Intensifying Training of Learning Strategies to Improve the Efficiency of Learning English Vocabular

【Abstract】Vocabulary is the basic element of language.Without it，language would no longer exist. Therefore，foreign language study is closely associated with vocabulary study.In the thesis， it is viewed that learning English vocabulary makes great contribution to the improvement of English study. In order to solve the problem of “time-consuming and poorly-efficient” English vocabulary learning，the thesis offers some interesting and efficient strategies of vocabulary learning，called neat tricks，which will stimulate the students’imagination and their interest in English learning，and finally interest learning their vocabulary .

【Key Words】 Efficient;vocabulary-learning strategies；neat tricks

【摘要】詞匯是語言的基本要求。沒有詞匯，語言將不存在，所以外語學習離不開詞匯學習，針對英語教學中學生在詞匯學習上的“費時低效”問題，本文提出了有關詞匯學習的一些策略，鼓勵學生積極采用多種生動有趣的詞匯學習奇招，令學生產生“出格”的聯想，激發其英語學習興趣，從而饒有興趣的學習英語詞匯。

【關鍵詞】效率；詞匯學習策略；奇招

I.Importance of vocabulary learning strategies

The importance of vocabulary suggests that it is significant for learners to acquire vocabulary in large quantity and good quality. In fact， in addition to these， a great deal of research on vocabulary learning is worth.

Vocabulary learning strategies are effective tools for developing communicative competence， which are taken by the students to enhance and improve their English study. Appropriate vocabulary learning strategies results in improving proficiency and gaining great self-confidence in vocabulary learning. They are used because there is a lot of vocabulary for the students’ memorizing ability. So what can they do?Highly efficient vocabulary-learning strategies come to their minds. Those strategies are used to help the learners learn vocabulary in a quite relaxing atmosphere， so that more profitable learning can take place.

Based on an investigation of vocabulary learning among 100 students in the branch of XI’AN BIOMEDICAL TECHNICAL COLLEGE， it is found that vocabulary-learning strategies of those good English learners could make considerable contribution to enhancing the development of English skills. Among the learning strategies， they， more often than not， focus on vocabulary strategies. It’s viewed that vocabulary is a permanent， strategy-based task， and not just a rot-memorizing work. But the others complain that though they have a conscious of the importance of the vocabulary， it’s still hard for them to memorize such large number of words.

In order to make the importance of vocabulary learning clear to readers， two graphs are made to invest the 100 students.

Graph 1（單位：人） Graph 2（單位：人）

The graphs suggest that：

First，the biggest obstacle of learning English as a foreign language lies in vocabulary.

And reading is next to it Actually，reading is made up a lot of vocabulary. In other words， The difficulty of reading can be summed up as that of vocabulary. So，in order to improve their reading，how to help them learn vocabulary with high efficiency is worthy of the research.

Second，most students are working hard at English and try to employ various strategies in handing their English learning Especially the “good” or “successful ”learners know which strategy is fit for them .

They have the ability to create and apply new vocabulary strategies of their own，but from Graph 2，we can see only a few students have the ability to learn vocabulary with high efficiency .

Third，more and more students show a tendency to attach great importance to the vocabulary learning .

But most of them are considering that it is so difficult to do well in the vocabulary learning，and they are poor at creating or making use of new strategies .

Therefore，doing research on vocabulary learning strategies is necessary .It will help most students to lighten their burden of memorizing a large number of English words .For this purpose，the thesis offers some new idea of which vocabulary strategies can be efficiently used .

II. Effective strategies of vocabulary learning

2.1 Use of intelligent questions and answers

This way of vocabulary learning is something like that of humor that has been mentioned early in the thesis. Intelligent questions refer to questions full of wits with the feature that they are always so peculiar that most people can’t make head or tail of them. But when the intelligent answers are revealed， they will be suddenly aware.

Such game for brains always plays tricks on words or homophones. And it’ll help students to keep these words firmly in mind.

(1) “—When do we feel most tired in the year?

—On the 1st of April.

—What! Why?

—Because we have just had a March， lasting 31 days.”

(2) When you threw “butter” out the window， what would you see?

“Butterfly.”

Because when you threw butter out the window， butter will fly in the sky. So you can see the butterfly in the sky.

Obviously， this intelligent question and answer plays tricks on the homophones-“March” and “March”. Because April comes after March-the 3rd month of the year， and the word “march” also means “行軍”，no wonder that the 1st of April comes after the 31 days’ s march， so we feel most tired.

2.2 Jokes

Joke is also another fun approach to learn vocabulary.

If students would like to distinguish and memorize firmly the three words- “class”， “lass，” and “ass”， they might as well have a try by the following joke.

(3) “Class， Lass and Ass”

Professor Tom was going to meet his students on the next day， so he wrote some words on the blackboard which read as follows: ‘Professor Tom will meet the class tomorrow.’

A student， seeing his chance to display his sense of humor after reading the notice， walked up and erased the ‘c’ in the word ‘class’. The professor noticed the laughter， wheeled around， walked back， and looked at the student then at the notice with the ‘c’ erased. He calmly walked up and erased the ‘L’ in ‘lass，’ looked at the flabbergasted student and preceded on his way.”

Here， maybe junior students have learned the word “class” which means“班級”.But the other two words “lass” and “ass” may be easily forgotten. From this joke， students will know “lass” means“情人”，and “ass” means“蠢驢”.So isn’t it a good way to learn English vocabulary?

2.3 Introduction of interesting methods

As we know， Interesting is a good teacher， to the students remember word is headache things. How to the English teacher also is a hard teaching. to make easyer. For example，

(4)There is a Japanese person， his name is “僧喜郎”.he will go to American to meet President Clinton. Before one month ago， Language specialist of “僧喜郎” told him that when you meet Clinton ，You should say “How are you?” But when he meet Clinton. He was terribly nervous

At that moment he said “Who are you?”

President Clinton thinks vocabulary that: Japanese is humor.

So Clinton said that I am husband of “希拉里”.

“僧喜郎”answered:“Me too”.

(5) “banana” we can use Chinese pinyin divided into ‘ba’‘na’ ‘na’.

爸爸把香蕉拿給娜娜吃。

(6) “business” pinyin to learn it. divided into ‘bus’ ‘si’ 一條蛇， ‘e’ 鵝 ‘ss’兩只.’n’ 一條蛇和兩只鵝在公共汽車上打架。

What is Rap? Rap means a quick light hit or knock. It is a kind of music. It just likes talking. It often shows song in saying and singing. For example:

2.4 Use of pronunciation of word

（7）I clearly remembered that a volunteer have lunch together with me. The boss of Chineserestaunt ask him. Did you really like rice? But the boss can’t say English. He say rice to ‘米飯’ volunteer very angry. I don not know what happened? And then volunteer told me that the boss say him ‘fat’. I laugh and explain to the volunteer .Chinese boss say ‘rice’ in Chinese is same pronunciation than ‘fat’.

(9) ‘herb’ pronunciation [he:b].there is a story. It said that a foreigner lived in China， He got bad fever. He would die. But he cant’ believe Tradition Chinese Medicine. He refused eat. The old Tradition Chinese Medicine told him. you will die. Why don't you drink this Medicine. you drink it ，you die， you don't drink it. Maybe you will die‘喝吧喝吧，你喝也是死，不喝也是死，不如喝了吧。’so the foreigner drink it. He alive.。Herb read [he:b] just like喝吧，喝吧.

III. conclusion

In order to solve the problem of “time-consuming and poorly-efficient” English vocabulary learning，effective strategies of vocabulary learning ; Through use of intelligent question and answers; Utility of the pronunciation of letters; Humors， Jokes，Introduction of interesting methods; Use of pronunciation of word; Utility of social situationsixpart to explain. It is full with humors and jokes. Hope you enjoy it.

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（作者單位：陜西西安生物醫藥專修學院）