TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
2. Aims and objectives
3. Scope of the study
4. The significance of the assignment
5. Methodology
II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Definitions of sense relations
2. Classification of main sense relations
2.1 Synonym
2.2 Antonym
2.3 Hyponym
III. THE APPLICATION OF SENSE RELATIONS IN TEACHING
VOCABULARY
1. The application of Synonyms
2. The application of Antonyms
3. The application of Hyponyms
IV. DISSCUSION
V. CONCLUSION
VI. REFERENCES

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 I. I NTRODUCTION

Genuinely, the idea of applying sense relation to vocabulary teaching is not a new one.
Many researchers prove the significance of sense relations construction in vocabulary
teaching. As we know, English has become the most widely used language in the world. To
master English is to gain an important tool for global communication. Therefore, English
teaching and learning has become more and more popular in domestic education. But
investigations tell us many learners have problems in their learning process especially in
vocabulary acquisition, the basic and essential part in language learning. The inadequateness
of learners’ command in vocabulary acquisition mainly lies in:

- great efforts but little results in vocabulary memorizing;

- lack of the understanding of the real meaning of the words taught; inability to
retrieve the words that have been taught when the case of use comes up;
- inability to use the appropriate word according to the situation.

According to semantic field theory (Brinton, 2000), words do not exist in isolation in
the consciousness of the speaker/ hearer, but are related to each other and thus form the
massive word store of a language. So vocabulary is an integrated system of lexemes
interrelated in sense. We can divide the whole vocabulary of a language up into different
fields of concepts which may consist of many subfields.

There can be no doubt that the meaning of a word can only be adequately described
through its semantic relations and contrasts to other words. In other words, the meaning of a
word does not exist in the word itself but rather spreads over the neighboring words, since it
is the neighboring words that help pin down the meanings of the word. Probably we all have
experience that remembering words from lists that contain semantically related subsets is
much easier than remembering words from lists of unrelated words. Thus we may suggest
that meaning organizes the vocabulary and teaching vocabulary through sense relations
should be the best way to give organized access to the lexicon (Ronald Carter, 1998).

Words’ meanings are defined through the sense relations they have with other words.
Semantic field theory reflects the general tendency to move from an isolating, atomistic, and

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discrete view to a holistic, systematic approach. Thus, teaching vocabulary through sense
relations should be a good way to give organized access to the lexicon (Carter, 1998). In this
article, we argue that teaching vocabulary through constructing sense relations such as
antonymy, synonymy, hyponymy, and collocation provides a precise elaboration in word
learning and is highly effective in deepening the understanding of the new items as well as
in facilitating the long-term retention of words.

The current paper is conducted with the hope that it will be helpful for high school
English teachers in finding appropriate teaching methods to stimulate their students in
learning vocabulary.

II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1. Definition of sense relations
Each word has its sense or meaning because of its association to other items
having a similar meaning. Therefore, “lexical structure of a language can be seen as a
network of sense relations, effected by the members of the lexicon” (Nguyen, 2004, p.120).
Sense relations as noted by Agbedo (2000:152) show “The sense of a word reveals itself
through the relations of meaning which the word contracts with other words in the
language”. In the current paper, the author will adopt the definition of Kreidle (1998), which
is basically the cognitive concept of sense relations propounded by Hoa Nguyen, and Chris
Uchenna Agbedo as well as other linguists, as follows: Sense relations as the relation of
meaning between words, as expressed in synonym, hyponymy, antonyms, etc…(Kreidler,
1998:187)
I.2. Classification of main sense relations
The different types of sense relations can be described with the help of the logical
operations of implication and contradiction.

A logical implication is a metalinguistic relation between two propositions p and q: q

logically follows from p (i.e. p implies q), if every semantic interpretation that makes p true
automatically makes q true. This concept of implication plays a crucial role in describing the
semantic relations of synonymy and hyponymy.

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 Synonymy is the semantic relation between two words that have the same (or nearly
the same) meaning. Referring to the definition of logical implication, synonymy corresponds
to a bilateral implication or equivalence: Two expressions A and B in the same syntactic
position are synonymous if A implies B and B implies A (e.g. movie-film). Thus, synonymy
presupposes the substitutability of the given expressions in all contexts. These expressions
share the same denotational and connotational meaning and are referred to as complete
synonyms. However, most synonyms are partial synonyms and differ with regard to their
connotations.

In contrast to synonymy, hyponymy corresponds to a unilateral implication: Two

expressions A and B in the same syntactic position are hyponyms if A implies B and the
converse does not hold (e.g. tulip-flower). Thus, hyponymy can be viewed as the semantic
relation of subordination, i.e. the specification of semantic content: An item A is a hyponym
of B, if the meaning of A is included in the meaning of B, but not vice versa. The
superordinate term is referred to as hyperonym, while hyponyms that share the same
hyperonym are called co-hyponyms. Besides hyponymy, a second important hierarchical
sense relation is calledmeronymy. Meronymy refers to part-whole relationships that hold
between words on different hierarchical levels (e.g. hand-arm). Whereas hyponymy involves
a relationship of inclusion between different classes, this is not the case with meronymy.

Synonymy and hyponymy contrast with various types of semantic opposites. The
most important sense relations that are based on the logical relation of contradiction are
antonymy, complementarity, conversion, and incompatibility. The
term complementarity(binary antonymy, nongradable antonymy) refers to an either-or
relationship between the two terms of a pair of semantic opposites. It is a binary relationship
in which the meaning of one lexeme is equivalent to the negation of the other lexeme
(e.g. dead-alive). In contrast to this binary relation, gradable antonyms are restricted to
gradable expressions that usually correlate with opposite members of a continuum
(e.g. good-bad). This type of relationship is strongly connected to the notion of comparison,
i.e. some normative relative term is needed (a small elephant is a large animal). The third
and fouth type of semantic opposites are characterized by a reciprocal semantic relationship

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between pairs of words: While converses(relational opposites) describe the same situation
from different perspectives (e.g. doctor-patient), reversives (directional opposites) involve a
change of direction, especially a motion in different directions (e.g. open-shut). Finally, the
notion of incompatibility refers to a non-binary semantic opposition of two expressions that
are semantically similar yet differ in a single semantic feature and are thus incompatible
(e.g. red-blue). Since in most cases co-hyponyms are semantically incompatible in a given
context (e.g. tulip-rose), the relationship between them is also referred to as incompatibility.

I.3 The features of vocabulary

According to some researchers, the setting up sense relations has a great positive
influence on vocabulary learning, the statistic data in the experimental groupshould be
higher than that of the controlled group so asto prove the verity of the teaching method of
setting upsense relations in English vocabulary teaching. Since, vocabulary is
- All the words of a language.
- The sum of words used by, understood by, or at the command of a particular person
or group.
- A list of words and often phrases, usually arranged alphabetically and defined or
translated; a lexicon or glossary.

As we know, vocabulary knowledge will provide both definitional and contextual

information about a word. Besides, the knowledge of vocabulary will introduce important
vocabulary words and provide ways for students to solidify their understanding of the words
by seeing them and using them multiple times (Hiebert and Kamil, 2005)
III. THE APPLICATION OF SENSE RELATIONS IN TEACHING VOCABULARY
When teaching English vocabulary, it is necessary to vary the way in which the teacher
introduce it, namely using realia when possible, pictures, and drawings on the board,
demonstration, readings and stories… Whichever applied way of teaching vocabulary, it's
important that they must be interesting ways for the students to practice the words; otherwise
their attention will diminish, along with any learning. One of the most effective methods is
teaching English vocabulary in relationship to other words, that is taking advantage of
hyponym, synonym, and antonym.

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 III.1. The application of Synonyms
Synonymy is the relationship between two words that have the same sense. This is a
strict definition of synonymy – the identity of sense. Some linguists, however, consider
synonymy a similarity of meaning.
Needless to say, using synonyms and antonyms in teaching vocabulary is one excellent
technique, but the problem is that how teachers can motivate learners’ interest in learning
vocabulary. In fact, there are a number of effective methods that have been used by almost
English teachers over the world. Firstly, teachers can give a list of words and ask learns to
find their synonyms and antonyms and make example sentences with those words.
Synonyms should be learned in categories such as adjectives, adverbs, and adverbs.
Therefore, we can use some types of exercises to apply for teaching vocabulary
For example:
EXERCISE 1: Do the following pairs have the same sense:
The thief tried to CONCEAL / HIDE the evidence.
I am going to PURCHASE / BUY a new coat.
These tomatoes and LARGE / RIPE.
This is a very LOOSE / SHORT definition.
You have my PROFOUND / DEEP sympathy.
It is a very WIDE / BROAD street.
EXERCISE 2: Are these sets of words synonymous:
He comes to see us every AUTUMN / FALL.
Nothing is more precious to us than our FREEDOM / LIBERTY.
The body was found in the BOOT / TRUNK of the car.
We’ve just bought a new HOUSE / APARTMENT.
How do they differ? Which ones have dialectal, stylistic or social associations
/differences?
Moreover, we can make students do some exercises focusing on synonymy learning. In
the lesson focusing on synonymy learning mainly fall into seven types. Here are some of the
examples of each type.

Type 1

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Suggest a word or a phrase that might be used in informal speeches and writings for each of
the words listed below.

(1) exhort (2) attest to (3) procrastinate (4) reluctance ………

All the words chosen here are the new words the students are required to master in the
unit. Through this exercise the teacher can illustrate that synonyms can be different in
connotations. Here exhort is more formal compared with its synonym advise, so they
differ in their stylistic appropriateness. The teacher should also mention that many
borrowed words in English such as are generally more formal than native words. For
example, respond, forest, manual are more formal than answer, wood and handy.

Type 2

In each word group below, three or four of the words are similar in meaning. Point out the
words which do not fit into their groups.

(1) inevitable, unnecessary, unavoidable, inescapable

(2) sufficient, enough, adequate, stinting ………

This exercise is quite helpful for students to set up synonymous groups for the newly
learned word, and to further integrate the new words with learned ones.

Type 3

Choose the one word or phrase that keeps the meaning of the original sentence if it is
substituted for the italicized word or phrase.

(1)That car model has become obsolete.

A. outmoded B. out of stock C. popular D. modern

(2) Current demographic trends, such as the fall in the birth rate, should be favorably
accelerate economic growth in the long run.

A. modern B. rapid C. contemporary D. nowadays

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 ………

This exercise not only practices the students’ knowledge of synonymy, but also
stimulates them to distinguish the shades of meanings between synonymous groups. In
example 2 students will have to distinguish the meanings of synonymous groups: modern,
contemporary and nowadays. The teacher can apply CP to show the differences of meanings
of the synonymous groups.

Type 4

Find the inappropriate word in each of the following sentences and replace it with a suitable
word.

(1) Mother Teresa is notorious for her fine work with the poor and sick in India.

(2) Old Tom is conspicuous for his great achievements in science. ………

The students will find this exercise require more efforts than the previous ones since
they first have to find the mistakes in the sentences and then correct them. In example 1 the
word notorious means famous or widely known for something bad. While the context of the
sentence tells us the derogative meaning of notorious is inappropriate here. The teacher now
should stimulate students to figure out another word with the similar meaning. The students
might give answers such as noted, famous, well-known, known. The teacher can add more
like celebrated. Then the teacher should point out that synonyms can have clearly different
affective values which result in the inappropriateness in the given sentence. Some are neutral
like known, some are appreciative like celebrated, and others are derogative like notorious.
In this way the students will set up synonymous relations for the target word notorious as
well as broaden their knowledge of synonyms.

III.2. The application of Antonyms

Antonymy is a sense relation in which oppositeness of meaning is observed. Therefore,
according to this definition, we can use some types of exercises to apply for teaching
vocabulary.
Exercise: What are the opposites of:

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 hot, thick, buy, lend, male, dead……………….
Besides, we can also use some exercises focusing on antonymy learning

Type 1

Select the word or words most nearly opposite in meaning to the word in capitals.

(1) ALIVE

A. deadly B. deathly C. dead D. deathlike

(2) FILTHY

A. impure B. clean C. spotless D. unsoiled

………

This exercise practices vocabulary capacity on antonyms. As long as the students

know the antonymous pairs, they can easily choose the correct answers. Besides providing
the correct answers, the teacher should point out the four groups of antonyms: gradable
antonyms, complementary antonyms and relational antonyms. In this exercise, alive/dead are
complementary antonymous pairs; filthy/ clean (spotless, unsoiled) are gradable antonymous
pairs.

Type 2

Select the word or words most nearly opposite in meaning to each other of the words in
capitals.

(1) The river DROPPED some 34 feet overnight.

A. drooped B. rose C. fell

(2) The COLD-BLOODED assassination of the duke was the sensational news in today’s
papers.

A. warm B. humane C. callous

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(3) Always bear in mind the proverb “Practice makes PERFECT.”

A. exemplary B. immaculate C. imperfect

………

This exercise is similar with the previous one except that the contexts in the sentences
here can help students pin down the precise meaning of the capitalized words. Take no. 3 for
example, the teacher should introduce some affixes and suffixes that are used to form
antonyms. Besides, knowledge about the markedness and unmarkedness terms should be
touched upon. Here imperfect is formally marked, while perfect is formally unmarked.

III. 3 The application of hyponyms

As we mention above, hyponymy is a sense relation between lexemes such that the
meaning of one lexeme is included in the meaning of the other. Therefore, according to this
definition, we can use some types of exercises to apply for teaching vocabulary.
Exercises Focusing On Hyponymy LearningIn the book A New English Course the
exercises for practicing hyponymy are designed very well. From the various types of
exercises the students can understand what is hyponymy and the function of it.
Type 1

Give one generic term that covers each of the following groups of words.

(1) bandit, poacher, swindler, fraud, embezzler, imposter, smuggler

(2) drowse, doze, slumber, hibernate, coma, rest, nap

………

This exercise helps students group the specific words under a more general term
systematically and form the relation of hyponymy, which can extend memory retention.

Type 2

Make a list of more specific words for each of the following general terms.

(1) SAY

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(2) SEE

(3) BEVERAGE

………

This exercise requires students to provide the subordinate terms of the superordinate.
For each group, the general words are those basic level categories which the students have
first grasped. The teacher should introduce the function of hyponyms which is to make our
speech or writing more precise and vivid. The students should know how to apply the
subordinate and superordinate terms appropriately.

Type 3

Fill in each blank with a suitable word or suitable words chosen from the list in the
proper form. remember, memorize, recall, recollect, remind, retain, review, reminisce

(1) He returned to the site of the Huai Hai Campaign to the battles he had witnessed.

(2) The Monument to the People’s Heroes us of the sacrifices the martyrs made for the
liberation of our country.

…………………………

All the words listed in this exercise are from the same field of concept of
“remember”. The teacher should use the word remember as a bridge to introduce other new
words listed here. According to the theory of basic level category, the words at the basic
level of the hierarchical relationship of hyponymy are learned more easily. Here the teacher
should first tell students all the words here are more specific words under the same general
covering word remember. Then the teacher can apply CP and principles of collocation to
elaborate the precise meaning of each word. By constructing relationship of hyponymy
among the words, the students will grasp and locate the meanings more easily.

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 IV. DISCUSSION
Teaching vocabulary through hyponyms is effective form of practice because it is easy
for learners to learn, to remember and be able to enjoy for their own sake. The teacher can
use hyponyms to show relations of words and their meanings. In specific, learners can be
guided to record words in hyponym groups in vocabulary banks and add new words to these
groups. This can be a useful way to process new vocabulary and may mirror how learners
organize words in their first language. On the one hand, learners can group words under the
same superordinate concept together. Through this way, English teacher can make learners
be able to remember vocabulary much easily and systematically.
As useful as learning vocabulary through hyponyms, that using synonyms and
antonyms also gives learners a highly effective approach to acquire new words as well as
revise old words. When we use a synonym, the meaning of the word is shown by presenting
other words of the same meaning, for example good and decent. Whereas when using
antonyms we give the opposite meaning of the taught word, for example a rich person and a
poor person. We can also ask learners to look for synonyms or antonyms themselves, either
“in their heads” or in the dictionary. This should help them in mental processing of the learnt
word. Moreover, that repeating the same words tends to get monotonous. It does not sound
good in natural speech, and even more so in artistic writing (poetry, prose). If using
synonyms makes your speech or writing richer and more colorful, using antonyms helps to
emphasize your point, show contrast, or explain exactly what the speaker or writer means.
For example, consider two following paragraphs to have deeper understanding about the
effect of learning vocabulary through synonyms and antonyms.

According to the some exercises applied in the our lesson, in the traditional method
treatment, the teacher presented new words on the textbook where each word was introduced
by analyzing the meanings of the prefix, suffix or suffixes, and root or roots it contains.
Then the students were encouraged to guess the meaning of the words with the help of
teacher’s analysis of their affixes. The Vietnamese translation and English definition were
then provided. Then, one or two example sentences would be provided by the teacher to give
the students meaningful context where those target words should occur.

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 In the sense relation treatment, we taught new words by setting up sense relations of
theirs: encountering new words, getting the word form, constructing sense relations, and
consolidating and using the words. In the first step of sense relation strategy—encountering
new words, students were first asked to read the text and guess the meaning of new words
from the situation, discourse, and/or context in which they are used. And the words that were
beyond the students’ capacity should be underlined. In the second step, getting the word
form, students copied the words that were new or difficult for them from what they had
marked in the text or from the word list. In the third step, constructing sense relations, the
teacher found appropriate words to set up sense relation network of the new items. When the
new words were presented to the students, students were firstly encouraged to analyze the
new items in their understanding by constructing sense relations of the new items. Then the
teacher pointed out the insufficiency of the students’ try in their establishing of the sense
relation networks and then he/she sets up a network of the sense relations for the new words
in appropriate way such as analyzing semantic features of the synonymous groups to
distinguish them, setting up the marked and unmarked pairs of the antonymous words or
making use of tree diagrams to illustrate the hierarchical relationship among the words. In
the step of consolidating, the teacher provided appropriate exercises to train and consolidate
the newly learnt words and helped the learners get a better retention on the newly learnt
items. In the final step, the teacher guided the students to read and write appropriate
materials to make use of the newly learnt words to achieve appropriate use and better
retention of these words.

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 V. CONCLUSION
All of this leads two conclusio, sense relations have been studied by many linguists and its
practical value in teaching has already been accepted. As for this paper, sense relations
application is limited in vocabulary teaching. Due to the content limit of this paper we just
focus on three types of sense relations: synonymy, antonymy, hypnymy and collocation. In
teaching and constructing these sense relations we apply componential analysis, markedness
theory and basic level category respectively. Collocations are discussed with some
guidelines. After the elaboration on sense relation teaching we suggest a synthetical teaching
approach following Brown and Payne’s model of lexical teaching, which includes five steps
in vocabulary teaching: encountering new words, getting the correct spelling and
pronunciation of the word, meaning acquisition through sense relation construction,
extending memory retention through exercises of various sources, and using the words in
actual application. Vocabulary teaching, a subject having received a great deal of discussion,
still remains a tricky problem for researchers. This paper can hardly cover all the aspects
involved for the limit of the content. Other aspects in vocabulary teaching are yet to be
explored. The innovative idea of vocabulary teaching by establishing sense relations
presented in this paper is an attempt expected to stimulate more creative and innovative
researches in this field.
Sense relations have been investigated by a number of researchers and its pedagogical
value has been recognized. In this paper, we carried out an experiment, in which the depth of
vocabulary knowledge measure is applied and students’ deep level vocabulary knowledge is
tested to examine the new strategy of vocabulary teaching. Subjects of the controlled group
was taught with traditional method, and to the experimental group, sense relation strategy
was applied in vocabulary instruction. The teaching experiment lasted for two months.
During the span of experiment time, six chapters of intensive reading material were covered.
In the study of each chapter, subjects from both groups were instructed with different
strategies to learn the new words from the word list. Testing results validate our hypothesis
and prove that constructing sense relations of words is highly effective in deepening
learners’ understanding of vocabulary and improving vocabulary-learning effect and is thus
superior to the traditional method.

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 VI. REFERENCES
[1] Batistella, EL. The Logic of Markedness. Oxford: OUP. 1996

[2] Baugh, A lbert C., and Thomas Cable, A History of the English Language, 3rd edition.
Singapore: Prentice-Hall International, Inc. 1978.

[3] Bolinger, D. Meaning and Memory. Forum Linguisticum, 1976, 1, 1: 1-14.

[4] Brown C. & Payne, ME “Five essential steps of processes in vocabulary learning” Paper.
presented at the TESOL Convention, Baltimore. Celce-Murcia, M. 1994

[5] Carter, R. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistics Perspectives. London.1987.

[6] Carter, R. & T. McCarthy. Vocabulary and Language Teaching. New York: Longman.
1988.

[7] Carter, Ronald. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspective (2nd edition). London and
New York: Routledge.1998.

[8] Cruse, D. A. 1986. Lexical Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[9] F.de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and
Research Press. 2001.

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