Нова українська школа: методика навчання англійської мови в 1-2 класах закладів заглобальної середньої освіти на засадах компетентнісного підходу - Карпюк О. Д. 2020

5.3. Vocabulary and Grammar
5. Teaching and Developing Skills
Part I. From Theory to Practice

Vocabulary and grammar are closely interrelated in children’s early language learning, both in their first or foreign language. Young children initially learn chunks of language, which combine vocabulary and grammatical patterns, in a holistic, unanalysed way. As they grow older, they develop the ability to relate vocabulary to networks of meanings and to notice and analyse language forms and functions more explicitly. Whether they are learning holistically when younger, or developing more conscious language awareness and powers of analysis as they grow older, it is vital to give children plenty of opportunities to memorise, practise, recycle and extend their vocabulary and grammar in meaningful contexts throughout the primary years.

New lexical units are usually introduced in relation to a certain topic. They can be presented in course books or with support from flashcards and audio recordings or with the help of video presentations of multimedia programme. Then they are practised with chants, songs, motivating classroom games and activities as well as interactive tasks from multimedia.

The children can be first exposed to the new grammatical structures alongside the key words in the dialogues or stories. They then move on to focused grammatical structure practice, which is reinforced with a range of spoken and on paper pre-writing activities.

Learning vocabulary

Children often measure their own language learning progress in terms of ’how many words they know’. Learning vocabulary can be one of the most significant and satisfying outcomes in the first years of English lessons. It boosts children’s confidence and self-esteem. It also lays the foundations for leading children into using grammatical structures, which initially present a greater learning challenge, in more extended and creative ways.

Words and concepts

Although initial vocabulary learning in a foreign language appears straightforward, with an apparent one-to-one correspondence between words and the objects or concepts that these refer to, it is in reality a very complex process, which develops gradually in a cyclical way overtime.

As part of the process of learning vocabulary, children need to learn the form of the word, that is, the way the word sounds and is spelt, and the way it changes grammatically, e.g. when used in the plural. They also need to understand the meaning and the way that relates to other concepts and words, e.g. the way a word like tiny relates to other words to describe size, such as big and small. In addition to this, children need to be able to recall the word whenever they need it and, in the longer term, to gradually extend their understanding of its use. It will also be influenced by their own language background and their ongoing stage of cognitive, social and psychological development, where they are still in the process of acquiring concepts and vocabulary which they bring to their understanding of English in a continually evolving way.

The importance of recycling

Children often appear to learn vocabulary easily, ’like little sponges’, as the saying goes. However, in the same way that sponges lose water, children also forget vocabulary very easily too unless they are given regular opportunities to use it, and to deepen and extend their understanding of how it relates and connects to other language they know. Given this, it is essential to recycle vocabulary regularly and systematically at all levels and ages in primary school.

Through regular recycling, children can be given opportunities to meet the same vocabulary, embedded in different contexts, language and activity types, again and again. This not only improves their recall and develops memory processes, but also extends their understanding and associations of vocabulary in an ever expanding network of meanings and use. Through using vocabulary in a variety of social, experiential and personalized ways, children develop ’ownership’ of language and this also leads to new learning.

In addition to the vocabulary activities in this section, there are many examples of other activity types, such as games, rhymes, songs, stories, drama, arts and crafts, which provide opportunities to recycle vocabulary in a range of meaningful and creative ways. These are described in different sections of this book.

Vocabulary practice

With younger children, it is most appropriate to teach concrete vocabulary items which relate to the ’here and now’ of their immediate environment and personal experience. As children grow older, they gradually become able to deal with more abstract concepts and vocabulary removed from their immediate surroundings. When practising vocabulary it is important to provide opportunities to help children.

Children also need to be encouraged to develop independent and individualised learning skills and strategies that will help them to enrich and extend their vocabulary, to organise and record vocabulary in systematic and logical ways, and to reflect on and evaluate their own learning in an increasingly autonomous way.

Learning grammar

In order to lay the foundations for understanding and learning aspects of grammar, it is above all important to give children exposure to language in meaningful contexts which engage them in practising and using English for purposes which they can relate to and enjoy.

Initial stages

With young children, initial learning of grammatical patterns is implicit, based on formulaic sequences and unanalysed chunks of language met in the context of, e.g. lesson routines, songs, rhymes, stories and games. As a result of acquiring chunks of language, children develop a sense of achievement and become increasingly willing to participate in classroom activities in English. As they grow in confidence, they also begin to transfer chunks to new contexts and to use them creatively. Two examples of this are a child spontaneously transferring the chunk Too much noise! from the song ’The Wheels on the Bus’ to the classroom, and a child asking Can I go the colour please? to request permission to colour a collectively produced mural, by using part of a chunk of classroom language for asking to go to the toilet. The holistic learning of language chunks plays an important role in fostering children’s enthusiasm for learning English. It also provides them with a potentially rich, internal language resource as they grow older and are encouraged, or expected, to pay attention to grammatical features and apply more explicit analytical skills to the way they learn.