Abstract

Vocabulary teaching has long been a hot topic in the field of English teaching as a foreign language (ETFL). This paper examines the use of vocabulary teaching strategies by an English teacher in a private junior high school, who implemented an extracurricular vocabulary expansion plan. Classroom observation is used to record the teacher’s vocabulary teaching process and content, and an interview is given during the implementation for reasons behind the teaching behavior. The data reveals that the teacher used vocabulary teaching strategies consciously, including teaching vocabulary in context, teaching collocations and word-formation and using combination of explicit and implicit approaches. The combination of explicit and implicit approaches could be a result of teaching experience, hence an unconscious act. From this it follows that English teachers may be dominated by their teaching experience giving their instructions, that vocabulary teaching strategies indeed play an extremely important role in vocabulary teaching, and that the connection between extracurricular vocabulary and the content of textbook is to be established.

Key words: vocabulary teaching strategy; explicit approaches; implicit approaches; collocations; word-formation; teaching in context

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1. Introduction-1

2. Theoretical basis-1

2.1 The definition of Vocabulary teaching strategies-1

2.2 Explicit/intentional approaches and implicit/incidental approaches-1

2.3 Teaching vocabulary in isolation or in context-1

2.4 Word- formation-2

2.5 Collocations-3

3. Methods-5

3.1 Research design-5

3.2 Participants-5

3.3 Data collection-5

3.3.1 Vocabulary taught in ten weeks-5

3.3.2 Teaching process-7

3.3.3 Interview-7

3.4 Data analysis-7

4. Results-8

4.1 Vocabulary taught in ten weeks-8

4.1.1 Teaching vocabulary in context-8

4.1.2 Combining of explicit and implicit approaches-8

4.1.3 Focusing on collocations and word-formation-8

4.2 Interview-9

5. Discussion-11

6. Conclusion-13

References-14

Appendix I-16