of English Vocabulary

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Education Bureau Funded

Professional Development Programme on English Language Learning and Teaching

— Enhancing the Learning and Teaching of English Vocabulary

for Cross-curricular Learning

in the Secondary English Classroom

Nicole Tavares and Simon Chan

Faculty of Education, HKU

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Outline

What can we expect from this workshop?

• Reflections on (cross-curricular) vocabulary and the teaching and learning of it

• Connection between English Language and non-language subjects in the development of vocabulary-building

strategies

• Vocabulary building and development of reading and/or writing skills

• Demonstration on specific vocabulary-building strategies

• Recommendations on materials for vocabulary teaching

• … anything else?

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The power of

cross-curricular vocabulary

Vocabulary Challenges:

1. ‘thickened atmosphere’

= ‘thickening the atmosphere’?

= ‘increased air / atmospheric pressure’?

2. Does ‘warm’ collocate with ‘atmosphere’?

3. ‘lost four billion in market share’

= ‘lost four billion’?

4. What does the word ‘industry’ mean?

How does it relate to ‘companies’?

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Reflection on (cross-curricular) vocabulary

Discussion Task (5 mins.):

‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’

- Which of the above words would you regard as

‘vocabulary’? How do they affect the meaning of the whole expression? To what extent are they

‘cross-curricular’?

- What is your definition of ‘vocabulary’?

- Is there a vocabulary syllabus in your school’s

curriculum? If yes, to what extent are the above

words covered?

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Discussion Task (Cont’d):

‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’

- Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who said the above immortal words, once revealed that there was

miscommunication between him on the moon and the people on the earth, and that a word actually got missing from this famous quote! Do you know what word it is (find it out from the Internet if

not)? Is the meaning changed by adding it back?

To what extent is the above task contributing to our

students’ vocabulary learning? Any pedagogic implications?

Reflection on (cross-curricular) vocabulary

How about ‘on earth’

vs ‘on the earth’?

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From vocabulary to vocabulary teaching

To what extent do you agree with the following propositions ?

a) Vocabulary teaching is a major part of my English lessons.

b) Teaching vocabulary covers the spelling, pronunciation, and the dictionary meaning of words.

c) Vocabulary treatment in the English language and other content subjects is different.

d) Teaching vocabulary from content subjects would

enhance students’ general English proficiency.

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and reading comprehension

5-second Reading Challenge:

You will only be given 5 seconds to read the text below. Your task is to identify the topic and the genre of the text.

Place plain flour and salt in a bowl and mix together. Add in warm water and press the mixture. If the mixture is too dry then add in a little more water. Keep the salt dough in the bowl and add some white paint. Add the white paint twice to get the desired whiteness of the salt dough. Press well until the white paint is thoroughly mixed then place on a surface.

IMPORTANT - At this point WASH your equipment and hands. Roll out to around 1/2cm thick. Cut out your desired shapes. Place them on a lined baking tray. Set the oven to 100ºC. Put it into the oven for around 1 hour.

Turn over and check that the mixture is thoroughly dried if not return and continue drying. Leave to dry in a warm dry place for around 12 hours.

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and reading comprehension

5-second Reading Challenge:

You will only be given 5 seconds to read the text below. Your task is to identify the topic and the genre of the text.

Place plain flour and salt in a bowl and mix together. Add in warm water and press the mixture. If the mixture is too dry then add in a little more water. Keep the salt dough in the bowl and add some white paint. Add the white paint twice to get the desired whiteness of the salt dough. Press well until the white paint is thoroughly mixed then place on a surface.

IMPORTANT - At this point WASH your equipment and hands. Roll out to around 1/2cm thick. Cut out your desired shapes. Place them on a lined baking tray. Set the oven to 100ºC. Put it into the oven for around 1 hour.

Turn over and check that the mixture is thoroughly dried if not return and

continue drying. Leave to dry in a warm dry place for around 12 hours.

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

- What type of text is it?

- What is the topic?

- What did you spot that makes you think so?

Vocabulary is an important resource for reading

=> Cross-curricular vocabulary is an important resource for cross-curricular reading

=> Cross-curricular vocabulary can best be taught through cross-curricular reading

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

White Salt Christmas Ornaments

Place plain flour and salt in a bowl and mix together. Add in warm water and press the mixture. If the mixture is too dry

then add in a little more water. Keep the salt dough in the bowl and add some white paint. Add the white paint twice to get the desired whiteness of the salt dough. Press well until the white paint is thoroughly mixed then place on a surface. IMPORTANT – At this point WASH your equipment and hands. Roll out to around 1/2cm thick. Cut out your desired shapes. Place them on a lined baking tray. Set the oven to 100ºC.

Put it into the oven for around 1 hour. Turn over and check that the mixture is thoroughly dried if not return and continue

drying. Leave to dry in a warm dry place for around 12 hours.

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

White Salt Christmas Ornaments - How cross-curricular is this text?

- Which subject(s)/KLA(s) can we cross it over with?

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Cr oss-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

- Do you know who invented the art of salt dough making?

Ancient Egyptians is a topic in…?

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

Ancient Egyptians

is a topic in…?

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Cro ss-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

And there is potential

in

crossing it over

with…

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

A possible alternative cross-curricular

reading text:

Procedural text for making Egyptian

style salt dough scarab amulet

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The Genre Egg Model

(Adapted from Rose, D. (2010). Reading to learn: Teacher resource books, book 1, p. 8 . From http://www.readingtolearn.com.au/)

Curriculum Context

e.g. Science, Geography, Economics, English language arts

Text Type

e.g. Procedural texts, Information reports, Short stories

Paragraph / Sentence

Grammar & Rhetorical functions:

e.g., Compare & Contrast, Defining

Word

Lexical Phrases

Let’s focus on the text-type and word levels

this time.

In addition to History and VA,

are texts of the above type found in our English subject

as well?

What kinds of vocabulary are

expected in all

these texts?

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

White Salt Christmas Ornaments

Place plain flour and salt in a bowl and mix together. Add in warm water and press the

mixture. If the mixture is too dry then add in a little more water. Keep the salt dough in the bowl and add some white paint. Add the white paint twice to get the desired whiteness of the salt dough. Press well until the white paint is thoroughly mixed then place on a surface.

IMPORTANT – At this point WASH your equipment and hands. Roll out to around 1/2cm thick.

Cut out your desired shapes. Place them on a lined baking tray. Set the oven to 100ºC. Put it into the oven for around 1 hour. Turn over and check that the mixture is thoroughly dried if not return and continue drying. Leave to dry in a warm dry place for around 12 hours.

Vocabulary task suggestions:

- Circle all the words suggesting the exact actions to be taken to make salt ornaments. What would be the grammatical pattern in which these words are shown in the text?

- Which of the following words do NOT show actions we have to take to make the ornaments: place, add, press, dry?

- What are your comments on the time/sequence expressions used in the text?

- Why is the word ‘IMPORTANT’ in capital letters? What does it mean in the text?

Useful for cross-curricular writing as well!

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and cross-curricular reading

What further potential is there for using the above text in promoting cross-curricular vocabulary learning?

- Vocabulary in Technology and Living, Life and Society etc.

- Action verbs in Science experiment procedures (e.g. add, mix, place)

- Time adverbials in Mathematics word problems (e.g. gradually, twice)

… also the potential for teaching vocabulary in context and lexico-grammar (e.g. action verbs in imperative

structure)

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Cross-curricular vocabulary and reading comprehension

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Cross-curricular

vocabulary-building strategies:

Using graphic organisers for

meaningful vocabulary learning

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Graphic organiser 1: Mind maps

e.g.: Mind map for animal kingdom

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Graphic organiser 2: Concept maps

e.g.: Concept map for climate change

Especially useful for

cross-curricular

writing!

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Graphic organiser 3: Venn diagrams

e.g. Venn diagram for series circuits vs parallel circuits

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Graphic organiser 4: Frayer model

e.g. : Frayer model for reptiles

Word?

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Graphic organiser task :

What is the target term below?

Word?

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Try to remember these words:

water life rabbit line home

field ball dog apple sheep

head picture year sky hill

cloud horse chock-a-

block pen wind

pig cow foot door snow

flower cat

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How many of these words could you remember?

water life rabbit line home

field ball dog apple sheep

head picture year sky hill

cloud horse chock-a-

block pen wind

pig cow foot door snow

flower cat

What does this tell us?

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Now it’s time

for some hands-on practice!

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Be as creative as you can be

Study the 2018 HKDSE Reading B1 text.

What insights do you have for exploiting the text for cross-curricular vocabulary teaching, learning, enrichment and consolidation?

As a team, select ONE main area of teaching focus . Consider…

 what you will teach about the area, why and how,

 the linkage between this and (an)other subject(s) / KLA(s),

 how you could extend your teaching to promote cross- curricular vocabulary development,

 strategies for vocabulary building and consolidation, and

 briefly sketch a task / an activity for one of the ideas above.

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Teaching Points

 subject-specific vocabulary

 topical vocabulary

 parts of speech / word class // word formation

 collocation

 pronunciation & phonological cues

 synonyms (& antonyms)

 phrase level:

e.g. comparatives & superlatives, imperatives, …

 sentence patterns, e.g. conditionals

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The Language of Science

Draw a graphic organiser to show your understanding of the meaning conveyed in the text (and write a paragraph about it).

bee stings pollinating

stinging insects

colony

species sting sac

pump poison

allergic reaction

pharmacist stinger

tweezer

insect bites insect stings

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Word Class

v. n. adj. adv.

sting

sting stang stung sting stings stinger

stinging

itch ---

cause(d) itchiness

itch itching

itchy

allergy ---

cause(d) allergy

allergy allergies

allergic

react react(ed) to reaction reactive

swell swell(ed) swell

swelling

swollen

poison poison(ed) poison poisonous

inject inject(ed) sth. into injection pollen pollinate(d)

spread pollen

pollination pollinator

pollinating

sensitive sense(d) vs

cause(d) a sensation

sensation vs sensitivity

sensitive sensational

provoke provoke(d) provocation provoking

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Word Formation

v. n. adj. adv.

sting

stinging

itch ---

cause(d) itchiness

itch itching

itchy

allergy ---

cause(d) allergy

allergy allergies

allergic

swelling

swollen

spread pollen

pollinating

sensitive sense(d) vs

cause(d) a sensation

sensitive vs sensational

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Collocation

v. n. adj. adv.

sting

stinging

itch ---

cause(d) itchiness

itch itching

itchy

allergy ---

cause(d) allergy

allergy allergies

allergic

swelling

swollen

spread pollen

pollinating

sensitive sense(d) vs cause(d) a sensation

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Behaviour of Words

v. n. adj. adv.

sting

stinging

itch ---

cause(d) itchiness

itch itching

itchy

allergy ---

cause(d) allergy

allergy allergies

allergic

swelling

swollen

spread pollen

pollinating

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Pronunciation & Phonological Cues

v. n. adj. adv.

sting

stinging

itch ---

cause(d) itchiness

itch itching

itchy

allergy ---

cause(d) allergy

allergy allergies

allergic

swelling

swollen

spread pollen

pollinating

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Nominalisation

Maths: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, factorisation, simplification

Science: evaporation, condensation, crystallisation, vaporisation, polymerisation

PSHE: colonisation, trade liberalisation, localisation, polarization, … …

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CROSS-CURRICULAR COLLABORATION

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Word Class

adj. adv.

usually quickly promptly

immediate immediately

particularly

common commonly

likely

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Synonyms

Find a word in the text / in Paragraph __ which has the same meaning as… or Match the words that share the same meaning in the given context or

Read Paragraph __ and circle the word that best explains / conveys the meaning of ‘xxx’’.

relieve ease, reduce

cause result in

pump inject

promptly quickly

severe serious

venomous poisonous

humans people

sensation pain

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Comparatives & Superlatives

What do we notice about the structure when more / less is used?

less dangerous than

(much) more sensitive to… than

(much) less likely

not as sharp as

more than a minute / day

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Comparatives & Superlatives

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Comparatives & Superlatives

Collaboration between

a Maths and an English teacher

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Verb Phrases

Imperatives

To clean the wound, wash it with soap and then reduce swelling…

To relieve itching, apply anti-histamine cream… or take an oral anti-histamine tablet.

If the itching is severe, consult your pharmacist about…

Call an ambulance immediately if…

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Imperatives

Acknowledgement: Miss Cheung of Munsang College, Hong Kong

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Verb Phrases

by

It stings by injecting…

… reduce swelling by bathing… or by covering it…

result in

The effect is immediate and results in a sharp, burning, sensation.

Bee stings have the potential for an allergic reaction, resulting in anaphylactic shock, a serious medical condition that…

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Sentence Patterns

Conditional Sentences

If stung by a bee, the pain will be reduced significantly if the stinger is removed promptly.

If the itching is severe, consult your pharmacist about steroid creams.

Call an ambulance immediately if someone has a severe

reaction to an insect sting.

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Conditionals

How is rain formed?

1. When the sun heats up the water in oceans, rivers and on land, water evaporates to form water vapour.

2. The water vapour is carried upwards by warm air.

3. When the water vapour rises higher, it condenses into tiny water droplets because the surrounding air is cooler.

4. When the tiny water droplets gather, they form clouds.

5. When the water droplets in the clouds form large drops of water, they fall as rain.

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Comparatives, If & Imperatives

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Others

A Guide to Bee Stings

Bees are known for their role in producing honey and pollinating flowers to produce fruit.

While some insects sting as a form of defence, some bite to draw blood.

The most common insects that sting are wasps…

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Specific term Is / means/

refers to …

General noun (a class)

Defining relative clause

Ingestion is the process which takes food into the

alimentary canal through our mouth.

General noun (a class)

Verb phrase (adverbs)

Number Nouns

(referring to groups)

The food substances

are (normally) classified into

seven types.

Defining

Classifying

Name of the example

Verb phrase (adverbs)

Noun General noun (the group

that it belongs)

Vinegar is an example of food preservatives.

Exemplifying

Sentence-making Tables

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What must be taught?

Harmer (2015, p. 158)

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Recommendations on

EDB materials for vocabulary teaching

1. English Language Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide

https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum- development/kla/eng-

edu/Curriculum%20Document/ELE%20KLACG_2017.pdf

(e.g. vocabulary-building strategies on p. 21;

Example 2: Connecting Students’ Learning Experiences between English Language and Non-language Subjects through Promoting Language across the Curriculum at the Junior Secondary Level)

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Recommendations on

EDB materials for vocabulary teaching

2. Enhancing English Vocabulary Learning and Teaching at Secondary Level (2012)

https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/kla/eng-

edu/Enhancing%20English%20Vocabulary%20Learning%20and%20Teaching%20at

%20Secondary%20Level/Booklet.pdf

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Recommendations on

EDB materials for vocabulary teaching

3. Connecting Students' Learning Experiences

through Promoting Reading and Writing across the Curriculum in the Junior Secondary English

Classroom (2020)

https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/

kla/eng-edu/references-resources/RWaC/RWaC_JS.pdf

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Some Final Tips

on how to enhance collaboration between teachers of English and those of non-language subjects in facilitating students’ development

of vocabulary building skills / cross-curricular learning

 Lesson-focused

(e.g. Algebraic expressions, comparatives / quantifiers)

 Project-based (e.g. Statistics + Visual Arts + English)

 Cross-curricular collaboration

(e.g. Technology and Living + BAFS + Maths + English)

 Curriculum alignment

 Consultation on material selection

 Cross-curricular assessment

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Conclusion

• Connection between the English Language and non-language subjects in the development of vocabulary-building skills

• Importance of raising students’ awareness of

vocabulary-building strategies introduced in the English Language, which are transferrable and can be applied in decoding unfamiliar words across subjects and in their everyday life.

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