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11.3.6. Criteria forselection

Teacher usually has to decide what words will be taught during a lesson and therefore certain criteria for selection should be taken into account (based on Haycraft, 1978):

11.3.6.1    freąuency (commonest words) - it is of certain importance to select items that are widely used, but the high freąuency of a word or phrase does not and cannot guarantee its usefulness; in certain circumstances item usefulness may not be determined by its freąuency - a Iow freąuency item might be crucial if it cannot be easily substituted by a synonymous expression or in case it is the only one rendering the given meaning. Nunan claims that “coverage, or the rangę of contexts in which the words are encountered” (1991:119) can in certain situations be of greater significance than freąuency,

11.3.6.2    students’ needs - “if a students wants to know a certain word, it is usually worth teaching [...] because motivation will ensure that [s/]he remembers it” (1978:44); students’ background is also of help because it will give the teacher an idea of what words the students are most likely to need or want to know;

11.3.6.3    expediency (based on Gaims and Redman, 1986) - “the

classroom will often dictate the need for certain vocabulary, without which the students may fail to understand their teacher, fellow students or the activity they are supposedly engaged in” (1986:61); basie terms of grammatical terminology, for example, make the teacher’s explanations easier, the students are capable of making profitable use of the dictionaries and grammar books. ClassroomJ language also makes use of items that are often encountered in instructions for language activities (e.g.:    true/false,

top/bottom/middle, tick/cross, get into pairs/groups, etc.), as well as expressions necessary for students to ąuestion others in order to get yaluable or crucial information,

11.3.6.4    students’ language - if a class is homogenous, i.e. composed of one language group, the teacher needs to be aware of which words are similar in students’ mother tongue and English, and< so they are likely to prove much easier to learn; however, teachers have to bear in mind that there are ‘false friends’ in languages as well, and so words that sound the same in fact mean something quite different in respective languages;

11.3.6.5    word building - “it is often worth choosing a word because a generał rule can be formed, e.g. teach - teacher, work -worker, etc.” (1978:46); it is additionally worth noting that most words with the ‘ion’ ending have a universal meaning in European languages: ‘revolution\ ‘constitution’, ‘abstraction’;

11.3.6.6    topie areas - it is easier to present and teach vocabulary belonging to one area of seąuence sińce the leamers will be able to form a network of associations of such interrelated items in their minds;¹

113.6.7 cross reference - “a lot of words are applicable to different situations or specialisations” (1978:46); if, for instance, the teacher is going to teach vocabulary connected with cars, it would be desirable to present terms that are also used in relation to other means of transport (e.g. trains, aeroplanes, taxis, buses); such application, besides being wider is additionally much morę useful and allows for futurę revision in different situations (e.g.: brake, crash, electricity, start, stop, window, oil, to park, speed, engine, petrol, passenger, seat, door, etc.);

11.3.6.8 related structures - “many structures ‘demand’ their own vocabulary. Thus, if [teachers] are teaching ‘have got’ [they] will tend to choose the names of personal possessions. If [they] are teaching ‘going to’ [they] are likely to introduce a vocabulary connected with plans” (1978:47). This seems to be the most ‘natural’ or obvious way of selecting vocabulary for presentation, but, depending on leamers’ level of advancement, teachers have got to make a careful choice including a limited number of common items.

11.3.7. Active and passive vocabulary

Various sources referred to throughout this unit freąuently differentiate between ‘active’ or ‘productive’ and ‘passive’ or ‘receptive’ vocabulary.