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1、How to Improve English Vocabulary Teaching in Middle SchoolAbstract: English vocabulary is the basic assignment of English learning and it plays a very important role in English acquisiion. This paper first illustrates the significance of vocabulary instruction in middle school in China. It then dis
2、cusses problems arising from English vocabulary teaching in todays middle school, such as sticking to traditional methods too much, neglecting its cultural meaning and so on. It finally explores some effective strategies to improve English vocabulary teaching according to some theories and practical
3、 skills of English vocabulary teaching.Key words: English Vocabulary teaching; problems; strategies如何改进中学课堂词汇教学摘要: 英语词汇的学习是学习英语的基本任务，在英语习得中发挥着重要的作用。本文首先阐述了词汇教学的重要性，继而从当今我国中学课堂英语教学的现状出发，讨论了一些出现在英语词汇教学的典型问题，诸如，过于恪守传统的词汇教学方法和忽略词语所蕴含的文化含义。这些都大大降低了英语词汇学习的效率。这些问题的探讨旨在引起学生和老师的深思和重视，进而不断反省和改正。最后一部分，本文根据一些相关
4、的英语词汇教学理论和实践经验，提出了较为代表性的英语词汇教学策略。关键词：英语词汇教学；问题；策略 How to Improve English Vocabulary Teaching in Middle School 如何改进中学课堂词汇教1. IntroductionIt is safe to say that there is no existence of language without vocabulary. Vocabulary acquisition should be the central assignment of the acquisition of a second
5、language in that all of linguistic skills must be dependent on vocabulary acquisition. Hence, there is no doubt that English vocabulary instruction plays the extremely basic and important role in English learning. Only when students have a good command of English vocabulary, can it be possible to im
6、prove their other language skills.Nowadays, with the wide spread of English in the world and increasingly economic globalization, learning English not only is one of the vital parts of our diary work, study or other activities, but also becomes the tool of communication and knowing about more messag
7、es about this varied world as soon as possible. And all of these are established on the basis of the abundant English vocabulary we have. Although it is important, little attention is paid to the teaching of vocabulary in English teaching practice, which is criticized as a “time-consuming with low e
8、fficiency” activity. As a result, teacher can not teach English vocabulary effectively and students can not have a good command of English vocabulary. Thus, this paper aims to illustrate the significance of vocabulary instruction, discuss some problems in the process of vocabulary instruction and ex
9、plore some effective ways of vocabulary learning in order to have a better command of English learning.2 The significance of English vocabulary teachingVocabulary teaching is the basic element in English teaching. Just as Wilkins(1972:111) once put it, “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, w
10、ithout vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. Vocabulary teaching is the precondition of language application. The scholar Lewis(1993) once said that vocabulary acquisition was the central assignment of the acquisition of a second language in that all linguistic skills must be dependent on vocabulary
11、acquisition. Only when students have a good command of English vocabulary, can it be possible to improve their other language skills. Thus, there is no doubt that, usually, the larger vocabulary a student has, the better abilities of comprehension, listening and communication of English he will have
12、. Vocabulary is the most important factor in foreign language learning. There is no doubt that we should not only attach great importance to vocabulary teaching but also adopt effective ways to teach and learn English words. Because effective methods of English vocabulary instruction can not only ar
13、ouse students interest but also make it possible for them to grasp vocabulary efficiently. 3. Problems arising from English vocabulary teaching in todays middle school Important as it is, little attention is paid to English vocabulary teaching in todays middle school because of incorrect thoughts ab
14、out English vocabulary teaching. For example, holding the commonly mistaken idea that the comprehension outweighs vocabulary in most examinations, more and more students wrongly think that it is unnecessary to spend more time on learning vocabulary. In addition, teachers can not adopt effective ways
15、 to teach and in turn students can not learn vocabulary in ineffective ways due to lack of enough knowledge and skills about English vocabulary instruction. As a result, many problems occur in English vocabulary teaching in todays middle school. Here, this paper is discussing three typical kinds of
16、problem.3.1 Sticking to traditional methods too muchTraditionally, vocabulary teaching is more emphasis on teaching the meaning. Teachers role is to help students master the dictionary meaning of new words, and the students main task is to learn the new words. The traditional English vocabulary inst
17、ruction attaches importance to vocabulary teaching by focusing on speech affixes and word class teaching. Although they can help students may lay a solid foundation, their teaching process are more boring and easy to increase the burden on students. As a result, students just only know the meaning o
18、f the word, but do not know specific usages of the word. And language using ability still cannot effectively be improvedGeneral performance in traditional English vocabulary teaching is that teachers lead to reading words, then, go on to explain the usage of the word one by one as if talking diction
19、ary. Then, teachers usually ask the students to copy words after class and recite. Finally, teachers check words of memory through dictation. According to teaching practice, the traditional vocabulary teaching is not ideal. Students can not achieve satisfactory learning effect by paying greater. As
20、a result, many students cannot afford to the burden of learning English, even eventually completely give up learning English.3.2 Not providing student s with proper context of English vocabulary learningAs a foundation for language learning,the importance of vocabularyis self-evident. But sometimes
21、vocabulary is not proportional to the competence of language. Because the traditional English vocabulary teaching pays little attention to providing proper context in the course of learning new words. That it is, the traditional vocabulary teaching only to teach word separately, neglecting of consol
22、idating vocabulary by instructing students to learn words in real-world and putting words in certain contexts. Teachers just tell students pronun-ciation, common structure and different meanings and usages; students always recite words by rote, they will feel bored then losing interests. Although so
23、me students followed teachers order but they cant be knowledgeable, because they have never understood the real meaning and usages of this particular word, which lead to imprecise understanding and in defect of coherent comprehension, all above will influence the reading efficiency, and block the cu
24、ltivation of English integrated skills. As a result, it bring a lot of problem, the most typical example is dump English, meaning that some people have mastered enough vocabulary and grammar, but not saying complete English sentences in suitable situation. The lack of contextualized learning vocabul
25、ary must be placed in a context where learning. However, some teachers dont teach words in a certain context so that many students feel that learning words is too dull, and gradually lost interest in learning words. All in all, the traditional English teaching doesnt create a visual, hearing and spe
26、aking situation to help students learn words. It prevents students to learn words effectively and develop other linguistic skills. in practice teaching.3.3 Neglecting the teaching of cultural meaning of English vocabularyOur traditional methods of teaching English seem to determine that language sys
27、tems only differ in the symbols, having no material difference between the English system of Western culture and Chinese system of Eastern culture. In vocabulary teaching, teachers are accustomed to neglecting a brief explanation of cultural background of new words. As a result, this brings about co
28、nfusing meanings, sometimes even makes a fool. For example, in the translation of timid as a mouse, we usually think that it was as timid as a mouse under the mother tongue of thinking. This is a wrong expression mainly due to lack of knowledge of cultural differences. Its correct saying should be a
29、s timid as a rabbit. The example involving the surface of the meaning and connotation of the word meaning proves that language competence is relevant to culture issues. When students are aware of different cultural meaning of words between two languages, they would not misunderstand some expressions
30、 and use them effectively. However, many English teachers in the teaching of vocabulary ignore the infiltration of cultural awareness. Thus, students only know the dictionary meanings of words so that they can not use vocabulary appropriately.4. Effective strategies to improve English vocabulary tea
31、ching 4.1 Making use of word formation As we know, word-formation plays an important role in the expansion of in English vocabulary l earning. This teaching method treats vocabulary as the explicit task of English instruction. It includes the analysis, and explanation of the structure, meaning and u
32、sage of vocabulary. When analyzing the structure of vocabulary, teachers can apply some methods of word formation. This can do good to the students understanding of the words and can help them to keep the words in mind deeply. The most common word formation processes are: affixation, compounding, co
33、nversion, blendingand so on. If students can grasp word-formation, we can learn English vocabulary effectively. So how can we deal with word-formation? In word-formation, affixation, compounding, and converse are the most productive ways. This paper is going to take affixation for example, according
34、 to the positions of affixes, affixation constitutes two subcategories: prefixation and suffixation. Prefixes include: un-, non-, dis-, mis-, super-, and so on. Each prefix has its meaning. The words formed with these prefixes are: unable, non-smoker, disorder, misleading, superhuman and so on. Suff
35、ixes include: -er, -ment, -ation, -ful, -ly and so on. The words formed in this way are: worker, payment, addition, powerful, slowly and so on. When the students know the meaning of these affixes, they can figure out the meaning of the newly formed words. If the students master more knowledge about
36、the word formation, their skill in learning vocabulary will be stronger. For example, if the students know the prefix “re-” means “again”, they will know the word “replay” means “play again”; “rebuilt” means “build again”, and so on. Thus, the students can not only remember the new words soon, but a
37、lso solidify the old words. Further more, they can change the limited vocabulary into limitless skill of producing the vocabulary.In teaching practice, teachers should them let students guess the meaning of words by explaining the word formation and grasp the spirit of the rules of them. Word format
38、ion can help students develop good sense of the word so that students learn better.4.2 Context teaching of English vocabulary Word is not isolated. The exact meaning of a word embodies in real context. Situational teaching in English teaching refers to teaching a language with a variety of teaching
39、and auxiliary equipment to create a visual, hearing and speaking context for students. The same word can have various meanings in different contexts. To convey the meaning of a new word exactly, it is better to present the word in the sentence or in the text. Assessing the meaning of a word in conte
40、xt obliges the learner to develop strategies, such as anticipating and reasoning, which become increasingly profitable as learning progresses because they instill an attitude of self-reliance that is the hallmark of proficiency. Systematically meeting new words in context underlines the fact that wo
41、rds are indeed used in discourse for purposes of communication. In addition, context provides an indication of the way the words are used. All these factors may contribute to a learners autonomy to learn English and to facilitate the transfer of knowledge that accompanies it. “Mary is a very diligen
42、t student. She gets up very early every morning. She read a lot of books and studies very hard. This year she gets the school prize. ”When teaching the word “diligent”, teacher can present the above context so that students can guess its meaning through the following information and set up a relatio
43、nship between “diligent”, “early”, “read books”, “study hard”, and “school prize”. This method of teaching not only help the students to understand the exact meaning of a new word, but let them have an idea about the group of words that often appear simultaneously in harmony. All in all，the context
44、makes the situation clear, and this in turn illuminates the meaning of the new word. This practice can save time and develop an intensive reading habit and better understanding.4.3 Making use of visual teaching aids If teachers illustrate words making use of visual teaching aids, students will remem
45、ber words more easily and their memory can last longer. There are a lot of visual teaching aids, such as pictures, cards and multi-media, Visual teaching aids can make up for a lack of some vocabulary that cant be presented with real objects. For example, pictures, cards and multi-media can present
46、the names of buildings, traffic, mountains, rivers, animals, plants, furniture and so on. They can help the students know vocabulary exactly and accept all about them profoundly. They can also help to develop and train their ability of image thinking. The stronger the stimulation is, the more intens
47、e impression there is. Real objects and scenery are visual and common. Students are easily attracted naturally. If the students are interested in them, their attention will be focused and can last for a longer time. So if we show the students real objects and scenery, present vocabulary then listen
48、and say at the same time, the students can feel and know the meanings directly. They will remember them more easily and their memory can last longer. Computer-assisted aids, the modern visual teaching aids, are attached great importance toThis includes two parts, visual and audio. We can use flash t
49、o show a certain situation and tell students the meaning of some words which are difficult for us to explain by using languages. Using t he tape-recording together with computer-assisted aids may help to get rid of the learners boredom with language learning, drive away the learners nervousness and ar