ASSIGNMENT 1

What techniques would you use to teach the following?

Smooth- It would be easy to bring in realia in order to teach this word like silk or leaves and contrast with rough things like sandpaper, bricks, or other rough material.  The teacher can use phrases like “not smooth” when holding or showing these items.

Harmful- Using pictures illustrating a man smoking, or other hazardous liquids that may be ingested by accident. A teacher could print out a danger sign, skull and crossbones, sharp things, poison etc.

Silverware- Bring in realia and pictures of the silverwares.

To dance- Use own body example select a student to dance briefly with you. If the teacher is uncomfortable dancing they could ask questions like, “what do people when they listen to music?” or ”when people play music sometimes people (wait for them to realize it’s the word dance than say dance).”

To go out on a date:  This example can be taught by drawing.  A simple scene of a man and women sitting in a restaurant could be drawn.  In order to make the example clearer thought bubbles containing hearts could be drawn above their heads.

Watermelon- A watermelon could be drawn on a board if the teacher is a good enough artist to not confuse students.  If not they can bring in a picture of a watermelon.

What are some advantages and disadvantages of using authentic materials to provide contexts for teaching meaning?

Using authentic materials in the classroom is significant for many reasons, amongst which, students are exposed to real discourse, as in videos of interviews with famous people where intermediate students listen for gist. Authentic materials can keep students informed about what is happening in the world, so they have an intrinsic educational value too. Books, articles, newspapers etc. also contain a wide variety of text types and language styles not easily found in conventional teaching materials. They can encourage reading for pleasure because they are likely to contain topics of interest to learners, especially if students are given the chance to have a say about the topics or kinds of authentic materials to be used in class.

There are also disadvantages of using authentic material.  Uncovered grammar points may confuse and frustrate students.  Students may then lose interest in the main point of the text.  Already discussed vocabulary with alternate meanings and nuances may force students to reexamine what they’ve already learned instead of focusing on new material.  Another downside of authentic texts is that even if all topics and vocabulary are coverable the teacher might have to invest large amounts of time in order to properly prepare the material.

Story and vocabulary used

Liz was excited. She was going to Asia with her mom. Neither of them had ever traveled out of the United States before. They were going to fly to Hong Kong. After staying in Hong Kong for three nights, they would travel on their cruise ship to Shanghai and Beijing.

“Beijing is inland, so we have to take about a two-hour bus ride to get there from the port. I forget the name of the port. Anyway, we’re going to see the Great Wall, the Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. It’s going to be so cool!” she told her neighbor Jane.

From China, the cruise ship would go to Pusan in South Korea, and finally to Tokyo. From Tokyo, they would catch a flight back to Los Angeles.

“The trip is going to last three weeks. It’s only going to cost us $2,800 each, IF we can control our urge to shop,” she laughed.

“I hope your trip is more fun than mine was,” said Jane. “I took a cruise to the Bahamas, but almost all the passengers got sick. I caught some kind of virus that made me throw up for almost three days. They gave us a discount that we could use on a future trip. Ha! No more cruising for me.”

“We’ve heard about those disasters,” said Liz. “Mom and I are going to be washing our hands every 30 minutes, and we’re bringing surgical masks with us.”

Cruise ship:  a picture of a boat could be drawn on the board.  In order to show that it’s a cruise ship, music notes, food, and the word fun could be drawn on the side of the picture.

Inland:  A picture of an island could be drawn with an adjacent smaller island.  Two small dots labeled “city.”  The one on the main island could be labeled, “inland” and the city outside could be labeled, “not inland.”

catch a flight:  The word being taught would be the usage of the word “caught.”  A teacher could write on the board similar sentences showing that the word ‘caught’ refers to using a mode of transportation.

He caught a taxi cab.

He caught a bus downtown.

He caught the local train.

virus:  A picture of a virus could be brought in.

surgical masks:  It would be great to bring in realia to teach this word.

ASSIGNMENT TWO

1.What are the difficulties in using synonyms to explain vocabulary when working with beginners?

The difficulties in using synonyms to explain vocabulary when workings with beginners are that the students do not understand the synonym because they did not learn it. Should we use synonyms that are unrecognizable to the students, we would have to explain all the various shades and hues of the meaning of a vocabulary and the synonyms! thus increasing the teachers” TTT. If we assumed the students knew the synonym! we would be teaching vocabulary without any kind of context to assist students in figuring out meaning on their own, moreover, we would be teaching too many new vocabulary items in one lesson. All of these difficulties deter the students from learning new vocabulary. For example, explaining the meaning of the vocabulary ‘’big’’ to beginners could not be done with the synonym ‘’enormous’’, because the students simply do not understand the synonym. Depending on the level of English proficiency of the students, teachers are generally discouraged from using synonyms as explanations to a new vocabulary.

2. 2. Why is it important to be clear in your own mind on the denotation and connotation of a word before you teach it?

To be a good ESL teacher who gives beginners a solid foundation, the teacher should understand and differentiate the concepts of denotation and connotation. Connotation refers to the positive and negative associations that most words naturally carry with them. Denotation, on the other hands, refers to the precise, literal definition of a word that might be found in a dictionary. Denotation clearly states what you mean literally. Connotation alludes to another meaning, something that might be initially hidden. Clear communication relies on more than mere vocabulary. Emotional intent conveys a meaning and implication in regard to the relationship between speakers. Words may be grammatically innocent yet pregnant with ill intention, for example, both ‘’scrawny’’ and ‘’slender’’ have similar denotations, but scrawny sounds inferior or sickly, while slender evokes a more graceful or positive image. Understanding the connotations of words can enhance description, Meaning, and tone.

Moreover, the source of misunderstanding in a particular conversation often lays in the word’s connotations, for example, the differences between ‘’anyways’’ and ‘’whatever’’. Anyway implies that the response made by the other speaker in the conversation is irrelevant. ‘’Whatever’’ implies that the comments responses by the speaker annoy or aggravate the listener. These two words used by American teenagers to mean, ‘’Leave me alone’’ and ‘’no one is listening to you’’ are not words to be randomly interspersed into a conversation with someone you are attempting to befriend. From these examples, it is clearly important for the teachers to be crystal clear in our own mind on the denotation and connotation of a word before we teach it.

3. Suppose your student told you his/her (correct) choice of a word was based on a decision that it just ‘’sounded right’’. Would you confirm for the student that this is a valid reason to use the word, or would you ask for a more logical explanation?

The con5ecture of choice of a word based on sound is not entirely incorrect. On a case by case basis, these words exist, because they sound right together, these are collocations, words that are associated with each other because they sound right together. For example, we usually say ‘’heavy rain’’. It is correct grammatically to say ‘’strong rain’’ or ‘’big rain’’, but both of these sound completely strange. It is for these reasons that choice of words must be based on logic rather than being right sounded.

Common collocations

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound “right” to native English speakers, who use them all the time. Here is a list of common collocations;

• fast food
• quick meal
• user friendly
• make the bed
• catch a cold
• come late
• do homework
• come to a decision
• have a relationship
• vested interest
• pay attention

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