Vocabulary Teaching in a Communicative Classroom at the Senior High School Level

李媛

Abstract：The vocabulary students master reflects their level of English and directly affects their listening， speaking， reading， and writing ability. But there have been some problems in both vocabulary teaching for teachers and vocabulary learning for students. This paper summarize specific presenting methods， memory strategies and ways to revise and consolidate in vocabulary teaching， which may help senior high school teachers in vocabulary teaching.

Key words： vocabulary teaching； communicative competence

1.Introduction

Traditional vocabulary instruction for many teachers involves having students look words up in the dictionary， write definitions， and use words in sentences （Basurto， 2004）. Word lists， teacher explanation， discussion， memorization， vocabulary books， and quizzes often are used in an effort to help students learn new words. But these methods make vocabulary learning becomes a high burden for the students. This article demonstrates thatCommunicative Language Teaching （CLT） is the best and most successful method in vocabulary teaching at the senior high school level. The author also proposes some information about Chomskys competence and performance and Dell Hymes communicative competence， at last， summarizing specific presenting methods， memory strategies and ways to revise and consolidate in vocabulary teaching.

2. Discussion

2.1 Communicative Language Teaching

Different from the fact that Chomsky， only with native speakers in mind and just focused on abstract knowledge of language， American linguist Dell Hymes in the 1970s coined the term “communicative competence” （CC） to draw attention to linguistic use in authentic contexts. By “communicative competence”， he refers to the “internalized knowledge of the situational appropriateness of language”. As Brown （2001） suggests the following principles are embodied in CLT. The first is “l(fā)earner-centered instruction” which includes techniques that focus on or account for learners needs， styles， and goals； techniques that give some control to the students； curricula that include the consultation and input of students and that do not presuppose objectives in advance； techniques that allow for student creativity and innovation； techniques that enhance a students sense of competence and self-worth. The second lies in cooperative and collaborative learning. By this principle， students work in pairs and small groups to achieve common goals and objectives together with their teachers. The third involves interactive learning in which students practice orally by forming pairs and groups to receive and produce authentic input and output and write with real persons in mind. The fourth is whole language education based on the following ideas： cooperative learning， participatory learning， student-centered learning， integration of the “four skills”. （Brown， 2001）. The fifth is related to content-based instruction， which integrates content learning with language learning. In this case， language acts as a medium by which certain subject matter such as math and geography is taught.

2.2 Three Factors Influencing CLT

2.2.1 Age

When age factor is mentioned and discussed， it is inevitable to bring in the critical period hypothesis. In this hypothesis， there exists a neurological critical period. It is impossible to have a complete mastery of language reaching puberty. Therefore， certain teaching strategies could be adopted in order to cater for the age of senior high school students needs in CLT classroom.

2.2.2 Motivation

“Motivation” is defined as “factors within a human being or animal that arouse and direct goal-oriented behavior” （Stevens， 2000）. Gardner and Lambert （2002） make a distinction between integrative and instrumental motivation to second language learning， integrative motivation is internal and permanent while instrumental motivation is external and temporary. In teaching vocabulary in a communicative classroom for the sake of meaningful and cooperative learning， much effort must be devoted to arouse and retain learners motivation， especially integrative motivation. Furthermore， the teacher should attach more importance to the initiation， appropriate intensity and sustainment of the students motivation in the process of teaching vocabulary in CLT classroom.

2.2.3 Materials

According to Stephen Krashens input hypothesis， second language acquisition takes place when a learner understands input that contains grammatical forms that are at‘ⅰ+ I （ i.e. are a little more advanced than the current state of the learner s interlanguage（Ellis， 2000）. Therefore， the teaching materials that have been chosen in vocabulary teaching in CLT classroom play a very important role. Thus， for senior high school students in particular it is important that the totality of their educational experience is appropriate for their needs.

3. Problems and Techniques for Vocabulary Teaching in CLT Classroom at the senior high school level

3.1 The present problem overview

For teachers， teachers paying more attention to grammar than vocabulary and teachers teaching vocabulary in monotonous and disordered ways. Some teachers also instruct few vocabulary learning strategies. It has been proved that many students spend much time and energy on studying vocabulary but fail to achieve the desired results. The main cause of the conflict is their lack of effective learning strategies. Lastly， teachers teaching vocabulary in Chinese all the time. A large group of English teachers are apt to teach vocabulary in the mother tongue. Therefore， the students will try their best to catch the meaning of the word rather than the usage.

Also， for many students， they pay more attention to the written form rather than the pronunciation of the words； a large number of students learn and reciting words in a separate and inflexible way without knowing the appropriate language context； they treat and recite every word almost in the same way， with little difference between high and low frequency words； lastly， students do not have a systematic knowledge of the words and the output （practice） of the vocabulary.

3.2 Techniques Used in CLT classroom

3.2.1 Efficient Memory Strategies

Firstly， structure memory strategy. Students know un- and able， they will learn unable； extra- and ordinary， they will learn extraordinary. Secondly， associative memory strategy. In vocabulary teaching， teachers may make use of associative tips to give opportunities of memorizing a lot of words from a simple one. Thirdly， contextual memory strategy. Words used in a clear context are definitely easier to remember than single words， learners can memorize boththe word itself and its collocation at the same time.

3.2.2 Revise and Consolidation.

Studies show that of the information we get， 80% is lost within 24 hours of initial learning. In order for new items to enter long-term memory， some form of active involvement on the part of the learner is desirable. teachers are supposed to create some interesting and flexible ways， such as blank filling and story making， of doing consolidation and checking.

4. Conclusion

Vocabulary is the most fundamental element of the language； it is to the text what bricks are to a house. Teachers are supposed to help students enlarge their vocabulary proficiently in the light of optimum vocabulary teaching principles， interesting presentation， efficient instruction of memory strategies and enough contextual practice. It is expected that this study can shed some light on teaching and learning English vocabulary for teachers and students and give some guidance to further study on English vocabulary teaching approaches in senior high school.

References：

[1]Basurto， I.（2004）. Teaching vocabulary creatively. Pearson Education， 1-4.

[2]Chomsky， N.（1965）. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge： MIT Press.

[3]Ellis， R. （2000）. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.

[4]Gardner， R. & Lambert. W. （2002）. Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning. Rowley， Newbury house.

[5]Hymes， D. H. （1979）. On Communicative Competence. Extracts in Brunfit and Johnson， 32.

[6]Stevens， F. （2000）.Personality and Language. Language Learning， 29：193-204.