ELL Reading Strategies: Vocabulary Part 2

Any language program that is used to learn English must address the basic skills necessary for an individual to learn the language from the ground up: alphabetization, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary and comprehension strategies.

This will focus on vocabulary and some strategies that can be used to help a new language learner decode unfamiliar words and retain comprehension of its meaning. These strategies are not all-inclusive. Just as young ones learn to read and write, so must speakers of other languages: one step at a time, from the bottom up.

Strategy 1: Advance Organizers

Visual aids can help students visually "map" out a word. This can be helpful to commit a word to memory. This can also help identify key components such as root, endings, prefixes and suffixes, sample sentences, contextual and literal meanings, just to name a few.

Example: If a student is learning the word “station," the student will identify major characteristics of the word, using these traits to build on prior knowledge. A good organizer to use would be the Frayer Model. Here’s a possibility of what the graphic organizer could include:

Definition (student's own words)
Word characteristics (ends in "-tion," sounds like /shun/
Examples (what it is)
Non-examples (what it is not)

Strategy 2: Word Morphology

Word roots, prefixes and suffixes that help student identify meaningful chunks when reading unfamiliar words.

Example: Thank + ful + ness = Thankfulness; Meaning- the state of being full of thanks

Strategy 3: Idioms and Phrases

Direct instruction of literal and figurative meanings can be very useful when helping ESL students learn how to manipulate known vocabulary to communicate more effectively.

Example: “all ears”
Mom finally finished talking on the phone and turned to me and said, “Sorry about that, go ahead with your story, I’m all ears.”

Does the expression mean that the person is full of ears?
Or...does it mean that the person is ready to listen to what you have to say?

Strategy 4: Synonyms and Antonyms

Using a similar word and word that is opposite can help students construct categories. This also attaches chunks of meaning to a specific word that is common to a group of words.

Example: Synonyms: thoughtful / insightful
                Antonyms:    inconsiderate/ wise

Strategy 5: Cognates

This is one of the most used strategies. It is one that learners find the easiest to use at the beginning of language acquisition. Students find similarities in spelling and pronunciation of words in both languages. The connection for meaning is already established for the student and then it's only a matter of recognizing pronunciation and differences.

Example:

English	Spanish
Restaurant	Restaurante
Camera	Camara

A Note Before You Go:
Not all languages are as relatable as English-Spanish, but the approach should be the same: to build from the bottom up, helping learners hear the sounds of phonemes or word parts, identifying meaningful chunks and later, using these same strategies to decode unfamiliar words found in text using context clues.