Teaching vocabulary in the context of Singapore classrooms
By Tan Hong Chan
Language learning involves the development of academic writing skills, in the aspects of comprehension, in which students are able to comprehend academic discourse; and in production, where students are able to synthesize what they have learnt to produce their own academic writing. In school, these academic tasks generally requires the use of decontextualized language skills, which is described by Goh and Ho (2009), as the ability to convey information explicitly to the audience, independent of the immediate context, and to understand decontextualized information given by others.
In order to communicate effectively, to understand discourses and to express one’s intended meaning explicitly, it is crucial to have a wide range of vocabulary to facilitate understanding and meaning expression. Hence, the teaching of vocabulary is a very important aspect of academic writing, where language learners are equipped with the necessary tools of communication. According to Hirvela (Paltridge, Harbon, Hirsch, Shen, Stevenson, Phakiti et al., 2009, p.89), vocabulary knowledge for reading forms the foundation for writing. Also, in Snow’s study (Goh et al, 2009, p.33), students who have good decontextualized language skills are more likely to perform better academically, and since the demonstration of decontextualized language skills is dependent on the mastery of a level of vocabulary, students’mastery of vocabulary thus have deeper implications on their studies. Hence, I will be exploring the teaching of vocabulary for the development of academic writing skills and possible implications in the context of Singapore secondary school classrooms.
1. Vocabulary size
Paltridge et al (2009) mentioned that native-speakers of English should have a vocabulary size of around 17,000 word families, while that of second language learners should range between 1,200 to 4,000 words. I do not think that this is at all reflective of Singapore’s language context, where English is taught at first language level to second language learners, with English being the medium of instruction for all subjects, excluding mother tongues, from primary school to university. In mind of our extensive use of English as the main language of communication, I feel that the vocabulary size our students are expected to attain should be closer to that of native-speakers, as opposed to that of genuine second language learners, who are learning English at foreign-language level. In addition, statistics (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2011) have shown that compared to ten years ago, there are now more people, using English as their home language, especially those of school-going age. Hence, teachers should take into consideration the changing linguistic climate in their teaching.
2. Academic vocabulary
Paltridge et al. (2009) broke down the words used in academic writing into three main groupings: high-frequency words, academic words and technical words, in order of decreasing importance. I agree that as language teachers, it is not appropriate for us to focus on technical words, as they have limited use beyond their subject domains, and thus might not be useful for all students. Secondly, as technical words are seldom used, they present a learning curve to both native-speakers and second-language learners alike, and the introduction of technical vocabulary should thus be left to the subject teachers of the specific domain, bearing in mind that the role of the English language teacher is to equip students with the skills to produce general academic writings.
However, I disagree that the teaching of high-frequency words should be prioritised over that of academic words. Given the unique context of Singapore’s multilingual environment, our students’ level of English is an intermediate between that of native-speaker and that of a genuine second-language learner, hence, they should have little or no difficulties handling high frequency words, which they were exposed to since young. The only second-language English learners in our classrooms are those from mother tongue-speaking families and foreign students whose home language is not English. Even so, the formers have been exposed to years of formal English medium education while the latter are required to pass a languag proficiency test in order to be admitted into our local schools, and thus both groups should not have any problems with high-frequency words.
From personal experience both as a student and as a teacher, Singapore students have more difficulty with academic words, especially those which are sophisticated. Such words are less frequently used in conversations in Singapore, resulting in our students having reduced exposure to sophisticated vocabulary, as compared to native-English-speaking countries, where more colourful and expressive words are used in daily speech. Students are often unable to use academic words appropriately and in the right context, and this affects their academic performance when it comes to academic tasks such as essay-writing. A lack of vocabulary range, academic words especially, will limit students’ expressivity, restricting them to using simpler words to convey their intentions, resulting in information being less explicit, which might in turn affect the coherence and cohesion of their academic writing and discourse.
3. Application to my teaching of vocabulary
In consideration of the issues discussed, I feel that it is important to develop and expand the receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge of academic words in my students, using a mixed approach to vocabulary learning, through indirect and direct means. Through the use of films and books in our teaching, we can allow students to gain exposure to useful and complex words and to gain a deeper understanding about word sense, indirectly expanding their receptive academic vocabulary. In addition, such activities also provide students with additional avenues to gain decontextualized knowledge, which is useful in language learning.
As it is insufficient to merely expand students’ receptive vocabulary, we also need to provide opportunities for
students to apply the knowledge learnt in their academic writing, thereby expanding on their productive vocabulary. This can be done through follow up activities, such as book reviews, where students can immediately apply the new words learnt from their reading in their writing tasks.
By increasing exposure to more complex vocabulary, our students can thus develop a greater mastery of English and academic writing.
References
Goh, C. C. M, & Ho, G. (2009). Talking beyond the here-and-now: Singaporean preschoolers' use of decontextualized
language. In R. E. Silver, C. C. M. Goh, & L. Alsagoff (Eds.), Language learning in new English contexts (pp. 32-54). London: Continuum.
Paltridge, B., Harbon, L., Hirsch, D., Shen, H., Stevenson, M., Phakiti, A., et al. (2009). Teaching academic writing: An introduction for teachers of second language writers. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Singapore Department of Statistics. (2011). Statistical release 1 on demographic characteristics, education, language and religion. Retrieved on 14 March 2013 from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf
By Tan Hong Chan
Language learning involves the development of academic writing skills, in the aspects of comprehension, in which students are able to comprehend academic discourse; and in production, where students are able to synthesize what they have learnt to produce their own academic writing. In school, these academic tasks generally requires the use of decontextualized language skills, which is described by Goh and Ho (2009), as the ability to convey information explicitly to the audience, independent of the immediate context, and to understand decontextualized information given by others.
In order to communicate effectively, to understand discourses and to express one’s intended meaning explicitly, it is crucial to have a wide range of vocabulary to facilitate understanding and meaning expression. Hence, the teaching of vocabulary is a very important aspect of academic writing, where language learners are equipped with the necessary tools of communication. According to Hirvela (Paltridge, Harbon, Hirsch, Shen, Stevenson, Phakiti et al., 2009, p.89), vocabulary knowledge for reading forms the foundation for writing. Also, in Snow’s study (Goh et al, 2009, p.33), students who have good decontextualized language skills are more likely to perform better academically, and since the demonstration of decontextualized language skills is dependent on the mastery of a level of vocabulary, students’mastery of vocabulary thus have deeper implications on their studies. Hence, I will be exploring the teaching of vocabulary for the development of academic writing skills and possible implications in the context of Singapore secondary school classrooms.
1. Vocabulary size
Paltridge et al (2009) mentioned that native-speakers of English should have a vocabulary size of around 17,000 word families, while that of second language learners should range between 1,200 to 4,000 words. I do not think that this is at all reflective of Singapore’s language context, where English is taught at first language level to second language learners, with English being the medium of instruction for all subjects, excluding mother tongues, from primary school to university. In mind of our extensive use of English as the main language of communication, I feel that the vocabulary size our students are expected to attain should be closer to that of native-speakers, as opposed to that of genuine second language learners, who are learning English at foreign-language level. In addition, statistics (Singapore Department of Statistics, 2011) have shown that compared to ten years ago, there are now more people, using English as their home language, especially those of school-going age. Hence, teachers should take into consideration the changing linguistic climate in their teaching.
2. Academic vocabulary
Paltridge et al. (2009) broke down the words used in academic writing into three main groupings: high-frequency words, academic words and technical words, in order of decreasing importance. I agree that as language teachers, it is not appropriate for us to focus on technical words, as they have limited use beyond their subject domains, and thus might not be useful for all students. Secondly, as technical words are seldom used, they present a learning curve to both native-speakers and second-language learners alike, and the introduction of technical vocabulary should thus be left to the subject teachers of the specific domain, bearing in mind that the role of the English language teacher is to equip students with the skills to produce general academic writings.
However, I disagree that the teaching of high-frequency words should be prioritised over that of academic words. Given the unique context of Singapore’s multilingual environment, our students’ level of English is an intermediate between that of native-speaker and that of a genuine second-language learner, hence, they should have little or no difficulties handling high frequency words, which they were exposed to since young. The only second-language English learners in our classrooms are those from mother tongue-speaking families and foreign students whose home language is not English. Even so, the formers have been exposed to years of formal English medium education while the latter are required to pass a languag proficiency test in order to be admitted into our local schools, and thus both groups should not have any problems with high-frequency words.
From personal experience both as a student and as a teacher, Singapore students have more difficulty with academic words, especially those which are sophisticated. Such words are less frequently used in conversations in Singapore, resulting in our students having reduced exposure to sophisticated vocabulary, as compared to native-English-speaking countries, where more colourful and expressive words are used in daily speech. Students are often unable to use academic words appropriately and in the right context, and this affects their academic performance when it comes to academic tasks such as essay-writing. A lack of vocabulary range, academic words especially, will limit students’ expressivity, restricting them to using simpler words to convey their intentions, resulting in information being less explicit, which might in turn affect the coherence and cohesion of their academic writing and discourse.
3. Application to my teaching of vocabulary
In consideration of the issues discussed, I feel that it is important to develop and expand the receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge of academic words in my students, using a mixed approach to vocabulary learning, through indirect and direct means. Through the use of films and books in our teaching, we can allow students to gain exposure to useful and complex words and to gain a deeper understanding about word sense, indirectly expanding their receptive academic vocabulary. In addition, such activities also provide students with additional avenues to gain decontextualized knowledge, which is useful in language learning.
As it is insufficient to merely expand students’ receptive vocabulary, we also need to provide opportunities for
students to apply the knowledge learnt in their academic writing, thereby expanding on their productive vocabulary. This can be done through follow up activities, such as book reviews, where students can immediately apply the new words learnt from their reading in their writing tasks.
By increasing exposure to more complex vocabulary, our students can thus develop a greater mastery of English and academic writing.
References
Goh, C. C. M, & Ho, G. (2009). Talking beyond the here-and-now: Singaporean preschoolers' use of decontextualized
language. In R. E. Silver, C. C. M. Goh, & L. Alsagoff (Eds.), Language learning in new English contexts (pp. 32-54). London: Continuum.
Paltridge, B., Harbon, L., Hirsch, D., Shen, H., Stevenson, M., Phakiti, A., et al. (2009). Teaching academic writing: An introduction for teachers of second language writers. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Singapore Department of Statistics. (2011). Statistical release 1 on demographic characteristics, education, language and religion. Retrieved on 14 March 2013 from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/news/news/press12012011.pdf