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Lesson Plan

Student-Generated Academic Vocabulary Lesson

Introduction
When studying in an academic English program, students require a solid academic vocabulary to bolster their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. This is especially true for Bachelor of Education students at the Higher Colleges of Technology, who need to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in all skills. To achieve this goal, the students need activities that engage them in the fours skills whenever possible. This academic vocabulary lesson, based on a student-centered approach, offers a good way for teachers to turn academic vocabulary practice into a full language experience. As a starting point, students must be able to comprehend articles available on the BBC, Time Magazine and National Geographic among many others. I think that this type of activity works best when implemented as a weekly routine that starts on the first day of the week and ends on the last day of the week, continuing for the duration of the semester.

Guy Stieglitz Fujairah Womens College Higher Colleges of Technology Fujairah, UAE

important to note that what is considered appropriate will depend on the ability and reading level of each student. Testing the articles for academic words is a simple process. The Compleat Lexical Tutor Website designed by Tom Cobb of the Universit du Qubec Montral has an excellent vocabulary profiler. First, type Web VP (v 1.0) into Google, or type the following web address into the address box at the top of the browser: http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/cgibin/webfreqs/web_vp.html. To use the Web VP (1.0), erase all the text in the white box in the middle of the print screen shown below. After that, cut and paste the text of the article into the white box and press the SUBMIT button.

Laying the Ground Work

Prior to working on their own, the teacher needs to prepare the students by explicitly showing the different types of articles they are expected to read. The students need to be aware of the differences between magazine articles and general websites like Wikipedia, e-how and personal blogs. Classroom teachers can also play a vital role by simply compiling a list of quality online magazines to ensure good choices. Having a reading menu to choose from and giving students clear guidelines steers them towards challenging texts, which generally have 20-30 academic words. It is also

A screenshot of the Web VP website.

Volume 18

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January 2011

TESOL Arabia Perspectives

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Lesson Plan

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Afterwards, the screen will look like this:

Sharing
On sharing day, students pair up and discuss the articles. They should summarize the articles, express their opinions, discuss the relevant or controversial issues and share the vocabulary. To explain the words, the students should first show the target words in the context of the article and discuss the meaning. The student learning the new words should seek clarification as necessary and show understanding by creating original example sentences, which can be done orally or in writing. The total process of sharing the article and the vocabulary should take approximately 20-30 minutes per pair. While pairs discuss, the teacher should move around the room and observe. If a pair needs assistance starting or sustaining a conversation, the teacher can join them briefly to get them on track. When joining the conversation, it is best to act more as a participant in the conversation rather than as the instructor. After the discussions, students share the academic vocabulary they have learned from reading their articles with the whole class.

This New York Times article about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has 30 academic words to choose from. The students learn 6-8 words and share with a partner.

This vocabulary profiler will identify the words, from the top 2000, academic, technical and off-list words. In addition to having ample academic vocabulary for the students to learn, it is very important to exemplify what makes an article academically relevant. In the beginning, articles should be negotiated with the teacher beforehand to ensure that they are subjects that create opportunities for learning and discussion.

Displaying
At this point, the teacher distributes strips of paper big enough so that all students in class can see them from their desk. An easel and attached flipchart located in front of the room works well as it showcases the words and makes them highly visible for the students and teacher. Each student chooses one interesting academic word learned from a partner and places the card on the easel. Once displayed, the stage is set for students to notice if the words, synonyms, antonyms or other derivational forms are seen in reading and listening activities the following week. The teacher will also have the opportunity to use the words impromptu during routine discussions and writings. These opportunities are an excellent way to reinforce the vocabulary. These words can also be used for warm up activities. For instance, it can be helpful to begin the class with a quick discussion of the words by asking students to define them or use them in sentences. In addition, to incorporate writing into the process, the

Reading
Once prepared, the students choose articles, read them and identify the academic vocabulary with the online vocabulary profiler. After identifying the words, the students choose approximately 6-8 academic words that they do not know. Then, they learn them well enough to explain them to a classmate. Learning the words can be done during the week for homework, or, if the teacher prefers, the students can be given time in class to prepare. This way the students have a bit more time to look up the words in the dictionary, seek clarifying images on the internet and, if necessary, ask the instructor for assistance.

Guy Stieglitz teaches in the BEd program at Fujairah Womens College, holding an MA in TESOL and a BA in English Education. He has taught in South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico and the US. Research interests include technology, reading and writing.

Volume 18

No. 1

January 2011

TESOL Arabia Perspectives

www.tesolarabia.org

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Lesson Plan

students can write an email or letter that uses as many of the words as possible.

Conclusion
My freshman BEd students at Fujairah Womens College responded very well to this activity. After a few weeks of adjusting to the process and learning to enjoy the conversations with their partner, they looked forward to Thursdays when we shared the articles. The following week before each class, we reviewed the words and the students were keen to use vocabulary in subsequent writing and speaking activities. As a final thought, I think it is important to adapt this process to the local context and student needs. At the heart of this activity is the idea that the students read, talk, listen, write and practice the new words.
D D D D D

The students words displayed in the front of the classroom for the week.

Recommended Weekly Schedule:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
J J J J J

Choose articles in class and identify AW's with vocabulary profiler. Read article and prepare vocabulary for homework Read article and prepare vocabulary for homework Read article and prepare vocabulary for homework Share articles and vocabulary in class.

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Volume 18

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January 2011

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