Copy of English Vocabulary Quiz

Survey Report on Teaching English Vocabulary to Primary School Students

I. The Presentation of the Survey

English vocabulary is the building material of language, which is combined with phonetics, grammar, sentence patterns and texts; on the other hand, it is embodied in listening, speaking, reading and writing. There are many vocabularies to memorize. Nine years of compulsory education in elementary school English syllabus" clearly stipulates that: six years of study must master nearly 1000 words and related fixed collocation, in the oral and written exercises to be able to use. Many students think that there are vocabulary words in every new lesson, and they have to memorize several words or phrases in every lesson. They remember them on the same day but forget them after a few days, and some of the words or phrases are very difficult to memorize, and some of them even look very similar in their composition, pronunciation, etc., so that they can be easily confused and it is really not easy to memorize them, and it is really difficult for primary school students to memorize them. The obvious difficulties include: less class time, fewer opportunities for repetitive practice, heavy workload in other classes, and the fact that many of the vocabulary words to be mastered are common words that are difficult to master. In a questionnaire survey among students, 64% of them felt that the words they learned from English texts were limited (Huang, 2000). A considerable number of students feel that they have a small vocabulary, reading a text takes a long time, and it is difficult to read it with interest, so they read less; when they read less, they learn less vocabulary; when they learn less, they read more slowly. Many students are in such a negative cycle.

II. Investigative process

(I) Content of the investigation

1. Substantial improvement of independent learning of English vocabulary: the key words in the vocabulary of the fifth grade are the target words, which have not been dealt with in the text, and are the more difficult to master the vocabulary. The words that have appeared in the text are labeled one by one on the vocabulary list, thus highlighting the words that have not appeared in the text. Choosing these words will both experiment with vocabulary learning methods and help students master these more difficult words.

2. Improvement in the ability to learn English vocabulary independently: the ability to learn vocabulary independently according to the teacher's guidance, using the methods provided by the teacher, and creating their own scenarios.

3. Testing the practicability and effectiveness of the teacher's research methods: two measures were found to be feasible: firstly, picking out the key words for students and setting clear memorization goals; secondly, providing short and interesting short texts and short messages with pictures. Accordingly, two vocabulary learning methods were devised: one is the short sentence method and the other is the short text and picture method.

(2) Subjects

All fifth-grade students (group A for class 5.1 and group B for class 5.2)

(3) Criteria

The factor of this investigation is the English vocabulary test score. The vocabulary learning method used in the experimental group (Class A) was the short-text-and-picture method, which consists of cutting small paragraphs with pictures containing target words from English newspapers such as the 21st Century Newspaper, assembling them into pages, underlining the target words, and photocopying them for distribution to the students in Class A to memorize the 15 target words contained in each copy of the material. The vocabulary learning method used by the control group (Class B) was the short sentence method, which consisted of listing the target words in the materials used by Class A and giving a sentence containing each word to Class B to memorize. The same small number of explanations of the target words were given in both classes each time the material was sent. The subject's performance at the end of the study period was the dependent variable.

(IV) Methods of Investigation

1. The main methods used in this investigation are questionnaire method, questioning method and conversation method.

Questionnaire method: to test and measure the students' mastery of vocabulary learning and to arrive at a more accurate survey result.

Questioning method: Through real-time communication with the students, we can find out the students' positive recognition and mastery of the given learning methods during the survey.

Talking method: investigating whether students need this kind of learning method and whether it is helpful to the improvement of independent learning ability after learning.

2. Specific investigation steps:

A. Theoretical basis of the investigation

Craik and Lockhart (1972) put forward the "levels of processing" (levels of processing), that perceive things include the analysis of the stimulus at various levels. The initial level is the analysis of stimuli such as lines, angles, etc. The initial stage is the sensory characteristics of objects such as lines, angles, brightness, sound and loudness; the later stages involve matching the input with abstract concepts stored in the brain, i.e., pattern recognition and judgment of meaning. When a word is recognized, it triggers the learner's past experiences, images and associations of the word. This theory is also known as "depth of processing". The term "depth" refers to a greater degree of semantic analysis, also known as elaboration coding. This deep coding produces longer-lasting, stronger memory traces.

Craik and Tulving (1975) showed that memory was strengthened in relation to the extent to which the context containing the target word constituted a conjunction, noting that conjunction with the decoded context facilitated word recall because a decoded linguistic word was conjugated on the basis of the memorizer's past experience. This integrated record of past learning serves as a cue to reconstruct the initial decoding when recalled. According to this theory, providing students with contexts containing the target words and accompanying them with pictures will give them the opportunity to perform initial and deep encoding, and thus memorize the target words more efficiently.

B. Implementation of the investigation:

Method 1 was used in class A and method 2 was used in class B. The first lesson of each week in class A and B was a lesson in which the students were given the opportunity to memorize the target words. The first class of each week, class A and class B were each given a group of materials; the second class then tested the target words in the materials given last time, and the second group of materials was distributed before the end of the class; a total of 6 groups of materials were given out **** and 6 small tests were carried out, and then the total test was carried out.

One quiz was conducted after each distribution of materials during the survey, and the quiz questions could be 10 words or phrases randomly selected from the 15 target words for students to write the corresponding English or Chinese explanations. At the end of the test, 50 words were randomly selected from the target words, and students were asked to write the corresponding English or Chinese meanings of the given English words.

After the experimental data of Class A and Class B were recorded, the students who were absent for some reasons and did not participate in the whole process of the experiment were removed, and according to the statistics of the distribution of the vocabulary test scores, 20 students with scores between 45 and 50 in each class were selected in the same proportion for statistical analysis. The results of the test showed that there was no significant difference between the vocabulary skills of the two groups. It can be assumed that the vocabulary skills of the two groups of students drawn for statistical analysis are basically the same.

After the teacher-guided practice learning, the average scores of group A were higher than those of group B in each quiz and in the total quiz. This shows that the use of short text plus picture method (method 1) and short sentence method (method 2) are both effective in learning vocabulary, indicating that if students have a clear need to memorize, the memory task is moderate, and there is a short sentence to help comprehension and memorization, so that vocabulary learning is also effective. And the total vocabulary test scores of group A were significantly higher than those of group B at the end of the experiment. This kind of result shows that the short-phrase plus picture method can produce stronger and longer-lasting memory traces due to the fact that there are pictures to help association and comprehension, and more effective context for semantic processing, and it is easier to reproduce the meaning of the word when recalling it because the remembered word constitutes an integral part of the context and the picture during the time of memorization.

3. Survey and Interview of Students' Opinions on Vocabulary Learning Methods

At the end of the survey students were asked to complete a questionnaire in which the students responded to the questionnaire regarding the novelty of the material of the method used, the appropriateness of the material at the time of handing out the material, the usefulness of the material, the extent to which the material suited them, and the need for such a material, and the need for such material, and students were given a choice of three responses: A:. Yes; B:not sure; C:no.

In Class A, which uses the short-text-plus-drawing method of vocabulary learning, the majority of the students thought that the material was new, that the material was useful, that it was appropriate for their level, and that they still needed such a material.42% of the students thought that it was appropriate to give out the material at the right time; 56% of the students chose either Answer B or C. The majority of the students thought that the material was not simple.

The majority of the students thought that the material was not simple.

In Class B, which used the short sentence method, most students found the material useful, it was appropriate for their level, and they still need it. The majority of students did not find the material simple. Almost half of the students thought that this activity was conducted inappropriately. As for the question whether the material was new or not, 37% of the students answered in the affirmative; 63% of the students chose answer B or C.

After the whole survey was completed, five students were interviewed in each class, and the more concentrated opinion was that the vocabulary learning activity was very useful, the students were in great need of vocabulary learning help from the teacher, and they thought that the teacher should have carried out this activity earlier, and it would be better if it could continue to be carried out in the second half of the semester. It would be better if the activity could be continued in the second half of the semester. Students who used the short-text-and-drawing method thought it was interesting and impressive, and those who used the short-sentence method thought that the vocabulary words were the key words picked out by the teacher and had examples, which were valued by the students.

Three, synthesis of findings

The activities and investigations of this vocabulary learning have been obtained in the following ways.

Firstly, the teaching experiment related to the content of students' learning along with the regular teaching in the natural classroom was welcomed by the students, which ensured the sample size of the participants and the motivation of the students to participate in the whole process of the activity. Although the experiment was conducted over a long period of time and there were factors affecting the consistency of the sample, the difficulty of the learning materials selected and the difficulty of the tests were mastered appropriately because the teachers in charge of the classes knew the students' level of English and were familiar with the materials.

Secondly, students generally believe that among the words not appearing in the key texts, those more difficult, confusing, polysemous words and words that need to be mastered are more effective than memorizing the vocabulary lists repeatedly by themselves after the teacher's guidance and specialization.

Thirdly, taking interesting newspaper articles with pictures is an effective way of expanding students' vocabulary, as it has a contemporary flavor, attracts students and is easy for them to absorb.

Fourth, the teacher's in-depth understanding of the textbook to pick out the key words that need to be supplemented for the students, to give the students a moderate number of target words, and to carry out practical tests or competitions can also promote vocabulary learning.

Fifthly, the survey helps students to improve their independent learning of vocabulary by providing them with two more easy-to-follow learning methods.

Sixth, it helps teachers to improve their teaching level gradually and promotes their professional development even more.

References

Craik, F. I. M. & R. S. Lockhart. 1972. "Levels of processing: a framework for memory research." Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behauior 11: 671-684.

Coady, J. 1997. "L2 vocabulary acquisition-a synthesis of the research." In T. Huckin & J. Coady (eds.). Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Cambridge: C UP.

Gui Shichun, 1988, Applied Linguistics and Teaching in China, Shandong Education Press.

Huang Xiaoping, 2000, Vocabulary Learning and Reading, Chinese University English Teaching Series, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Liu Si, 1995, English Listening Vocabulary and Reading Vocabulary - A Survey on Vocabulary Research, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, First Issue.

Wang Jisheng, 1981, The Secret of Memory, Tianjin People's Publishing House.

Yang Zhiqing and Deng Wei, 1996, Influence of vocabulary teaching on the reading level of science and engineering students. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, No. 3 ?

(Originally published in Foreign Language Teaching (FLTA), No.1, 2003)