Teach English in CaijiA Zhen - Chongqing

Teaching vocabularyWhen teaching vocabularies to students, I believe that the teacher should not teach the way vocabularies the way I was taught in school. In my school the teacher wrote about 15 words with definitions straight out of the dictionary on the chalk board and told us to learn them before the test day. I often used the dictionary to study the words and memorized what was written in the dictionary without even knowing how to use them in writings or in conversations. We learned a lot of words but we also forgot plenty of them as well. I think there was something wrong happening there. When a student learns a new word, it should be useful to him/her. It should be memorable to them. students need more exposure to the word through reading and hearing in actual conversations. The teacher should provide reading materials that are appropriate for the student's level of English and we should use the vocabularies in authentic situations instead of giving students a big list of words to learn on their own. I'd like my students feel that they've gained something valuable when I'm teaching vocabulary. First I'd like to talk about selecting the words. The words being selected I believe should not always be pulled out of a lesson plan but should be words that are used often but frequently misunderstood. Also, the teacher should pick words that are going to appear in the current reading. The teacher should also ask for student's participation in selecting words and find out which word they need a deeper understanding in. I would let the students read a few chapters and let them ask me which word they did not understand. I think a lot of the students would understand the basic meaning of the vocabulary just by reading them in a sentence, so I would ask all the students and tell them to write down what they think the word means. Here I could find out how well the students know the words and I would then look at their educated guesses and define the definition in a classroom discussion. The students could write if they "know it," "sort of know it," or "don't know it at all." The words that seem most difficult to students should have more time spent on them. The teacher must make sure to tell the students that it's not about being right when filling out the worksheet. When teaching new vocabularies, the teacher should first simply explain the word and then tap into deeper areas of how the word is used. The teacher should use imagery and many examples instead of just reciting its definition. Then the teacher should ask the students what they think the word means and ask them to use them in a sentence verbally or in writing. The teacher could also ask the students to create a non-linguistic representation of the word either using a picture, or symbolic representation. students could also compare the new vocabularies with words they already know and find out the similarities and relations. After the students have had some understanding of the new vocabularies, the teacher could pair the students up or place them in groups and ask them to have discussions and conversations using the new words. I would also like to make sure the students are having fun, so playing games might be necessary at times. In conclusion, teaching and learning vocabularies should be entertaining and enjoyable. The students should become completely familiar and comfortable with the new words instead of just memorizing the definitions. It is very important for the students to be able to use the words in conversations or in writings in the future. The teachers should feel that the student's understanding of the vocabularies is his/her responsibility and should be taken seriously. The teacher must find a way that the students could truly grow as well as the teacher himself/herself.