How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary school effectively

How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary school effectively

How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary school effectively PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, English plays an important role in many fields In addition, the more developing society is, the more necessary English is Because English can help people master a language, they will own a great knowledge In order to carry out this, we have to learn vocabulary at first We imagine that without vocabulary, no language exists So vocabulary is a vital part in learning English How to help people in general and pupils at Primary School in particular learn and use vocabulary effectively is a difficult question At present, I am a teacher of Be Van Dan Primary School I am teaching pupils of grade I assume the responsibility for 4A, 4B, 4C, 4E Each class has different perception so I have to select the way of teaching vocabulary differently For weak pupils, I often translate new words directly In contrast, I usually let good pupils guess the meanings of words So it is essential to find out the most suitable way of teaching vocabulary in order to take advantage of pupils’ learning spirit To upgrade my teaching skills, I have chosen the subject “How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary School effectively” There are many studies relating to teaching and learning vocabulary in general However, my study is more specific It is my hope that the study will be more or less useful for those who are concerned Aims and objectives of study Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively My study concentrates on the way to improve learning vocabulary and how to teach vocabulary most effectively at Primary School Therefore, this study aims to: • Providing the theory on vocabulary • Finding the way of learning and teaching vocabulary • Finding out the real situation of teaching and learning vocabulary at Primary School • Giving some suggestions throughout games to improve learning vocabulary of pupil at Primary School Scope of study Vocabulary is a big part in each lesson because all four skills including reading, listening, writing, and speaking need vocabulary My topic only dealt with the problem “How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary school effectively” And I try my best to give the most suitable method of teaching vocabulary at Primary School in general and at Be Van Dan Primary School where I am working in particular The age – psychology and perception process Language is a system of grammar and vocabulary Learning a language knows the rules of that language Language is a set of habits which are practiced everyday Moreover, language is described as it is used in everyday life So learning vocabulary to children is very important Because a child is about six years old, he reaches a period when he has acquired complete understanding of everyday utterances and complete speech habits of the language The natural or direct language teaching method was worked out from this way of learning A lot of people think that English should be introduced to children at Primary school because everybody knows that it is Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively much easier to learn foreign language when he is young Children’s mind is ready to learn many things when learning the second language Because the perception process of each child is different, teaching method is not the same As a teacher, I will find out the most effective way to make them attractive Method of study In order to complete this study, I myself read and consult many books from many sources such as: from the library of the English Faculty, HN Open University, from my supervisor, and from my friends Moreover, I finish the survey questionnaires at Be Van Dan Primary School With the help of 130 pupils in grade four (4A, 4B, 4C, 4E), I find out the pupils’ attitude towards learning vocabulary This thing will help much more for my teaching later Due to my lack of knowledge and experience, mistakes are something unavoidable, so comments on this graduation paper will be useful for my teaching at Primary School Research question In order to achieve the aim of this study, I set up the following research question: “How to teach vocabulary to children at Primary School effectively” Design of the study The study is divided into chapters Part A: Introduction Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively • Introduction consists of rationale, aims and objects, scope, psychology-perception process, method, research question and design of the study Part B: Development • Chapter I : Literature review talk about background of English vocabulary • Chapter II: methodology, which revises some relevant literature feature of English vocabulary and the common tendency of learning English vocabulary at Primary School • Chapter III : Some useful suggestions to teach vocabulary to pupil at Primary School Part C: Conclusion PART B : DeVELOPMENT Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively Chapter I: Literature Review 1.1 Background information In this chapter, I will introduce three issues such as: the concept of vocabulary’s information, the way of giving a new word and how to check pupils’ vocabulary 1.1.1 What is vocabulary? According to the authors of Methodology Handbook, “Vocabulary is defined as a word simple enough to begin learning on the first day of a class and they are powerful enough to encourage communication from the very beginning words are small pieces of language which carry bits of meaning” Vocabulary can be defined; it is simply understood as words in a language However, vocabulary may be a single word (cat, read) but it may be more than a single word, for example, “father-in-law or mother-in-law”, which are made up of two or more words but express a single idea There are also multi-word idioms such as “bread and butcher” It means that the meaning of the phrase can not be inferred from component’s word In fact, it is extremely difficult to give an exact definition of vocabulary because there are many different definitions of vocabulary So, the definitions above are only general concepts in relation to vocabulary 1.1.2 The importance of teaching English vocabulary at Primary School At present, I am teaching English vocabulary at Be Van Dan Primary School, so my goal is finding out how to teach English vocabulary to my pupils effectively I am conscious that teaching and learning vocabulary is one of the most important parts in English because there are many different ways to teach vocabulary Teaching vocabulary is a complex process and it consists of many steps, and aspects Vocabulary helps pupils express what they want Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively to talk It makes pupils communicate more easily If pupil knows how to arrange vocabulary together to make sentences, conversations, they will feel confident and will develop speaking ability as well as their vocabulary In a book written by Mr Dang Ngoc Huong, it is assumed that when using a course book or any source of teaching materials, many teachers think that every new word has been selected carefully by the course designer or writers by certain principles One of the tasks of the teacher when teaching vocabulary is the selecting the right vocabulary the pupil need Therefore, vocabulary must be concerned in teaching English at Primary School 1.1.3 What need to be taught? 1.1.3.1 Form: pronunciation and spelling The learner has to know that pronunciation and spelling is very important when teaching vocabulary When we teach a new word, pupils must imitate our pronunciation and spelling For this reason, we need to make sure that both these aspects are accurately presented 1.1.3 Grammar Teaching grammar to pupils is not less important than teaching vocabulary Because words never stand alone, they are used in the sentence So when presenting an item of vocabulary the teacher should provide pupils with necessary information about the word in grammar terms For example, when teaching an adjective, we may present our pupils that an adjective adding “ly” to an adjective will turn the adjective unit an adverb (careful → carefully) 1.1.3.3 Collocation As teachers, we have to remind words with another in a given context such as “decision and conclusion” There are two ways to express these words “to Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively make a decision” but “to come to a conclusion” In order to master the collocations of words, both teachers and pupils need to consult dictionaries 1.1.3.4 Meaning When running into a new word, the meaning of the word is the first thing which we know Moreover the meaning of word is a large area for us to explore The meaning of a word is primarily what it refers to in the real life Commonly, we find the meaning of a word in dictionary (its denotation) but in fact, having many words not express exactly we can only find its equivalent in meaning in Vietnamese (connotation) The association is the positive or negative attitude and feelings For example, most British people understand the word “boy friend” a normal friend but in Vietnam, when we talk about this most people think “darling” So it is difficult for teachers to express the meaning of the word effectively because our teaching object is children at Primary School 1.1.3.5 Word – formation Vocabulary items consist of components and parts which can separate so it is important how to make these parts become a piece of useful information We usually teach the common prefixes such as dis -, un -, im….to change the meaning of the word and suffixes such as: -ful, -able … to change the part of speech But our teaching object is children, perception process is low, we should give a suitable word If we so, our pupil will understand vocabulary well 1.1.3.6 Active and passive vocabulary As teachers, we need to distinguish between active and passive vocabulary in order that pupils understand and use them effectively A passive word is one Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively in the passive vocabulary Passive word is extremely useful of reading and listening skills But an active word is one which pupil can both understand and use in communication An active vocabulary word is extremely useful for speaking and writing A teacher should let pupils understand words in reading and listening before they can use those same words in speaking and writing When teaching, it is the best way for pupils to recognize words For example: Li Li and her friends are at the circus now They like the animals very much Li Li likes monkeys because they can swing Alan likes tigers because they can jump Peter likes bears because they can climb Nam likes elephants because they can dance This text is quoted from text book of English 4, unit 10: At the Circus: Section B: Read and answer It is clear for us that the new words which need to be taught are (to) swing monkeys (n) (to) jump tigers (n) (to) climb bears (n) (to) dance elephants (n) 1.2 How to teach vocabulary There are many methods that can help pupils approach vocabulary For example, translating is one way to communicate the meaning of words Before our pupils read a text or a paragraph, should we teach them the meaning of words they not know? And how can we teach pupils new words to help them remember what they have learned? This question will be answered in chapter II 1.2.1 The different steps of teaching vocabulary at primary school Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 1.2.1.1 Presentation Presentation seems to be the most important stage in the process of teaching vocabulary Because when we prepare to give a new word, we have to think twice We sure that given new words may be easiest Like this, pupils will feel attracted into our lecture In addition, the teacher should use attached techniques in order to get the best result 1.2.1.2 Some techniques to help children understand the meaning of words If we not want our pupil have passive thinking, we should find out another way to express the meaning of words instead of using dictionary Below is a list of techniques for showing vocabulary 1.2.1.2.1 Define We can use a different word, words or a definition in order to explain a word Examples: A girl is a female child Tabasco is a kind of sauce that mother often cooks 1.2.1.2.2 Drawing When we run into difficult vocabulary to explain, we can draw a picture of some words on the blackboard If we so, pupils will understand the meaning of words quickly Examples: To express the weather phenomena such storm, flood, rain, sunny we use color chalk to draw these phenomenon’s Another example is body parts such as nose, mouth, and eye, leg……or prepositions of location such as under, beside, above 1.2.1.2.3 Regalia or Objects We can give a series of real objects to class if we teach nouns There are many semantic nouns in English When we teach vocabulary to pupil by giving real objects, they are not only seeing but also holding Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively Examples: Fruit such as orange, apple, banana, Clothing such as hat, shirt, troubles 1.2.1.2.4 Pictures If is easy for us to teach vocabulary when using photographs or paintings we can indicate may kinds of words Examples: Photograph form newspapers, magazines Photographs about culture, sport 1.2.1.2.5 Mine (gesture) We can use body language or gestures in order to demonstrate the meaning of words Examples: Home activities such as sleeping, eating, showering School activities such as listening, reading, writing Sports such as tennis, football, volleyball Art such as dance 1.2.1.2.6 Opposites If the pupils don’t know a new word but they know the opposite, we can give them the antonym Examples: Color words: white (black) Size words: tall (short) fat (thin) Time words: morning (evening) sunset (sunrise) 1.2.1.2.7 Translation Sometimes, the lesson is too long; we have to save time to teach grammar so the teacher should give a similar word in the first language Examples: Bring Beautiful mang xinh 1.2.1.2.8 Using the dictionary Trần Phương Mai – K11 10 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively The pupils will find this play interesting and relax after learning vocabulary 3.3.11 Write the missing words • The teacher lets the pupils play this game; to them remember vocabulary more easily 3.3.12 Network • This game will be played in pairs Trần Phương Mai – K11 30 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively • The teacher will give the subject and write it on the blackboard • The pupil comes to the blackboard and writes some words which they know about that subject For example: Talk about favorite food and drink Bean Fish Rice Chicken Water DRINK FOOD Bread Orange juice Meat Lemon juice Coke 3.3.13 Role play • Role play is a spontaneous conversation between two pupils who are imagining they are other pupils or imagining they are in a different situation • Role play is generally used for free speaking practice • The pupils want to have role play, they have to remember vocabulary • The teacher gives puppets in stead of personality in conversation • The pupils come to the blackboard and role play following the puppets • This activity will offer opportunities for free use language Moreover, this activity makes the pupils feel confident in front of class The pupils will benefit from it when they come to secondary school Trần Phương Mai – K11 31 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 3.3.14 Quiz She works in a school What is her job? He works in a factory What is his job? They work in a hospital What are their jobs? He designs houses What is his job? She studies in a library What is her job? 3.4 Some suggested types of exercise help the pupils learn vocabulary After teaching grammar and vocabulary, exercise is a full part in learning and teaching process specially checking pupil’s vocabulary The pupils will get acquainted with different exercise They help pupil practice not only four skills such as listening, speaking, writing, reading but also help the pupils have thoughtful mind Trần Phương Mai – K11 32 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 3.4.1 Circle the odd one out May Birthday In December He April June When On Mai How It For Member She What October Your November You 3.4.2 Reorder the words to make sentences are how you? you old how are? is your birthday when? where from you are? name is your what? what job her is? an would like you apple? would what you like? would banana a I like? 10 ice this cream for is you 3.4.3 Let’ s match English Vietnamese January T12 February T1 March T11 Trần Phương Mai – K11 33 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively April T2 May T10 June T8 July T4 August T9 September T6 October T5 November T3 December T7 • Another example A B The maps are… a… our notebooks Phong can… b….Maths and Art today Those are… c….a TV near the window I have… d….speak English There… e…on the shelf 3.4.4 Complete the dialogue July where when England ten how A: Tony, (1) _are you from? B: I am from (2) _ A: (3) old are you? B: I am (4) A: (5) _is your birthday? Trần Phương Mai – K11 34 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively B: It’s in (6) 3.4.5 Complete the sentences and read aloud _ese are our school b_gs ose are our m_ps is my pencil bo_ It is on the table I have si_ notebooks ey are in the school b_g A: Do you have toys? B: Yes, I have a ip The_se are my books They are on the book ef A: What subject s you have today? B: I have Engli and Vietnamese 3.4.6 Reorder the sentences to make a dialogue Yes, of course, it is my favorite subject Hello, Peter Do you have Music today? Yes, I Do you like it? Hi, Lili Why you like it? Because I like songs very much 3.4.7 Choose the right words to fill in the blanks How many _do you have today? (subject/subjects) I have Maths Monday and Frday (at/on) _do you during Maths lesson? (when/what) Trần Phương Mai – K11 35 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively In Vietnam, we not go to school on (Sunday/Monday) During lesson I learn to sing song (Art/Music) Linda Science the most (like/likes) I like Maths because the lessons are interesting and I learn about (numbers/animals) 3.4.8 Write the answers Where Do You Go? You want to buy some books I go to the bookshop You want to buy some stamps You want to some shopping You want to eat You want see the animals _ Trần Phương Mai – K11 36 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 3.4.9 Read and check true (T) or false (F) This is Peter He is my friend That is his room It is big There is a table and there are four chairs in the room These are his book and notebooks They are on the table Those are his toys They are on the shelf The table is near the window and the shelf is on the wall T F Peter has a big room There is one table in the room His books are on the shelf He has no toys in the room His shelf is near the window 3.4.10 Read and complete My name is Linda I am from England This is my school timetable We go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday My favorite subject in school is Music During Music lessons, we sing songs I not like Saturday and Sunday because I not go to school Her name is…………… She is from…………… She has classes on…………… Her favorite subject is…………… She does not go to school on…………… 3.4.11 Write about your day, using the words in the box (father’ s day, mother’ s day) Get up Has breakfast Goes to work Works from …to… Trần Phương Mai – K11 Arrives home from work Has dinner Read a newspaper Goes to bed 37 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 3.4.12 Write questions to the answers: A: What is his name? B: His name is Long A:……………………? B: He is a student A:…………………… ? B: He goes to school at o’ clock A:……………………….? B: He has lunch at 11.30am 5: A:…………………………? B: He often plays table tennis at 4.30pm 6: A:………………………….? B: He learns his lessons from 8.00pm 7: A:………………………….? B: He goes to bed at 10 o’clock 3.4.13: Read and complete the table I am Linda I live with my family in London I like bread with beef Milk is my favorite drink But my brother John likes chicken Coke is his favorite drink My dad and mum like fish very much They like coffee It is their favorite drink Linda John Dad and Mum Favorite food Bread, beef (2) (4) Favorite drink (1) (3) (5) 3.4.14 Read and answer the questions LiLi and Mai are in a clothing store LiLi wants a pair of blue shorts for her brother Mai wants a shirt She likes a red skirt because she has a white Tshirt to go with it A pair of shorts is 35.000 dong The skirt is 20.000 dong Trần Phương Mai – K11 38 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively Who are in the clothing store? What does LiLi want? What does Mai want? How much is a pair of shorts? How much is the red skirt? 3.4.15 Put the words in the right columns English twelve ruler Science Ten Art map Maths Seventeen notebook eleven pencils School subjects English Trần Phương Mai – K11 School objects ruler Numbers twelve 39 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION The aim of the study to is appreciate the attitude of the pupils toward learning vocabulary as well as the teaching method of the teacher at Primary School in general and Be Van Dan Primary School in particular Throughout my study, It can be seen that, vocabulary plays a very important role in learning and teaching English Without vocabulary no language exists Despite different ways of understanding vocabulary, I have mentioned the definition, the importance, and the aims of teaching and learning vocabulary This paper also emphasized the different stages in the process of teaching vocabulary such as: the techniques for understanding, the meaning of words, and the techniques for checking vocabulary as well as giving the kinds of practicing In chapter III, with the help of the pupil at Be Van Dan Primary School, I completed the survey questionnaires adequately and exactly The analysis of the study has disclosed the situation and common tendency of teaching and learning vocabulary at Be Van Dan Primary School There are many good points but there are also some problems which need changing in the way of teaching vocabulary in order to have the best result Finally, in chapter III, some techniques and games have been suggested in learning and checking vocabulary We should use real objects, facts, pictures, maps, posters, etc.To present these techniques in this chapter with the hope that they can help teachers in their methods of teaching vocabulary in order to attract pupils’ interest in learning English at Primary School as well Once again, I would like to express my acknowledgement to everybody who has contributed to this study successfully RERFERENCES Trần Phương Mai – K11 40 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively §Ỉng Ngäc Híng (1998) An English Teaching Guide for Vietnamese Teacher HN Open University Ron Forseth (1994) Methodology Handbook English Language Institute America LêVăn Sự (2005) English Methodology Nhà xuất VHTT Nguyễn Quốc Hùng M.A (2004) Kỹ Thuật Dạy Tiếng Anh Tủ sách Viện Đại Học Më David Nunan (1986) Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom 6.Shelagh Rixon (1981) How to Use Game in Language Teaching Modern English Publications Let’s Learn English Book two student book Nhà xuất Giáo Dục Đặng Ngọc Hớng and Phan Văn Quế (1994).A Training Coure for students and Teaching of English Nhà xuất Hà Nội Barry Sesnan ( 1997) How to Teach English Oxford University Press 10 Early Words (1980) A Vocabulary Book for Middle Primary School Department of Western Australia 11 Alan Maley (2006) Asian Poems for young Readers Longman 12 Michael MC Carthy (1995) English Vocabulary in Use Cambridge University Press 13 B.I Thomas (1997) Elementary Vocabulary Nhà xuất TPHCM 14 Nguyễn Thanh Yến ( 1997) Word Information Nhà xuất TPHCM 15 Peter Strevens (2005) New Orientations in the Teaching of English Oxford University Press 16 Dawson, C (1984) Teach English as a Foreign Language 17 H Douglas Brown (2005) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Trần Phương Mai – K11 41 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 18 Billows, F.L (1997) The techniques of Language Teaching 19 Web links : http: // www.englishclub.com APPENDIX I SERVEY QUESTIONNAIRES Do you like learning English vocabulary? Trần Phương Mai – K11 42 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively A Yes, I I am interested in learning vocabulary B Yes, I C No, I don’t D No, I really don’t vocabulary How many words does your teacher teach you each lesson? A to C over B to How many words you want teacher teach each lesson? A to C to B to D over Which techniques does your teacher use for introducing new word? A Objects B Mine C Explanation D Example E Translation F Guess H Others ways Which techniques you like the most? A Visuals aid B Mine C Realia D Example E Synonym/Antonym F Translation How often does your teacher change the way of teaching vocabulary? A Often B Sometimes Trần Phương Mai – K11 43 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively C Rarely D Never Do you want your teacher change the way of teaching vocabulary? A Yes, I B No, I don’t Do you like game? A Yes, I B No, I don’t Which the following games you like the most? A Bingo B Hangman C Crossword D Rub out and Remember E Slap the Board F Lucky Number 10 Which of the following games you often play when learning? A Hangman B Crossword C Noughts and Crosses D Words square E Picture Drill F Other games 11 Which of the following techniques for presenting new words you like? A Visuals aid B Mine C Realia D Translation E Example Trần Phương Mai – K11 44 .. .How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively My study concentrates on the way to improve learning vocabulary and how to teach vocabulary most effectively at Primary School. .. Translation E Example Trần Phương Mai – K11 44 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively F Situation DECLARATION Trần Phương Mai – K11 45 How to teach vocabulary to children. .. different steps of teaching vocabulary at primary school Trần Phương Mai – K11 How to teach vocabulary to children at primary school effectively 1.2.1.1 Presentation Presentation seems to be the most