AdvancedTeachingStrategiesofCollegeEnglishVocabulary

譚萍

【Abstract】Vocabulary teaching is an important part in English teaching， which purpose is to foster students to use learned words to conduct language communication， increasing the capability of language using in daily life. This paper analyzes the present condition and exposes the problems existing in English vocabulary teaching and learning， then， puts forward some scientific， effective strategies for the education of English vocabulary. I hope these teaching strategies can help teachers improve their teaching methods and help English learners acquire knowledge easily and efficiently.

【Key words】English Vocabulary； Teaching Strategies； Memory Strategies

Vocabulary learning is quite challenging for English learners. Words are also more complex than they appear to be on the surface. As all known， people who have studied English but havent grasped some vocabulary can hardly communicate with each other in English， especially for college students. It is well known that teacher plays an important role in teaching. The teacher is the organizer and facilitator in the process of teaching. Whether the teaching strategy is right will affect the whole teaching result.

1. Integrating New Words with the Old

According to semantic theory， humans acquire words first and then， as the number of words increases， the mind is forced to set up systems that keep the words well organized for retrieval. If English students are to store vocabulary effectively， instructors need to help them establish those links and build up those associations. When students are asked to draw on their background knowledge， their schema， they connect the new word with already known words， the link is created， and learning takes place.

No word stands alone； each has friends and neighbors. Unfamiliar vocabulary is often connected to words students may already know. By understanding word relationships， they can learn new words. Whenever possible try to use those connections to teach your students new words. Here are some techniques that can help students learn vocabulary by associating the words with something they already know. For example： 1） Synonym and antonym association： From “adequate”， we get synonyms “sufficient， abundant， ample， enough”， then we get antonyms “inadequate， insufficient， deficient， scant”.2） Genus association： From “fruit”， we imagine “apple， orange， mango， watermelon” 3） Image association： Take “bellybutton” as an example. Put “belly”， “button” together. Its like a button on the belly. If learners do not know a word， most of them discover the meaning by employing the social strategy of asking someone who knows.

2. Providing a Number of Encounters for a Word

According to Richards， knowing a word means knowing how often it occurs， its appropriateness in different situations， its syntactic behavior， its underlying form and derivations， its word associations， and its semantic features. It is highly unlikely that an English student will be able to grasp even one sense of a word in one encounter， let alone all of the degrees of knowledge inherent in learning a word. But as the student meets the word through a variety of activities and in different contexts， a more accurate understanding of its meaning and use will develop. When a word is recalled， the learner subconsciously evaluates it and decides how it is different from others he could have chosen. He continues to change his interpretation until he reaches the range of meanings that a native speaker has. Every time this assessment process takes place， retention is enhanced.

Facilitating Imaging and Concreteness

According to the dual coding theory of human memory， the mind contains a net work of verbal and imaginable representations for a word. When learners make images of the to-be-learned material， the possibility for later recall is much greater than if they only make verbal links. To build verbal representations in the memory instructors need to present vocabulary in an organized manner， since it is harder to memorize random material， arrange vocabulary in units， introduce it in stages， and summarize it. It is of significance to build non-verbal representations， elaborate， make illustrations， show pictures， draw diagrams， and list details.

Conclusion

In a word， teaching vocabulary is an important part of English language teaching. Without vocabulary， nobody can learn English well， not to mention communicate with others. Vocabulary is an indispensable part of a particular language. For a foreign language learner， it becomes more and more important to master a large amount of English vocabulary， and this trend will be more and more obvious. How to strengthen the quality of English vocabulary teaching plays a key role in improving students level of English. Through the paper， we can find that the basic way to solve the problem is to choose the scientific and rational teaching and learning strategies.

References：

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