Teaching Vocabulary to Young English Learners

A life-and-death comp whiznt of learn a foreign expression is the attainment of diction. For brisk-made learners, the genuinely first off devises that they acquire could lay the pro found pedestal for a give way later learning of the children. This study is intended to survey out the specific application of techniques in tenet English expression to i-year-old learners. I strived to investigate the on-going techniques in instruct diction to young learners and studied the difficulties that instructors encounter during this process. Oral interviews, oral sexnaire and observation schemes were habituate as effectual instruments for data collection.The questionnaire-based survey ingests to scrutinize instructors common techniques in teaching style to young learners, general difficulties that they meet in teaching. Oral interviews and observations serve to elaborated on the in variationation ga at that placed from questionnaires and discover teachers opinions o n how to solve arisen paradox in language mobroom, e specially during verbiage section. The result of this survey indicates that exploitation flashcards in presenting, sorting toils in pr functionicing and sentence completion in revise vocabulary are three intimately preferably common techniques in teaching young learners the English vocabulary.The exploitation of combining different techniques is considered earlier limited in conclusion,, this study provides some suggestions for teachers to realize the benefits of having available activities and games in young learners classroom. 1. Introduction I chose this topic for my search study beca ri expandg habit I consider that for young learners, vocabulary and grammar are dickens essential units that collect them to master at early stage. It was once claimed that experienced teachers of English as a Second Language know really well how fundamental vocabulary is.They know their students must learn thousands of quarrel that speakers and writers of English use. (Allen, 1983). The well-known(a) linguist Wilkins, unrivalled of the leaders in language learning and teaching, indicated that without grammar, very subatomic could be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing bathroom be conveyed educational application vocabulary is considered to be an add- on to teaching grammar or simply a by-product of language teaching and communicative functions.The reasons are firstly, too umpteen an opposite(prenominal) speech communication in one sentence are believed to break its grammar complex body part and spoil children in learning systematic grammar secondly, it is thought that vocabulary post be learned through experience alone and therefore, there is little want for the teachers to focus much on teaching their students vocabulary and thirdly, they grade the emphasis of teaching grammar on priority to vocabulary are already taken too much of any lesson in the classroom.The basic theory of how importan t teaching vocabulary in class is, was not recognized until late 1970s and 1980s when people realized the necessity of vocabulary in reading comprehension (Allen p. 5) Learning a rude(a) language with native speakers advise provoke learners motivation and boost their confidence in quickly obtaining language step by step, native teachers, in some(prenominal) an(prenominal) circumstances exact to aspect the obstacle of slow or misbe collapsed students, positi still in vocabulary section. This study therefore was conducted, aiming at reviewing common techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners. . An overview of vocabulary 2. 1. 1. Definition In club to find the best and most easy-to-understand definition of the vocabulary, is such an unfeasible task. from each one linguist or scholar, in his specialized palm, with his own manage of criteria has found out for his own a way to define vocabulary. However, in the most popular way, Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionar y has applied a meaning for vocabulary as all the members which exist in a particular language or opened. In the consideration of learning English as a Foreign Language, the vital role of vocabulary is inevitable.This has been claimed by many linguists and experts in the field. Wilkins (cited in Thornbury, 2002) intelligibly stated that without grammar, very little pile be conveyed without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed (page 13). Coincidentally, H. Dellar and D. Hocking indicated that progress made from learning grammar most of the age would be much less than that from learning vocabulary. To be short and concise, when comparing the importance of grammar and vocabulary, both mentioned statement above holy order of battle that most of learners improvement was growd when the learner himself learned more than countersignatures and expressions.It was to a fault evince when it came to communicate that you can secern very little with grammar, but you can say almost any thing with spoken communication (Thornbury , p. 13). 2. 2. childly learners 2. 2. 1. Definition The term young learners, according to the author of the book An A-Z of ELT, Thornbury , is use to describe children of pre-primary and primary shoal age, although it is sometimes used to include adolescents as well (p. 250). In the very(prenominal) way, young learners as defined by Sarah Phillips (1993) are children of formal schooling (five or sextuplet years old) to cardinal or twelve years of age. (p. 4).Teaching English to young learners, therefore, has a long history in many multilingual countries, primary school children are taught English as preparation for secondary school, where it is the medium of instruction. In recent years, there has been a phenomenal increase in the teaching of English to young learners, in EFL context as well as in ESL, and in state school as well as in private ones (Thornbury, p. 251). 2. 2. 2. Characteristics of young learners Vocabulary knowledge is a study building block in childrens early literacy development. It provides the foundation for learning to rewrite and comprehend text.Many children, especially English language learners, need withstand in acquiring the substantial vocabulary they need to become goodness readers. Reading books to children is one way to introduce them to a wide track down of vocabulary that they may not gain vigor in their everyday conversations with adults and peers. vernal learners need to be able to transfer their understanding of words to new-fangled contexts, so that when they see or hear those words in some early(a) consecrates they understand what they mean. Talking about words from book to book is one way of showing children how words are used in other contexts.Another way to help them see how words are used in other contexts is asking them to compute about how the words apply to their own knowledge and experiences. In explaining the word freight, for example, a teacher capabil ity say, Have you ever seen a involve on the tracks? Did you notice the cars of the train? Inside of those train cars, there are lots of things that are organism taken from one place to another. The stuff that is being brought from one place to another is called freight. What are some things that you think could be freight on a train? 2. 3. Vocabulary teaching . 3. 1. Stages in teaching Vocabulary Basically as proposed by Gower (2005) and Thornbury (2002) there are three stages in teaching vocabulary viz. presenting, practicing and revising. In this research, I am red ink to list each stage with its characteristic features to have a better review for further techniques followed that. 2. 3. 1. 1. Presenting The gloss of this very first stage has indicated clearly its function in introducing new lexical items to learners. As suggested by Thornbury, learners need to learn both the meaning and the form of a new word.thitherfore, as he claimed, its worth pointing out that both thes e aspects of a word should be presented in close conjunction in order to contain a tight meaning-and-form fit (p. 75). If the co-writers of Teaching Practice (p. 146) immediately referred to the persuasiveness of apply visual aids in presenting new words, Thornbury specifically accentuate the importance of cutting down the gap between the presentation of a words form and its meaning so that learners could possibly be at ease to make a mental connection between the two. He also stressed some major factors, subject to which the number of words should be presented. . 3. 1. 2. Practicing Suggested by Gower, students a great dealtimes need a little time for the new lexical items to sink in (p. 148). He pointed out that learners may recognize new item but a great deal delay putting it into active use. In this case, is of pure necessity the use of planned activities for recycling and reactivate the new vocabulary. This kind of go for, as implied by Thornbury (2002) underlines the p opular belief that practice makes perfect (p. 93). He to boot emphasized the action of moving words from short-term memory into permanent memory.He emphasized that new knowledge i. e. new words needs o be integrated into lively knowledge i. e. learners existing net overwork of word associations, or what is called the mental lexicon. (p. 93). ledgers or lexical items need to be put to work, or into practice as it is practically understood in many other contexts, in order to look into the long-term retention and recall. Vocabulary needs to be placed in working memory and subjected to different operations which would be mentioned intricately in the later part of techniques in practicing vocabulary.2. 3. 1. 3. Consolidating and Revising Checking students comprehension and revising those words are a final important stage in teaching this specific field. In this stage, students are advised to complete high-level tasks unwraply production tasks. The author of many famous books for English language teachers group decision-making tasks into the second stage when learners needed to decide and make their choice in facing up with already learnt items. 2. 4. Techniques in teaching vocabulary There are three main parts or namely stages in teaching vocabulary, as they are mentioned above. . 4. 1. 1. Techniques in presenting vocabulary Proposed by doff (1988, cited in ELT Methodology II, 2009) and Thornbury (2002) and Nation (1994) a variety of techniques can be used or combined in introducing vocabulary. 2. 4. 1. 2. Techniques in practicing vocabulary Identifying tasks, involving tasks of conclusion words in texts. Listen and then tick the words you hear can be one obvious example of this type. Identification is the first step in recognizing words and requires learners do easy task as counting, ticking or a bit difficult is to unscramble words as in anagram.Selecting tasks are cognitively more complex than realisation tasks. For selecting tasks, learners bequea th have to do recognizing words and making choices amongst them at the same time. Finding and odd one out is a common task that teachers may often use in class for checking comprehension. Learners are also requested to do matching tasks, apart from recognizing and making choice amongst words. In this kind of task, learners may need to couple up a set of tending(p) words to a visual representation, for example, or to a translation, a synonym/antonym, a definition or a collocate. (p. 97) Learners are being asked to do sorting tasks, by grouping words into different categories. It should be remark that the categories can be given in advance or learners have to theory what the categories are. 2. 4. 1. 3. Games Games are one indispensable advice for many teachers not only in English teaching but also in the field of language teaching. Instead of listing common word games, I forget discuss the function and effectiveness of exploitation games in teaching vocabulary as a major topic.D rawn upon the characteristics of young learner, one typical characteristic of them is moving around almost all of the times and cannot be sitting quietly for more than five minutes. Yet they can be often keen on word games with a variety of options and movements. especially in the context of teaching English to Romanian learners who are often labeled as inactive and afraid of risk-taking learning, games are verbalize to be an extrinsic motivation for them to participate actively in the lesson. Games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily.Secondly, games usually involve friendly competition and they dungeon learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in learning activities. Thirdly, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance learners use of English in a flexible, communicative way. Advantages of using games in learning vocabul ary were indicated by showing that games not only helped and encouraged learners to sustain their interest but also gave teachers a component part hand in creating contexts.This is particularly true when learners need useful and meaning(prenominal) contexts to better their understanding of new words or in general, lexical items. 2. 5. Difficulties in teaching vocabulary This study, concerning the issue of constraints encountered by teachers, deliberately focuses on finding external factors, that is to say factors related to teachers themselves are spared for a larger scale research. In this case, difficulties in teaching vocabulary are said to often arise from the nature of vocabulary itself. The very first bother recognized in teaching words is the matter of whether to teach form first hen meaning or meaning first then form later. Another matter deterred by many researchers is about the mistakes that learners often make when learning vocabulary.External factors can be seen from the different levels of learners in one class class size can grow to by chance big learners keep using their first language and more importantly students appear to be uncooperative. Those factors once happen in class can negatively hinder the efficiency of both presenting and practicing new words additionally badly affect teachers plan and demotivate many activities performed by him/her (Harmer p. 27). 2. 5. 1 Proposed activities and games in order to make a lesson vivid 2. 5. 1. 1 Proposed activities Bingo is useful for checking students comprehension and pronunciation of the old vocabulary. Teacher gets the class to brainstorm a list of ten or fifteen new words and puts them on the board. Students choose any five and copy them into a piece of paper. Teacher reads out the words. separately time having one word that teacher reads, students put a tick or cross that word. The one to have five ticks or crosses shouts Bingo and the game can continue. denomination associations Teache r writes a topic in the middle of the board and gets students to think about words that associate with it. In case students cannot think of as many words as expected, teacher can ask question to provoke answers that may enlighten students ideas. Half a crossword this activity is to get students to use sentence for asking the meaning of a word. Students work in pair, each receives half a crossword. One student, in order to get the answers for the missing half has to ask the other either to act or give a definition of the word.Pictionary Teacher can utilize it as a fun activity in class. mark can be divided into two big groups. Each time, one psyche in the group, after receiving one word/phrase from the teacher has to exhaust to his/her group to draw so as to get the group guess classifyly the word. Members take turns to draw and the activity can be contend twice but should be not too long. 2. 5. 1. 2 Proposed games jury sentence making the rule is quite easy to follow and it i s specially created to increase team work as well as the acquisition of words.The class is divided into two teams each team is given six to seven small white boards. Teacher writes a word on the big board, each team has to make a sentence using the given word. Each word of the sentence must lie in each small board that the team is provided. Categories Young learners work in pairs or small groups. On a piece of paper, they draw up a number of columns, according to a model on the board, each column labeled with the name of a lexical set e. g. fruit, animals, transport, clothes.The teacher calls out a letter, B for example, students write down as many words as they can beginning with that letter in the develop columns (banana, manager, blouses, bat, ). The group with the most correct words wins. Drawing/ miming or explaining this is a game played with the dice. Each time, representative from one of the two teams in the class has to obligate the dice to know whether they have to draw (if throw 1-2), mime (3- 4) or explain (5-6) the word that teacher gives them. It can create a fun learning environment when students really dont want to explain but they throw 5 instead.Hammer the aim of the game is to get students quickly operate words that they have learnt in class. Students stand in a circle, teacher stands in the middle of the circle, retention the paper hammer. Teacher can give a topic himself or ask students to choose one topic in which every one in the class has to take turn call out a word belonging to given topic. Anyone who cannot give one word will be hit on the head with the hammer. The last person to baffle is the winner. Pronunciation race In this game, class is divided into small groups.Each group sends a representative to the board. The teacher gives the rest of the group a small grid of words which they use to pronounce to the member at the board. Once hearing the word, that member has to write down the word he/she gets. The team with most of th e correct words wins. Spelling race Class is divided into two teams. For each time teacher writes a locomote word on board and two representatives from each team have to race to the board and write the correct spelling of the word. Each correct word wins the team a point. The team with the most points wins.Stop the bus In the same way as Categories, students write labeled column. When teacher calls out a letter, C for example, students have to find one word which starts with letter C and belongs to provided category. The first group to find all words shouts Stop the bus. The other teams have to stop. Teacher checks accuracy and spelling. Word Bang This game can be used best to check students understanding of old vocabulary in class. The class stands in a circle and teacher stands in the middle holding a set of flashcards (make sure that students know all the cards in advance).Each time, two students compete each other to shout out loud the name of the card that teacher shows in fro nt of them. The quicker is the winner. The game continues until there is only one student left, who is also the winner of the game. Word ginger snap It has the aim to get as many pairs of words as possible. dissociate class to work in pairs or small groups. Each pair/group receives a set of words and pictures which correspond to the words. Each time one student face up two cards, if they match he will take them, if they dont, he has to put them face tush down.Turn goes to the next person. The one who gets the most pairs win. 3. Conclusion As the title of the paper suggests, this study has its focal point in investigating the current implementation of techniques used in teaching vocabulary to young learners, attended by difficulties and solutions. As a conclusion, common techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners can be divided into three groups. For presenting new words, using flashcards and miming are preferred by most of teachers.In getting students to practice the wor ds they have learnt, grouping words into certain categories preferably outnumbers the other techniques. For the final stage in teaching vocabulary revising, most of the teachers say that they have been familiarized with sentence and text completion rather than that of creation. Finally, this research proposes some compiled games and activities that might be helpful for teachers repertoire. 4. Summary Scopul acestui studiu este acela de a sublinia importanta invatarii vocabularului, de catre tineri, inca din faza incipienta.Am incercat sa prezint cateva idei, despre ceea ce inseamna predarea vocabularului si implementarea tehnicilor folosite in predare, alaturi de dificultatile intampinate cat si solutii pentru reusita. Definirea vocabularului poate fi inteleasa prin, totalitatea cuvintelor ce alcatuiesc o limba. Prin elev tanar ne referim la acea categorie de copii cuprinsa intre 5-12 ani. Ca si concluzie, cele mai folosite tehnici in predarea vocabularului tinerilor elevi jackpot fi impartite in trei grupe(prezentare, exersare si recapitulare).In prezentarea noilor termeni( cuvinte), folosirea cartonaselor ilustrate si mima este cel mai des intalnit procedeu. In a-i face pe elevi sa exerseze cuvinte invatate, gruparea cuvintelor pe anumite categorii este cea mai de succes metoda folosita.. In ceea ce priveste etapa finala in predarea vocabularului recapitularea, majoritatea profesorilor spun ca au fost obisnuiti cu finalizarea propozitiilor si a textelor, decat cea a crearii. Spre finalul lucrarii am incercat sa descriu cateva jocuri si activitati care ar putea fi de folos in alcatuirea portofoliului unui profesor.