The Effectiveness of Teaching Senior Middle School Students English Vocabulary Skills by Using CALL （Computer Assisted Language Learning）

He Siyi

1. Introduction

In the introduction， vocabulary and grammar were called the building blocks of language. More precisely， vocabulary words and phrases are the building blocks and grammar is the glue that holds them together. Grammar lets you know who chased whom when you hear， “The dog chased the cat.” Your knowledge of English grammar tells you that the first animal metioned in the sentance did the action. But your knowledge of English vocabulary allows you to interpret what the dog is， what the cat is， and what they did. In fact， vocabulary is the most important aspect of language for students to learn.

1.1 Background

Most researchers today agree that English language learners need to spend time and effort studing vocabulary. They point out that learners need to spend time and effort studying vocabulary. They point out that learners do not have sufficient exposure to words in the English that they hear and read. Moreover， when learners encounter unfamiliar words， those words often remain unknown unless students get help from a teacher， a dictionary， or a computer.

1.2 The Purpose of the Paper

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary based on CALL in senior high school so as to adapt to the trend of English teaching reform， facilitate the up-to-date concept of English teaching.Therefore， it is quite crucial to create a vivid environment. A good method is resorting CALL. It will offer different styles of listening experience to the learners in contrast to traditional one.

2. Literature Review

In this part， some key concepts of CALL and some relevant researches of teaching English vocabualry by using CALL will be introduced， as well as relationship between CALL and SLA.

2.1 The Definition of CALL

Levy （1997） defined Computer-Assisted Language Learning （CALL） as “the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning” （Levy， 1997， p.1）. Although the name includes “computer”， the term CALL embraces any applications of Information and Communication Technology （ICT） to teaching and learning foreign languages. Two different terms such as CALI （Computer-Assisted Language Instruction） and CAI （Computer-Associated Instruction） was used instead of CALL before the early 1980s （Davies & Higgins， 1982）.

2.2 Relationship between CALL and SLA

CALL developers need to condisder how software can provide learners with opportunities believed to facilitate SLA. In other words， it is useful to view multimedia design from the perspective of the input it can provide to learners， the output it allows them to produce， the interactions they are able to engage in， and the L2 tasks it supports. However， the SLA-technologgy connection only begins with laboratory and classroom experiments that test conditions for second language acquisition. It extends to issues such as how to define second language ability as including （1） the ability thatcan be displayed with the help of readily accessible L2 technology aids （such as online bilingual dictionaries and grammar checkers）； （2） the ability to make appropriate linguistic choices across a range of face-to-face， remote， written， and oral modes； and （3） the ability to choose appropriate technologies for communication and language learning.

2.3 Previous Studies

Much vocabulary learning software makes use of the simple keyword hyperlinkCALL designers， users， and researchers need to be able to theorize not only the “normal” process of acquisition but also how to modify this normal process in hopes of helping students to learn faster and better. In part due to such pragmatic needs， SLA theory has moved beyond the narrow program of gernerative linguistics in ways that are relevant to L2 instruction， in general， and CALL， in particular.

3. My Teaching Course Design

Based on the literature， I design my course by the effective use of CALL. The method aims to improve students language competence in vocabulary. Meanwhile， great attention is paid in cultivating the ability of autonomous learning.

The textbook under new curriculum standard is published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press with abundant of language materials.The five steps of teaching procedures are encountering new words， getting the word form， getting the word meaning， consolidating word form and meaning in memory and using the words.

3.1 Using CALL in Encountering New Words

It is thought that students can make the best use of their time studying vocabulary if they begin by learning the words that used most frequently. These are the word that they are most likely to run across in everyday conversation and reading. For more advanced levels， researchers attempt to identify how many words learners need for particular contexts， such as academic work， and which words are most frequent in those contexts.

3.2 Using CALL in Getting the Word Form

Getting the word form. The second step essential to vocabulary learning appears to be the getting of a clear image-visual or auditory or both of the vocabulary item. This step was shown in comments such as “associating new words with words that sound similar in my native language，”“writing the sounds of the words using sound symbols from my native language，”“associating、a word with a similar sounding English word I know，”“seeing a word that looks like another word I already know” in this step.

3.3 Using CALL in Getting the word Meaning

The third essential step in the learners reported strategies is the one which is often associated with the idea of vocabulary learning—getting the word meaning.CALL programs can teahc vocabulary by presenting new words and then providing learners with practicee for learning their meanings. Many techniques including presentating of images， first-language translations， synonyms， and contexts in which the words appear are used to draw learners attention to the new words and to ensure their understaning. Teachers can use CALL programs and Web sites that include vocbulary illustration， explanation， and practice. One benefit of multimedia CALL is that pictures， words， and sounds are all available to learners.

3.4 Using CALL in Consolidating Word Form and Meaning in Memory

The fourth necessary step revealed by Brown and Paynes analysis requires the consolidation of form and meaning in memory. Vocabulary games on the computer are useful for helping stimulate conversation moving by providing learners with immediage feedback on the accuracy of their answers.When preteaching vocabulary， teachers can have students work together in pairs at the computer， looking at sentences from a corpus that contain key words. Teacher may then ask students to guess the meaning and check their guesses against dictionary meanings.

3.5 Using CALL in Using the words

The final step in learning words is using the words they learn. write short certain specified paragraphs answering questions about the video they listened trying to use words in the answers； complete a doze exercise where the video script was the text and a list of possible words （the same specified words as in the first task） were supplied as options for filling in the blanks； write a short essay about the video in their own language. When the students have a general knowledge of the new words in one unit， the teacher will encourage the students to think of some methods to remember the words quickly via association.

4. Conclusion

4.1 Summary

Vocabulary is an area of English language learning that can be developed through the use of CALL programs. However， much remains for teachers， learners， and researchers to discover about the best types of CALL activities for learners. However， with the help of concordancers and corpora， teachers can construct their own materials and help students understand how to learn the lexical phrases that they will need beyond the English class.

4.2 Suggestions

There are six tips based on the ideas about second-language （L2） acquisition described below： select materials that teach appropriate vocabulary； choose CALL materials that explicity teach English vocabulary； provide learners with opportunities for interaction with the computer； let the vocabulary tasks spark interaction among learners； include regular evaluations of answers and summaries of performance； help learners develop strategies for explicit online vocabulary learning through the use of online dictionaries and concordancers.

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【作者簡介】何思仪，辽宁省锦州市渤海大学。