Running head: TEACHING ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

Roxana Shirazi
American College of Education

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

At the beginning of every unit in the seventh-grade English textbook, are a list of new
vocabulary. As a routine, I introduce the class to the theme of the vocabulary and ask questions
to elicit any stored knowledge students have. This is an important step as it boosts students
confidence and engages them in the lesson. I pronounce each word individually while the class
repeats after me. Afterwards. students look up the Turkish definition of each word. Then, a
passage is presented to them which contains the new vocabulary. We analyze the title and skim
the passage to discuss what we think the reading is about. The passage is read aloud to the
students either by the textbook CD, myself, or a fellow student. At the end, students complete
reading comprehension and grammar exercises and we check them as a class. This routine
worked well for me and my students up until last week.
Last week, the theme of the new vocabulary was archaeology. We learned new words
such as remains, civilizations, and digs. I started by asking the students why learning about the
past was important. Silence. Has anyone been to a museum and seen ancient artefacts? Silence.
Who wants to study archeology in college? Silence. Does Turkey have any ancient civilizations?
Silence. Does anyone likes dinosaurs? Silence. Has anyone watched the movie Jurassic Park?
Silence. They were unequivocally uninterested in learning about archaeology. Only a handful of
students completed the translation exercise I assigned while everyone else just rolled their eyes.
Everyone struggled with the reading comprehension exercise and I had more instances of
misbehavior during that class than I normally do. I went to the department head and requested a
field trip to a museum and she denied my request. I grew worried my students would not retain
the new vocabulary they were taught. My suspicions were confirmed as their quiz grades, which
centered on using the new vocabulary in a grammatically correct manner, were abysmal. I knew I
had to reformulate how I perceive vocabulary acquisition, restructure my approach to teaching
vocabulary, and reinvent vocabulary-centered practices.

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

This week, I will move the word wall from the right wall of the classroom to the
immediate back wall. As soon as students walk in, a colorful wall full of words in English, with
their Turkish translation, will be what draws their focus. I will also assign students words to
illustrate. The fact that students cognitively engage with the words trumps my fear that they will
look back at the wall and cheat during an exam. etin and Flamand (2013) reinforce the efficacy
of visuals on classroom walls by observing: [t]he presence of posters in the classroom seemed
to exert a considerable effect on indirectly enhancing students L2 vocabulary knowledge (p.
57). Their study focused on Turkish students and, moreover, recommended changing the position
of posters when a new theme is introduced. Indeed, visuals facilitate self-directed learning and
both incidental and intentional learning.
Thinking further on the matter, I will assign a project to students so that new vocabulary
is used in meaningful practice. In other words, L2 vocabulary will have real-life applications and
impart a deeper connection in students minds allowing for better cognitive retrieval. The project
will be about Turkish food, a subject students have an interest, and background knowledge in,
with new cooking-related vocabulary. Students will learn new vocabulary that I have selected
from the website: http://www.vocabulary.cl/Lists/Cooking-Instructions.htm. The words are listed
and are accompanied by images below:
add: To put ingredients together; to put one ingredient with the others.
bake: To cook in an oven by using heat.
barbecue: To cook foods (primarily meat) on a grill by using fire or hot coals.
beat: To mix quickly and continually, commonly used with eggs.
boil: To heat water until little bubbles form.
break: To separate into smaller parts by force.
broil: To cook meat or vegetables on a rack with an extremely high temperature.
carve: To cut meat into slices.
chop: To cut into small pieces, generally used with vegetables.
combine: To put two or more things together.
cook: To prepare food by heating it, so the food is not raw.
crush: To cause to separate or flatten by extreme force, often used with garlic.
cut: To separate or divide by using a knife.
fry: To cook by putting the food into extremely hot oil.

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

grate: To divide into small parts by rubbing on a serrated surface, usually used with cheese.
grease: To coat with oil or butter.
grill: To cook by putting the food on a grill; similar to barbecue.
knead: To press and stretch dough, usually used with making bread.
mix: To combine two or more things using a spoon, spatula, or electric mixer.
measure: To obtain an exact quantity.
melt: to make something become liquid through heating.
microwave: To heat up food within a microwave oven.
mince: to grind food, normally meat, into small pieces. A machine is often used to do this.
open: To remove the top from a can or jar.
peel: To take the skin off of fruits or vegetables.
pour: To transfer liquid from one container to another.
put: To place something in a particular position or location.
slice: To cut into thin, wide portions.
steam: To cook by placing the food above boiling water. Steam is the vapor that comes from hot
water
stir: To mix liquid ingredients by moving a spoon around in a circular motion
stir fry: To cook small pieces of food by moving it quickly in hot oil
wash: To immerse food in water and make sure it becomes clean
The above vocabulary is meant to be a springboard for more vocabulary; I intend to have
students add more vocabulary, especially nouns. Of course, these words will be added to the
word wall and, as mentioned prior, will have illustrations students make alongside the Turkish
translation. In addition to the word wall, there will be videos on cooking, grammar exercises, and
a visit to the school kitchen the cooking club uses.
All of the above will culminate into a final project. Each student will pick one Turkish
dish and present a visual project accompanied by an oral presentation. In order to practice
grammar and past, present, and future verb tenses they will be required to answer the following
during their presentation:
1. How did your grandmother make it?
2. How does your mom make it?
3. How will you and your robot make it?
Below is the rubric I will use to grade projects out of twenty-five points:
Criteria
Pictures: does
the project
have pictures

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

that aid in
understanding
?
Grammar:
does the
project use
correct verb
tenses and
word order?
Vocabulary:
does the
project use
target
vocabulary
correctly?
Pronunciation:
is the
speakers
speech
intelligible?
Organization:
were the
cooking
instructions
easy to
follow?
As stated by Demir (2013) an ideal vocabulary course should include the use of
multimedia and strategies addressing senses, guessing from context, repeated exposure,
modeling of pronunciation, oral repetition, having students form sentences with target
vocabulary, and even copying of the definition when needed (p. 1182). A word wall, videos,
reading comprehension exercises, listening and speaking activities, visiting a kitchen, and a final

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

project, all revolving around cooking vocabulary, are a concerted effort to expand L2 learning.
Drills and rote memorization may succeed in short-term retention but is ultimately a practice in
futility. We must reintroduce our students to the central role vocabulary plays in language
acquisition and intelligible communication. This can be done by reshaping the linguistic
landscape and presenting learning opportunities that mirror students real-life experiences.

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

Lesson Outline
Day 1
Introduction to new vocabulary, elicit background knowledge, pronunciation drills.
Day 2

Translation of new vocabulary into Turkish. Copy words in notebook alongside

student-drawn illustrations while listening to music. Pronunciation drills.

Day 3

Watch video illustrating cooking methods and vocabulary. Students write their own
sentences using new vocabulary and contribute new vocabulary.

Day 4

Read text and accompanying reading comprehension exercises relating to new

vocabulary. Pronunciation drills. Introduce project.

Day 5

Games using vocabulary. Divide class into groups and play hangman. Game of
fastest response with grammar; students will run to the board and write the correct
form of the verb. Winning team will receive a special prize.

Day 6

Visit the cooking clubs kitchen. Allow students hands-on experience relating to
cooking vocabulary. The teacher who heads the Cooking Club will show them
recipes using new vocabulary.

Day 7

Students work in pairs to write a recipe. Conduct an informal assessment to gage

student comprehension. Pronunciation drills.

Day 8

Take students to computer lab to conduct additional research and finish project.

Day 9

Project Presentations

Day 10

Project Presentations

Teaching Essential Vocabulary

References
etin, Y. & Flamand, L. (2013). Posters, self-directed learning, and L2 vocabulary acquisition.
ELT Journal: English Language Teaching Journal, 67(1), 52-61.
Demir, Y. (2013). The role of in-class vocabulary strategies in vocabulary retention of Turkish
EFL learners. Ilkogretim Online, 12(4), 1173-1187.