English as a Foreign Language [307042]

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The dissertation How to Teach Vocabulary to Young Learners shows a complete image of what this component of language and what influences have on students. In this paper I have tried to show how important it is for children to learn a foreign language from the early years of life and I tried to bring as many arguments as possible to demonstrate that the vocabulary of a language is the basis of learning any language and without this element a [anonimizat] a student. English is one of the most important languages in the world today because it is considered as the first international language; this status offered by the global scale has brought many changes in the English language because every nation has begun to study it as a foreign language in almost all schools in the world. This is absolutely necessary because these knowledge of English language are used in most of the man`s actions, [anonimizat].

Assimilation of knowledge of English is sometimes put into difficulty due to different types of students who have different learning styles: [anonimizat], but there are students who understand difficult. [anonimizat] a foreign language is age. [anonimizat]. [anonimizat], because owning a much greater life experience are able to distinguish between things.

In the first chapter of the dissertation it was made a [anonimizat] a Foreign Language worldwide. [anonimizat] a [anonimizat] a foreign language. It was demonstrated that age is a primordial factor that plays the most important role in acquiring new knowledge of a foreign language. [anonimizat] a [anonimizat]. Learning English requires a great attention from both the teacher and the student: [anonimizat], [anonimizat]: [anonimizat], essential component without which it could not be fully learn a foreign language. English is considered one of the richest languages in the world, offering a wide variety of words which give those who learn a great freedom of expression. Dividing vocabulary is very simple, because there are two main categories that define it, namely active vocabulary that includes words used in conversations of everyday, and passive vocabulary that contains words less used, such as terms belonging to certain fields of activity. Strategies and techniques used in teaching vocabulary of a language are two very important elements that largely define teaching and learning process; teachers and students need to know exactly what methods will use for obtaining the desired result, namely the assimilation of more knowledge.

The last chapter of the dissertation contains parts of the execution of a lesson plan, and achieving an example of it that can be sustained during an English course in the classroom. Planning activities is a very important process and requires a great attention from the teacher, so that students can understand and be attracted by that course in order to assimilate the new knowledge proposed by the teacher.

This deep analysis of the vocabulary of English has been made in order to help future teachers understand that the student is the central element when realizing the activity of teaching. Any other component of the English language can not operate at full capacity if the vocabulary concepts are not implemented from the beginning of this process. Learning a word in a foreign language is not something so simple as it seems, but the teacher can help the student to combine certain things, so that to succeed acquire as many words without having to think that is an extraordinary hard process.

Chapter 1.

English as a Foreign Language

English is one of the oldest languages of the planet that was formed as a result of the merger of several nations. Speaking of this, English is based upon German language, becoming over the years the mother tongue for most people on several continents, such as Europe (especially in the United Kingdom), America (United States of America ), Australia, and so on. From the historical point of view, English knows three periods: Old English, Middle English and Modern English.

Old English is the first form of English that has West Germanic influences. It was only spoken in some parts of England and Scotland. The most important work describing the genesis of the English language is "Beowulf," a manuscript written by an anonymous English author. The period in which it was written remains unclear, some critics saying that the poem dates from 8th century or 11th century: "a cohesive and compelling case for Beowulf’s early composition”.(Downey:52). Middle English appeared in the fifteenth century, in the Middle Ages. This came after the Norman invasion in 1066. The vocabulary consists in 90 percent words of Anglo-Saxone origin.In literature, this period of English language was marked in works of Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, and in the Bible translationby King James I. Modern English debuts during the British Empire in the 18th century, which greatly helped to the development of English because of the geopolitical context, and the process of colonization. In this period it is made a clear definition of the American and British English, establishing clearly the difference of dialect.

English as a foreign language is considered the language of non-native speakers in a country where the native language differs from it. This term is used frequently because regarding the international context, English has become primary. About 90 percent of multinational companies, and not only, ask at the moment of hiring knowledge of English. Because of its use in domains such as business, communications, media, and not the least in the diplomatic area, English has the name of the first international language or „lingua franca”. This mass currency of the English language is due to the significant cultural and economic influences that the United Kingdom and the United States of America has had worldwide.

Regarding in terms of terminology, English is divided into two parts:

– native English speakers who are trained to use it in different areas in countries whose native language is even English;

– English for non-native speakers who want to develop on cultural or other purposes in order to form a life in an English speaking country.

Learning English as a Foreign Language by students is made even in their environment at schools where they learn (being considered a field as the other) or special courses, but also in the environment in which English is the native language, by getting various scholarships in the period of schooling or after finishing it.

Being the second language for students we can talk about difficulties that obviously arising in learning it. The biggest problem comes from the large number of sounds spelling in English, which can not be found in other languages, and thus problems of understanding which reflects on the pronunciation. It can talk about problems arising in understanding grammar and vocabulary. But nonetheless, English remains the most imporant international language, studied across the globe, and who has a great influence on the development of cultural, economic, and the most important, the base of interhuman relationships.

1.1.Appraches to Learning English at a Young Age

Age has always been an important factor in terms of learning English because of the varying degrees of understanding. We can talk about two categories of students: young men, who are considered the most shrewd and who are able to adapt easily to the needs of learning a foreign language: „according to the cognitive/ nativist point of view, early exposure to a second language is advantageous because it capitalizes on the innate language learning ability that aIl children seem to have.”(Genesee:146); and adult learners that come with a considerably higher luggage of knowledge than younger ones, so that they have a different capacity of understanding and perception from the young learners. Of course, the degree of learning differ significantly, but each of them have different abilities which represents advantages in learning English.

From scientific point of view, the brain has the capacity to receive and filter information at the highest level during youth because it „demonstrates maximum plasticity and, therefore, maximum potential for development”(Genesee:146), according to Fred Genesee. Therefore, we can say that the brain is the most important element in learning English as a second foreign language, and that with its development and the processes occurring from this, the capacity of learning is considerably higher at a young age. After some research, Scovel Thomas argued that the limit age of students that can acquire foreign language skills is 12-15 years because „pass themselves off as native speakers phonologcally” (Scovel: 185). Another important factor that contributes to this learning process is that emotional intelligence is not so developed in young people, such as affection is low, which helps to perceive more easily the learning of a foreign language. The young man is seen as a being that has not yet managed to fully form skills to step in and petrurbe learning, they were seen as being at the beginning of their formation of new knowledge.

The best ally of young people, and especially for children between the ages of 4 and 12 years, is their ability to imitate, which is essential in cognition and language learning. Although, they apparently do not seem to understand that the flow of new information is a total misconception, because this capability not only helps to understand, but also to perceive logical what they imitate (thing understood by them later, when affection develops and then when reason takes on new forms and makes them to balance all the knowledge acquired until then).

Learning a foreign language at a young age is a great advantage in terms of personal development, because the child has the opportunity since childhood to know another culture, another lifestyle that, without realizing it, in the future it will help him both professionally and personally. Looking at from another perspective, namely from the school itself, the child will be familiar with using certain books, worksheets, or other materials, which develop the capacities to understand, and in the future, he will be used to the working methods in the teaching of any school matter.

Learning English from a young age became compulsory, mostly because of the importance that it has in the world. Children begin to learn English since kindergarten, when, as mentioned above, their ability to learn is based on imitation and reproduction the sounds that they hear from teachers. Another advantage that age offers to young people, is that they are in a tough time of life in which love to learn new things, to discover as much information, and all of these are made in a fun way, making from the learning proces an interactive environment. As Eugene Garcia says, a child is very gifted intellectually and have the ability to learn equally two languages as well at the same time- native language and a foreign language: „children can learn two or more languages simultaneously without interlingual interference. They don’t have to wait until their first language is good enough in order to learn second language” (Garcia:58), beacuse „language learners show greater cognitive flexibility, better problem solving and higher orderthinking skills” (Hakuta, 1986).

Another problem that comes with the age as far as the acquisition of a second language concerns, is the degree of understanding of the same age category. It cannot be said that two people can understand a thing in the same way, because each of us has a different way of thinking, interpret, and not the least, to understand a foreign language. Perception of information is closely related to intelligence coefficient, which differs from one person to another, this resulting from the fact that some children may perceive information in a more complex and deeper way, while others interpret it in a superficial manner, without discovering it deeply. Even if adult learners are considered most profound when it comes to study, in their case, we can talk about the same thing, especially as they are considered more intellectually developed and they can learn a second language more easily because they have much experience in the learning process.

David Singleton concept is a little different when it comes to how age affects learning a second language, considering that: “the younger =the better” and “the older =the better” (Singleton:31). He believes that although children are seen as more receptive and they can learn faster and easier, the adults also have certain capabilities that allow them to learn a second language as well, even if the process of learning is bigger. He also claimed that children should start from an early age the study of a foreign language, so they can achive the knowledge and the accent of a native speaker: “younger learners to do better in the long run in the matter of second language lexical acquisition is no more than a tendency” (Singleton: 22).

On the other hand, not all researchers agreed that young age is the best time to begin studying a foreign language. There are numerous researches showing that adults have the same learning ability as young ones, and that surprisingly, by imitation, perception skills are as highly developed in their case. Also, it can be said that they have a visual memory much better than the young people (but not better than that of children aged 2 to 7 years), and that are able to recognize much easier certain words or information by images or audio-video materials. In 1970, Samuel and Olson did a debate about how children of different ages develop their English language skills, especially in terms of pronunciation. In this study, it was found that adults spelling is much better than young ones, and that they have a certain capacity to understand significantly better than the young students. (Qtd. Singleton, 1989)

Besides the fact that age is the main factor when it comes to learning a foreign language, this in turn is influenced by variables that clearly contribute to learning process. These are anxiety, self-confidence, attitude, the way of learning, which affects both young people and adults, in proportions more or less consciously, according to intellectual or educational level.

Self-confidence and attitude are two compatible things that are of major importance in learning new knowledge because it motivates you and makes you apply the new information. These things also motivate the brain activity and make the child more excited to learn and to deepen English language. Children usually show an incredible attitude when it comes to learning new things and they are very open to new experiences, while adults are those with widest life experience, they are more reticent when it comes to learning a language because they consider them students with a little capacity of learning and a memory that has no longer the same concentration factor as at a younger age. But even so, we still can not say clearly that there is a sure age category which has total self-confidence and a fully positive attitude, just as Jhon Archibald says: “it is much more difficult to predict knowledge or ability in any of the other areas of communicative competence (syntax, cohesion, sociolinguistics, etc.) based on age of acquisition” (Archibald:420).

Motivation when it comes to accumulating new foreign language skills is a topic that proposes several discussions. Regarding young learners, apparently they do not have a certain motivation when they start learning English, still being at a young age to think about how that can help them in the future. But we can also talk about another category of young learners, the one whose motivation may exist, namely those who want to enter to a better school, or even for kids, that want to get advantages from teachers or parents. When it comes to adults, motivation may be the main reason the most important impulse when they want to learn English, because they are aware that a foreign language is absolutely necessary at the moment of employment, or for obtaining benefits from their current job.Another kind of motivation can also be those that can come up from a strong desire to experience a new culture, a new lifestyle and everything that it implies.

Anxiety is often one of the biggest enemies that keeps us away from, regardless of age, achieving the objectives that we have proposed. To young learners it occurs involuntarily, without them knowing what it means, getting to confuse this anxiety with inhibition and finally reaching to believe that it is simply a state of shame. They can not express themselves, at some point they locks and can not speak, sometimes afraid to say something wrong. To adults, the anxiety is much like that of children, but here we only talk about unfounded fears that they can not learn English at an appropriate level.

Learning style is an important factor when it comes to accumulating English knowledge because it differs from one person to another and from one age to another. This refers to the learning problems that students confrunt during this process of learning. Each individual creates its particular style depending on the environment in which they learn and how they perceive certain information. So, learning style can be defined as “cognitive, affective, and physiological traits that are relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment” (Keefe: 4). These ways of approaching learning of a foreign language was deeply studied over the years, so they reach to the idea that there are several well defined categories of students who, in their turn, have created some learning styles.

The first category is students who learn using visual memory, those who uses it as feedstock different images and maps to be able to create certain knowledge. This process is primarily supported by the brain, that in the moment when it perceive when that information, encoded it and prints it in the memory of the person. This visual memory is mainly used by children, especially those who do not know to read or write, and they use some images to receive the information handed over those materials. For young learners, this style of learning can be compared with a play, a benefic play that results in the development of intellect and knowledge. Regarding English language, this method of exposure the concepts for young learners has become lately the most effective and is used even among teachers because of the good results that they had. Visual learning has become very popular among adults, as it is an interactive way that no longer subdue them to the stress of learning mechanically or rack to sit and pole for hours on some subjects, fac that finalize with a modest storage of knowledge.

Auditory learning is a different style of learning, a process that works through the assimilation of information through listening to various materials, such as tapes or discs containing audio stories, short dialogues in different poses, and so on. But listening is not the only option when it comes to this style of learning, it is complemented by speaking, an essential factor that helps information receipt in a much faster and more accurately way. To learn in this way, a student must have certain skills, such as being an open person, without emotions, who likes to talk openly in front of an audience, that likes to read aloud anywhere, that likes to work in a team, and so on. English is a language that can be easily learned with this style, which is clear from the amount of students who say that their first knowledge of English were not in class or in kindergarten, they learn it from TV, more exactly from cartoons or films, saying that certain words they saw and heard there for the first time.

Kinaesthetic style is a less known learning style because the students who practice it are less compared to those who use auditory or the visual style. It is also called tactile style as it is characterized by tactile learning, involving various physical activities through the use of gestures, but not least, is based on group activities, which stimulates students to engage both physically and emotionally. This style of learning is related tokinaesthetic intelligence that from a scientific standpoint is translated by body movements. Kinaesthetic students are active persons, with a very high energy, who feel the need to externalize and consume this energy by using body , dynamic activities as resulting learning new knowledge. This style is characterized by: creating personal experience, exposure ideas into a logical order, through gestures, establish action plans in terms of solving problems on a particular subject, prefer to talk than to write, and so on. Essentially it is a practical style, which involves activities that do not involve the written word because students can go to get bored quickly. Some researches say that this style is attributed mostly to children with health problems, with behavioral disorders who have a lot of energy and a great need for expression. So this style of learning can be encouraged by a teacher by proposing various activities to involve them in the learning process and to encourage them to acquire more knowledge.

This way of dividing learning styles was created by Neil Fleming, who created this model after VAKmodel of Walter Barbe Bruk and his colleagues. This study came from the need to be closer to his students, being a teacher, and this study was conducted in 1987 after an experiment attended the Lincoln University. He stated that VARK fully defines each individual's needs, and that describe how each student has his profile depending on how they learn: „VARK is in the category of instructional preference because it deals with perceptual modes. It is focused on the different ways that we take in and give out information. We have a preferred learning style and one part of that learning style is our profile of preferences for the intake and the output of ideas and information. VARK provides you with a profile of your instructional preferences.”(Fleming:1). Some teachers have not agreed with this model proposed by Fleming because they considered that the auditory, visual or kinaesthetic style can not reliably guarantee that the student will gain the necessary knowledge and a correctly format of the information, they saying rather that these are skills that help students only understand certain information and does not learn them: "is not an instance of learning styles, rather, it is an instance of ability appearing as a style"( Willingham, Hughes, Dobolyi:268).

David A. Kolb, educational theorist of American origin, is also interested in the way their students assume certain knowledge. He proposes learning through experience, the way in which the individual behaves in society, especially the way in which students exercise their acquired knowledge and how they react when they are faced with the challenge of learning new ones. He argues that there are two types of experience, namely the concrete, that experienced already by students who have managed to assimilate new knowledge and the abstract one, that is represented by the actions in progress, unfinished, in which the individual still continues to assimilate new knowledge. Kolb describes this method of study as Experimental Learning Theory and the study defines as: "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience"(Kolb:41). All these theories have been embodied in a document entitled "Learning Style Inventory" which is considered to be incomplete and that do not propose a concrete version of some ways to learn, especially those resulting from research done by David Kolb.

Other theorists who propose the development of learning styles are Peter Honey and Alan Mumford which in their turn, are inspired by the theories developed by David Kolb. They feel that the experience remains the best way of learning, but they focus on every stage, from the beginning to the completion of an activity, and even after it ends. They believe that every step is important because it complements the other, and that in this way, knowledge is consolidated in a safe and effective way. So they believe that there are four types of students:

Activist learners, namely those who like to always be involved in actions that have something to learn. Is the person who acts on impulse, which involves both emotionally and intellectually in an activity, and do not stand to think whether it is good or not what he/she makes; only at the end experienc analyze everything that was happening and decides that he/she acted correctly or not. This type of student is a person who acts on instinct, a person who is involved in group activities and can lead a team because of his leadership skills.

Reflector learners are those students that before getting involved in the learning process, they deeply analyze all available possibilities to reach the desired result. They are very careful to details and analyze everything from every angle that there are no way to fail. Before they start anything, they stand aside, listen, read carefully all the available material and search for new ones to help those who already exist. They allocate as much time as possible to study and prepare everything to the thorough detail.

Theorist learners are those who are guided in everything they do after theories. They do not start the study if they do not analyze in depth the prior theories because they believe that every concept or model is absolutely necessary to be able to understand perfectly what they learn. These people may succeed in acquiring new knowledge just in case they may have certain concepts or models that have a certain purpose when the complexity of the situation is in proportions of hundred percent.

Pragmatist learners are students who can not do anything without try. Their basic concept is practical and they are not followers who like to create endless discussion on a specific topic. One can say that their motto is "short and to the point." These people have little interest in learning if they do not receive a clear plan that need to follow in order to achieve their goals, and wish that the theory be short and concise so they can understand and apply it correctly . This type of learners is becoming increasingly common at young age because they have become people who want to learn more, faster, efficient and more systematized; and this is because of education system that teaches right from an early age that everything is done through play and especially by practicing, creating different activities.

Young age is an age that remains a box full of surprises because nobody has yet managed to theorize certain behavioral traits when it comes to learning. But in terms of learning the English language, one can say that they are open to new experiences and they are attracted and even closer to learning. This can be said to be due to the introduction of new technologies which offer various games and programs that require more or less knowledge of English. Young age is an age that can be easily molded, because of the varying degrees of understanding and perception of new knowledge, and because they manage to adapt easily when it comes to new things. Learning English as a second foreign language is best at this age because it allows tomodel the learning styles and all perception too easy.

1.2. Approaches to teaching English (ESL) to young learners

Teaching English is a complicated process that involves attention both from the teacher and from the student, because it is based on a precise and concise technique which is meant to be exposed very well, because students can receive information so accurately and easy as possible. There are many ways of teaching English as a second language, but we can not say that all students use them simultaneously because each student has his own way of understanding and perceiving information received from the teacher. This process is a very complex and necessitate an increasing attention from the one who initiates it, and must be done in a way that, regardless of the type of student and his style of learning, to be conducted in such a way to be understood at a higher level.

English has become over the years a highly sought language in all areas of activities, such as it was introduced in schools around the world as basic school matter. This has naturally generated a process of cultural development and an improvement in the human resources department regarding teachers who teach English as a second language. Implicitly, we can talk here about the emergence of new ways of teaching that combine with some new ones in the development of the educational system, because the last years have come with major changes regarding school in general, which is due to the appearance of new technologies that have helped to improve the learning process.

Edward Anthony Mason Jr. Professor linguist at the University of Michigan, has developed a theory that the learning process consists of three parts, without which It might not give the desired results, these being approach, method and technique. He claimed that: ”The arrangement is hierarchical. The organizational key is that techniques carry out a method which is consistent with an approach.”(Anthony: 63–67). These steps that must be go downl the line by each teacher are extremely important because they represent decisions that teachers need to take when they teach English. The approach is considered to be the most important part of the learning process that occurs because it is the one that underlines the understanding and interpretation of the information sent by students; it is a concept without which methods and techniques could not work because it combines principles related to linguistics and psychology. Regarding methods and technique are two concepts related to the organization of teaching and the methods used to achieve them. They are based on the study before the start of the process and the establishment of clear objectives during the entire teaching-learning activity. Edward Anthony method defines as: „an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach” (Anthony: 63–67), while he says that the technique is „a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective" (Anthony: 63–67).

Teaching English is more efficient through the methods that must be applied during the learning process. These methods have been elaborated over the years as a result of very detailed studies regarding teaching English and they were improved after the introduction of this material in schools throughout the world. The term method is very difficult to exactly define because it was used in many ways until they came to develop clear concepts that can perform learning. Bell argues that the methods "offer a challenge for anyone wishing to enter into the analysis or deconstruction of methods” (Bell:326), which means that they can be interpreted according to the professor and, not at least, to the needs of students, because the application of these methods must be adapted to their ability to gather information and to the style of learning of each one. Over the years it can be said that it has appeared numerous teaching methods, some of them more or less used, so that today there are five important ways through the teaching-learning activity is realised:

Grammar Translation Method is a classic method of teaching English grammar, but also provides various words already translated into students native language. From a historical perspective, this method appeared many years ago, when foreign languages are taught all over Europe and not only, such as Latin and Greek. It was used by teachers of that time to teach grammar of the two languages and to teach students vocabulary already translated and ready to be stored. Today, this method works in the same way, only it can be said that it has been reinterpreted to the needs of today`s students. The most important principle on which this method is based, is that the student can combine writing with reading, which is vital when initiating the learning process of a foreign language. The teacher plays a very important role because it establishes a permanent connection between student and teacher and helps the student to understand and learn the basic rules of English grammar, without which he can not form language skills. As a a basic material used in the application of Grammar Translation Method is the text because the exercises used to develop the skills of translation and learning of English grammar is based on analysis of sentences, in the beginning, and later, after the student is advanced, proceed to the analysis of entire texts. Nowadays, this method is considered incomplete and it does not fully satisfy the needs of students and teachers that the information to be received completely, so Richards and Rodgers says: „Though it may be true to say that the Grammar-Translation Method is still widely practiced, it has no advocates. It is a method for which there is no theory. There is no literature that offers a rationale or justification for it or that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory.”(Richards and Rodgers:7).

The second method used in teaching English is The Direct Method, known mainly as the method that develop the student's speaking skills. This arose because of the needs of Grammar Translation Method development and proposes a new approach to learning English through various exposure methods such as a combination of experiences and demonstrations that emphasize the use of words and expressions. The Direct Method is characterized in particular by teaching lessons in the target language, the focus is mainly on the usual speech and less on deepening knowledge of grammar; accumulation of knowledge is made by demonstrations that use real objects and situations and personal life experiences of the students or teachers; conducting activities to propose as many sequences in which to develop the speech and thus acquiring a native accent. As techniques used to develop this method during an English course, we can talk about conversational technique, the most important when it comes to The Direct Method, because from it derives other techniques, such as self correction of student, reading aloud, and dictation, a very important element that helps to improve writing in a foreign language. It can be said that this method enjoys the greatest popularity in school today, because it uses some resources that fully satisfy the needs of students in a world where technology has such a fast evolution. The Direct Method is a method that can be easily adapted to all learning styles and can be characterized as being easily shaped so that, the flow of information to be understood and learned at a very good level.

The Audio-Lingual Method is one of the most modern methods used for teaching English and it appeared for the first time after the need to completely change the ways in which students were used to acquire new knowledge. It first appeared in America, and was developed after the need for new people who know foreign languages such as German, French, Chinese, Japanese, and so on, to supplement government staff at that time, after which, they considered that learning a language is vital for the military system too. This method aims primarily to develop oral skills, especially effective communication in a foreign language, and wants to form a more comprehensive vocabulary through practice. For teachers, this method has come as a great help because it allows teaching-learning activity to perform for large groups, which facilitated their work and because, by using it, the information was transmitted and received equally, regardless of the fact that they work with a larger group of students. As techniques used in the application of Audio-Lingual Method, dialogue is the most important because it involves speaking and listening skills, and in some cases the writing or reading ones. Mimicry plays a very important role in this process because it helps the student to better understand the proposed information and help to a proper development of the pronunciation. This method appeared from the need to get students to express themselves freely, uninhibited, and to make them to trust themselves when they want to communicate in a foreign language without being put in situations where they feel ashamed and no longer able to communicate. The method is used today by most teachers, but it is not being used as a medium because it does not meet all the necessary conditions to achieve a comprehensive lesson in which the student is able to acquire necessary and complete information.

Communicative Language Teaching is a method that centers on communication between student-student and student-teachers. This method arose because of the need to interact and do not force both teachers and students to depend on certain materials in order to teach and to learn. Applying this learning process is a little different from what happens to previous methods because it is the teacher who has the role of listener and does not interfere in student speech; he proposes a theme to the student, then let him speak freely and say everything he thinks. In this way students are more attracted to learning a foreign language precisely because they are given the freedom of expression and that they can express themselves just as they think without being inhibited by certain rules. Communicative Language Teaching propose a new way of learning because the student is in the center of attention, he being forced to interact constantly with other colleagues, teaching English is made with texts in foreign language, and in this way students not only learn certain information but also some strategies that can also facilitate the learning process. Here appears a completely important factor, namely the student's desire to learn, to discover new things without being interrupted by the teacher or without incur certain standards that must be followed. Through this method he develops all the skills which are related to a foreign language. Although it is considered as an effective method at a large scale, there are opinions that contradict this because it is considered to be a method that does not lead to a teaching-learning successful activity due to lack of teachers in the process.

Humanistic Approaches Teaching is a variety of methods by which it is trying to learn English as a Foreign Language. These methods rely on to work at the psychological level and focuses primarily on concentration, so that's how it fails to develop the student's ability to memorize and learn new things. Students are asked to directly express their own life experiences and feelings that flow from it because it will be able to deduce new knowledge and information. We can talk about four methods derived from Humanistic Teaching Approaches, the first being:

Total Physical Responese, a method created by James Asher after a study done to show that body gestures and actions are the best means of communication and perception in terms of language skills. This method relies on the skills of understanding and directing teachers to teach English to children focusing on body language and teaching them to do the same. James Asher believes that a child's speech should occur naturally and not be imposed by certain rules so that he can more easily accumulate a foreign language: „A reasonable hypothesis is that the brain and the nervous system are biologically programmed to acquire language, either the first or the second in a particular sequence and in a particular mode. The sequence is listening before speaking and the mode is to synchronise language with the individual’s body” (Asher:2-4). Applying this method, English grammar is explained in a clear way because we have already mentioned above, the focus falls on communication and everything related to body language. It is a method that can not be considered effective if teaching process is made to students with an advanced knowledge of English, this being exhibited by the beginners and especially children who are accustomed to express themselves more through gestures and mimicry.

Suggestopedia is a teaching method that emphasizes that the mind is the most important factor when it comes to assimilation of new knowledge. This method has been promoted by the Bulgarian psychotherapist Georgi Lozanov. The basic principle of this method of teaching is the relaxation because it believe that when the mind and body are relaxed, the flow of information is assimilated more quickly; communication and respect are two other elements that Georgi Lozanov considers absolutely important from a teacher when he is in front of students, considering that „communication in the spirit of love, respect for man as a human being, is the specific humanitarian way of applying their 'techniques'” (Lozanov, Georgi, 2006). This method is used mainly for adults because they are more prepared in terms of cultural and psychologically to understand such a way of teaching. Children are more skeptical about this method of teaching because they are not fully trained to understand that the psyche is the basic element in terms of learning a foreign language. So that teachers try to introduce Suggestopedia by exposing different materials that contain elements of classical music because Lozanov believes that this type of music relaxes them and greatly helps to concentrate on lessons. Other teachers resort to the use of large sizes materials that they expose in class because they believe that the visual impact is an essential element and that really helps students to retain information in an easier way.

The Silent Way is a method that comes very much to help students because it emphasizes that the teacher should be more silent, use more than gestures and mimics, because in this way he stimulates the students to communicate more, say what they thought, and make them correct themselves when they are wrong. This method was created by Caleb Gattegno, who believes that this method must be the base of teaching techniques and not to follow some well-established clichés regarding elements of a foreign language pedagogy. The Silent Way is a method becoming less used by teachers because teaching rhythm through them is very slow, it is used mainly when you want to learn pronunciation. The most important technique when it comes to this method is also to discover new information through games, songs and other teaching materials because the learning process takes place through exposure to new ideas through materials mentioned above, but the teacher is quiet and let students express their own ideas, thus enabling them to self-correct and, thus can realize the correct version and then to assimilate them. The method proposes a new concept and a new teaching model, because through silence teacher encourages the student to express freely and without inhibitions what they think, and let them correct themselves, to make them understand and give them the freedom to discover themselves certain information.

Community Language Learning is a method less used by teachers in the current educational system because, like Silent Way, it is a practice that centers on student learning and not to the teacher. This method is proposed by the fact that teacher does not get involved, being more an advisor for student and not one who leading learning process. Commuty Language Learning was promoted by Charles Arhur Curran, a professor of psychology at Loyola University Chicago, as a result of researches that claimed that the teacher must advise the student and to make him know its defecs and where they are wrong by: „capturing the essence of the clients concern …[and] relating [the client's] affect to cognition…;” (Richards:138). This method is very common when it comes to teaching English, because children feel inhibited when they have to speak a foreign language, so that the teacher is meant to create a favorable environment to make them focus and give up certain barriers which prevent them from saying what they think. The emphasis is on the psychic emotions and feelings, and how the child interacts with the rest of the group and even with the teacher. Another advantage of this method is that are not required standard materials by which students are forced to study; they have the freedom to establish their own training materials after that they think will have the most effective results; teacher will determine the student to propose materials if they are suitable for his style of learning.

The methods used by teachers to facilitate student learning are just "tools". The teacher is the one who coordinates the class and who, through methods, leads the student to the desired result, namely the assimilation of new knowledge in the target language, namely English. English teaching process is a very complex one that requires attention from those who provide information and from those who receive it. The combination of classical and modern, appeared lately, is a common and practical business regarded as having very good results. We can not say that there are well-established methods when the teacher begins teaching, he was forced to adapt activities to each group of people, because each student has their own style of learning and perceiving information. Therefore, the method of teaching is variable and can be adjusted depending on the degree of understanding and intellect of each person or group of individual.

Chapter 2

General characteristics of teaching vocabulary

Vocabulary is a very complex term which includes all existing words in a certain language, words that can not be fully known and understood throughout the life of an individual. So, therefore, we can say that over time it has appeared numerous ways of teaching to make easy the learning process and to facilitate the understanding and perception of new words, both in the native language of the student and from a foreign language. The most important process when it comes to teaching a language vocabulary, is that before initiating this activity, the teacher must study in detail all means of language vocabulary that they want to teach, to have a good training techniques and to use each word, because then they can be able to sustain a lesson to the students. English language is considered the richest language in the world with a huge number of standard words that must be learned just as they are found in the dictionary because, unlike other languages, English uses less processes of formation of words, they being taught from the beginning exactly as they are presented in books, respectively in dictionaries.

When we talk about vocabulary, we are talking primarily about the word, the element that underlies the formation and the cultural status of a man, element without which no one could express and develop both social and cultural. So that, due to the need of expression, vocabulary is not well defined, with a constant number of words, but it can be characterized as a process in continuous development that, over time it has been many periods that imposed a culture and a certain social behavior that necessitated the emergence of new words to define the social, political, and cultural context of at the time; this is true today because we live in a society where the development process is much accelerate as in the past, and requires the emergence of new terms every day.

Teachers are tempted to avoid teaching vocabulary because they believe it is more important that children learn grammar first, then to accumulate some knowledge of vocabulary. This is totally wrong because when a student wants to learn a foreign language must begin to know first few notions of vocabulary, then learning grammar will be more efficient and will come more intuitive; children themselves are those who say that it would be much easier to practice notions of vocabulary more often, to be engaged in activities that teach them new words because when they are put in the situation to have a conversation, they become shy, they are embarrassed for fear to make mistakes, and then can not make a correctly speech, regardless of the fact that they have solid knowledge of grammar. This thing is said by Scott Thornbury in his book How to Teach Vocabulary: „ However vocabulary teaching has not always been very responsive to such problems, and teachers have not fully recognised the tremendous commnicative advantage in developing an extensive vocabulary. For a long time, teaching approaches such as the Direct Method and Audiolingualism gave greater priority to the teaching of grammatical structures. In order not to distract from the learning of these structures, the number of words introduced in such courses was kept fairly low. Those words which were thaught were often chosen either because they were easily demonstrated, or because they fitted neatly into the „ structure of the day” „ (Thornbury, 2002:13-14).

So, it is very important that the teacher establish a clear method of teaching that has in the center the vocabulary learning of a second foreign language, because this is the point of connection to the learning of other concepts such as grammar, writing, listening and speaking. It is very important when the teaching is made to consider it the most important, so that the student be attracted and encouraged to learn those facts and they arouse curiosity, so that they learn extra things on their own initiative, and do not feel obliged to do that. To learn at maximum capacity, they must first know the basics of their native language, because then the teacher can make links with the English language, so learning process giving much better results.

2.1. English Vocabulary

Nowadays English is considered one of the most important international language because with its help there are made a variety of political, social, cultural relationshps, and so on. The necessity of knowing this language is paramount for almost every citizen of this planet, so that's why it was imposed to learn it as a foreign language. So, we can say that vocabulary is one of the most important elements because through it students can develop other skills; without knowledge of vocabulary it can not be said that the learning process will have the desired effect because when the students succed to learn as many words, they may be able to hold conversations, to understand a text, to translate it correctly, and not least, they can understand correctly the imposed notions of English, which of course, differs from other languages.

As a definition, the vocabulary has been perceived over time in different ways and from different points of view, depending on the conception of every author who realised an analysis of what it means this multitude of words that English language offers . There are some definitions of some analysts who have done many studies regarding English vocabulary:

Hornby defines vocabulary as being „total number of words in a language, words known by a person, list of words with their meaning” (Hornby, 1974:959);

Jhon Langan said that „a good vocabulary is a significant part of an effective communication. A command of plenty words will make a better speaker, reader, listener, and writer. . On the contrary, a poor vocabulary can seriously slow reading speed and limit one's comprehension.Studies have shown that students with strong vocabulary and those who work hard to improve limited vocabulary are more successful in school.” (Langan, 1993:432);

Scrivener also said that“vocabulary is a powerful carrier of meaning. A learner, recognizing the communicative power of vocabulary, might reasonably aim to acquire a working knowledge of a large number of words. The more words I have, the more precisely I can express the exact meanings I want to. But … getting to be on familiar terms with vocabulary is quite difficult” (Scrivener, 1994:73).

As argued those above, it is very important how is choosen the modality of teaching when teachers want to teach the children words from a foreign language, because there are detached other skills that will help them a lot in a complex comprehension of language. It is very important that they use a large number of words in the activities that they practice in class, and they always arouse students' interest in the evolving the process of knowledge. A small vocabulary narrows the horizon of students and it does not allow to develop from the cultural point of view. The methods used in teaching these components of language are very important and should be carefully chosen so that the student be attracted to them and lighten the learning process.

English vocabulary is considered the richest compared to other languages, so that in this way learning process is favored. Due to the multitude of words, it is offered to the student a much greater freedom of expression,it can be said bigger due to this variety, therefore it is essential to learn as many words as possible. As happens with other languages, English has a lot of influences that have emerged over the years following of the various conquests made by English people at that time; vocabulary was improved then with some words from other nations that have been implemented in the English vocabulary, that have also remained nowadays. That represented a plus because it gave people the opportunity to know a lot of words that express the same thing, and to help them to better understand its correctmeaning: „English vocabulary has a remarkable range, flexibility and adaptability. Thanks to the periods of contact with foreign languages and its readiness to coin new words out of old elements, English seems to have far more words in its core vocabulary than other languages. For example, alongside kingly (from Anglo Saxon) we find royal (from French) and regal (from Latin). There are many such sets of words which add greatly to our opportunities to express subtle shades of meaning at various levels of style.” (McCarthy, 1994:2).

Teacher is the one who proposes to the students different materials by which they can understand in a proper and effective way the meaning of new words that they meet in class` lessons, but one of the basic element is the dictionary because there the word is explained in detail after which this explanation is supported by examples to harden it. It is recommended when studying English as a foreign language, after a period when students accumulate at all a complex vocabulary, to use dictionaries that provide explanations and examples directly in the target language.

The importance of vocabulary when it comes to learning a foreign language reaches quite important proportions because it is the element that underlies the process start when it comes about learning a foreign language. In terms of communication, vocabulary should be as consistent as this can facilitates relationships between people and help them to develop on different plans. Knowing as many words in a foreign language requires numerous efforts from the students, but also the desire to evolve and to be able to handle any situation that involves speaking in a foreign languages. This knowledge of vocabulary is important in terms of understanding other notions imposed by learning a foreign language and not just those imposed by the perspective of communication, as states Schmitt: „lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language” (Schmitt, 2000:5).

Another reason why vocabulary is an essential element when students learn a foreign language is that when it comes to communication, the range of words is very broad and offers many options when the student wants to express his ideas. It is the only component of the language that proposes a permanent study, which can not be ever exhausted, while when it comes to knowledge of grammar, we can say that it provides some fixed and well established notions that once were retreaded must put into practice through various exercises and activities, giving no opportunity to be interpreted from a personal point of view; vocabulary, however, is an inexhaustible source which allows permanent study because with the evolution of everything that surrounds us must be the emergence of new terms to define different objects or phenomena: „Vocabulary is important to students-it is more important than grammar for communication purposes, particulary in the early stages when students are motivated to learn the basic words they need to get by in language. Also, as the lexical system is „open” there`s always something new to learn when students have „done” the grammar. So more advanced students are motivated to add to their vocabulary stock, to understand nuances of meaning, to become more proficient in their own choice of words and expressions” (Gower, 1995:142).

Today young people and iplicit current students are undergoing major changes that arise day by day because the world evolves with the technology and why not, the technique evolves with mankind. The need for knowledge has become increasingly more in great proportions this is required by the environment in which they develop. English is a point of great interest when we talk about evolution because it is the basic element of contemporary society through which we can say that the evolution of a young man coming or not. From this point of view we can say that students are somewhat forced to learn English vocabulary and not only, because they are put in situations where they can not communicate in the native language, being forced to implement their English skills. For this reason and others, English is studied in almost all schools in the world at a very high level because today civilization is not limited to communication in the native language, but includes relationships of any kind that require constant communication made using a foreign language, which is of course English.

Vocabulary development is a complex process by which students do some research and acquire new knowledge, so that they learn new words in the target language. In the first phase, the student learns new words, without doing deep research on the meaning of its base, then, through exercise, meets it in different contexts, he manages to make certain links that help him realize what it exactly means . It starts from the moment when the student began studying the particularities of the English language and can say that he has a deadline to conclude that because of that the study of vocabulary is in constant development. Children begin by studying abstract words that do not require a certain degree of comprehension and a very complex analyzes because they are not able at the moment to realize that that word can mean several things that lead in the same direction. It can be said that the brain is not used with such flow of information, and that it must be prepared step by step to deal with the multitude of words that will form, during the process of learning, a well defined vocabulary. The nervous system is the one who coordinates the learning process so that, the student must be calm and it should be presented the new information in a warm manner that entertain and make him to want to learn and know as many notions as possible in order to be able to improve his vocabulary.

The development of vocabulary in terms of phonology represents student's ability to differentiate different sounds, to be able to understand a word from multiple perspectives, namely that of the pronunciation and from the point of view of understanding in order to further realize phrases, texts, and not least in terms of communication. Perception is a decisive factor because it is not something native, is a skill that forms over time and with more exercise. So, when students begin to learn a foreign language, their perception is very low, even if they experience perception of native language; this is no longer accounted because a foreign language implicitly assumes new sounds and new rules of spelling, another way to approach understanding and learning, and so on. Once advancing in the learning process, they will be able to pereceive sounds exactly as it should be pronounced . This can be exemplified using phonetic transcription, such as the word from Romanian language " elev- /eˈlev/" has a word correspondent in English language "student- / 'stju: dənt /". This helps students to understand that the difference between the two languages ​​is very high, and that the pronunciation is designed to help learning the correct words. Phonetic transcription is a very important element that helps students understand the correct pronunciation of sounds and helps them learn both how to write correctly in the target language, and to spell correctly the assimilated vocabulary.

After you reach a certain level of understanding the flow of information, another factor intervenes, namely reproduction; this will be performed in a fair manner when the student reaches a certain level in which he has accumulated numerous knowledge when he believes it is able to put them into practice. Reproduction helps students not to be bullied and express themselves at a high level even though there are still some gaps caused by the fact that they do not fully know the language that they learn.

Pragmatic development is represented mainly by socio-cultural factors because the child is influenced in large proportions by the society and by cultural factors with which he is used. Being a child whose skills tend to the pragmatism, it can be said that those students have much higher chances of success when it comes to learning a foreign language. After they created a vocabulary base, pragmatists students are more careful about how they express, trying not to make mistakes, to use terms correctly, to have a correct order of words in a sentence and not least, to reproduce a phrase or a sentence of more ly correctly from the grammatical point of view. In the formation of pragmatic student, family has an essential role because it is always attentive to how he pronounces the new words, try to correct him when it is necessary, and do not allows him to make big breaks in learning, urging him to study how more to reach a very good level, so good that he can afford to communicate in the target language as well as he do in his native language.

The environment in which children grow up is a very important factor when it comes to learning new notions of vocabulary because students who live in an environment where they see that learning a second language is absolutely necessary to succeed both personally and professionally, they will be more motivated to learn and know as much information about that language because they are aware that this will help to achieve further. It is very important to be a positive example, and if it is necessary the family be with him and to support him in every way, even to try to join him in this learning process. Teachers play a very important role because they are the ones who provide information and who directs the students to learn correctlly the new notions, so they have to be very careful and very prepared to be able to explain as accurately and consistent as everything that has to do with learning.

Learning a word in a foreign language, unknown to students is not something so simple as it seems to be, because this learning is very comlplex, and that is not just to read a text and then look for unknown words in a particular dictionary. The vocabulary of a language is much more complicated than native vocabulary, and differs by the fact that the letter and sounds and from which are words formed are more or less different from their native language. It is very important when it starts a process of learning of English vocabulary, the teacher must be very attentive to the techniques they use in teaching activities, so that the child can understand and assimilate the information at a more efficient level. It is important that after assimilate certain knowledge of vocabulary, the teacher try to introduce different activities, because at that momment the child is able to understand much better other language notions.

2.2. Types of Vocabulary

From the earliest years of life the child creates some skills, starting with those of speech. He begins to utter certain words and over the years, once he grows, he begins to form a certain vocabulary in the target language. This helps a lot because he develops other skills, such as writing, learning, listening, and so on. When he reaches a certain age, and has already formed a certain level of knowledge, we can say that he begins a new stage, namely to develop knowledge by learning new things. When we talk about the time they start to learn a foreign language, namely here referring mainly to English, he is already able to understand the difficulty and has already formed skills of understanding and distinction. It can be said that beginning the study of English seems to have similar proportions with the moment when he started learning vocabulary words that make up native language. It is well known that a child at a young age has capacities much more developed when it comes to learning a foreign language to those of an adult, who is more skeptical because he considers it much more difficult to start from scratch the learning process at an advanced age. It is very important for a child to integrate into society with the help of knowledge, and to succeed because of his work during the entire school, just as Bruns and Broman says: „the position of an individual in society may be determined by the extent of his knowledge of words and how to use them in manner appropriate to a particular place, time, and situation” (Bruns and Broman, 1975:295).

English vocabulary is very complex and well proportioned, and of course, is divided into several categories and subcategories depending on the level of usage of it, or depending on the situations in which we use the notions of vocabulary. One of the most imporant categories is productive vocabulary and receptive vocabulary, two very different categories because each one proposes a certain view on words and on the modality of frequency of use. It is well known that these two categories are known as active or passive vocabulary. From this statement we can clear deduce the difference between the two and that each has its role in terms of learning. The degree of knowledge of the two types of vocabularies is essential because without knowing a lot of words, it can not be established a coherent communication between two or more persons.

The first category is that of productive vocabulary or active vocabulary containing words well known by students which they understand very well and with whom are able to formulate a conversation, or with whom they can produce certain written texts. The child is able to understand the basic meaning of the words of active vocabulary and use them in appropriate contexts and they also can transmit a right and concrete message. It is very easy for a child to realize the concept of active vocabulary because when he is put in the situation to read certain texts and to translate them, he can easily recognize certain words, depending on pronunciation and depending on how they are written. This kind of vocabulary skills requires the practice of two defining skills when we talk about productive vocabulary, namely those of writing and speaking, being the first skills developed by students when they begin studying a foreign language.

The second category is that of reproductive vocabulary that is characterized by the fact that the student understands what he or she hears and the words found in texts, but he or she is not able to reproduce those words. It is also considered to be a basic vocabulary that consists words that the student learns since the first courses when they begin to learn a foreign language. Reproductive vocabulary or passive vocabulary of a student is considered to be much larger than the productive one, because is the usual vocabulary that the students meet in everyday conversations, or in various radio or television programs, the words that they understand, they know their meaning, but they are not able to use them when they faced with a situation of having a conversation with someone in the target language. Children who have assimilated this kind of vocabulary are considered to have writing and speaking skills very well developed, but they are not able to reproduce correctly and coherently the new things taught or learned. Since the first English courses, although they do not know how to formulate a sentence, they are able to understand and execute a specific action, but can not describe the in the target language the undertaken activity. When it comes to learning a foreign language, children are able to express themselves better in writing than orally and so, they accumulate more easily productive vocabulary than receptive one.

As a teacher, it is very easy to identify students who are able to learn and reproduce a productive vocabulary or a receptive one. For example, they can choose a text with a medium degree of difficulty that contain words similar in meaning and form to the already well known by students. In the next paragraph I will present a model of activity that can stimulate enriching and practicing vocabulary:

Firstly, the teacher makes a short presentation of the topic which will be discussed during respectively course, after which he or she tries to ask everyone what they know about that theme, respectively Christmas. Students will answer in English, so that will practice somehow notions of vocabulary knew on this theme till that moment related. After the teacher asks them to go out in front of the blackboard and write one word already known about this topic, and then to formulate a phrase that contains that word. The next activity will consist in reading and comprehension of the text which the teacher provides. After they finish reading are asked to point out unknown words and try to realize what they mean, making the connection with another word already known, after which they will be asked to consult the dictionary to see if what they have intuited it is also correct. The next step of the activity is that the teacher provides some worksheets showing images of the moment of celebrating Christmas in England, and one in Romania, and they are asked to find five differences between the two holidays, which will help them better know the traditions of the two countries. For this activity they will have to consider the using of an appropriate vocabulary to present as clear as possible the customs and traditions of each country and to make a speech as consistent both in terms of fluency and correctness of grammar and writing. Students will form groups of three people, then they are asked to make a small composition about how Christmas is celebrated in both countries, and then each group will appoint a representant to present to the class the composition. In the end, the teacher will present an overview of the topic being studied that day and she asks students to prepare for the next course a full project about how Christmas is celebrated in another country in Europe, on their choice, and in the end, to make a glossary that contains all unknown words found in the moment of study of the subject. For this activity, the teacher uses the following materials:

The support text:

„From the centuries between then and now, come stories of holy men, of bishops and peasant-saints, and of brave men who preached the White Christ to the vikings of the north or on Iona’s isle. As in popular belief, with each returning eve of the nativity the miracles of the fi rst Christmas happen again, so in these tales the thorn-tree blossoms anew and wonderful roses bloom in the bleak forest. Other stories tell how on each Christmas eve the little Christ-child comes again to earth and wanders through village or town, while lighted candles are placed in the windows to guide Him on His way. Th ese various legends and traditional tales, which sprang up among the people like fl owers by the wayside and became a part of the life of the Middle Ages, are still of interest to us of to-day and have a distinct charm of their own. And when the childlike faith and beauty of thought of the fi nest of these have found expression in literary form they seem particularly suited for our reading at “the gracious time.”” (“THE GRACIOUS TIME” by ELVA S. SMITH AND ALICE I. HAZLETINE).

The flashcards used:

Christmas in Romania

Christmas in England

Vocabulary that a person learns during the course of foreign language is very important because without this knowledge can not be assimilated other concepts that lead to a better understanding and learning. The vocabulary of a language represents all the words that a student knows and understands, ability that develops along with the learning and with age. English vocabulary, and beyond, we can say that is divided into four categories, namely:

Reading Vocabulary: This type of vocabulary contains words that the student is able to recognize when he or she reads different texts or dialogs, and it is considered as part of passive vocabulary because the student's ability to understand those words is only when occurs the reading, but when the learner is put in a position to hear those words he or she is unable to recognize them. Reading vocabulary is very important when a student wants to learn a foreign language because it helps to improve the rapidity when it comes to reading texts. It is very important for a student to know as many words as possible because, with as many texts read, he or she will develop the ability to understand the meaning of a word and beyond the main sense that it has. In the context in which the teacher has to do with students who possess this type of vocabulary, they must know how to learn them how to read a text so aloud because, in this way they will improve considerably the pronunciation. As activities that stimulate assimilation of reading vocabulary, teachers can propose different activities that can be made in student`s free time, such as further reading on various topics, and after reading, to do an analysis of what proposes that theme: what they understand from the text, its main ideas, identify the new words that appear and try to make connections that will help them discover their meaning, and so on.

Listening vocabulary is represented by words the student understands and recognizes when he or she hears and also situates them with the passive vocabulary. Children who have this kind of vocabulary recognize easily when they are face to face their correspondent, making directly connections between intonation, gestures that the speaker makes when explaining certain things, and hence that the most important thing is that there is visual contact between two or more persons among which initiates some discussion. Students who have this form of vocabulary are those who have a certain experience in English language.

Speaking vocabulary is the most important type of vocabulary because it contains the words learned during the courses of English and that the student is able to use during a conversation. It is part of the active vocabulary, and besides the fact that the student can sustain a correct and fluent conversation, he or she can accentuate the meaning of words using intonation, gestures and mimics, thus transmitting concrect what he or she wants to express. Pronunciation is another advantage that the student has while he or she owns a speaking vocabulary because it demonstrates that what he or she has learned is very well solidified.

Writing vocabulary is also an active vocabulary which has strong ties with readding vocabulary. Students who have this type of vocabulary know many words, but they do not have a very well developed capacity to use it fluent in a speech, and they have rather a good ability to write certain texts or essays and thus to read , owning a wide range of words.

In the next paragraph I will present an activity that includes testing all skills that help improve vocabulary of each type:

The teacher chooses a support text on a certain theme, in this case was chosen the "Clothes” theme, which is presented to students. The teacher appoints a student to read the text, the rest being very careful to the whole reading. While designated student to read the text, the other students are asked to point out words that are unknown. The second step is to identify unknown words and trying to find both a translation in the native language depending on the given context, and also an explanation in the target language, respectively English. The teacher will intervene only if it is needed. He or she will appoint a student to come to the blackboard and make a table that should include two columns: the first column contains unknown words, while the second one contains their explanation in English and also the translation in the native language, respectively Romanian. The third step of the activity is that the teacher writes on the blackboard a list of four questions based on the text to which they need to answer with a single word that expresses the idea of the paragraph that the question referred to; the teacher will group students in teams of four persons to facilitate their work. After they finish this, they will have to choose from the text five or more words that refer to clothes and build, from the essential word, other words than those existing in the text, such as nouns, adjecive , verbs, adverbs, and so on. Before ending the activity, the teacher will choose four students who will pair up two by two and he or she will ask them to realize a short conversation that contains five words learned during the course; the dialogue will be presented in front of their colleagues and the teacher; it will be given five minutes to think about the way they will organize the lines. At the end of this activity, the teacher will resume the proposed theme and will emphasize the things they have learned and he or she will ask the students that for the next course to prepare a text that contains a dialogue between a customer and a clerk of a clothes store. The materials used for this activity will be:

The support text:

„Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes, that he spent all his money in dress. He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers; nor did he care to go either to the theatre or the chase, except for the opportunities then afforded him for displaying his new clothes. He had a different suit for each hour of the day; and as of any other king or emperor, one is accustomed to say, “he is sitting in council,” it was always said of him, “The Emperor is sitting in his wardrobe.” Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital; strangers arrived every day at the court. One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers, made their appearance. They gave out that they knew how to weave stuffs of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns, the clothes manufactured from which should have the wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held, or who was extraordinarily simple in character. “These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!” thought the Emperor.” (The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christen Andersen).

The questions from worksheets:

1. What was the biggest passion of Emperor?

2. What was said about the Emperor?

3. How emperor wanted to be the clothes that were worn by someone that does not suit them?

4.Who handle the design and the manufacturing of new clothes?

2.3. Strategies and techniques of teaching vocabulary

Strategies and techniques of teaching vocabulary are two elements that define learning because they should be selected and adapted to the type of student who wants to learn a foreign language. It is very difficult for a student to learn certain concepts and vocabulary specific words alone, without support from a professor well prepared because there is the possibility to assimilate knowledge in a wrong way, he can not pronounce the word correctly because it can not be said that a beginner knows and understands very well the phonetic transcription that he or she can succeed alone to acquire correctitude in pronunciation. The majority of people practicing in this area have concluded that the student that is at the beginning in terms of learning English, must begin by studying classical texts, texts without modern influences that propose a clear vision about the meaning of words, because the contemporary ones use neologisms that can have many interpretable meanings; after a long period in which the student gets to accumulate various English skills, he or she should be allowed to try the new appeared methods to help him to deepen the concepts already learned. Thornbury states that a child must learn only how to write the word and a simple translation of it, he should know very well both of them, but he or she has to know the exact meaning of it, which can not learn just by a simple translation; if a student fails to correctly assimilate what the word means, not only confined to generalities and aspect that it proposes, but he or she managed to see beyond the word and penetrate into the depth of it: “at the very least learners need to learn both the meaning and the form of a new word. We shall deal with each of these components in turn. But it’s worth pointing out that both these aspects of a word should be presented in close conjunction in order to ensure a tight meaning-and-form fit. The greater the gap between the presentation of a word’s form and its meaning, the less likely that the learner will make a mental connection between the two.” (Thornbury, 2002:75).

When the teacher began teaching vocabulary notions must have a very well established strategy that will use during the course; the most important factor to take into account in determining this strategy is the kind of students with whom the teacher will work: he or she has to know clearly whether they are beginners or advanced, what kind of learning style they adopt both in native language and in the target language, English, and what capacity of assimilation of new knowledge they own. Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl Brown was tried to achieve in some studies some steps that students must go through when they want to understand and learn concepts of vocabulary because their study to be well defined and shaped and that they do not have to make efforts without results: „(1) having sources for encountering new words, (2) getting a clear image, either visual or auditory or both, for the forms of the new words, (3) learning the meaning of the words, (4) making a strong memory connection between the forms and meanings of the words; and (5) using the words.” (Hatch & Brown, 1995: 373). Schmitt and McCharty propose another way of learning for students that want to learn new words that they encounter in various English courses. They propose four steps through the student get to reach the desired result, namely the successful completion of the learning process. These steps are:

Discovery Strategies: refers to how the student reacts when he or she encounters a new word whose meaning and understood does not know. It is like the first option to achieve the outcome guessed, to guess what that word means depending on the context in which that text proposes it.

A second category would be Social Strategies that are most commonly used by students when they are unable to know the meaning of a particular word. These strategies involve help from a person with specialized studies in these areas of study, the best help being even the teacher who undertakes English courses, that can provide an explanation to the student more or less extensive on its concerns. The teacher also can guide the student to an additional study if it is necessary to deepen and make better those skills. The explanation that he or she gave to students can actually consist in a simple translation of the word, or even words in the native language or can provide explanations in the target language to make them more curious and to draw them to study more in their free time.

Memory Strategies involve a lot student's the ability to memorize and what kind of knowledge they acquire throughout the learning process. These strategies concerns to the fact that, when the student is unable to meet a particular word, he or she try to implement memory and try to link that word of knowledge gained by then. They can also use different materials to refresh their memory like some images that have links with the lessons they have studied before, certain connections they make with other words already known, review of previous lessons related to topics and sense that the word anticipates that they want to know and understand it.

The last category is that of Cognitive Strategies that have some resemblance Memory Strategies, but whose ways of learning differs in a lesser or greater way. Students who apply such strategies work a lot with the help of schemes and drawings that take them to a concrect result; it is true that they use memory because it is absolutely necessary to review some information that they already know, that step by step to reach the desired result.

The techniques used in teaching English vocabulary must be handled and chosen very carefully and it is very important when the teacher teaches new vocabulary notions. The information must be submitted in a clear, fair and consistent way, so that the student not be placed in difficulty and to facilitate the learning process. Another important thing that this has is the fact that vocabulary is the most important component of language without which there can not study and understand other concepts, such as grammar. The study of vocabulary should start with the most important part, namely phonology, because it deals with the study of sounds, the pronunciation, thing without which a student can not understand and learn correctly words that form English vocabulary. Regarding teaching of vocabulary, there are many techniques that help and facilitate the work both to the teacher and the student. There are many teaching techniques which include the following:

The first category of techniques used in teaching English of vocabulary is Visual Techniques, which involve the use of various materials that will help students to reach the desired result, namely that of an effective learning. These types of techniques use a variety of objects, things, gestures and even facial expressions to help students learn better and how many more words to be able to build up a vocabulary in a foreign language. So, the use of real objects can be one of the Visual Techniques. Real objects are brought and presented to the class as an important course support because it believes that, especially for those who are beginners, visual memory is very important and that students react very well when there are made links between the word from and object to discover the presented subject by teacher in the target language. Objects that are brought to them help students better understand the meaning of words presented in the course and they can be chosen and brought by both of them, following the advice that students receive from teachers. Using images and illustrations is a technique as important as it is considered that the student is more attracted to visual aids. These materials can be made of various images that children or teachers can crop from various places such as newspapers, magazines, posters, and so on. They are considered to be effective when it comes of precursory texts that will introduce new concepts of vocabulary. Today most textbooks or other storage media courses use such techniques to attract students and capture their attention, thus causing them to become interested in what is going to propose those texts, and even lead them to learn new words more easily; this is due to the fact that students often make connections between image and word. These materials can be brought by both students and teachers, or may be just as well designed by them. Another very important technique is to use visual mimicry or gestures, technique that the teacher must know that is very important when dealing with beginners. How the teacher changes gestures and facial expression or has different body movements is essential for the student, because he or she makes an immediate link between the meaning of the new words and how they are exemplified through these techniques. Klippel said that the use of mimics and gestures is not only important when it wants the student to learn new vocabulary notions, but when it wants to improve communication skills: „mime or gesture is useful if it emphasizes the importance of gestures and facial expression on communication. At the essence it can not only be used to indicate the meaning of a word found in reading passage, but also in speaking activity as it stresses mostly on communication.” (Klippel, 1994:115).

A second category of techniques used in teaching vocabulary is the Verbal Techniques that rely on the use of speech as basic elements in terms of English vocabulary learning. Here we talk about the various means used by teachers to help students understand the correct meaning of new words from the course; the most used verbal technique is the explanation that usually the teacher applied using various dictionary definitions or even reformulated ones from his or her point of view, the explanation will be offered to the student in the target language, which helps him todevelop further the horizon in terms of meaning which the word explained proposes. A second technique verbal is through the teacher helps students to discover what they are interested in using synonyms or antonyms or, in some cases, encouraging the student to try to find alone the correct answer. By using as many synonyms and antonyms as possible, student not only improves his or her vocabulary with new words, but also in other words, that will help during studies to make various connections and relationships in the learning process. The gradual explaining is another Verbal Technique used by teachers; during the process he or she uses as procedure the going through of nearby, the teacher trying to take the student into a comfort zone in which to succeed to realize the meaning of new vocabulary alone. Here it can also be used Visual Techniques to help the student to make connections much faster.

A third technique can be represented by the use of dictionaries, being considered the simplest existing technique that makes it easy for students, and especially for teachers because they are not forced to build a plan that take the students to the desired result. Using dictionaries is very simple because words are in an alphabetical order and easy to search. Usually the most efficient dictionaries are those who are printed, those appearing online being less revised and providing a shorter explanation than the others. In those printed the searched word offers both complete explanations followed by examples and synonyms or antonyms that make the student to better understand the meaning of the word with no need of other explanation. Dictionary is a very simple method that the student can use at any time, both during class and at home if they want to clarify certain questions, and that they base on this technique, results will be as good and effective as when using other techniques, Readence saying that it proposes both primary meaning of the word and the least used in conversations: "the dictionary definition is shared with a discussion when the words are presented both in isolated form and in the context” (Readence, 1995:35).

As a conclusion, teachers must be very careful when they start teaching English courses and must carefully establish their plan because after this will act in the process of learning. They must use necessarily the most effective techniques to the type of students they face and take into account numerous factors that make students reach the assimilation of new knowledge in a more rapid and more correctly way. Vocabulary is a component very complex which requires lot of attention from the teacher, because without knowing the basics can not learn grammar, another element that underlies language so that, the student will never be able to understand how to hold conversations or how to solve a basic exercise.

Chapter 3

Teaching vocabulary to young learners

English has become the most important language all over the world due to political, social and cultural changes that have taken place in most countries of the world. So, learning this language was more than necessary both by adults and by children. Learning English has become paramount in all schools in the world, so it is taught from the early years of school. It can be said that every language in the world has two essential pillars that could not operate one without the other, namely the first being vocabulary, an essential element without which there could not perform certain conversations, speaking exercises and so on ; and the other element being the grammar, element without which vocabulary can not be used properly when the practitioner wants to initiate a conversation, or joins in a particular discussion. It is recommended that when it is wanted to learn English as a foreign language, to initiate this process since the early ages because it is considered the ideal age at which man, in this case the child, is more receptive to certain practices of the process of learning; adults are considered to be less receptive when they reach an older age because the assimilation of information is done at lower levels. The child has a greater capacity of memorizing and learning because the nervous system functions in a much faster, and enables them to understand and learn a foreign language much better.

Usually, vocabulary teaching to young learners is made by presentation of certain materials that include words from various topics that are considered to be much easier to learn for children in this way. The teacheras must choose carefully the strategies they will use during the teaching process, so that information can be transmitted corectly and concretely to children, they were forced to acquire the taught notions. Vocabulary is the most important component when it comes to teaching a foreign language, especially in English language teaching, because without this component, child can not connect to learning and can not assimilate other knowledge that requires a foreign language. As in the case of a native language, the child begins by learning words, a wide variety of words that will help him or her to formulate sentences, phrases, and even texts. The words are absolutely necessary and when it is learned grammar because without them, young learners may not be able to understand and to apply correctly the rules imposed by the grammar of a language. Brand said in his paper that is very important when the child reaches a level of understanding and knowledge of the concepts of vocabulary, to be considered as a good handler of words and can be able to play with them, so that they can handle when they are put in situations to understand certain words in different contexts: “goal is for students to become word-savy, to develop an understanding of how words work within the context of reading and writing, and to become excited about words as they learn to manipulate them in playful ways.” (Brand, 2004:4).

Teaching vocabulary to young learners requires great attention from the teacher because this process should be structured, so that students can gain knowledge of English in a more simple and efficient way. The teacher has a very important role because they have to structure the teaching process based on several criteria such as:

He or she must know very well the class level where he or she teaches: he or she must know very clearly with what kind of students the teacher works, at what level of understanding and knowledge are the learners, whether they are beginners or are at a more advanced level of knowledge of English;

Another criterion is that the teacher should at first to propose several activities to determine what kind of students he or she is working and what strategy of learning they have, and what learning style approach because then he or she be folded so as to be very good results.

English vocabulary is very complex, especially for the fact that this language contains many words that have been affected in the past by influences of other languages, such as German or Anglo-Saxon. Children need to learn for the beginning as many words as possible, for then to be able to make connections and be able to discover by themselves through the process of learning other words that will help them advance in terms of language learning, and why not, in a certain time, to assimilate as many notions to be able to speak in the target language like native speakers.

3.1. Effective ways of teaching vocabulary to young learners

Learning a foreign language is always a process that starts with the wrong foot because children are not always receptive when it comes to assimilating new knowledge, especially if they are in a language that they do not know. They become fearful when they faced with learning new things and they are afraid they will not be able to handle and they will not be able to use and assimilate properly the new learned concepts. So here comes the teacher who has a very important role because the student must demonstrate them through various means that this process is all too simple and that requires the same efforts that he filed with the native language learning and other school matters. The courses must be conducted in a more interactive way to attract children and to awaken their interest to discover as many new things, and not only by resorting simply to traditional methods which presupposes only is teaching and not practical activities carried out in a more dynamic way; if the teacher does not come up with new ideas constantly, the child gets bored and loses the interest in knowing as much about a foreign language. The interactive modalities of teavhing vocabulary of a foreign language not only stimulates to pay attention in class and retain as many things during the course, but gets them interested to study as many things in their free time and to practice much more activities independently related to learning certain principles which underlying the language they want to learn.

Over time teachers have tried to find as many ways to lighten their teaching and students work that will make them become more interested in learning new things. There are many ways that a teacher can use when it comes to teaching the concepts of vocabulary, but not all folds on the way students understand new concepts of language. So, the most important thing is that the teacher knows their students because then he or she tries to propose and realize different activities that can help them as much as possible to understand what a foreign language means and how important is to learn it. Various methods are used, but after some research done in several countries where children learn English as a Foreign Language, it seems that the most effective way is to introduce new notions of vocabulary through games and more interactive activities to stimulate the children imagination.

When a student begins to learn new notions of vocabulary in a foreign language he or she must consider some important aspects that will help him or her to understand and learn more easily what means this component of language. When learner has to do with a new word he or she must consider the following aspects:

It is important to clearly understand the meaning of the word she or he learned for the first time because if the information is mistaken provided by the professor, perhaps the student not be able to rectify the mistake in the future and to continue to use that information that he or she learned wrong;

The student must know very clearly the grammatical forms of the word, if it is adjective, noun, adverb, and so on, and to be able to use it correctly in conversation or in writing;

The student must make a very clear difference between the written word and how it is pronounced; here the teacher's role is very important because he or she have to explain clearly and concisely what is the difference, so that the student can use that word correctly both in writing and speaking;

It is very important that when students are taught a new vocabulary, teacher learn them from the beginning to make links to other words in order to get the desired result, to teach them when those new words can not be used, or how to create other words from the basic one, by adding suffixes or prefixes.

As ways of teaching vocabulary, it can be said that there are a large number, because over time teachers of English have resorted to various methods to attract students and to make them be more interested in learning new things in an easy and interactive manner. In the following paragraphs I will present some effective ways to teach English vocabulary that had very good results in terms of assimilating new knowledge by young learners.

The first way would be represented by teaching vocabulary that would be the learning before starting any activity. This method has two advantages, the first one being that students are already familiar with the new words, such as when starting a certain activity they will know in advance what kind of words they will find in the course; a second advantage is that they can easily learn those words that have already had a well shaped image about them in class activities, being an addition in learning that helps to solidify their knowledge: “ When vocabulary words are taught before a new activity, students benefit in two ways. First, they are better able to comprehend the activity. Second, teaching vocabulary words in advance makes it more likely that students will actually acquire the target vocabulary words.” (Linse, 2005:123).

Example of activity (After realizing this beginning activity, students will be more interested in the next theme of the activities and will want to learn more information about the proposed theme. The activity will be realised in the target language, namely English):

Teacher: Today I decided to bring some few pictures of some famous artists. Who wants to help me to glue these pictures on the board?

Student1: Me! Me! Me!

Teacher: Okay Mihai! Please come in front of the class and help me to glue these pictures. (…) Now stay here Mihai please! Could you tell me which artist is in the first picture?

Student1: In the first picture it is an American music band named Bon Jovi.

Teacher: Thank you, Mihai! Now please go back at your seat. Who wants to tell us about the second picture? (Children raise hands up) Please, Andreea!

Student2: In the second picture is Michael Jackson, King of Pop.

Teacher: Very good Andreea! Can you tell us please, who is presented in the last picture?

Student2: In the last picture is presented Barbara Streisand, singer of jazz, and not only.

Teacher: Very good! Andreea, thank you so much! So, what do you think will be the theme for today?

Students: Music!

Teacher: Very good! Let's start with the first activity!

Another way to teach vocabulary is by presenting signs by the professor to introduce the next lesson. Children will be interested in what the teacher wants to do, they will pay attention to every detail and try to focus as much as possible to guess the theme that the teacher wants to present in the course. To implement this method of teaching vocabulary, children are advised that from a simple indication to go step by step, so that from the context that the teacher proposes to get exactly in the point where the learner guesses the theme of the course. Linse said that these context clues are not always right and that students will not always succeed to guess a certain theme by using this technique of guessing. This however, can be controlled by the teacher who taught, so that students learn as well how these context clues function.

Example of activity (This activity will help students that the use of context clues can be both effective and ineffective, in some cases. The teacher has the role to expose very clearly when and how students can use them. This activity will take place in the target language, namely English.).

Teacher: In the course of today we will read a few sentences carefully selected and taken from a text. As usual we will meet many words whose meaning you will not understand and know, but the helping by the context, we will try to find what it means, and what sense they have from the presented conetxt. Who wants to read the first sentence? Please, David!

Student1: Usually breakfast in Romania include a wide variety of dishes, such as cheese, yoghurt, fresh milk, buttermilk, and so on.

Teacher: Okay, thank you Dvaid! What we see in this sentence? Mary, please!

Student2: It is a variety of dairy products.

Teacher: Very good! It is an unknown word in this sentence?

Student2: Yes! The unknown word is "buttermilk".

Teacher: Maria could you tell us what do you think the word means?

Student2: Of course! It is kind of dairy product derived from sweet milk!

Teacher: Very good, Maria! And you can tell us what links did you do to get this answered? Because from what I know, the word is unknowen for you.

Student2: Sure mister professor! In that sentence it is just about milk-based food products. From this I deduced that the word should also represent a dairy product.

Teacher: Very good Maria! Kids, as you see Maria has used this technique to identify clues context, from where she concluded that "buttermilk" is a dairy product. This is a situation where you can help by context clues to identify the purpose and the meaning of unfamiliar words. Ok … Now someone else will read another sentence in which you will realize that this method will not be as effective. Please, Claudia!

Student3: Sour cream is in big stores right next to the refrigerator with fish products.

Teacher: Claudia can you tell us what do you think the word "sour cream” means ?

Student3 "Sour cream" is a foodstuff, i think of animal origin, made from fish.

Teacher: Well, Claudia, this is a situation where context clues do not help us to guess what means the unknown word. In this case it is better to consult a dictionary to be sure that the answer we give is correct. In this sentence there are few elements that make us think to the meaning, and therefore context clues do not work in this particular situation.

Another way to teach vocabulary in an efficient way is presentation of multiple exposure in multiple contexts of new notions of vocabulary. This multiple exposure refers to the fact that the teacher has to make a multiple presentation of meanings that a word can offer. It is very important when there are made teaching vocabulary activities, the student consider a wider variety of words that can help him or her to choose and make connections. The more he or she knows, the more will be easier to establish some links between the new ones and the already known ones, and in addition to this it will be a permanent reminder of knowledge acquired by them at that time, it will develop both visual memory an hearing one more. It has to take into account the fact that students can not deduce from the first time a new word, they should be subject to exercise to be able to remember what they learned.

Example of activity (This activity is designed to keep students permanently connected to learning. The work will take place over a period of two weeks, given that the English language course is twice a week. The activity will take place in target language, namely English):

On the first day of the course, the teacher will teach about the objects used to do sports, so he or she may request permission to the school mannager to go to the gym to lead students to observe several devices that help in sports activities. Students will be asked to take with them some items to help them to write down what they see and what is discussed there. They will try to guess the name of each device. In the second English course, the teacher will continue with the same theme, but this time he or she will come with some worksheets that will contain various puzzles and games that describe the devices used to do sports. Next week, there will be a general recapitulation of what was learned in the previous week, and the teacher will come up with different activities to solidify the gained knowledge.

Word of the Day is another effective way of teaching vocabulary to young learners. This method involves choosing a keyword both by teacher and student, that students are forced to use it in a certain context when they want to express a particular idea. This method can be used at each English course; it will greatly help students to enrich their vocabulary in a foreign language, and thus can express themselves easily in the target language.

The strategies used by teachers when it comes to teaching English vocabulary must be very carefully chosen because it is very important that students understand very well the new concepts that they learn. Even if each student has their own style of learning, interactive activities that arouse interest are welcome for each learner, because the most important thing in learning is that the teacher manage to capture the attention and make them to want to learn a lot of things related to the school subject that he or she teaches. The strategies presented in this chapter helps a lot young learners to improve their skills when they learn a foreign language and help them to acquire more knowledge in a correct and easy way.

3.2. Factors Affecting Vocabulary Learning and Aquisition

Learning and assimilating new knowledge of vocabulary in a foreign language involves many processes by which students must pass to reach the desired result, and that is to assimilate as much knowledge and as many words to be able to sustain a conversation or to be able to express in writing in different contexts. These processes in turn, are supported by certain factors that influence positively or negatively the learning process, but they also serve to make both the student and the teacher to understand how imporant is to use suitable strategies and techniques to assimilate in a more simple, fast and effective way the vocabulary of a foreign language. After more researches, some people have tried to show that no human being can acquire a vocabulary similar to the native one because there are many factors that still remain completely unidentified. But after certain studies, the most important factors influencing language learning, and especially the words are: the word form, how a word is pronounced, the meaning that it has in different contexts, or the way in which it is used by the speaker in different conversations.

These factors may also be of another nature, they are represented by the environment in which the child develops, here talking about both of the environment that dominate in the family, and the environment that dominate in school, in the class where the child is, which influences him or her very much when it comes about the learning process; another factor, which is also the primordial, is the teacher, the man that makes links between students and him or her, who must ensure that she or he uses the most appropriate methods to attract children towards learning and make them interested in this. As far as students concern, the motivation is not always well defined, because if they are not attracted by various interactive methods, they will learn just for the reason to do not take bad grades at and eventually , do not be argued by parents at home. The effort that young learners should submit in the learning process should be stimulated by various strategies, and of course by the professor in charge of teaching a foreign language because in large proportions students will not succeed alone to stimulate themselves and to be attracted by a new thing which he or she considers extremely difficult at the first sight.

In the following pages I will present several important factors that influence or affect acquiring new knowledge in terms of learning new vocabulary knowledge.

Age is a primordial factor when it comes to acquisition of new knowledge, in the general because, depending on the age which learner has it is set the ability which he or she has when involves in the learning process; it can not say that there is a clear age that a man can begin to learn a foreign language, but in some studies has been shown that the learning process is more efiient when the student begins to learn a foreign language at younger ages , because at a younger age students have a much better capability of reception and a better memory. But this thing does not mark the idea that adults can not learn new vocabulary knowledge. When children engage in the learning process, they do it naturally and with a lightness that can not be seen in adults because they are more rational and they first tries to think in depth what is going to learn. Children compared with adults have a lower degree of inhibition because they do not yet possess a high level of knowledge, making them to communicate more and say what they think without taking into consideration if the information is wrong or not; adults who already have a more vast life experience, inhibit in the moment when they are put in situations to communicate and express their thoughts because, being perfectionists, they have fear of wrong, and sometimes of no embarrassing in front of course colleagues. This thing is said in Lynne Cameron`s work Teaching Languages to Young Learners: „ children are often more enthusiastic and lively learners. They want to please the teacher rather than their peer group. They will have a go at an activity even when they don`t quite understand why or how.(…) Children often seem less embarrassed than aduls at talking in a new language, and their lack of inhibition seems to help them get a more native-like accent.” (Cameron, 2007:1).

It can be said that young learners are at an age where both at physically and mentally leve is producing some very imporant changes that affect in a lesser or greater way, or in a positive or negative way the child development. This period is called Critical Period, when the brain develops and enables man to assimilate more knowledge with greater ease than in adolescence or even adulthood; it is a period in which the reception of new information, especially when it comes to a foreign language, it is the right time, and it can be said that if learning a foreign language is encouraged during this period, the chances of success of the child to gain a similar acccent of a native speaker, it is a really success. From a scientific standpoint, Curtiss explains that learning a language is strongly influenced by human brain, and that once this period is defined and finished, it comes a new component that helps acquiring language skills, a specific component more for adolescents or: „From our observations and testins. Genie appears to be a right-hemisphere thinker. Most importantly, she uses her right hemisphere for language. Genie’s language is abnormal in specific ways. Her language resembles that of other cases of right-hemisphere language as well as the language of those generally acquiring language outside the “critical period”. Her case, therefore, supports Lenneberg’s “critical period” hypothesis and furthermore suggests specific constraints on the nature of language acquisition outside of this maturational period. The fact that Genie has right-hemisphere language may be a direct result of the fact thar she did not acquire language during the “critical period”. It suggests that after the critical period, the left hemisphere may no longer be able to function in language acquisition, leaving the right hemisphere to assume control.” (Curtiss, 1977:234). This critical period can be considered as a positive factor, because regardless of whether they learn in a manner more unconscious than conscious, they assimilate much better new notions of a foreign language. It is therefore appropriate to begin the learning process since an early age and later the child or the adolescent does not have the same ability to retain and store new information.

A second factor is also very important that influences learning and acquiring new knowledge of vocabulary and it is represented by the method of exposure strategies that present new information. It is very important for students to establish from the beginning of the learning process, what strategies will be used, so that they can retain as much information. When it comes about the assimilation of new notions of vocabulary, an extremely important component of a foreign language, some critics even argued that the most important when learners want to learning a foreign language, is to devise strategies being the key element because, establishing from the beginning in what manner they will work, students will be more accountable in terms of study. The teacher's role is paramount in this action because he or she helps and guides the student to choose the most fastest and easiest way to assimilate as many vocabulary notions. If the student is misled or do not listen to the advice of an authorized teacher, it is possible to fail in terms of vocabulary learning in a foreign language. Each student has his own style of learning, as each teacher has a certain style of teaching. The student's learning style is formed during the learning process, depending on the degree of understanding gained, and depending on how involved she or he is, but in terms of teacher`s learning style can not say the same thing; the teacher must adapt their manner of teaching to the kinds of students with whom she or he works. Of course, in a class will never be the same type of students with the same learning style, but the role of the teacher is to find a way and to propose activities, so that the new information be received equally by all students.

A very important thing is the atiutuidinea that students adopt when they confront with learning notions of vocabulary of a foreign language. Having a positive attitude it can be said that young learners allow the brain to absorb a greater amount of information than if they require a negative attitude; positive attitude towards learning a foreign language meant the desire for knowledge, pleasure of learning more words will help them express and to be able to hold conversations, but can also mean an increased interest of knowing everything about a foreign language: knowing as many notions of vocabulary, learning new information about the culture of that language, about how appeared it, will greatly help to enrich vocabulary but also a lot of knowledge. Negative attitude means rejection, repulsion towards learning, which will not allow students to deepen any kind of notions of a foreign language.

Motivation is also a primary factor when students learn a new foreign language because without a well defined purpose they will not be able to acquire new knowledge of vocabulary. This motivation can come from many directions: firstly may be their desire for knowledge, human development and the realization that, a better integration in today society requires knowledge of a foreign language; secondly the motivation can come from parents who encourage and demonstrate children that without knowledge of a foreign languages, their future may not be as bright without this knowledge, and try to expose as many options that they can benefit from, so that the knowledge gets them interested and motivates them to be so good at what they do; thirdly the role of the teacher can awaken the desire of students` motivation, because by exposing various methods, strategies and activities, he or she can lead them to want to know and to learn as many things regarding the learning of a foreign language. Students who have a strong motivation acquire more knowledge of vocabulary and even manage to absorb at a higher level the entire assembly taht the learning of a foreign language proposes.

Another factor that greatly influences acquisition and learning of vocabulary knowledge is the classroom. After a certain period of time, in which it was studied a foreign language, it can be said that children reach an advanced level of knowledge and that they have an enough big vocabulary to sustain a conversation or to complete certain works in target language. But in a class the degree of understanding and learning is not equal, because there are children who acquire knowledge faster and there are some of them that acquire slower new information, this thing due to the level of understanding taht each student holds. There are certain students who need more time to process the information, learners who consume more time and energy in the process of assimilation of new vocabulary concepts, but there are students whose assimilation level is very fast and manage to understand and learn well in a very short time. Teacher intervention is absolutely necessary here, because he or she aims to strike a balance in that class, and must propose activities that will help everyone equally; it is very important for the teacher to be able to understand that he or she has to get everyone on the same level and that the working method should be based on all students` type from a class.

Memory plays an important role in learning vocabulary because the student needs to dose very well the amount of information, so they can assimilate new knowledge without forgetting what he has learned in the past. It is said that memory is more active at younger ages, as it can assimilate more easily certain notions than other vocabulary notions of a language. Certainly, the functioning of memory can not be said to have been completely discovered, and that is very difficult to define how the memory works when faced with new information, and especially when they are presented in a foreign language. The memory is very well put into operation when the student mostly uses strategies of visual learning of the vocabulary of a foreign language, because through this strategies, he or she can make the association more easily between the image, the real object and the word that wants to learn . These strategies functions very good especially for those students who are at the beginning in terms of learning a foreign language, but also it functions for adults.

Another factor that influences learning and acquiring new knowledge regarding the vocabulary of a language is the way in which the native language leaves its mark on how the students receive new words. It is well known that there are languages that resemble each other, languages that are based on the same origin, and languages that have nothing to do one with the other, both in terms of writing, and in terms of pronunciation. In this case, we can speak about Romanian and English language, that are totally different due to their origin, namely Romanian language is based on Latin origins, while English is based on Anglo-Saxon and Germanic influences; these two origins were very different because of the way words are pronounced, differences between sounds, the way they are enclosed, and in terms of pronunciation, which is totally different. Each language requires a different syntax, word order in a sentence that does not resemble each other, so this slows a bit the learning process of a foreign language. Cameron says that, especially when learning English teacher must be very careful when he or she tries to guide the student to apply the same strategies used in the native language acquisition also in the target language: „As babies, they learn to pay attention to particular cues which hold useful information for meaning. Later, if faced with trying to understand a second language, they will transfer these first language strategies to make sense of L2 sentences, trying to find information in familiar places. Where two languages make use of very different types of cues, the transfer of strategies from L1 to L2 may not be very fruitful. Learners may need to be helped to notice and pay attention to the salient cues of the new language. In this case of English, word order is most salient, but so too are word endings that show tense and plurality.” (Cameron, 2007:15).

Regardless of the strategies and techniques used both by teachers and students to purchase or learn new information about the vocabulary of a language, we can say that it is a rather complicated process which involves great attention from both sides, and to be treated with great seriously in order to reach good results. The process of teaching must be well reviewed before being implemented and should be given the proper attention, so that the one who receives the information to understand it and learn it with ease. The vocabulary of a language is perhaps the most complicated component, both in terms of teaching, and in terms of learning that may never be predictable; it can occur numerous cases in which teachers can be put into difficulty and can no longer offer concrete explanations about the meaning of a particular word. This requires to a teacher to be highly qualified and trained before he or she starts teaching a foreign language vocabulary.

3.3. Classroom activities when teaching vocabulary to young learners

Teaching a foreign language vocabulary involves a very complex study on several factors of learning. It is very important for the teacher to know their students, to know what they like to do, and what activities should propose that the final result to be a success. Preparation activities must be done before the English language course because they require a lot of attention and exercise that should be done to satisfy the students at that time and to help them enrich their knowledge with other notions related to the vocabulary of the target language. This process of preparing activities that will be held in class is called designing a lesson plan, and can be described as a combination of elements arranged in a logical order, chronological coherence, and must be strictly followed so his or her lesson be taken to the end and have as purpose learning of new knowledge as far as a foreign language concerns. Harmer describes the lesson plan in his book The Practice of English Language Teching as: “Lesson planning is the art of combining a number of different elements into a coherent whole so that a lesson has an identity which students can recognise, work within, and react to- whatever metaphor teachers may use to visualise and create that identity. But plans- which help teachers identify aims and anticipate potential problems- are proposals for action rather than scripts to be followed slavishly, whether they are detailed documents or hastily scribbled notes.” (Harmer, 2007:308).

Planning a lesson plan is very important because it has to have to take into account a lot of factors that can be considered crucial in the teaching process. First, it need to be taken into account the level that the students places when initiates the process of planning activities because it is very important for the teacher to create their few exercises that can be understood by them and which have as difficulty level the knowledges that they have at the moment of teaching the respective lesson. Secondly, the style of learning that students of that class have is very important, because in this way the teacher can plan what kind of techniques he or she will use to get students to understand better the new notions of vocabulary that he or she will teach. A third important factor is choosing a proper kind of activities that have an interactive character to arouse students' interest and that will keep them motivated during the entire lesson. Jeremy Harmer also said in his book The Practice of English Language Teching that the social and cultural context can represent an important factor that the teacher must take into account when drawing up a lesson plan because it is very important for him or her to know what they like to know what kind of activities will propose to please students.

A lesson plan contains four basic elements that must be conceived very carefully because of their setting in a correct and consistent manner depends that the student will acquire or not the knowledge that the teacher wanted to teach at the respective course. These elements are:

The first element is the content that will have the respective course; it must be very well thought and designed, so that students will be attracted and cause it to make them to want to know what the teacher wants to teach. This also depends on the fact that students' interest may increase or decrease, depending on how innovative is the lesson suggested by the teacher. The content of the lesson plan does not have to follow a coursebook, the teacher having the freedom that besides the lesson proposed by textbooks to come up with new ideas to attract students and even to lead them that in their free time to be interested to search another things than was taught at the course. The content should be designed in such a way to come up with new ideas and combine activities less interesting to those proposing a higher level of interest, so that students realize that any activity can be useful and can help them to learn new things.

A second element is the activities that will be held in class at the moment of teaching, activities that must be designed in such a way that the student be surprised and be willing to practise increasingly more in order to acquire new notions of a foreign language. The activities proposed in the lesson plan should take into account that must be realised to comply with the steps that the lesson proposes and must be constructed so that the students understand step by step the new notions that the teacher try to teach them through them. The choice of these activities are done according to the title of the lesson and the students' level of knowledge at the time.

Skills are very important when we talk about making a lesson plan because the teacher must know very clearly what kind of knowledge wishes to display and how will help students to enrich their level of knowledge in the target language. When planning a lesson of vocabulary, skills acquired through activities that involve knowledge of new words in a foreign language can be very complex, so there are types of activities that help develop any kind of skills, namely those of writing, speaking , text comprehension, reading and the listening.

Setting up the language of the proposed lesson by the teacher is very important and must be chosen based on the level of knowledge of the students at that time. If students have an intermediate level of knowledge, lessons can be held both in the native language and target language, alternating between the two is necessary to make the student to better understand what the teacher wants to say. If the student is a beginner is much more difficult for the teacher to be able make his or her lesson in the target language, so that he or she would try to speak more in the native language, but he or she will use notions of the target language to get closer the students to the desired result.

In the following pages I will present a lesson plan that will have as purpose the learning of new concepts of vocabulary.

Lesson Plan

Form: 4th C, beginners;

Date: 16th of November 2016

Unit: Unit 1 “One Big Happy Family”

Title: “One Big Happy Familly”

Type: Vocabulary Lesson

Teacher: Stanca Luiza

School: No. 6 “Serban Cioculescu” Gaesti

Vocabulary: Family, Adjectives Describing People and Places of Objects in the House.

Main focus: To learn family members, words that describe people and prepositions.

Objectives:

Cognitive objectives: by the end of the lesson Ss will have to know:

1) to use prepositions in sentences;

2) to use the words representing family members in sentences;

3) to develop their speaking skills;

4) to develop their writing skills;

5) to use in a correct way the learned adjectives that describe people in sentences.

Affective objectives:

1) to create a warm and pleasant environment conducive to the development of the learning process, so that favor the assimilation of new knowledge and to encourage communication between student and teacher;

2) to make students confident in themselves when speaking a foreign language, so the teacher lead them to more easily assimilate new proposed concepts.

Skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing

Interaction: T- Ss, Ss-T, Ss-Ss.

Assumed knowledge: – I assume that students have used the words that describe the family members before in different contexts, and also adjectives that describe people in general; students know most prepositions who will be taught in this lesson.

Anticipated problems: – the students might not know all the adjectives from the lesson;

– if she thinks it is necessary, the teacher will offer the students guidance in solving certain exercises to create them a safe background;

– some Ss might have problems when working in pairs and sometimes when they work alone;

– a few among the Ss may be given supplementary explanations in Romanian language because the level of knowledge is some kind of beginners.

Assessment activity: the students will be assessed on class participation.

Teaching techniques: conversation, dialogue, exercise, exposing.

Methods of teaching: Communicative Language Method, Audio-Lingual Method;

Teaching aids:, pictures, real objects, realia, blackboard students’ notebooks and the coursebook.

Time: 50 minutes

Materials used for this lesson are some extracts from Set Sail Coursebook:

Conclusion

English is considered a West Germanic language with Anglo Saxon influences that arose from the migration of these peoples to the West of Europe; it seems that this language dates back to ancient times and is the native language for many nations on the continent, of course with different accents. Countries where English is speaking are the United States of America, Australia, and of course the United Kingdom. English has experienced over time several periods in which it developed, these periods representing the social, political and cultural context center in which the United Kingdom has grown as a people. Each period was marked in various works of great writers who have made their mark in literature of English such as Jane Austen, Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, writers that have tried to prove that English is a component very complex and is influenced by various factors which, in their turn, have influenced the development of men as a people.

Age as the main factor that influences the learning process was analyzed profoundly in recent years, and the result led to the fact that young learners are more receptive when it comes to learning a foreign language because their brain works better when faced with new types of information. About adults it is said to be a little different than the children because having a greater experience of life, they are more reticent when faced with learning a foreign language. This thing makes them to think that at their age they do not have the necessary capacity to assimilate new information, and can say that they are afraid to fail in learning new knowledge. It was found that there are several styles of learning as far as students concerne, depending on how they understand and receive some type of information. It is very important for a student to establish his or her strategy that she or he will use when he or she wants to assimilate new knowledge, so that he or she can have good results in the learning process. The teacher must choose very carefully the technique that he or she will use when it is realized the teaching process because this must depend heavily on the ability to learn of the student, the level at which he or she is when proffesor wants to teach a certain lesson, and the strategies that the learner uses to assimilate new knowledge.

English vocabulary is a very complex component that requires a lot of attention from both the teacher and the student. Both learning and teaching vocabulary notions can become a very complicated process, if the teacher does not know very well the meaning and the nuance of words, but even if he or she does not use the proper techniques to convey information to student. When we talk about vocabulary, we are talking primarily about the basic element which makes up it, namely the word, element that underlies any human formation and without which no one could express what he or she thinks or feels. Over the years one could say that has been defined many strategies and techniques to help both students and teachers in teaching and learning a foreign language vocabulary. The teacher must begin to teach to the students vocabulary concepts with simple texts, without modern influences, that contain words that are understood as simple as possible, because then they can move to heaviest phrases containing words more complicated, whose meaning can be interpreted in terms of language.

After several studies, the use of the visual image in terms of teaching vocabulary of a foreign language are most effective because children are more attracted to learn new information when they are exposed by images, posters, or even using various videos to capture their attention and make them to become increasingly more interested in what they are going to learn. The purpose for the use of these techniques and strategies is to make children to learn as many words as possible, and all that entails a word, namelly what means can have in different contexts, how to build another word from the basic word through different processes, and so on, because then students can make different connections to build their own speeches and conversations.

In conclusion, this dissertation topic is very complex which greatly helps teachers to establish his or her modality of working, and help them to understand that each student is different and he or she needs a proper attention. In general, the teacher role is to analyze very carefully how he or she will initiate the teaching process so as to find a way to please all students and to help them acquire new information in a more easy and accurately way as possible. Proposals for more interactive and more courageous acivities may be the key to success in teaching vocabulary of a foreign language and it is very important that teachers understand and take into account this thing beacuse is the only way to define the students knowledges in learning procees.

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