Words to Describe People
by Scott Miles
The vocabulary in this supplement is commonly used to describe people.
They are words that appear in the 2000 most commonly used vocabulary in the English language, so they are essential for students at the basic to intermediate levels.
- First, review the words and circle the words that you do not know. You can underline the words that you think you might know, but aren’t sure.
- Next, with a partner (or partners), ask about the words you do not know.
What does _______ mean?
To explain the words in English, the following sentences might be helpful:
- It’s the opposite of __________.
- It’s almost the same as ___________.
- This is the kind of person who always ________
- This is the kind of person who never __________.
After listening to the explanation, guess the translation of the word in your first language. Later, you can look up the words in a dictionary to see if your guess is correct.
|
Positive |
Neutral |
Negative |
|
Bright Friendly Funny Gentle Helpful Honest Kind Loving Lucky Warm |
Busy Careful Childlike Cold Fearless Interesting Perfectionist Quiet Realistic Serious |
Boring Childish Controlling Forgetful Judgmental Lazy Loud Mean Selfish Silly |
Talk about the vocabulary. Which words describe you? Which words do not? Use the following sentence patterns.
|
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Now We’re Talking Textbook Activity Supplement
Book 1-Unit 1-Vocabulary: Describing People
This is a lesson plan that can complement the vocabulary activities on page 7 of Now We’re Talking Book 1, Unit 1.
Lesson Plan
- Distribute the handout (see above). Have the students look at the list of words and circle the ones they do not know. They can underline words they are not sure about, but have an idea of what they might mean. Tell the students to refrain from looking up words they do not know yet.
- In pairs or small groups, students then ask their partners about the words they circled and underlined. If another student knows the word, the student should try to explain the meaning. This is not an easy task for basic and even intermediate level students, but the given structures in the handout can be helpful. Do a few of the examples as a class before having the students try on their own.
If students have trouble finding a meaning (for example, they get stuck on a word that none of them know), they should call over the instructor to help with an explanation.
Once the word is explained, the student can write down their best guess of the translation of the word. Finally, after this part of the activity is over (or for homework), students can look up the words in a bilingual dictionary to see if their understanding was correct.
- In pairs or small groups, the students can discuss the vocabulary as it relates to themselves. If needed, review the sentence structures for this part of the exercise.
Learning Grammar after the Grammar Class Ends
“Grammar instruction, no matter how well designed, is unlikely to achieve immediate success.”
–Rod Ellis
There are two challenges for grammar learning and teaching. The first is remembering what was learned in class. Even though a student might learn the rule well enough to ace a grammar test, the memory of the rule is highly likely to fade from memory several weeks or months after the language course is completed. Teachers who have students continue from one semester to the next experience this often.
Another issue with grammar learning is being able to use what was learned in the classroom outside the classroom. When speaking with someone in ‘real life’ outside the classroom, the learner has a lot of things to keep in mind as she communicates. She needs to check her comprehension of what was said to her, think of the content of her response, the needed vocabulary (and how to pronounce it) and all the necessary grammar points as well. When attempting to communicate successfully, grammar tends to receive the lowest priority among the above. Grammar needs to be deeply internalized if the speaker hopes to use it correctly in spontaneous speech. The classroom can rarely give enough time for this process to happen.
With these challenges in mind, learners need strategies to continue to improve their grammar skills after their English classes are finished. Here are three suggestions for language learners.
- Extensive reading
- Continued explicit study
- Becoming “Grammatical”
Extensive Reading
I’ll have another post on extensive reading in the future (until then, this video can give a good overview), but in brief, here are the three components:
- Reading at least 20 minutes a day
- Reading books that are easy enough to understand without using a dictionary more than a few times per page
- Reading books that are enjoyable
How can this kind of reading help your grammar? Over time, extensive reading gives learners massive exposure to correct forms of grammar. In this way, learners develop a ‘sense’ of the language that is difficult, if not impossible, to get solely through explicit instruction. This exposure to the language also reinforces what the students have learned in the grammar classroom. Indeed, there are a number of second language scholars that claim this kind of practice is crucial for language mastery (Licthman & VanPatten, 2021).
Continued explicit study
Though students can learn a lot of grammar through extensive reading, there will be some grammar forms that are missed. This means students will need to find a way to directly study grammar on their own. One way to do this is for learners to keep their grammar books from their most recent ESL class and periodically review a chapter or two from time to time. There are also a number of quality YouTube videos that teach grammar.
Writing can also be a good way to help learners continue on their path to language mastery. Grammar check software that comes with all popular word-processing programs (Grammarly is particularly helpful) can give learners immediate feedback on grammar issues they may have. It is true that sometimes grammar checking software is incorrect, but most of the time, the suggestions are helpful.
Becoming ‘grammatical’
The last suggestion is becoming ‘grammatical.’ Rod Ellis, long considered one of the leaders of the field in learning and teaching grammar, coined the expression ‘grammatical.’ As Ellis writes, “grammar teaching needs to emphasize awareness of how grammatical features work rather than mastery. Learners who are aware of a grammatical structure are more likely to notice it when they subsequently encounter it. Thus, awareness can facilitate and trigger learning; it is a crutch that helps learners walk until they can do so by themselves.”
For the learner, this means occasionally taking the time to analyze the language encountered outside the language classroom. Learners can compare the language they read or hear with what they understand about English grammar. When noticing the text or native speaker saying something a little differently than they expect, the learner should investigate further. Native speakers rarely correct a learner’s mistakes, but when asked, most are happy to let the learner know how to say something correctly.
Grammar mastery is a long process. The number of hours spent in a classroom cannot come close to the total amount of time needed to become native-like. None of the above suggestions is a quick fix for learning, but following these practices for a few years will make a significant difference.
Sources
Black Cat Channel. (2019). What is Extensive Reading? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IVVjwq5rBg
Ellis, R. (2003). Becoming grammatical. Language Teaching & Learning, 7, 124-232. https://www.impactseries.com/grammar/becoming.html
Licthman, K. & VanPatten, B. (2021). Was Krashen right? Forty years later. Foreign Language Annals, 54(2) 283-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12552