English Vocabulary Teaching Strategies in Middle School

【Abstract】Vocabulary can not be ignored in Middle School English Teaching. In this paper， some vocabulary-teaching techniques are offered.

【Key words】vocabulary; teaching; features; effective

【作者簡介】史婷，甘肃省白银市白银区稀土中学。

1. The application of new teaching methods

Teachers should use the words which have learned before as more as possible. For example， teacher can use easy words to explain the new words instead of the Chinese explanation. It can make students use their own original knowledge to learn the new vocabulary. This method can not only train students listening ability but also review the words which they have learned; it also can make students think questions with English at the same time.

Many Chinese middle school students often make such sentences as： （1） The policies adopted by the Chinese Communist Party are beneficial.（2） My spoken-English is very bad.

Students who make such sentences only know the meaning of each individual word， but they are poor in the proper use of “beneficial” （which should “be beneficial for” people） and “bad” （which should be changed into “poor”）.

The teacher can organize a game to help the students to remember the vocabulary. For example， teacher can writer “do” and “make” at the top of the blackboard. And then ask students to tell as many things as they can that we do and list them in the “do” column. Repeat the process for things we make. Then add examples teacher can think of. Ask students to work at their desks and sketch illustrations for the items on the lists. Then circulate， and choose students to draw their illustrations.

Many kinds of exercise can have vocabulary in effective practice， and can improve students interest in practice， increase students confidence.

2. Teaching vocabulary by words usage

Making phrases or sentences is necessary for English vocabulary learners. These phrases are based on how the native speakers put words together. Some words belong together in certain situation and some do not. Teachers have to combine the words which students have learned in a certain way so that the meaning is clear.

Neglecting the study of the relationships in English vocabulary system might result in students slowness in comprehension and inappropriateness in exploiting the English words. Being taught in these ways without a change， students might have difficulty in working out the meaning of some words， such as “time” in the following three sentences：

（1） She is near her time. （Means “She would die soon.”）（2） The umpire called time. （Means “The umpire called for a stop.”）（3） He is in the time of his life. （Means “The days he is experiencing are very enjoyable.”）

3. Expanding cultural vision

Language is the carrier of culture， and also is the cultural connotation. In foreign language teaching， culture refers to the history， geographical conditions and traditional custom way of life of the target language country， and also including the literature and art behavior standards， etc. In English teaching， the teacher must introduce students the relevant cultural background knowledge， and guide students to understand western values， customs and experience the exotic feelings.

Lets take the word “milk” for example. In the sentence of “I have milk for breakfast”， the word “milk” in Chinese culture refers to hot milk， because Chinese are used to drink milk hot; while the word “milk” in the American culture refers to cold milk， because Americans never drink boiled milk as we Chinese do. This example shows us that the same word “milk” has different social meanings in different cultures. In fact， many linguists believe that no word can be exactly translated into another language. Learning the vocabulary of a second language is not just memorize the equivalent words of language one， but to learn the meaning relationship between “milk” and all other words in English within the context of cultural life.

4. Conclusion

Based on the features of vocabulary， students can learn words easier. It is impossible that these methods suit to every word and not everyone likes these methods. Of course there are also many methods for the students to enlarge their vocabulary.

References：

[1]Hou Caijing. Learning English Words by Affix，河北師范大学学报[J].