Teach English in Dongquan Zhen - Jinzhong Shi

Language is, probably, the most complex cultural phenomenon that the mankind has ever developed. Its two main building blocks are grammar and vocabulary. As grammar is only a system of rules that helps conveying a message, this is vocabulary (words) that carries the true meaning. It is widely known that without grammar it is difficult to say something, however without vocabulary it is absolutely impossible to say anything. That statement might prove the fact that, observing travellers from foreign countries, they usually carry a pocket-dictionary rather than a grammar book. Therefore, learning and teaching vocabulary should be the main aspect to focus on in an ESL class. This knowledge is crucial in and should be gained prior to such receptive or productive activities as speaking, writing, reading and listening. Before examining the techniques of teaching new words with all their characteristics (cognitive, orthographic, semantic, syntactic, morphological, phonological, contextual, etc.), it is vital to understand how human memory works. Scientists claim that it can be divided into three dimensions: short-term (a few seconds), long-term (permanent storage), and working memory (a 20-seconds loop). The whole point of teaching new things is to introduce a new term (short-term memory), immediately use it at least seven times in different practical contexts (working-memory), so that it can be stored in a long-term memory, from where it can be ‘downloaded’ to working-memory when needed. Accommodating a new word in a long-term memory is only first step, as newly-learnt words are usually receptive ones (one understands them when they are heard or seen). The next phase is to develop this knowledge into productive one (words that one actually uses, not only understands). There is a great number of activities and techniques that stimulate students’ brain to learn new words but there are some simple rules that all these practices should base on. The first fact is that human brain stores information not as a list of items but as an interconnected network. This is a reason for inefficiency of learning through swotting lists of new vocabulary. Since brain is a web, one needs to provide it with new information that is also structured in the form of a network, such as mind-maps (like drawing a diagram with all the characteristics assigned to this word, coupled with its synonyms, antonyms, collocations, etc.) The other important fact is that people tend to remember things much easier and stronger when they are presented as a picture rather than a piece of text. For that reason, as often as it is possible, teachers should introduce new vocabulary in a highly visualised manner (whether it is through help of mime, pictures, real objects or other props.) What is more, as different people react differently to different stimuli, best habit is to present new stuff in a multi-sensory way (auditive, visual, kinaesthetic) in order to appeal to all the senses of the learners. Another thing that teachers should bear in mind is that students will hardly remember any new word just by hearing it, without a chance to practice it on their own. Therefore, new terms should be introduced at the beginning of a session so that there is plenty of room for production activities. It is, also, worth considering that words should be taught in groups. When talking about a subject of clothes, one may give students a group consisting of such items as: jacket, hat, trousers, boots, trainers, sweater, scarf, etc. While learning adjectives, one may present them on a scale from the most negative to the most positive (horrible/terrible-bad-unremarkable-good-terrific/remarkable). That is because, as scientists claim, words bearing similar meaning are stored together, thus the ability for the brain to remember them is easier when they are presented together rather than separately. One of scholars, who is widely known for his contribution in the teaching field, is Robert Marzano. For him, the most effective acquisition of new vocabulary is when the process goes through six steps: explaining a new word by a teacher; restating it by the students; creating a non-verbal representation of it by students (such as picture); engaging students in activities deepening knew knowledge; discussing the new word between students (pair-work); students playing games with the aim of reinforcing new vocabulary. By following Marzano’s steps, students not only learn new words but, also, are forced to think and talk about, as well as apply and play with them. When talking about teaching language, one cannot forget to mention various activities that facilitate learning. There is a countless number of such exercises and it is hardly possible to name them all. However, to mention only a few examples, these might be: - Filling missing words in gaps; - Multiple-choice exercises; - Choosing the ‘odd-one-out’; - Grouping words into columns of different categories; - Sequencing mixed words in the proper order (f. ex. procedure before-during-after a flight); - Pelmanism – a game involving matching pairs of words (f. ex. antonyms (young with old), Br. Eng. with Am. Eng. (lift with elevator), or phrases (brand with new)); - Reception and production drilling. No matter what activities a teacher applies in a classroom, he or she should always be mindful of the universal rules that govern the process of acquiring knowledge and that were described above. After having investigated the subject of teaching new vocabulary, one may conclude that there is no single method that is best or even better than others. Every student is different, therefore teachers ought to apply different tactics. Teachers must be patient and aware of initial confusion that new words create in students’ minds, as well as of the fact that there is long way from introducing a new term to an unforced production of it. What is certain, however, is the fact that the more words one knows (i.e. the wider the web in the brain), the easier it is to learn new things, especially if learning is conducted through multiple exposure to the word’s occurrences in real situations.