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Abstract
Students, when first confronted with studying a high level... subject
matter in their new language, are to be provided with a backup of language
assistance, so that they do not feel overwhelmed and fall back on desperate
dictionary searching and mental translation into the first language. Such a
traumatic experience often hampers language learners considerably in their
progress and destroys their fragile enthusiasm for developing new skills of
natural expression in their new language. Such a backup, or alternate
vocabulary learning strategies, needs to be fostered during students' initial
encounter with the new target language. Yet, commonsensical ELT
knowledge and my experience in training student-teachers over the last
decade and a half compel me to posit an assumption that teachers ( in
school and college-level in Yemeni context) are not trained adequately or
given flexible and proper ways whereby they could encourage their learners
construct such a backup. The present paper begins an exploration into the
problematized phenomenon- of teachers' vocabulary teaching competence
that would foster autonomous vocabulary learning skills and looks into the
rationalized bases for and/or reflected-upon approaches to lexical selection
for materials production . The paper would develop the argument that the
vocabulary control movement in ELT
Introduction
The most obvious point to make about this study is that there is so little
importance has been given to vocabulary in modern language teaching.
Both the structural model and the communicative model, in their different
ways, consistently underplay it. In the recent years, however, research into
vocabulary teaching/learning has been clearly on the increase and its long
neglected importance being brought to our attention by the poineers in the
field (for example, Aebersold and Field , 1997; Carter, 1987; Gairns and
Redman, 1987 and Willis, 1981). Their studies along with developments in
pedagogical lexicography and coursebook design, has continued to aid the
teacher and learner in the work of improving vocabulary teaching/learning
in the classroom.
It is now accepted that it is difficult to have a tight lexical control over
the number of words to be taught, because the items which can be singled
out for teaching are an individual matter between readers and texts. it is
based on the linguistic level of texts and students , as well as their interest
and background knowledge of the topic area. In any case, language
preparation does not mean that the teacher should explain every possible
unknown word in the text, but that he should ensure that the learners will
be able to deal with the text tasks without being totally frustrated by
language difficulties. As a guideline, Fry (1963) suggests introducing only
one new word in thirty-five words for foreign/second language learners. In
which, moreover,
belong to the appropriate frequency range for the learner. There are
strong reasons to assume that semanticaly related words are stored together
in the mental lexicon. Several studies have shown that the occurrence of a
particular word tends to bring into learners minds not only that word but
also clusters of other words closely related to it. This suggests that word
frequency and regency of use are the two most important factors that affect
the storage and retrieval of words in the learners mental lexicon.
Therefore, the teaching of vocabulary related to concepts and semantic
relationships will undoable make the task of learning easier for the
students. This means that at this point of the activity, the learners have not
only activated their productive vocabulary knowledge but they have also
reviewed some of the target language vocabulary receptively or
productively.
On the other hand, the psychological conditions concern the actions on
learning texts which may enhance retention of the selected target words. A
sequence of three actions proves to be most effective, i.e. guessing the
meaning of the unknown word from the context and from word form clues,
verifying this in a dictionary. So , whether we use the oldest
Structural
Approach
where words
better
vocabulary learning
is
to
techniques and
develop
teachers
practitioners) with
practical
ability
(trainees
and
Research Questions
The present research attempts to answer three open-ended questions
related to vocabulary teaching/learning:
1- What are the words to pre-teach?
2 - What are the reasons for selection?
3- How are they taught?
Methodology
To achieve the aims of this study and answer the three questions
mentioned above, an extensive pilot study was undertaken at the
Faculty of Education Hodeidah and Zabid, Hodeidah University,
Republic of Yemen, where a number of a random set of studentteachers (about 80 fourth year pre-service trainees) alongside with
their teachers (about 15 teachers holding MAs and PhDs with several
years of experience in language teaching) specialized in English were
given two prose texts of appropriate length (from 600 words to 1100
words in length) drawn from different disciplines on the basis of their
presumed interest value and readability. Both teachers and learners
were informed that the materials were intended to be presented to the
students of second year English majors in the College. Because, the
choice of words to be taught, the reasons for choosing them , and the
techniques employed would all depend greatly on the level of students
at which the texts were intended to be taught.
Appendix 2),
The
student-teachers
and
year
in responses of
Teachers
Students
15-50
10-50
8-30
10-40
for selection
However, in some other aspects, the table shows that the learners are more
Reasons for
Selection
-related to the text
- unfamiliar words
- important archaic
words
- key words-familiar
- difficult context
- self-selection voc
- related to backg
- related to context/
experience
- theme main idea
- compound words
Teaching
Techniques
- depend on the level
of Ss
- synonyms
- visual aids
- gestures
- translation
- group work
- miming
- level-age
- examples
- pictures
- meaningful context
- context
- direct method
- real objects
- guesting from
context
- elicitation
- explanation
- antonyms
- using title to check
meaning
- using Arabic
- definition
- illustration
- glossary
- drawing
- pronounce
- dictionary
- words in sent
TEACHERS RESPONSES
Reasons for
Selection
Teaching
Techniques
- target words
- lexical field
- content word
- core meaning
- thematic reasons
- difficult key words
- message
- awareness of
concepts
- important
significant
- grouping words
- general mood
acquainted with
words
- everyday com
- high frequency
- active vocab
- related voc
expansion
- necessary for com
but not part of active
vocabulary
- meaningful context
- examples on bb
- eliciting
- definition
- clues pictures
- synonyms acting
- illustration
- mime-action
- explaining
- translating
meaningful sent
- parts of speech
- word formation
- connotation
- guessing from cont.
- examples
- using title
- pictures
- familiar real context
- group work
- pair work
- ss personal
experience
- dictionary
- everyday situation
The fact is that students cannot make any sense of texts, if they are
linguistically deficient. Without having sufficient vocabulary knowledge,
access to information will be vague and uncertain.
on all the
use. Therefore, trainers and trainees involved in this study, need to make a
close examination of techniques they use when handling a text. Such an
approach can enhance teachers and learners understanding of useful and
actual techniques and thus provide a critical basis for selection or rejection.
In addition, it is clear from Table 2 that the responses to questions 2 and
3 are interrelated. This raises the question, "Are words selected for
techniques or techniques selected for words?"
It seems that it is not a matter of a choice but togetherness, involving a
conjoined activity, a balancing act-encouraged/engendered through
reflection on selection and teaching.
Teaching Implications
The theory is not questioned here, but its relevance to contexts such as
Yemen where teachers have to choose the most economical means of
enabling learners to learn English.
As we have aleady pointed out in the preceding paragraphs, there are a
number of variables to be taken into account in selecting the most effective
procedures for teaching and learning vocabulary in a foreign language
situation like Yemen. It is impossible to single out any procedure for
vocabulary teaching/learning which will be optimal in all teaching
situations. Some of the obvious factors which will have to be considered are
the motivation of the learners; aspects of the actual teaching situations,
such as the characteristics of the teacher and his expertive skills, some
characteristics of the material to be learned and learner/learning styles.
In this way, it is important to mention that the research available so far
has not indicated a clear cut superiority of one approach over another. In
other words, language teaching as Hubbard et al (1988) points out, has
always been subject to change, but the process of change has not resulted
from the steady accumulation of knowledge about the most effective ways
For instance, if you ask this question, "How many of you have
learned with the Structural Approach?" and see how proficient they are in
the language and by the same token, "How many of you have learned with
the Communicative
language ? In this view, the problem is not in the approach or method that
we use rather than in the circumstances which make things learnable. So
which should we adopt and which we reject? The answer is simple: adopt
those techniques which result in successful learning: if they work, use them
without any hesitation, bearing in mind the following observations and
recommendations:
Conclusion
In Conclusion, one would say that both students (in pre-service) and
teachers (in-service) should be made well aware of the effects of the
theoretical and practical principles underlying lexical selection and
instruction
awareness will in
someway help provide better insights into this area through the close
analysis of the different features of written texts. More importantly, in
the era of a learner-centered approach, teacher-education should include
skills that aim to develop the confidence , awareness, self-reliance and self-
applicable to their
References
Aebersold, J. and Field, M. (1997). From Reader to Reading Teacher
Cambridge: Cambridge University press
Carter, R. (1987). Vocabulary. London: Allen and Unwin.
Fry, E. (1963). Teaching Faster Reading: A Manual. Cambridge: Cambridge
Press.
Gairns, R. and Redman, S. (1990) . Working with Words. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Appendix 1
DOCTORS IN THE HOUSE
Society has changed and what expected of doctors has changed with it. So
said the General Medical Council in a far-reaching report on what is expected
of the training that equips doctors for a medical career in the twenty-first
century.
It is a viewpoint Richard Hobbs, head of the Department of General Practice,
not only endorses but has been involved in implementing when similar
establishments may have been more cautious.
The GMC - the body responsible for standards at medical schools identified
in its 1980 report the need for student doctors to acquire more than facts and a
set of practical skills... important though they are.
It called on medical schools to rethink fundamentally their teaching approach.
In its 1991 report the GMC declared that it was 'more convinced than ever' of
the general principles laid down ten years previously, said Professor Hobbs.
Tomorrow's medics, he believes have to be geared up now for a changing world
of health.
'The plan is to introduce a problem-solving approach and create a lifelong
desire for education and learning among doctors. Courses were too demanding
and students expected to digest too much information. Some courses were so
full they may have suffocated students' ability to think critically,' said Professor
Hobbs.
Students come to
Appendix 2
It is a
wishing-cap; whosoever puts it on, can wish himself away wherever he likes,
and in an istant he will be there". "Give me the cap," said the youth, "I will go a
short distance off and when I call you, you must run a race, and the cap shall
belong to the one who gets first to me." He put it on and went away, and
thought of the king's daughter, forgot the giants and walked continually onward.
At length he sighed from the very bottom of his heart, and cried, "Ah, if I were
but at the Castle of the Golden Sun," and hardly had the words passed his lips
than he was standing on a high mountain before the gate of the castle.
He entered and went through all the rooms, until in the last he found the
king's daughter. But how shocked he was when he saw her. She had an ashengray Face full of wrinkles, blear eyes, and red hair. "Are you the King's
daughter whose beauty the whole world praises? cried
answered, "this is not my form; human eyes can only see me in this state of
ugliness, but that thou mayst know what I am like, look in the mirror it does not
let itself be misled it will show thee my image as it is in truth." She gave him
the mirror in his hand, and he saw therein the likeness of the most beautiful
maiden on earth, and saw, too, how the tears were rolling down her cheeks
with grief. Then said he, "How canst thou be set free? I fear no danger." She
said, "He who gets the crystall ball, and holds it before the enchanter, will
destroy his power with it, and I shall resume my true shape. "Ah," she added,
"so many have already gone to meet death for this, and thou are so young; I
grieve that thou shouldst encounter such great danger." "Nothing can keep me
from doing it," said he, "but tell me what I must do." "Thou shalt know
everything," said the King's daughter, "when thou descendest the mountain on
which the stands , a wild bull will stand below by a spring , and thou must fight
with it , and if thou hast the luck to kill it , a fiery bird will spring out of it ,
which bears in its body a burning egg , and in the egg the crystall ball lies like
a yolk. The bird will not, however, let the egg fall until forced to do so, and if it
falls on the ground , it will flame up and burn everything
melt even ice itself, and with it the crystal ball, and then all thy trouble will have
been in vain."
The youth went down to the spring, where the bull snorted and bellowed at
him. After a long struggle he plunged his sword in the animal's body, and it fell
down. Instantly a fiery bird arose from it, and was about to fly away, but the
young man's brother, the eagle, who was passing between the clouds, swooped
down, hunted it away to the sea, and struck it with his beak until, in its
extremity, it let the egg fall. The egg did not , however, fall into the sea , but on
a fisherman's hut which stood on the shore and the hut began at once to smoke
and was about to break out in flames. Then arose in the sea waves as high as a
house, they streamed over the hut, and subduced the fire. The other brother, the
whale, had come swimming to them, and had driven the water up on high.
When the fire was extinguished, the youth sought for the egg and happily found
it; it was not yet melted, but the shell was broken by being so suddenly cooled
with the water, and he could take out the crystal ball unhurt.
When the youth went to the enchanter and held it before him, the latter said,
"My power is destroyed, and from this time forth thou art the king of theCastle
of the Golden Sun. With this canst thou likewise give back to thy brothers their
human form." Then the youth hastened to the king's daughter, and when he
entered the room, she was standing there in the full splendour of her beauty, and
joyfully they exchanged rings with each other.