2 April 2012
Vocabulary Development The title of the article I read is Vocabulary Development by Colorín Colorado, via Colorín Colorado. This particular article focused on vocabulary relating to English Language Learners. A variety of strategies were presented throughout the article that could help aide a regular ed classroom teacher. I can identify with this article because while I was student teaching, I had an ELL student in my classroom. As I was reading through the article I noticed several techniques that I had not tried in my past experience in working with an ELL student. I feel that the information that was presented in the article is very relevant to the needs of ELL’s and can be used in a variety of ways to help them succeed academically and socially in the classroom. Also, I think that this is a great tool for teachers because the article gives specific examples of strategies to implement, along with when they should be implemented. In many instances throughout my educational experience I have heard that the more repetition the better. However, I never stopped to think that the more a child can be engaged in conversation right from the beginning, the faster they will catch on. I know that it is true to master any language one must speak it repeatedly. In terms of learning academic language, I somehow thought that becoming familiar through observation may perhaps be more conducive to the student’s learning. This article presented many strong points that the more the student is “thrown” into social situations and asked to contribute the more they will benefit and succeed. In addition, other strategies that were mentioned include: pre-teaching vocabulary, focusing on cognates, scaffolding, using audio books, and trying a word wizard box. The word wizard box really stuck out to me. A student is asked to bring a new word to class that they hear at home or on TV. At the end of class, we pull out a word and ask who wrote it. Ask students where they heard the word and how it was used. Students will then use their new words in discussion and writing. This is a great way to expand ELL’s vocabulary, along with allowing them to become comfortable using new words. Moreover, I will continue to keep these strategies in mind in the future. Somewhere along the way I will undoubtedly have an ELL student, perhaps more than one at a time. I want my students to exceed to the best of their ability, and it my job to create an environment in which this is possible.