A Study On The Application Of Phonics To English Vocabulary Teaching In Primary School

During the primary school period,English learning is a tough task for the primary school students who just contact this foreign language.In this period,students need to learn words,simple grammar and conversations.And vocabulary learning as the basis of English learning is of great importance in the learning process.But quite a number of vocabulary learning may become a burden and hinder students’ English learning and even make them lose the passion and interest in English learning,which will have a negative influence on the later English learning.At present,the teachers generally adopt some common vocabulary teaching methods,which mainly focus on memorizing words mechanically by repeating words over and over again.These methods actually load a burden on students’ English learning and are proved to be ineffective.Therefore it is necessary to explore an efficient vocabulary teaching method which is appropriate for the language characteristic of primary school students.Phonics is a vocabulary teaching method which utilizes the pronunciation of the letters or letters combination in memorizing words.It encourages students to master the pronunciation of 44 letters and letters combinations and the rules of the pronunciation and spelling in order to read and spell the words the first sight and as a result improve their English vocabulary learning and memorization.It has been a long history since the popularization of Phonics in European and American children’s vocabulary teaching,and it is now still one of the mainstream English vocabulary teaching methods.Phonics is introduced to China only in recent years and the studies of Phonics use in English classroom teaching is still few.This study aims to conduct an experiment to test the effectiveness of Phonics employed in primary English vocabulary teaching.Three research questions are mainly discussed:1.Compared with the mechanically repeating vocabulary learning methods,is Phonics1.Compared with the mechanically repeating vocabulary learning methods,is Phonics more effective in promoting students’ short-term vocabulary learning and memorization? How effective is it?2.Is Phonics also effective for students’ long-term vocabulary learning and memorization?How effective is it?3.How does Phonics influence students’ English learning attitude and habits?The study chooses two parallel classes in Grade two from a primary school in Dalian as the experimental group and control group and conducts the English teaching experiment for16 weeks.Phonics is adopted in the experimental group while the mechanically repeating vocabulary learning method is used in the control group.Using vocabulary tests,comparison is made to see the effect of the teaching based on two different teaching methods.In addition,two questionnaires are utilized to investigate the influence of employing Phonics on students’ English learning attitude and habits.The research results suggest: both vocabulary teaching methods can promote students’ short-term vocabulary learning and memorization,while,Phonics shows more effectiveness in long-term vocabulary learning,especially in the aspects of the pronunciation and spelling of vocabulary.Additionally,by analyzing the pre-questionnaire and post-questionnaire,it shows that Phonics can also stimulate the students’ English learning interest and enhance their confidence in English learning and is also beneficial for them to form good habits of memorizing words.Therefore,to some extent,this study has verified that Phonics is a more effective vocabulary teaching method,which can promote primary school students’ vocabulary learning.