Teaching English Vocabulary; From Concept to Instruction

Abstract

Vocabulary is of prime importance in English language teaching because without sufficient vocabulary, students cannot understand others or express their own ideas. There can never be full comprehension of a text, either in the learner's native language or a foreign language without understanding the vocabulary in the text (Adeniyi 2006). This view clearly shows the importance of vocabulary in learning L2 or FL. Considering the importance of English language as a world language, teaching its vocabulary becomes imperative. Until recently, vocabulary instruction was neglected and at best equated with just teaching word meaning with students learning a list of words, synonyms and antonyms in the belief that with this approach, vocabulary was adequately taught. This, however, does not give learners deep understanding of the kind of lexical choices available to proficient users of the language and why one alternative is preferred to another. Contrastively, the correct practice should be that lexis, grammar and discourse should not be taught as separate strands in the language syllabus but rather taught in an integrative approach. The focus of this paper therefore, is to examine the rudiments of vocabulary teaching by considering the concept of vocabulary, dimensions of the lexeme and stages in an efficient English vocabulary instruction that would support the integrative approach that can enhance learners' ability to proficiently communicate in English language.

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Author Information
Adeniyi Folakemi Oyeyemi, University of Ilorin, Nigeria
Lawal Adebayo 'Raheem, University of Ilorin, Nigeria

• Category: Dubai Conference Series 2016, IICLLDubai2016, Oral Presentation, Paper Available
• Tag: Language education,

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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