The Application of “Association” in Learning English Vocabulary

史娜威++王玉翰

【Abstract】This essay basically deals with the application of ‘association in learning English words and enlarging vocabulary. It explains the methods of ‘association， namely， the ‘association by context， synonymy， collocation， keywords.

【Key words】learning English words； vocabulary； association

1. introduction of ‘association

Vocabulary is considered as one of the important elements in English learning. Basically speaking， the number of words that students master is one symbol reflecting their English level. Widdowson illustrated that the function of grammar is to regulate in a language， and it is true that learning nothing but words or no structure would be useless， but it will also useless if we learn all the structures and no words.（Carter， R.A and McCarthy， M.J.1988）. We all know that vocabulary is the crucial prerequisite for learning any language. Without grammar very little can be conveyed， but without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. all the above indicates the significance of vocabulary learning in foreign language acquisition.

However， most of college students have not grasped the words required in the College English Syllabus. The problem doesnt lie in the fact that learners or students don/t work hard but they usually achieve half the result with twice the effort， and one of the fundamental reasons is the lack of scientific learning method. To recite new words fast with efficiency， its necessary to explore a scientific approach. The memorization and English words learning contain the following processes：（1） English learner should pay full attention to the target words. Appropriate concern can enhance memory intensity and bring it more positively into their memory system. （2） Students memorize a word with many exposures. Through training and consolidation in every possible way. （3） To consolidate memory， imitation and creative application should be used. To get an ideal effect among the interrelated processes， interest and ‘association should pass through permanently. Gothic believes that where there is no interest， there will be no memory.

2. The Theory of ‘association

Pavlov indicated that memory depends on ‘association， whereas ‘associationis the product of new knowledge. The principle of vocabulary learning is that the more words are analyzed or are enriched by associations. （Cater， R.A and McCarthy， M.J 1988）

2.1 What is ‘association？

‘Association is a psychological term， and it is a universal activity of psychology. It refers to mental connection existing among sensations， perceptions， ideas of feelings that have a relational significance with another.

2.2 The process of ‘Association

Memory by ‘association is an approach by making use of the link between object and reality， between the known and unknown and among the internal parts of material.

3. ‘Association by Context

There are many methods of ‘association and each has its own advantages. They are effective to English vocabulary learning. ‘The most common way to learn and to remember new words is through context.（Maker， J and Lenier， M） For example， when were learning to talk， we learned the word cookie， because our parents used the word while we were eating one. We formed a mental ‘association between the word and the context. We probably learned the word by seeing it printed on a box that we know contained cookie.

3.1 ‘Association by Synonymy

When one sees or hears the word delicate， he may think of the word fragile. Because the two words are similar in the meaning， therefore， this kind of ‘association is called ‘association by synonymy. More examples are as following：

Friend， mate， colleague， chum， associate.

Cattle， bull， cow， beef.

3.2 ‘Association by Collocation

Whether defined broadly or narrowly， collocation entails two of the characteristics important for comprehension that are mentioned below. One is that the meaning of a word has a great deal to do with which is commonly associates. Not only do these ‘association assist the learner in committing these words to memory， they also aid in defining the semantic area of a word， for every useful collocation is another step towards understanding the concept of a word. （Brown 1974）， and in helping students infer meaning from context. A second feature is that collocations permit people to know what kinds of words they can expect to find together. For example， when we see the phrase keep quite， we may recall such phrases as keep silent.

3.3 ‘Association by keywords

Students learns a word in the target language by associating it with translation in the native language in a special way and this method is developed Atkinson （1975） for leaning foreign language. It call for the establishment of an acoustic and image link between a word to be learned and a word that sounds similar. For example， the German word Ei （egg） can be learned by first establishing an acoustic link with the English word eye and then conjuring up an interactive image of an egg with an eye in the middle of it. Similarly， the Spanish word pan （bread） can be learned by imaging a loaf of bread in a pan.

Key words can be invented by students， or they can be provided by their teachers with reducing the effectiveness of their recall. The technique for forming key words can be taught. ‘Association by key words is valuable for students at both advanced and beginning levels of ability.

3.4 ‘Association by Form Similarities

One important element in learning new words is the degree of effective formal linking learners can establish between a word in the target language and a cognate wood in their mother tongue.

According to the reserach by Cohen， A.D and Aphel， E， oral repetition is not necessarily an effective way of learning new words： recalling the form of a word is found to be more productive； the more opportunities that can be found for formal transfer between foreign and mother tongue words， the better chances of retention. But this also applies to target languages themselves. By this ‘association those words can be more easily recited. For example： French words English words.

Voyelle vowel

Consonne consonant

Groupe group

3.5 ‘Association by Assonance

Scientific studies prove that memory efficiency will be greatly improved if we combine visual sense with the sense of hearing. Generally speaking， there is no direct relationship between the pronunciation of English words and their senses. Thus we can make fantastic ‘association to strengthen our memory with the aid of their pronunciation， Chinese assonance， or the knowledge that we have. Sometimes pronunciation of some English words is astonishingly similar to their Chinese counterparts. We can associate one directly with another， such as： amorous（愛慕）， back（后背）， cheat（欺骗）， cough（咳嗽）， ditch（堤）， give（给）， stone（石头）， etc.

4. The Significance of ‘Association

This method of ‘association can make learners get systematic and even intact knowledge about language. During the process of knowledge accumulation， the function of system is much more helpful that anything and consolidating memory. ‘Association makes us learn by analogy and draw parallels from inference， thus simplifying the process of memory. All this save our time， meanwhile it also raises our interest of study， increase our confidence and accelerates the English learning process.

‘Association is beneficial in integrating new vocabulary knowledge with the language material already learned， in analyzing and comparing words to find out their similarities and differences， and in excluding the interference of new knowledge and old. We can thus bring the newly acquired knowledge into existing knowledge system， learning the new by reviewing the old. Finally learning words by ‘association can make us highly concentrated in mind and places our attention in constant thought of ‘association， thus making knowledge acquired recalled.

5. Conclusion

The above has clearly illustrated the definition， the theory， the concrete methods and the significance of English by ‘association. Of course memory by ‘association is never a simple process of memorizing the words， but a kind of memory that takes ‘association as its medium and entails a comprehensive account of rich culture and background language knowledge. Moreover， learning words by ‘association has no fixed models. As long as ‘association is reasonable， vivid and wholesome to word acquisition， it can serve English vocabulary enlarging. In addition， ‘association does not exclude other methods of learning. In order to grasp a foreign language， full use of ‘association should be made， at the same time， all other kinds of appropriate methods and resources to our benefit should be made.

References：

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[2]Cater，R and McCarthy，M.1988 Vocabulary and Language Teaching Longman Group UK Limited.

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