In my opinion, teaching vocabulary collocation is one of the important ways to help stusents to study well because the students tend to learn vocabulary with [r]
(1)SangKienKinhNghiem.org
Tổng Hợp Hơn 1000 Sáng Kiến Kinh Nghiệm Chuẩn
SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC
SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI
Đơn vị TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG TRẤN BIÊN
Mã số:
SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM
DẠY TỪ VỰNG THÔNG QUA SỰ KẾT HỢP
GIỮA CÁC TỪ
Người thực hiện: VŨ NGUYỄN MINH NGỌC Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu:
Quản lý giáo dục
Phương pháp dạy học môn: Anh văn
Phương pháp giáo dục
Lĩnh vực khác:
Có đính kèm:
Mơ hình Phần mềm Phim ảnh Hiện vật khác
(2)SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC
I THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN
1 Họ tên: VŨ NGUYỄN MINH NGỌC Ngày tháng năm sinh: 29- 12-1975 Nam, nữ: Nữ
4 Địa chỉ: 506 A2 Chung Cư Nguyễn Văn Trỗi - Quang Vinh – Biên Hòa Điện thoại: 061.3826698 (CQ)/ (NR); ĐTDĐ: Fax: E-mail: info@123doc.org
7 Chức vụ: Giáo viên
8 Đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Trấn Biên
II TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO
- Học vị (hoặc trình độ chun mơn, nghiệp vụ) cao nhất: cử nhân Anh văn - Năm nhận bằng: 1998
- Chuyên ngành đào tạo: Sư phạm khoa Anh văn
III.KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC
- Lĩnh vực chun mơn có kinh nghiệm: mơn Tiếng Anh - Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 12
(3)INTRODUCTION
Nowadays English has become important and necessary to study A lot of Vietnamese people use it as a tool to communicate at work, on business and in many fields Many new methods have been applied to teach English Although it is a compulsory subject most of the students don’t study well One of the main causes is their incomplete awareness of the purpose of learning English.Many teachers have been teaching words in isolation with synonyms, antonyms or word family and give Vietnamese equivalents without providing students with any other contexts Vocabulary is essential element in conveying information is taught and learned cursorily In order to master a language we have to understand and speak it fluently, but we don’t know how to use new words Therefore, motivating students to learn English is necessary I think there are a lot of wayso vocabulary as Teaching vocabulary is one of the ways to help them learn better However, there are a lot of ways to teach vocabulary such as: root; prefix and suffix; synonyms and antonyms; phrasal verbs; collocation; pictures, flashcards, objects etc In my opinion, teaching vocabulary collocation is one of the important ways to help stusents to study well because the students tend to learn vocabulary with word by word and understand the meaning of each word They don’t know that it is impossible to read a text as a whole in this way As a result, they often have trouble in reading For this reason, I would like introduce teaching vocabulary collocation to my students
(4)What is collocation?
Collocations are combinations of words which are used together If we want to use a word naturally, we need to learn the other words that often go with it This can be different from language to language For example, in English we say:
I missed the bus.(= I didn’t catch the bus) ( NOT I lost the bus)
He had to go to hospital; it’s a serious injury (= a bad injury) ( NOT a grave injury) There are a few ways collocations are used in
Verb + Noun
The meaning of many of these examples may be clear, but did you know these verbs and nouns go together? Are they the same or different in your language?
start a car (= turn on the engine)
a family (= think about having a first child) tell a story
a joke (= a funny story)
miss a person (= be happy because a particular person is not there)
a lesson (= not go to a lesson)
get on a bus (opp get off a bus) waste time / money (= use it badly)
Adjective + Noun
(5)voice ( opp a loud voice) wine (opp sweet wine) dry weather (opp wet weather) rain (= raining a lot)
heavy traffic (= a lot of cars on the road) smoker (= a person who smokes a lot) a great success (= very successful)
time ( = an enjoyable time)
hard work (= difficult physically or mentally) a hard question ( = difficult to answer)
Examples:
The conference hard work but every said it was a great success.
Threre was heavy traffic in the city center because of the wet weather. We had a great time in Brazil – the beaches are fantastic
Adverb + Adjective
The underlined adverbs in 1-3 mean “very”, the adverbs in 4-5 mean “fully/ completely” In each case, we often use these adverbs with the adjectives that follow them Notice also the phrases in bold
1 I’m terribly sorry to bother you (= to disturb you), but is Steven there? She is well aware of the problem (= she knows all about the problem)
3 It is vitally important to make a note of common collocations in your notebook
4 He’s fast asleep (= in a deep sleep)
(6)Noun + Noun
package holiday
Verb + Adjective + Noun
have a great time
Verb + Adverb
discuss calmly
Verb + Preposition + Noun
hand in an assignment
How can I help my students with collocations?
I argue that students at every level need to be aware of the importance of collocation I believe that collocation can be used not only to help learners understand and manage lexis but also to communicate ideas more effectively
For example, there is the difference in meaning between “glance” and “glimpse”. After some contexts in which these words might be used, we produced the following :
glance She glanced at her watch
Glimpse
He had glimlsed her through the window as he passed
I only had time to
glance at the newspapers
I glimpsed a car as it drove past
(7)light green / dark green light suitcase / heavy suitcase
You can give you alternative ways of saying something, which may be more colourful or more precise For example, instead of repeating it was very cold and very dark, we can say it was bitterly cold and pitch dark.Collocations can improve your style in writing: instead of saying poverty causes crime, you can say poverty breeds crime; instead of saying big meal you can say a substantial meal.
H.Long and C.Richards (2001) mentioned that another advantage of learning
collocations is to help the learners express themselves more fluently than learning individual words When learners memorize vocabulary as chunks instead of isolated words, they can produce language faster and more fluently because they don’t need to think about the individual words but they can produce the chunks as an item For example, learners will speak “ Please close the window”; “ Can I have the bill, please?”; “ Pleased to meet you.” faster and more fluently when learn the whole chunk than learning the individual words as close, window, please
Lewis (2000) states that knowing a word includes knowing its collocations It means that, in any collocations, one word will “call up” another word in the mind of the native speakers In other words, the learners can predict the other word when they hear one word with the various degrees of success That helps the learners understand more deeply what the native speakers spoke and be more understood by the native speakers
Types of Collocation
1 De-lexicalised Verbs
De-lexicalised verbs (get, have, make, do, put, take) are important when teaching collocation although they may have a basic meaning (make = create/manufacture, have = own/possess), they are more commonly used in combinations with nouns or other words as a chunk of meaning:
Examples:
make a mistake do your homework take an exam
In my experience, a lot of mistakes in collocations are made with de-lexicalised verbs, probably due to leanrer language interference
2 Nouns
(8)key word because the majority of general nouns usually require further qualification:
Examples:
Good / well-paid / menial / boring / full-time job Package / luxury / expensive / cheap / good
Nouns are also important because they are usually the words that carry the most meaning within a sentence
Strong/ Weak and Frequent/ Infrequent Collocations
There is also a difference between strong/weak and frequent/infrequent collocations A collocation that is frequent (e.g a warm day) is not necessarily strong, as either word in the partnership suggests a number of other collocates:
sweater Bad blanket wedding (a)
warm
smile (a) Sunny day
hug Rainy
breeze glorious
In the same way, a particularly strong collocation may be used very infrequently (e.g bat your eyelashes) The most useful combination for teaching purposes, then, seems to be a combination of strong (but not completely fixed) and frequent
A strong/infrequent collocation may be worth mentioning to draw the learners’ attention to its existence, but little, if any, class time would need to be spent on collocations at the weak/infrequent end of the spectrum
(9)take a
put (yourself) at run the Risk
With the second two verbs in this example, the unpredictability of the combination is also a factor Most learners at intermediate level or above would be familiar with all three of the verbs, but few would realise that it is possible to collocate ‘run’ and ‘risk’ Moreover, this would be a difficult collocation for learners to work out just by knowing the meaning of the individual parts, so would therefore merit some class time
What problems learners have with collocation, and how can we help?
1.Quantity/Arbitrariness
A major stumbling block to most learners is the fact that there are so many possible collocations and that the choice of which word to collocate with, say, a noun is completely arbitrary This leads to the question: “Well, why is it have a coffee not drink a coffee?” and the inevitable reply (hated by teachers and students alike): “It just is.” If students are encouraged to record collocations as they occur, they have a permanent record of which combinations are possible Class time can be given for learners to revise and practise the collocations they have learnt (see below for suggestions) or to add new ones
There are various ways for learners to record new collocations in their vocabulary notebooks I have found that the most effective is to use a box format such as:
(verb) (adjective)
(verb) (adjective) noun (verb) (adjective)
(10)2.Learner Language Transfer
Many learners expect that because they collocate something a particular way in L1, it will translate directly (and correctly) into English A quick survey of my current learners produced the following verb + noun collocations:
English L1 Equivalent Literal Translation
take the car Đón xe (Vietnamese) Car went Go by car have a coffee Uống cafe (Vietnamese) Take a coffee
Drink a coffee
do your homework Làm tập (Vietnamese) Write your homework pay attention to Chú ý (Vietnamese) Be attentive
Give attention to Do attention to go on holiday Đi nghỉ hè (Vietnamese) Holiday doing
Do holiday
Leave on holiday
I think that because of this untranslatable teachers should focus on collocations which can not be translated directly, pointing out contrasts to students instead of similarities If learners fail to use a correct collocation, even if their utterance is grammatically and contextually correct, their English will still sound unnatural and ‘foreign’, to the extent that their addressee may not understand them at all Compare the following (from a selection of my learners’ written work):
He survived very strongly We own a shopping centre I took a good decision
He knows what he’s speaking about I can’t see any problem why
(11)Collocation grids can be useful in helping learners to understand which words are possible collocates and which aren’t, by simply ticking the correct combination
These grids can be made from the students’ own written (or spoken) work as a correction exercise as well as more general ones in textbooks:
a person a bank money a car a shop a wallet rob
steal
Such grids are also very useful for showing the difference in meaning or use between two or three words that appear almost the same The grid may then be used to contrast with the learner language possibilities for collocation
3.Meaning and Noticing
Especially when dealing with text, many learners (especially those at lower levels) tend to focus on individual words that they don’t know, rather than on the collocation This is because the usual way of noticing and recording vocabulary is to write the word (out of context and without its collocates) in a vocabulary notebook with it’s the learner language translation Alternatively, more advanced learners will say, “I know that word” and move on without checking for any collocates in the text Both of these problems arise from poor learner-training: learners need to have collocations pointed out to them before they can be expected to notice them for themselves
When working with text, it takes very little time to point collocations out to learners – or, alternatively, with higher levels or classes experienced in noticing to ask them to find collocations for themselves In this opening paragraph , six collocations can be identified (my underlining):
When Clifford met Annie, they found one thing in common They both love lists So together they have written the ultimate list, a list of rules for their marriage Teprenuptial agreement itemizes every detail of their lives together, from shopping to sex Timothy Laurence met them in Florida in the apartment they share
(12)Phonology (Chunking and Linking)
A direct result of this inability to recognise collocation is that many learners (especially at lower levels) sound very stilted when speaking There are three main reasons for this:
1.They pronounce every word with equal stress
2.They fail to notice how the sentence could be chunked 3 They don’t link the chunks together
Without a knowledge of collocation, learners are unable to chunk, link and stress longer sentences correctly, making them sound unnatural
Even with advanced classes, choral drilling is the best way to give students extra time to work on this aspect of collocation A demonstration on the board of where the linking and stress occurs (plus any schwas) can help students who learn more visually
Activities to help students with collocation
Once the collocations have been pointed out, several activities can be produced to help the studennt become familiar with them
Recycling activities:
Matching activities in which the collocations are divided and written on separate cards:
These can be used as the initial part of a test-teach-test approach to see what the learners already know, or to revise collocations from a previous lesson This form of recycling is a good way to help learners remember the collocations
Board races where the teacher calls out one half of the collocation and the students work in teams to write the other half on the board This activity can be extended by asking students to suggest other possible collocates
Cloze activities such as a gapped transcription of a listening text, or sentences in which half the collocation has been deleted
Communicative activities:
I have used surveys, reports and stories with different levels of learners to practise previously-learnt collocations in context more communicatively
With collocations organised by topic, learners can conduct a survey among their classmates and follow it up with a written or oral report In the topic of household chores, for examples, learners survey the following:
(13)makes the beds?
takes the rubbish out? (etc)
With collocations organised by key-word , learners can be given a set of cards with the collocations written on them which they have to put into some kind of chronological order They can then use the cards to write a story :
got worse got angry got caught got drunk got shot got in trouble got divorced got sick got fat got pregnant got into debt got killed
I introduce you some collocations in English 10 (textbook) from Unit to
Unit 16.
1.Verb + Noun
Unit 1: take a rest, have breakfast/ lunch, go home, watch TV, finish work, … Unit 2: study subjects, go to school, ride a bike, make talks, go dancing, pay
attention, read a book, …
Unit 3: earn a degree, take a degree,take possition, take turn, save money, award
prize, …
Unit 4: make an effort, raise arms, attend class, take photographs, … Unit 5: pay bills, read newspapers/ magazines, receive letters, …. Unit 6: make a trip, get permission, take photographs, make a tour, … Unit 7: provide information/ entertainment, get information, leave home,… Unit 8: produce crops, watch TV, shopping, build a hotel, …
Unit 9: use devices/ fertilizers, provide information, harm the environment,
offer solutions, ….
Unit 10: play a part, cause flood/ erosion, save the earth, have better food,… Unit 11: get a fine, catch a train, …
(14)Unit 14: gain a victory, win the trophy/ the title, pass the exam, … Unit 16: have illusions, make comparisions,…
2 Verb +Preposition + Noun
Unit 2: have a good time, … Unit 6: go on an excursion, …
Unit 8: make of straw and mud, listen to the news/ radio, ….
Unit 9: divide into five different parts, fall into three major groups,…. Unit 12: listen to the radio, go to the cinema, listen to music,….
Unit 13: make in America, …
3.Adjective + Noun
Unit 1: quick breakfast, long day, …
Unit 2: crowded streets, international languages, hard work, ….
Unit 3: mature student, general education, scientific training, private tutor, … Unit 4: poor family, proper schooling, …
Unit 5: lightning speed, foreign language, … Unit 6: great event, hard work, …
Unit 8: bumper crop, modern technology, …
Unit 9: modern technology, marine life, plastic bags, ….
Unit 10: endangered species, natural environment, constant supply , … Unit 11: national parks, tropical zone, …
Unit 12: integral part, important events, …. Unit 13: early days, ….
Unit 14: governing body, final match, …. Unit 15: global finance, …
Unit 16: national pride, important meeting, …
(15)Unit 1: morning tea, ….
Unit 3: birthday party, phone number, …… Unit 4: teaching job, …
Unit 6: rock formation, ….
Unit 7: TV programmes, TV series, information technology, ,… Unit 9: water temperature, cigarette butts, …
Unit 10: heart disease, forest fire, …… Unit 13: film maker, …
Unit 14: world championship, host nation, ….
Unit 15: apartment building, art galleries/ museums,… Unit 16: meeting hall, visiting hours, …
Findings and discussion about the results of the Pre-test and Post-test
To check the effectiveness and benefits of teaching and learning collocations, the writer designed a pre-test and a post-test for students The students were given the test in the first week and the last week of the research The purpose of pre-test and post-test is to check the students’ word usage accuracy
Pre-test and Post-test
Filling the blanks with the mosst appropriate word to complete the collocations.
1 When she’s cold, she really loves to drink ……… tea
(16)2 Why don’t we go ……… the movies tonight?
a.into b.to c.around d.on
3 He is interested in ……… a kite every afternoon
a.playing b.flying c.taking d.having I would ………… recommend that you learn a foreign language
a.strongly b.firmly c.hardly d.absolutely ……… rain has caused flooding in many areas
a.Strong b.Heavy c.Long d.Big
6 Jason has to ……… a choice between his career ang his family
a.do b.make c.take d.get
7 Peter ……….an accidentlast night but he’s OK now
a.took b.had c.got d.stuck in
8 Mr Smith is observing a big ……… of fish on the radar screen
a.school b.flock c.swarm d.pack
9 I am ………… aware that there are serious problems
a.fully b.very c.highly d.completely
10.I hate ……… the ironing
a.making b.doing c.having preparing
Discussion the results from pre-test and post-test of the students.
Pre-test of students
Class Total Upper Average Lower
10A10 44 24 15
(17)Post-test of students
Class Total Upper Average Lower
10A10 44 11 23 10
10D4 42 14 20
The results of the Pre-test and Post-test of students.
First of all, the table brings about a negative impression on the results of the Pre-test However, significant improvement can be seen through the results of the Post-test This result indicates that after being aware of and learning collocations, a lot of students can use vocabulary properly It also helps confirm the writer’s hypothesis about the benefits of teaching and learning collocations
Conclusion
(18)I would like to say that I am very grateful for their comments and criticism
REFERENCES
H.Long, M& C.Richards,J (2001).Learning vocabulary in Another Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
McCarthy,M& O’Dell, F(1997).Vocabulary in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Oxford Collocations: dictionary for students of English (2002) Oxford:Oxford University Press
(19)Lewis, M (2000) Teaching collocation: Further development in the lexical approach Oxford: Oxford University Press
McCarthy, M & O’Dell, F (2008) English Collocations in Use, Advanced: How Words Work Together for Fluent and Natural English Cambridge University Press
McCarten, J (2007) Teaching vocabulary Cambridge: Cambridge University Press English 10 Textbook
SỞ GD&ĐT ĐỒNG NAI
Đơn vị CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAMĐộc lập - Tự - Hạnh phúc
, ngày tháng năm
PHIẾU NHẬN XÉT, ĐÁNH GIÁ SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM Năm học:
–––––––––––––––––
Tên sáng kiến kinh nghiệm:
Họ tên tác giả: ………Đơn vị (Tổ):
Lĩnh vực:
Quản lý giáo dục Phương pháp dạy học môn: Phương pháp giáo dục Lĩnh vực khác:
1 Tính mới
- Có giải pháp hồn tồn
(20)2 Hiệu quả
- Hoàn toàn triển khai áp dụng tồn ngành có hiệu cao
- Có tính cải tiến đổi từ giải pháp có triển khai áp dụng tồn ngành có hiệu cao
- Hoàn toàn triển khai áp dụng đơn vị có hiệu cao
- Có tính cải tiến đổi từ giải pháp có triển khai áp dụng đơn vị có hiệu
3 Khả áp dụng
- Cung cấp luận khoa học cho việc hoạch định đường lối, sách:
Tốt Khá Đạt
- Đưa giải pháp khuyến nghị có khả ứng dụng thực tiễn, dễ thực dễ vào sống: Tốt Khá Đạt
- Đã áp dụng thực tế đạt hiệu có khả áp dụng đạt hiệu phạm vi rộng: Tốt Khá Đạt
XÁC NHẬN CỦA TỔ CHUYÊN MÔN (Ký tên ghi rõ họ tên)