Getting Ready for your

Vocabulary Class in Resource-

Challenged Contexts
Extreme EFL Situations
 Background
This paper addresses teaching vocabulary
in resource-challenged situations,
recognizing the particularity of some TEFL
setting that is referred to as extreme
EFL.
 Effective Language
Learning-Teaching Conditions
In most situations, learning will be effective providing
that there is extensive exposure to the target language
and plenty of opportunities for the learner to use it [italics
mine] (Johnson & Morrow, 1987:48).

Such a learning context is the one in which Montaigne

learned Latin. He could speak the language without a
whip or a precise method just because he lived in an
environment where the target language was spoken
(Savignon, 1983). This is the ideal situation in which
language could be easily learned with a great degree of
competence.
 A definition of an extreme EFL
context
In an extreme EFL situation, English may
be so foreign to the learners that it is
merely a subject on the school timetable
which they study for three or four lessons
a week, never using it otherwise [italics
mine] (Abbott, 1990:7).
 TESLs & TEFLs
Based on variance in teaching conditions
whatever the setting (TESL or TEFL), this
paper distinguishes two (2) ESL situations
(ESLs) and two (2) EFL situations (EFLs)
that are described beneath.
 ESLs
ESL 1
English taught to non-English-speaking people in a Native English-
speaking environment: USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Ghana,
South Africa, Nigeria (the most favorable to target language
learning).
- English is the language of administration, business, and medium of
instruction.
- English is spoken, heard and written and read 24/7 (office, streets,
schools, media, etc). We barely hear a word from another language.
- English is indispensable, affordable and unavoidable (learners feel
urgent need for ability to use the target language effectively).
- Teaching materials are available.
- Teachers are facilitators of learning. Vocabulary learning mostly
takes place outside the classroom.
- Teachers are native speakers of English.
 ESL 2
English taught to ex-British colony and other people for whom English is not
a first language, living in the so-called colonies: Nigeria, Ghana, South
Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, etc...
English is the language of administration, business, and medium of
instruction.
English is often spoken and heard (office, streets, radio, TV, market place,
schools and other public places) read and written (office, books,
Newspapers, advertisement, correspondence, schools, street signs, notices
etc)
English cohabits with other languages that the majority of the population
shares
Media (Radio & TV, Newspapers) use other local languages in addition to
English).
English is indispensable; affordable; unavoidable for students.
Libraries for English are available and books are affordable.
Teaching materials are generally available.
Teachers are facilitators of learning. Almost half of the vocabulary is learned
in the classroom, and half in the outside world.
Teachers are either native speakers or native-like.
In each of the situations above, the outside world is playing an important
part in language acquisition or learning by reinforcing what is learned in the
classroom.
 EFLs
English as a Foreign Language (EFL):

EFL1:
English is not the language of administration, business and not the main
medium of instruction.
English is used as the medium of instruction to teach Mathematics, and
Science. Use of English does not usually go beyond the school.
English is spoken, heard, read and written at school, sometimes at home;
but not in the offices, on the media, on the street, and other public places.
English is necessary, but generally not indispensable; not always affordable
but avoidable for non students.
Libraries are available, but English books are a bit expensive.
Didactic materials are available
Some computers; possibility of access to Internet
Teacher is one of the very few sources of vocabulary input, the model, and
the one who creates conditions for vocabulary to be learned and used as
much as possible.
Teachers might be native, native-like, but generally non-native speakers of
English.
 EFLs
EFL2 (Target)

(Extreme EFL context): e.g. Niger (French-speaking country in West

Africa)
English is not the language of administration, of business and the main
medium of instruction.
English is spoken, heard, read and written only in the classroom; but not in
the offices, on the media, on the street, and other public places.
English is necessary, but not indispensable; not always affordable but
avoidable for non students. Learners do not perceive the importance of the
language
Libraries are scarce; books are very expensive.
Didactic materials very scarce.
No access to computers or Internet
Teacher is the only source of vocabulary input, the model, and the one who
creates conditions for vocabulary to be learned and used as much as
possible.
Teachers are non-native speakers of English.
 English in Niger

Bonjour

Kani Baani Ina kwana

Classroom
Nawal nawal Good Sabahal khair
morning

Waali djam Dempote

Solonguro
 Some stages of lesson planning

Making a list of lexical items to teach

Classifying lexical items in meaning units

Sequencing lexical items within a unit

Making your picture file or your bag

Building paragraphs containing new lexical items

 Lexical items to teach
Hospital, package, mayor, drop (v), discuss, doctor, stamp, council, sick, mail-box,
improve, examine, discuss, patient (n), living conditions, nurse, counter,
cool (air-condition), post-office, coat, prescription, frighten, mail
 Classification
Hospital, doctor, nurse, prescription, sick, examine, patient, coat, frighten, pills, injection,
pharmacy

City-hall, council, discuss, living conditions, improve, mayor

Post-office, mail, post, stamp, package, mail-box

Neutral: cool, drop

 Table
Hospital City Hall Post Office
A hospital a city-hall a post-office
A doctor a council to mail
A nurse discuss to post
A prescription living conditions a stamp
Sick improve a package
Examine a mayor a mail-box
A patient (cool ) (cool )
A coat (to drop) (to drop)
Frighten
Pills
An injection
A pharmacy
(cool )
(to drop )
 Sequencing 1

Doctor

Patient Examine Prescription

 2

Doctor

Pharmacy Examine Prescription

 3
Unit one: The hospital

Hospital

Doctors & nurses

Examine

Prescription

Pharmacy

Pills Injections

 4
Unit two: The City hall

Taxes

City-hall

Mayor + Council

Discuss

Living conditions

Improve
 5
Post Office
Package

(Parcel)

Letter

envelope

Mail (v)
Mail (n)

Post-office
 Picture file

What for hospital?

What for City hall?

What for Post-office?

 Building Paragraphs

Procedure:
As soon as youre done with presentation, guide the students
through questions to build a paragraph containing the new items. The
paragraph will serve as a reading passage that can be used for reading
comprehension and other activities that recycle vocabulary.

Remember: students do not have books to read.

Beneath an example
 The hospital
Ali is ill/sick. (Topic sentence)

1. Who is he going to see? Where?

2. What will the doctor do?

3. What will s/he give Ali after examining him?

4. Where will Ali go with the prescription?

5. What can we find at the pharmacy, or what can Ali find at the pharmacy?
 Paragraph
Ali is ill. He is going to see the doctor at the hospital. As soon as he
is there, the doctor will examine him. In case there is no medicine at
the hospital, the doctor will give him a prescription to go to the
pharmacy. At the pharmacy, Ali can find pills and other medicine.