Grammar, vocabulary, and functions

Vocabulary development
Vocabulary development involves instructions on pronunciation and meanings of words needed for effective communication in a second language. When a language learner comes across a word and articulates it correctly, he/she is able to discern its meaning on the basis of his/her knowledge of the word. In case the learner does not comprehend what the word signifies, he/she may not know if the word has been used correctly in a sentence.
The learner may also not get the meaning of that particular word in a given sentence. Consequently, instruction on vocabulary development is vital in the understanding of comprehensions. It is extremely difficult to comprehend what one is reading unless he/she is aware of the meanings of most words in a passage.
When teaching English language learners on vocabulary development, there are various issues that an instructor should put into consideration. For instance, besides teaching on the various vocabularies within the English language, the context should also be a matter of great concern as it contributes greatly to one’s understanding of a text. As a matter of fact, an English learner can read a text within the correct principles of phonetics but fail to comprehend due to lack of appropriate vocabularies.
It is possible for students to read completely phonetically and not comprehend what they have read because they do not have the vocabulary. Thus, teaching vocabulary should be done in an explicit way and should also be incorporated within the curriculum in teaching the English language. This should be done in classes that specialize in teaching English Language Development (ELD) as well as English as a Second a Language (ESL) (Collier &Thomas1992).
Research on terminology development points out that, more often than not, kids acquire vocabularies indirectly through the following means; Extensive reading, conversations with grownups and by paying attention to other people as they read. As a result, it is important to note that, children’s parents and guardians may influence their fluency in the language. Instructors in the English language should identify and integrate direct ways while teaching vocabulary.
These ways should involve teaching on dictionary usage, application of context hints, and the explicit method of teaching vocabularies prior to comprehension reading as well as the use of suffixes as well as prefixes to decode the meanings of words. While dealing with literacy progress, it is important to note that an instructor can teach language proficiency for daily communication, (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills /BICS), as well as the ability to understand and maneuver language within any context (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency/CALP).
This indicates that, educators of the English language should be equipped with the right knowledge to instill cognitive language development which enables learners to comprehend any particular subject in any given context (August & Hakuta, 1997).