Abstract

According to Full-time Compulsory General English Curriculum Standards (trial version，2011)，one of the secondary objectives of English education courses in primary school is that students are able to spell simple words according to the spelling rules. Phonics is a method of teaching people to read in which they are taught to recognize the sounds that letters represent. It helps students to develop their abilities of vocabulary building so as to improve reading ability and strengthen reading understanding. Thus it is applied in most of primary schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of phonics teaching, especially for vocabulary building in primary school EFL classroom in China. And major findings of this study suggested that phonics is helpful for students in vocabulary building at primary school level, but there are also some difficulties when implementing it. Therefore, this paper, based on the domestic and foreign theories of phonics teaching, investigation of the current situation, previous studies, discusses how to improve phonics teaching more effectively for teachers.

Keywords: phonics teaching; vocabulary building; primary school EFL classroom; teaching strategies

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 Research Background & Significance-1

1.2 Research Questions-1

2. Literature Review-2

2.1 Methods of Teaching Vocabulary in Primary School-2

2.1.1 The International Phonetic Alphabet-2

2.1.2 The Phonics Method-2

2.1.3 Summary-3

2.2 Comparative Studies of Phonics Method at Home and Abroad-3

2.2.1 The studies of Phonics Method at Home-3

2.2.2 The studies of Phonics Method Abroad-3

2.2.3 Summary-4

3.Theoretical Basis：Language Transfer-5

4. Application of Phonics Method in Primary School-5

4.1 Research Methods-5

4.1.1 Questionnaire-5

4.1.2 Interview-6

4.2 Data Collection and Data Analysis-6

4.2.1 Students’ Feedback on Phonics Learning-6

4.2.2 Teachers’ Understanding of Phonics Method-8

5. Suggestions on Improving the Implementation of Phonics Method-10

5.1 The Teaching of Letters-10

5.2 The Help of Teaching Aids-10

5.3 The Richness of Teaching Materials-10

6. Conclusion-11

References-12

Appendix -13