the
same time express surprise (emotional attitude).
This list of functions is not exhaustive. First of all, it is difficult to make a
complete list. Secondly, the list represents a list contemplated for the threshold
level (nivel umbral). More functions can be added at higher levels.

We will then examine the structures and lexicon needed for social relations
and to give and receive information, as well as how emotional and intellectual
attitudes are expressed.
1. Socialization vocabulary.
Understanding and controlling interactions in discourse are important for a
child because they enable him to enter communicative spaces, to understand
acceptable presentation procedures, to understand the rights of others in
communication, to interpret the message of a public advertisement, to use the
telephone properly, or to be able to ask for information at public entities, etc. Now
we will see the structures and lexicon necessary for social relations.
a) Starting and ending a conversation:
* Greetings:
responses:
Hello! /Hi
hello hi
How are you?
I am fine, thanks.
How are you doing/getting on? I am very well, thanks
I am not too bad,
thanks.
Good morning
Good morning.
* Farewell:
Good bye, good night
the same
Bye, cheers, see you later, so long, cheerio.
Nice to have met you
Yes, I hope we meet again.
Its been nice knowing you.
Give my regards to your wife
Yes I will.
Remember me to your parents.
Say hello to Jim.
Take care.
* Introductions:
Hello I am Jim.
Hello, Jim./ Nice to meet you.
How do you do? My name is James How do you do, James?
b) Complimenting and congratulating:
* complimenting:
responses
What a marvellous meal!
Im glad you liked it.
That was one of the best book Ive ever read Its nice of you to say
so.
* congratulating:
responses
Well done!
thanks a lot.
May we congratulate you on... Its very kind of you.
C) Offering and thanking:
* offering:
Would you like another helping? Yes, please, No, thank you.
* thanking:
thanks a lot.
Youre welcome/ Not at all.

no

d) Apologising and regretting:

*Apologising:Oh , forgive me, Im terribly sorry.- Thats quite all right,
harm done.
I do apologize- It doesnt matter.
Sorry about that- Dont worry.
* regretting:
I regret that
e) Expressing condolences:
Please accept my deepest sympathy on the death of your mother.

f) Expressing good wishes, seasonal greetings and toast:

* Good wishes:
Good luck! Best wishes for..! Have a good time...! Enjoy yourself!
* Seasonal greetings:
Merry Christmas! Happy birthday!
* Toasts:
Good health! Cheers! bottoms up!
g) speaking on the phone:
* receiving the call: Hello,456788
* Making a call: Can I speak to Jim, please?
We have already listed some simple acts of communication whereby people
establish and maintain social relations with one another. Now we are going to
study the expression of information.
Probably one of the most important reasons we use language for is to give
someone some piece of information which we think they do not know. Questions
and statements are the structures we typically use to convey or ask for
information. They do not need, however, the use of a specific vocabulary, with the
exception, perhaps of interrogative pronouns. Where we do need to teach our
pupils specific vocabulary is when we consider peoples reactions to information,
for instance opinion, agreement, interruption and so on.
a) Opinion:
* asking for an opinion: What do you think about/ What are your
feelings about , What your attitude is to..
* giving an opinion: in my opinion, as I see it, My own view of the
matter
is that...
* asking without giving your opinion: I dont know what to think
about, I
have no particular views on, I have no strong feelings about...

So
is

b) Expressing agreement and disagreement:

* Agreement: I agree, I couldnt agree more, Thats just what I think,
do I . I share your opinion.
* Disagreement: I cant agree with you, I disagree, I dont think that
true, it is awful.
* Partial agreement: its true that..., but/ If I accept this you must
accept..
c) Interrupting: Excuse me, sorry, just a moment.
d) corroboration: I agree, and what is more,/ Yes, in fact,

d) Clarification:
* Clarifying: , I mean.../..., in other words...
* asking for clarification: sorry?, Pardon?, Could you repeat that?,
What
do you mean by..?
The last thing we will see in this point is the vocabulary needed to express
attitudes, where we have to distinguish in the next functions:
a) Volition:
* willingness: I am ready to paint your home/I will do anything for you
* wish: I wish you every happiness in your wedding dayWould you
like?
*Intention: I intent to see you tomorrow/ I am going to see her
tomorrow.
* Insistence: I insist on overcome the issue.

up

b) Liking and disliking:

*Likes: I like, I love, I enjoy, I am fond of, I am keen on
* Diskikes: I dont like, I dislike, I hate, I detest , I cant stand, I am fed
with
* Indifference: I dont mind
* Preference: I prefer reading
c) Hope: I hope she arrives on time.
d) Anticipation of pleasure: I am looking forward to hearing from you,
e) Regret: I wish I were tall, I am sorry to hear that,
f) Approval and disapproval:
* approval: you are quite right to, I am in favour of,
* disapproval: I must object to, I am opposed,
g) Surprise: Its rather surprising that, what a surprise
h) Concern: I am worried that, Its disturbing that...
i) Emotive emphasis:
* Interjections: Whoops, mm, gosh, whoah
* Exclamations: What a man!, How extraordinary!
*repetition: He is very very silly.
* Emphasizers: Shes an absolute beginner.

As we can see there are many lexical items that our pupils must be able to
use in order to acquire a basic communicative competence.
To finish we will see the third main point in the theme, the techniques
used in learning and teaching vocabulary.
Now we will point out the most common techniques to introduce the new
vocabulary. The first thing we will see is how we must introduce the new
vocabulary.
The first step is introducing the new vocabulary, the main thing here is the
meaning. To explain the meaning there are several techniques and these are:
a) Visual techniques: We can use flashcards, photographs, blackboard
drawings, wall charts and realia that we can carry to our class easily. A picture has
a great importance because a pupil can remember more easily a word when we
have showed him/her the picture than we have only translated the word. (TARJETAS
MEGIAS)
b) Verbal techniques: We can give a definition in simple English with words
that they know. We may also use synonyms. We may also use any of the types of
antonyms we have described.
c) The use of records with sounds that they can associate with the object
before they listen to the word in English for instance the transports like a car, train,
motorbike, etc.
d) The use of mime, action and gesture: With gestures the teacher can
explain a lot of words, action verbs such as drink, eat, walk as well as adjectives
like happy, sad or deictic words such as from, to there...
e) Translation: when other techniques are not useful to explain any difficult
word, the teacher can use the translation into the mother tongue. However,

translation cannot be the main technique if we dont want our pupils to continue to
use Spanish as a framework on which to attach English items.
The second step in teaching vocabulary is that our pupils remember them,
and if we want our pupils to remember the vocabulary we will have to practice it
and there are three main ways of practising it:
a) Revision through denotation: These activities are based on showing our
pupils the real object or action, or a picture:
1. Labelling: our pupils are given a picture and have to write the names of
the objects in the picture.
2. I spy: a pupil think in an object that the rest of the class can see and
he/she gives a clue that is the first vowel. The rest of the class try to guess the
word. The phrase they use is: I spy with my little eye something beginning with B.
Is it a book?
3. spot the difference: our pupils are put into pairs. Each member has a
slightly different picture. Without showing it to one another they have to discover
the differences.
4. Describe and draw: This activity is similar to the last one, one member of
the pair has a drawing and the other one a blank piece of paper. The pupil with the
picture must tell his partner what to draw.
5. Picture dominoes and picture rummy: this games are based on the
associations our pupils may establish between the objects appearing in cards. In
dominoes they do it with pairs of cards, while in rummy they do it with threes,
fours.
6.Kims game: we show our pupils a picture or a tray with object on it, or
series of different flash cards or magazine pictures. They have two minutes to
memorize as man as they can, and afterwards they will have to say or write what
they saw. And we can transform this game into Chinese whispers if only one child
sees the tray and then whispers the objects into his partners ear. The process goes
on and we see the similarities and differences between the initial and the final list.
7. I spy: A pupil thinks about an object that the rest of the class can see and
he or she says: I spy with my little eye something beginning with... and the first
letter of the object and the rest of the class try to guess it.
b) Revision through word families: In this activities we revise vocabulary in
relation to other words in the same lexical field. Some examples of these activities
are the following:
1. Word thermometers: these are useful for indicating degree. For example
place these words in the correct place on the thermometer: always, sometimes,
usually, never, rarely. (dibujar un termometro).
2. Series: this game uses lexical fields. Our pupils must write as many words
as they know in one field. We can use these words in Word Bingo. Our pupil write
ten words relating to one lexical field. We call out words connected with this lexical
field. The firs pupil who crosses out all the words on his page is the winner.
3. Spiders: we draw a spider in the blackboard with a topic or a word and
they have to write in the legs all the words they can think of connected with this
word.
4. Odd man out: the teacher says four or five words but one of them isnt
related to the rest and they have to guess it.
5. Categories: we use jumbled words which must be categorised into lexical
fields.
c) Revision through explanations: In these activities where paraphrase the
words we are revising. Some examples are the following:
1. Crosswords: These can be divided round topic ideas.

2. Coffee-pot: is a word which is used instead of a particular verb a pupil

has thought of. The rest of the class must find out this verb by means of questions
such as: When do you coffee pot?
3.Vocabulary quizzes: In groups they prepare questions that elicit the
correct answer. Then, they ask them in turns.
Now we are going to see to finish the learner-centred techniques. Recent
developments have emphasised the importance of equipping our pupils with the
necessary strategies for dealing with skills activities. In learning vocabulary his
involves:
1. Asking others, in English, if possible, can foster co-operative learning and
it also makes our pupils to offer the best context to elicit the word they want This is
a skill we have in our mother tongue, and we use it very frequently when we do not
know a lexical field.
2. Using a dictionary is one of the most important skills we must teach our
pupils. Teaching students how to use a dictionary should include the following
aspects: The students must know how a dictionary is organized regarding ideas,
etymology, synonyms, etc., They must be familiar with the symbols and
abbreviations used in the dictionary.. A skill that the teacher should practice with
his students is understanding the dictionary definitions of words. The learners must
acquire a critical ability that will enable them to discern the advantages of using a
certain type of dictionary as opposed to another in specific situations. Finally, the
student must develop the ability to choose the correct use of word based on a
specific concept. At initial levels it is better to use pictorial dictionaries.
3. Another skill we can teach our pupils is to deduce meaning out of context.
This is a predictive skill that they must use both in listening and in reading.
Oral: For evaluating vocabulary we have many examples of activities:
1. Cloze test: the pupil must write the words that there arent write in the
text because they are necessary.
2. Matching antonyms.
3. Matching words with their definition.
Bibliography
Alburquerque. R et al. En el aula de Ingles. Longman. London, 1990
Gairns R& Redman S Working with words. CUP. 1986.
Wallance M Teaching Vocabulary Heinemann 1982
Propuesta de Secuencia. Lenguas Extranjersa. Mec. Escuela Espaola. Madrid.
1992.
Picture dictionaries.
Abbs B Picture Workbook Longman 1986
Oxford Childrens Picture Dictionary OUP. 1981