Vocabulary
Cuilu Shi (Lulu)
Before having this class, I never thought about learning new vocabulary
through second language itself. I learnt both English and French through Chinese. In
traditional second language class, students learn new words through translation from
their native language. Due to the differences between Chinese and English, students
accept new knowledge through their first language stereotype. In Chinese, each
character has its own meaning. Through combining different characters, we build
words and phrases with new meanings. But in English, a word itself can have several
meanings in different circumstance. I’ve always considered this as an obstacle when I
learn English. Even though teachers use several Chinese translations to explain an
English word, it is difficult for students to remember all these translations for a single
word, not to say to use those words as active vocabulary. Now I realize that what
matters when we teach a new word is not only to translate it into students’ native
language. Morphology, meaning, implication, application and other factors together
contribute to our understanding of a word.
Through multisensory and multimedia input, teachers can facilitate students’
second language vocabulary acquisition. In chapter three, I learned the advantages
that visual input present towards students’ learning process. The combination of
verbal and visual instruction helps students to extend their short-term memory.
What’s more, it also makes it easier for students to retrieve their knowledge in their
later study. Whenever students get confused, without having the anxious that I do not
know all my students’ first languages, as a teacher, I can simply draw on the
whiteboard to help students understand. Under the instruction of visual input, I can
make input more comprehensible and avoid misunderstanding.
Background knowledge also can facilitate students’ target language learning
process. Instead of giving students different meanings of a certain word, teachers
should encourage students to expose to target language as much as possible. Students
can mortify their understanding of a certain word through reading target language
materials. As a teacher, I will use target language to explain itself when teaching
students new words. I will also introduce culture study to make learning process more
comprehensible and motive students to know the background story of each word.
Students are encouraged to make connections to other courses and use their prior
knowledge when learning new words.
I will let the students know that more vocabulary does not mean more fluent in
a foreign language. There are students who have huge vocabulary size, but cannot
express themselves properly since a large part of their vocabularies are passive
vocabulary. I believe that students should try to make every word they learn as active
vocabulary to know the meanings and apply words properly.