Knowing the Context: Online Dictionaries
Intended students:
This is an intermediate-level reading and writing class in a private university in the US. The students are from South Korea, and are part of a year-long exchange program. The class is a 1.5 hour class that meets 2 times a week. The students are struggling with differentiating near-synonyms.
Time needed:
25 minutes
Objectives:
Procedure:
Step 1: Choose several sets of words that are near-synonyms (e.g., search, investigate, explore) and write them on the board.
Step 2: In small groups (3~4) Have students discuss the differences between the words. Key factors to consider are formality and the context (is the word for a specific field or situation?)
Step 3: Instruct students look up these words in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online via smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. While doing so, students discuss and take notes concerning the formality and context of the words.
Step 4: Elicit responses from students.
Step 5: Again in small groups, students select a set of words that were discussed and write a definition and sample sentence for each word, showing that they understand the context the words are used for.
Material:
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
Evaluation:
Some students may still have trouble grasping the differences between the near-synonyms. To directly address this issue, prepare to show erroneous sentences with the target word(s) from actual student writing samples (without the names) to the class, and have students discuss why they are incorrect. Then, discuss with the whole class and make clarifications.
References:
Zimmerman, C. B. (2009). Word knowledge: A vocabulary teacher’s handbook. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 130-131.
Intended students:
This is an intermediate-level reading and writing class in a private university in the US. The students are from South Korea, and are part of a year-long exchange program. The class is a 1.5 hour class that meets 2 times a week. The students are struggling with differentiating near-synonyms.
Time needed:
25 minutes
Objectives:
- To become familiar with the context of words in order to discern when it is appropriate to use them
- To be able to associate words with degrees of formality.
- To be able to use online dictionaries efficiently for vocabulary learning
Procedure:
Step 1: Choose several sets of words that are near-synonyms (e.g., search, investigate, explore) and write them on the board.
Step 2: In small groups (3~4) Have students discuss the differences between the words. Key factors to consider are formality and the context (is the word for a specific field or situation?)
Step 3: Instruct students look up these words in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English online via smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. While doing so, students discuss and take notes concerning the formality and context of the words.
Step 4: Elicit responses from students.
Step 5: Again in small groups, students select a set of words that were discussed and write a definition and sample sentence for each word, showing that they understand the context the words are used for.
Material:
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online
http://www.ldoceonline.com/
Evaluation:
Some students may still have trouble grasping the differences between the near-synonyms. To directly address this issue, prepare to show erroneous sentences with the target word(s) from actual student writing samples (without the names) to the class, and have students discuss why they are incorrect. Then, discuss with the whole class and make clarifications.
References:
Zimmerman, C. B. (2009). Word knowledge: A vocabulary teacher’s handbook. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 130-131.