Teaching and Learning English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Teaching and Learning English - Essay Example Teachers and students may often identify the need for vocabulary learning, but fail to employ the techniques that would make the learning really effective, interesting, and easy. "The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A useful interpretation of 'meaningfulness' is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered. If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!" (Wright et al, 1984). Therefore, the significance of language games in the learning of vocabulary is remarkable. There are various reasons to consider the use of games as effective and advantageous tool for learning and teaching vocabulary which is one of the inevitable aspects of English language learning. ... Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way." (Huyen & Nga, 2003). Treated from the affective aspect of the learning process, a vocabulary game lessens the affective filter and encourages, in the learner, the creative and spontaneous use of language. More importantly, the use of such vocabulary games promotes communicative competence of the learner and motivates him/her in the learning process. By motivating the learner for the continuous use of the language in communication, the vocabulary games help him/her in developing, apart from the learning of vocabulary, language competency as a whole. To judge the vocabulary learning games by the standards of Cognitive Theory of Learning, they reinforce learning activity, thereby, ensuring and affirming the learning to be meaningful and complete. This technique of vocabulary learning reviews and extends the vocabulary competence of the learner and, therefore, finds it very useful tool of language teaching. The modern theories of learning and teaching, affirm the teaching activity to be centered on the student and teaching and learning of English vocabulary through games can be considered the one of the best example of student centered teaching. Like the student centered methods of teaching, in this method vocabulary teaching, the teacher is just the facilitator and the real performer is the leaner. This makes the learner more active in the learning process and he/she learns more effectively. The learning of English vocabulary through games also facilitates the learning procedure to be easy and effective, as the learners are made active by the practice or there is greater possibility for class cohesion. This is