TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE THROUGH VOCABULARY METHODS AND ACTIVITIES
Shakhribonu Akmalovna Abduvokhidova
Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Language
Mohina Shuhratjonovna Murtazoyeva
Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Language
ABSTRACT
The aim of this article is to present main streams in vocabulary teaching approaches and their influence on pupils' acquisition. By linguistic researches vs. communicative approach I summarized and tried to show how to make profit out of both to get the best possible result. The measurable result in this case is acquired knowledge in the sphere of learning English language through the vocabulary to students. The first part of the article concerns the backgrounds of methods and their characteristics. It also devoted in general principles of vocabulary learning process. The second part of the following article is based on practical work plans and vocabulary games within a classroom. It consists of different lesson strategies and game types which can get profitable results in process of acknowledgment of new language like English.
Keywords: teaching vocabulary, learners, pupils, vocabulary activities, new words games, linguistic researches new words, words association, memory game, miming, crime and punishment game, guessing the tool.
INTRODUCTION
English as the foreign language Brown (1995:1) described vocabulary as a list or a set of words for particular language. Vocabulary as the basic component of language has an important role in teaching English. Mc Charty (in Rully, 2009) states that learning a language without vocabulary may result a meaningless way in some communication. It shows that vocabulary has an important role in communication both in written and oral. On the other word, vocabulary is also important as the building blocks of the four language skills: writing, speaking, listening, and reading. (Schmiit and McCharty, 1997, p.6). [1]
METHODOLOGY
The following article demonstrates and acknowledges the variety of techniques of learning and teaching English language to foreign learners by games. Teachers and students come across with a numerous techniques which depend on vocabulary presentation. However the most important feature that have to be remembered irrespective of the way new lexical items are presented. The significant necessity in direction of acknowledging new words demands learners to know the usage of new vocabulary in context, requires to be practiced and then revised to prevent students from forgetting. Teachers should distribute the word's definition in a «memorable way» and make sure students have understood the new words, which will be remembered. As in Swan and Walter said: "Vocabulary acquisition is the largest and most important task facing the language learner." (Swan and Walter 1984) [2]
Learning vocabulary for young learners is important for some reasons, such as learners will know and understand the vocabularies in foreign language, learners can make a simple sentence, and communicate with others both in spoken and written. Zebrowska (1975:452) rightly says, "Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of visual aids". Pictures can also be used in printable worksheets and flashcards, where pictures are matched to the word they represent. [3]
Using pictures can be used to develop students' understanding of a particular concept or word. There are some good picture dictionaries available at a bookstore. Teacher should make use of such dictionaries. For instance, using a picture of a "fish", words related to the fish, such as gills, eyes, backbone, cold-blooded, water, big, small etc. can be taught.
RESULTS
Using drawings It is an easy and quick technique of introducing vocabulary to the learners. For students, drawing can be a fun medium to explain vocabulary. It is not necessary that teacher must be an expert in drawing pictures accurately. He can draw rough sketches to make an idea clear. Basic sketches will often work well. You can even have students do their own drawings, which further reinforces their understanding of the vocabulary. Drawings can be used to explain the meaning of things, actions, qualities, and relations.
Using flashcards this is the other way to convey the word form and its meaning through cards within pictures or words which is made by the teacher. [8]
Techniques of practice
This techniques involve classroom review of the previously introduced vocabulary as well as homework. This kind of practice, as implied by Thornburry underlines the belief that practice makes perfect. The techniques are including:
1. Vocabulary games. This technique has shown the advantages in learning vocabulary in various ways. First, games are fun for the learners and help them in retaining the words easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested and enjoyed. [7]
2. Repetition Drill. Students repeat what the teacher utters as quickly as possible and the teachers are not allowed to do mistakes because the teacher is a model or example for the students.[4]
Techniques of training
The purpose of these techniques is to teach the learners for independent vocabulary learning like dictionary use and asking for others.
1. The use of dictionary. It is an important tool in the teaching and learning of vocabulary. Teacher should encourage students to search words in dictionaries. Therefore, the habit of its use should be inculcated right from the beginning.
2. Asking for others. This technique means the learner are grouped by the teacher in order to they could work on a task together. [5]
Vocabulary games are important ways to increase the vocabulary resources. The definition of game is an activity that you do to have some fun. Games can make the students more focus in learning, because they do not feel that they are forced to learn. Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely. They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinion and feelings. They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Games can be media that will give many advantages for teacher and the students as well. The use of games attract the student to learn English because it is fun and make them want to have experiment, discover and interact with their environment. Some experts have also figured out characteristics of games that make vocabulary learning more effectively. The use of games in teaching vocabulary is a way to make the lessons more interesting, enjoyable and effective [6].
Word association- in this type of game pupils should use vocabulary recourses in categories that they know very well. One of the pupils says a word from the category, than the next pupil must immediately guess another word from the category. The next student continues with another word and so on around the class. As an example we can choose the word category Family.
Pupil 1: father Pupil 2: relationship Pupil 3: motherhood Pupil 4: clause family Student 5: grandparents
The pupil that could not immediately guess the appropriate word that is from the choosen category should be dropped out of the game. Then who left at the end of the game will be the winner.
Memory game - students memorizing will be checked by addition off word or phrase to the chosen sentence who forgot mixed the words order or made mistake will be dropped out and at last who left will be the winner. ,
Pupil 1: I went to the library.
Pupil 2: I went to the library and took some books.
Pupil 3: I went to the library and took some books and began writing my course paper.
This game may be exploited while working with words related to any topic.
DISCUSSION
Miming - in this game the mimic and the body language will be used actively. This kind of activity leads pupil to work with word formation and speaking naturally, guessing the word or phrase that is shown by the other pupil with mimic and gestures. This kind of guessing game can provide further practice of a wider variety of lexical and grammatical units, such as those related to occupations. One student chooses an animal and mimes a typical action that it involves. The others try to guess the animal by asking either about the action or the animal. The student miming provides only nonverbal clues to help the rest of the class guess what the animal is.
Crime and punishment This type of activity is a group work so the class will be divided into two parts the Crime and the Punishment. The Crime group will imagine any kind of crime and the next group will guess the punishment this judgment. Finally the whole text with crime and punishments will be read to the auditory. This game helps student to imagine their selves in the English speaking background. This actions help students in automatically adaptation in the new atmosphere.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, Vocabulary is an important part of every subject; there are always words that students need to learn in order to better understand the concepts being taught. Unfortunately, many students struggle to remember what unfamiliar vocabulary words mean, or feel intimidated by the idea of simply memorizing definitions.[9] In direction of studying English as a second language, vocabulary
learning process plays a dominant role. Vocabulary skills are supposed to be the best effective communicative device as it is in the highest level of importance among people's verbal interaction. Methods and styles of teaching and learning English vocabulary through games and activities which draws the students and learners interest by using pictures, drawings, flashcards, diagrams, videos and audios during the lesson helps teacher feel the progress in learners' knowledge. However, all around the world students who learn foreign languages feel difficulties in process of learning and acknowledgement of new words, the following article demonstrates a range number of methods and game activities such as using pictures, drawings, and flashcards for beginners and techniques of training, techniques of practice are used for learning and acknowledgment process of students. As the article highlights numerous interactive activities namely word association, memory game, miming, crime and punishment helps to learn students mental interests and enjoyment from the given tasks and motivation after every successfully learned topic or only word.
REFERENCES
1. Gerlach. (2006). At the Chalk Face, Practical Techniques in Language Teaching. Ltd. Hong Kong Nelson.
2. Longman. Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd edition). New
3. Hiebert, E. H. and Kamil, M. L. (2005). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
4. Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
5. Rahmadhani, A. P. (2015). Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary to Young