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The primary goals of foreign language education in schools include fostering a willingness to
communicate in a foreign language and introducing students to other cultures.
Learning a second language at an early age has numerous benefits, such as improved cognitive
development, enhanced academic performance, increased cultural awareness, better communication
skills, greater career opportunities, improved memory retention and increased adaptability. These
advantages can have a lasting impact on a child's overall development and success in various aspects
of life.
REFERENCES
1. Francis DJ, Lesaux N, August D. Language of Instruction. In: August D, Shanahan L, editors.
Developing
2. Gardner, H. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books,
1983.
3. Harley T. The Psychology of Language. Psychology Press, 1997, p.313-319 Literacy in
Second-language Learners. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 2006. pp. 365- 413
4. Johnson, J. S., & Newport, E. L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning:
the influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive
psychology, 21.
5. Petty G. Teaching Today. 3rd ed. Cheltenham, the UK: Nelson Thornes Ltd., 2004.
6. TAJIEVA, A., & BABANIYAZOVA, N. PERSONALITY AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING.
EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY
Bisenova Aygerim assistant teacher of
English language and literature, NSPI
The need for teaching English effectively is an incentive for teachers to rethink and develop
new teaching methods. Teachers nowadays have to apply different strategies and new approaches to
meet students’ needs and to organize effective classroom. It should be noted, that these new strategies
and approaches are sometimes coupled with old methods to reach the desired effect. Considering new
approaches, teachers also need to preserve old methods, by applying them differently, in a new light.
Mastering the bulk of the vocabulary, one’s speech becomes correct and fluent. Moreover, good
knowledge of vocabulary (here go synonyms, antonyms, high-flown words, idioms, expressions)
helps to construct good narratives. For mastering the language one needs to have good stock of
vocabulary. When learning English, students always need to learn vocabulary in a systematic way.
According to Carter, books devoted to practical approaches to vocabulary teaching do not duly
recognize the issues in vocabulary learning and are based on untested assumptions [2]. It can be
inferred that the vocabulary learning process or the teaching process of vocabulary should be
organized according to practical rather than theoretical considerations.
According to some researchers teaching vocabulary is more important than teaching grammar.
As Lewis mentions, “when there is no grammar very little can be conveyed, but when there is no
vocabulary nothing is conveyed” [2]. At the same time other researches have been trying to emphasize
that learning vocabulary is as important as learning grammar [8]
Alongside with different strategies, the most traditional and effective method of teaching
vocabulary remains the method of dictionary definitions. This method suggests that either the teacher
gives the students the definitions or the students themselves have to look the new words up in a
dictionary. Although this method is sometimes considered to be tiresome and time-taking and many
new trends try to minimize its efficiency stating that it is not actual any longer, it should be noted,
that this method is persistently serving as an efficient means in several aspects.
Firstly, dictionary definitions (either given by the teacher or looked up by the learner) give the
student a clear understanding of not only the concept that the given word denotes, but also a complete
description of that word. Such descriptions may usually include pronunciation, part of speech, word
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combinations composed of that word, examples, synonyms, antonyms, idioms, expressions,
derivatives, sometimes the origin of the word, etc. These factors give us enough ground to believe
that the efficacy of this traditional method is more than invaluable. Even considering the fact that
students may forget these words, we should bear in mind that the general description is usually saved
in the memory.
Secondly,
as
our
teaching
practice
shows,
the
seemingly
boring
detailed
descriptions/definitions of words in dictionaries usually endow students with analytical ability, which
is so important in comprehending and translating unknown texts. Due to this analytical ability,
students often “guess” the meanings of new words in context without having a dictionary at hand.
And finally, learners, who have been writing definitions, as well as synonyms, antonyms, derivatives,
word combinations, examples, idioms in their vocabularies (copybooks) during their early studies,
develop language proficiency and acquire skills for the correct use of dictionaries.
From this perspective, teachers have an important task to fulfill: to make students get used to
working with vocabularies and dictionaries. It should be noted, that nowadays many students
classically have difficulty in looking up new words in dictionaries, especially when one word has a
number of definitions, each having different, sometimes antonymous meanings.
This difficulty often results in misunderstanding, causing errors in translation. For example,
students frequently look up words in a dictionary, without taking into consideration the given context
they are going to translate. A more global problem is when the context is considered, however, the
equivalent is not chosen correctly in translation by the student. This is due to poor knowledge of
grammar: when the student is unable to differentiate which part of speech the word to be looked up
in the dictionary belongs to. When the target word in the given sentence appears as a verb but the
student chooses the adjectival or noun meaning in translation. Hence, we should emphasize the
importance of having good knowledge of grammar (that very often help those who do not look up a
word in the dictionary). In order to avoid such inappropriate situations, teachers should try to facilitate
the vocabulary learning process by selecting words arising out of the specific needs of the given group
of students. For example, teachers can choose a specific word-stock for each lesson and for each
unit/theme and give to their students enlisted in a paper (in a handout) or by writing them on the
blackboard, with a simultaneous discussion of each word. The discussion may be accompanied by
certain activities: the teacher asks the students to fulfil the following tasks:
make combinations with the given word,
give the derivative,
use in sentences of your own,
give synonyms/antonyms,
give a definition, etc.
The abovementioned tasks are effective, as they help students to study new words from different
aspects and to fix them in their memories. Besides, with the help of these assignments the teacher
motivates all the students in the group to get involved in the learning process. To fix the vocabulary
in the student’s mind the teacher chooses a special group of words and asks the students to compose
a small text. This is an effective method for revising the active vocabulary. This task can be assigned
either to the whole group to be done individually by each student or a teamwork can be organized (by
dividing students into groups and asking them to compose texts within their team).
Moreover, the frequency of such assignments motivates students to be informed from the news
media, television, radio and the internet, in order to be able to keep pace with other students in the
group and to participate in debates regularly held by the teacher. Another effective strategy that can
be used in teaching vocabulary and keeping it active in the students’ memory is to ask them to listen
to news programs in the mother tongue (news on television, radio, the Internet) and try to translate
them on the spot. Our observations show that students meet this challenge quite successfully as they
realize the active use of their newly-acquired vocabulary. It goes without saying that one of the most
traditional methods of revising and fixing the vocabulary is test on vocabulary.
Generally, test on vocabulary can take different forms. It can be organized either on a translation
principle (the teacher gives the mother tongue equivalents and students write the English variant) or
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through exercises (multiple choice, gap filling, word formation, etc.). This kind of vocabulary testing
usually takes the form of a written task. However, the newly acquired vocabulary can also be tested
and revised orally, by regularly asking words from the active vocabulary. A quite interactive method
of refreshing the newly-acquired vocabulary is to write a sentence on the blackboard that the teacher
composes of the words from the active vocabulary. [6]
After writing the sentence on the blackboard, the teacher asks the students to paraphrase the
underlined parts using synonyms or definitions. It should be noted, that paraphrasing is not only an
excellent means of revising the vocabulary, but it also improves the analytical skills of students. The
teacher chooses a text containing the active vocabulary, underlines special parts in it, asking students
to express the same in other words. In order to make students more interested in the vocabulary
learning process and to involve more and more students, teachers may organize an activity (game).
This is a method used in classroom that can motivate students: the teacher divides the classroom into
groups (two or three, depending on the number of students) and calls one student from each row to
the blackboard. The blackboard is divided respectively into columns. The teacher writes a word on
the top of the blackboard and asks students from each row to write a word with the last letter of it,
exclusively from the newly-acquired vocabulary.[4]
In sum up effective vocabulary techniques are crucial in teaching and learning process.The
learning process becomes smooth and useful, students become more motivated. This kind of approach
can create a student-oriented classroom, which is an essential precondition both in the teaching and
learning processes.
REFERENCES
1. Allen V. Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
2. Carter R. Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspectives, 2nd ed. London, 1998.
3. Larsen-Freeman D. Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1986.
4. Lewis M. Implementing the Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications,
2000.
5. Meara P. Vocabulary acquisition: a neglected aspect of language learning // Language
Teaching and Linguistics Abstracts, 13 (4), 1980.
6. Meara P. The Study of Lexis in Interlanguage // A. Davies, C. Criper & A.P.R. Howatt (eds.)
Interlanguage. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1984.
7. Nunan D. Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers. New York, 1998.
8. Wilkins D. Linguistics in Language Teaching. London: Edward Arnold, 1972.
9. Wilkins D. Second-Language Learning and Teaching. London, 1974.
ENHANCING VOCABULARY ACQUISITION THROUGH SKELL: A CORPUS-
BASED LINGUISTICS APPROACH
Boymirzayeva Dilnoza - EFL teacher,
Vosiq International school, Tashkent
Kakilova Ugilkhon - EFL teacher,
Specialized Secondary school #14, Andijan
This article analyzes the multifaceted importance of corpus-based linguistics in English
language education, focusing on its crucial function in fostering authentic language use, facilitating
research-based teaching methodologies, and increasing students' linguistic competence across
registers and contexts. Through an exhaustive review of current literature and empirical evidence,
this paper highlights the transformative influence of corpus-based approaches on language learning,
vocabulary development, error analysis, and research skill advancement.
The introduction of corpus-based linguistics has resulted in an important shift in teaching
the English language. This move indicates a recognition of the transformative significance that actual
language data has in influencing language teaching. With the spread of digital corpora and advances
