lesson link TEACHERS NOTES

The Oxford 3000

Introduction
Students often want their teachers to tell them which words to learn. They recognize that the human brain can only absorb a certain amount of vocabulary at any one time and that some words are more useful than others. What they need is help with deciding which are the most important words for them to study. You probably know that the most frequently used word in English is the and it wont surprise you to learn that and, be and of are in the top ten, but could you say which are the 100 or 1000 most frequent words? In any case, how much communication can you accomplish with the, be and of? How can we decide which words are most vital for learners to focus on? Oxford University Press has taken a systematic approach to this issue and the result is the Oxford 3000. This vocabulary list contains the most frequent words in English, based on information from the British National Corpus and the Oxford Corpus Collection. Numerical frequency is not enough for a word to qualify as a keyword, but also frequency across a wide range of different types of text. The list also contains some very important words as identified by a panel of over 70 experts, which may not be in the list of the most frequent vocabulary, but are basic and very familiar to most users of English (such as names of everyday objects or feelings) and essential for explaining things. Oxfords dictionaries for learners now incorporate a system of keywords based on the Oxford 3000, and these are marked clearly with a key symbol, usually in blue. At an advanced level, the key symbols are used in words that have several meanings to show which are the most common or important meanings to learn. The full Oxford 3000 list can be accessed at http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ oxford3000/. Via the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary website, students and teachers also have the option of using a useful tool called the Oxford Text Checker. By copying and pasting text into the text checker, you can find out how many of the words in it are Oxford 3000 keywords and this will give a clear idea of the level of difficulty of the text. So teachers now have a comprehensive essential vocabulary list to aid them in preparing useful lessons and activities for their learners. We have put together some exercises at different levels which we hope you will enjoy trying with your students.

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link TEACHERS NOTES

ELEMENTARY
Time 15 minutes group work + optional extension/homework Topic Words belonging to different categories Aims To help students categorize words from the list of 2000 keywords in the dictionary. Before you start Make photocopies of the task 1 worksheet and cut along the lines. You will need one cut-up worksheet for each group of students. You will also need copies of the Oxford Essential Dictionary. Procedure Divide the class into groups of three or four. Tell them/show them that you are going to give them a lot of words on cards and that their job is to organize them into groups by topic. There are four words in each group. With a weaker group, write topic headings on the board: on the table, family, transport, money, place, housework. Hand out copies of the Oxford Essential Dictionary. Tell them that they should use their dictionaries to check any words they dont know. Hand out one cut-up worksheet per group, mixed up. If they are a competitive group, you could make it a race to be the first team to organize all the words. (Say 1, 2, 3, GO!) When they have finished, check the answers as a class. Drill pronunciation if necessary. At this point, tell them that all these words come from the list of 2000 keywords on pages 485 491 of their dictionaries, which contains the most important words for them to learn at this stage. Show them the key symbol next to one of the words in the dictionary. Extension In their groups, learners try to think of two more words to add to each group. They need to check in their dictionaries that the words they add are keywords. With a monolingual group, they could think of words in their first language for the teacher to translate and then they could check them in the dictionary. Then conduct class feedback and encourage peer teaching of new words where possible, otherwise explain new words yourself. You could award a point for each new keyword (no matter how many teams think of it) and two points for any keyword which only one team thinks of. Suggestions for more words in same category (checked against the list of 2000 keywords): On the table: cup, spoon, glass, dish Family: sister, father, grandmother, uncle, cousin, mother, son Transport: car, bus, bicycle, plane, train Money: coin, account, note, spend, earn, save Place: top, side, outside, over, under Housework: wash, lay the table, fix, repair

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link TEACHERS NOTES

INTERMEDIATE
Time 15-20 minutes pair work + extension/homework Topic Words with similar meanings Aims An odd-one-out exercise to focus students on learning keywords using the Oxford 3000. Before you start Make photocopies of the worksheet one per pair. You will also need copies of the Oxford Wordpower Dictionary. Procedure Divide the class into pairs. Tell them that they are going to use their dictionaries to find the difference between similar words and to find out which words are more important to learn. Hand out dictionaries. Ask them to look in the Guide to the dictionary in the front (page iv). Point out the blue key symbol, and explain that today they only need to care about words with this symbol because they are in the list of the 3000 most useful words to learn. Tell the students to work together and discuss the 3 words in each set. They should try to a understand the difference between them by using their dictionaries and b discover and draw brackets around the odd one out the word that is NOT in the Oxford 3000. Give them a suitable time limit and monitor them carefully. When most have finished, conduct class feedback and clarify any difficulties they have in understanding. Extension For homework or in a later lesson, hand out the gapfill task to consolidate what theyve learned about the meanings. By completing the pairs of sentences, the students practise choosing the best word to use in context. Answers (main exercise) 1 blank (vacant) empty 2 (harsh) serious severe 3 (trainer) coach teacher 4 essential important (paramount) 5 (gadget) item object 6 fire (flare) flame 7 custom (rite) ceremony 8 defeat (triumph) beat 9 (conceive) invent discover 10 attach tie (bind) Answers (extension exercise) 1 a) blank; b) empty 2 a) serious; b) severe 3 a) teacher; b) coach 4 a) essential; b) important 5 a) item; b) object 6 a) flame; b) fire 7 a) custom; b) ceremony 8 a) beat; b) defeat 9 a) discover; b) invent 10 a) tie; b) attach

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link TEACHERS NOTES

ADVANCED
Using the Oxford 3000 as a springboard to deeper/ broader vocabulary knowledge The most important meanings of the Oxford 3000 words are highlighted with a key symbol but many of these words have other, interesting meanings, especially when they are different parts of speech. Time 5-10 minutes individual/pair work + 15 minutes pair work Topic Other uses of Oxford 3000 words Aims Learners will consolidate and extend their lexical knowledge, using Oxford 3000 words as a springboard. Before you start Make photocopies of the gapfill for each student or one per pair. Make photocopies of the Team A and Team B worksheets one per pair.You will also need copies of the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. Procedure Hand out the gapfill exercise and explain what to do. They can work on this task individually or in pairs. Remind them that they may need to change the form of the word in the box to fit the sentence but will not need to change the part of speech. With a weaker group, pre-teach any unknown lexis (e.g. upgrade, Braille, house-warming, waterlogged, jigsaw puzzle). Check the answers together when they have finished. Now explain that these are some of the most common meanings of the words in the box, which all form part of the Oxford 3000. The words also have other meanings which the next task focuses on. Divide the class in half and put each half in pairs. Give one half the Team A sentences and the other half the Team B sentences. These sentences contain the same words as exercise 1 but used in a different way. Their task is to work out the part of speech and the meaning. Give a time limit for them to do this in their pairs, then hand out dictionaries and allow time for them to check their answers. When they have all finished, put one Team A together with one Team B to teach the new meanings to each other. Extension Ask the students to write their own sentences containing each of the words in the new meaning. Answers Exercise 1 1 sounds 3 room 2 pool 4 blind 5 right 6 running 7 work 8 party 9 pitch 10 fine 11 flat 12 post

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link TEACHERS NOTES

Answers Exercise 2 Team A sound as an adjective = sensible; that you can rely on and that will probably give good results room as an uncountable noun = the possibility of something existing or happening; the opportunity to do something blind as a noun = a covering for a window, especially one made of a roll of cloth that can be pulled up and down right as a verb = to return something/yourself to the normal, vertical position party as a verb = to enjoy yourself, especially by eating, drinking alcohol and dancing pitch as a verb = to set something at a particular level Team B post also as a verb but with a different meaning = to put information or pictures on a website running as an adjective = used after a number, etc. to say that something has happened in the same way, several times without a change work as a verb = to move or pass to a particular place or state, usually gradually flat also as an adjective but with a different meaning = not allowing discussion or argument; definite fine also as an adjective but with a different meaning = difficult to see or describe pool as a verb = to collect money, information, etc. from different people so that it can be used by all of them.

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Elementary

bowl

fork

knife

plate

daughter

aunt

grandfather

brother

motorbike

ship

lorry

taxi

cash

credit card

cheque

bank

bottom

back

inside

front

tidy

brush

cook

clean

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Intermediate
Draw brackets around the odd one out in each of the groups of three below. 1 blank vacant empty 2 harsh serious severe 3 trainer coach teacher

4 essential important paramount 5 gadget item 6 fire flare object flame ceremony

7 custom rite

8 defeat triumph beat 9 conceive invent 10 attach tie EXTENSION Fill the gaps using the most appropriate word from each pair. Use your dictionary to help you. 1 blank / empty a He handed me a _____________________ piece of paper and told me to draw a picture. b When I looked in the bag it was _____________________. 2 serious / severe a They had a _____________________ car accident. b The weather conditions at the North Pole were very _____________________. 3 coach / teacher a My English _____________________ is tall and handsome with a Scottish accent. b The football _____________________ told us we had to run faster and pass the ball quicker. 4 essential / important a Water is _________________________ for life. b It is very _________________________ that you study hard for your exams. discover bind

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

5 item / object a She chose the most expensive _____________________ on the menu. b A bottle opener is a very useful _____________________. 6 fire / flame a The candle _____________________ moved in the wind. b) Everybody ran out of the building when someone shouted _____________________! 7 custom / ceremony a It is our _____________________ to take our shoes off when we go inside. b The wedding _____________________ was a beautiful occasion. 8 defeat/ beat a She is hoping to _____________________ the world record next month. b Government troops had to struggle hard to _____________________ the rebels. 9 invent / discover a One day we hope scientists will _____________________ a cure for cancer. b Did Alexander Graham Bell _____________________ the telephone? 10 attach / tie a Dont forget to _____________________ the knot tightly. b She tried to _____________________ it with sticky tape but it fell off.

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Advanced Exercise 1
blind (adjective)fine (adjective)running (noun) work (noun)party (noun)pitch (noun) pool (noun)room (noun)flat (adjective) sound (verb)right (adjective)post (verb) Use the words in the box to complete the sentences. You may need to change the form of the verbs. 1 Have you got a sore throat? Your voice ______________________ terrible. 2 We stayed in a lovely hotel with a huge indoor ______________________. 3 I had booked a standard double ______________________ but my husband upgraded it to a suite. 4 She was ______________________ when she was born but learned to read Braille at an early age. 5 Well done! You got all the answers ______________________ except the last one. 6 He has taken up ______________________ and says he already feels much fitter. 7 This job involves a lot of hard ______________________. 8 Were having a house-warming ______________________ next weekend. Will you come? 9 They cancelled the match because the ______________________ was waterlogged. 10 I asked her if she was OK and she replied that she was ______________________. 11 You really need a ______________________ surface to do this jigsaw puzzle on. 12 Oh no! I forgot to ______________________ her birthday card and its already late!

The Oxford 3000

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lesson link WORKSHEET WORKSHEET

Advanced Exercise 2
Team A Give the part of speech and meaning of the six words in bold. The two sentences in each number illustrate the same meaning. 1 Their principles are environmentally sound. My teacher gave me some sound advice. 2 Their coach said there was still a lot of room for improvement. You have to give people the room to make their own decisions. 3 We had to have blinds fitted in our office because the sun was so bright. Could you lower the blind, please? 4 The ship managed to right itself and they sailed on. The pilot righted the plane and landed OK. 5 My friends seem to go out partying every night. We partied until dawn so I felt pretty tired the following day! 6 The product wont sell if they pitch their prices too high. Ive pitched my expectations low so I wont be disappointed.

Team B Give the part of speech and meaning of the six words in bold. The two sentences in each number illustrate the same meaning. 1 I cant believe she posted those photos on the message board! The names of the competition winners will be posted on the website. 2 He has just won the competition for the fourth year running. You have been late to work three days running. 3 A screw had worked loose. With the backing of her party, she worked her way to the very top in politics. 4 When I asked him about it, all I got was a flat denial. She was shocked by his flat refusal to discuss it. 5 He tried to explain the fine distinction between the two theories. It can sometimes be hard to appreciate the finer details of the project. 6 The students pooled their ideas. If we pool our money, well be able to afford it.

The Oxford 3000

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Oxford University Press 2014