Methodological Strategies on EnlargingStudents Vocabulary探讨学生学习英语词汇的策.doc

探讨学生学习英语词汇的策Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students VocabularyAbstract: Vocabulary is most one of fundamental part for language studying and also the preconditions of language application. Therefore, vocabulary studying is an essential part in language studying. Guiding students to acquire an adequate vocabulary is an important task that is often neglected. Generally speaking, the more vocabulary a student masters, the higher level a student of English will have. But in China, the traditional method of teaching vocabulary often focus on learning by rote, and students of foreign languages are inclined to learn as much vocabulary as possible this way regardless of whether these vocabulary is useful or not. Indeed, there are some disadvantageous factors hindering the students and expanding vocabulary rapidly and efficiently. We have to develop a scientific method of learning vocabulary exploring methods of which is the key to this paper. This paper expounds thoroughly how overall English vocabulary learning is achieved systematically by means of word-building, context, pictures, and word associations, which provides the students with an easy and scientific way to the vocabulary learning, thus offering them a solid vocabulary foundation for their mastery of the four skills.Key words: vocabulary; vocabulary learning; effective methods摘要：词汇是语言学习中最重要的部分之一，也是语言运用的前提条件。因此语言学习中词汇学习是必不可少的部分。可是在英语教学中，词汇教学却没有得到应有的重视。一般来说，学生掌握的词汇越多，他们才会有较理想的英语水平。但是在中国，传统的英语教学方法更多的关注于死记硬背，学生在扩大词汇量的同时忽视了他们的用法。同时也有很多不利的因素干扰学生快速有效的扩大词汇量。因此，我们应该设计出较为科学的词汇策略。这篇论文详细阐述了用构词法，语境，图片展示法，通过这些方法让学生们简单科学的学习词汇。因此，这四种方法为他们掌握词汇提供了坚实的基础。关键词：词汇；词汇学习；有效方法ContentsIIntroduction.1II. Literature Review.1III. Problems of Vocabulary Learning in Schools3IV. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of Word-building.3V. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of English Context.5 A. Introducing reading skills from word inference.5B. Methods of teaching vocabulary from context. 7VI. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of Pictures. .8VII. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of Word Association. 10VIII. Conclusion. 12 Work Cited. 13I. IntroductionVocabulary is a key element in language learning because a widely productive vocabulary is essential in enhancing a students language skills. Now many students devote large amounts of time and energy to learn English vocabulary, but often end up with dissatisfaction. They always complain that they can not help forgetting. Generally speaking, there are two problems: one problem is that some students do not pay enough attention to the importance of the vocabulary in their English learning. They do not work hard at learning new words. They do not know their true meaning, but only memorize them mechanically and often forget the words when they need to use them. Sometimes they even know nothing about English without the reference books or dictionaries. The other problem is that some students think to memorize new words is just learning its Chinese translation in isolation of context without knowing its formation rules, connotative meaning or collocation. When students come to reading or listening tasks with those words especially used in different contexts or in combination with other words, they get confused easily with the meanings of the words they are remembered. So it is very important to help students enlarge their vocabulary. Therefore people are paying more and more attention to the importance of vocabulary teaching and learning. “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (Wilkins 3). “Acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is essential for the successful second language” (Rivers 39). Now I hope I can use my methodological strategies on enlarging students vocabulary by means of English word-building, context, word associations, pictures etc. This method can solve the students problem that has puzzled students for so long a time. Through the research I can apply my knowledge and theory which I learned from the university into practice.II. Literature ReviewResearch into the area of vocabulary learning strategies began in the 1970s, and the book dealing with pointed out learners strategies for learning vocabulary fall into essential steps: “1. Having sources for encountering new words. 2. Getting the forms of the new words. 3. Learning of the words. 4. Getting a strong memory of the words. 5. Using the words” (Hatch and Brown 373). These words acquisition theory not only manifests the inner of vocabulary learning but also reveals the three important aspects of vocabulary learning: word form, word meaning and word use. As for the three aspects of word learning, “students study that knowing a word is a complex process in which students need to know its pronunciation, spelling, part of speech, derivations and contextual meaning”(Harmer 25). Researchers have gone into some deep vocabulary learning vocabulary strategies, such as “forming association has been shown to enhance retention of target words. But this must be balanced against the fact that relatively shallow strategies can be effective too” (Cohen and Aphek 223). Even rote retention can be effective if students are accustomed to using it. If a generalization can be made, I think there are activities which may be more suitable for beginners. Because they contain less material which may only distract a novice, while intermediate or advanced learners can benefit from the context usually included in deeper activities. “When considering which vocabulary learning strategies to recommend to our students, we should remember two researchers warning that strategies should not be considered inherently good, but are dependent on the context in which they are used” (Politzer and McGroarty 105). Thus, the effectiveness with which learning strategies can be taught and used will depend on a number of variables, including “proficiency level, task, text, target language, language modality, background knowledge, context of learning, and learner characteristics” (Chamot and Rubin 215). In choosing vocabulary learning strategies, the frequency of occurrence of a word is also relevant. there are three strategies to help students deal with them “guessing /inferring from context, using mnemonic techniques, using word parts, learning from word cards, using dictionary” (Nation 57).Some researchers also find out some methods to enlarge students vocabulary. In China for example, there are following suggestions for improving learning vocabulary strategies. “1. Trying to provide a visual or physical demonstration by using pictures, photos, and video clips of gestures to show meaning. 2. Using synonyms or antonyms to expand vocabulary. 3. Using hyponyms to show relations of words and meaning to expand vocabulary. 4. Using playing a game to improving vocabulary. 5. Using word netword enlarges vocabulary” (Wang 124). The general approaches to dealing with vocabulary including“1. Morphological structure of English words. 2. Word formation sense relations of words. 3. Context of learning words” (Zhang 232233).In my opinion, learning how to master vocabulary is a basic skill for students in the study of a foreign language, so they must pay more attention to the ways of expanding English vocabulary, they have to grasp approaches in mind; in order to lay a solid foundation of vocabulary in their further English learning.III. Problems of Vocabulary Learning in SchoolsIn schools, there are four problems; first, some students think the main of learning English to pass the exam, and get high marks in their exams, thus many students regard the English of learning as a tedious toil to be treated, and many of them learn vocabulary in ineffective ways as they rote-learn all the vocabulary only before exams. After the exams, they quickly forget what they have learned. As a result, many students lose the interest in learning English, and few of them can then apply their learning practically appropriately. Second, most teachers use the traditional method to teaching vocabulary, seldom linking the vocabulary teaching with the development of the students linguistic competence and their actual need; students learn vocabulary in incorrect ways, such as memorizing the English words in isolation, learning its Chinese translation in isolation of context and without knowing its formation rules, connotative meaning or collocations. When they come to reading or listening tasks with those words used in different contexts or in combination with other words, they get confused easily with the meanings of words they are remembered. It is weary for the learners to memorize a quantity of words that have no relevance to their lives and interests. Third, most students are accustomed to learning the vocabulary passively which the teacher crams into them. Except for the text-books students are read and some of they even cannot read their text-book smoothly. Fourth, there are less extracurricular activities enhancing their abilities of applying English so that they can not effectively enrich and consolidate the vocabulary that they have learned.IV. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of Word-building Modern English has four main origins divided thus: 20% originate from Celtic language, the aboriginal one of British Islands, the body of which consists of Latin and Greek language; it amounts to 56% and German language that is Anglo-Saxon peoples mother tongue makes up 33% and the loan-words from various parts of the world account for about 9% (Chamot and Rubin 145). It is valuable for the teacher to know this so as to guide students to master the correct methods of learning English. Generally speaking, students are accumulated a certain amount of vocabulary in schools, but never connect the inner links of this vocabulary by knowing the importance of the Word-building of vocabulary. For example: students are not aware of how the words are formed: education, introduce, conduct, produce, and reduce. Showing them the root “duc” or “duct” that means “lead” will help the students tie these words together. In this case, first we can look up books and find out the meanings of root “duc” or“duct”; then according to the English lexicology knowledge, the teacher can tell students what a morpheme is, what suffixes and prefixes are. Once students understand this knowledge, they know the meaning of root “duc” or “duct” that means “lead”, or in the word “educate”, “e” as a morpheme implies “out”; “duc” is “lead”; the suffix “-ate” indicates the word is a verb. They can quickly give the meaning of word “educate”, the word means “lead some of body out of the state ignorance”. In the same way, students will easily comprehend the deep structure of another word “introduce”, if they know “intro” means “enter”, and “duc” means “leads”. So we know the meaning of the word “introduce” and “introduction”. They can learn many morphemes and word-formations, such as “con” indicates reinforcing the meaning, and “pro” expresses “forward”. So long as students acquire the knowledge about English word-building, numerous derivatives from these words will be easily taken up by them. The teacher should then assign some exercises to consolidate and develop their ways of learning vocabulary. After the teacher explains the meaning of the root “duc”, the teacher could give some words containing “duc” or “duct”, e. g. using: abduct, seduce and aqueduct. Then asks them to judge the meanings by way of word-building, similarly the teacher can deal with these prefixes; “ab” means “away from”; “se” means “aside”; “aque-” is “water”; and the root “duc” or “duct” means “lead”. As a result, students could reason the word “abduct” means: “to lead some one away from his home.” If they have not understood completely yet, the teacher may use the word in a sentence, e.g. “That child who was abducted has been rescued by police.” From this sentence you need not explain anything, students would know its meaning very well and they would be interested in finding out the meanings of the rest words, seduce, aqueduct. In school textbooks, each unit always has a long list of words. Sometimes it is rather difficult for students to learn so many words quickly at a time, but if they know the correct method to study the words and phrases, it will not be to hard for them to grasp the vocabularies rapidly.The teacher could first help students pick out some common stems and morphemes and suffix. For example, when the teacher asks them to pick out the suffix “-ize” which is added to nouns or adjectives to form verbs with the meaning of “make into” or “cause to become”, such as “dramatic-dramatize”, “western-westernize”, “sympathy-sympathize” etc. Another suffix “logy” means “the science or study of”, in technology of the scientific study and use of applied sciences, e.g. “ecology, sociology, biology and futurology”, because these words have same suffixes hence students can comprehend and memorize them easily. In the study of learning word-building, students have to think, reason, and judge, analyze and synthesize by presenting them with the more and more morphemes. After they have learned a certain amount of word-building, students can sum up a set of methods to deal with the vocabulary they come up against in their learning and reading. V. Methodological Strategies on Enlarging Students Vocabulary by Means of ContextA. Introducing the reading skills from word inferenceOnce students know about two or three thousand words, students can use the reading skill they have developed to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words that they meet. As we know inference is one of the most important reading skills, the reasons of which are as follows:1. Students cannot always rely on the teachers explanation.2. Students cannot always depend on their dictionaries.3. Students have to master the skill of guessing, which will be essential throughout the whole process of their language learning.When the teacher began to teach a new word through its context, first, the teacher will introduce reading skill before learning the new words. Second, the teacher should give them model exercises according to how to learn new word from context, and then teachers tell them how to practice this method. After class in their self-study, teacher should give more exercises because class time is quite limited.In contextual guesswork, sense relations are the most important contextual clues. Sense relations refer to the relationship be