(SKKN 2022) suggested activities for teaching and learning english collocations at yen dinh1 high school

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HÓA TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN ĐỊNH SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS AT YEN DINH HIGH SCHOOL Người thực hiện: Lê Thị Huyền Chức vụ: Giáo viên SKKN thuộc mơn: Tiếng Anh THANH HĨA, NĂM 2022 INDEX TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.2 Reasons for choosing the research 1.2Aims of the research 1.3 Objects and methods of the study 1.3.1 Objects of the study 1.3.2 Methods of the study MAIN CONTENT 2.1.Theoretic basis of the problem 2.2.Realistic basic of the problem 2.3.Solutions to the problem 2.3.1 General introduction of collocations 2.3.1.1 What is a collocation? 2.3.1.2 Types collocations 2.3.1.3 Some common collocations 2.3.2 Common way of approaching teaching and learning collocations 2.3.2.1.How should we approach collocations in classes? 2.3.2.2.How should students Learn collocations? 2.3.3 Suggested activities for teaching and learning collocations at high schools 2.3.3.1 Gap-fill activities 2.3.3.2 Odd one out 2.3.3.3 Bingo games 2.3.3.4 Matching games 2.3.3.5 Using flash cards 2.3.4 Some exercises on common collocations that might appear in the English exam 2.4 Result after applying the research in teaching CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 3.1 General overview and enhancement of the study 3.2 Recommendations REFERENCES PAGE 1 1 2 2 4 6 6 7 9 10 14 15 15 16 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for choosing the research Currently, English is the most widely spoken language in the world and it is also the popular foreign language in Vietnam Therefore, being fluent in English will be a great advantage for job application as well as grasping many start-up opportunities from today's global integration To keep up with this common progress, teaching and learning English has been paid special attention by the Ministry of Education and Training Especially the introduction of the 2020 foreign language project has put more emphasis on teaching and learning foreign languages in a communicative way that requires each student at High schools to have a certain level of English for a basic communication Among the difficulties that learners face when learning English, Vocabulary is really a big challenge With the expansion of the size of vocabulary, many problems arise concerning the proper use of a word in context, among which is collocations Every language has thousands of collocations But how we know which ones are the most commonly used and most useful for learners? And how can we discover the sorts of problems learners experience with collocations? Collocations are extremely useful for the language learners to be aware of and begin using when developing their second language An advantage of teaching collocations in the language classroom is that it can assist learners in their GCSE, English exams for gifted students or for those who desire to get an IELTS certificate This field is not only difficult for students but sometimes for teachers as well Therefore, it is really necessary to have some useful ways to help our students approach and master this challenging scope of vocabulary learning All the reasons mentioned above inspire me to a research on this topic 1.2 Aim of the Study As mentioned above, collocation is a big obstacle for English learners Collocations are abstract, they normally have no explanation, and the list is endless This can be confusing and frustrating for students When writing, or when doing a Use of English task, many students ask why some of their answers were wrong Unfortunately, many times the teacher will only be able to say because that’s HOW IT IS USED It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.Therefore, this study is devoted to defining the concept of collocation, providing some common collocations, proposing some helful activities for teaching and learning collocations and fnally providing students with some exercises containing common collocations that might appear in the English exam for the GCSE 1.3 Objects and methods of the study 1.3.1 Objects of the study - Common collocations in everyday life - Collocations in English textbooks - Collocations in some English materials for GCSE 1.3.2 Methods of the study Multi-methods are integrated to conduct this research, including mainly methods of observation and analysis Beside, the research is undertaken as a result of the reality of the long-time process of my daily teaching at school MAIN CONTENT 2.1.Theoretic basis of the problem Collocation has been proven to be an important constituent of language learners’ linguistic competence It is also said that collocational competence is a central component of native speakers’ communicative competence and a very important factor that helps distinguish between native speakers and foreign language learners (Bazzaz & Samad, 2011: 378) This collocational competence enables native speakers to intuitively know which words can be combined to produce natural-sounding speech and which words cannot, whereas learners of English often fail to combine words naturally since they have less exposure to the language learned and just occasionally use it Further, McCarthy (1990) and McArthur (1992) consider that lack of collocational knowledge is the most important sign of foreignness among foreign language learners This lack of collocation competence is also considered as the cause of more grammatical errors (Avci, 2006: 28) The errors in collocation are even considered more disruptive to the communication than most grammar errors (Smith, 2005: 17) In short, lack of collocational competence suggests low level of the leaners’ language development more exciting Work on the practical issue of ways to teach collocation is still little though such work will certainly bring more benefits to the learners and yield more useful information to teachers and teaching practitioners This literature study attempts to address and shed light on the issue 2.2 Realistic basic of the problem Currently my students stay at elementary level and they often find it dificult to use collocations Collocations not seem to follow any rules nor have any reason behind their existence In addtion, first language transfer is when similarities in a student’s first language interfered with their learning of a second language Furthermore, there are a huge number of collocations in English that makes it difficult for students to remember Learning vocabulary is bad enough but adding in the fact that certain words are used together adds another dimension to learning the words of a language As a rusult, students often make serious mistakes in using fixed phrases when doing English tests As teachers, to help our students overcome the above-mentioned problems we need to design instruction to focus on what they need That is, our instruction should help learners avoid incongruity while assisting their fluency in production At this point, it would be useful to present the rationale and activities that incorporate teaching collocation into our lessons, all designed to help our students develop collocational competence In the school year of 2020-2021, before applying the study, I gave students somes exercises related to the use of English collocations: For example: Choose the best answer for each of the following sentences If you are not too tired we could have a of tennis after lunch A match B play C game D party They’re staying in rented accommodation for the time A going B making C doing D being She _ a look at Alan when he made a mistake in class A takes B makes C has D gets Entering the meeting late, he tried to ……… an excuse, still, the strict chairman of the board told him to leave the room A make B C give D have .………… rain during the night will occur in my country today A Much B Strong C Heavy D Heavily There are people who cannot ……a secret, either of their own or of others’ A get B remain C keep D take I think I ………… a cold A gain B obtain C have got D eat The new law will ……… effect in six months A have B give C take D bring As estimated in the report, the storm ……… great damage to not only the coastal cities but the mountainous areas as well A make B cause C lead D bring 10 There are people who cannot ……a secret, either of their own or of others’ A get B remain C keep D take Here is the results Class The Score (%) number of 3-