200 most frequent words (types)



IATEFL 2006: How to teach lexically (Dave Willis)

(You can download the power-point presentation from: daveandjane.demon.co.uk/ELT)

Tips for teaching lexically:

1. Get hold of frequency lists and familiarise yourself with the most frequent words of the language.

Think carefully about frequent words and ask yourself why they are so frequent. Why is point among the most frequent nouns in English?

2. When you are preparing a text for teaching check out your frequency lists to help you decide what words to focus on.

3. Good dictionaries mark words according to frequency bands. Check your intuitions on word frequencies.

4. Find a grammar book which tells you about the way frequent words work. (Scott Thornbury: Natural Grammar (OUP))

5. Find a grammar book which gives useful lists of words. (Collins Cobuild Intermediate English Grammar)

6. Don’t waste time teaching really rare words. Just give an L1 equivalent and save time to work on more important words.

7. Encourage learners to look for

• useful phrases

• patterns with prepositions

• patterns with non-finite verb forms (infinitive and –ing forms)

8. Try to build up patterns systematically. Begin with the basic meanings of prepositions, for example:

FOR:

a How long: time and distance

b Reason: What for? … for example.

c Who wants or needs? Can you do it for me? I bought it for her.

d After good/bad, easy/difficult, right/wrong.

Then identify associated words, and finally systematise those words as far as possible:

Patterns with for:

a How long:

Time: live, last, survive,

Distance: extend ; stretch

b Reason: ask; look; hunt; shop; wait; plan; arrange; prepare; apologise; pay.

c Who wants or needs? work; play; act.

d How much: buy; sell; pay.

Finally, ask learners to identify familiar patterns as they occur in text.

9. Make learners aware of the importance of collocation. For example, draw attention to collocation in L1.

10. Set them exercises which make them think about collocation.

Look at these collocations with strong. How many words would be needed to translate strong in you language?

a strong personality; strong enough to; strong wind/current; strong impression/incentive/influence; strong opinions; strong words; strong action; strong language; a strong case against; a strong possibility; strong points; a strong team; a strong currency; strong drink; a strong colour; a strong taste.

11. When teaching pronunciation create examples incorporating common words and phrases rather than individual words.

12. Set dictionary exercises which make learners use dictionaries creatively.

13. Encourage learners to use dictionaries to check on patterns and collocation.

14. Encourage learners to keep a phrase book rather than a vocabulary book.

15. Encourage them to think about the organisation of their phrase books.

16. Encourage learners to do their own research and take responsibility for the language.

17. RECOGNISE THE IMPORTANCE OF RECALL IN LANGUAGE LEARNING.

200 most frequent words (types)

|the |if |that's |its |off |

|and |do |time |want |why |

|to |as |could |also |can't |

|a |an |like |more |of |

|of |all |go |in |quite |

|i |just |some |new |even |

|it |were |very |come |many |

|in |which |people |i've |through |

|you |er |right |year |actually |

|was |well |into |years |might |

|'s |has |two |should |world |

|is |mm |yes |you're |much |

|he |been |see |didn't |they're |

|for |up |'m |something |man |

|with |her |i'm |our |look |

|that |would |'ll |there's |life |

|that |my |did |as |another |

|on |can |really |these |own |

|but |then |mean |three |like |

|they |who |how |being |out |

|be |will |because |make |like |

|have |about |her |still |when |

|we |'ve |going |take |used |

|at |me |'d |put |night |

|she |don't |one |cos |old |

|yeah |think |no |where |same |

|'s |oh |good |day |always |

|his |them |first |things |i'll |

|not |their |than |over |at |

|there |got |on |he's |a |

|this |when |say |never |next |

|are |your |only |too |came |

|had |him |any |made |about |

|from |'re |here |went |you've |

|what |one |other |thing |over |

|it's |out |back |us |doing |

|so |erm |down |thought |week |

|know |get |after |again |must |

|by |no |more |those |says |

|said |now |way |mr |may |

|or |as |last |all |house |

50 most frequent nouns (headwords)

| 1. time |week |21. home |31. bit |41. job |

|2. people |house |22. family |32. women |42. group |

|3. way |lot |23. part |33. road |43. months |

|4. year |sort |24. city |34. government |44. car |

|5. day |place |25. school |35. country |45. moment |

|6. thing |end |26. number |36. name |46. street |

|7. world |work |27. room |37. hand |47. town |

|8. man |children |28. head |38. police |48. door |

|9. life |side |29. point |39. fact |49. problem |

|10. night |money |30. kind |40. mother |50. street |

50 most frequent verbs (headwords)

|be |11. go |21. like |31. feel |41. help |

|have |12. see |22. use |32. call |42. give |

|know |13. mean |23. must |33. keep |43. play |

|say |14. want |24. may |34. look |44. believe |

|do |15. come |25. tell |35. remember |45. turn |

|would |16. should |26. give |36. ask |46. start |

|will |17. make |27. need |37. set |47. hear |

|think |18. take |28. find |38. read |48. talk |

|get |19. put |29. let |39. work |49. add |

|could |20. might |30. leave |40. try |50. lose |

50 most frequent adjectives (headwords)

|1. good |11. long |21. able |31. fine |41. top |

|2. other |12. sure |22. national |32. wrong |42. available |

|3. new |13. nice |23. whole |33. happy |43. short |

|4. old |14. young |24. important |34. black |44. certain |

|5. right |15. small |25. free |35. difficult |45. likely |

|6. great |16. only |26. local |36. large |46. poor |

|7. little |17. high |27. sorry |37. possible |47. lovely |

|8. big |18. bad |28. open |38. early |48. easy |

|9. different |19. real |29. main |39. white |49. clear |

|10. best |20. full |30. hard |40. true |50. late |

Most frequent 102 4grams (English spoken corpus)

|it 's it 's |i don't know whether |quite a lot of |

| | | |

|i think it 's |if you 've got |end of the day |

| | | |

|i mean it 's |i don't think it |i 've i 've |

| | | |

|you 've got to |it 's not a |i mean i 've |

| | | |

|you know it 's |that sort of thing |in the middle of |

| | | |

|you know what |that 's all right |i mean i don't |

| | | |

|know what i mean |i mean that 's |no it 's not |

| | | |

|i 'm going to |i don't want to |they 're they 're |

| | | |

|i think that 's |'s going to be |you don't have to |

| | | |

|that 's what i |you know i mean |it 's gonna be |

| | | |

|at the end of |i don't know how |we 've got to |

| | | |

|the end of the |what do you think |i 'll tell you |

| | | |

|i 've got a |he 's he 's |i 'll i 'll |

| | | |

|i don't know what |there 's a lot |i don't think so |

| | | |

|that 's that 's |i was going to |i think i think |

| | | |

|you 've got a |if you want to |i mean there 's |

| | | |

|a bit of a |i mean i i |are you going to |

| | | |

|it 's a bit |it 's going to |to go to the |

| | | |

|i 've got to |i 'll have to |they 're going to |

| | | |

|do you want to |i thought it was |you 'll have to |

| | | |

|i think it was |i mean you know |have a look at |

| | | |

|a lot of people |we 've got a |i mean i think |

| | | |

|i 'm i 'm |'s a lot of |i mean if you |

| | | |

|it 's all right |a lot of the |there 's there 's |

| | | |

|i don't know if |and i think that |it 's a very |

| | | |

|you 're going to |at the same time |but i don't know |

| | | |

|thank you very much |it 's just a |you want me to |

| | | |

|we 're going to |to be able to |i 'm not going |

| | | |

|or something like that |well i don't know |if you if you |

| | | |

|i 'm not sure |that 's why i |it 's a good |

| | | |

|i 'd like to |it was it was |they 've got a |

| | | |

|do you know what |you 've got the |think it 's a |

| | | |

|and things like that |but it 's not |you know if you |

| | | |

|i don't think i |i mean i 'm |a lot of money |

| | | |

The boy who came out from the cold.

A schoolboy who spent the night trapped in a butcher's cold store after being locked in accidentally, ran on the spot for ten hours to stay alive.

Peter Emerson, aged 15, was locked in the store in a Stratford-upon Avon butcher's shop for 14 hours with the temperature around freezing point.

Staff arriving for work at the Wood Street shop found him yesterday morning with his teeth chattering and his face purple with cold. Still freezing, Peter immediately telephoned his parents, who had reported him missing to the police.

Peter, who lives in Banbury Road, Stratford, said: "I help out at the shop after school and I had gone into the cold store just before closing time. I was behind a big food shelf when the door locked behind me.

"At first I thought it was someone playing a joke but when I realised it wasn't and began shouting all the staff had gone home. I tried to kick the door open and to pick the lock but it was no good.

References:

Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005 (Second Edition) CUP)

Hunston, S. and G. Francis 2003 Pattern Grammar: a Corpus-driven Approach to the Lexical Grammar of English John Benjamins.

Francis, G., S. Hunston and E. Manning 1996 Grammar Patterns 1: Verbs

1998: Grammar Patterns 2: Nouns and Adjectives. Collins Cobuild.

Krishnamurthy, R. and D. Willis 2004 Intermediate English Grammar. Collins Cobuild.

Thornbury S. 2004 Natural Grammar: The Keywords of English and How they Work. OUP.

Willis, D. 2003 Rules, Patterns and Words: Grammar and Lexis in English Language Teaching. CUP

Willis, D. and J. Wright 2003 Elementary English Grammar (Second edition) Collins Cobuild.

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