How to Teach Vocabulary in Middle School中学如何教英语词汇.docx

1、How to Teach Vocabulary in Middle School中学如何教英语词汇How to Teach Vocabulary in Middle School Abstract:As we all know, a word is like a brick, it is the most basic material for putting up a high building.vocabulary teaching is an indispensable part of English curriculum. But some traditional vocabulary-

2、teaching methods seem to isolate the words from the context or break away from the scientific rules,so that they cant help students to develop a language competence in the long run but cause them to lose interest in English. Middle school English teachers should take great responsibility for this, s

3、ince they are the initial ones who introduce students to the field of English.This article first analyse the importance of vocabulary teaching in middle schools. Then it reviews some traditional vocabulary teaching methods and tries to tell the teachers how to teach vocabulary effectively from diffe

4、rent perspectives, such as teaching meaning and use in communication, teaching pronunciation and spelling, teaching grammar. Lastly it suggests some practical vocabulary teaching ideas in my teaching practice. Key Words: English Vocabulary，interests, Context，Teaching.1. IntroductionI have been teach

5、ing the students who are in their third year of a middle school .In my teaching, Ive found there are some problems , Now Ill finish my study in Hunan Radio & TV university . I hope I can solve the problems that have troubled me for some time. Through the action research so that I can apply my knowle

6、dge and theory into practice which I learned from Hunan Radio & TV University. English is an international language and English is becoming more and more important. I am an English teacher , But in my teaching experience, there is one problem that some of my students dont like English and especially

7、 dont like to memorize the vocabulary. They think it is difficult to memorize the words easily and effectively. Vocabulary is one of the fundamentals of English. Students need to be prepared with a wide and vivid vocabulary to compete in the worlds marketplace. The challenge of teaching vocabulary i

8、s creating lesson plans that are both effective and entaining. 2 .Problems and problem analysis (1) Students interestsA lot of students dont like to memorize the vacabularies. Because they think it is boring and difficult.(2) Teach words in isolationMiddle school English teachers in china usually as

9、k students to learn vocabulary lists in which words are isolated from the context. In one case, they let the students pick out all the new words in the text, list them on a paper, and consult the dictionary for the Chinese or English meanings. Neglecting the study of the relationships in English voc

10、abulary system might result in students slowness in comprehension and inappropriateness in exploiting the English words. Being taught in these ways without a change, students might have difficulty in working out the meanings of some words(3)Teach English words in one-to-one correspondence to Chinese

11、 wordsMany English teachers tend to teach English words in one-to-one correspondence to Chinese words; for example, English “milk” is “牛奶” in Chinese. This traditional translation teaching method which has been adopted in china for a long time is considered to be helpful. But in the long run the ove

12、ruse of this method is harmful to the development of studentslanguage competence. especially in the elementary stage. In fact, many linguists believe that no word can be exactly translated into another language. Learning the vocabulary of a second language is not just to memorize the equivalent word

13、s of language one, but to learn the meaning relationship between “milk” and all other words in English within the context of cultural life.(4) Treat all words equallySome English teachers treat all vocabulary equally. That is, they generally imply that students should be able to produce all vocabula

14、ry presented. But as is suggested by the linguists that words can be classified into receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary according to the needs, language levels and professions of the learners. They point out that all speakers are able to recognize more words than they usually use on a pr

15、oductive level. Productive vocabulary is that utilized in everyday speech. Receptive vocabulary, on the other hand, although needed for comprehension, is not necessarily essential for production in speaking and writing. Teachers who do notice this fact ask students to concentrate equally on the acqu

16、isition of both receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary. This method of vocabulary teaching adds much burden to students, and would cause them to become tired of vocabulary learning.Possible SolutionsWith these reasons ,I have corresponding provided some possible solutions which are as follow

17、s1.Using interesting pictures, real things, to help my students to understand and study the new words.2.Organizing helpful and interesting activities to motivate the students to memorize the words .3.Guide the vivid situations to let the students guess the meaning of the words.4.Creating a harmoniou

18、s teaching circumstance and a good teacher-student relationship. 5. Choose a list of words to focus on thats an integral part of the students existing curriculum. Include words that students find in their everyday lives. Provide vocabulary words that are age appropriate.6.Motivate students by creati

19、ng rewards, games, puzzles and other fun activities. Mix a variety of activities centered on vocabulary to reach a broader range of students. 7.Model proper use of vocabulary words. Use language creatively and with gusto. Have fun with your own vocabulary and students will want to have fun with thei

20、rs. 8.Create a word wall where students write new and interesting vocabulary words. Refer to the wall often during class so students become familiar with it and its purpose. 9.Quiz and test the students on their vocabulary words. Disguise the purpose, learning vocabulary, of the quiz. Explain that q

21、uizzes and tests only help the teacher know how well the students have been taught. 10.Revise the old vocabulary words often. Bring them up casually in class and on quizzes. Tell students that learning does not end after the test. It is important for them to recall vocabulary words. 3.Project object

22、iveMy research objective is that to enhance my students ability to memorize the vocabulary easily and correctly by using the new methods.4.Project hypothesisIt is hypothesized that pictures ,real things,comunication , context, pronunciation and spelling can increase my students ability to memorize t

23、he vocabulary. 5.Project rationaleAs we know interest is the best teacher of the students. Interest is one of the most important factor in learning a foreign language .As Darwin said “Just as eating without liking does harm to ones health, learning without interest harms memory and retains nothing w

24、hen one takes in it” Former experiments show that among the factors contributing to success of learners ,interest accounts for about 35%.Psychological studies indicate that human beings mainly depend on eyes and ears to obtain information received by eyes which will remain 60% in memory after 3 hour

25、s and only 40% after 3days while the information obtained both by eyes and ears will obtain 90% in memory after 3 hours and still 75% after 3days .Another study indicate that the development of human beings ideation is a process from thinking from images to abstraction. The teenagers in middle schoo

26、l have developed thinking more in images than in abstraction. Application of pictures and real things in English teaching will create language circumstances for students and mobilize their interest in thinking in mages ,for the abstract language material to turn into concrete images hence pictures a

27、nd real things are suitable for the psychological development of teenagers. It is not only a better way to improve students interest and remove their anxiety ,but also helpful to their memory.First I can solve the problem that many of my students are not interested in memorizing the words.They learn

28、 cultural information in a very easy and relaxing way. Interesting pictures and real things make them memorize the words and arouse their interets to search for more vocabulary like this. Second method is associations. I love to take a word and show people how the word has been in a movie, in a movi

29、e title, in a song that they like. Theres a deodorant I think called Arid Extra Dry for example. So arid it turns out means very dry. So when you learn that arid means very dry. You associate it with this deodorant, which obviously, you know, Arid Extra Dry is not going to be a deodorant thats calle

30、d wet or smelly or something like that. Its going to be dry. Thats what its doing. Its an antiperspirant deodorant. So, its a great association for arid and then people will never forget it. And again I love to do this with movies. A lot of movies have really great vocab in them and when you point t

31、hat out to students. even watch a movie in class. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Pirates of the Caribbean. these are some movies that actually have great vocab. And when you put it in you can even watch the movie together and then go over the fifty or more words that are in the movie.In order to a

32、rouse the students interest in learning vocabulary and memorize efficiently, the teacher may have specific vocabulary exercise and organize practice activities in class warm-ups or in the lead-ins to the presentation of new items when establishing the context or situation. 6.Project DesignOn the basis of the rationale .I plan to use some units in Grade9 Students Book Go for it as my language materials.New teaching methods and new tasks were designed with the aims of providing students with a chance to memorize and guess the meaning of the vocabularies by using the