New Words in Context

This week in class we discussed context and the way teachers need to pay attention to context when teaching new words. Teachers can not teach all the words, but they need to teach the important words. If a text has more than 2-3 new words per page it is probably going to be an overload of new words. Students need to be able to use the words in context, remember their meaning, and produce the words in writing.

People have 3 levels of language: frontier, receptive, vocabulary. Teachers need to strive to get the new words into the vocabulary, but at least into the receptive would be great. Students need to have the new words repeated several times so that they can start associating meaning with the words. Context is the best teacher of new words. Context makes the meaning. Everything provides context for new words and ideas. Instead of teaching new words, teachers should teach the words that help develop context. The context of a word drives the meaning; it does not go the other way around.My Professor demonstrated this exact thing in class this week when she created the word "kolpers" and had us create a meaning for it from the context is was used in. The order of development makes sense because that is how children learn their native language.

When ELLs are learning the language it is important to remember the order the skills develop in. Listening develops first because ELLs can do nothing else. Since they can not speak, write, or read the language listening is the only way they can start to infer meaning from the new words. Speaking develops second. Speaking at first is just mimicking but then the words take on concrete meanings and the language continues to develop. Once a person can speak phonetics and letter recognition help them begin reading the new language. Generally after these other areas are mastered then writing develops.

ELLs and Native English Speakers alike can both benefit from the use of context clues and repetition. Teachers should elevate their language so that students can mimic it. Students will mimic what they hear so teachers should model what they want. When I begin teaching I will model for my students what I want them to do. I will speak to them the way I want them to speak in my classroom. From my modeling I hope they will learn what is expected in my classroom.