SKKN phương pháp dạy từ mới cho học sinh THPT

sở giáo dục và đào tạo lào cai
trờng thpt số 4 thành phố lào cai

Sáng kiến cảI tiến kỹ
thuật

đề tài: How to TEACH new words to high school
students
( PHơng pháp Dạy từ mới cho học sinh THPT )

Ngời thực hiện: Lê Thị Xuân Hơng
Tổ: Văn- Sử- Địa- Ngoại ngữ- GDCD

Năm học: 2013- 2014

TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter I: Introduction
1. Reason for the choice of the study
2. Object of study
3. Field of study
4. Method of study
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Chapter II: CONTENTS
1. The place of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
2. Some of Vietnamese pupils’ problems in learning English vocabulary
3. Techniques for teaching new words
4. Showing the meaning of words
5. Using new words
6. Checking new words

7. Active and passive vocabulary
Chapter III: Conclusion

Chapter I- introduction
1. Reasons for the choice of the study
English learning and teaching become a great social demand. Pupils when
finishing school are required to be able to communicate. But in fact, many pupils
who have finished school can not satisfy this requirement. They find it difficult to
learn and remember new words, especially they don’t know how to use them in
contexts. So, teachers’ task is how to tesch new words effectively so that pupils are
able to achieve the aim of fearing language teaching and learning. To deal with this
problem is not simple. I have been very interested in the subject and found it
necessary to present some of my techniques to teach new words effectively. I do
hope that it would be of some help to the teaching.
2. Aims of the study
- To show the place of vocabulary in language teaching and learning.
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- To show some techniques for teaching new words.
- To show how to give the meaning of new words and how to use them.
3. Study method
Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers, applying in teaching,
observing and drawing out experiences.
4. Subjects of the study
The subjects in this study are pupils in Lao Cai High Chool No. 4. They have to
acquire English well enough to be able to communicate in that language as well as
to pass the final exam. This is the reason why we think they really need the help
from teachers.

Chapter II- content

1. The place of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
New vocabulary is one of the basic building blocks in our students'
learning. Words are important because they are one of the three language
components. Without words nothing can be conveyed in communication. We
can’t communicate effectively and successfully without words.
But have we ever put much thought into how to introduce new words?
Learning long laundry lists of words can be very tedious for students. On the
other hand, introducing words in students' native language and then translating
them into English or vice versa is not very effective, either. We have to start
training them to think in English right from the start. Needless to say, the
language we are teaching should be spoken at all times, even if students are
absolute beginners.

3


It’s impossible to learn words only. We teach vocabulary in combination
with other language components: pronounciation, grammar, and the four
l;anguage skills: listening, writing, reading and speaking.
Most of English words are polysemantic, i.e. a word has more than one
meaning, and the meaning of the word depends on the situation. No word can
have a full meaning when it stands alone.
Eg.: - Give me a ring tonight. I’ll be home at 7.00
My boyfriend presented me a gold ring.
- I’ve bought a desk fan.
He’s a football fan.
Many English words are polysyllsbic that is having more tha one syllable
of which one is stressed. Eg.: teacher, continue, dictation,..

An English word may have different grammatical function in sentence it
depends on its position. It may be a subjects, object, predicate,…An English
word may have different forms depending on its part of speech. It may be a
noun, verb, adverb, adjective, article,….Eg: I
have a sister.
pron. v.
art. n.
2. Some of Vietnamese pupils’ problems in learning English vocabulary
Because of the interference of the mother tongue, when learning English
vocabulary, Vietnamese pupils often make the following mistakes:
- They confuse the meaning of the same word.
- Fail to use the words in the right situation.
- Fail to spell the word correctly.
- Fail to pronounce the word correctly, especially stress and
intonation.
- Fail to predict the meaning of the new words.
Below is the result of the test after the lesson ( Lesson 3) done by pupils
from class 11A1 when new techniques are still not applied:
No. of pupils
32

Excellent
2

Good
10

Average
12

Underaverage
4
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3. Techniques for teaching new words
a/ The principles of teaching and learning vocabulary
To “know” a word in a target language, it may mean the ability to:
- Recognize it in its spoken and written form.
- Relate it to an appropriate object or concept ( understanding the
meaning).
- Use it in the appropriate grammatical form.
- In speech, pronounce it in a recognizable way.
- In writing, spell it correctly.
- Use it with the words it goes with in order to make sentences in
real life. ( pholology, lexical meaning, grammatical structure,
spelling, use,…)
b/ Techniques for presenting new words
Learning a new language doesn’t mean learning by heart as many words
as possible. The most important in teaching is how to use it in the right
communicative situation.
When we teach the new words to the pupils, we try to develop in them
two abilities:
- To understand the new word as it is used in the situation.
- To use it for their communicative purposes.
We teach vocabulary in combination with other language components:
grammar, pronunciation and four language skills.
In teaching new words, we can use a lot of techniques ( remember a word
should be introduced in spoken form first). Here are some techniques for
teaching new words:

- Say the word clearly and write it on the board ( give transcription
if necessary).

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- Show the meaning of the new word ( by using one of the four
above techniques.)
- Get the class to repeat the word in chorus.
- Give the word in its appropriate grammatical form and its
combination with other words.
- Give an example to show how the word is used.
- Ask questions using the new word to check comprehension.
- Leave the class to make their own sentences with the new word.
* Vocabulary expansion: When pupils come across a new word, they are
likely to be interested in learning other related words, and this presents a natural
opportunity for vocabulary development, this is sometimes called “ vocabulary
expansion”. We could give related words, write them on the board and use the
new words in questions to involve the class.
4. Showing the meaning of words
a/ Showing meaning visually
* Visually aids such as pictures, objects, things for the pupils to look at
are important.
- Showing visual focusses attention on meaning and helps to make
the language used in the class more and alive.
- Having something to look at keeps the pupils attention, and makes
the class more interesting.
* This is the list of visual aids: The teachers themselves, the blackboard,
real objects, flashcards, pictures, charts,…
+ The teachers themselves: The teachers can use gestures, facial

expressions, and actions to help show the meaning of words and to inllustrate
situation.
Most action verbs such as: sit, stand, open, write,..; some adjectives such
as: happy, ill, worried ,… can be taught using mime.
Example: Presenting the word “ sneeze”
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T: Look! ( mime sneezing) Atchoo! I’ve just sneezed. Sneeze. Can you say
it?
P: Sneeze.
T: Again
P: Sneeze.
+The blackboard: The teacher or pupils can use it to draw pictures,
maps,diagrams,etc… Words such as: tree, cow, tractor,..can be presented in this
way.
+ Real objects: Many words can be presented in this way. Anything that is
already in the classroom such as furniture, parts of the body, clothes. Also many
objects that can be brought into the cl;assroom: other items of clothing (hats,
ties, ..), food ( oranges, rice, eggs,..), small objects from home ( cups, keys,
bags,..).
Example: We can show the meaning of the words such as: watch,
window, elbow by siply pointing at them and saying: “Look! This is a watch”
T: Look! This is a watch ( pointing to the watch). A watch.
P: A watch.
T: (gesture) What is it?
P: A watch
+ Flashcards: cards with single pictures which can be held up by the
teacher. They can be used for presenting and practising new words. The teacher
can draw a picture on the flashcard, or stick on a picture from a magazine.

Flashcards can also be used to show words or numbers.
+ Charts: Larger sheets of card or paper with writing pictures or diagrams,
used for more extended presentation or practice.
In a word, for suitable vocabulary, it is a very effective method: it is
direct, interesting and it makes an impression on the class.
Of course, not all words can be presented visually if it can be done
quickly, easily and clearly.
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b/ Giving examples
Another way to show what words mean is by giving examples, using a
word in a context. It is not necessary to give a complicated explaination, the
meaning can be shown by simple sentences. This can be done by making
statements using the word, or by imagining an example.
Example:
- Presenting the word “ building”:
T: Houses are building. This school is also a building. In big cities there
are many buildings- there are hotels, offices, and cinemas. They are all
buildings of different kinds. Building.
P: Building.
T: Good. What does it mean?
( Pupils give translation).
- Presenting the word “lazy”:
T: Some people work hard. Others don’t work hard. For example, I have
a brother. He’s very lazy. He gets up late, and then he does nothing all day. I
say to him: “ Don’t be so lazy, do some work!”. Lazy.
P: Lazy.
T: What does it mean?
( Pupils give translation).

A good example should clearly show the meaning of the word to someone
who does not know it already. Examples are especially useful for showing the
meaning of abstract words, e.g. : love, happinees, imagine, quality, impossible,
etc..Traslating a new wordis in itself a useful technique- it is often the simplest
and clearset way of showing what a word means. But if we only give a direct
translation, pupils can not see how the word is used in an English sentence; to
show this we need to give an example. Instead of telling the pupils what the
word means, we can give examples and then ask them to give a translation. This

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checks that they have understood, and encourages them to listen to the word
being used in English.
c/ Substitution
This technique can be used with students of all levels and works best with
concepts and ideas that can't be easily seen or touched, like abstracts, or
anything that is not a real object. There are different ways to use substitution:
- Synonyms – Teacher substitutes one word students are familiar with for
another new one.
When you call someone, do you sometimes have to wait? You have to hold.
Do trains usually run on time? They are on schedule.
- Antonyms – Teacher substitutes one word they are familiar with for its
opposite.
Is a Ferrari a cheap car?(No) It’s an expensive car.
Substitution works very well with phrasal verbs, which usually have a
one-word equivalent: Do you put off going to the dentist? You postpone seeing
your dentist.
However, we should be careful when using words that are not exact
synonyms or antonyms. Remember to imply that the connotation may be

different in some cases.
d/. Using media ( using video)
Almost any video can be used to teach English: commercial films, TV
programmers, home-made dramas and holiday films.

Live television

programmers are NOT recommended. Your method should vary according to
the language point you wish to teach and the level of your student(s) Although a
handset is ideal, it is not essential. Position yourself near the front of the class, to
one side - close enough to the video player to work the controls if you do not
have a handset. If the video player is independent of the TV, turn it so you can
work the controls easily without interfering with your students' view of the TV
screen. This medium can be used to pratise consolidate range of language
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points to introduce subject(s) for debate to encourage conversation amongst
students to improve writing skills to introduce new vocabulary to develop
listening skills (with visual aid) Few lessons would involve continuous viewing
- even with speech-free films. Strategic stopping is essential. The teacher
controls what students see and hear: Films, with excessive bad language, can be
shown without sound If the majority of film is good, unsuitable sex or violent
scenes can easily be avoided as follows plan in advance how to exploit the
remainder of the film knowing the exact counter positions of scenes to be
omitted.
e/ Combining different techniques
A combination of techniques can be used frequently to show the meaning
of a word.
Example: Presenting the word “ smile”: Teacher draws a picture on board

first.
T: Look! He’s smiling. Now look at me. I’m smiling ( show by facial
expression). Smile. We smile when we are happy. Smile ( gesture)
P: Smile.
T; Good. What does it mean?
( Pupils give translation).
Teacher uses different techniques in the demonstration:
- Drawing the picture on board ( interesting, pupils remember it).
- Facial expression ( to give meaning clearly).
- Example ( to show how “smile” is used as a verb)
- Translation ( to make sure everyone understands).
Each tecnique is very quick ( a few seconds) and they all reiforce
each other.
5. Using new words
Teacher can use a new word to ask a few simple questions round the
class.
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These questions help the teacher to be sure that pupils really understand
the word. They give the pupils more examples of how the word is used, in a way
that involves the class. They give a chance to practise other languages.
Questions using a new word should be simple and require only short
answers.
Example: Teacher has just presented the word “ market”. Now he/she is
asking questions using the new word, such as: Do you live near a market? Does
your mother go to the market? When does she go there? What does she buy?
What do they sell there?...
When pupils come across a new word, they are likely to be interested in
learning other related words, and this presents a natural opportunity for

vocabulary development.
6. Checking vocabulary
a/ What to check?
After teaching vocabulary , every teachers should check their students on
vocabulary of pronunciation , dictation , using and meaning. If their students
give good feedbacks , it means they are successful in teaching vocabulary .
Therefore , vocabulary are needed to check . It means pronunciation ,
dictation , using and meaning are needed to check . Do you think those are all
what to check vocabulary ?
b/ When to check ?
In my opinion , After teaching vocabulary ,we can check our students’
understanding vocabulary ,or we can check in the end of the lesson as free
stages . But some teachers check vocabulary while students are practising
language skills . In short , we can check vocabulary at any stages of the lesson
,provided that our students can understand and use vocabulary to make
sentences and practise language skills .
c/. How to check ?
There are many ways of checking vocabulary,They are considered as
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games such as : noughts and crosses , slap the board , wordsquare , networks ,
hang man , shark attack , jumbled words , rubout and remember , what and
where, matching , …...teachers should use some of those games to check
vocabulary .With new text book series, If teachers use games to check
vocabulary as well as other skills , they will not onlyget the best feedbacks from
their students but also make classroom climate always merry.
8.

Active and passive vocabulary

We do not need to spend the same amount of time and care on presenting

all new vocabulary, some vocabulaary will be more important to pupils than
others. In general, we can distinguish two types of vocabulary:
- Words which pupils will need to understand and also use themselves.
We call this “ active vocabulary”. In teaching active vocabulary, it is usually
worth spending time giving examples and asking questions, so that pupils can
really see how the word is used.
- Words which we want pupils to understand ( e.g. when reading a text),
but which they will not need to use themselves. We call this “ passive
vocabulary”. To save time, it is often best to to present it quite quickly, with a
simple example. If it appears as part of a text or dialogue, we can often leave
pupils to guess the word from the context.
Pupils should understandfar more words than they can produce- so we
should not try to treat all new words as active vocabulary.

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Chapter III- conclusion
Applying techniques above in teaching new words, my pupils findeasier
to remember and understand new words. More pupils can use new words in
contexts. These techniques involved pupils much and made them more
interested in learning English. I have asked 32 pupils at 11 th grade the question:
“Are you afraid of learning new words?”, most pupils said that they had few
problems while learning new words. Only few find rather difficult to remember
all new words and their spelling.
Below is the result of the test after the lesson ( Lesson 16) done by pupils
from class 11A1 when new techniques are applied:
No. of pupils

Excellent
Good
Average
Underaverage
32
5
17
10
0
That means I find it necessary to continue these techniques as well as to
apply new effective methods.
Therefore, I have been very interested in the subject, and find it very
necessary to present some of effective techniques to teach new words as
mentioned above. This study is hoped to supply something to the current
litarature on methodology. As a result, this study is also hoped to be some
practical value in teaching English.
Mistakes and errors are inevitable in this study, therefore, I would like to
receive comments and remarks from colleages.
Lµo Cai, ngµy 25 th¸ng 04 n¨m 2014
Ngêi viÕt
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Lª ThÞ Xu©n H¬ng

REFERENCE BOOKS

1. Practical handbook of language teaching (David Cross)
2. A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory (Penny Ur) - Cambrige
university press

3. Giao trinh giao hoc phap (Tổ ngoại ngữ –Khoa ngôn ngữ và văn hóa Anh - Mi
- Úc – Trường đại học quốc gia Hà Nội)
4.Phương pháp dạy tiếng Anh Trung học phổ thông (Nguyễn Hạnh Dung)

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Phụ lục 1:
BAÌ KIỂM TRA KHẢO SÁT
Lớp 11- Hệ 3 năm ( Sau bài 3)
I. Chọn từ có phần gạch chân phát âm khác với các từ còn lại:
1) A. report

B. sorry

C. reason

D. coffee

2) A. section

B. question

C. population

D. nation

3) A. school

B. kitchen

C. teacher

D. watch

C. drove

D. is driving

C. more clear

D. more clearly

C. tall

D. tallest

C. small

D. smallest

C. stupid

D. most stupid

II. Chọn đáp án đúng :
1. He ……………..dangerously last year.
A. drive

B. drives

2. Helen speaks English _________ than David .
A. clear
3. She is the most
A. beautiful

B. clearly
girl in our class .
B. more beautiful

4. That T-shirt is the _________ we have in stock.
A. big

B. bigger

5. A dog is ……………………..than a cat.
A. as intelligent

B. more intelligent

6. She cooks well.
A. She is a good cook

B. She is good at cook

C. She is a good cooker

D. A & B are correct

7. My / brother/ read/ fast/ now/ last year.

A. My brother read faster now than last year.
B. My brother reads faster now than last year.
C. My brother reads fast now than last year
D. My brother read fast now than last year

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Ph lc 2:
BAè KIM TRA KHO ST
Lp 11- H 3 nm ( Sau bi 16)

Câu 1: Chọn một từ có phần gạch chân đọc khác các từ còn lại. Khoanh tròn vào chữ cái
A, B, C, hoặc D đáp án em chọn
1. A. sorry
B. reason
C. sport
D. some
2. A. sunny
B. supper
C. sure
D. suburb
3. A. teacher
B. mechanic
C. school
D. chemistry
4. A. July
B. my
C. fly
D. happy

Câu 2: Chọn câu trả lời đúng nhất điền vào các chỗ trống sau. Khoanh tròn vào chữ cái A,
B, C, hoặc D đáp án em chọn
1. Many accidents..by dangerous driving.
A. is caused
B. was caused
C. are caused
D. causes
2. Jane ..peacefully when a loud noise woke her up.
A. sleeps
B. is sleeping
C. was sleeping
D. slept
3. I..enjoy Sundays, but I do now.
A. wasnt use to
B. didnt use to
C. not used to
D. didnt used to
4. These cars are exported many countries.
A. from
B. to
C. for
D. at
5. Nobody seeps this street very often. This street.
A. doesnt swept
B. isnt swept
C. isnt sweep
D. doesnt sweep
6. There areeggs in the fridge.
A. few
B. little

C. much
D. a little
7. What ..she .at this time yesterday?
A. is / doing
B. were / doing
C. did / doing
D. was / doing
8. I used to ..stamps when I was a child.
A. collecting
B. collect
C. collected
D. collects
9. Last night when I ..to Janes house, she was watching TV.
A. come
B. was coming C. came
D. comes
10. .his homework done every night by him?
A. Is
B. Does
C. Are
D. Was
11. When Lan was a student, she used to go to school bike.
A. on
B. by
C. from
D. in
12. The village fair is held ..a year.
A. one
B. two
C. once

D. second
Câu 3: Trong mỗi câu sau có một lỗi sai. Tìm ra lỗi sai đó bằng cách khoanh tròn vào chữ
cái A, B, C, hoặc D (1 điểm).
1. The cattle is driven out to the field every morning by the farmer.
A
B
C
D
2. If flowers are not water every day, they will die soon.
A
B
C
D
3. My brother had only a little days to prepare for the party.
A
B
C
D
4. My father was drinking tea when my mother was watching TV.
A
B
C
D

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