The Problems and Strategies of Senior High School Vocabulary Teaching

王彦悦

【Abstract】Vocabulary is the basic element of language. Vocabulary learning has become an important part in English learning and teaching. In order to be suitable for the new requirements of vocabulary teaching in senior high school， this paper try to find out the current problems in vocabulary teaching in senior high school and come up with effective reform strategies to enhance the effectiveness of high school English vocabulary teaching and the students vocabulary memory and comprehension ability.

【Key words】vocabulary teaching； problem； strategy； senior high school

I. Introduction

With the impetus of economic globalization， English， as the most widely used language， plays a very significant role in international communication. Vocabulary is considered as the most important factors in English learning， consequently， vocabulary teaching has a direct effect on the mastery and application of English listening， speaking， reading and writing skills. English vocabulary teaching is of great significance in improving students English proficiency and lays the foundation for the cultivation of students comprehensive language ability and lifelong learning. Vocabulary is the key element of language construction and the basis of English discourse comprehension and expression. High school English Curriculum Standards （Experiments） require high school students should learn to use 3500 words and 400～500 idioms and regular collocation （Pu， 2009）. In senior high school， students have a certain vocabulary base， but it is insufficient to reach the requirements. They must enlarge their vocabulary， master rich vocabulary， improve their English use and practical ability， and pay attention to the use of vocabulary learning strategies.

II. The problems of senior high school vocabulary teaching

With the implementation of the new curriculum， the textbook knowledge of senior high school has been becoming more difficult and new words has been increasing， which pose a challenge to the traditional vocabulary teaching. Although many teachers and students spend a lot of time and energy in teaching and learning vocabulary， and most students also seem to remember a large number of vocabulary， but it is not optimistic in oral communication and reading comprehension.

1. Mechanical memory of English words

When the students learn English words， they often concentrate on to the vocabulary book， by the means of concentrated recitation， rote memory， pronounce the English alphabet one by one， but ignore the rules of pronunciation. In consideration of memorizing words， the students transfer the English words into Chinese one by one instead of placing the words in context to master their meaning and usage. The model will inevitably lead to inefficient vocabulary learning. The reason why the students adopt mechanical memory is that some students lack the knowledge of phonetics and do not understand the pronunciation of words， which intensifies the English learning burden.endprint

According to the literature， it shows that students who are not successful enough in English are usually subject to vocabulary problems and their phonological basis is weak （Su， 2011）. Some students do not know how to remember scientifically， besides， there are many students who want to master words by studying once or twice， but they do not know that a foreign word is really mastered that needs to take about 10 to 12 meaningful contacts （Shu & Zhuang， 1996）. Through the mechanical memory， the students simply understand corresponding vocabulary Chinese meaning of English words， instead of comprehending in the specific language environment， which leads to be weak in the face of new materials or words.

2. Decontextualized vocabulary teaching method

Teachers often explain vocabulary in isolation and separate texts， and change vocabulary teaching into the accumulation of words and phrases notes， so that students can spend a lot of time remembering words that are not related. Yu Demin believes that contextual information can link words in the text， making it easier for students to extract vocabulary from their mental lexicon， and the repetition rate of words is high， which is conducive to vocabulary memory （Yu， 2002）.

In vocabulary teaching， lots of teachers teach every new module， first of all， let students turn to students vocabulary table， follow the prescribed order， read and explain the Chinese meaning of every word from start to finish， and students follow passively the teachers in the whole process of vocabulary teaching， form reading to presenting， followed by memorization and dictation. The simple and straightforward teaching method， making students lose the tension of thinking， is not conducive to the cultivation of interest and ability. Besides， in the teaching of English vocabulary， there is the phenomenon to explain the words in an isolated and one-sided way. Some teachers also become the “experts of dictionary”， all the meanings of dictionary copy to the students and then let them recite after class. Simply learning the literal meanings of words does not lead students to understand the meanings of words in different contexts， and use them comprehensively in the practice of listening， speaking， reading and writing.

3. No prominence of important vocabulary

The survey manifests that many high school English teachers do not study the key and important words provided by teaching reference books， in contrast， they concentrate on teaching all the words in each unit before class and attempt to make them master all the words that appear in the textbooks. This not only aggravates the burden of students vocabulary memory， but also makes them feel difficult to learn vocabulary， even producing conflict psychology， and losing interest and confidence in English vocabulary learning.endprint

Besides， the teachers only pay attention to the accumulation of vocabulary， but neglect the language application of vocabulary. Although the students accumulate a lot of vocabulary， they get fragmentary and isolated words. This kind of teaching is unable to adapt to the new curriculum standard and improve comprehensive language utilization ability.

III. The strategies of senior high school vocabulary teaching

1. Strengthening the foundation of phonetics

In view of the words of mechanical memory， it is vital to strengthen the foundation of phonetics and combine the teaching of vocabulary， pronunciation， form， meaning and application. English is alphabetic writing， each word has its own pronunciation and follows certain rules of spelling （Wang， 2015）. The knowledge of pronunciation is the basis of learning vocabulary and the subject， in consequence， the amount of phonetic knowledge will directly affect students vocabulary learning and language development. High school students have a certain sound basis， teachers should strengthen the teaching of pronunciation knowledge， help students consolidate and master the international phonetic symbols， pronunciation rules， syllable division， stress tagging and other basic knowledge of phonetics.

In the teaching of vocabulary， it should link vocabulary with the rules of pronunciation， spelling and phonetics and gradually build the word system network， helping to improve students overall pronunciation and thus reduce their burden of vocabulary learning. English vocabulary is very numerous， but it has its inherent regularity. Mastering some basic knowledge of word formation can help students break through the difficulties of memorizing words and enlarge their vocabulary. There are many ways of forming new words in English， such as derivative， conversion， synthesis， abbreviation and so on.

2. Using learning strategies to consolidate learning outcomes

According to Ebbinghaus forgetting curve， there is a common psychological phenomenon. That is that we forget very quickly a few days after the study， and then gradually slow down， so the reasonable review method should associate timely with deferred revision （Pu， 2009）. We must review the day in learning the word and then gradually increase the length of the study， so that you can consolidate the word. For the words students have learned before， teachers should consciously use riddles and games in the classroom teaching and let them used repeatedly， so as to enhance the students memory. It can also put the words into English scene dialogue associating with the students life， let the students perform through the application of games or other interesting activities in the classroom in order to learn and consolidate the words， deepen the process of classroom teaching， and also make communication easier.endprint

3. Creating context to make vocabulary teaching meaningful

The effectiveness of English vocabulary teaching is directly related to students interest in learning English. Zhang Xianchen believes that teachers should stimulate students interest in vocabulary learning in various ways， encourage them to think actively and participate intuitively in vocabulary learning （Zhang， 2007）.

As we have known， it is not easy to remember isolated things . According to the characteristics of English learning， teachers should adhere to the principle “word relating to sentence， sentence associating with article”， letting the English vocabulary to be explained in the specific context， and it is not only easy for students to learn English vocabulary， but also to develop their habits of thinking in English. With the purpose of grasping really the meaning and usage， we must attach importance to textual support through context teaching.

IV. Conclusion

Vocabulary teaching is an important part of senior high school English teaching， and it needs a long-term accumulation process to broaden vocabulary. Teachers should flexibly use various vocabulary teaching strategies， provide students with plenty of opportunities to access vocabulary， enrich their vocabulary and improve their comprehensive language ability through various channels.

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