Author’s name: Zsófia Fleischer

Programme: MA in TEFL

Academic year: 2

Title of paper: Classroom observation study—vocabulary teaching activities

The focus and the aim of the paper

This research aims to analyse the vocabulary learning strategies of Andrea Szabó, a primary
school English teacher, uses to expand the lexis of her students. The research also ventures to
give an overview of some questions relating to the vocabulary learning challenge. My long-
term goal with this paper is that I would like to put into practice the useful strategies Andrea
uses in her class. I am planning to implement a new vocabulary-teaching strategy drawing on
my research results.

The context of research

The research was conducted during my teacher training practice at Bartók Béla Magyar-
Angol Két Tanítási Nyelvű Általános Iskola. Before starting my teacher training practice, my
mentor teacher, Szabó Andrea (49) had me observe some of her classes so that we could
decide which class would be the most suitable for me to teach. This paper focuses on
Andrea’s vocabulary teaching strategies in general, and on the strategies she used while
teaching two fifth grader classes I observed.
The before mentioned school is a primary school I attended a bit more than ten years ago.
During these ten years the school changed for its advantage in terms of language education. I
observed not only the classes of Szabó Andrea, but also that of some other teachers. The
classes I saw were great, and the old grammar-teaching method I was taught with was no
longer prevalent, and teaching became a lot more student-centered. When I attended this
primary school all we did was drills and learning texts by heart. Speaking in English—my
English teacher always spoke in Hungarian—was out of the question, let alone games,
dramas, songs and cheerfulness. Despite everything, I liked English even at that time. I hope
that the changes I noticed are true not only in this school, but language Education is changing
for the better in Hungary.
The school has a nice atmosphere, the teachers are friendly—probably not only because I am
an ex-student of the school— , and the children are real children. It is located in the green
area of the 22nd district, in Nagytétény.
Participants (students and the teacher)

I observed several classes, but in this paper the fifth graders and the methods Andrea used
with them are going to be analysed. This class consists of 15 students. They are lovely and
nice. Their English is surprisingly good, in spite of the fact that they started their English
education before the school became a bilingual school. They are not specialized in English,
they have three English classes a week, which is not that much.
Andrea is one of the best teachers I have ever seen. The classes I saw were model classes, I
had the idea that these classes should be put on you tube so as to make it accessible to others
who wish to see a model teacher. She has a very nice character, she is someone who is nice
and great not only on the surface, but it comes from the inside. I also had the impression that
she is a sort of perfectionist, who wants to give the best she can to the students. Her classes
were enjoyable and varied. She made a very good use of the audio-visual technical
equipment. She regularly goes to trainings and teacher conferences, and she puts into practice
what she learnt. I am grateful for the useful ideas and teaching principles she provided me
with during my teaching practice.

Research questions

How important is vocabulary learning in mastering a second language?

What does she think of the practice of writing new vocabulary items into the personal
dictionary of the students? (intentional vocabulary learning) Is intentional vocabulary learning
essential?

What about writing down not only words, but chunks of language?

How does Andrea teach new vocabulary?

What’s the key in vocabulary teaching and learning? Is there a magic strategy according to
her?

Data collection instrument (s)

As for the data collection instruments, a combination of self-report and observational data was
planned. This mixed method research was used, in the hope of achieving a fuller
understanding of the vocabulary teaching strategies of Andrea, and also, to “verify one set of
findings against the other”. (Dörnyei, 2007, pp.164) During two English classes in which she
dealt with sixth graders I observed what she did in her class and what she did in therms of
vocabulary teaching. I took note of every detail that could be intresting for my research. As
for Andrea’s own report, a half-an-hour long semi-structured deep interview was planned.
A semi-structured interview consists of a “set of pre-prepared guiding questions and prompts,
the format is open ended and the interviewee is encouraged to elaborate on the issues raised in
an exploratory manner.”(Dörnyei, 2007, pp.136) It was hoped that due to the observational
data, I would already have a good enough overview of Andrea’s vocabulary-teaching
practices, and that I would be able to develop broad questions about her attitude towards
vocabulary teaching.

Analyses and discussion of Andrea’s answers linked to the research literature

How important is vocabulary learning in mastering a second language?
As for the research literature, Schmitt writes that there is one thing everyone who is in contact
with teaching languages can agree upon: vocabulary acquisition is of primary importance,
when it comes to second language acquisition. (Schmitt, 2008, pp.329) Having said that, we
also have to state that the best way of acquiring a good vocabulary is still not clear, and
teachers and learners have often been uncertain about how to pursue it. (Schmitt, 2008,
pp.329)

The importance of vocabulary acquisition can be illustrated by Laufer, Hu and Nation’s

statements relating to the necessary amount of “coverage”, that is “the percentage of lexical
items in written or spoken discourse that a learner must know in order to understand it”
(Schmitt, 2008, pp.330). The estimates for the amount of coverage varies, but all authors
agree upon the fact that for good understanding 80% or more coverage is essential. This
figure might sound startling, so “it can no longer be assumed that adequate lexis will simply
be ‘picked up’ from exposure”, students and teachers must work together on acquiring a
substantial vocabulary size. (Schmitt, 2008, pp.330-333) This statement leads us to the
question that tackles the effectiveness of intentional and incidental vocabulary learning.
Similarly to the before mentioned researchers, Andrea considers vocabulary expansion a
crucial element of second language education. It was clearly noticeable in her class that she
accorded an important place to the acquisition of new lexis. She considers vocabulary-
learning an essential part of learning a second language, as without words, we cannot
communicate.

What does she think of the practice of writing new vocabulary items into the personal
dictionary of the students (intentional vocabulary learning)? What about writing down not
only words, but chunks of language? Or, to put it more professional, is intentional vocabulary
learning essential?

Laufer lists some powerful arguments in favour of the necessity to pay explicit attention to
learning the lexical items themselves. First, he states that guessing from the context is not
reliable, especially if the learner understands less than 98 % of the text. Second, words, whose
meaning the learner guessed correctly, may not generate enough engagement for the learner to
learn them. Third, “in order for words to be met ten times in reading, learners would need to
read one or two graded readers per week. The typical learner simply does not read this much.”
(Scmitt, 2008, pp.341) What is more, adamants of intentional vocabulary learning state that
incidental exposure to English can lead to knowledge, intentional vocabulary learning almost
always results in greater and faster gains, “with a better chance of retention.”
As for the effectiveness of incidental vocabulary learning from reading, early researches
(Horst, Cobb &Meara, 1998) found that the “pick-up rate” of new words is disappointingly
low, with about one word being correctly identified out of every twelve words tested. More
recent studies found more gains from reading. Magdolna Lehmann, for example, after having
conducted a semester-long research on the effectiveness of intentional and incidental
vocabulary learning, found in her group that there was not a big difference in the acquired
lexis between her intentional and incidental group. She divided her class into two groups: one
was encouraged to look up all the unknown words they met in their readings, and the other
was not encouraged to use the dictionary. Though the intentional group did somewhat better
on the vocabulary test the class took at the end of the semester, the difference between the two
groups was minor. (Lehmann in IELT, 2007, pp. 23-28) This result is surprising, and might
confirm not only the Krashen hypothesis, but also the statement that more advanced groups
are more likely to benefit from incidental vocabulary learning than beginners.
Pigada and Scmitt’ result (2006) is also interesting, they found that exposure contributed
rather to the improvement of spelling skills than to meaning or grammatical knowledge. What
is more, incidental vocabulary learning from reading is more likely “to push words to a partial
rather than a full level of mastery”. (Scmitt, 2008, pp. 347)
As for the number of necessary encounters for a word to be considered learnt, Zahar pointed
out that it depends on the proficiency level of the learners. More advanced learners are more
likely to be able to retain a word from less encounters than less advanced ones. We should
still acknowledge that worthwhile vocabulary learning does occur from learning. However,
the pick-up rate is relatively low, and it appears to be difficult to gain a productive level of
mastery only from exposure. As for Hill and Laufer’s estimation, (2003) with the view of
increasing one’s vocabulary with 2000 words, one should read 420 novels. This is a clearly
daunting undertaking. Rather, incidental learning seems to be a powerful way to consolidate
the knowledge of words that are at least on a partial level of mastery. Knowing a large
number of lexical items is not enough, it is also necessary to know a great deal about each
item for a learner to use it correctly. This is called the ‘quality’ or ‘depth’ of vocabulary
knowledge, and it is of the same importance as the size of the vocabulary. Many teachers and
learners consider a word ‘learned’ if the spoken and written form of the given word is known,
but being aware of a word’s form and meaning does not necessarily imply that the learner will
be able to use it correctly in context. (Scmitt, 2008, pp. 333)
To cut a long story short, intentional and incidental vocabulary learning positively recquire
each other and are complementary. It is impossible to pick-up adequate lexis from exposure,
and similarly, one cannot expect words to be retained if one does not work on recycling. A
great deal of reading and listening is necessary for consolidation and enhancement.

As for the adequate approaches to teaching vocabulary, different approaches are appropriate
at different levels and ages. At the beginning, an explicit approach that focuses directly on
establishing the form-meaning link can be most effective, while later, the contextual approach
may be more favourable to enhance contextual knowledge about how to use the word
properly. (Scmitt, 2008, pp.334)

Andrea considers intentional vocabulary learning an essential part of mastering a second

language. She thinks that form is important. Firstly, it can be quite disturbing when someone
cannot spell correctly when writing emails or letters. She considers intentional vocabulary
learning, and writing words down into one’s personal dictionary as good means to achieve
adequate spelling. Secondly, it greatly facilitates her job as a teacher when it comes to
assigning students what to learn for a vocabulary test. She can simply tell them to learn the
words from their personal dictionary from this word to that word. Thirdly, many language
learners belong to the category of visual learners who can learn the most quickly and easily if
they write things down. If students write the new words and expressions down into their
personal dictionaries they will better remember. Fourthly, the government have the bilingual
schools take tests so as to determine if they can keep their status of bilingual school or not. If
the students does not achieve a good enough score, the school will be deprived of its status of
a bilingual school. These tests are written tests, so she feels responsible and obliged to prepare
the students for these written tests.

What about writing down not only words, but chunks of language?

As Scmitt puts it, a “learner must also know a great deal about each item to use them well”. A
word cannot be considered learnt, if the spoken/written form and the meaning are known, a
learner need to know more about lexical items if they want to use them in a productive way.
(Scmitt, 2008, pp.333)

Andrea considers the practice of writing chunks of language down a good idea, and she told
that she was at a teacher-training where a teacher suggested writing down not only words, but
expressions or sentences into the personal dictionary of students. It is likely to improve not
only the fluency of the students but also the ability to use the words well.

What’s the key in vocabulary teaching and learning? Is there a magic strategy according to
her?

As for the importance of recycling or revision, it is accepted that a lexical item need to be met
many times in order to be learnt. (Scmitt, 2008, pp.334) The more a learner met with a word,
the more likely he or she is to learn it. Vocabulary learning is a “cyclical process” one that
requires the learner to meet the word as often as possible. Anything that leads to more
“exposure, manipulation, attention and time” spent dealing with lexical items adds to the
enrichment of vocabulary. It is interesting to note that even the time spent on testing lexical
items leads to better retention. (Schmitt, 2008, pp.335-340) Though we cannot generalize
concerning the amount of necessary exposure to a given word, according to Nation’s findings,
“a range of five to twenty” repeated meetings are necessary to learn words. The essential
point is that recycling is necessary, and if it is not given the attention it needs, many “partially
learnt words” will be forgotten, and a lot of effort will be wasted. It is more important to
revise learnt and partially learnt words than enriching one’s vocabulary with new words.
Recycling has to be given its proper place in second language education. The importance of
recycling the last class’s vocabulary is well illustrated by the findings of Baddeley’s research.
He found that most forgetting takes place soon after the learning session, and then it slows
down. The first recycling or revision has to take place quickly. (Schmitt, 2008, pp.335-340)

An extremely important thing I learnt from Andrea is the importance of revision. She starts
each of her classes with some activities that aim revising the material learnt during the
previous class. She seems to be perfectly aware of the fact that vocabulary learning is a
“cyclical process”, and that it is more important to revise than to deal with new material.

Vocabulary teaching practices

As for vocabulary learning practices, there is a lack of any comprehensive list or taxonomy of
strategies in this area. Despite this lack of taxonomy, ESL learners reported more strategy use
for learning new lexis than for any other learning activity.
Before presenting the categorization that is available, we are going to have a look at some
generalizations. It worth noting that shallower activities like memorizing word lists proved
better for beginner students. Intermediate and advanced learners can benefit more from the
context included in deeper activities.
As for the characteristics of a good learner, it is noted that active management of strategy use
is important, he or she is aware of his or her own learning, knows the importance of learning
words in context, and conscious of the semantic relations between new and previously learnt
vocabulary items.
Politzer and McGroarty states that “strategies should not be considered inherently good, but
are dependent on the social context in which they are used”. The effectiveness of a given
strategy depends on numerous factors, such as: proficiency level, task, text, language
modality, learner characteristics. If we take it into consideration, it is no surprise that learners
from different cultures sometimes have quite different opinions about various vocabulary
learning strategies.
Tough we have just stated that there is no comprehensive list in this area, there is still some
categorisation, let us have a look at that of Stoffer:

1. “Strategies involving authentic language use

2. Strategies involving creative activities
3. Strategies used for self-motivation
4. Strategies used to create mental linkages
5. Memory strategies
6. Visual/auditory strategies
7. Strategies involving physical action
8. Strategies used to overcome anxiety
9. Strategies used to organize words”

Having considered what can be found about vocabulary learning strategies in Schmitt’s paper,
in the next some paragraphs I am going to analyse the vocabulary teaching techniques and
strategies Andrea used in the class I observed.

Theatrical play, acting

One of the things I really liked in Andrea’s class was that she made good use of dramas.
When I observed the two classes the class was preparing for an event called “Bemutatkozik a
Bartók”, which is a sort of talent show where students are on stage with theatrical or musical
performances. The fifth graders were preparing for it with “Tammy, the Queen of Jams”. The
scenario was at the back of the students’ coursebook.

The play was a really cheerful and happy one with some music and a lot of gestures, the
students really put themselves into it, they were like real actors and actresses. They enjoyed
the play a lot. Andrea was not observing the students from a distance, but she also joined them
in acting out the musical parts.

The topic suited the children’s age and it was also great that the texts repeated several times.
It was surprising to see what beautiful pronunciation these ten-eleven year-old children had,
and how confident they were.
The children enjoyed the play to such a great degree, that after acting it out once, they started
begging Andrea to act it out again, but there was no time for that, they had to move on with
the new material.

Drama is something that makes a class more dynamic, energetic and real. It gives students the
feeling that they can speak English. Even if some students only have some lines to say, they
are likely to learn all the roles and all the words in the play. Since they hear it so often, they
learn it by heart involuntarily. Dramas and plays are also likely to create a certain emotional
involvement not only with the characters and the play, but also with English. I firmly believe
that during primary school one of the main tasks of teachers is to have students love English,
to create a positive attitude towards learning English. If someone has a positive attitude and is
keen on learning, he or she will probably learn English quickly.
It is a creative and social strategy that is likely to increase the students’ motivation for
learning English.

Asking for feedback

I also liked the way she treated homework and exercises. She always made sure that everyone
understood the task with asking questions like “What should we do?” “Who can explain it?”
or “Is that clear for you?” I that giving security for students is of primary importance, we have
to make sure that everyone understands the task, even if there are some unknown vocabulary
items in the instructions.

Revision and expansion of the topic of feelings using the rhyme the class learnt some classes
before (Let’s make a pancake)

During one of the previous classes the children learnt a rhyme the title of which is Let’s make
a pancake. The repetitive nature of the rhyme helped students learn new vocabulary. I really
liked the idea of having students stand up and then illustrate the rhyme with gestures. They
had an opportunity to refresh themselves. The great idea about this task was that Andrea
combined the rhyme with the vocabulary of feelings. First, she told the students to act out the
rhyme in a happy way. Then, the class proceeded on to recite the rhyme with all the feelings
they learnt so far. They learnt some new adjectives as well. Andrea first explained the
meaning of these new adjectives, and then someone from the class translated their meaning
into Hungarian. The third step in this kind of vocabulary learning was that the class recited the
rhyme in the mood the given feeling denoted. It was also great that at the end of this exercise
Andrea summarized the feelings the class went through: “We were happy, we were scared, we
were angry..”

After completing an exercise on feelings in the coursebook, the class checked their answers
listening to the tape.
It is by no means surprise that the children have great pronunciation if they listen to the tape
often. After learning some new feelings-related words, it was great that they could put their
knowledge into written form, and they could also practice the correct pronunciation of the
words.

Practicing the new vocabulary in discourse

Andrea walked around in the classroom and asked one question to each student “Are you
happy?” “Are you scared?” “Are you tired?” The expected answer would have been “Yes, I
am.” or “No, I am not.” At the beginning children said a simple yes or no, but after the tenth
student—and the teacher’s correction—, the children started giving the required answers. It
was good to hear that they also started to correct each other. If someone gave a surprising
answer, Andrea asked the children why, so the child could say if he or she had a problem.

Homework: “you are the teacher”

Andrea told me that the exercises in which the children could take the role of the teacher
enjoy especially high popularity. The homework was to copy five sentences from the
coursebook and then leave out one word. At the beginning of the next class the students will
give their copybooks to their pair, and the pair would find out the missing word. This exercise
was great because the students would meet again with the new words, She also emphasised
that every teacher should know the answers to his or her questions.

Conclusion

How important is vocabulary learning in mastering a second language?

Andrea clearly stated that vocabulary learning plays a very important role in mastering a
second language.

What does she think of the practice of writing new vocabulary items into the personal
dictionary of the students? (intentional vocabulary learning) Is intentional vocabulary
learning essential?

She considers the practice of writing new vocabulary items into the personal dictionary of
students a good thing to do. She believes that it helps young learners in learning how to spell
properly. She is also convinced that the majority of the students belong to the visual type of
learners, who can learn the most quickly and easily if they write things down. What is more,
there are official tests set by the government the results of which will determine whether the
school can keep its bilingual status or not. If students are accustomed to writing words down
in English, they are more likely to perform better at this written test.

What about writing down not only words, but chunks of language?

Andrea believes that teaching and learning chunks of language is a better way to learn a
foreign language than just learning words in an isolated way. This helps students to be able to
correctly use words in context.

How does Andrea teach new vocabulary?

As for her vocabulary teaching practices, it can be concluded that she makes very good use of
dramas, songs and rhymes. She seems perfectly aware of the fact that this is how young
learners are likely to improve the most.

What’s the key in vocabulary teaching and learning? Is there a magic strategy according to
her?

Andrea’s magic strategy is simple. She is convinced that new material needs to be revised and
recycled. She thinks that when it comes to vocabulary, revision is the key.

Finally, I have to tell that I am grateful for Andrea for showing me how important revision
and recycling is. Since I am more aware of its importance, I have started paying more
attention to it than I did before.
References
Dörnyei, Z. (2007): Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative and
mixed methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Review article.

Language Teaching Research, 12 (3), 329-364.

Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary learning strategies. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.),

Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 199-228). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Lehmann, M. (2007). Is intentional or incidental vocabulary learning more effective?

International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 3 (1), 23-28.
http://www.tprstories.com/ijflt
Appendix

Interview

Zs: How important do you think vocabulary teaching is in second language education?

A: Er.. I think that vocabulary is the core of a language. Without words, we cannot
communicate. We need words to express ourselves. One of the things that is the biggest
obstacle to successful communication is not knowing enough words to express oneself, when
someone does not find the words he or she needs to use.

Zs: How do you teach new vocabulary?

A: It depends on the children’s age, because if I teach first or second graders, we cannot write
down the new words, or in the second grade we can write or draw some pictures if the new
word is a noun, and we can write down the nouns next to the picture. But in the first grade we
cannot write. So in the third and the fourth grade we hear a new text for example and
sometimes I ask them if there are some unknown words in the text. If there are some, I write
them on the board, and they write them down into their personal vocabularies, and we try to
put them into sentences.

Zs: And do you write down these sentences?

A. Er, not really, no. Just say a sentence, an example, and they have to find out an other
sentence, and sometimes I say the sentence in Hungarian, and they have to translate it.
Sometimes we play some games, for example dominoes or a short roleplay, so they have to
ask each other using the new words.

Zs: For example..

A:For example we learnt about the structure are you scared of, I am scared of and some new
vocabulary connected to these structures for example sharks, witches, monster, fire, darkness
and so on, and they have to ask each other „Are you scared of witches? „ „What are you
scared of?”

Zs: It sounds interesting, the topic sounds really intersting.

A: Yes, or when we learnt about the feelings, they had to ask each others questions like „Are
you happy? „Are you scared?” Or when we learnt about adjectives, they had to ask questions
like „Are you bored” or „Is this book interesting” or „What is interesting for you?” And at
that time they had to stand up and ask each other, and act out some small dialogues. And
while they are speaking, I go around tol isten to them.

Zs: Do you think they like standing up and walking around?

A: Yes.

Zs: I’m sure they love it.

A:Or in the first grade I make some flashcards and sometimes I make them stand in a row
with one flashcard, and I say a new word, and the child who has the given word on his or her
flashcard has to step forward and then backward or has to squat or something like that.

Zs: It’s a very good idea.

A: Or I put the new words on the board and I tell them to close their eyes, and while they are
with closed eyes, i take off some pictures and they have to guess what is missing and say the
new word. O

Zs: I see that you prepare for your classes a lot. You make flashcards..

A: Some coursebooks have flashcards.

Zs: And what do you think about the practice of writing new vocabulary items down into the
personal dictionaries? Do you find it useful or do you think that there is no need to write new
words down?

A: I think it’s very useful, because when they write the new word, they practice the spelling
and they can see what is required from them to know.

Zs: Yes, it’s good to know the requirements, what one is supposed to know.

A: Yes. And if there are some evaluations, I can tell the students that you have to learn
everything from this word to this word. And it would be a very good practice, I learnt it:
writing down not only new words, but chunks. if we set aside one part of the dictionary for
writing down chunks.
Zs: And why not writing the chunks after the new words? I usually do this, but my experience
is that students don’t like that, it disturbs them. Since they are not accustomed to this practice,
they don’t like it.

A: Yes, the teacher told me that it is good to write words on one page and on another page the
chunks. But maybe you can write them one after the other.

Zs: I am asking, because according to some new research there is no need to write new words
down. I must say that I don’t agree with it. I think that we have to write down what we don’t
know.

A: Oh, they have to write in English. They have to take exams, especially nowadays. The
government gives us new tests. In the second and the eighth grade every evaluation is in the
written form. They have to write, and not only for the exams. They keep in touch with an
English person it’s quite disturbing if someone writes a letter with many spelling mistakes.

Zs: Yes, students should learn how to write properly.

Zs: And what do you think is the most effective way for teaching new words? Is there a magic
strategy like simplified texts? Do you read graded readers or simplified texts with your
students?

A: Yes, I think it’s a good method to read graded readers but I think that the master stroke is
repeating, repeating and repeating in different contexts. Using the new words in different
contexts. I think that’s the key.

Zs: Yes, I remember that you told it to me before, and I took your advice, I focus on revision
at the beginning of each classes. And how do you do this? How do you have students use the
new words in different contexts?

A: In games, and at the beginning of the lesson we can repeat a new words in sentences.

Zs: What games do you use? I remember you suggested me a very good one with a ball made
of small slices of paper and the students throwing the ball, taking one sheet of paper, reading
out the definition and telling the word.

A: Yes, that’s a good one, and that requires a lot of preparation. Yes, and I have just taught
the adjectives in a class, and he students had to throw a ball and say something about the
person who was catching the ball. So for example brown hair, blue eyes, long nose or white
mouth, or I don’t know, not sentences, because I teach young learners.

Zs: And how many new words do you teach during a class?

A: It depends on the children’s age again, so in the first grade we learn approximately five
new words, with fourth graders we can learn ten-fifteen new words, but not more. Fifteen is
the maximum for my groups.

Zs: Yes, that’s a lot for young learners. And how do you test children?

A: They have to.. sometimes they have to tell back some texts by heart, sometimes they have
to answer questions.

Zs: In written or in spoken form?

A: In speech.

Zs: Really?

A: Yes, for example yesterday with second graders I gave marks for asking and answering
each other. They worked in pairs and I walked around and I listened to them, and they were
very good.

Zs: So good, that’s the most important to ask and answer questions.

A: And, in written form too, I ususally prepare tests and vocabulary tests.

Zs: And do they always know about examinations?

A: Yes, I almost always say in advance.

Zs: And how important teaching and learning vocabary is in second language education? Is it
really important? What is more important grammar or vocabulary?

A: I think vocabulary is very important and grammar as well, because we have to use words,
because we cannot say our thoughts without words.

I think it is a very good method to learn new words and new structures acting out something.
roleplays, presentations.. ,so acting out is very good. Acting out twice, three times, and more
and more and more. And everybody learn the new structures, not only the words. Since we are
rehearsing the plays again and again, by the time we get to the day of the premiere, everyone
knows the whole play by heart.

Zs: Yes, and I know that you taught plays three of your classes for the Bartók nap and the
talent show.

A: Yes, at our school we usually organize some competitions. For example in the autumn
there is the poem competition and in spring there is a school-play competition for children.

Zs: Thank you very much for the interview and for your time.

A: You’re welcome.