Сөздік қорды оқытудағы түрлі әрекеттер туралы баяндама, 11-сынып

1.4 Advantages of various activities in the context of communicative approach in teaching vocabulary

As a teacher trainer working with international groups, they are frequently asked to include an overview of communicative language teaching (CLT), and discuss ways of adapting materials to make lessons more communicative or interactive.

Most groups are enthusiastic about the lesson opportunities which CLT offers. However, some also indicated they felt constrained by the system under which they operated, especially those teaching in settings which are particularly exam-focused. In addition, they queried the relevance of CLT to their situation, where many of the students never used English outside the classroom. In contrast, It had been shifted across a spectrum of learners, enthusiastically taking CLT along with me as universally appropriate. Taking my colleagues' concerns on board, I began to question the appropriateness of CLT for some of these diverse learner groups. This was supported by current reading on the topic; the titles of some articles (see the Reference list) made me think I should give up the support for CLT then and there. However, the more I read on the topic, the more I defended the continued suitability of CLT. It really does benefit the students in a variety of ways.

Communication - According to Ability

Whether CLT should be considered an approach or a methodology is a more abstract debate and here I want to deal with its more practical aspects. In fact, it is those very elements, and the name itself, which have been used to challenge the future relevance of CLT. Firstly, the label implies a focus on communication and some might argue that this method can't be employed genuinely with low levels as there is no authentic communication, due to a limited vocabulary and restricted range of functions. Initially, many of a learner's utterances are very formulaic. As an aside, consider just what percentage of our own

English expressions are unique, and how often we rely on a set phrase; just because it is delivered unselfconsciously and with natural intonation does not make it original. The aim is that the length and complexity of exchanges, and confident delivery, will grow with the student's language ability.

With the emphasis on communication, there is also the implication that spoken exchanges should be authentic and meaningful; detractors claim that the artificial nature of classroom-based (i.e. teacher - created) interactions makes CLT an oxymoron. This returns us to the consideration of who we are teaching, and why. Are our students aiming to learn or acquire English? Do they need to know lexical items and linguistic rules as a means of passing an exam, or do they want to be able to interact in English? For those inclined to maintain the dichotomy between learning and acquisition, and who argue that our primary focus is learners, CLT still has relevance. It is timely to review an early definition of CLT. According to Richards and Rodgers, in Guangwei Hu, CLT is basically about promoting learning. Then again, Mark Lowe suggests that we follow Halliday's lead and drop the distinction between learning and acquisition, and refer to language mastery instead. After all, if the students master the language, they will certainly be able to perform better in exams, if that is their goal. In addition, those who do see a purpose beyond classroom-related English will be better equipped for usin

Vocabulary plays an important part in second language acquisition and academic achievement. This paper will present several possibilities to enhance vocabulary acquisition with the help of technology. The role that vocabulary knowledge plays in second and foreign language acquisition has long been neglected. However, vocabulary is currently receiving increased

emphasis in the language teaching curriculum. This is due to several reasons, such as the influence of comprehension-based approaches to language development, the research efforts of applied linguists, and the exciting possibilities opened-up by the development of computer-based language corpora (Nunan, 1999: 103). Moreover, it is now increasingly pointed out that there is a reciprocal, well-documented relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. As Tozcu and Coady (2004: 473) point out, learning vocabulary is an important aspect of L2/FL acquisition and academic achievement and is vital to reading comprehension and proficiency, to which it is closely linked. Vocabulary Acquisition

Several researchers have argued that vocabulary plays a major part in reading proficiency. Thus, Grabe (1991) stresses the important role of vocabulary as predictor of overall reading ability, and Nation (1990) states that effective L2 /FL instruction should also concentrate on cultivating vocabulary (both cited in Anderson, 1999: 25). Chanier and Selva also stress the fact that vocabulary knowledge is a key factor in reading comprehension (1998: 489) and so does Groot (2000), who argues that functional L2 reading proficiency requires mastery of a considerably large number of words. Aside from knowing how to use the appropriate reading strategies, Grabe (1991, as cited in Butler-Pascoe and Wiburg, 2003: 124) argues that fluent L2/FL readers need to know about 2,000 to 7,000 words and sometimes even more if they want to reach native-like fluency. Similarly, Groot (2000: 62) argues that an adequate understanding of academic texts requires a vocabulary of at least 7,000 words. Generally, L2/FL readers need to recognize approximately 95 per cent of the words in a

given text in order to comprehend its meaning and they need to know the different meanings of words according to context, as well as words' grammatical properties. In summary, it can be pointed out that reading and vocabulary are inter-related, in other words, good readers have a rich vocabulary, and similarly, a rich vocabulary is one of the key elements that ensure reading proficiency.

Benefits of CALL for Vocabulary Acquisition

It has been increasingly argued that computer technologies can support learning in a number of ways. Many features of the computer are considered to enhance vocabulary development and reading comprehension: multimedia is one of them. Multimedia refers to computer-based systems that use various types of content, such as text, audio, video, graphics, animation, and interactivity. The key concepts of multimedia are thus 'computer-based' and 'interactive'.

Some research assessed the general value of ESL / EFL software programs for improving vocabulary (AlKahtani, 1999; Busch, 2003; McGlinn and Parrish, 2002). More recent studies examined the effect of extended use of computers on reading achievement, the effect of computer instruction on reading rate and reading

comprehension; the effects of multimedia software on reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition, as well as the relationship between vocabulary development and reading comprehension (Singhal, 1998: 2-6). Most research on vocabulary acquisition and CALL has focused on the effects of multimedia glosses, and the same is true for reading comprehension, since vocabulary and reading are closely and reciprocally related. This reciprocal relationship also accounts for the fact that many research studies on vocabulary

development and CALL also examine reading comprehension, and vice versa.

Multimedia Glosses and Vocabulary Development

One of the first to examine the effects of multimedia glosses for vocabulary development were Lyman-Hager and Davis (1996), who integrated a computer program into the French foreign language curriculum and discussed vocabulary acquisition and students' glossing choices for 262 intermediate level students studying French. Two conditions were used in this study: computerized reading and non-computerized reading using an excerpt of Oyono's 'Une Vie de Boy'. Both groups had access to glosses: the computer group had access to multimedia annotations, whereas the control group could consult printed text with the same glosses. As to whether or not computer treatment offered significant benefits to FL students, the results of the written recall protocol indicated that the experimental group who used the computer program to read the text significantly outperformed the control group who used the glossed reading in the print form. Similarly, in an article exploring multimedia annotations and vocabulary acquisition, Chun and Plass (1996a) present the positive results of three studies with students in their second year of German who used Cyberbuch, a multimedia application offering various types