Vocabulary and Conceptual Knowledge: Aspects of Building Vocabulary
Vocabulary and Conceptual Knowledge: Aspects of Building Vocabulary
Vocabulary and Conceptual Knowledge: Aspects of Building Vocabulary
Knowledge
Aspects of building vocabulary
Interesting Vocabulary Facts
A few thousand words account for 90 percent of the spoken
vocabulary anyone uses or hears on a regular basis!
A highly educated adult has a listening/speaking vocabulary of
about 10,000 words but likely knows nearly 100,000 words in
reading and writing
It has been found that by the age of three, children from lower
income families know 600 fewer words than children of the
same age from families with higher incomes
In order for children to become proficient readers, they need
to learn five to six new words per day, 38 words per week,
2000 new words a year, and 10,000 by the age of 6!
3 Tiers of Vocabulary
Beck, McKeown, & Kucan (2002) have proposed
three tiers of vocabulary that need to the explicitly
taught to children.
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3
Description Basic words most Words that appear Uncommon words
children know frequently in texts that are typically
before they enter and for which associated with a
school children already specific domain
have some
conceptual
understanding
Example Yes, no, happy, chair, Lonely, Fortunate Revolution,
head Peninsula, Myopia
Plan for teaching vocabulary
Teaching Providing varied Fostering an Teaching word
Individual Words language awareness of learning strategies
experience words
-Synonyms e.g. -Create situations -Multiple meaning of -Context
burglar, robber, thief that demand same word
-Antonyms e.g. students to learn Ex: Nail, Orange -Definitions
black/white, fat/thin, new vocabulary
small/tall -Interrelatedness -Repetitive learning
-Classification e.g. -Ask children to Ex: Stallion, rooster,
colours, countries review and discuss bull -Games
-Which Words? (Tier topics of their choice
1,2,3, words)
-Prefixes e.g. un, dis, -Semantic Gradient
post, pre and Mapping
-Suffixes e.g. es, s, Ex: Pick-Pocket,
tion, ies, ed Thief, Robber,
-Root words e.g. love Pilferer, Gangster
- lovely,
form -reform
How to improve vocabulary
Reading
Listening
Speaking
How to guess word meanings?
Root words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Identifying parts of speech
Context
Techniques to remember vocabulary
Law of visualization
Remembering the word by relating it to a visual image
WORD : ADROIT – skillful
Think of a Robot – An Android – Robots are very skillful
Law of association
Remembering the word by associating it with a known word
WORD : SARDONIC – sarcastic
Mnemonics
Remembering a word by making funny associations
WORD: EXTIRPATE – Eradicate
My friend is trying to extirpate his extra pate (belly in Hindi)
Exercise – Choose Synonyms
ENTICE
a. FLEE b. ENTER c. TRAP d. TEMPT
BASIS
a. FOUNDATION b. WORDS c. EXPLANATION d. CORRELATE
EXHAUST
a. REFRESH b. ANIMATE c. SAP d. REFURBISH
TRANQUIL
a. SERENE b. TURBUENT c. ACTIVE d. STRICT
VULNERABLE
a. RESPECTABLE b. WEAK c. DECAYED d. IMMATURE
BIFURCATE
a. BREAK b. SPLIT c. BRIDGE d. PASS
PREAMBLE
a. RULE b. LAWS c. RIGHTS d. INTRODUCTION
Exercise – Choose Synonyms
FLABBERGASTED
a. SERIOUS b. CLEAR c. SURPRISED d. HAPPY
FEROCIOUS
a.VIOLENT b. TIMID c. FAST d. UNBEARABLE
LACE
a. PAPER b. CLOTH c. WOOD d. PERSON
APPETITE
a. HUNGER b. REVULSION c. ANTIPATHY d. FASTING
HISTORIC
a. INSIGNIFICANT b. NOTABLE c. UNREMARKABLE d. DULL
FICKLE
a. IMPROVE b. CONSTANT c. UNSTABLE d. HURTFUL
PAUCITY
a. AFFLUENCE b. SUPPERFLUITY c. PLETHORA d. SCARCITY
Exercise – Choose Synonyms
1. The highlight of the movie was that it could evoke pathos even with a simple
message.
a. POIGNANCY b. DISCUSSION c. MIRTH d. LAUGHTER
2. Whatever be our other problems, we have no shortcoming to cheap labour in
India.
a. DEFAULT b. DEFECIT c. SCARCITY d. NO IMPROVEMENT
NEEDED
3. True religion does not require one to proselytise through guile or force.
a. TRANSLATE b. HYPNOTISE c. ATTACK d.
CONVERT
4. She corroborated the statement of her brother.
a. CONFIRMED b. DISPORVED c. CONDEMNED d.
SECONDED
5. The great dancer impressed the appreciative crowd by her nimble movements.
a. UNRHYTHMIC b. LIVELY c. QUICK d. CLEAR
Exercise – Choose Synonyms
6. His style is quite transparent.
a.VERBOSE b. INVOLVED c. LUCID d. WITTY
8. We didn't believe in his statement, but subsequent events proved that he was right.
a. LATER b. MANY c. FEW d. EARLIER
9. The angry villagers have lynched two suspected child-lifters already.
a. BEATEN-UP b. CAPTURED c. KILLED d. MUTILATED
10. He has a propensity for getting into debt.
a. TENDENCY b. APTITUDE c. CHARACTERISITC d. QUALITY
Exercise – Choose Antonyms
PERTINENT (OPPOSITE)
a. IRRATIONAL b. IRRELEVANT c. INSISTENT d. IRREGULAR
HAMPER (OPPOSITE)
a. HINDER b. IMPEDE c. BOLSTER d. GIFT
GRATIFY (OPPOSITE)
a. OBLIGE b. HUMOR c. INDULGE d. UPSET
SLOTHFUL (OPPOSITE)
a. LAZY b. ANIMAL c. SUMMIT d. INDUSTRIOUS
AUDACIOUS (OPPOSITE)
a. SAD b. COWARDLY c. GLOOMY d. DIM
Exercise – Choose Antonyms
INVINCIBLE (OPPOSITE)
a.VOLUBLE b.VISIBLE c.VICTOROUS d. VULNERABLE
GHOULISH (OPPOSITE)
a. GRUESOME b. GENTLE c. GHASTLY d. GARRULOUS
ACCENTUATE (OPPOSITE)
a. EXAGGERATE b. INCREASE c. SUPPRESS d. LOW
TIMOROUS (OPPOSITE)
a. MEEK b. BRAVE c. FAULTY d. HESITANT
EMPATHY (OPPOSITE)
a. CARE b. DISCONTENT c. SYMPATHY d. INDIFFERENCE
Exercise – Choose Antonyms
The altercation between two families attracted the attention of neighbours.
a. ANIMOSITY b. INCOMPATIBILITY c. CONCORD d. FLEXIBILITY