Aunque la música suene triste, la alegría del alma la transforma

This section presents Marzano’s six steps to effective vocabulary instruction. The first three steps assist the teacher in direct instruction; the last three steps are for learners to provide practice and reinforcement.

32 Figure 2.2: Marzano’s 6-Step Process for Building Academic Vocabulary (Marzano, 2004:28)

The following is a concise narrative of all the steps suggested by Marzano (2004, 2009). Step 1 is about describing a new word. To build my EFAL learners’ initial understanding of the words ‘stationery’ and ‘stationary’, I can use the following examples of these terms. ‘StationEry’ means ‘papEr’ or writing ‘matErials’. The teacher will place emphasis on the letter ‘E’ by using capitals. For the word ‘stationary’, it means ‘still’ or ‘unmoving’. The teacher might then give them the following sentence as an example, ‘When my father’s car was stationary at a service station, I rushed to the supermarket to buy my stationery’.

Step 2 is about asking learners to regurgitate the account, clarification or illustration in their own terminology (Marzano, 2004; 2009). The teachers would dissuade their EFAL learners from copying what they would have said but encourage them to construct their own sentences which are not riddled with errors. The researcher

The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the term.

Explain

Step 1

Linguistic: Students restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words. Restate

e Step

2

Non-linguistic: Students construct a picture, pictograph, symbolic representation, or act out the term. Step 3 Show Discuss s Step 4

The teacher extends and refines understanding of the world by engaging students in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in vocabulary notebooks.

Refine

Step 5

Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.

Involve students in games that enable them to play with the terms and reinforce word

knowledge

Step 6

33 realized that this method is a commonplace among the intermediate phase where the learners are very passionate about broadening their vocabulary base. The situation was very different with the FET phase learners as most of them were less enthusiastic about vocabulary notebooks.

The next step is when the teacher asks the learners to put up a portrait, representation or graphic representation of a term; this forces them to think of the term in a totally different way (Marzano, 2004; 2009). Using both linguistic and non- linguistic ways help learners to process information and enhances better understanding of the new word. This step did not apply overly to the current research because it is more applicable to the junior and intermediate phases whereas this research focused on grade 11 EFAL learners. In these junior and intermediate phases, the researcher suggested teachers initially provide their learners with enough resources supported by an enabling practicing environment and modeling. In no time their learners would get used to creating pictures and graphics for their ideas. It was the researcher’s assumption that learners in the junior classes urgently require exposure to non-linguistic tasks in a bid to explain new and abstract terms because their vocabulary base is still very narrow.

Step 4 is about engaging learners in discussion activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notes (Marzano, 2004; 2009). These activities include the vocabulary learning strategies discussed above. The others were explained below under ‘Methods of Teaching Vocabulary’ when learners define terms, and identify antonyms and synonyms. This called for grade 11 EFAL learners to use textbooks which had a glossary section for vocabulary accompanied by a spelling list after each two week cycle. Probably, this would make it much easier for such EFAL learners to get quicker explanations of most unfamiliar words, especially in any given comprehension passage.

The fifth stage is asking learners to return to their note-books to define and refine their entries (Marzano, 2004; 2009). The researcher preferred pairs or small groups to whole class discussions when conducting such an exercise so that each learner is afforded an opportunity to explain their portraits. As explained in Step 3, this Step 4 is also more applicable to the primary school learners who mainly deal with pictorial representations.

34 The last stage is about involving learners in games that allow them to play with terms as games are the most underused instructional tools in education. It is essential to allot time for learners to play sport, in turn; this will rejuvenate them and lead them in the evaluation and employ of vital vocabulary.

Marzano originally published this six-step process in 2004. In 2009, five years later, he was able to review over 50 studies of classrooms that had implemented this process (Marzano, 2009). In each of the studies, a teacher used the six-step process with one class. By analyzing the results of these studies, Marzano was able to make some conclusions about the process. Marzano (2009) concludes that the strategy does work at all grade levels, ranging from kindergarten through high school. He also concludes that the process works the best if all six-steps are followed completely, without omitting any components (Marzano, 2009).

Sasse (2016) poses this question: What effects will the implementation of Marzano’s six-step process, in a third-grade classroom, have on English language learners’ academic vocabulary knowledge, and their understanding of the units’ mathematics concepts? The study conducted took place in a third-grade classroom, where 50% of the students were English language learners. Data collection methods included pre- and post-assessments, student self-assessment ratings, teacher reflections, and student discussion questions. Results of the study indicated encouraging and positive increases in assessment scores for students at all levels of English language proficiency.

Marzano’s literature offers implication for the current research. Direct instruction in vocabulary is important in promoting vocabulary development. Expert use of this six- step instructional process can greatly help EFAL learners in mastering new terms with unmatchable success. Vocabulary instruction should be a priority in each content area. The students will need to experience and practice the vocabulary in various ways, including listening, reading, speaking, writing, drawing, discussing, and playing games with the words. Teachers need to intentionally plan all of these experiences for their learners to guarantee they can understand and apply these words in their academic content areas.

35 This section discussed Marzano’s six steps that can be used to build academic vocabulary. The next section will look at the ‘Methods of Teaching Vocabulary’ in a bid to build academic vocabulary.