Preliminary communication

EXPLAINING UNFAMILIAR WORDS IN THE CLASSROOM CONTEXT

Lidija Bakota ; Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Osijek

Abstract

The need for explaining unfamiliar words in the classroom context usually arises when learners work on literary-artistic texts in their mother tongue literature lessons. If learners encounter unfamiliar words in literary texts, it is the teacher’s task to explain their meaning to them. Thus the teacher has to be familiar with the lexical level of literary works. The teacher can approach the explanation of unfamiliar words in different ways. Complex lexical definitions have to be adapted to younger school children. This paper presents the main criteria for defining unknown and less familiar words to younger school children in primary school. The aim of the research described in the paper was to establish how students – prospective teachers explain unfamiliar words to younger primary school children. The author analyses the students’ lesson plans for teaching the Croatian language in which they were asked to predict which words might be unfamiliar to learners and, in that way, impede comprehension, negatively influencing the experience of a literary work. The successful realisation of the lesson stage of explaining unfamiliar words has been evaluated in the students’ (prospective teachers for younger school children) direct work in the classroom, teaching Croatian language lessons.

Keywords

explaining unfamilar words in the classroom context; unfamiliar words

Hrčak ID:

81787

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/81787

Publication date:

7.12.2010.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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