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    Description of the work experience

Teacher: Muila O.Y.

     The primary means of human communication is language and in a multilingual space there are several languages. That”s why the study of foreign languages becomes a special status in our country.

     Among the international community it increasingly becomes the role of intercultural communication. It  forms tends to enhance communicative orientation training process, its approach to the actual process of communication. The most important characteristic of the communication approach is the using of authentic materials that are actually used by native speakers.

     It is well known that vocabulary plays a very important role in language study because it is the essence of a language. Without vocabulary, there would be no sentence, no text and no language. Therefore, in order to master a language well, it’s necessary for language learners to learn vocabulary well and teachers should pay much attention to vocabulary teaching. But in fact, it seems very difficult to do the job well. Learners are always troubled in memory comprehension of vocabulary. The same phenomenon also appears at Primary school. Many pupils would have difficulties in studying the English vocabulary and that has become one of the main reasons which restricts their English improvement.

     The problem on which I work is “Teaching vocabulary in English lessons at primary school”. I give definiton of new words. The aim of this diploma essay is to describe the role and importance of teaching vocabulary and to become encouraged to teach it more intelligently. I learn both traditional and modern approaches to teaching vocabulary. The main task is to pay attention to selection and organisation of vocabulary items. It means the responsibility of a pupil. We can see that a teacher should get the learner to hear a new vocabulary item, to understand it, to think over, to write. I focuse on vocabulary teaching and try to find some more effective ways in vocabulary teaching at  school.

     Randolf Quirk regards that “the lexicon of a language encapsulates the perceptions and experience of a whole language community. For its native speakers it is something already made and in existance; at the same time it is never static. We are aware that the total vocabulary of our mother tongue is vast and we have internalized only a part of it. This does not worry us, because no single individual can master the total lexicon of a language, just as no human being can be in possession of all the knowledge of the world. There is a difference between the words the person actually uses, the active vocabulary, and the person understands, the passive vocabulary. The process of learning vocabulary is never complete. We distinguish three types of the mother tongue vocabulary we operate: 1). The core vocabulary, [it covers all the necessities of everyday life];                                                                    2). The privety vocabulary, [which is shared only with the family];

3). The specialized vocabulary [which is shared with groups that pursue special

Interests (jobs, hobbies).

       Do we feel let down by not having a full command of our mother tongue vocabulary? In general there is no such feeling. In our adult life we are too busy to give much thought to our command to the core vocabulary. We are more preoccupied with the specialized vocabulary, that we need for our job and recreation.” /Quirk R., p. 140/. Jeremy Harmer points out that “M.Rampton (1990) argues that the notions of “native speakers” and “mother tongue” are no longer relevant in a multi-lingual world. He prefers to name such notions“language expertise,” “language inheritance,” “language affiliation.” /Harmer J., p. 19/. This point of view may be still discussed and time is to show who is right.

        Vocabulary is an important aspect of the foreign language teaching. Penny Ur in her “Course in Language Teaching” says, “Vocabulary can be defined as the words we teach in the foreign language. However a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single word, there are also multi-word idioms, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the components. In such cases we should be talking about “vocabulary items” rather than “words”. /Ur P., p.60/.

        The problem is what words and idioms learners must retain. The  vocabulary items should be carfully selected in accordance with the pedagogical conditions of teaching. They are: the aim of teaching, the length of the course, the frequency of periods, the size of groups and factors of the kind. The number of the words to acquire depends on the syllabus. The vocabulary minimum is selected in accordance with the linguistic principles first of all. G.Rogova names such of them: “word frequency, the ability of a word to be combined,  their neutral style,

  the topic, the ability of word-building.” /Rogova G.,p. 117/.

       Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman in their guide to teaching and learning vocabulary “Working with words” name more general criteria for vocabulary selection: “word frequency, cultural factors, need and level of learners, expediency.” /Gairns R. and Redman S., p. 171/

       The selection of the vocabulary minimum although important is not the teacher’s main concern. It is only the “what” of teaching, though every teacher must have it listed and properly designed. The main task of the teacher is “how”to get his students to assimilate the vocabulary prescribed. The teacher should bear in mind that a word is considered to be learned when, as  G.Rogova says, “It is spontaneously recognized while auding and reading, and, secondly, it is correctly used in speech, i.e., the right word in the right place.”/Rogova G., p. 118/.

          Ruth Gairns examines how vocabulary reaches the classroom. As a result he identifies the following four sources:

 1.Through the course book (activities, texts, instructions,  tests, etc.);

 2.Through supplementary materials (drills, video, ads);

 3.Through the learners (enquiries, errors);

 4.Through specific vocabulary activities designed by the

 teacher for his particular student.”  /Gairns R. and Redman S., p. 54/.

         Ruth Gairns assures us that course book writers and materials designers have one distinct advantage over practicing classroom teachers that they have easy access to word frequency chants and the time to ensure that high priority words are introduced at appropriate stages of the syllabus and recycled where possible.” /Gairns R. and Redman S. “Working with words,” p. 171/. So teaching vocabulary is based on the course book vocabulary first of all. But words

Being single units as such cannot provide act of communication by themselves.

Charles Fries says, “It is not the thing of the words themselves but an intricate system of formal features which makes possible the grasp of what we generally call “meaning.” /Rogova G., p. 119/

     The process of learning a vocabulary item means the responsibility of a teacher and the responsibility of a student:

 1). To the teacher it means - to get his student to identify the concept correctly; to stimulate student’s using the word in speech;  2).To the student it means - learning what a word means, activity of retaining a word.

 “The true art of teaching is not the application of the best system, but the ability to stimulate students to worthwhile activity.” (Morris, “The Teaching of English as a Second Language”).

                               There are four stages in teaching vocabulary:

           1.Introduction of new vocabulary items,

           2.Retention (fixing, consolidation),

           3.Using (acquiring skills),

           4.Testing.

      Throughout the teaching activities I improve my style of work, forms and methods of teaching English at school. In my work I use reproductive teaching methods, choral, group, pair, individual and combined forms of work. I try to achieve the formation of language skills of all participants of communication. The rack attention of pupils throughout the year is provided because of changing of different types and forms of work. At the English lessons I use audiovisual media. It helps me to activate and easy to learn course materials and remove fatigue of pupils and penetrate deeper into the essense of the aducational process. I try to allocate rationally time in the classroom and choose the optinal speed of the lesson. In my work I use personally made visual aids and handouts. I think through the type and structure of the lesson, clearly define its educational and developmental goal. I try successfully implement the educational motivation of pupils to generate interest in learning English and create a friendly atmosphere of cooperation. Speaking a foreign language to each other, students learn to be democratic, to think critically and make decisions. I realize communicative orientation by simulation of real communicative situations. They contribute to the assimilation of language units in typical communicative contexts.

       I use 10 fabulous ways to teach new words.

Teaching English Vocabulary – 10 Fabulous Ways to Teach New Words

Do you know that a student needs to encounter a new word 10 to 16 times to effectively "learn" it according to recent research?

Consideration the number of new words students have to learn per course, this means that teachers have our work cut out for us. We all know that  it is important for students to use correct grammar and structures, words are the main carriers of meaning. This means that the more words students are able to handle accurately, the better their chances of understanding English and making themselves understood.

To effectively acquire new vocabulary, students must go through four essential stages:

·         first, they notice a new word with help;

·         secondly, they recognize the word at first with help;

·         then later on their own example;

·         and lastly, they are able to both recognize and produce the word.

It is essential that you, as the teacher, make use of activities that target each of these stages; more often than not, we make the mistake of merely introducing new vocabulary, and we don’t give students the opportunity to put these new words to use.

So, here are 10 great ways to teach English vocabulary, outlined for each of the stages of vocabulary acquisition:

 Stage 1: Noticing and understanding new words

1.Introducing nouns, things, objects, animals, etc…

Visual elements work best with concrete nouns, but try to go beyond flashcards and illustrations. Try to use real objects whenever possible, or even sounds, smells, and tastes. Appeal to all of your students’ senses!

2.Introducing adjectives
Opposites, like “big” and “small”, “long” and “short”, are usually illustrated with pictures, but here’s another case where realia will help you teach new adjectives; the use of real life objects is wonderful for words like “soft” and “rough”, adjectives that may take precious minutes of class time to explain. For more advanced adjectives, like “stunning”, “gorgeous”, “spectacular”, “huge”, or “immense”, bring in photos of famous sights from around the world like the Louvre, Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, etc…then use these new adjectives to describe these places in ways that clearly illustrate their meaning.

3.Introducing abstracts

There are things you simply cannot teach with a flashcard. What works best in these cases are synonyms, definitions, substitutions, or simply placing students within a given context. Consider this simple example: To teach the difference between “early” and “late”, remind students what time class begins, then state that those who arrive before this time are “early” while those that arrive after this time are “late”.

Stage 2: Recognizing new words

4.Bingo
Bingo is one of the most versatile games employed by ESL teachers. For younger learners, make bingo cards with illustrations, and call out each word. For those who can read, do the opposite, make the cards with words, then draw the flashcards from a bag. For teens or adult learners, you can make cards with the definition and call out the words, or vice versa.

5.Matching
Another type of exercise with countless possibilities. Students may be required to match opposites, synonyms, or a word with its definition, as well as a picture to a word.

6.Fill in the blanks (with options)
Hand out a piece of written text (anything from a description, song, letter, to even a short story) with blank spaces that must be filled in from a list of words. You can adapt this to longer texts, and also have longer word lists.

 Stage 3: Producing vocabulary

7.Descriptions

From a newspaper photo of a recent event to a personal account of a recent trip, there are countless things students can describe while putting new vocabulary to good use. This goes for both oral and written descriptions. You may give them some guidance, like indicating that they have to use at least five adjectives in their description, or five words related to sports, weather, etc…to no guidance at all.

8.Fill in the blanks (no options)

Supply students with a piece of written text with blank spaces that have to be filled in with any word that fits. You may give them indications for each space, like “noun”, “adjective” or “adverb”, if they’re advanced students. You can

read several out loud to compare the different words used to fill in each blank.

9.Mind maps or brainstorming

Tell students they need to think of words they can use to describe the weather. Write “weather” at the center of a blackboard or whiteboard and circle it. Write every word supplied by students as “rays” that shoot out this circle. They should reply with previously taught words, like “chilly”, “scorching”, or “mild”. You may even have sub-circles shooting off to the side for winter, summer, etc…words. This works great for vocabulary review lessons.

14.Guess what I'm thinking
Students take turns describing something, like a place: “I’m thinking of a place that is so huge. It takes visitors hours to see the entire. It has stunning works of art. It is a breathtaking building, very old, but with a modern glass pyramid in the front.” Students choose to be as obvious or as cryptic as they like. Even little ones can do this with simple descriptions: “It's an animal. It has a very long neck and big brown spots.” Or simply state a series of words: “Africa, black and white, stripes”.

It’s better to teach vocabulary in context, in other words, teach highly descriptive adjectives when the lesson is about travellings. Or clothes and accessories when you’re talking about shopping. Never teach a list of words just because, or students won’t have a chance to practice this new vocabulary. They should learn it.

As a final note, remember to cater to different learning styles or multiple intel

ligences.

Use songs and music, real life objects, or puzzles, but the more you mix the better it is for learners. Remember the difference between recognizing and producing words: to practice recognition of the words have to be supplied by YOU; then students use them to fill in blanks or match them. For students to effectively and accurately produce vocabulary, they have to spontaneously recall the words.

     As for my  work experience I try to use innovative technology – the work in groups and pairs (“School things”- form 2, 3; “Food”- form 5; “In the theatre and in the cinema”- form 8); Role playing (“At the restaurant”- form 5; “Famous people”- form 9); Discussions (“How to be successful”- form 9); Frontal forms of work (“Microphone” – “The behavior and the relationship of young people” – form 8; “Hobbies and activities in free time” – form 5; “Brainstorming” – “How do you spend your free time?” – form 5; “The problem of environmental pollution” – form 9); The method of projects; Non-standard forms of lessons – forms 1-3. They contribute to the development of critical thinking skils and cognitive interests of students. Children feel confident to freely express their opinions and peacefully accept comments.                          Much attention is paid to the study of grammar material. I try to improve grammatical structures, implement principles of regularity and consistency.        I conduct control and evaluation work, which include a multi-level control, test. In classess I aim to teach students literacy, logical thinking, ability to discuss their answers using learned lexical and grammatical material. At all stages of the lesson I repeat and establish studied material. When I explain the new material, I take into account  students’ knowledge. They contribute to the education of students’ cognitive activity. I pay due attention to interdisciplinary communication. Each lesson includes all kinds of speech activities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It should be noted that English lessons are substantially different in different classes. I use trip-lessons at secondary school. (“The journey to England” – forms 5, 6; “My native town” – form 5); Lessons – games (“Proffessions of my relatives and friends” – form 3).              In high school education is problematic. So in high school I use the following forms of work: Lessons-debates (“Famous people”, “English is the language of many countries” – forms 8, 9; “The school system in the UK and in England” – forms 8, 9). Lessons-seminars; Lessons-presentations (“Healthy and unhealthy food” – form 9; “The behavior and the relationship between parents and children” – form 9, 10).                                                                          I pay much attention to the lessons of home reading. Students are introduced to the original and adapted works of classics of English and American Literature.                                                                                                               I use staging excerpts of the work, give the task to enter the role of a hero. (“Role game”). It gives the opportunity to develope artistic abilities, dialogue and monologue speech of students. This form of work is quite effective among students in secondary classes. In high school I practice methods of design technology, a variety of research and search methods aimed at independent and creative work of students with literature. (“English is the language of international communication”, “English in various areas of our lives”, “Inventions and Inventors”, “Famous people of Great Britain” – forms 10, 11). I pay great attention to the study of ethnology material of the country whose language is studied, its traditions, history, political system, culture.        An integral part of the lesson is to work with the textbook. Students work in pairs, in small groups, help to implement the principle – “I teach learning” (When I study, I teach others).                                                                               In preparation for the lesson I try to take into account the age characteristics of students, their psychological (possibilities) features and select the appropriate forms and methods of learning, make differentiated approach in the study of certain material.                                                                                     I take an active part in the week of English (educational activities: “Mother’s Day”, “The Earth Day”, “Valentine’s Day”, “EU countries”, “English is a window to Europe”). I work in close contact with other teachers.                          I was a member of the jury of regional competitions in English in high school (November – 2015) and at primary school – form 4 (March -2015) I am working on aproject “Art-Ligua”). My students are participants of “Greenwich” and “Olympus” -2013, 2014, 2015 (There are golden, silver and bronze winners).                                                                                                                 I have got some published works on topic: “New Year and Christmas in Great Britain and  in Ukraine” (A Certificate with Honour “Editing Choice”) and “Different types of holidays”  in the magazine: “Opened lesson” (№  11 – 12 /2015  - November-December).