Yulia Kovalska
Khmelnytskyi National University
Scientific Supervisor: PhD, O. V. Tarasova
WAYS TO PRESENT AND TEACH VOCABULARY
IN SECONDARY CLASSROOMS
Lexical stock is the basis of any language. The correct approach to explaining new lexical material during learning English provides 40% of successful foreign language proficiency. The article reveals the main classification of ways of semanticization of new vocabulary and considers six effective and innovative approaches to the explanation of lexical material.
Keywords: lexical units, Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition (IVA), method, semanticization.
New lexical units should not just be mechanically learned, but mastered in such a way that students can use them in oral and written language, depending on the learning situation and language task. It should be noted that each training exercise should have a communicative value, the pupil should not just repeat the language structures, he/she should be given a specific task.
There are two main approaches to learning foreign language vocabulary:
- a) non-translatable
- b) translatable.
Non-translatable one includes:
1) demonstration of objects, gestures, pictures, etc.;
2) explaining the meaning of the word using:
- a) definitions – the meaning of the word;
- b) enumeration: red, yellow, blue, dark.
- c) semanticization using synonyms / antonyms;
- d) determining the meaning of a word based on a contextual guess, for example: These isles consist of 4 countries (means that we are talking about the British Isles).
- e) determining the meaning of a word using its internal form. For example, words that are similar in sound and spelling to the native language: patriot, etc.
The translatable methods of semanticization include:
1) replacement of the word with the corresponding equivalent in the native language;
2) translation of a word by means of explanations of common and distinctive features with equivalents of the native language [4].
The most effective and modern non-translatable ways of semanticization of new vocabulary according to the researcher Joseph Mukoroli at the SIT Graduate Institute, USA are well worth considering:
Learning lexical “pieces”. Professor Pam Peters suggests that memorizing fragments of speech can be productive and powerful. She states that studying lexical passages can have two purposes: it enables a student to have ready-made passages available for quick use, and it also provides him/her with information that can be analyzed at a later stage. The main advantage of using lexical “pieces” is that their aim is a fluent English speaking. Lexical “pieces” are related to the typical functional use of language. For example: Have you heard about …? it is used to start gossip or talk about a certain event. Such lexical pieces are considered the most effective and most flexible language tool for the implementation of language function [3, p. 29]. Lexical fragments facilitate clear, appropriate and concise use of language and are stored as individual units. These lexical items can be easily obtained and used without online selection or processing of words and grammatical constructions.
Hikalas Bollinger claims that once a “piece” becomes known, it can be analyzed and divided into its component parts. This can happen when a certain variability is noticed in the lexical fragment. For example: hearing the phrase –How are you? / How are you this evening? The student realizes that the main structure is really – How are you? Where the gap can be filled with a link to the time. Then the learner realizes that what fits into the gap is a separate unit from the rest of the phrase that opens the door to learning this lexical unit [3, с. 30].
Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition (IVA). Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition is a vocabulary learning strategy defined as the learning of new words and a by-product of meaning-oriented communication activities such as reading, listening, and interacting. This is due to the repeated influence of the word in different contexts. Students can learn vocabulary through frequent reading, communicative interaction, and the influence of information sources such as movies and television. This strategy provides broad, clear input and independent learning [2, с. 200]. Incidental learning of vocabulary has many advantages: it is contextualized and gives the student a richer sense of word usage and meaning that can be given in group work. It also allows you to study vocabulary and read 25 times at a time. It is individualized and student-centered, as the vocabulary to be learned depends on the student’s own selection of reading materials. Presentation, consolidation and lexical development occur simultaneously.
Learning vocabulary with the help of plot innovation. Learning new words using the strategy of innovation history was presented by Martin and Brogan. It is a procedure of innovating sentence patterns by creating a semantically new word substitution. Innovative stories are a way for those who enjoy writing and reading and like to study vocabulary in the format of sketches. The finished product is the new text that is easy for students to read because they are familiar with the original story samples and the new vocabulary used to create the innovation [1, с. 15].
The founder of the communicative approach E. I. Passov, offered a number of very effective measures that can semanticize many lexical units of a foreign language, almost without leaving the native environment. The most common method is associations, also known as the “key word method”. It contains a set of techniques and methods that facilitate and activate the work of memory through the study of artistic associations – auditory, visual, tactile.
It is possible to use this method to link any two pieces of information in your memory. The method of using “the keyword method” combines the creation of substitute words with visualization (two-step process): first you need to convert the sound of the word into one or more concepts that can be visualized. You should then relate these concepts to an image that reflects the actual meaning of the word. For example, we are reading a book about composers of classical music. It mentions the Hungarian composer Bela Bartok, a master of the piano, and it should be remembered that Bartok is a famous pianist. To remember this, you need to associate Bartok’s name with the piano. The sound of his name: Bela. It sounds like “bell = дзвоник”. Her last name Bartok sounds like “bar talk”. So the scene comes to mind, which includes a bell, a bar, a piano and a conversation.
«5Actions». The basic point of the method is to perform algorithmic actions: 1A – look through the text quickly, 2A – notice the keywords, 3А – make up the questions with keywords, 4А – review the text again, 5А – retell the text based on keywords and questions.
Usage of rhyming riddles. Teacher invents riddles for recognizability of lexical units. For example: Why is the letter D like a sailor? Because the letter D follows the C. There is a contextual meaning, which is the connection of the sailor with the sea, because “C” sounds like “sea”.
Thus, the most powerful methods of semanticization of new foreign vocabulary were considered, which are often used by modern teachers in schools and have an effective result in practice.
References
- Brogan, Franny D. Son, JyEun Native Language Transfer in Target Language Usage: An Exploratory Case Study, 2015. P. 14-16.
- Coady J., Huckin T. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition: A Rationale for Pedagogy Cambridge Applied Linguistics : Cambridge University Press, 1997. 299 с.
- Mukoroli J. Effective Vocabulary Teaching Strategies For The English For Academic Purposes Esl Classroom. 2011. P. 29-30.
- Способы семантизации лексики на уроках английского языка. URL: https://multiurok.ru/files/sposoby-siemantizatsii-lieksiki-na-urokakh-anghliiskogho-iazyka.html (дата звернення: 06.03.2021).