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【Abstract】 This paper discusses how to increase middle school English learners’ vocabulary through reading.
Vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis of how well learners speak, listen, read, and write. Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, middle school students often feel discouraged during their study.They will lose their interests in English day by day. So it’s very important for middle school English learners to develop their vocabulary efficiently. There are many ways to enlarge vocabulary. In this article we will focus on improving middle school English learners’ vocabulary by extensive reading.
【Key words】 middle school studentsvocabularyextensive reading
1. Introduction
In China, English is a compulsory and very important course to middle school students. Learning English well or not will influence their further education. The vocabulary, an integral part of language, plays an important role in the process of language learning. The importance of vocabulary is illustrated by Wilkins who says “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” To English learners, mastering vocabulary of language is a crucial aspect of improving quality of learning language. However, many students find that it’s very difficult to learn vocabulary. They often complain about that it’s very difficult to remember the new words. On the contrary, words are very easy to forget. And many of them find that even if some new words are remembered, but they don’t know how to use them correctly. They can’t understand the materials of reading and listening very well because of the limited words or the misunderstanding of the meaning of words. Therefore, learning how to expand and use vocabulary is very significant to middle school students. In this article we will focus on improving middle school English learners’ vocabulary by extensive reading.
2. How can reading improve vocabulary level?
It has been shown that reading will improve your vocabulary dramatically. When you read, your brain is forced to analyze the words that are on the page. You must scan the pages with your eyes, and your brain must interpret their meaning. As you can imagine, this is a very complex process. While you can increase your vocabulary by reading books with your favorite genre, it has been shown that you will increase your vocabulary even more by reading books that are not in your genre. If you place an emphasis on reading non-fiction books, not only can you increase your vocabulary, but you will also increase knowledge as well.
When you read a variety of books, you will naturally come across words that you don’t know. Instead of just skipping these words, you will want to make a note of them. You will want to take the time to research them, so that you can find out what they mean. The very act of taking note of a word before looking it up has been shown to greatly enhance the vocabulary of the people who do it. As a starting point for increasing recognition vocabulary I explain to my students that the most successful way to acquire a larger vocabulary is through extensive reading (Neil J. Anderson, 2003, p.23).
Vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis of how well learners speak, listen, read, and write. Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, middle school students often feel discouraged during their study.They will lose their interests in English day by day. So it’s very important for middle school English learners to develop their vocabulary efficiently. There are many ways to enlarge vocabulary. In this article we will focus on improving middle school English learners’ vocabulary by extensive reading.
【Key words】 middle school studentsvocabularyextensive reading
1. Introduction
In China, English is a compulsory and very important course to middle school students. Learning English well or not will influence their further education. The vocabulary, an integral part of language, plays an important role in the process of language learning. The importance of vocabulary is illustrated by Wilkins who says “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” To English learners, mastering vocabulary of language is a crucial aspect of improving quality of learning language. However, many students find that it’s very difficult to learn vocabulary. They often complain about that it’s very difficult to remember the new words. On the contrary, words are very easy to forget. And many of them find that even if some new words are remembered, but they don’t know how to use them correctly. They can’t understand the materials of reading and listening very well because of the limited words or the misunderstanding of the meaning of words. Therefore, learning how to expand and use vocabulary is very significant to middle school students. In this article we will focus on improving middle school English learners’ vocabulary by extensive reading.
2. How can reading improve vocabulary level?
It has been shown that reading will improve your vocabulary dramatically. When you read, your brain is forced to analyze the words that are on the page. You must scan the pages with your eyes, and your brain must interpret their meaning. As you can imagine, this is a very complex process. While you can increase your vocabulary by reading books with your favorite genre, it has been shown that you will increase your vocabulary even more by reading books that are not in your genre. If you place an emphasis on reading non-fiction books, not only can you increase your vocabulary, but you will also increase knowledge as well.
When you read a variety of books, you will naturally come across words that you don’t know. Instead of just skipping these words, you will want to make a note of them. You will want to take the time to research them, so that you can find out what they mean. The very act of taking note of a word before looking it up has been shown to greatly enhance the vocabulary of the people who do it. As a starting point for increasing recognition vocabulary I explain to my students that the most successful way to acquire a larger vocabulary is through extensive reading (Neil J. Anderson, 2003, p.23).