Teach English in Guangwushan Zhen - Bazhong Shi

WHY TEACH VOCABULARY? As you all know, vocabulary knowledge is highly correlated with reading comprehension and reading achievement. Students need to know 90-95% of the words to even learn new ones in text. Vocabulary acquisition is essential to help minimize the vocabulary knowledge gap which widens over time if words are not learned. Vocabulary knowledge is correlated with occupational success, it helps students express themselves more precisely and sharpens communication skills. Vocabulary knowledge helps students with written and spoken language production and it is required for students to achieve cognitive academic language proficiency. Do you think vocabulary is important in learning English? In my opinion, I think vocabulary is really important in learning English. Because it makes up 90-95% to know a language as English. When I was a child, I was really difficult in learing vocabulary. I couldn’t remeber them although I just learnt them at that time. But, I don’t give up, I tried to look for the methods to learn them effectively. And my sister inspired me with her experiences in learning vocabulary. Since then, I like learning English. That is the reason I write this Summative task. Back to learning vocabulary, What do students need to know about a vocabulary item? That is : Meaning – what it mean? Usage – how/ when it is appropriate to use Pronounciation , IPA Spelling Productive skills ( known as active skills, speaking and writing) Phrase/ sentence ( interaction, how it affects and interacts with other words) Word family. I learnt in Tesol classroom, there are 4 steps of teaching a vocabulary item: 1. Hold and repeat the vocabulary 5 times while the students listen only 2. Choral drill the students now repeat the vocabulary 5 times chorally as a class 3. Indiviual repetitions, choose students at random to pronounce the vocabulary and this is the time to correct the students pronounciation effectively and sincerely. 4. Final repetition, flashcards are placed on the board and repeat process 1,2 and 3. Review each indiviual flashcard previously drilled before moving on to the next flashcard. Some of the activities when using flashcard in the classroom: Basketball card line-up, charades, picture word match race, sticky ball game, slam, silly fun, making sentences, draw it!, reading a text, cups and cards ( young kids), flascard chunk. For example Cups and cards activity we can play as follows: play the 3 cups in a row in front of your child. Tell your child to watch carefully because you are going to hide one of the flash cards in a cup. Start shuffling the cups around, being careful not to let the card fall out. Encorage your child to keep track of the cup that he thinks the card is in. You will want to adjust the speed at which you shuffle the cups depending on the age and ability of your child. Next, have your little one choose the cup he thinks has the card. If he gets it wrong show him where the card is and then try to shuffle the cups again to see if he can find it. If he finds the card, have him tell you what is on the flashcard to get a reward. If your child is having trouble finding the card you can use 2 cups instead of 3. If it is too easy for your child, add more cups. One of the things I leared, the most interesting activity is Macrologue. What is a Macrologue? Macrologue are also known as “Brainstorms” or “Mint Maps”. They are one of the most effective ways of teaching vocabulary. Students are provided with a key word and asked to build on it. That’s all I have learned in this Tesol coure about the topic teaching vocabulary. I really like this coure, it helps me learn may useful things in teaching English as well as English vocabulary.