THEME 11

LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC FIELDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

NECESSARY LEXICON FOR SOCIALISATION, INFORMATION
AND EXPRESSING ATTITUDES. TYPOLOGY OF ACTIVITIES
TIED TO TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY IN THE
CLASSROOM.
1. Introduction.
2. Lexical and semantic fields in the English language.
2.1. Meaning.
2.2. Word formation.
3. Necessary lexicon for socialisation, information and expressing
attitudes.
3.1. Socialisation.
3.2. Information.
3.3. Expressing emotional attitudes.
3.4. Expressing intellectual attitudes.
4. Typology of activities tied to teaching and learning vocabulary in the
classroom.
4.1. Teaching vocabulary.
4.2. Activities.
4.3. The importance of dictionary.
5. Bibliography.

1. INTRODUCTION.
An ability to manipulate grammatical structure does not have any
potential for expressing meaning unless words are used. We talk about the
importance of choosing your words carefully in certain situation, but we are
less concerned about choosing structures carefully. Then structural accuracy
seems to be the dominant focus. In real life, however, it is even possible that
where vocabulary is used correctly it can cancel out structural inaccuracy.
For many years vocabulary was seen as incidental to the main purpose of
language teaching - namely the acquisition of grammatical knowledge about the
language. Vocabulary was necessary to give students something to hang on to
when learning structures, but was frequently not a main focus for learning itself.
Recently methodologists and linguists have increasingly been turning their
attention to vocabulary, stressing its importance in language teaching and
reassessing some of the ways in which it is taught and learnt. Teachers should
have the same kind of expertise in the teaching of vocabulary as they do in the
teaching of structure.

2. LEXICAL AND SEMANTIC FIELDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

There are a vast number of words that are not found everywhere,
words that are restricted to a particular country or to a particular part
of the country. Attending the lexical and semantic fields, there are a
great number of varieties. We can emphasise regional and colloquial
varieties.
Regional dialect words have every right to be included in an English
vocabulary count. They are English words even if they are used only in a
single locality. But no one knows how many there are. Most regional
vocabulary -especially that used in cities - is never recorded. There must
be thousands of distinctive words inhabiting such areas as Brooklyn, the
East End of London, San Francisco,... none of which has ever appeared in
any dictionary.

The more colloquial varieties of English, and slang in particular, also

tend to be given inadequate treatment. In dictionary writing, the
traditional has been to take material only from the written language, and
this has led to the compilers concentrating on educated, standard forms.
They commonly leave out non- standard expressions, such as everyday
slang and obscenities, as well as the slang of specific social groups and
areas, such as the army, sport, public school, banking or medicine.
1.1. Meaning.
The first thing to realise about vocabulary items is that they
frequently have more than one meaning.
When we come across a word and try to decipher its meaning we
will have to look at the context in which it is used. Sometimes words have
meanings in relation to other words. Thus students need to know the
meaning of vegetable as a word to describe any one of a number of
other things (cabbages, carrots,...) We understand the meaning of a word
like good in the context of a word like bad. Words have opposites
(antonyms) and synonyms.
What a word means can be change, stretched or limited by how it is
used and this is something students need to know about.
Word meaning is frequently stretched through the use of
metaphor and idiom. We know that the word hiss for example,
describes the noise that snakes make. But we stretch its meaning to
describe the way people talk to each other.
Word meaning is also governed by collocation - that is which word
go with each other. In order to know how to use the word sprained we
need to know that whereas we can say sprained ankle, sprained wrist,
we cannot say sprained rib.
We often use words in certain social and topical context. What we
say is governed by the style and register we are in. If you want to tell
someone you are angry you will choose carefully between the neutral
expression of this fact Im angry and the informal version Im really
pissed off. The later would certainly seem rude to listeners in certain
contexts. At a different level we recognise that the two doctors talking
about an illness will talk in a different register than one of them who then
talks to the patient in question, who has never studied medicine.
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Students need to recognise metaphorical language use and they

need to know how words collocate. They also need to understand what
stylistic and topical contexts words and expressions occur in.
2.2. Word formation.
Words can change their shape and their grammatical value too.
Students need to know facts about word formation and how to twist
words to fit different grammatical contexts.
Students also need to know how suffixes and prefixes work. There
are over 100 common prefixes and suffixes in English.
Another important technique is to join two words together to make
a different word, a compound, as in blackbird, shopkeeper and frying-pan.
Note that the meaning of a compound isnt simply found by adding
together the meaning of its parts. Also not that compounds arent always
written as single words.
3. NECESSARY LEXICON FOR SOCIALIZATION, INFORMATION AND
EXPRESSING ATTITUDES.
The purpose of language is to communicate, whether with others by
talking and writing or with ourselves by thinking. In verbal communication, six
main categories within the functions of language can be distinguished:
Communicating and searching for information based of facts.
Expressing and finding out emotional attitudes.
Expressing and finding out moral attitudes.
Expressing and finding out intellectual attitudes.
Telling someone to do something (persuasion)
Socialising.
This list of functions is not exhaustive. First of all, it is difficult to make a
complete list. Secondly, the list represent a list contemplated for the
threefold level. More functions can be added at higher levels.
3.1. Socialisation.
Our aim in teaching English is enable students to use the language in real
life and to develop his/her communicative competence. We are going to see now,
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at a elementary level, the necessary lexicon and structures to develop social

relations.
To greet people:
Hello, Good morning. Nice to see you...
When meeting people: How are you? Im fine, thanks. What about you?
Introducing and being introduced: My name is... Have you met...?
When leaving:
Good bye. See you later. Good night.
Asking for things:
Can you give me...? Could you lend me...?
Requesting others to do something: Could you ..., please?
Expressing sympathy: Im sorry. Thats too bad. what a shame!
Apologising:
Im sorry about ...gerund.
Congratulating:
Congratulations. Im glad! Thats wonderful!
Offering things:
Do you want...? Would you like...? Do you fancy...
gerund?
Offering to do sth:
Do you want me to...? Shall I...?
Asking for permission: May I...? Do you mind if I...?
Inviting:
Would you like to...?
Agreeing to meet:
Ill see you... Lets meet...
Thanking:
Thank you/ Thanks.
3.2. Information
Information also implies its transmission.
Halliday divides this function into two: the logical function and the
experience function. The latter is used to communicate ideas and the former
relates these, places them on the same level or on a subordinate level.
Affirmative sentences are used to give information and questions to ask
for information.
Personal identification:
-Name: Whats your name? Im...
-Address and telephone number: Where do you live?
-Date and place of birth, age and nationality: Where was he born? Where are
you from?
-Jobs, family, character, physical appearance: What does he do? How many
brothers have you got? Whats he like? What does she look like?
Reporting, Describing, Narrating: What happened? I came...
Correction: Youve never been in Liverpool!
Asking: Where do you spend...? Whos your favourite...?
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In English we have also the direct or indirect speech, and the question
tags as special structures for giving and receiving information.

3.3. Expressing emotional attitudes.

Its important to establish some general objectives bearing in mind that
our students possess this affective ability. These are mainly:
-To benefit from the new language.
-To find enjoyment in the new language.
-To discover a new form of communication.
-To discover a new source of diversion.
Feelings:

-Pleasure: What fun! I love watching...

-Displeasure:
I hate homework. I dont like washing up.
-Satisfaction:
Im so pleased you have come.
-Disappointment: What a pity! Youve missed the party.
-Preference:I prefer skating to skiing.
-Gratitude: Thanks!
Wishes:
-Want, desire:
I would like to have long hair.
-Polite request:
Would you mind picking up my suitcases?
-Offering to help: Shall I help you downstairs?
-Request for oneself: May I borrow your classnotes?
-Making requests: May I have a glass of water?
Intentions:
-Explaining intentions: Im going to work hard this term.
-Persuading: Oh, come Tom! You will enjoy the party a lot.
-Making plans: Let us meet at 630 in the post office.
-Promises: I will be there.
-Asking about intention: What are you going to do?
3.4. Expressing intellectual attitudes.
A very important group of communicative functions is the one which serve
to express intellectual attitudes that are developed by means of a huge and
complex series of specific structures and lexicon.
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 Expressing agreement and disagreement: I agree with you. I dont think so.
Inquiring about agreement and disagreement: Do you think so?
Denying something: No, I never go there.
Accepting or denying an offer or invitation: Thank you. All right.
Offering to do something: Can I help you?

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Billows F.L. The Techniques of Language Teaching (Longman 1977)
Bright H.A. McGregor. Teaching English as a second language (Longman
1970)
Doff A. Teach English (Cambridge University Press 1988)
Harmer J. The Practice of English Language Teaching.
Widowson H.G. Teaching Language as Communication (Oxford University
Press 1988).