Vocabulary teaching strategies

徐桂榮

Abstract：Vocabulary has always been one of the significant issues related both with teachers and learners of foreign languages. How to teach vocabulary efficiency？Teachers should choose proper ways to instruct words. Many teachers often write new words they want to teach on the blackboard and then explain them one by one. It makes students feel bored. This paper will summarize some teaching approaches that are better on teaching English words.

Key words： vocabulary； language learners； approaches

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1. Introduction

The important of vocabulary is illustrated by Wilkins who says “Without grammar very little can be conveyed， without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” In middle schools， many students devote large amounts of time and energy to the learning of vocabulary， but they still complain that their vocabulary size is not large enough or they cannot avoid forgetting. It is very important to make students aware not all words are equally important and that effective way of vocabulary learning help to reduce forget. No matter how well they learn the grammar， no matter how successfully the pronunciation is mastered， they cant still understand the materials of reading and listening very well because of the limited words or the misunderstanding of the meaning of words. It is necessary for the teacher to know the importance of vocabulary teaching in school and to enlarge students` vocabularies in effective ways.

2. The importance of vocabulary teaching

The singular importance of vocabulary has become a powerful insight to raise achievement. Vocabulary instruction should be a focal point of learning， especially for students impacted by poverty. Vocabulary instruction is an excellent advance organizer but also must be taught in context.

The word is one of the three basic language units （sound， word， grammar）. It is essential to communication. Students who are immersed into a new linguistic settling tend to pick up vocabulary first， and then gradually develop a more accurate， structural framework in which to use these words.

If structure is the skeleton of language， vocabulary is then the organ and flesh. Vocabulary is the base for second language acquisition.

So， as a teacher， to learn how to teach English vocabulary is very important. Therefore， I will discuss kinds of ways of teaching vocabulary in the following part.

3. Strategies on guiding learners to acquire vocabulary

a. Using Pictures： Pictures for vocabulary teaching come from many sources. Pictures that have been cut out of magazines and newspapers are also useful. Many inexpensive books for children have attractive pictures which show meanings of basic words. Pictures show human situations often interest students. A picture that suggests a story of a situation can be very valuable in the language class.

b.Using Objects and Slides： For the beginning class the teacher can prepare labels for objects in the classroom. For example， if the lesson is about foods， the teacher could bring a basket of plastic fruit to class. The students will curiosity or interest on this class. On the other hand， slides furnish an excellent medium for conveying the connotative cultural meaning of ordinary words in a foreign language.

c. Guessing the Word's Meaning： The teacher can assume students already have a considerable store of vocabulary rather than teach them new words and show them examples of words in action. The teacher asks them to use their pervious knowledge to work out what words can go with others， when they should be used and what connotations they have.

d.Playing Games：In recommending games for vocabulary learning， the aim has not been to suggest pleasant ways of passing time. Time passes too quickly in most classes， and students in middle school are not a teachers responsibility. But language teachers are responsible for creating conditions which enough vocabulary expansion， and a well-chosen game can help the students acquire English words.

e.Learning in the Communication：Teaching vocabulary by communication means teaching the new words through thinking with students about the things presented or happening in our daily lift， since real experience can deepen the impressions of things upon people， teaching by cementation have a great advantage that the new words presented in the conversation immediately become an active word which students can exploit freely and proper.

f. Using creative drama：It gives a context for listening and meaningful language production， forcing the learners to use their language resources and， thus， enhancing their linguistic abilities.

g.Using storytelling：Stories have been considered a powerful and effective tool in language learning. Morgan and Rinvolucri （1983） and Pesola （1991） explain that stories engage learners， expose them to new language and help them acquire the target language unconsciously and almost effortlessly.

4. Conclusion

English vocabulary develops continuously like any other modern languages with the development of society and science. In order to improve the efficiency of English teaching， the teacher should focus on the reformation of the old teaching system. English teachers in middle school should try to convert their roles for the needs of the students. They should make the class to be learner—centered， more democratic and less teacher—dominated， and stress on students participation in classroom. Vocabulary teaching is a cooperation between teachers and students. Teachers instruct students some essential ways for vocabulary learning. And students find some proper ways to enlarge their vocabulary. Of course， the purpose of English vocabulary teaching is to help students develop the abilities of using English for communication and of acquiring knowledge in the future.”

References：

[1]Allen. （2002）. Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary [M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 18-19.

[2]Morgan， M. and M. Rinvolucri. （1983）. Once Upon a Time： Using Stories in the Language Classroom. New York： Cambridge University Press.

[3]Richards， J.C. （1976）. The role of vocabulary teaching. TESOL Quarterly， Vol.10. No 1.

[4]Pesola， C.A. （1991）. Culture in the elementary foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals 24， no. 4： 331–46.

[5]Zhang Weiyou. （1997）. On English Vocabulary. Foreign Language Teaching and

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