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 * A. M. Lynzaat. June 2010 **
 * Building vocabulary. **

The next High Reliability Strategy that we’re focusing on is word building. Good readers know how to manage new and unfamiliar vocabulary. Good teachers support readers in mastering new vocabulary. Mastering new vocabulary means that the reader achieves ‘ownership’ of the new words. The reader/student understands them, uses them in speech and writing, spells and pronounces them accurately.

Supporting students in acquiring new vocabulary can happen at various levels of complexity. For example:

I’d like to suggest that, at Roxburgh, building students’ understanding of and capacity to use an extensive vocabulary is of enormous significance in improving their literacy and their ability to access mainstream culture, in their own right and on their own terms. We are certainly addressing their ability to understand the written and spoken special language of subject or content areas. But we are doing a lot more that this. We are helping them acquire the authority that the right word in the right place can offer.
 * **Teacher action** || **Impact** ||
 * Teacher gives student the meaning of the words as they arise or in response to student’s question. || Offers immediate comprehension; works well for a proficient, fully engaged reader; may or may not result in reader’s ‘ownership’ of the word ||
 * Teacher identifies potentially difficult words. Makes a list; instructs students to check the meanings in dictionaries before reading. || Works well for proficient dictionary users and for self-aware readers who track their own understanding as they read; provides a glossary, especially of key technical language for later reference. May or may not help add word to reader’s personal vocabulary. ||
 * Teacher asks students to predict some of the key words they might find in the text. || Links //Getting Knowledge Ready// stage to preparation for reading; alerts reader to the presence of specific topic-based vocabulary; creates a ‘ready-to-learn’ state of mind (long-term memory and hippocampus are on high alert) ||
 * Teacher asks students to scan text for new vocabulary || Students are actively seeking new words; making judgements about their own knowledge; they’re taking responsibility for the ‘need to know’ ||
 * Teachers give students a spelling list of new words followed by a spelling test || Readers become more familiar with the look of the word; experience short-term improvement in spelling; may or may not achieve long-term memory of the spelling of the word ||
 * Teachers //investigate// with students the sounds, syllables of the target word || Readers/writers are supported in pronunciation and spelling; later learning of a spelling list is more likely to stick ||
 * Teachers and students identify the key stress in a multi-syllabic word; teachers make this an important focus of learning || Students understand the structure of the word; they are able to pronounce it correctly/intelligibly; this also supports the accuracy of their spelling ||
 * Teachers’ language is immersed in the new ‘target’ language of the topic; teachers use and expect students to use the target words; teachers match new word to a known word (e.g. //chop + cut up roughly; shared + divided; moves down +descends//) during the first phase and slowly move to new word without additional cue. || Students’ understanding and //capacity to use// the target language is scaffolded ||

The table above shows that lots of word building activities are worth doing but that some address the idea of word building more deeply than others. Sometimes, taking a simple activity, like a spelling test, but adding preliminary activities like syllable and stress identification, pronunciation practice and so on, can result in a really solid foundation in word understanding; in real ‘ownership’ of the word.

Added to this are various activities that re-enforce meaning, like word-grouping. We can address more of these later on.


 * Summary of the syllable/stress identification we looked at in the last LLLT**

Identify target language (key vocabulary) (or: students predict/scan for key vocab); Produce key word labels in anticipation and modify/add to as needed.
 * Step 1**

Link words and meanings (various activities). (Some people link words and meanings a bit later, focussing on pronunciation first.) Having a large visual or diagram or set of objects for labels to be attached to is very, very useful. Having (differently coloured) multiple sets of key vocab is also particularly valuable. (Remember that you have access to school resources to prepare these via Ann B and the daily helpers.)
 * Step 2**

Give students a set of target words (not too many all at once). Choose a multi-syllabic word. Ask students what the sounds are in the words (NOT the letters, the sounds; this is essentially an //aural// activity). Now ask students how many //parts (syllables)// the word has got. This takes a little practice at first. Once students begin to see the difference, you can explain that each syllable has one vowel sound (//not// vowel letter, vowel //sound//). When you find the number of vowel sounds, you know the number of syllables.
 * Step 3**
 * So, //river// has four sounds: r, i, v, er. But it has two parts: r__i__, v__er__** (I’ve underlined the vowel sound. The //r// in Australian English goes with the //e//. We don’t pronounce it. In American English, it’s a separate sound).

Go through the rest of the target words, working with students to identify and mark the syllables. If you have a laminated set of target words (as large individual labels), you can mark in the syllables and rub off the marks later on, ready for the next time you need the labels. The beauty of this is that you will meet the same key language every time you do this work. You can anticipate what students will select.


 * Step 4**

Now is the fun part. Did you ever watch that show with Norman Kaye, //‘Allo, ‘Allo//? The whole secret of the complicated gobbledy-gook that they speak is about to be revealed. It’s based on the fact that English is a stress-timed language and French isn’t. So when the escaping English airmen speak their painful Franglais, they do it in part by removing the stress patterns from their English, retaining their English words, but imposing French grammatical structures, plus a few French sounds. Despite using English words they instantly become extremely difficult to understand to an English speaker, let alone to a French speaker.

OK, so you didn’t watch //‘Allo, ‘Allo// and it was a silly load of old rope, I admit. However, the point is that English syllables are not given even length. We vary the length of the syllables and we refer to the resulting rhythm as the **//stress pattern//** of the word. In fact we vary the stress in two ways: mainly through length but also through loudness.

There are three levels of stress: the key stress (longest and loudest), a medium stress and a very little stress which is always one sound (the //schwa// sound as in the //er// at the end of //broth__er__// or //moth__er__// or the middle //a// of //cat__a__pult//). The schwa sound is especially typical of Australian English and can be spelt in dozens of different ways.

Why am I carrying on so much about stress patterns? Because research shows that a huge amount of the meaning in English is carried in the stress pattern of a word. It is work at this level that really equips the student with confidence in pronunciation. If they understand the syllable structure and accompanying stress pattern, they can guess the pronunciation and have a much stronger scaffolding for the spelling of a word.

So, to get back to **Step 4**, when the class has marked the syllables in a multi-syllabic word, say the word to the class. Ask them to tell you which part is the strongest (longest). Don’t worry that it takes a bit of practice to be confident in this and don’t worry about your own doubts.

One really good way to test for the correct stress pattern is to shift the key stress. Try saying dictation in as many ways as possible: **DIC**tation, dic**TA**tion, dicta**TION**. Easy to say now which one is acceptable, isn’t it? Some words can have different stress patterns according to whether they are being used as a noun or a verb, such as inter**cept** and **in**tercept. (Not the best example. I’ll look about for a better.) Again, to test where the accent goes, put the word into a sentence as either a noun or a verb and that will give you the position of the key stress.

Remember that the //process// of working all this out is where the most valuable learning is happening; where the student is actively rather than passively engaged in building word strength. While you can and should anticipate as much as possible what kids might produce, while you’re often eliciting specific responses from them, you nevertheless use your questioning and activities to lead them to the knowledge, to discover it themselves. Then you help them organise and consolidate what they’ve discovered. And if they go in a valuable direction that you didn’t anticipate, then good for them and good for you. Go with them.

When the class has arrived at agreement about stress pattern (or just key stress), mark the big label accordingly and make sure that the kids end up with an accurate record of key vocab, marked for syllables and key stress, in their own files. (Put the stress marker above the vowel sound in a syllable. The vowel sound is the one we actually lengthen or shorten.) You can then use this to generate speaking tests before you administer spelling tests as well as listening tests in which the students listen to and mark a list of key words for syllable and appropriate stress. All the while teacher and students are making a conscious effort to use the target language as much as possible, at first with scaffolding from similes, but then independently. You will find that students end up with significantly improved mastery of target words as listeners and speakers, as readers and writers. This improved technical vocabulary alone will give them better strategies for tackling text in instructions, assessment tasks, exams, NAPLAN, on-demand or whatever. Key words are often the thing that triggers our previous knowledge and are a big part of getting knowledge ready.

At first this seems cumbersome but don’t worry. Both students and teachers rapidly acquire the skills involved and the strategy is immediately ready for use. It can be quickly become quite slick and efficient, if you are thorough in setting it up in the first place.

If you are an LLLT, I’d strongly suggest that you start experimenting (where appropriate) in your own classes. As you become more comfortable, it might be a good idea to invite your teacher into your class to model the strategy for them. Please ask for more support from me if you need it.

A few examples of multi-syllabic words marked for syllables and stress (in the hard copy, not in the electronic copy until I find out how to do it).


 * proliferate pro l__i__f er ate **


 * profitable pr__o__ fit a ble **(tricky; it looks like //le//, it sounds like //el//)


 * manageable m__a__n age a ble **


 * transpire tr__a__n spire **


 * fixture f__i__x ture **


 * regurgitate re g__u__r gi tate **
 * evaluation e val u __a__ tion **

You might decide to focus only on key stress (the largest circle and the longest beat). When you have identified the number of syllables, you’ve also identified the number of beats in the word. The really important thing is where the longest beat lies. A few double syllable words have two equal beats (e.g. h__o__mew__or__k).
 * forage f__o__ rage **

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