Understanding what to teach and when is a big challenge in English language teaching. Graham Burton discusses the benefits of using tools to help with selecting the right words, in the right context, for the right learner level.
Most English language teachers have an instinctive understanding of level, based on their classroom experience. We’d probably all agree that the present continuous should be taught quite early on. We also know that modal perfect structures like could have or might have should probably come a bit later. Equally, most of us would agree that a word like fun is probably suitable for teaching at low levels. However, a word like abruptly can probably wait till a bit later. And now, thanks to resources like the English Grammar Profile (EGP) and the English Vocabulary Profile (EVP), we have evidence based on real learner usage. For example, the EVP tells us that students start using fun at A1 level, whereas they don’t typically start using the word abruptly till they’re at C2.
Context is crucial when it comes to getting the right level for learners
Obviously this is very useful information in itself, but it doesn’t really give us the whole picture. One of the most interesting and practical applications of both the EGP and the EVP is that they can show how learners’ use a single word or phrase. We can then see how this can develop as they go up the levels.
Search for the word tell on EVP and as you’d expect, there are different senses (i.e. meanings) and uses given. But the interesting thing is that the different senses are mastered at different levels. Learners at A1 can use tell to mean ‘speak’ at A1. However, it’s not until they get to B2 that they can use it to mean ‘know or recognise from what you hear, see, etc. So, it’s too simplistic to try and link many words to one particular level. The evidence from the EVP tells us that context or sense of what you are interested in is particularly important.
Using the EVP to inform teaching
This kind of information can be invaluable for teachers, as it helps us to prioritise and use classroom time effectively. We can see which senses are likely to be new to a group of learners at a particular level. We therefore don’t waste time on the ones they already know, or are beyond their level. For example, trying looking up the word get on EVP. You’ll see the list of uses and senses goes onto three pages. We could do a lesson on get and practise a handful of these, but we could never hope to cover the whole lot.
So, how can we choose what to practise? Here is where the level labels help: we can pick out the uses and senses of get at the level we’re teaching at and just concentrate on them. We can leave those uses that are labelled as being at higher levels until the learners are more advanced. We can also be confident that those labelled as being at much lower levels can be dealt with very quickly, or not at all.
Using the EVP in materials writing
Materials writers can also make similar use of the EVP. In Cambridge English Empower, the EVP was invaluable for creating many of the Wordpower sections. Have a look at the EVP entry for just on the left below. Then, look at the Wordpower section of the same word from Cambridge English Empower B1 Student’s Book. You can see how we used the EVP to choose which uses and senses we should prioritise for learners using the B1 level book.
We revised the meanings of ‘recently’ and ‘almost now’, and also presented and practised those labelled as B1. This gave us enough to work with for this Wordpower section. Thanks to the EVP, we knew that we were targeting only the uses of just that B1 learners should be focussing on. It’s great for writers, and also teachers and learners, to know that we’re creating materials that are really picking out the language that learners need at their level.
What about you? Are there any senses of words that you’ve always taught or seen taught at different levels? Can you see the advantages of breaking down different senses to different levels?