Unit 2 The Study of English

Module 3 Lexis

At the end of this module you will:a) have more understanding of the difficulties ESOL students
face in their choice of vocabulary
b) understand the importance of teaching appropriate language
c)
have a basic understanding of the formation of words
and their relationships
d)
have begun to think more deeply about the language
you are going to teach

LEXIS

Lexis refers to the vocabulary or words that are a vitally important part of
learning a language. A student acquires vocabulary in two ways: the first
is by discovery, through interaction/conversation or reading materials
which the student has chosen for himself/herself; the second is by having
words presented to him/her in the classroom in a more formal manner.
The teacher has various ways of achieving this: s/he can point to objects
in the classroom, draw pictures, mime an action or make a gesture etc.
SELECTION
The vocabulary you introduce may to a large extent depend on the
course book your school uses, but you are free to introduce other areas
of vocabulary when you feel that it is relevant to your teaching. However
it is essential that your students do not "drown" in too much new
vocabulary as, if this is the case, they will retain little of it. Long lists of
vocabulary without the structure, relevant context, form and idiom will not
bring about language competence.
Not only is it important not to introduce too much, and particularly not in
unrelated lists, but the selection of the vocabulary is of great importance.
As with grammar, words need to be introduced in a context where
students can see how they are used and you need to help students see
connections between groups of words (teach table and chair, not table
and octopus!)
FORMATION
Students need to know the facts about the formation of words and how
different forms fit different grammatical contexts - for example take the
verb 'smile'. 'Smile' can also be a noun, and the present participle
'smiling' can also be used as an adjective:
The children never smile at the teacher.
The teacher looked angry then he gave me a smile.
Happy children are always smiling.
The smiling face of the Mona Lisa looks down on the crowd.
This use of the same form of a word for both a verb (smile) and a noun (a
smile) is not a feature of all languages and can be very confusing for
students.
SELF-CHECK 2:3 1
Can you think of three more words where the verb and the noun are the
same?

Unit 2

Module 3

WORD STEMS
Students need to know the relationship between words with the same
stem:
for example growth - grown - growing - grow - grew
This involves knowing how verbs change from the present to the past and
into participles (check this word if you are not familiar with it), knowing the
relationship between adjective forms and noun forms and so on. Although
words behave irregularly when they change there are some rules and
patterns that are useful for students.
SELF-CHECK 2:3 2
Write here something useful to tell students about the changes and word
forms that come in these words.
height, length, depth and width.

PARTS OF SPEECH
Students may also find it useful to know how the components of lexical
items are put together. The component parts of multi-word items may
themselves be different parts of speech, perhaps a combination of two
nouns making a single compound noun
eg - lampshade

Unit 2

Module 3

a noun and a gerund making one item of two words

eg - skating rink
two hyphenated words making one item
eg - play-off

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES

Students also need to know common prefixes:a-

auto-

dis-

pre-

ab-

co-

ex-

re-

ante-

con-

mis-

sub-

an-

non-

per-

un-

and suffixes:-able

-ism

-er

-ist

-or

-ise

-ic

-ness

-ify

-tion

. . . . and how they work

For example they can make words opposite in meaning:

mis + understand

misunderstand

un + happy

unhappy

Or a noun can be formed from an adjective

happy - y + i + ness = happiness

Unit 2

Module 3

There are a lot of Greek and Latin based prefixes, suffixes and roots in
English that have a clear meaning. Show students for example that misand dis- are usually negative in tone. You as a teacher also need to be
familiar with common meanings of prefixes and suffixes so look them up
if there are any with which you are unfamiliar.
Students also need to know how the words are spelt and how they
sound. Of particular importance is the way these words are stressed as
this can alter the meaning and make them incomprehensible
eg potent + im = impotent, put the stress on the wrong syllable and it will
sound like - important. Be careful not to insult a visiting V.I.P.!
SELF CHECK 2:3 3
Place each of these words in a circle on a piece of paper and add words
to the legs of the spider that have a word form connection with them.
vision (comes from the Latin root vis see).
ject (comes from the Latin throw or put)
reject

vision

ject

television
Think about how the words relate to the root meaning.
SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS
Students also need to know how the meaning of one lexical item relates
to another.
Items which mean the same or almost the same are synonyms Sizeable and large are synonyms of big.
Items which mean the opposite are antonyms Sad is an antonym of happy

Unit 2

Module 3

Please note that when a student is translating from his/her mother tongue
that he/she will choose one word but that there may be many synonyms.
Two words cannot be exactly the same in meaning, otherwise there
would be only one word.
SELF CHECK 2:3 4
1. Read the following passage and pick out as many prefixes and suffixes
as you can.
2. Find a synonym for the underlined words. Then find an antonym for the
words in bold. Be careful.
3. Now look at the words in italics. How are they constructed?
In 2005 a famous chef called Jamie Oliver made the government aware
of the unhealthy school meals children were being given every day. His
campaign worked and school meals have improved considerably. They
are now often cooked daily at the school rather than defrosted from large
weekly or monthly deliveries. The nutritional value of meals has
undergone changes and several foods have been highlighted as
unsuitable.
The push to change eating habits is encountering opposition from the
kids though. They want their chips back! And the lack of exercise has not
been dealt with.

Unit 2

Module 3

A WORD IS NOT ALWAYS A WORD

What does this mean? Well only that it is not always appropriate to teach
words as single units. Sometimes it is important to teach chunks and the
concept of lexical chunks has become very important in TEFL.
You cannot always teach words in isolation. You need to teach phrases
as groups of words that are inseparable.
Lets look at the sentence:
Can I have a word with the head please?
If we break this down into individual words then we have a very odd
scenario in front of us - a person asking for a single word with a part of
the body.
The chunks here would be have a word and the head - have a word
is a verb phrase that means to have a quick conversation with. Head
with the in front of it can mean the headmaster or principal of an
institution. We can make students aware that words fit together or
collocate and that they have different meanings depending on the
situation and the words next to them.
Interestingly, this was a problem with early computer translation systems
that could not cope with word forms in English.
So a phrase like Time flies fast appeared in translation as:
A type of insect (time flies) do not eat (fast).
This was a result of one word translation and not recognizing the context
of the statement.
These days the translations are much better! But our students need to be
encouraged not to look at words in isolation.

APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE

Unit 2

Module 3

Here, of course, style and register also play a very important part in
helping us to decide which word to choose.
eg synonyms of 'angry' may be elicited as 'cross', which is acceptable in
most situations, or 'pissed off' which often isn't. It is important to ensure
that students are taught, and know how to choose, appropriate language
for particular situations. Lack of awareness in students can cause
offence, confusion and can lead to students not being taken seriously.
A non-native speaker of English may impress an everyday speaker with
his/her skill in manipulating language as in his/her appropriate use of
tenses or correct word order and all things grammatical, but may not
know a vitally important word which will satisfy his/her needs at the time.
eg "I would like some lighter fuel" Say "lighter fuel" only and you would
get what you want. "I would like" and "please" are simply
politenesses and could be excluded.
When teaching lexis the teacher has to make a judgement on which
words could be left until a later stage of learning or for the student to
discover for him/herself.
eg 'table' must be taught early on in the student's language learning
because of the frequency of its use:- dining table, dressing table, bedside
table, scientific table, frequency table etc.
SELF CHECK 2:3 5
Look around a room you know well, perhaps the one you are sitting in at
the moment. As well as table, what other nouns have multiple uses and
meanings? Explore them with a list or diagram.
(eg screen - computer screen, to screen (medical) a screen to hide
something, be screened for a sensitive job)

Unit 2

Module 3

TEACHING VOCABULARY
Here are a few quick tips for teaching vocabulary that can be investigated
further for TASK 7 of this unit.
THINK ABOUT THE NEED FOR THE WORDS YOU ARE TEACHING.
You cant teach the past perfect tense in English if your students are
not yet sure about past tense and perfect verb forms.
You cant teach general election vocabulary with 9 or 10 year olds if they
do not understand about voting.
You cant ask the class to have a debate if they do not have the
vocabulary to do it.
HAVE I GOT TOO MUCH?
TOO LITTLE?
OR JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF LANGUAGE?
Teachers can make mistakes easily here. Sometimes they try to make
students learn long lists of words. If you are teaching fruits and
vegetables, do not teach all of them including ones that the students
rarely eat!
Turnip, radish, endive, artichoke, swede and parsnip can be left for later
unless you are teaching vegetable market tradesmen!
Teach a few common ones, do a role play, bring in some real vegetables
and research others for homework!
Sometimes teachers do not introduce enough words. It is very boring for
students to repeat and repeat This is my mother, this is my father. Is this
her brother? Is this their sister.
Set aside part of every lesson for the students to experiment a little. Once
they have got the basic vocabulary, it will not hurt to introduce stepbrother if someone in the class needs the word to describe their family.
Have a listening where someone talks about their family. Also build in
time for them to ask questions: How do I say my sisters child? Is it the
same as my brothers child?
TIMING
Teaching vocabulary does not need to go on for hours - small
concentrated sessions are good, especially if you make sure the students
see, hear and use the words.
FREQUENCY

Unit 2

Module 3

We use the word frequency to talk about words having high frequency
and low frequency. For example: the word Stop! is a high frequency
word.
Stop writing
Stop talking Stop smoking
Stop here please (taxi)
Next stop, Central Station. (train)
Other words also mean stop in some way, but they are lower frequency
and they have special uses, such as desist, cease and halt. Of course
your students will need these words at some time, but at lower levels,
most of your teaching should be with high frequency words.
TEACHER LANGUAGE
The language of instructions and explanations should be easier than the
level of language you are teaching.
Be especially careful about using too many grammatical terms:
We are going to look at describing things using who , which and that.
NOT:
Today we will be considering the intratextual uses of defining and nondefining relative clauses.
SELF CHECK 2:3 6
Look at these two lesson transcripts and homework assignments.
Decide which statements apply to which lesson - A or B.
The classes are both 15-16 years old.
EXAMPLE:
The students do not speak at the beginning of the lesson ( Lesson A)
The students are asked to speak right from the start. (Lesson B)

STATEMENTS
Long words are used: conjunctions, connectives, and there are vague
phrases: thing, thing

Unit 2

10

Module 3

The context is not connected with the students.

The language is simple, and the teacher gives the function of the
language.
The students give their own context and talk about themselves.
The sentences on the board all have the same ending.
There are three different sentences on the board.
The students do not choose their sentences in the second exercise.
The students give personal information to each other and so make more
sentences
The teacher does not know whether they know any of this language
already.
Students mistakes and correct language tell the teacher about what the
class can do.
Lesson A
Teacher: Good morning class. Do you all have your books ready? Good.
This morning we look at the use of conjunctions in English. Write down
the following connectives in your book under the heading conjunctions.
(Teacher writes these words on side of the board)
So that
In order to
Because
We will look at how to join sentences so that we can give reasons for
doing things.
Look at these three sentences (writes them on board).
He is saving money so that he can buy a new car.
He is saving money to buy a new car.
He is saving money because he wants to buy a new car.
They all show the mans intention. He is doing one thing so that he can
do another thing. The structures are different.
Write down the sentences in your books.
Teacher: Have you all finished? Good. Now turn to page 4 in your books
and do exercise 2.
Lesson B
Teacher: Good morning everyone!
Who in this class has a money box? Are you saving money? (Draws
coins or notes going in to a money box).

Unit 2

11

Module 3

Everyone: yes.. yes..

Mohammed: (hand up, teacher gestures him to answer) I no money box
my mum buy everything.
Teacher : OK, but many people have a money box.
Why are you saving money in your box. Ali?
Ali: For buy mobile phone (Teacher writes mobile phone and draws
picture to the right of the board space)
Jamila: For Prada bag (Teacher writes new bag + picture underneath
the phone)
Peter: So that I can buy an electric guitar because my mum she is not
paying for one. (T writes electric guitar, plus picture under the bag)
Teacher :
Ok, class. This morning we are talking about why we do things, our plans
for the future. (writing on board)
Ali is saving money to buy a mobile phone.
Jamila is saving money because she wants to buy a new Prada bag
Peter is saving money so that he can buy an electric guitar.
3 ways to say why we are saving money.
Now, in pairs, see if you can tell your partner 3 things you are saving
money for.

Now look at the homework of the two classes.

Lesson A

Lesson B

Fill in the blanks with one of the

clauses of purpose:
eg She is going to the shops to buy
some bread/ because she wants to
buy some bread/ so that she can buy

Finish the sentences:

Talk about your plans using the
language from the lesson
Write 3 sentences for this.

Unit 2

12

Module 3

some bread.
1. I am learning Greek .live there.
2. The dog chased the cat
catch it.
3. He is going to exercise classes ..
lose weight.
4. I bought this book study
sharks.
5. She turned on the TV ..
6. I have bought a car ..
7. The postman bought a bicycle
because
8. I am going to Egypt on holiday
.

1. I am learning English
Because I want to
To
So that I can .
2. Write 3 sentences about your familys
plans:
For example:
My mother is saving money to go to
Dubai on holiday.
Write 3 sentences about something you
are learning or studying:
I am learning the guitar because I want
to be a famous pop star.

COMMENT
The students do not speak at the beginning of the lesson. (A)
The students are asked to say something right from the start. (B)
Long words are used: conjunctions, connectives, intention and there are
vague phrases: thing, thing. (A)
The context is not connected with the students. (A)
The language is simple, and the teacher gives the function of the
language. (B)
The students give their own context and talk about themselves. (B)
The sentences on the board all have the same ending. (A)

Unit 2

13

Module 3

There are three different sentences on the board. (B)

The students do not choose their sentences in the second exercise. (A)
The students give personal information to each other and so make more
sentences. (B)
The teacher does not know whether they know any of this language
already. (A)
Students mistakes and correct language tell the teacher about what the
class can do. (B)

Overall, in the second lesson the students are more engaged in the topic
and it seems as if they will have more fun. As for the homework, it is
going to give them the opportunity to use words that they need. The first
lessons vocabulary and homework task are very limited and controlled.
Watch out for this when you are planning lessons.

Unit 2

14

Module 3

Now consider the following extract:

One of the reasons we are now able to make statements about vocabulary with considerably more
confidence than before is because lexicographers and other researchers are able to analyse large
banks of language data stored on computers. From a corpus of millions of words (made up of novels,
scientific articles, plays, newspapers, brochures, speeches, recorded conversations, etc. stored on
computers) quick accurate information can be accessed about how often words are used and in what
linguistic contexts. We can find out what other words are commonly used with the word we are
interested in, and we can also state, with some confidence, how frequently words are used in the
language. This is a huge advance on, say, the pioneering work of Michael West (see West 1953) who
tried to get the same kind of information through manual sweat and toil and a card index. It was
impossible for him and his researchers to achieve even a fraction of what computers can now tell us.
Users of computer corpora can get a concordance for words they are looking for. A concordance is a
selection of lines from the various texts in the corpus showing the search word in use. Here for
example, is a 20-line concordance for the word asleep in written English:

FIGURE 1

: Twenty-line concordance for aslee pfrom the British National Corpus (written), generated by the Compleat Lexical tutor
(www.lextutor.ca)

Twenty lines is just a small sample of the many occurrences of asleep found in the written corpus.
But even with such a small sample, some things are instantly clear - partly because the computer was
asked to provide the lines in alphabetical order of the words immediately to the left of asleep. Thus
we can see that in writing it seems that fall asleep, half asleep and was/were asleep are very
common word combinations.
The Compleat Lexical Tutor (a free concordance program) allows us to look, as well, at how asleep is
used in speaking.

FIGURE 2 :

Unit 2

Twenty-line concordance for asleepfrom the British National Corpus (spoken), generated by the Compleat Lexical tutor
(www.lextutor.ca)

15

Module 3

It becomes clear immediately that fast asleep is a more common word combination in speaking than
in writing, but that the other combinations we noticed in writing also occur in speech.
Lexicographers work with considerably more complex concordance information than this, of course,
but the principle is the same, and it allows them to provide dictionary entries which not only give
definitions, but also list frequently occurring combinations (collocations), and say how common words
are. In the dictionary entry for asleep (Figure 3) we see that it is one of the 2,000 most common
words in speech, but that it falls outside the 3,000 most common words in written English (because
no frequency information is given for writing [W]).

Word meaning
The least problematic issue of vocabulary, it would seem, is meaning. We know that table means a
thing with three or four legs which we can write on and eat off and that book is a collection of words
between covers. But of course the situation is more complicated than this. Both words have many
different meanings, quite apart from those already mentioned. We can eat off a table, or we can table
a motion at a conference. We can summarise information in a table, too. Then again, when we have
read our book, we can ring up a restaurant and book a table, but if we drive too fast on the way, we
might be booked for speeding. Some people have been keeping a book on whether we will keep our
job because everyone knows we've been cooking the books for years. The point is that the same
collection of sounds and letters can have many different meanings. As with multi-meaning
grammatical forms, this polysemy is only resolved when we see the word in context. It is
understanding the meaning in context that allows us to say which meaning of the word is being used
in this particular instance.
What a word means is often defined by its relationship to other words. For example, we explain the
meaning of full by saying that it is the opposite of empty; we understand that cheap is the opposite of
expensive. Such antonyms reinforce the meaning of each word in the pair, though of course because
a word can be polysemous it may have more than one antonym (e.g. a rich person - a poor person,
rich food - plain food, etc.).
Words can also have synonyms that mean exactly or nearly the same as each other. We say that
bad and evil are synonymous, as are good and decent in certain situations, such as She's a
good/decent pianist. Once again, much will depend on the context in which the words appear. Yet in
truth it is very difficult to find real synonyms. Costly and expensive might seem on the surface to
mean the same, yet they are subtly different: we tend to use the former about larger projects and

Unit 2

16

Module 3

larger amounts, while expensive has a broader range of use. We would be unlikely to say That pen
you've got there looks very costly, but The new building programme is proving very costly sounds
perfectly all right.
Another relationship which defines the meaning of words to each other is that of hyponymy, where
words like banana, apple, orange, lemon, etc. are all hyponyms of the superordinate fruit. And fruit
itself is a hyponym of other items which are members of the food family. We can express this
relationship in the following diagram.

Part of a word's meaning, therefore, concerns its relations with other words, not only in terms of
antonymy and synonymy, but also in terms of how it fits into the vocabulary hierarchy.
One final point should be made about word meaning, namely that what a word means is not
necessarily the same as what it suggests - or rather that words have different connotations, often
depending on the context they occur in. Thus the word chubby has a very positive connotation when
it is combined with baby, but it suddenly becomes somewhat negative in tone if it is combined with
middle-aged English teacher! And what about a sentence like He's really smart, where smart would
seem to have a positive connotation of intelligence yet could be interpreted as suggesting the man is
somewhat devious or self-seeking.
Extending word use
Words do not just have different meanings, however. They can also be stretched and twisted to fit
different contexts and different uses. We say that someone is in a black mood (very cross) or
someone is green (nave), yet we are not actually describing a colour. In such contexts black and
green mean something else.
There are many examples of how the literal meaning of words can be extended. We say, for
example, that the price of mangoes went up but went up here cannot mean the same as it does in
she went up the stairs. When we say that prices have taken a dramatic tumble, how are we to explain
the meanings of dramatic and tumble?
Such metaphorical use of words allows us to move beyond their purely denotational use (where a
word only describes a thing, rather than the feelings or ideas it suggests). It helps us extend our
range of expression and interpretation, allowing us the opportunity to explain our feelings about things
in a way that creates readily available images. Poets use such metaphors all the time, of course.
Consider, for example, these lines:
T h e w in d c la w e d th ro ug h th e sh ru n ke n tre e s
A n d scratch ed an d b it a nd roa re d w ith rag e.
Some metaphors become fixed into phrases which competent speakers recognise at once, even
though the meaning of the phrase is not decipherable from any understanding of the individual words.
We all know that She kicked the bucket
means She died and that He has bitten off more than he can chew

Unit 2

17

Module 3

means that he has attempted something that is too difficult for him. If someone says I've got him eating
out of my hand,we understand the metaphor, but it is not original; it is a common expression, an
accepted idiom. The metaphorical and idiomatic use of words and phrases is not always popular,
however, as the following example shows. For some years it became commonplace for people to
describe someone who had suffered a disappointment as being as sick as a parrot,and this idiomatic
expression became so widely used that it began to irritate everybody, except, perhaps, when used
ironically. As sick as a parrothad become a clich, what Crystal calls a 'lexical zombie'. Money doesn't
grow on trees, you know
qualifies as a clich, too, so does the phrase to add insult to injury.
However, a clich is not necessarily strongly metaphorical all the time as the following two lines of
dialogue from a recent radio soap opera episode show:
EX-LOVER:
I never meant to hurt you.
JILTED LOVER: Oh please, Richard, not that tired old clich.
Word combinations
Although words can appear as single items which are combined in a sentence (She was asleep),we
have seen that they can also occur in two-or-more item groups (She washalf asleep all through dinner,
but fast asleepthe moment coffee was served).
Word combinations (also known as collocations)have become the subject of intense interest in the
recent past, in part spurred on by discoveries from language corpora (see above). Collocations are
words which co-occur with each other and which language users, through custom and practice, have
come to see as normal and acceptable. It is immediately apparent that while some words can live
together, others cannot. We can talk about a clenched fistand even clenched teeth,yet we cannot talk
about clenched eyebrows.
The way in which words combine collocationally and in larger chunks has led people to talk about
lexical phrases.Such phrases are often part of longer memorised strings of speech. We know, for
example, what the word ironic means, but we can also say that it is typically used in the phrase It is
ironic that....
Lexical phrases or language chunks are like pre-fabricated building units. Apart from phrasal verbs,
collocations and compound words, such as traffic lights, walking stick
and workshop(where two words
join together to form one vocabulary item), language also chunks itself into functional phrases (by the
way, on the other hand, if you see what I mean),
idiomatic or fixed expressions (a close shave, an only
child, in love)and verbal expressions (can't afford to, not supposed to, don't mind)
. Michael Lewis, a
proponent of the Lexical approach, demonstrated how a 'lexical unit', like I'll, crops up time and time
again in what he calls archetypal utterances, such as I'll give you a ring, I'll drop you a line, I'll see what I
can do, I'll see you later,
etc. (Lewis 1993: Chapter 5).

The chunking of language in this way suggests that talking about vocabulary exclusively in terms of
words is not sufficient to account for the different kinds of meaning unit which language users have
at their disposal. A phrasal verb(e.g. take off, put up with)is made up of two or more words (if we
accept one definition of what a word is), yet it is only one meaning unit. We could argue that wide
awake and a close shaveare single meaning units, too. Some people refer to such meaning units as
lexemes, but whatever we call them, we need to see that words-in-combination have to be perceived
as meaning units in their own right, just as single words such as book or table do.

What we are saying is that we use words either in prefabricated chunks or insert them into the
templates provided by grammar. As Steven Pinker expresses it, ' ... the mind analyses language as
some mixture of memorised chunks and rule-governed assemblies' (1999: 26).
Adapted from The Practice of English Language Teaching, Jeremy Harmer 2007, Longman.

Unit 2

18

Module 3

TASKS FOR SUBMISSION TO YOUR TUTOR

TASK 1
Find at least 2 other different forms of the following words. Name the
forms and demonstrate them in sentences as in the example:
Argue (verb)
1. Argument (Noun)
The newly-weds had a big argument on their wedding night.
2. Arguably (Adverb)
He is arguably one of the best in his profession
repentance
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

grief
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

cleanliness
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

allowance
Unit 2

19

Module 3

....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

tolerance
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

Unit 2

20

Module 3

TASK 2
Give 5 examples of each of the following compounds:-

1. Two nouns making a single compound noun

a..................................................................................................................................
b..................................................................................................................................
c..................................................................................................................................
d..................................................................................................................................
e..................................................................................................................................

2. A noun and a gerund making one item

a..................................................................................................................................
b..................................................................................................................................
c..................................................................................................................................
d..................................................................................................................................
e..................................................................................................................................

3. Two hyphenated words making one item

Unit 2

21

Module 3

a..................................................................................................................................
b..................................................................................................................................
c..................................................................................................................................
d..................................................................................................................................
e..................................................................................................................................

TASK 3
Form 2 words from each of the following prefixes:1. auto

....................................................................................................................

2. con

...................................................................................................................

3. per

....................................................................................................................

4. sub

....................................................................................................................

5. ante

....................................................................................................................

Form 2 words from each of the following suffixes:1. able ....................................................................................................................

2. ness ....................................................................................................................
3. er

....................................................................................................................

4. ise

....................................................................................................................

5. tion ....................................................................................................................
TASK 4
List 5 words like 'table' which have a frequent and varied use, giving
examples.

Unit 2

22

Module 3

Example: Tip:
a) Piece of advice:
The teacher gave us good tips for preparing the test
b) The very end of an object
She poked me with the tip of the pencil
c) A small amount of money given to someone who has provided you
with a service:
The waitresses like him; he always leaves large tips
1..................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

2..................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

3..................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
4..................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

Unit 2

23

Module 3

....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

5..................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

Unit 2

24

Module 3

TASK 5
Which of the following words would you not teach beginners and why?
orange......................................................................................................
jacket.................................................................................................
student................................................................................................
welder....................................................................................................
omelette................................................................................................
bloke.....................................................................................................
chauffeur...............................................................................................
hungry...................................................................................................
telephone..............................................................................................
car.........................................................................................................
angry.....................................................................................................

Unit 2

25

Module 3

TASK 6
How many different lexical choices do we have to say someone has
died? Select a few common ones and describe the situations/contexts in
which they would be appropriate.
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................

Unit 2

26

Module 3

TASK 7
" A general principle of vocabulary selection has been that of frequency.
We can decide which words we should teach on the basis of how
frequently they are used by the speakers of the language. The words
which are most commonly used are the ones we should teach first.
Another principle that has been used in the selection of vocabulary is that
of coverage. A word is more useful if it covers more things than if it only
has one very specific meaning...."
"Especially at intermediate levels and above, discovery techniques
(where students have to work out rules and meanings for themselves
rather than being given everything by the teacher) are an appropriate
alternative to standard presentation techniques. This is certainly true of
vocabulary learning where students will often be asked to 'discover for
themselves' what a word means and how and why it is being used"
What ideas would you bring to the classroom to make the learning of
vocabulary more interesting and rewarding?
Your answer should be between 500 and 750 words. It should show
research and personal examples and ideas.
Please use references to show where any information has come from.

Copyright INTESOL Worldwide 2009

Unit 2

27

Module 3