Acquiring vocabulary is a
relevant aspect of language learning. Learning vocabulary can be incidental or
intentional. There are specific websites or tools for teaching vocabulary
must be accurately chosen while planning a lesson. It depends on your aims,
goals, and outcomes, what do we expect of our students or which specific skills
or habits do I expect of my students to develop? Explore, inquire or just
acquire research skills? All these variables should be worked on first.
Besides, technology is supposed to be integrated into the teaching/learning
process smoothly.
As for the way I teach
vocabulary, I depend on the idea of exposure so I assign a lot of readings as I
believe that exposure and repeated exposure not only support students and
prepare them for summative assessment but also enhance students guessing
skills, and makes vocabulary stick in their minds. I send students links to
articles from Wikipedia, WikiHOW, and English Test Store, a website that includes
a lot of vocabulary exercises and hundreds of comprehension exercises.
Lots of resources and apps
might be listed here but I really advocate for the teaching/learning purpose or
goal. I guess our choice in technology should be principled as well or we are
to combine incidental and intentional teaching aspects. I consider using
learning apps or websites as a great motivator for 21st-century students.
Technology must be used wisely and not as a teacher’ substitute or replacement
but as a learning tool which expands and develops our competencies.
Lingro.com
Lingro.com
is a website that give meaning to words just by clinking on the words. You only
have to connect the article to the website by pasting the link. Explore
Lingro.com and use it twice or trice to make students familiar with the use of
the website. I teach my students to connect the articles I send the link to
with Lingro. This like the site as it provides different possible meaning for the same
word.
Vocabulary
Logs via keep notes on google application
I
let students choose the book they like to read themselves and they need to send
the vocabulary log weekly. They share the note (vocabulary log) with me via the
share option
Voice of America
In
VOA, the vocabulary is related to current events. For example, I browsed
the website yesterday and I found audios with vocabulary for events that took
place yesterday an aspect that students will definitely like. Another aspect is
the idea of the integration of the skills and this is really effective as they
will listen to and see vocabulary in a context which will be really helpful as
it will increase students’ vocabulary range and make them use the new
vocabulary range. In addition, there are related news for those who want to
listen to more material related to the topic.
There is the
News Words at VOA which is an interesting way of teaching vocabulary in
context.
Corpus
of Contemporary America English
COCA
Corpus is also a rich and great resource for
words and how every word can be used in different context. I believe it is an
important aspect of vocabulary learning for teachers and students as well. Both
parties should be aware that every word can have a different meaning depending
on the context where it has been used. Too, collocation are another challenging
aspect of the teaching of vocabulary. Not all languages have the same
collocations.
Google
search
Use
google search for word definitions and recommend i++ t for your students. It is
handy and easy to use.
Oxford online
dictionary https://www.oed.com/
Oxford
online dictionary is a source of vocabulary I refer as an authentic and
explanatory resource. It is easy to use but students have to be oriented on
using it.
The
Internet includes a substantial compilation of information and vocabulary
teaching materials and tools, which raises the issue of quality and
appropriateness and calls for the use of adequate and appropriate
methodologies. Teachers should always adapt the use of these tools to meet the
objectives of their teaching as well as the needs and expectations of their
learners. Technology is not here to substitute teachers. It should be used as
an effective teaching tool. The use of technology without appropriate planning
does not bring much to the language classroom. “The key to successful use of
technology in language teaching lies not in hardware or software, but in
‘humanware’” (Warschauer & Meskill, 2000: 316). The way teachers use
technology is what makes a difference in the language classroom.
Finally,
Lingro.com, vocabulary logs, Voice of America, and Corpus of Contemporary
American, Google Search, and Oxford online dictionary, can broaden
vocabulary-learning opportunities in the language classroom and improve
students’ learning experience. I am sure they can allow teachers to optimize
class time, ensure an active participation of students and enable them to take
charge of their own learning.
