Helping students understand the meaning of words in context for tieng anh 11

Therefore, in each lesson I have tried mybest to help my students understand the meaning of words in the lesson context... Activity 2: At this state students were given some suggested q

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Name of the theme

A.Introduction

I Reasons of choosing the theme

II.Purposes of the study

III Scopes of the study

A INTRODUCTION

I.The reasons of choosing the theme

According to my teaching experiences, four language skills – listening,speaking, reading, and writing should be fully stimulated during the course ofstudy to help the students communicate in the target language since the lack ofany skills will spoil the effectiveness of communication However, learningquality is still far from being satisfactory Learners have faced many difficulties

in English learning, especially in the learning of speaking skills

In fact, it is undeniable that many Vietnamese students after seven yearslearning English at schools still feel confused when communicating withforeigners or they even could not say a simple utterance like an offer.Obviously, the ability to communicate in a foreign language clearly andeffectively contributes to the success of the learner in school and success later inevery phase of life

Like many high schools in Vietnam,at Quang Xuong 3 high school,English has been a compulsory subject in its curriculum for many years andteaching new words always plays an important part in teaching the whole lesson.Because words are the bricks that help students build their house of English.However, many teachers have the habit of teaching isolated words Actually,they have used many techniques of teaching words, but the words presented bythe teachers are not in the same contexts with the words in the lessons.Moreover, we all know that words and phrases have different meanings indifferent contexts As a result, it is difficult for students to understand the truemeaning of the words in the lessons In addition, students feel that it is reallydifficult for them to remember the words This leads to the fact that students arelack of motivation for learning new words And they feel that learning words arereally boring because there is no linking between the words in the lessons andthe words presented by the teachers Therefore, in each lesson I have tried mybest to help my students understand the meaning of words in the lesson context

There are many reasons but above are the main drivers for us to engage

in this study entitled: Helping students understand the meaning of words incontext for “ Tieng Anh 11 “

II In what ways were my activities carried out?

In the school year 2016-2017, I was responsible for teaching grade 11

So, in this paper I would like to deal with the lessons only in Textbook “ TiengAnh 11” Here are the description and the purpose of each activity

Activity1:

At this state teacher led students to the context by giving the topic of thelesson or the main content of the lesson to activate students’ backgroundknowledge The reason for doing this was that students were motivated to getinterest in the topic and had ideas of words related to the topic

Activity 2:

At this state students were given some suggested questions by the teacher, theywere step by step led to this context to another one by the teacher’s instructions.The keys words in each lesson were underlined And the lessons which I used “the power point” to present, the keys words were both underlined and changedthe colour in red to make students easier to notice In some cases, studentsunderstood the contexts and the meaning of words, but they did not know how

to express in English, I myself helped them know what those words in Englishwere As a result, their words were developed in a natural way Therefore, theywere eager to learn new words because they found no difficulties inunderstanding and remembering Besides, this not only helped studentsunderstand the new words but also helped students have the prediction of thecontent of the lesson that they would learn

The main technique I used for my activities were to brainstorm the ideas to fill

in the “mind map”

The following is the full description of how I helped my students understand themeaning of words in context in some lessons in “ Tieng Anh 11”

III Scope, object and researching the method

- Scope: Researching in the process of teaching English at Quảng XươngIII high school

- Object: This subject is concerned with ways of organizing activities inthe class

- Researching method: Reading reference books, discussing with otherteachers, applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences

B Contents of the theme

I Theoretical basis

In reality, a textbook can never totally be an effective tool for teachers tofollow without any adaptation because of its intrinsic deficiencies such aslinguistic inaccuracies, out-of-datedness, lack of authenticity or lack of variety.Thus, I favor Madsen and Bowen’s (1978) and Tice’s (1991) view that is thepurpose of material adaptation is to compensate for those deficiencies This isimportant to all teachers of English because it can activate learners and stimulatetheir motivation, and increased motivation, in turn, is likely to create a moreconductive classroom atmosphere

II Practical basis

Part of reading comprehension involves using the other words in asentence or a passage to understand unknown word An author often includeshints, or clues, to help the reader expand vocabulary and crasp the meaning ofthe passage Skill in using context clues enables a reader to comprehend advancetexts

Basing on these views, an action research is to caried out on adaptingsome activities for the ‘Tieng Anh 11 to help the learners to understand thelessons more

III.Applying some activities

UNIT 1: FRIENDSHIP

A READING:

In this lesson, students were led to the context of “ THE FRIENDSHIP” Fromthe context, I asked students some questions to activate their backgroundknowledge of friendship to complete a mind map

Question 1: Do you have any friends?

From the word “ friend”, I taught my students the word “ acquaintance”

Question 2: What qualities are necessary for true friendship?

Students gave some qualities of true friendship However, some words wereonly given in Vietnamese, I helped my students understand what those words inEnglish were

 The mind map

UNIT 2: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

A READING:

From the fact that teenagers tend to have their own idols, I led students to thecontext by asking questions:

1.Do you have your own idol?

2 Do you immediate his/ her in different ways?

Students answered my questions about her/ his own idol and in what ways theyliked to immediate her own idol After that I said that in this lesson they wouldread a story about a girl who wanted to have a hat like her idol’s one Her fatherknew this and gave her some money so that she could buy the one for herself

Next, students were divided into groups and were asked to build a story based

on the pictures in the textbook Each student in the group who was chosen totell the story completed the story they had built During the time students toldthe story I helped them to understand the meaning of some new words based onthe pictures

Picture d: > idol

Picture b: > floppy cotton hat

Picture f: > glance > sneaky; not making a fuss > take the money back

C LISTENING:

In this lesson students were led to the context of a fire They were told to listen

to Christina who would tell the audience about her unforgettable experience thatshe had witnessed The experience was that her house caught fire during thenight time when she was very small Then students were asked to look at thepicture in the textbook and to answer some questions to complete the “mindmap”

Question 1: What do you think were the causes of the fire?

Question 2: How did she feel when she saw the fire?

Question 3: Who do you think she was the first person that she called when shesaw the fire?

Question 4: What did her mother do to save her?

Question 5: Was the fire a forgettable experience?

* The mind map

A HOUSE CAUGHT FIRE

causes of the fire

UNIT 3: A PARTY

A READING:

In this lesson, students were led to the context by looking the pictures in thetextbook and answering the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”.Question 1:

1 On what occasions are parties held?

2 What is the relationship between the people in the pictures?

3 What are they doing?

* The mind map

C LISTENING:

In this lesson, students were led to the context by answering the questions in thetextbook to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: What do you usually do to prepare your birthday party?

Question 2: What foods and drinks are often severed at your birthday party?Question 2: What activities do you often have at your birthday party?

* The mind map

UNIT 4: VOLUNTEER WORK

C LISTENING:

In this lesson, students were told to listen to a talk about a school fordisadvantaged children in Ho Chi Minh city Then students were asked toanswer the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: Who are students in Spring School?

open presents

saying “ happy birthday

to the host”

preparing the birthday cake with

Question 2: How is money raised to support charities in Spring School?

Question 3: Who set up classes in Spring School?

* The mind map

SPRING SCHOOL

disadvantaged children fund-raising activities

Organisation for Educational Development co-operates with Spring School set up the classes

UNIT 6: COMPETITIONS

A READING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would read a passage about anEnglish competition in a high school Then students were led to the context byanswering the questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: How often is the English competition held in your school?

Question 2: What is the purpose of the competition?

Question 3: What do we call in English the students who are chosen to take part

in the competition?

* The mind map

ENGLISH COMPETITIO N

representatives

UNIT 7: WORLD POPULATION

A READING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would read a passage about WOLRDPOPULATION Then students were led to the context by answering thequestions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: Do you know what the population of the world in 1850, 1950, 1985,and 2000?

Question 2: Can women in the world limit the size of their families?

Question 3: How does the government help them in family planning?

* The mind map

WORLD POPULATION

the size of their families

safe birth- control

methods

B SPEAKING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would talk about WOLRDPOPULATION Then students were led to the context by answering thequestions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: What are the causes of population explosion?

Question 2: Can you list the problems facing poor and overpopulated countries?Question 3: Can you suggest the solutions to the problems of overpopulation?

* The mind map

WOLRD POPULATION

C LISTENING

In this lesson, students were told to listen to a world population expert talking

about the world population Then students were asked to answer the teacher’s

questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: Which country has the population ranked the first?

Question 2: What problem does population explosion cause to the world?

* The mind map

UNIT 8: CELEBRATIONS

A READING:

In this lesson, students were watched to a video clip about Tet Then students

were asked to answer the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: When is Tet?

WOLRD POPULATION

China ranks the first

problems population explosion cause to the world

illiteracy

lack of hospitals and schools/ shortage of food / poor living conditions particularly in

developing countries

Question 2: What activities do people usually do at Tet?

Question 3:What are special things at Tet?

Question 4: What do people prepare for Tet?

 The mind map

visit relatives

eating special foods

receiving lucky money

go to pagoda to

pray

between 19 th January and 20 th

February

grandest

and most important occasion

for agrarian people, the start of a new year

flowers ( apricot blossom, peach blossom )

candied fruits ( sugared apples, plums

Banh chung

preparations

streets decorated with

colored lights and red

banners

decorating the house

B SPEAKING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would talk about popular holidays andcelebrations in Vietnam and in the world Then students were asked to look atthe pictures in the textbook and answer the teacher’s questions to complete the

“mind map”

Question 1: What are the holidays and celebrations?

Question 2: What is the purpose of each celebration?

Question 3: What are main activities in each celebration?

* The mind map

children wear

masks, parade in the streets

It is a matter of fact that after applying Helping students understand the meaning of words in context for “ Tieng Anh 11 “ , my students and I felt it very

interesting , they seemed to be very eager for speaking lessons During thelessons, all the students were involved in the activities After each lesson,students remember the words more thoroughly Besides, they had many chances

to practice many other skills like speaking and listening

Chart Students’ feedback towards applying the meaning of words in contexts

and their effectiveness.

Most children love to learn English with the following results:

Beginning of the year After 1st term After 2nd term

I Conclusion

Through many lessons which were carried out in classes 11A2,11D3,11A6, I found that the way I suggested actually helped my students tounderstand the meaning of new words better Because they were led to thecontext step by step, it was easier for them to understand and remember So,they were motivated to learn new words

Therefore, I continued using this method for my teaching However, aftereach time implementing, I adjusted some changes so that each lesson would bethe most effective

to adapt these activities

Secondly, the students’ favorite activities except for games are also highlyappreciated by the teachers Moreover, these activities get them not bored andmake them more confident

This is my little experience in finding methods to help students find learnEnglish more interesting I hope to receive your reading and comments as well

as contribution to make this theme more perfect so that it can be applied widely

Sam Son, April 15 th ,2017

Validation, evaludation,classification I assure that the writing above is

of the school mine,not copying

……… ( sign and write your full name)

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……… Cao Thị Thúy Chung

……… HEAD MASTER

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REFERENCE BOOKS.