Activities Make Teaching Efficient(56715)-英语教育-(187)-21英语网

THE famous linguist Wilkins says“Without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.” What he says proves that vocabulary is one of the most important elements of a language, just as bricks to a grand mansion, droplets to a vast sea. Teaching vocabulary is not an easy task due to the boring and the forgetful nature of the memorizing process. Instead of forcing students to memorize the new words and do dictations for checking them up (which is actually hated by students according to my investigation), I have realized that it is possible to create good situations and interesting activities to enhance the effectiveness of vocabulary teaching and learning. This article shows examples of some useful activities I have devised for my students and explains the related principles, strategies and other relevant aspects while using them. 1. Principles of Activities To teach vocabulary, the following six principles are suggested. (1) Categorize words into chunks Memory can be classified into short-term memory and long-term memory. When students are facing a great number of new words, it’s hard for them to memorize all the words in a short time. Even if they manage to do so, it’s possible for them to forget them after a while. That’s because they only get semantic memory (which only deals with the meaning of words) which will result in short-term memory. If we turn semantic memory into episodic memory (which deals with the situations in which the words are used) and chunk them, it’s probable for them to keep these new words in their minds for much longer time, that is long-term memory. (2) Motivation It is important to ensure teenagers are paying attention and involved in their lessons. Therefore, ideas for practicing vocabulary should be fun. Board games are always fun. (3) Recycling Enormous memorizing doesn’t necessarily improve students’ use of vocabulary. It is vital to ensure that new vocabulary is regularly recycled, because if students do not get chances to put them into use they will easily begin to forget them. Sentence-making is a great way to practice the words they have learned. (4) Discovery According to the description of an American psychologist J.S. Bruner: “Discovery method is an instructional approach that encourages the student to discover some concept or principle by using his /her own mental processes.” (5) Communication In order to communicate clearly and effectively a good range of vocabulary is needed. It enriches both spoken and written language. It is a lovely activity to get students involved in developing descriptions and dialogues in a story. (6) Interest Songs are Music with Words. Students are curious about and interested in singing songs in a foreign language. It can increase motivation to learn English. A well-selected song can help you teach English. What’s more, students like to learn English through songs. 2. Instructions Teachers choose a center word to inspire students’ thought by using a net. Students are expected to find the words which are related to the center word according to a certain relationship. The following questions are raised by teachers as a guide: Q1: Can you tell me some festivals? Q2: Can you classify these festivals into different groups? Q3: How do people in the world celebrate these festivals? Q4: What do people think of festivals? Can you use some adjectives to show people’s feelings towards them? Q5: Which verbs can go with adjectives? Q6: Do you know about other festivals? With “festivals” served as the center word and 6 questions used as extensions, these 50 words instantly become a big chunk, closely knitted with each other. Most importantly, they appear before students in a logic way, which indefinitely impresses them deeply. 3. Examples of Activities Board game (1) Rules of the game: ① Play in groups of 4 students. ② Place your coin on the start square. ③ Player 1 flips a coin. “Head” means move one square, “tail” means move two squares. ④ Player 1 moves his coin to the correct square and answers the question. The other students in the group decide if the answer is correct. If it is not, the player must return to the square where they started. ⑤ Player 2 flips the coin and plays on. ⑥ The first student who reaches the last square is the winner of the game. (2) Activity (see Table 1) (3) Tips for the game: ① To play this game, you must give very clear instructions to ensure every student understand the rules. ② To design this activity, you’d better vary the type of questions and try to avoid using the same sentence structure in case students will get bored with them. (4) Summary: Creating an activity like the one above does not take a lot of time and ensures interesting practice of previously taught vocabulary. To encourage students’ independence, you can also get students to create board games like this for each other. A good time for a game like this is at the end of a unit. Still I will use the words of Unit 3 as an example. Above all, teachers are expected to make the class a paradise in which students can learn happily to maximize their potential and realize their personality. To achieve this aim, we teachers need to reform teaching methods, design all kinds of activities, know about their likes and dislikes so as to attract their attention and make them fully involved in all teaching activities. By doing this, efficient learning and unique teaching are both achieved. Table1

1.What are the people living beside you called?	2.Where do you usually put your pens, knives and rulers?	3.How do you feel when you hit the lottery?	4.What do the actors wear when they perform in dramas?
8.Can you draw a picture of a ghost?	7. Where does your mother cook meals?	6.Is a lion a kind of gentle animal?	5. What do people usually put on their birthday cake?
9. Which month is Christmas in?	10. What special food do people eat on Thanksgiving Day?	11.What is the opposite word of start?	12. Congratulations! You have won!