Synopses & Reviews
In Vocabulary Myths, Keith S. Folse breaks down the teaching of second language vocabulary into eight commonly held myths. In debunking each myth, he introduces the myth with a story based on his 25 years of teaching experience (in the United States and abroad), continues with a presentation of what empirical research has shown on the topic, and finishes with a list of what teachers can do in their classrooms to facilitate true vocabulary acquisition.
The goal of Vocabulary Myths is to foster a paradigm shift that correctly views vocabulary as fundamental in any second language learning process and demonstrates that research supports this goal-that in fact there is a wealth of empirical evidence to support these views. In addition, an important theme is that teachers have overestimated how much vocabulary students really understand, and as a result, the so-called "comprehensible input" is neither comprehensible nor input.
The second language vocabulary acquisition myths reexamined in this book are:
*In learning another language, vocabulary is not as important as grammar or other areas.
*Using word lists to learn L2 vocabulary is unproductive.
*Presenting new vocabulary in semantic sets facilitates learning.
*The use of translations to learn new vocabulary should be discouraged.
*Guessing words from context is an excellent strategy for learning L2 vocabulary.
*The best vocabulary learners make use of one or two really specific vocabulary learning strategies.
*The best dictionary for L2 learners is a monolingual dictionary.
*Teachers, textbooks, and curricula cover L2 vocabulary adequately.
Synopsis
Teaching a Lexis-Based Academic Writing Course is a companion to
Building an Academic Vocabulary,
which was written forand#160;students who need to develop college-level vocabulary skills
. Building Academic Vocabulary (0-472-08589-1) helps students develop lexical precision as they work in such often-exercised modes as cause-effect, general description, description of processes, and comparison/contrast.
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Teaching a Lexis-Based Academic Writing Course will helpand#160;instructors use Building an Academic Vocabulary more effectively, but itand#160;can also be used as a companion to any writing text and by instructors who want their writing course to have more of aand#160;focus on vocabulary.and#160;Each chapter includes additional practice exercise and five additional quizzes on collocations and common phrases, related forms, and additional vocabulary.and#160;This resource provides instructors with a valuable tool for helping students develop precision and fluency in their academic writing.
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Synopsis
What every ESL teacher should know about teaching vocabulary