An Application Of Situational Teaching Method To Vocabulary Teaching In Primary Schools

Vocabulary is the basic element of foreign language learning and communication.Mastering and using vocabulary is the basis of improving language knowledge and developing language skills.However,in primary school English vocabulary teaching,most teachers still adopt traditional vocabulary teaching method,ignoring the students’ interest in vocabulary learning,which can give rise to the decrease in their learning efficiency.Due to the lack of English learning atmosphere,students’ vocabulary learning is also difficult.Thus,it is essential for teachers to provide students with the English learning situation,and change their vocabulary learning style to guide students to learn efficiently.Situational Teaching Method(STM)advocates the use of simulated situations in language learning,which is based on the theories of situational cognitive learning theory,cognitive development theory,language acquisition theory and constructivism learning theory.In the simulated situation,learners use and consolidate their words through communication to stimulate their interest and enthusiasm in vocabulary learning.STM conforms to the “student-oriented” teaching mode advocated by quality education,and promotes the active development of students in teaching activities.This research focuses on English vocabulary teaching in primary schools,and applies STM to English vocabulary teaching in Xi’an Baihua primary school.The research subjects are from two classes in Grade three and taught by the same teacher with the same textbook.Class one is the control class,with 56 students,adopting traditional teaching method.Class two is the experimental class,with 55 students,adopting STM.With the help of quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis,this thesis mainly uses test,questionnaire and interview to explore the following questions:1.What is the situation of English vocabulary teaching in Baihua primary school?2.How can Situational Teaching Method improve the teacher’s teaching effectiveness to English vocabulary teaching?3.What are the effects of Situational Teaching Method on pupils’ English vocabulary learning?Through questionnaires and interviews,the vocabulary teaching in Baihua primary school is mainly “duck feeding” and “rote learning”.It can be seen from the analysis of the sample lesson that the author combines vocabulary and language communication in the experimental class to teach words,so that students can learn to use new words more quickly,thus improving the teaching efficiency.The experimental results show that STM can not only stimulate students’ enthusiasm in vocabulary learning,but also expand their vocabulary.Specifically,STM applied by the teacher provides situational activities that are conducive to students’ vocabulary learning,so as to increase students’ opportunities to use words and improve students’ ability to use and spell words.STM meets the requirements of the new curriculum reform for English vocabulary teaching in primary school.However,the experiment lasts only 18 weeks and low-level students’ willingness to participate in situational activities is not high,so the research has certain limitations.Teachers should determine situations of vocabulary teaching according to the students’ learning situation in each unit.In other words,teachers should choose situational activities according to words of teaching materials and the characteristics of students.With the reflection of the limitations of this research,the author puts forward some suggestions for the future research of English vocabulary teaching in primary schools.It is hoping that STM can contribute to teachers’ vocabulary teaching and help pupils use words effectively in listening,speaking,reading and writing,so as to lay a good vocabulary foundation for students in the preliminary stage of English learning.