There are numerous techniques concerned with vocabulary presentation. However, a few things have to be remembered irrespective of the way new lexical items are presented. If teachers want students to remember new vocabulary, it needs to be learnt in context, practiced, and then revised to prevent students from forgetting. We can tell the same about grammar. Teachers must make sure students have understood the new words, which will be remembered better if introduced in a «memorable way». Bearing all this in mind, teachers have to remember to employ a variety of techniques for new vocabulary presentation and revision.
Encourage students to ask questions, during class, to understand difficult topics. Learning style and ability vary in each child. Teaching English and grammar require knowledge of different learning styles and methodologies successfully to reach every student in the classroom. Sometimes called “differentiation,” using many different teaching methods appeals to the widest possible range of students and helps improve comprehension and self-confidence by finding their strengths and expanding on them.
There are many ways to teach English, but it is cumbersome to find a perfect way to teach. Maybe it is impossible to find the perfect and easy way to teach. However, as we would consider ourselves as decent educators, we just have to find effective ways to teach English well. It will be ludicrous to say that native speakers of English are the best English teachers. Just because one can speak English well, does not mean that he/she is an excellent English teacher.
Brainstorming:
Write up an expression (eg. Hold on.) and have the students brainstorm situations in which the expression would be likely to occur. Then follow it up in the same way as with the previous activity.
Dialogue:
Clearly, if we are to help, the learners acquire independent L2 lexicons; we need to highlight the importance of the context in which the language naturally occurs. Once the idea of context playing a decisive role in the choice of language is firmly established, we can begin to introduce varieties of the language used in different contexts, such as cultural and regional, social or situational. However, the reality of L2 instruction heavily exploiting EFL materials rife with all too notorious fill-in exercises, where sentences are artificially constructed and/or lacking any context whatsoever is rather saddening.
On the other hand, this feature of many course books provides learners with plenty of opportunities to develop their own context for the language presented. Here are a few activities that can be used with this purpose.
Present a short dialogue, or part thereof, with a consciousness-raising activity helping the students notice a particular language feature (eg. weak forms).
Games;
I have noticed how enthusiastic students are about practicing language by means of games. I believe games are not only fun but help students learn without a conscious analysis or understanding of the learning process while they acquire communicative competence as second language users.
Games are always a hit with children because they allow them to learn in a motivating, high-energy environment. Split the class into two teams and play word games, such as hangman, to teach spelling or review for a quiz. Make worksheets of word scrambles and have the class solve them in teams; do not forget to mix the stronger learners with weaker ones so all the teams are of equal ability. Develop a matching game with index cards where teams must match the verb description or function to the name of the tense, the first team to match all their definitions first wins.
Immersion;
Immersion techniques are very commonly used in language classrooms. If you teach English as a Second Language (ESL), it is very important to carry out activities in the target language, in this case, English. If students have questions, try explaining a topic again with different words or simpler speech. Communicating in the target language helps students realize how much they know and helps them learn to use the language, even if they have very little understanding of it to begin with. You can also use the immersion method by having other students in class explain directions or tell a story in the target language and taking questions from their peers. Sometimes talking to a classmate is less pressure for students than asking questions of the teacher.
These pertain to visual memory, which is considered especially helpful with vocabulary retention. Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of visual aids. Visual techniques lend themselves well to presenting concrete items of vocabulary-nouns; many are also helpful in conveying meanings of verbs and adjectives. They help students associate presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their system of language values.
Receptive Skills Comprehension;
Learning English requires command of the four key skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Receptive skills are reading and listening as the learning is simply absorbing information and attempting to make sense of it. English teachers should test receptive skills often throughout a single class period to ensure students are processing information correctly. To check reading comprehension, introduce a piece of appropriate text verbally with the class as a group and explain any difficult words or concepts. Ask the students to read the text and answer a few multiple-choice questions. Listening can be tested in the same way by using recorded conversation or pieces of music. Encourage students to ask questions about any reading or listening selections.
Infamous fill-in exercises too can be adapted for use in context developing activities. First, use the activity as usual, then pick one or two sentences, and go on to ask, «Who was most likely to say it?" Supply a few options for the students to choose from or invite them to suggest their own examples.
Productive Skills Usage;
Like reading and listening, writing and speaking are an important part of English and grammar development. Sometimes referred to as productive skills, writing and speaking require students to demonstrate their understanding of class material in the target language. Writing is usually the most difficult skill for students to demonstrate because of the pressure to use grammar and punctuation correctly. With beginners, provide a sentence with the words out of order. Ask them to rewrite sentences in the correct order with appropriate capitalization and punctuation. With more advanced students, discuss current events and have them respond in a short essay or ask them to write a response to a reading passage. Speaking can be tested in graded class discussions or in oral tests on a predetermined topic between the teacher and one or two students.
Once they finish, put two pairs together and have them discuss their answers. The purpose of this stage is to find any logical inconsistencies and fix them by supplying additional explanations. The students can form new groups and continue in the same way until they are satisfied with the outcome that they can then present. Finally, drill it again chorally and individually in pairs. Also, consider whether any of the situations presented may be suitable to act out!
Литература:
1. Kristin Lems, Leah D. Miller and Tenena M. Soro, Teaching Reading to English Language Learners: Insights from Linguistics — 2009
2. Nancy N. Boyles, 'Teaching Written Response to Text: Constructing Quality Answers to Open-Ended Comprehension Questions' — 2009
3. Marianne Celce-Murcia, Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 3rd Edition — 2001
