• may present difficulties, eg words with multiple meanings, idiomatic, ambiguous or slang
words, technical terms, abbreviations.
Teachers should separate words that are closely related (eg with the same meaning) as they
tend to cluster around the same concept and compete for memory space.
The teacher:
• models vocabulary using multiple modes within the context of relevant and meaningful
learning experiences, ie students are provided with opportunities to hear words at the
same time as being exposed to other related sensory information such as smell, touch,
taste and viewing the object/person/event
• suggests ways students can use new words in situations outside the classroom and ask
students to report back on their experiences, eg the teacher says ‘Tonight I want you to
use the word scrumptious. You might tell your mum how tasty dinner was. You might say,
“That was scrumptious mum. How did you make it so scrumptious?” Try to remember
how your mum looks and what she says. Tomorrow we will talk about what happened’.
• plans and programs contexts in which the target words can be used and practised across
the KLAs and activities, eg the teacher talks about:
– the
horrendous
effects of man-made pollution on the environment
– the
horrendous
looking creatures in
Where the Wild Things Are
– the
horrendous
heat at lunch time
• relates new words to existing vocabulary, eg
famished
means the same as starving
• reads a passage which includes the word or phrase
• assists students to develop a phonological representation of how the word sounds by,
for example:
– clapping out the syllables
– talking about the first and last sounds
– rhyming
– talking about smaller words within the word
• explains the meaning of the word using accessible language (at first definitions may not
be exactly or technically correct). This may be supported by the following strategies:
– simple explanations, eg for the sentence
The woman’s hands ached from working
on the loom all night
, the teacher says ‘The word loom here means a frame that
holds threads in place for weaving’
– modelling names (eg chair), actions (eg jump), attributes (eg colour, size, shape),
prepositions (eg in, on)
– synonyms for new words (eg for the sentence
He received an award for his
benevolent act
, the teacher says ‘
benevolent
means kind’)
– initial use of vocabulary that is familiar to students (eg using the word ‘problem’
rather than ‘complication’ for narrative texts), and then pairing the subject-specific
language with familiar vocabulary, eg ‘the problem or complication’
– examples and non-examples for developing an understanding of the characteristics
and/or classification of a word or concept, eg for the sentence
The rodents ate the
food reserves on the ship
, the teacher says ‘Mice and rats are
rodents
. Birds and
dogs are not’
– visually illustrates a concept, eg the teacher says ‘Do you see how the blue and pink
strips of paper are
interwoven
? The blue strip goes over and then under the pink strip.
36
Support Materials for Students with Special Education Needs
English K–6
Speaking and listening
IMPLEMENTATION
