This document discusses strategies for teaching vocabulary to advanced English language learners. It begins by explaining the word frequency curve and how vocabulary size relates to text comprehension. It emphasizes the importance of teaching language chunks like collocations, idioms, and phrasal verbs, rather than single words, to help learners sound more fluent and to anticipate meanings. A sample lesson is provided that teaches idioms about slacking at work. The document concludes by stressing that advanced vocabulary and cultural knowledge are essential for learners to integrate into English-speaking communities and workplaces.

1. From Intermediate to Advanced -
Taking Vocabulary Skills to the Next Level
by Olga Galperin
ETAI, Jerusalem
July 14, 2010

2. Outline
• Word Frequency Curve
• Vocabulary Size and Coverage
• Language Chunks
• Teaching Language Chunks
• Sample Lesson Demonstration
• Conclusion

3. Word Frequency Curve
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A. O’Keeffe, M. McCarthy, R. Carter
From Corpus to Classroom, Cambridge University Press, 2007

4. Vocabulary Size and Coverage
Density of
Vocab. Size % Coverage Unknown Level
Words
2, 000 words 83% 5 Basic
4, 000 words 88% 8 Low Interm.
5-6, 000 words 90% 10 Upper Interm.
9-10, 000 words 95% 20 Advanced
In a 500-word text an upper-intermediate student has to look up 50 words.
How motivating is this?

5. Find Someone Who...
1. hopes to make new contacts at the conference
2. thinks conference participants should do their
best at reducing their carbon footprint
3. has bumped into an old acquaintance at the
conference
4. always takes advantage of discounts on books at
the conferences
5. enjoys hands-on workshops
6. agrees there’s a lot to take in at the conference
of this magnitude
What do the phrases in bold have in common?
(handout page 1)

6. Types of Language Chunks
• collocations (make contacts)
• idioms (keep abreast of)
• phrasal verbs (take in)
• fixed expressions (...and the rest of it)
• semi-fixed expressions (make the most of their/your/
our time/life/talents; love every minute/second of it)

7. Recognizing Language Chunks
• phonological unity (said fast and all in one go):
//make the most of your time//
• pragmatic integrity, even if grammatically incomplete
know if/whether

8. Chunks and Single Items
From the Top 2,000
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A. O’Keeffe, M. McCarthy, R. Carter
From Corpus to Classroom, Cambridge University Press, 2007

9. The 6,000 to 10,000 word band
• Chunks are salient
• Chunks become semantically opaque, or idiomatic
• Same word can have different frequencies based on its
extended meanings
compare: chair (table, sofa) vs. chair the meeting

10. Advanced Level Vocabulary
• develops in breadth (linear increase) and depth (sub-
senses, relations to other words)
• requires understanding familiar words in unfamiliar
surroundings (turn left vs. turn colors, turn a profit, take
a turn for the worse/better, page-turner)

11. Why Language Chunks?
• create unique partnerships in English
clear soup - clean driving record
car accident - shipwreck - plane crash
turn on/off, hang up
please help yourself, catch you later

12. Why Language Chunks?
• help avoid wordier way of expression
The policeman told me to pull over. (instead of:
The policeman told me to bring my car to the
side of the road.)
I want to shop around before I decide to buy a
new stove. (instead of: I want to go to different
stores to compare the prices before... stove).

13. Why Language Chunks?
• promote fluency,
• ready for use at any moment without reassembling

14. Why Language Chunks?
• increase comprehension, help anticipate what comes
next
It went in one ear ...and out the other.
They worked from dawn ...to dusk.

15. Why Language Chunks?
• reinforce grammatical structures
Would you mind holding the door?
On the other hand

16. Why Language Chunks?
• show how things are done and
• how thoughts, ideas, emotions are expressed in
English
break ice
small talk
bidding wars
Do you think money grows on trees?
Am I talking to a brick wall?

17. Why Language Chunks?
• help recognize modified expressions
- One seller's loss is another cellar's gain in B.C.
- One woman's trash is another woman's
treasure
- GM Loss is Magna’s gain: Opel is coming to
Canada
(one man's trash is another man's treasure)

18. Why Language Chunks?
• make feel belong, connected, secure, socially included
social phenomena: snowbird, sibling rivalry, trail mix,
open house, white collar crime, statutory holiday, pop quiz
rituals: spring cleaning, cookie exchange, garage sale,
bridal shower, pick-your-own farm
everyday objects: Kleenex tissues, Ziploc bag, 3 ring
binder, blue bin
food: Oreo cookie, Eggs Benedict, chocolate fudge,
Nanaimo bar

19. Teaching Chunks
• help notice and record language in chunks
• encourage lexical, not structural comparison between L1 and L2
• present thematically, based on phrase meanings (not key words)
• explore collocational fields and phrase boundaries
• expose to multiple encounters
• teach through texts (stories and passages rather than
sentences) by guided discovery, contextual guesswork

20. Sample Lesson:
Slacking at the Office
• objectives and warm-up
• teacher input (presenting target language)
• guided and independent practice (from most to least
structured)
• summary (recapping the experience)

21. Sample Lesson:
“Slacking at the Office” Audio

22. Conclusion
• advanced vocabulary is a prerequisite to successful integration
into community and workplace
• thorough knowledge of language chunks (awareness and ability to
use) promotes students to advanced stages of learning English
• cultural awareness significantly reduces chances of
miscommunication
• ‘talking the talk’ is an ability to connect with the native speakers of
English that is rooted in learner linguistic and cultural competence

23. www.EnglishGateway.com
• over 300 pages of fully printable ESL vocabulary lessons
featuring authentic stories, professional audio, vocabulary
and cultural enrichment exercises, covering hundreds of
idioms, phrasal verbs and collocations
• over 40 ESL vocabulary worksheets and lesson plans with
teacher notes, based on real life topics
• unlimited printing and downloads
• new resources added monthly