Актуальные проблемы современной науки: тезисы докладов VІI Международной научно-практической конференции (Санкт-Петербург – Астана – Киев – Вена, 28 апреля 2016)
Philological sciences
KOBILOVA AZIZA BAKHRIDDINOVNA
teacher of the department of English language and literature
Bukhara city, Uzbekistan
VOCABULARY AS ONE OF THE MAIN LANGUAGE ISSUES
Uzbekistan foreign language teachers have already started to hold classes according to a new standard. English teachers should teach pupils of schools, students of lyceum and colleges using different activities and methods, which can be effective and interesting for them. The first step in teaching foreign languages is to introduce vocabulary and it is very important to know how to do it. Uzbekistan is making progress in increasing the quality of teaching English to achieve the European standard, and useful strategies in teaching and learning vocabulary plays the most important role. To make foreign language learners vocabulary stores rich the teachers should work out special methods and tools to reach the goal. It is actual to have a rich vocabulary to master a language.
English, as an international language, plays the most important role in daily life in the world. The reason is that the importance of English language is accepted by more and more people who learn the English language as their second language. Therefore, in many countries, English, as L2 (ESL) has been taught to children since their early age. In learning any language the role of vocabulary is very significance.
Vocabulary is obviously a very important element within a language as the overwhelming majority of meaning is carried lexically. Therefore, something to be taken into consideration both in the Second and Foreign Language Teaching - although not the only one that conveys meaning. There are certainly other elements such as grammar, stress, rhythm, intonation, and tone of voice, pauses, hesitations or silences, and etc. Learning a language cannot be reduced, of course, to only learning vocabulary, but it is also true that, no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in L2 just cannot happen in any “meaningful way” an idea defended by many linguists.
Vocabulary can be defined as the words of a language, including single items and phrases or chunks of several words which convey a particular meaning. Vocabulary is central to English language teaching because without satisfactory vocabulary students cannot understand others or express their own ideas.
Vocabulary is not only sign of symbol for ideas but also a part of how to improve language skills in the target language. Considering the numbers of new words students have to learn in each lesson, this means us teachers have our work cut out for us. We all know that although it is important for students to use correct grammar and structures, words are the main carriers of meaning. This means that the more words students are able to handle accurately, the better their chances of understanding English and making themselves understood. It is mentioned by an English teacher Julian Edge: “Knowing a lot of words in a foreign language is very important. The more words we know, the better our chance of understanding or making ourselves understood” [2, 136].
The learners will not be able to express ideas, ask information, and participate in conversations if they do not distinguish different aspects of the words. Taking into consideration the importance and the role of vocabulary in learning a foreign language, vocabulary should be learned and developed in the beginning stage of the learning language process.
In learning any language, the role of vocabulary is very significant. About importance of vocabulary we can see in the following words by famous linguist Wilkinson once said, "Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed". Because sometimes without grammar with the help of some useful words and expressions we can often manage to communicate with other people. If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much. You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words [3, 234].
Unlike the controversial role of grammar in foreign language learning, the role of vocabulary seems to have received more consistent understanding. However, uncertainty still remains regarding what constitutes a vocabulary item, which vocabulary items should be taught and learned, and how vocabulary can be taught and learned more effectively.
People have different understanding of what a vocabulary item is, how an item can be learned and consolidated, which items should be learned, and to what extent the items should be learned and practiced. It is very important for the students themselves to develop vocabulary awareness and vocabulary building strategies.
The first law is that English words can be arranged in order of difficulty, that every word studied belongs somewhere on a scale that extends from the well-known to the almost unknown. If everyone in the country knows the meaning of a word it is easy; if few know the meaning of a word it is hard. The order of difficulty is based on calculating the percentage of people who know the word and arranging words in the order of that percentage.
The second law is that our English vocabulary stops rather suddenly on the familiarity scale. Up to this borderline, we know most of the English words that exist, but beyond that very few. A difficult word beyond this boundary may be memorized but is soon forgotten.
The third law is that our rate of learning is greatest just at the boundary of our vocabulary level. Thus, in building vocabulary we need to begin at our borderline and work up from there, making sure each word is learned and understood thoroughly. The technique is to learn words in sequence, not at random. If a word is beyond one's present knowledge, it is not really understood and is soon forgotten. As Goethe said, "Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess." But the word for which one is ready becomes at once a working part of one's vocabulary. This order of difficulty does not apply to the foreigner learning English, for he learns first those words derived from his own language.
Vocabulary can also be improved by good reading which certainly adds to knowledge. But as we read we should keep a dictionary at hand to look up the words we don't know, and not just guess at their meanings. Some persons with little formal education have achieved high vocabulary levels through extensive reading and constant search for knowledge. But for more rapid vocabulary building and retention of words, the surest way is to learn in the order of difficulty. Some youngsters, more than others, need an early start in building vocabulary. The child with strong structural visualization is more interested in things than in ideas; his desire to make things may so overshadow his desire to read and study that extra prodding and help building vocabulary may be needed. The child with low vocabulary also needs an early start. Schoolwork is difficult for him; usually he is a slow reader and paperwork is hard for him. An improved vocabulary helps to decrease the difficulty and also builds up the confidence he so often needs. But the child with understanding quickly also needs to begin vocabulary building at an early age. Schoolwork is easy for him, and he can get by too often without relay understanding his studies. Without vocabulary his lack of understanding eventually will cause him to fall behind. These examples are not theories, but facts that are proved in later life.
During the process of learning the field of vocabulary for many centuries great linguists, famous scholars divided vocabulary into different types. A person’s knowledge of words is divided into 2 broad types of vocabulary the active vocabulary and the passive vocabulary.
Learners need to have both active and passive vocabulary knowledge. That is, English words the learners will be expected to use themselves in original sentences, and those they will merely have to recognize when they hear them or see them written down by others.
The passive vocabulary is important for comprehension – the issue of understanding another speaker needs the listener to have passive vocabulary, that is, enough knowledge of words used by others to comprehend their mean.
The importance of vocabulary instruction is hard to dispute.
There are more rare words in print than speech. For example, only 68 out of a thousand words in a newspaper are rare words. In the oral vocabulary represented during Adult Prime Time television, only 23 out of every thousand words are rare. The slightly more encouraging fact for parents of children that watch cartoons is that they encounter 31 rare words in every thousand words of a typical cartoon. (Although, because of research studies like this, I wouldn’t advocate a steady diet of cartoons to increase your child’s intelligence.) [1, 86].
Concluding the article, first of all I should claim that vocabulary is the main foundation part of any language. Without a good store of vocabulary it can be difficult for the learner to have a proper communication or get into a speech or listening tape easily. Any person may face with a number of difficulties while using the language without a rich source of words and phrases.
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