Teach English in Yaodianzi Zhen - Linyi Shi

The advance online oxford learner dictionary, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/vocabulary?q=vocabulary, defines the word vocabulary as ‘all the words that a person knows or uses’. Some teachers term the word vocabulary as ‘new words’. After a teacher has introduced new vocabulary to students, it is important to do a follow-up to ensure that word has been understood correctly. Lots of time can be spent giving students the chance to hear and practice the correct pronunciation of words as they may be unfamiliar with some sounds and meaning of the words. Teaching vocabulary should be handled with great care; if not it can be difficult for students to understand. Students can understand a sentence if only they have a full understanding of the keywords used in the sentence. Students can easily understand new words with the help of visual aids like flashcards videos or even natural objects and others. A teacher can use some of the following techniques to teach, review and practice vocabulary in the classroom. There are warmers and coolers activities which are of great importance at the beginning and at the end a teaching process respectively and cannot be neglected. Warmers are activities that teachers can use to motivate students (language level, age, culture or the number of students in a class) to prepare them for a lesson and it usually takes place at the beginning of the lesson and should be short and precise. Coolers are activities use at the end of a lesson. I call them ‘lesson review ‘as its main objectives are to make remind students words they have learned and for them to be able to use them in the future. There are several methods of teaching vocabulary that a teacher can use. Some of these methods are: - Vocabulary book: Teachers can encourage students to write down short sentences using a new word they have learned. A vocabulary notebook assists students to keep track of words that they have learned. Students are often encouraged to write down all new words. - Memory map: A memory map is a visual approach to setting out vocabulary and provides links between related words. - Word banks: Word banks are a variation in word boxes, with vocabulary grouped around particular topics. To make word banks students can be asked to come up with many words as possible relating to a particular topic. The word banks can be kept in the class where students can visit for particular topics. - Use of class noticeboard: Students can be encouraged to search new words relating to a topic they have learned and put up on the class noticeboard. - Use of vocabulary: Students can be asked to debate or play a game or on a topic using specific vocabulary using a specific vocabulary from the text they have read or from the video they have watched. Many activities (games, role play, hangman, gap fill, debate- depending on students’ levels and others) should be included in the teaching of vocabulary as they can assist students to actively use new words they have learned. This is an important part because it can help to ensure that students not only remember the words but can use the words in a sentence effectively and correctly. Each of the above-listed methods can be approached through drilling. A teacher can either do choral drilling for a large class or individual drilling for an individual class or one-to-one class. As per saying, ‘practice makes perfect’, repetition helps to reinforce the retention and use of words and to ensure that students can pronounce them correctly and fluently. It is important for a teacher to organise activities for different levels. To conclude, vocabulary cannot be taught in isolation without considering other parts of the English language. For example, when a teacher asks students to make sentences with new words they have learned, other parts of the English language come into play. For examples, tenses, grammar, the four skills of English language, pronunciation and phonology, parts of speech and verbs are all used.