Nodira Dadabaeva is an English language teacher at secondary public school in Uzbekistan. She is interested in learning foreign languages in her spare time. Nowadays she is writing a book about teaching students to foreign languages with communicative activities. Her professional interests are learning new methodologies of learning languages and teaching them to the teachers in her training workshops. She enjoys working with students, especially with teenagers. E-mail: dadabaeva2022@mail.ru

Albina Tadjibaeva is an English language teacher at secondary school # 33 in Namangan city, Davlatobod district. She is interested in teaching young learners and middle teenagers, adapting textbooks according to learners’ interests. She has co-written this article. Current professional interests are being engaged in professional development. Enjoys working with motivates students. E-mail: albinatadjibaeva@gmail.com

 

Abstract

It is critical to understand how to teach and learn active vocabulary when learning a second language. The majority of people pay little attention when acquiring vocabulary, despite the fact that it is one of the most fundamental parts of language acquisition. As a result, our primary purpose is to equip teachers with four simple and effective steps: learning the definition and translation of a word, finding collocation with the word, constructing five sentences with various meanings, and finally writing a little paragraph utilizing collocation with the word.

 

Introduction

As you may be aware, the majority of our children have a far bigger passive vocabulary than active vocabulary. As a result, both teachers and students may find it challenging to increase active spoken and written vocabulary. This is a powerful technique for transforming passive words into active ones. We'll show you how to teach vocabulary lessons to your pupils so that they can communicate using terminology that they've acquired in the classroom. This article will teach you how to study terms thoroughly so that you can use them in your writing and speaking activities.

You already know that teaching and learning active vocabulary is important for students' language learning, but did you know that most vocabulary that our students learn in the classroom is forgotten or becomes passive after a period of time if they aren't given the opportunity to practice it right away?

Before we get into the meat of the post, let's address the three most frequently asked questions. The first question is why should we teach our students vocabulary? The rationale for this is that there are various evidence-based benefits of learning vocabulary:

1. Your students sound smarter and fluent
2. It will help them increase their IQ
3. They learn to write faster, more clearly and more persuasively.
4. They begin to read faster and comprehend more information.
5. They speak with confidence.

What is active and passive vocabulary, and how can we use it to our advantage?

All of the words we define or understand in the content but can't utilize in speaking or writing are considered passive vocabulary. It comes in handy when we're reading a book, listening to podcasts, or watching a movie

All of the words we employ in writing and vocal communication are considered active vocabulary. The more active vocabulary words your pupils have, the better they will be able to express their thoughts and ideas. Your students appear to be more knowledgeable, competent, and productive as a result of your efforts.

Last but not least, how should we choose vocabulary to teach? Instead of teaching new passive vocabulary, it is preferable to activate their passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. You can choose your own vocabulary, or pupils can choose the terms they want to study.

Before moving on to the four successful measures, they may appear difficult and time-consuming at first, but trust us when we say that they will pay off in the end. You'll be astonished at how much your kids develop not only their listening and reading skills, but also their speaking and writing abilities, as well as their critical thinking abilities.

Now let’s move to the steps.

 

Step 1:

The most essential part of the first step is to have your personal vocabulary journal. Tell your students that they must have their journal and record every vocabulary which they are learning in the classes. When you introduce the word, tell them to write all the meanings it has and what part of speech it is.

 

Step 2:

Write down two or three sentences with the new words. It is important to learn new words in context because one word in English language can have several meanings and different uses.  For example write down the word "shower" .

1. Today there will be frequent showers .

2. I'm showering my yard with water.

3. Her church group has planned an adoption shower.

In the first sentence the word has the meaning of a brief fall of precipitation. It is the condition of the weather.

 In the second example the word describes the action of spreading with a specified liquid.

 In the last sentence the word "shower" means a party association with a significant event in a person's life at which the person usually receives gifts .

 

Step 3.

Write down some collocations with that word. What are collocations?

There are two main ways you can find collocations.

• If you read or listen to anything in English, you can train yourself to notice them.

TIP: Make a habit of noting any useful collocations you come across in each English literature you read.

Any excellent learner's dictionary will have these. For example, we recommend ozdic.com, an online collocation dictionary.

TIP: When you're looking up a new word, make a point of writing it down in a variety of contexts.

Collocations are being recorded. The simplest method to remember a collocation is to write it down in a phrase or sentence that demonstrates how it is used. Underline or use a highlighting pen to draw attention to the collocation.

Collocations are similar to any other vocabulary item in that they can be learned quickly. The key words are to:

• Regularly review what you want to learn.

• Practice applying what you've learned in contexts that are personally significant to you.

•Collocations should be learned in groups to help you remember them. You can group collocations that are related to the same topic or collocations that are based on the same term.

For example:

• A Cool shower
• A hot shower
• A quick shower
• have a shower
• take a shower
• a heavy shower
• April shower

 

Step 4:

Use acceptable collocations to write a short paragraph with the new word.

A paragraph is a collection of sentences that discuss a single topic. About 5 sentences make to a paragraph. A sentence's first paragraph is indented. A paragraph is made up of three parts:

• The key idea is stated in the topic sentence.

• Support and explain the core point with detail sentences.

• The final sentence serves as a reminder of the main theme.

For example:

I live in a valley which is covered by mountains. We have April showers in spring time a lot. However It is hot in spring so I like to have a cool but quick shower.

 

Conclusion

To summarize, find a decent book that you're interested in reading. Every day, read it. Keep an eye on it. Keeping a vocabulary diary is a good idea. Allow yourself to be involved by looking up unusual words.

 

References

Scott Thornbury,Pearson Education Limited 2002, How to teach vocabulary.

An  Internet post at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNhZnH9bQLc

 

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