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New dresses, Court, wash the dishes, scrub the floors, turn down the beds ... A flick of magic wand, the most beautiful dress, pumpkin, sparkling coach, mice, ...
TEACHING VOCABULARY THROUGH DISCOURSE-ORIENTED SYLLABUS Jelena Bobkina Universidad Complutense Madrid Madrid / Spain [email protected]

Miriam Fernández de Caleya Dalmau Universidad Complutense Madrid Madrid / Spain [email protected]

Abstract Most English teachers nowadays recognize the necessity of teaching vocabulary in context. By context we understand not only the immediate semantic environment of any given lexical item, but the whole text surrounding (co-text), as well as the situation in which the discourse is produced (context). By bringing a discourse dimension into vocabulary teaching, we do not pretend to substitute neither traditional nor more recent communicative approaches. On the contrary, our challenge is to combine already existing approaches in teaching lexis with a discourse-oriented one. Our research is based mainly on the latest developments of Text Linguistics and Discourse Analysis in the field of lexical cohesion: studying vocabulary above sentence level. We propose that lexical cohesion as a significant feature of textuality could be successfully exploited by language teachers. By introducing vocabulary work on a discourse level, we pretend to provide language students with meaningful, controlled practice of vocabulary, as well as give them a chance to improve their text-creating and decoding abilities in a wide variety of contexts. A wide selection of original materials based on discourse-oriented teaching is included. Keywords - Vocabulary approaches, semantic

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context,

lexical

cohesion,

teaching,

communicative

INTRODUCTION

Spanish National Curriculum standards in foreign language teaching are being reformed nowadays in order to meet new social demands towards preparing communicatively competent students and therefore improve students’ communicative competence: “language learners will need to develop the full range of lexical strategies” {1}. In this way, lexical knowledge seems to be absolutely essential for foreign language learners. Mastering vocabulary in language teaching practice in Spain is not something new, indeed. What is new - is the way vocabulary is being introduced and memorized. Not as isolated decontextualised bits of information, but in a form of interrelated, meaningful elements, that could be fully understood only in their context. In fact, few English teachers nowadays would reject the necessity of teaching vocabulary, wherever possible, in context. By context we understand not only the immediate semantic environment of any given lexical item, but the whole text surrounding (co-text) as well as the situation in which the discourse is produced (context).

Proceedings of INTED2010 Conference. 8-10 March 2010, Valencia, Spain.

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ISBN:978-84-613-5538-9

By bringing a discourse dimension into vocabulary teaching, we do not pretend to substitute neither traditional nor more recent communicative approaches. On the contrary, our challenge is to combine already existing approaches in teaching lexis with a discourse-oriented one. Our research is based mainly on the latest developments of Text Linguistics and Discourse Analysis in the field of lexical cohesion: studying vocabulary above sentence level. We strongly defend the idea that discourse-organising vocabulary, in particularly, lexical cohesion as a significant feature of textuality, could be successfully exploited by language teachers. By introducing vocabulary work on a discourse level, we pretend to provide the language students with meaningful, controlled practice of vocabulary, as well as to give them a chance to improve their text-creating and decoding abilities in a wide variety of contexts. The aim of this research, therefore, is to propose some practical advices of vocabulary work based on texts analysis viewed from a discourse-oriented approach.

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TEXTUALITY AND DISCOURSE-ORGANISING VOCABULARY

The lexical relations between words and phrases in a discourse could be of different types. McCarthy {2}, in his attempt to classify a variety of linguistic phenomena ascribed to the field of discourseorganising vocabulary, divides them as follows: lexical cohesion, instantial relations, discourse organising words, and modality.

2.1

Lexical cohesion

Lexical cohesion, a relatively new linguistic concept introduced by Halliday and Hassan {3}, represents one of the recent attempts of studying vocabulary patterns above sentence level. According to the model proposed by the authors, the relation between vocabulary items in texts could be of two principal kinds: reiteration and collocation. By reiteration, Halliday and Hassan understand restating an item in a later part of discourse by direct repetition or reasserting its meaning by exploiting lexical relations, such as hyponymy, synonymy, antonym, etc. In continuation, they classify reiteration into four types: the same word, a synonym/near synonym, a superordinate, and a general word. For example, ‘a boy’ can be replaced in the following sentences with ‘the boy’ (the same word), ‘the lad’ (a synonym/near-synonym), ‘the child’ (a superordinate), and ‘the idiot’ (a general word). {4} Collocation seems to be the most debatable aspect of lexical cohesion, since they are not described in terms of any semantic relations, but in terms of the probability of their co-occurrence. In fact, some linguists tend not to include collocation into the broader phenomenon of lexical cohesion {5}. Halliday and Hassan, in particular, recognize collocation as an important element of text cohesion. They argue the case of collocation as follows: The cohesive effect … depends not so much on any systematic relationship as on their tendency to share the same lexical environment, to occur in COLLOCATION with one another. In general, any two lexical items having similar patterns of collocation – that is, tending to appear in similar context – will generate a cohesive force if they occur in adjacent sentences. {6} In our investigation we treat collocation as an intrinsic part of a lexical cohesion phenomenon. Though they escape characterization and no general syntactic or semantic rules could be applied to them, collocations are of widespread use in language and no native fluency of language could be achieved without their incorporation in speech.

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Among the immediate implications of lexical cohesion for language pedagogy we would stress the importance of teaching elements comprising this linguistic device in the creation of natural discourse. In practice it means that “it is important to make learners aware that synonyms are not just ways of understanding new words when they crop up in the class, nor are they some abstract notion for the organization of lexicons and thesauri, but they are there to be used, just as any other linguistic device, in the creation of natural discourse”. {7}

2.2

Instantial lexical relations

A different type of lexical relation in discourse is when a writer rearranges the conventional and standardized lexical relations between some words or phrases in the text in order to adjust them to some particular purposes. In this case, lexical relations created by the author are valid in particular texts only, and their interpretations may not correspond to dictionary definitions. The teacher’s task then will consist in raising students’ awareness on the fact that typical vocabulary relations could be often readjusted in individual texts.

2.3

Discourse organizing words

McCarthy {8} and McCarthy and Carter {9} introduce the concept of discourse-organising words whose job in the text is to organize and structure the arguments, rather than answer for its content or field. Some of this discourse-organising vocabulary consists of words that act as pronouns in the way that they refer in the text to some other part of the text. They include such words, as issue, problem, assessment, question, position, case, situation, etc. Here are some examples from one text: Here I want to spend some time examining this issue. First I propose to look briefly at the history of interest in the problem, and then spend some time on its origins and magnitude before turning to an assessment of the present situation and approaches to its solution. Finally, I want to have a short peek at possible future prospects. {10} Mayer {11} stresses the phenomenon of their deslexicalisation. The discourse-organising words could tell us about the structure of the article, but nothing about the author’s subject matter. We have to find somewhere else the lexicalization of the words. The teacher’s task therefore is to make students sensitive to “their many functions which include referring to other parts of the text and signaling a stage in a discourse”. {12}

2.4

Modality

The importance of modality in the creation of discourse has been demonstrated by a number of discourse analysts (among others, Stubbs, Perkins, Westney). All messages, both written and spoken, choose some degree of modality which could be expressed grammatically, through modal verbs, or semantically, through modality words. This large number of “lexical” words (nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs), carrying the same meanings as the modal verbs, is at the center of interest of discourse analysts. The vocabulary of modality includes such words as appear, assume, doubt, guess, look as if, suggest, think, actually, certainly, inevitably, obviously, possibly and nouns/adjectives related to them. All these words carry important information about the attitude of the sender of the message towards the information they transmit. “They are concerned with assertion, tentativeness, commitment, detachment and other crucial aspects of interpersonal meaning.” {13}

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In teaching practice the concept of modality is taught mainly through modal verbs, while other modal lexical items are usually under-represented in teaching materials.

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METHODOLOGY

For the purpose of investigating how the knowledge of lexical cohesion and other discourse devices can help L2 learners in developing vocabulary skills in English, we have selected the well-known classic folk-tale of Cinderella. A set of exercises based on a discourse-oriented syllabus, is offered to provide a practical guide for teachers looking for new challenges in teaching lexis. The exercises were prepared for teenage students with an intermediate level of English. The work on lexical devices is embedded into the more general structure of text analysis. While working on understanding the characters of the story, the tale’s main concepts and structure, the students are developing and mastering vocabulary skills.

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4 4.1 A.

WORKING WITH THE TEXT Introducing the main character Find the words in the text (nouns, adjectives, or adverbs) that best describe Cinderella.

Possible answers: unhappy, young, lovely girl, poor, elegance, beauty, grace, shining with youth and beauty, awful, untidy, ugly Whom does each of the following descriptions belong to? Answer: All of them belong to the author, except the last three that belong to Cinderella’s stepmother.

B.

Find the words in the text that are related with the main character’s nickname: Cinderella. Explain the relation between these words.

Possible answers: Fire, cinders, dusty, gray. All of them belong to the same lexico- semantic group.

C.

The name of Cinderella is replaced in the text by such words and expressions as she, the poor unhappy girl, etc. Can you find more words/expressions that stand for Cinderella?

Possible answers: Cinderella – the poor unhappy girl, my dear girl, a real lady, the newcomer, a fair maiden, awful untidy girl, Who does each of the phrases belong to? What do they say us about other characters’ attitude towards Cinderella? Possible answers: Author: the poor unhappy girl, newcomer (sympathy, compassion) Fairy: a real lady (pride, respect) Ministers: a fair maiden (respect) Prince: a fair maiden (respect, love) Stepmother: my dear girl, awful untidy girl (pharisaism, humiliation)

D.

Cinderella’s stepmother describes Cinderella as “awful untidy” and “ugly” girl. Do you think “awful untidy” and “ugly” could be considered as synonyms?

Possible answer: In this particular text they could be considered as synonyms.

E.

Find the words in the text that describe Cinderella’s clothes before and after the spell.

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Possible answers: Before the spell: scraps, rags, clogs After the spell: beautiful, the loveliest ever seen, dainty, splendid, slippers, dress The words scraps, rags, and clogs describe Cinderella’s clothes before the magic spell. Describe the meaning of each of the words using the following semantic prompts: - small bits of clothes - torn clothes - old clothes - made of wood

4.2 A.

Introducing the secondary characters Find the words in the text that best describe Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters.

Possible answers: Stepmother: widow, didn’t like her one little bit Stepsisters: clumsy, lumpy, ugly

4.3 A.

Compare Cinderella with her stepmother/stepsisters Find words and expressions in the text that are opposed to the following ones:

All the nice things, kind thoughts, loving touches Dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious Comfy beds, home comfort Splendid and elegant clothes What does this lexical opposition is based on? How does it help us to understand the characters of the story? Possible answers: All the nice things, kind thoughts, loving touches – no kind thoughts and love Dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious food – her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs, scraps Comfy beds, home comfort – no nice rests and comfort Splendid and elegant clothes – rags The lexical opposition is based on antonymic relations. It helps us to understand the antagonism of the main characters of the story.

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B.

When comparing Cinderella with her stepsisters, the author uses such expressions as: clumsy, lumpy, ugly for stepsisters and elegance, grace, youth and beauty for Cinderella.

a) Which of the following words refer to the way to move? b) Which of the following words describe pleasant/unpleasant person? Answer: grace – clumsy (clumsiness) ugly – elegance, beauty

C.

4.4 A.

In groups choose one character (Cinderella or her stepsisters). Write a detail description using vocabulary from the previous exercises.

Understanding the concepts Which of the following concepts, from your point of view, are the most essential for understanding of the story: magic, love, amazement, beauty, feelings?

Find the words and expressions in the text that prove your point of view. Possible answers: Magic: burst of light, fairy, flick of her magic wand, wonder of wonders, enchanted, spell Amazement: amazing, wonder, surprise, amazement, couldn’t believe her eyes, admire, and guess Beauty: splendid, elegant, beautiful, loveliness, elegance, beauty, grace, shining youth and beauty Feelings: unhappy, poor, disappointment, joyfully, happily Love: struck by beauty, madly in love, engagement.

B.

One of the main themes of the story is Magic. This concept is introduced through a number of different lexical relations.

Continue the following list of lexical pairs. How these words are related in the text? Pumpkin - sparkling coach Seven mice – Beautiful dress – Dainty little slippers Possible answers: Pumpkin - sparkling coach Seven mice – six white horses and a coachman

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Beautiful dress – rags Dainty little slippers - clogs The last two pairs of words are jointed by antonymic relations. The first and the second case could be described in terms of instantial lexical relations as far as their connection is characteristic of this particular text.

4.5

Understanding the structure

A.

Divide the text into several (from 5 to 10) logical parts. Give a title for each extract using not more than 3 words. Try to use the words from the text.

Possible answers: Unhappy girl Beauty Forthcoming ball Amazing appearance Wonder of wonders At the ball Midnight Madly in love

B.

Now make a list of words/expressions that best describe each of the following themes.

Unhappy girl Mother dead, stepmother, stepsisters, poor, no nice things, kind thought or loving touches, no comfort, hard work Beauty Lovely girl, dressed in rags, dusty gray face Forthcoming ball New dresses, Court, wash the dishes, scrub the floors, turn down the beds Amazing appearance Burst of light, fairy Wonder of wonders A flick of magic wand, the most beautiful dress, pumpkin, sparkling coach, mice, horses, coachman, spell At the ball Ballroom, palace, elegance, beauty and grace, the newcomer, prince, fair maiden, wonderful time Midnight Sound of a clock, the first stroke of midnight, ran down, slipper, disaster, vanish, night

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Madly in love Slipper, ministers, try the slipper on, surprise, engagement ring, joyfully, happily

C.

Discuss your answers with the whole class and decide on the text division.

Work in groups and make a summary of one of the text parts. Using vocabulary from the previous exercises, write a summary of the whole story.

4.6

Extra vocabulary work. Understanding the role of lexical cohesion.

A.

Working with repetitions. st

Read the first part of the story (1 paragraph) paying special attention to repeated words. Explain their semantic function in the text. th

Do the same with the middle part of the story (2 – 17th paragraph). th

Repeat the same procedure with the part concluding the story ( 8 paragraph – end). Possible answers: st

1 part: Unhappy Daughters Comfort Cinderella The repeated words introduce the main themes of the story around which the narration is being built. 2

nd

part:

Rags Dress Magic wand Fairy Coach Ball Pumpkin Horses Mice Cinderella The words repeated in the middle part of the story are related mostly with the concept of magic that is essential for the development of the story. rd

3 part: Ran Stroke of midnight Slipper

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Foot Girl Prince Stepmother The words repeated in the final part of the story briefly summarize the ending of the fairytale.

B.

Working with homonyms and super-ordinates.

Find the words that can be grouped under the following headings. (Alternatively, students may complete the word-maps looking for the lexis in the text). Continue the list adding some more words for each of the group. -

family nice things home comfort clothes household chores parts of house animals court

Possible answers: -

C.

family (mother, stepmother, father, daughters, stepsisters) nice things (thoughts, loving touches) home comfort (delicious food, comfy beds) clothes (dresses, shoes, shawls, slippers) household chores (wash the dishes, scrub the floors, turn down the beds) parts of house (cellar, floors) animals (cats, horses, mice) court (prince, ministers, realm)

Working with synonyms.

Find the synonyms of the following words. Do these synonyms refer to the same object in the text? Nice, sparkling, joyfully, beautiful, awful, turn into, beauty Possible answers: Nice – kind, loving, lovely Sparkling – shining Joyfully – happily Beautiful - splendid Awful – ugly Turn into – become Beauty – elegance

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D.

Write a paragraph using some of the words from the previous exercise. Rewrite the paragraph using their synonyms. Do they modify in some way the meaning of the text?

E.

Work in groups and make up your own “upside-down” version of a traditional folk tale.

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CONCLUSION

Discourse-organising vocabulary combines already existing approaches in teaching lexis with newer ones, in particularly, lexical cohesion as a significant feature of textuality, and can be successfully exploited by language teachers. By introducing vocabulary work on a discourse level, we pretend to provide the language students with meaningful, controlled practice of vocabulary, as well as give them a chance to improve their text-creating and decoding abilities in a wide variety of contexts. A practical discourse-oriented example is given in this paper as a result of our study.

Cinderella Once upon a time... there lived an unhappy young girl. Unhappy she was, for her mother was dead, her father had married another woman, a widow with two daughters, and her stepmother didn't like her one little bit. All the nice things, kind thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. And not just the kind thoughts and love, but also dresses, shoes, shawls, delicious food, comfy beds, as well as every home comfort. All this was laid on for her daughters. But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters' hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No nice rests and comfort. For she had to work hard all day, and only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That is how she got her nickname, for everybody called her Cinderella. Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said, "Miaow", which really meant, "Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters have and that is beauty." It was quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in rags with a dusty gray face from the cinders, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be. One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the house. A ball was to be held at Court and the stepsisters were getting ready to go to it. Cinderella, didn't even dare ask, "What about me?" for she knew very well what the answer to that would be: "You? My dear girl, you're staying at home to wash the dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for your stepsisters. They will come home tired and very sleepy." Cinderella sighed at the cat. "Oh dear, I'm so unhappy!" and the cat murmured "Miaow". Suddenly something amazing happened. In the kitchen, where Cinderella was sitting all by herself, there was a burst of light and a fairy appeared. "Don't be alarmed, Cinderella," said the fairy. "The wind blew me your sighs. I know you would love to go to the ball. And so you shall!" "How can I, dressed in rags?" Cinderella replied. "The servants will turn me away!" The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand... Cinderella found herself wearing the most beautiful dress, the loveliest ever seen in the realm. "Now that we have settled the matter of the dress," said the fairy, "we'll need to get you a coach. A real lady would never go to a ball on foot!" "Quick! Get me a pumpkin!" she ordered. "Oh

of

course,"

said

Cinderella,

rushing

away.

Then

"You, bring me seven mice!" "Seven mice!" said the cat. "I didn't know fairies ate mice too!"

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the

fairy

turned

to

the

cat.

"They're not for eating, silly! Do as you are told!... and, remember they must be alive!" Cinderella soon returned with a fine pumpkin and the cat with seven mice he had caught in the cellar. "Good!" exclaimed the fairy. With a flick of her magic wand... wonder of wonders! The pumpkin turned into a sparkling coach and the mice became six white horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a coachman, in a smart uniform and carrying a whip. Cinderella could hardly believe her eyes. "I shall present you at Court. You will soon see that the Prince, in whose honor the ball is being held, will be enchanted by your loveliness. But remember! You must leave the ball at midnight and come home. For that is when the spell ends. Your coach will turn back into a pumpkin, the horses will become mice again and the coachman will turn back into a mouse... and you will be dressed again in rags and wearing clogs instead of these dainty little slippers! Do you understand?" Cinderella smiled and said, "Yes, I understand!" When Cinderella entered the ballroom at the palace, a hush fell. Everyone stopped in mid-sentence to admire her elegance, her beauty and grace. "Who can that be?" people asked each other. The two stepsisters also wondered who the newcomer was, for never in a month of Sundays, would they ever have guessed that the beautiful girl was really poor Cinderella who talked to the cat! When the prince set eyes on Cinderella, he was struck by her beauty. Walking over to her, he bowed deeply and asked her to dance. And to the great disappointment of all the young ladies, he danced with Cinderella all evening. "Who are you, fair maiden?" the Prince kept asking her. But Cinderella only replied: "What does it matter who I am! You will never see me again anyway." "Oh, but I shall, I'm quite certain!" he replied. Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball... But, all of a sudden, she heard the sound of a clock: the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had said, and without a word of goodbye she slipped from the Prince's arms and ran down the steps. As she ran she lost one of her slippers, but not for a moment did she dream of stopping to pick it up! If the last stroke of midnight were to sound... oh... what a disaster that would be! Out she fled and vanished into the night. The Prince, who was now madly in love with her, picked up her slipper and said to his ministers, "Go and search everywhere for the girl whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I find her!" So the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of all the girls... and on Cinderella's foot as well... Surprise! The slipper fitted perfectly. "That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball," snapped the stepmother. "Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of my two daughters! Can't you see how ugly Cinderella is! Can't you see?" Suddenly she broke off, for the fairy had appeared. "That's enough!" she exclaimed, raising her magic wand. In a flash, Cinderella appeared in a splendid dress, shining with youth and beauty. Her stepmother and stepsisters gaped at her in amazement, and the ministers said, "Come with us, fair maiden! The Prince waits to present you with his engagement ring!" So Cinderella joyfully went with them, and lived happily ever after with her Prince. And as for the cat, he just said "Miaow"! From: http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/cinderella.html

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Bibliography 1. Brown, G. and G. Yule (1983). Discourse Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2. Carter, R. (1998). Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspectives. London: Routledge. 3. Celce-Murcia, M. and E. Olshtain (2000). Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 4. DeCarrico, J.S. (2001). “Vocabulary Learning and Teaching.Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language”. In M. Celce‐Murcia. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. pp.285–299.  5. Halliday, M., Hasan; R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman. 6. McCarthy, M. (1990). Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 7. McCarthy, M. (2006). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 8. McCarthy, M., Carter R. (1988) Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London, Longman. 9. Nation, P. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 10. Stubbs, M, (1983) Discourse Analysis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 11. Perkins, M.R. (1983) Modal expressions in English. London: Frances Pinter. 12. Westney, P. (1986) How to be more or less certain in English: scalarity in epistemic modality, International Review of Applied Linguistics, XXIV (4), 311-20. 13. Muto, K. The use of lexical cohesion http://library.nakanishi.ac.jp/kiyou/gaidai(30)/07.pdf

in

teaching

reading

and

writing.

14. Michaela Mahlberg Lexical cohesion: corpus linguistic theory and its application in English language teaching International journal of corpus linguistics, ISSN 1384-6655, Vol. 11, Nº 3, 2006, pags. 363-383 15. Cinderella: http://www.ivyjoy.com/fables/cinderella.html

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References [1] McCarthy, M., Carter R. (1988) Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London, Longman. [2] McCarthy, M. (2006). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [3] Halliday, M., Hasan; R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman. [4] Halliday, M., Hasan; R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman, p.279-80. [5] McCarthy, M. (2006). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.65. [6] Halliday, M., Hasan; R. (1976). Cohesion in English. London: Longman. [7] McCarthy, M. (2006). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.67. [8] McCarthy, M. (2006). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.78-84. [9] McCarthy, M., Carter R. (1988) Vocabulary and Language Teaching. London, Longman, p.105. [10] Kyle, W. (1984). Annals of the GGAS, University of Hong Kong, no.12:54-66. [11] Mayer (2005) A new agenda in discourse analysis. John Benjamins. [12] Nation, P. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.214. [13] McCarthy, M. (2005). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 85.

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