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Vocabulary Development for Workplace
CommunicationsPresenter: Michelle Walker-Wade
New Haven Adult School, Union City CAhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/mwalkerwade
SCALE Read.Write.Act Virtual Conference 2012
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Today we will discuss techniques and instructional strategies for developing and delivering workplace vocabulary lessons in a way that is engaging and relevant.
We will look at methods for taking vocabulary lessons beyond the knowledge and comprehension levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and into the higher levels of application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Overview of This Workplace Literacy Workshop
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Download the slides now or at the end
Respond to questions in the chat box or in
the polls
Raise your hand
Applaud or give a thumbs up
How to Participate
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Questions: Please Answer in the Chat Box
1. From what city and state are you joining us?
2. What type of clients, students, or learners do you currently work with (or plan to work with in the future)?
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Vocabulary is fundamental to every other literacy skill and for most communication skills.
Why Develop Vocabulary?
•Reading
•Writing
•Speaking
•Listening
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Workplace literacy includes all the basic skills needed to succeed in any workplace, such as:
The ability to read, write, and communicate The ability to communicate and follow
instructions, work on a team, and work within the culture of the workplace
The ability to gain he skills needed to keep up with technology
The overall ability to obtain, retain, and make progressive steps in the workplace
What is Workplace Literacy?
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Based on A 5-Point Scale
4.60 The ability to work in a team structure
4.59 The ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization
4.46 The ability to obtain and process information
4.04 The ability to proficiently work with computer software
3.65 The ability to create and/or edit written reports
Source: www.naceweb.org/job_outlook_2012
What Employers WantAccording to the Job Outlook 2012 report produced by the National Association of Colleges and Employers
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Question: Please Answer in the Chat Box
How do these employer wants relate to the need to provide focused, in-depth workplace
literacy communication skills?
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How can educators and literacy advocates provide learning opportunities that:
Are relevant for today’s workforce?
Are engaging and appropriate for our population of learners?
Have enough breadth and depth to prepare them to meet their employer’s needs?
What’s Next?
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Two Major Steps
1.Select Relevant Content
2.Provide Instruction for Vocabulary Development in Conjunction with other Skills
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Identify the industry and job titles most applicable for your student demographic given the labor market needs in your area.
Look for realia.
◦Published textbooks are great IF they have what you need; but don’t just stick to published textbooks. Use real-life materials.
#1 - Select Relevant Content
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Question: Please Answer in the Chat Box
Where can you find realia?
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Example: We had several students looking to work in food services
◦I created a series of lessons covering communication skills for:
◦The waiter/waitress, host/hostess, and the Café Barista
We had similar needs for entry-level office work, healthcare, retail, hotel housekeeping, janitorial services, and a salt manufacturing plant.
#1 - Select Relevant Content
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Vocabulary development must go beyond basic knowledge and comprehension levels (referring to Bloom’s Taxonomy levels)
When vocabulary instruction and outcomes only require learners to memorize, recall, define, match, select, rephrase, or explain vocabulary, the learner is not yet ready to use the new words with fluidity and ease.
#2 – Provide Vocabulary Development Instruction in Conjunction with Other Skills
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Participate: Please Answer in the Chat Box
Share what you know about Bloom’s Taxonomy levels.
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Effective Vocabulary development instruction includes:
Defining, matching and explaining verbally and in writing
Discussing in the current context as well as in a different context
Using vocabulary in writing and in dialog
Associating vocabulary with images from real life
Examining vocabulary in “what-if” scenarios
And more…
#2 – Provide Vocabulary Development in Conjunction with Other Skills
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Lessons were created for higher-level ESL
Differentiation, wrap around lessons and activities were added as needed
Instructors took their time delivering instruction, stopping to add-in any resources and realia as needed
I’ve sited the source materials used to create these lessons right on the lessons themselves.
Let’s take a look at a lesson
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Click to open a pdf of the sample lesson
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Poll: Which vocabulary strategy stood-out the most to you?
1. Teaching words before they appear in a text
2. Discussing words in context
3. Reading and analyzing words in realia
4. Seeing words as used in word chunks
5. Post-reading activities with vocabulary use requirement
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Vocabulary Discovery Charts◦ Predict, define (in context), discover, and
associate
Flash cards with text and visuals◦ See & say, see & read, bingo, concentration,
other pair share activities
Dialog◦ Hear dialog, participate in dialog, repeat dialog,
write dialog, present dialog
Examples of Wrap-Around and Reinforcement Activities
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Word chunks (collocations)◦ Examine words as seen in common
phraseologies
Idioms◦ Discuss words as seen in common idioms
Regular review of past vocabulary◦ Post a running list, vocabulary wall of post-its –
you can do all kinds of warm-up, pair share, free writing, and internet research activities
Examples of Wrap-Around and Reinforcement Activities
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Teach or reinforce word groups ◦ Example: Pay, paying, paid | Help, helpful,
helping
◦ Example: tip and gratuity | barista and bartender
Teach prefixes
◦ Example: happy customer, unhappy customer
◦ Example: heat, reheat | sell, upsell
Examples of Wrap-Around and Reinforcement Activities
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EXAMPLE ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS
Working independently, place your vocabulary words in the appropriate category.
After everyone has finished, examine the diagram. Ask other students for clarification about the placement of any vocabulary words they may not agree with.
Ask the student who placed the word to explain and defend the placement of the vocabulary word.
Collaborate with your group and decide if vocabulary word should be placed in a different category.
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JOB-RELATED VOCABULARY: HEALTH CARE – FOOD SERVICES – HOTEL SERVICES
Accommodations
Acute
Arriving
Prep
Chronic
Consumption
Cook
Customer
Diagnosis
Facilities
Guest
Beverage
Hospitality
Housekeeping
Inventory
Lodging
Menu
Nutrition
Patient
Recipes
Register
Reservation
Room
Safety
Service
Skin
Team
Therapeutic
Tips
Unit
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Food Services
Hotel Services
Job-Related Vocabulary
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Health Care
Food Services
Hotel Services
Job-Related Vocabulary
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“Communication works for those who work at it.”
-John Powell, British author & composer
Does this Sound Challenging?
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Final Poll / Workshop Evaluation
1. I gained SEVERAL strategies and ideas for teaching vocabulary that I can immediately put to use
2. I gained A FEW strategies and ideas for teaching vocabulary that I can immediately put to use.
3. I gained ONE strategy or ideas for teaching vocabulary that I can immediately put to use
4. I did not gain any strategies and ideas for teaching vocabulary that I can immediately put to use.
Which statement about strategies/ideas gained from this workshop is most true for you?
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Vocabulary Development for Workplace Communications
Presenter: Michelle Walker-WadeWhere to Find Me
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mwalkerwadeWordpress: workplacelit4adults.wordpress.comFacebook: www.facebook.com/mwalkerwade
SCALE Read.Write.Act Virtual Conference 2012
Thank You For Participating!