Learning Vocabulary, Strategies at Work

Learning Vocabulary, Strategies at Work

Learning Vocabulary, Strategies at Work By: Ana Robles, Fraga · To do everything, we use different strategies. The strategy will affect the results. · Learning a language needs to perform different strategies. · Language has different areas. For every area, we should use different strategies. · Students must be familiar with different strategies for the different areas of the language. · As teachers we can help students to develop those strategies that enhance learning. To do so we need to: · Identify the most efficient strategies · Make the students aware of their current strategies · Present alternative strategies with their advantages and disadvantages An Example: Vocabulary Learning · Learning a language means learning words, but how? · If we consider the word as a group of letters, learner has to learn the spelling. Good spellers see the words in their minds. We should teach learners to think about letters. It will help them to develop a “seeing” strategy. · If we consider the word as a sequence of sounds, learner should use auditory strategy: saying it aloud and silently, paying attention to a native speaker when it is said by him, recording his/her voice and listening to it. · If we consider the word as a label for a shared meaning, students can link the word to the internal image they have for that concept, like visual information. · And if we consider the word as a trigger for all personal internal experiences one links to that word, students should make the words their own, and then they really learn them. Learning a word is then much more than just memorizing and spelling, it becomes a process of adding learning to learning. · In-depth learning of a word is a matter of time, of reprocessing it and using it in many ways. · Humanistic approach provides a link between language leaning and learner’s inner world. · As a whole learning a word entails learning different pieces of content, meaning, spelling, pronunciation, and personal interpretation. Each of those pieces requires different strategies. · The task of the teacher is to expand students’ awareness of different techniques by studying how each of them learns and by exploring with them the different strategies. · When students learn that there are many ways to learn, they will search for those that fits their needs better.