ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЕ НАУКИ
VOCABULARY TEACHING STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH
Eshonqulova M. T.
Kokand state pedagogical institute , Department of Foreign languages, Uzbekistan.
Abstract The importance of vocabulary , strategy of vocabulary to teach , selection criteria of teaching and learning vocabulary materials ,size and depth of vocabulary, and vocabulary teaching principles were found unclear.The present article aims at responding to such challenges . A review of previous studies and related theories shows that the vocabulary was found to be more functional as a basis for communication , the reflection of social reality , emotion booster, and academic ability predictor.
Keywords: Vocabulary teaching , strategies, vocabulary importance,
Introduction
Vocabulary represents one of most important skills necessary for teaching and learning a foreign language. It is the basis for the development of all the other skills: reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, spelling and pronunciation. Vocabulary is the main tool for the students in their attempt to use English effectively. When confronted with a native English speaker, when watching a movie without subtitle or when listening to a favorite English song, when reading a text or when writing a letter to a friend, students will always need to operate with words. In what follows, the focus of this introductory chapter will be on why vocabulary is important, on what makes words difficult, on the main reasons for which students often forget the words they learn and on some techniques which help them remember the vocabulary. Nothing can be done without vocabulary.
Vocabulary is the basis for communication. The basic reason for learning foreign languages that all people have in common is communication - communication in any mode. It is a two-sided process, which requires the ability to understand each other, to be able to code a message that someone wants to convey to someone else in a way, which will be comprehensible to the receiver and also appropriate to a concrete situation and status of all participants. Vice versa the person should be able to interpret a message that someone else is conveying to them. To acquire a good skill of communication in foreign language it is necessary to be familiar not only with vocabulary (single words and their meanings, collocations, phrases and phrasal verbs etc.) but also with language structures and above all with strategies for using them in right context according to concrete situations.
The importance of vocabulary
Talking about the importance of vocabulary, the linguist David Wilkins argued that: "without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." Indeed, people need to use words in order to express themselves in any language. Most learners, too, acknowledge the importance of vocabulary acquisition. In my experience as a teacher, I noticed the fact that students usually find it difficult to speak English fluently. They usually consider speaking and writing activities exhausting because they keep on using the same expressions and words and very soon their conversation is abruptly interrupted due to missing words. And the main reason for such communication problems is the lack of vocabulary. Other students are confronted with the problem of forgetting the words immediately after the teacher has elicited their meaning or after they have looked them in the dictionary, and this also a cause of the lack of vocabulary. The more words students learn, the easier they memorize them.
Nowadays, there is more freedom in choosing the methods to be used during English classes. The English syllabus is organized around both vocabulary and grammar structures. Since there is a certain number of classes allotted for each item in the syllabus, teachers usually have the necessary time to insist on teaching and practicing vocabulary. Vocabulary is no longer treated as an add-on and teachers become more aware of the importance of vocabulary and attention is paid to the grammar of words, to collocations and to word frequency. Nevertheless, students still have difficulties in expressing themselves fluently and still consider speaking tasks exhausting. . As one of the core aspects in learning language, the appropriate teaching of vocabulary is essential to the development and maintenance of a foreign language. Although the way vocabulary is used and taught in the classroom is a subject much debated by teachers of foreign language, this essay will highlight some of the ways vocabulary has been taught in the past, and ways that it can be incorporated and taught in the modern foreign language classroom.
Strategies to teach vocabulary
With hundreds of thousands of words in the English language, teaching vocabulary can seem like a very daunting prospect. Remember though that the average native speaker uses around only five thousand words in everyday speech. Moreover, your students won't need to produce every word they learn, some they will just need to recognize. Selecting what to teach, based on frequency and usefulness to the needs of your particular students is therefore essential. Once you have chosen what to teach, the next important steps are to consider what students need to know about the items, and how you can teach them.
What a student may need to know about an item ?
•What it means - It is vital to get across the meaning of the item clearly and to ensure that your students have understood correctly with checking questions
•The form - Students need to know if it is a verb / a noun / an adjective etc to be able to use it effectively. •How it is pronounced - This can be particularly problematic for learners of English because there is often no clear relation between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. It is very important to use the phonemic script in such cases so the sts have a clear written record of the pronunciation. Don't forget also to drill words that you think will cause pronunciation problems for your students and highlight the word stresses.
•How it is spelt-This is always difficult in English for the reason mentioned above. Remember to clarify the pronunciation before showing the written form.
•If it follows any unpredictable grammatical patterns
For example, man-men / information (uncountable) and if the word is followed by a particular preposition (e.g. depend on)
•The connotations that the item may have Bachelor is a neutral/positive word whereas spinster conjures a more negative image.
•The situations when the word is or is not used Is it formal/neutral/informal? For example, spectacles/glasses/specs. Is it used mainly in speech or in writing? To sum up is usually written whereas mind you is spoken. Is it outdated? Wireless instead of radio.
•How the word is related to others For example, synonyms, antonyms, lexical sets.
•Collocation or the way that words occur together
You describe things 'in great detail' not 'in big detail' and to ask a question you 'raise your hand' you don't 'lift your hand'. It is important to highlight this to students to prevent mistakes in usage later.
•What the affixes (the prefixes and suffixes) may indicate about the meaning For example, substandard sub meaning under. This is particularly useful at a higher level
Ways to present vocabulary. There are lots of ways of getting across the meaning of a lexical item.
• Illustration
This is very useful for more concrete words (dog, rain, tall) and for visual learners. It has its limits though, not all items can be drawn.
• Mime
This lends itself particularly well to action verbs and it can be fun and memorable.
• Synonyms /Antonyms/ Gradable items
Using the words a student already knows can be effective for getting meaning across.
• Definition
Make sure that it is clear (maybe check in a learner dictionary before the lesson if you are not confident). Remember to ask questions to check they have understood properly.
• Translation
If you know the students' L1, then it is fast and efficient. Remember that not every word has a direct translation.
• Context
Think of a clear context when the word is used and either describe it to the students or give them example sentences to clarify meaning further.
References:
1.Henrikson, B. (1999). Three dimensions of vocabulary development. Cambridge University Press.
2.Herrel. A.L. (2004). Fifty strategies for teaching English language learners. An ESL teacher's tool kit. 2 nd ed. Winnipeg. Canada. Penguin Publishers.
3.Taylor, L. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. Herefordshire, UK: Prentice Hall international.
4.Zimmerman, C.B. (2007). Vocabulary learning methods. Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
5. https ://busyteacher. org
6.teaching-english-vocabulary-10-fabulous-ways-to.html