Delphi module

10.6
Teaching vocabulary using texts

10.6.1
Simplified versus authentic texts

Much of the discussion of vocabulary teaching in this module has been concerned with decontextualized vocabulary. However, we know that students have important needs in decoding the meanings and behaviour of new vocabulary items from context. Anderson and Nagy (1989), for example, in reviewing second language acquisition research in this area, showed that context is necessary in order to provide full schemata for word meanings and use.

You may choose published materials as a vehicle for presenting new vocabulary in context. These may be simplified or specially constructed texts, such as those in graded readers or supplementary vocabulary skills books, or you may choose authentic texts, ie those that have been written or spoken by native speakers for native speakers (see Module 8, sections 8.2.3-8.2.4).

Activity 17

What is your position on presenting new vocabulary using simplified as opposed to authentic texts, either written or spoken? Do you construct your own texts and dialogues?

Or do you use authentic newspaper articles or radio programmes? If so, what approach do you adopt?

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Graded readers are useful for giving students extensive reading practice that is enjoyable and easy: they often highlight key vocabulary (and grammar) items, and provide a glossary at the back. Here is an Italian intermediate example, where items from the text are glossed in the right hand margin:

Si parla italiano in molte località degli Stati Uniti. Sia* a New York, dove esiste un quartiere* chiamato Little Italy, sia* in altre città americane, dove vivono milioni d'Italiani.	Sia … sia both … and Quartiere neighbourhood
Secondo le statistiche la maggior parte di questi italo-americani parla inglese, preferisce però andare a fare spese* in negozi dove si parla italiano.	Andare a … spese to go shopping
Per questo motivo nelle vetrine* di molti negozi si legge una scritta: Qui si parla italiano.	Vetrine windows
Molte volte sono soltanto i clienti che lo parlano, mentre i proprietari ne conoscono solo alcune parole. Un negoziante pensò bene* di aprire un negozio di vestiti da donna in un posto frequentato da molti italiani. Ma i giorni passavano e nessuno veniva a comprare. Un suo amico, anche lui commerciante e molto fidato, col quale si lamentava per le difficoltà in cui si trovava, gli consigliò di metter la famosa scritta in vetrina.	Penso bene …had the good idea Fidato trustworthy Si lamentava was complaining
- Ma io non voglio imbrogliare* nessuno, non so né dire né scrivere una parola di questa lingua.	Imbrogliare to cheat
- Non importa* -rispose* l'amico. - Verrò domattina e t'aiuterò. Cambieremo solo alcune parole dell'insegna.	Non importa it doesn't matter Rispose answered
Il giorno seguente appare in vetrina un'insegna che dice: Qui NON si parla italiano, ma si vende a buon mercato.* Da quel giorno in poi* la gente fece la fila* per entrare nel negozio …	A buon mercato cheaply Da … in poi from that day on Fece la fila lined up

(From Briefel, 1996: 19-20)

Supplementary vocabulary skills resources are useful because they often present new vocabulary in semantic fields, so that learners can see the relationship between the items. Here is an example where new items are highlighted in bold type:

People from hot sunny countries often find it difficult to imagine how people who live in a very cold climate can live and work through the winter months. These people manage because they know what to wear in the cold. First, it is very important to keep your head, hands and feet warm. So everyone has a hat, thick gloves to keep their hands warm, and a pair of long socks and strong boots for their feet. Of course, you have to have a heavy overcoat and you should wear a thick woollen sweater under it. A scarf around the neck also helps to keep out the cold. What you wear under your clothes is important, too. People who live in cold climates always wear thick underwear. Long underpants may not look very nice, but they certainly keep your legs warm.

(From Seal, 1988)

Simplifying a text can be a laborious business. There are three main considerations to make when adapting authentic material: sentence length, sentence complexity and vocabulary frequency.

Activity 18

(a) Consider these two extracts. The first is from the beginning of the first chapter of the original work and the second is from the first page of an adaptation of the novel as a graded reader. This has been written for learners of English at advanced level. Identify the changes that have been made in the vocabulary used (not the grammar):

Extract 1
The accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, sat proudly upright with a rigid grace, his palms placed softly on the defendant's table - the posture of a man who had detached himself insofar as this is possible at his own trial. Some in the gallery would later say that his stillness suggested a disdain for the proceedings; others felt certain it veiled a fear of the verdict that was to come. Whichever it was, Kabuo showed nothing - not even a flicker of the eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt worn buttoned to the throat and gray, neatly pressed trousers. His figure, especially the neck and shoulders, communicated the impression of irrefutable physical strength and of precise even imperial bearing. Kabuo's features were smooth and angular; his hair had been cropped close to his skill in a manner that made its musculature prominent. In the face of the charge that had been levelled against him he sat with his dark eyes trained straight ahead and did not appear moved at all.

(From Guterson, 1994)

Extract 2
The accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, sat proudly upright, as if trying to distance himself from his own trial. He showed no emotion - not even the smallest movement of his eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt worn buttoned to the throat and grey, neatly pressed trousers. His body, especially the neck and shoulders, spoke of great physical strength. Kabuo's features were smooth and sharp-edged; his hair had been cut close to his skull so that the muscles seemed to stand out. As the charge against him was read, his dark eyes looked straight ahead, showing no emotion.

(From Tribble, 1994)

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(b) Now select the first one or two paragraphs from a novel written in the language you teach and adapt it for a pre-advanced level group of learners, reducing its length by about a third.