The application of context theory to vocabulary teaching in Longgang Middle school

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1、The application of context theory to vocabulary teaching in Longgang Middle school AcknowledgementsI hereby would like to acknowledge the support, teaching and . My sincere gratefulness goes to my supervisor, Professor David Nunan, whose guidance, expertise and encouragement provide an important sup

2、port throughout the work of my dissertation as well as the involvement in all his lectures.The application of context theory to vocabulary teaching in Longgang Middle schoolABSTRACTVocabulary is one of the three components of language. The present situation of English vocabulary teaching is far from

3、 the higher requirement of the new Curriculum Criteria on vocabulary. In this thesis, the author will apply the context theories to English teaching in the Longgang Middle School, and do an experimental study to confirm that the new way of teaching vocabulary is effective. The author chooses one sam

4、ple to apply context theory to vocabulary teaching in Longgang Middle School. And then, compared with its grade table between Pre-test and Post-test. The results indicate that studentspost-test results of experiment class are improved greatly compared with that in the pretest. Therefore, it appears

5、to be much more significant and urgent to explore a practical, scientific and effective vocabulary teaching approach to improve vocabulary teaching in junior middle school. Keywords: context theory; vocabulary teaching; Longgang Middle School 语境理论在龙岗中学中英语词汇教学中的运用摘 要词汇是语言的三大要素之一。英语词汇教学的现状与新课标对词汇的要求不高

6、。因此，探索一种切实可行、科学有效的词汇教学方法来提高初中英语词汇教学显得更为重要和迫切。本文选择深圳龙岗中学为研究对象，并在该中学的英语教学中实际运用语境理论，并且在该学校展开实验证明新的词汇教学法更有效率。笔者在实际调查中选择了龙岗中学的一个班级展开将语境理论运用于词汇教学的试验，并比较其实验前后的考试结果。结果表明，studentspost-test实验班，前测相比大大提高。由此可以看出，在语境词汇教学有利于激活词汇学习和改善学生的词汇学习策略，学生的学习兴趣。同时，语境理论在初中英语词汇教学中的应用是切实有效的。 关键词： 语境理论；英语词汇教学；龙岗中学 Chapter 1 Intr

7、oduction6Chapter 2 The present situation of vocabulary teaching in context in Longgang middle school72.1 learning vocabulary in context in improving their vocabulary learning7Chapter 3 The Problems of the new words teaching in context93.1 Teaching procedures93.2 The Problems10Chapter 4 Requirement o

8、f the new Curriculum Criteria on vocabulary learning method114.1 The amount of the words114.2 The crucial role of context in language teaching and learning12Chapter 5 Classification and Functions of Context145.1 The reasonable classification for context145.2 Functions of context15Chapter 6 The appli

9、cation of context theory in English vocabulary teaching176.1 Theoretical foundation of applying context in vocabulary teaching176.2 Analysis on the questionnaire186.3 Analysis on the vocabulary test23Chapter 7 Conclusion27References29Chapter 1 Introduction1.1 Objective of the research In this thesis

10、, the anther hopes that this research can help to explore a suitable English vocabulary teaching mode for junior school and can provide some reference for junior middle schools that face the similar situation in English vocabulary teaching, which promotes the improvement of English vocabulary teachi

11、ng in junior middle school.In the field of second language acquisition second language teaching, the importance of、vocabulary present situation of English vocabulary teaching in is indisputable. However, junior middle school is not optimistic. The author discovers by the survey that it is a low effi

12、ciency and much-time task for students and teachers to learn or teach English vocabulary. Many students complain that they often forget the words they have learned lately. In addition, the method of teaching of vocabulary is boring and teacher-centered. Therefore, by the research of content theory t

13、o vocabulary teaching and learning in junior middle school, this article attempts to provide a method. It puts forth two hypotheses followed by answers to them. One question is whether the method of teaching based on the theory of context can stimulate students interest in learning English and Engli

14、sh vocabulary in junior middle school. The other is whether it can improve students ability to apply English、vocabulary. and eliminate pragmatic failures in communication through the application of context theory to English vocabulary teaching in the junior middle school. Context theory has been a h

15、ot issue. Scholars and teachers have noticed the close relationship between the context and English teaching. In China, most scholar sand English teachers focus on the importance of context to、vocabulary and English teaching in the university or senior middle school. However, in the .junior middle s

16、chool the role of context in the vocabulary teaching is paid less attention to, which is what this thesis explored. As is known to all, English learning in junior middle school is the most basic stage, when students are developing their interest in English and form the effective vocabulary learning

17、habit. Therefore, the author intends to research into English vocabulary teaching and learning in context in the junior middle school. Chapter 2 The present situation of vocabulary teaching in context in Longgang middle school2.1 learning vocabulary in context in improving their vocabulary learningT

18、he author hopes this thesis can attract more teachers attention to apply context to vocabulary teaching and perfect the relevant research. During the twelve-+-eek experiment in Longgang Middle School, two questionnaires and two vocabulary tests were given to students in two classes by the researcher

19、. The analysis of the scores demonstrates that the experimental class was improving rapidly in that their scores were better than those in the pretest? Lean while, students changed their attitudes towards English vocabulary learning and they were milling to use some Never learning strategies. Moreov

20、er, the mean scores of experimental class were much better than those in the control class. This result shows that learning vocabulary in context is helpful to Longgang Middle School learners in improving their vocabulary learning. To be specific, it can improve the students interest in vocabulary l

21、earning and exerts a positive influence on developing their vocabulary learning strategy and their abilities on the application of vocabulary. All of these prove that the approach of applying context theory in vocabulary teaching in Longgang Middle School to improve students learning strategies is p

22、ractical and effective.More and more English teachers and scholars have a clear understanding about the problems that exist in、vocabulary learning and teaching in the junior middle school. For example, students show: that an effective learning method about vocabulary learning is difficult to get. wh

23、ile they often forget some words spelling and dont know how- to apply the words or phrases, especially the collocation of the words. It is the problem that leads to the pragmatic failure in the communication with other speakers, with the development of reformation in the English teaching, the respon

24、sible English teachers and scholars have devoted much time to the research on vocabulary teaching and come up with some understanding that teaching vocabulary in the context is likely to arouse the students interest in vocabulary learning, they will work hard to master the different kinds of meaning

25、s of vocabulary to improve the ability of communication in English.It is doubtless for all the teachers and learners of English that the mastery of vocabulary plays a crucial role in both languages teaching and learning. Sound, grammar and vocabulary are three essential elements of a language. Among

26、 them, vocabulary is the dominant one. Vocabulary is the carrier of both sound and grammar. Vocabulary is like bricks to the whole building. Without vocabulary, any language is conceivable; without vocabulary, we cannot communicate with each other; without enough vocabulary, it is impossible for lan

27、guage learners to make progress in the four traditional foundational language skills of listening, speaking, reading or writing. Many linguists who engage in researches on foreign language teaching (Such as Mc Carthy, 1990) have this kind of opinion. Harmer (1990) points out “If we compare language

28、structure as the sketch of language, vocabulary is the thing that provides important organs as well as blood and flesh.” Wilkins (1972:111) argued that “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” Language learners can spare little time to master the gra

29、mmar, but it is impossible for them to grasp all the vocabulary even through their whole life. Chapter 3 The Problems of the new words teaching in context3.1 Teaching procedures Nowadays, the teaching method of teacher-centered,examination-oriented, and grammar-based still dominates the vocabulary t

30、eaching in most of the English classes. Boring and dull are still the words we can use to describe the vocabulary teaching. Most of the English teachers today still pay little attention to the cultivation of students ability to learn vocabulary actively and independently. Most of the teachers follow

31、 the teaching procedures as below when they teach the new words. Firstly, students read the whole word list after the teacher. Then the teacher corrects the pronunciation b, the teacher chooses some basic words to explain the usage by paraphrasing, giving examples, comparison, differentiation, or gi

32、ving Chinese equivalents and so on c, students memorize new words according to the word list and their notes. d. For the teacher, dictation and spelling are the frequently used ways to test students mastery of the new words.The teacher teaches words out of context. The teacher is used to sparing too

33、 much time on explaining the knowledge and usage of the new words so as to neglect the language context and the actual use of the words. Students only remember lots of meanings and examples of the new words. “Only in a certain context, can words be given life and easy to remember and used appropriat

34、ely”(Lu Shuxiang1975) . So learning words in isolation directly leads to influence the long-term memorization of the new words for students. Therefore, teachers always complain about so many mistakes appearing in students speaking or writing. Furthermore，the teacher finds that although they make gre

35、at efforts in vocabulary teaching, students still cannot have a good understanding of many reading or listening materials or communicate freely with others using the words properly in English . Most of teachers pay no attention to the reappearance of the new words purposely. Nation pointed out that

36、some students can remember a new word as long as they meet it once. However, for most of the students, seven times appearing is needed to remember a new word. If we learn words not for the exam, sixteen times appearing is needed. Therefore, in order to make the students grasp the words, it is necess

37、ary to improve the reappearance of the words. Nevertheless, most of the teachers neglect the reappearance of the new words purposely. The low reappearance frequency of the new words is another important reason that results in the fact that the students forget the words easily. 3.2 The Problems Analy

38、zing the results, we can see that English vocabulary has become a heavy burden for most of the students to memorize and understand. English is just one of their subjects. They think English vocabulary is time-consuming. They are tired of spending too much time memorizing vocabulary. Even if they wor

39、k hard on vocabulary, they find that the result is far from satisfactory: they will soon forget the words that they think they have remembered well; they still have great troubles in using the words freely and flexibly during writing and communicating and they still fail to appreciate or understand

40、the text when they are reading even though they think they have got a large vocabulary bank. As a result, more vocabulary does not contribute to improving students language ability as we wish. In addition, they are lack of proper learning strategy and method. For most of them, their text book is the

41、 main source of acquiring vocabulary. Although they know learning vocabulary through actual use and practice, more than half of them have not developed a good habit of memorizing vocabulary. However, the most terrible thing is that some of them have lost their interest in learning English because of

42、 the boring vocabulary. Chapter 4 Requirement of the new Curriculum Criteria on vocabulary learning method4.1 The amount of the words With the implementation of the new Curriculum Criteria in our country in 2001, how much vocabulary do the middle students need to master? The new curriculum criteria

43、made specific provision. The third, forth, and fifth level in the new curriculum criteria are the respective goals that the students of Grade 7 to Grade 9 in Longgang Middle School should reach. Among them, the general descriptions of the vocabulary goals for Level 5 are as follows: From the descrip

44、tion above we can see that the new Curriculum Criteria raise higher requirement on vocabulary than before. For junior middle school students, this is not a small case. Except for the increase of the vocabulary, the new Curriculum Criteria put forward the higher requirement on the application of the

45、words. The general objective of the new Curriculum Criteria is to cultivate students overall linguistic competence including language knowledge, learning attitude, learning strategy and cultural consciousness. As for language teaching, the new Curriculum Criteria demand that the teacher should train

46、 listening, speaking, reading and writing skills comprehensively. As for the language skill, the new Curriculum Criteria demand that students should be able to get information in English, express their thoughts and attitude and grasp some basic skills of sociality in English. On the aspect of learni

47、ng strategy, the new Curriculum Criteria point out that it is more important to study students learning strategy than to only focus on teaching. The aim of teaching is to teach less and less in the future. That means the teacher should teacher how to learn and cultivate students self-oriented learni

48、ng ability. The target of teaching is to provide support and guidance to students English learning. After the study of new curriculum, we find that it puts forward higher requirement on vocabulary than before. As far as the amount of the words is concerned, it has been increased greatly. The old tex

49、t book requires students to master about 1200 words. We can see from the table above that in Grade 7, vocabulary has been more than 1000, which is equal to the amount of the words of the whole three years in junior middle school in the old text book. However, there exists a gap between the text book

50、 of middle school and that of primary school. The new Curriculum Criteria require students to grasp 600-700 word and about 50 idioms after graduating from primary school. Actually it cannot be achieved for most of the students. We can imagine after the students go to Grade 7, only the amount of the

51、words will be a big obstacle, let alone the other requirement on vocabulary. Therefore, its easy for students to lost confidence and interest in English. Nobody will object to the opinion that the command of right amount of vocabulary is the most important criterion to our foreign language proficien

52、cy; it is one of the central roles in learning a second language (Lewis, 1993). With the development of the society and carrying out of the new Curriculum Criteria, English is not the necessity for examination; It has turned into a tool to exchange information, so the final vocabulary teaching objec

53、tive is to help students learn how to acquire vocabulary on their own in their future life. We can see from authors survey above, there are many problems in vocabulary teaching. 4.2 The crucial role of context in language teaching and learningThere is still a long way to run to achieve the final voc

54、abulary teaching objective. Therefore, as an English teacher, exploring an effective way to improve our vocabulary teaching is a necessary and urgent issue. Only by this way can English teaching reach the higher requirements of the New Curriculum Criteria. With the development of applied linguistics

55、, linguists have been gradually aware of the crucial role of context in language teaching and learning. More and more linguists have begun to devote to the study of context in vocabulary teaching. Context has been a popular research issue in modern linguistics. Regretfully, although in recent years,

56、 some linguists and researchers have conducted some researches on this subject, most of them are in concerned with the use of context in vocabulary teaching in senior high school and college. The study about the use of context in vocabulary teaching in junior high school is paid less attention to. N

57、evertheless, we all know junior middle school is a very important basic period for students to lay a solid foundation for their future English learning. It is very essential and significant for the junior middle school students to develop a good learning habit and a scientific and effective learning

58、 method. A scientific and effective teaching approach is the precondition to reach this target. The aim of the present research is intended to call on English teachers to be sensitive to the various contexts that learners are supposed to encounter, to arouse students interest, to help them make use

59、of the context to master the meaning of a word accurately and completely, to stimulate students to think actively, to strengthen their memory, and to be able to choose suitable words to express themselves in reading, communication or writing. Furthermore, the new Curriculum Criteria reflect the main

60、 point of quality education. The function of the Trinity is highlighted: knowledge and ability, process and method, attitude and value. The author thinks that combined with the new Curriculum Criteria, teaching vocabulary in context is able to change the traditional rigid and mechanical vocabulary t

61、eaching, develop students ability of using English, and help teachers to improve their teaching efficiency and train students to be self-reliant English learners. The study of context in vocabulary teaching enjoys significance both in theory and in practice. Theoretically, based on the careful study

62、 of the scholars abroad and at home, the author makes general introduction of the context theories; practically, the author tries to put context theories in use in junior high school, the very important and fundamental stage of English study. Since the new Curriculum Criteria was carried out, teache

63、rs make efforts to change their teaching concept and explored new teaching approach to reach the demand of it and enrich their teaching. The author hopes that this study can make contribution to the development of English vocabulary teaching in junior middle school.Chapter 5 Classification and Funct

64、ions of Context5.1 The reasonable classification for contextScholars engaging in studying context classify the context from different perspective. Therefore, as for the classification of context, there is no a consentaneous definition. Firth categorizes context into linguistic context, situational c

65、ontext and culture context. According to Moore, context can refer to both the conditions surrounding the utterance of a word and to the other words before or after a word in discourse (Moore, 1963: 199-211). To sum up their point of view, context can be classified into linguistic context and non-linguistic context. This is a