Teaching Vocabulary to Young English Learners
Teaching English vocabulary to young learners
A crucial component of learning a foreign language is the acquisition of vocabulary. For young learners, the very first words that they acquire could lay the profound basis for a better later learning of the children. This study is intended to investigate the specific application of techniques in teaching English vocabulary to young learners. I strived to investigate the current techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners and studied the difficulties that teachers encounter during this process. Oral interviews, questionnaire and observation schemes were used as useful instruments for data collection. The questionnaire-based survey aims to scrutinize teachers’ common techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners, general difficulties that they meet in teaching. Oral interviews and observations serve to elaborate on the information gathered from questionnaires and discover teachers’ opinions on how to solve arisen problem in language classroom, especially during vocabulary section.
The result of this survey indicates that using flashcards in presenting, sorting tasks in practicing and sentence completion in revising vocabulary are three most preferably common techniques in teaching young learners the English vocabulary. The exploitation of combining different techniques is considered rather 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 research study because I consider that for young learners, vocabulary and grammar are two essential units that require them to master at early stage. It was once claimed that “experienced teachers of English as a Second Language know very well how important vocabulary is. They know their students must learn thousands of words that speakers and writers of English use.” (Allen, 1983). The well-known
A crucial component of learning a foreign language is the acquisition of vocabulary. For young learners, the very first words that they acquire could lay the profound basis for a better later learning of the children. This study is intended to investigate the specific application of techniques in teaching English vocabulary to young learners. I strived to investigate the current techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners and studied the difficulties that teachers encounter during this process. Oral interviews, questionnaire and observation schemes were used as useful instruments for data collection. The questionnaire-based survey aims to scrutinize teachers’ common techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners, general difficulties that they meet in teaching. Oral interviews and observations serve to elaborate on the information gathered from questionnaires and discover teachers’ opinions on how to solve arisen problem in language classroom, especially during vocabulary section.
The result of this survey indicates that using flashcards in presenting, sorting tasks in practicing and sentence completion in revising vocabulary are three most preferably common techniques in teaching young learners the English vocabulary. The exploitation of combining different techniques is considered rather 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 research study because I consider that for young learners, vocabulary and grammar are two essential units that require them to master at early stage. It was once claimed that “experienced teachers of English as a Second Language know very well how important vocabulary is. They know their students must learn thousands of words that speakers and writers of English use.” (Allen, 1983). The well-known
References: 1. Allen, V.F., (1983), Techniques in teaching vocabulary, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2. Gower, R., Phillips, D. & Walters, S., (2005) Teaching Practice: A handbook for teachers in training, Macmillan Books for Teachers,Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited. 3.Harmer, J., (1998), How to teach English, Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Limited 4. Phillips, S. (1993) Young Learners, Oxford: Oxford University Press 5. Thornbury, S. , (2006), An A-Z of ELT, Macmillan Books for Teachers, Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited. 6. Thornbury, S. ,(2002), How to teach vocabulary, Essex, England: Pearson education limited.