Особенности работы с антонимамми в школе
Plan:
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................... 3
THE AIMS OF
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING................................. 4
THE
IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING VOCABULARY.............................. 5
HOW TO TEACH
VOCABULARY IN SCHOOL......................................... 7
GUIDELINES
ON GIVING EFFACTIVE EXPLANATIONS...................... 9
WHAT IS
ANTONYMY................................................................................ 10
WORDS THAT
ARE THEIR OWN OPPOSITES...................................... 12
HOW TO TEACH
ANTONYMS.................................................................. 13
ANTONYM
QUESTIONS TEST KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY.... 14
WORD
RETRIEVAL ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN.............................. 16
ABOUT THE
ACTIVITIES.......................................................................... 16
PLAYING
GAMES INVOLVING ANTONYMS......................................... 17
A ANTONYMS QUIZ................................................................................... 19
AMATCHED PAIRS.................................................................................... 20
ADEVELOP CHILDRENS’
UNDRESTANDING OF E MEANINGS....... 21
A CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER................................................... 23
CONCLUSION.............................................................................................. 24
THE LIST OF
LITERATURE:..................................................................... 26
It is generally known that school leavers’ vocabulary is
poor. They have troubles with hearing, speaking, reading and writing. One of
the reasons is poor teaching of vocabulary.
At all stages of teaching vocabulary the teacher should
constantly use all kinds of vocabulary testing to see how his pupils assimilate
the form, the meaning, and the usage of the words. For testing the retention if
the written form dictations may be suggested. For testing the meaning special
tests may be recommended such as writing synonyms, antonyms, derivatives,
identification, and some others. For testing the usage of the words the teacher
may administer such tests as composing sentences using the words given,
composing a story on a picture or a set of pictures, and some others. The
teacher should bear in mind that most of the exercises offered for the stages
of presentation and retention may be fruitfully utilized for vocabulary
testing.
Learning may take place without conscious teaching, but
teaching is intended to result in personal learning for students, and is
worthless if it does not do so. In other words, the concept of teaching is
understood as a process that is intrinsically and inseparably bound up with
learning. There is no separate discussion of language learning; instead, both
content and process of the various modules consistently require the teacher to
study learners’ problems, needs and strategies as a necessary basis for the
formulation of effective teaching practice and theory.
It is necessary to distinguish between “teaching” and
“methodology”. Foreign language teaching methodology can be defined as ‘the
activities, tasks and learning experiences used by the teacher within the
language teaching and learning process’. Any particular methodology usually has
a theoretical underpinning that should cause coherence and consistency in the
choice of teaching procedures. ‘Foreign language teaching’, on the other hand,
though it naturally includes methodology, has further important components such
as lesson planning, classroom discipline, the provision of interest – topics.
The aims of foreign language teaching are threefold:
practical, educational and cultural.
Its practical aims are consequent on the basic function
of language, which is, to serve as a means of communication.
International intercourse is realized directly, through
the spoken language, or indirectly, trough the written language, that is
through printed, or hand-or type-written, texts. Therefore the school programmes
set forth the following practical requirements: the instruction must be such as
ensure that the graduates can observe on the foreign language on simple every
day subjects, using the speech material dealt with in the course, cab read and
understand without a dictionary an easy text in the foreign language, and with
the occasional help of a dictionary a text presenting moderate difficulties,
and can express in written form simple thoughts (write a short letter).
The educational aims of foreign language teaching in
schools consist in inculculating in the children through instruction in the
foreign language the principles of morality.
The cultural aims mentioned on school programme of
foreign languages imply the following tasks: widening the pupils’ general outlook,
developing their powers abstract thinking, cultivating their sense of beauty
and their appreciation of art. The reading of English texts acquainting the
pupils with the life and culture of the English-speaking nations, and with
their manner and customs, will contribute to the mental growth of the pupils.
Later the ability of reading English and American
authors in the original and texts in the English language reflecting the
culture of the countries where that language is spoken will likewise serve the
pupils as a mean of attaining a higher general education level.
Reading good authors in the foreign language will
develop in the children a feeling of beauty.
A widening of their philological outlook will result
from the unconscious and conscious comparison of the foreign with the native
language.
To know a language means to master its structure and
words. Thus, vocabulary is one of the aspects of the language to be taught at
school. The problem is what words and idioms pupils should retain. It is
evident that the number of words should be limited because pupils have only 2-4
periods a week; the size of the group is not small enough to provide each pupil
with practice in speaking; schools are not fully equipped with special
laboratories for individual language learning. The number of words pupil should
acquire in school depends wholly on the syllabus requirement. The latter are
determined by the conditions and methods used. For example, experiments have
proved that the use of programmed instructions for vocabulary learning allows
us to increase the number of words to be learned since pupils are able to
assimilate them while working independently with the program.
The vocabulary, therefore, must be carefully selected in
accordance with the principle of selecting linguistic material, the conditions
of teaching and learning a foreign language in school.
Scientific principles of selecting vocabulary have been
worked out. The words selected should be:
1.
frequently used in the language;
2.
easily combined (nice room, nice girl, nice
weather);
3.
unlimited from the point of view of style (oral,
written);
4.
included in the topics the syllabus sets;
5.
valuable from the point of view of word-building
(use, used, useful, useless, usefully, user, usage).
The first principle, word frequency, is an example of
purely linguistic approach to word selection. It is claimed to be the soundest
criterion because it is completely objective. It is derived by counting the
number of occurrences of words appearing in representative printed material
comprising novels, essays, plays, newspapers, textbooks and magazines.
Modern tendency is to apply this principles depending on
the language activities to be developed. For developing reading skills pupils
need “reading vocabulary”, thus various printed texts are analyzed from the
point of view of word frequency. For developing speaking skills pupils need
“speaking vocabulary”. In this case the material for analysis is the spoken
language recorded. The occurrences of words are counted in it and the words
more frequently used in speaking are selected.
The other principles are of didactic value,
they serve teaching aims.
The words selected may be grouped under the following
two classes (M. West):
1.
Words that we talk with or form (structural)
words which make up the form (structure) of the language.
2.
Words that we talk about or content words.
In teaching vocabulary for practical needs both
structural words and content words are of great importance. That is why they
are included in the vocabulary minimum.
The number of words and phraseological units the
syllabus sets for a pupil to assimilate is 800 words.
The selection of the vocabulary although important is
not the teacher’s chief concern. It is only the “what” of teaching and is
usually prescribed for him by textbooks and study - guides he uses. The
teacher’s concern is “how” to get his pupils to assimilate the vocabulary
prescribed. This is a difficult problem and it is still in the process of being
solved.
The teacher should bear in mind that a word is
considered to be learned when:
1.
it is spontaneously recognized while auding and
reading;
2.
it is correctly used in speech, the right word
in the right place.
The process of learning a word means to the
pupil:
1.
identification of concepts, that is learning
what the word means;
2.
pupil’s activity for the purpose of retaining
the word;
3.pupil’s activity in using this word in the process of
communication in different situations.
Accordingly, the teacher’s role in this
process is:
1.
to furnish the explanation, that is to present
the word, to get his pupils to identify the concept correctly;
2.
to get them to recall or recognize the word by
means of different exercises;
3. to stimulate pupils to use the words in speech.
Teaching and learning words are carried on through
methods you are familiar with; the teacher organizes learning and pupils are
involved in the very process of learning, that is in the acquisition of
information about a new word, its form, meaning and usage; in drill and
transformation to form lexical habits; in making use of the lexical habits in
hearing, speaking and reading, or in language skills. Various techniques are
used to attain the goal- to fix the words in pupils’ memory ready to be used
whenever they need them[1].
Presentation of new words. Since every word has its
form, meaning and usage to present a word means to introduce to pupils its
forms (phonetic, graphic, structural and grammatical) and to explain its
meaning and usage.
The techniques of teaching pupils the punctuation and
spelling of a word are as follows:
1.
pure orcoscious imitation;
2.
analogy;
3.
transcription;
4.
rules of reading.
Since a word consists of
sounds if heard or spoken and letters if read or written the teacher shows the
pupils how to pronounce, to read and write it. However the approach may vary
depending on the task set (the latter depends on the age of pupils, their
progress in the language, the type of words, etc.). For example, if the teacher
wants his pupils to learn the word orally first, he instructs them to recognize
it when hearing and to articulate the word as an isolated element (a book) and
in a sentence pattern or sentence patterns alongside with other words. (This is
a book. Give me the book. Take the book. Put the book on the table.).
As far as the form concerned the pupils have but two
difficulties to overcome: to lean how to pronounce the word both separately and
in the speech; and to recognize it in sentence patterns pronounced by the
teacher, by his classmates, or by a speaker in case the tape- recorder is used.
If the teacher wants his pupils to learn the word during the same
lesson not only for hearing and speaking but for reading and writing as well,
he shows them how to write and read it after they perform oral exercises and
can recognize and pronounce the word. The teacher writes down the word on the
blackboard (let it be spoon) and invites some pupils to read it (they already
know all the letters and the rule of reading). The pupils read the word and put
it down in their notebooks. In this case the pupils have two more difficulties
to overcome: to learn how to write and to read the word; the letter is
connected with their ability to associate letters with sounds in a proper way.
The teacher should connect the English word he presents
with the objects, the notion it denotes directly, without the use of pupils’
mother tongue.
The teacher uses various techniques for this
purpose.
It is possible to group them into (1) visual and (2)
verbal. The first group involves the use of visual aids to convey the meaning
of unfamiliar words. These may be: besides, the teacher may use movements and
gestures.
E. g., the teacher uses objects. He takes a pencil and
looking at it says: a pencil. This is a pencil. What is this? It is a pencil.
Is it a pencil? Yes, it is. Is it a pen? No, it is not. Is it a pen or a
pencil? It is a pencil. The pupils do not only grasp the meaning of the word pencil,
but they observe the use of the word in familiar sentence patterns.
1.
Prepare
You may feel perfectly clear in your own mind about what
needs clarifying, and therefore think that you can improvise a clear explanation.
But experience shows that teachers’ explanations are often not as clear to
their pupils as they are to themselves! It is worth preparing: thinking for a
while about the words you will use, the illustrations you will provide, and so
on; possibly even writing these out.
2.
Make sure you have the class’s attention
One of the implications of this when giving the
instructions for a group-working task is that it is advisable to give the
instructions before you divide the class into groups or give out materials, not
after!
3.
Present the information more than once
A repetition of the necessary information may make all
the difference: learners’ attention wanders occasionally, and it is important
to give them more than one chance to understand what they have to do. Also, it
helps to represent the information in a different mode: foe example, say it and
also write it up on the board.
4.
Be brief
Learners-in fact, all of us-have only a limited
attention span; they cannot listen to you for along time with maximum concentration.
Make your explanation as brief as you can, compatible with clarity. In some
situations it may also mean using the learners’ mother tongue, as a more
accessible and cost-effective alternative to the sometimes lengthy and
difficult target- language explanation.
5.
Illustrate with examples
You may explain, for instance, the meaning of a word, illustrating
your explanation with examples of its use in various contexts, relating these
as far as possible to the learners’ own lives and experiences.
6.
Get feedback
When you have finished explaining, check what they have
understood. It is not just enough to ask “Do you understand?” ; learners will
sometimes say they did even if they did not, out of politeness or unwillingness
to lose face, or because they think they know what they have to do, but in fact
completely misunderstood! It is better to ask them to do something that will
show their understanding: to paraphrase in their own words, provide further
illustration of their own.
Traditionally antonyms are defined as words that have
opposite meaning. This definition is open to criticism. The latest linguistic
investigations emphasize that antonyms are similar as words belonging to the
same part of speech and the same semantic field, having the same grammatical
meaning and functions, as well as similar collocations. Like synonyms antonyms
are interchangeable at least at some contexts (hot in its figurative
meaning “angry, excited” is chiefly combined with the names of
unpleasant emotions: hot resentment, hot scorn; its antonym cold occurs
with the same words). Unlike synonyms antonyms do not differ in style, or
emotional colouring (they express, as a rule, emotional characteristics of the
same intensity).
So antonyms are two or more words belonging to the same
pat of speech, contradictory or contrary in meaning, and interchangeable at
least at some contexts.
Almost every word can have one or more synonyms;
comparatively few have antonyms because not all notions can be opposed to one
another. Antonyms are primarily found in adjectives, nouns expressing quality
and state.
It should be noted, that as words are polysemantic ones
and the same words may have different antonyms (light bag-heavy bag; light
wind-strong wind; light colors-dark colors).
Generally we may divide antonyms into 2 groups: absolute
and derivational.
Absolute antonyms are
subdivided into antonyms proper where opposition is gradual (cold
(cool)-(warm) hot; large-little or small), complementaries having a
binary opposition (dead-alive, single-married), conversives
denoting one and the same referent from different points of view (to
sell-to buy, to give to receive).
Derivational
antonyms may be affixal (happy-unhappy, logical-illogical) or suffixal
(hopeful-hopeless).
It is not always possible to replace a word by its
opposite. Where it is possible you may notice that some words have several
opposites depending on the context.
The opposite of “old”, for example, can be “new”
or “young” depending on the situation.
There are some antonyms that are called auto-antonyms -
words that have two opposite meanings. For example, to "clip" may
mean to cut a little piece off, or to put a little piece on. To "look
over" may mean careful scrutiny or that you missed an important detail.
Sometimes the antonymy may be historical: "nice" used to denote an
unpleasant quality. There is a discussion of whether any generalities could be
made about such pairs. Are they regularly motivated, or always a coincidence?
Meanwhile, here are more auto-antonyms that got left out of last post: One
auto-antonym is "moot", which at once means "suitable for
debate" and "not worth discussing".
Impregnable: able
to impregnated or inable to be pregnated, cope(s)mate: used to mean antagonist
and now means partner or comrade, It turns out that they were having a week
celebrating "fence-setters", evidently another term for what is
calling auto-antonyms. BRUCE NEVIN reminds us of an intercontinental
auto-antonym pair: "public school" in Britain is "private
school" in the USA and vice versa.
Infer:
historically (and now, informally) this means "imply" as well. Rent,
lease: several pointed out to me that these means both lend and borrow. In
addition, Chinese operates similarly with respect to this pair, and WOLFGANG
LIPP notes a similar auto-antonymy to represent "give" and
"take" in pronunciation but not in writing.
Learn/teach: in "sub" -
Standard English, these two meanings fuse into “learn”, as they do in standard
Russian “uchit'” Here is “sensitive”: this may describe either someone with
profound understanding for the feelings of others, and tolerates differences of
opinion (thus "sensitivity training" for group leaders) as well as a
paranoid who doesn't listen to what people are really saying, and decides to
take everything as a personal insult.
Hole/whole:
Spelled the first way, an entire absence of matter; the second, entire
presence. This reminds me of "pit" which can be either a hollow or
the stone of a fruit. Which reminds me of "seeded" oranges (insert
your favourite fruit here) - oranges with seeds (as opposed to navel oranges,
which have no seeds), OR oranges that have had their seeds removed. If you
think you're beginning to see some patterns here, you're not alone! There were
received a few theories on the ultimate essence of auto-antonymy, historical,
psychological, and sociological approaches. These theories show that
auto-antonymy comes about for a variety of reasons.
“I've been enjoying the discussion of words that are their own antonyms.
At
first I thought the classic example of Latin Altus "high" or
"deep"
might
fit in, but as I thought about it I figured it was just unmarked
for
point of view (say when cleaning out an empty swimming pool then
"Deep"
becomes "high") so I just looked to see if it was on the list and
got
a comment. No. Good. But one that I have long wondered about is
"risk"
as in "he risked winning the game". I was shocked (as a teenager)
the
first time I saw "he risked losing the game" (or something like that)
in
print, because I previously thought (and am still inclined toward)
the
complement of risk being the desirable result, not the undesirable
one.
Whether or not this fits into this discussion, I wonder if anyone
else
has had a similar (or opposite) reaction or any thoughts
about
what's going on in the case of "risk"[2]”.
Teaching antonyms requires great skill and practice. For
this purpose the teacher uses various techniques and methods.
For example, while teaching antonyms “small” and “big”
he uses pictures for presenting them. He says: In these pictures you see two
balls. (The balls should differ only in size.) This is a small ball, and
this is a big ball. This ball is small, and that ball is big. Now, Sasha, come
up to the picture and point to the small ball (big ball).
Then the teacher shows another picture with two houses
in it – a white house and a yellow house, and he asks another pupil to point to
the white house, to the u yellow house, and so on.
The teacher may use gestures, for example, for conveying
the meaning of stand up, sit down. He says: Lena, stand up. He shows
with his hands what she must do. Lena stands up. Now, sit down. Again
with the movement of his hands he shows the girl what she must do. The other
pupils listen to the teacher and watch what Lena is doing. Then many pupils are
invited to perform the actions.
If the antonyms are difficult for understanding the
teacher may use the learners’ mother tongue and translate them directly or to
give the analogies. For example,
the teacher says: антоним слова “широкий” на
русском языке будет “узкий”, а по-английски это слово звучит как “narrow”.
The teacher must be sure of his vocabulary. . These
questions obviously test vocabulary. So if yours could use some work, spend
time improving it. Apart from having a great vocabulary, you can also do well
on antonyms by using test-smarts and strategy.
Antonyms present you with a single word followed by five
answer choices containing words or short phrases. Your task here is to find the
answer choice that’s most nearly opposite in meaning to the original word. If
you’re stumped about the meaning of a word, try to think of a context where
you’ve heard the word before. You may not be able to recite the definition of
the word covert, for instance, but you’ve probably heard the phrase “covert
operation” to describe some type of cloak-and-dagger activity. Also, use your
knowledge of foreign languages and word roots to help “decode” the meaning of a
tough word. For instance, you may not know what benediction means, but you may
be able to determine that the root bene means “good” from knowing the more
common word “benevolent.” That may be all you need to answer a question if you
spot a word like “curse” among the answers.
Although antonym questions test knowledge of vocabulary
more directly than do any of the other verbal question types, antonym questions
measure not merely the strength of your vocabulary but also your ability to
reason from a given concept to its opposite. Antonyms may require only rather
general knowledge of a word, or they may require that you make fine
distinctions among answer choices. Antonyms are generally confined to nouns,
verbs, and adjectives; answer choices may be single words or phrases.
Here are some approaches that may be helpful in
answering antonym questions:
·
Remember that you are looking for the word that
is the most nearly opposite to the given word; you are not
looking for a synonym. Many words do not have a precise opposite, so you must
look for the answer choice that expresses a concept most nearly
opposite to that of the given word.
·
In some cases more than one of the answer
choices may appear at first to be opposite to the given word. When this
happens, try to define more precisely or in greater detail the meaning of the
given word.
·
In weighing answer choices, it is often useful
to make up a sentence using the given word or words. Substitute the answer
choices in the phrase or sentence and see which best “fits”. The best answer will
be the one that reverses the meaning or tone of the sentence or phrase.
·
Remember that a particular word may have more
than one meaning.
·
Use your knowledge of root, prefix, and suffix
meanings to help you determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.
What is a word-retrieval problem?
The terms “word retrieval problem” or “word finding
difficulty” imply that the person knows and understands the word, and has used
it correctly before. However, they have difficulty retrieving such known words
at times. Children and adults with language disorders are frequently found to
have word retrieval difficulties. Often when a person (child or adult) is
having difficulty retrieving a word they will have the sense that it is “on the
tip of their tongue”: a state of affairs familiar to all of us; at other times
they seem simply to “go blank”.
These activities are intended for children .
Not all of the activities will suit all
children - so be selective.
Put the emphasis on listening,
thinking and speaking.
The activities are aimed at
having the child retrieve known words - not at extending the vocabulary by
teaching new words.
Use a minimum of visual cues. If
the word to be “retrieved” does not come easily for the child, provide an
auditory cue (e.g., say the first sound or syllable of the word) or a verbal
clue (e.g., “it rhymes with...).
Give the child time to think, but don’t leave it so long
that they are struggling to find the word. Rather than letting them persist
unsuccessfully, tell them the answer, and go on with the next few items. Then ask them
the one that was difficult again.
Aim for a high success-rate to encourage motivation and
confidence.
Adapt the tasks to suit the (developmental) age of the
person. Talk about words and word-meanings.
As natural opportunities arise talk about such topics as
“Why is Big Bird called Big Bird?” Talk about people being named after
other people. Talk about why certain names might have been chosen for pets and
TV characters (Cookie Monster, Vinny the Poo, Uncle Scrooge, The Fat
Controller, etc). Try to work these conversations in around topics of genuine
interest to the child.
Do this as a sentence completion (cloze) activity (e.g., “The opposite
of hot is...”) or use a question-and-answer format (e.g., “What is the opposite
of hot?”), or as a confrontation naming task using pictures in which the child
has to name “opposites pictures” as rapidly as they can (e.g., hot cold, wet
dry, big little, fast slow, deep shallow, apart together).
For example, “What is different about a bird and a
plane? They can both fly, but they are different because...”
A Checking test
Each of the following questions begins with a single
word in capital letters. Five answer choices follow. Select the answer choice
that has the meaning most opposite to the word in capitals.
1.CEDE:
(A) estimate (B) fail (C) get ahead of (D) flow out of (E) retain
2. ACRID:
(A) surly
(B) vapid (C) damp
(D) steady (E) sweet
3. NOISOME:
(A)
lurid
(B) healthful (C)
peaceful (D) morose (E) rancorous
B Answers
This question type is heavily based on vocabulary. The
better your vocabulary, the better you will do. But there are a few tricks you
can try to use. For example, if a choice doesn’t have a clear opposite, it
can’t be the correct answer. Such words as “hinterland” or “automobile” don’t
have very clear opposites and would be incorrect if you were to see them as
answer choices. In this case, answer choice (A) does not have a clear opposite
and can be eliminated even if you don’t know what “cede” means.
Also, if it’s a tough question and the keyword is really
hard, remember to stay away from choices that are too good to be true. The hard
questions, which are the last few questions of each question type, often
contain choices that are misleading or tricky. For instance, the word “cede”
will remind many people of “succeed,” so they’ll pick (B). But the test maker
will never reward students for making mistakes. (B) can’t be correct. By the
same logic, you could probably eliminate (C) and (D) because “cede” will remind
some people of “recede,” as in “receding tide.” That leaves you with choice (E)
as the right answer. “Cede” actually means to yield or surrender, which is in
fact the opposite of “retain.”
B Note: You will seldom, if ever, be able to eliminate all four wrong
answers to an antonym question just by using these kinds of guessing
strategies. They can help you eliminate a few choices and increase your
guessing odds, but the best way to tackle antonyms is to know what kinds of
words tend to show up on the GRE, make flashcards of them, and improve your
vocabulary.
1.
C
Cede is to give
up one’s rights or possessions. The most opposite phrase in meaning is to get
ahead of.
2. E
Something that is ACRID is sharp and biting to taste or smell. The
word most opposite in meaning is sweet.
3. B
NOISOME can mean harmful or injurious. The best opposite to this is therefore healthful.
A ANTONYMS QUIZ
FACETS
|
Handout
Prefix:
|
Score
|
1. What is the
prefix that gives the opposite meaning of “happy”?
Write the word
here:....................................................
2. What prefix
makes the word “possible” into something you cannot do?
Write the word
here:...................................................
3. Which prefix
creates the antonym for “practical”?
Write the word
here:...................................................
4. Choose the
prefix that creates the antonym for “satisfied”.
Write the word
here:...................................................
5. The prefix
that creates the opposite of the word “patient” is...
Write the word
here:..................................................
6. What word
means the opposite of “human”?
Write the word
here:..................................................
7. And the
prefix that creates the antonym for “imaginative” is?
Write the word
here:..................................................
8. What is the
antonym of the word “legal”?
Write the word
here:..................................................
9. What is the
antonym of “regular”?
Write the word
here:..................................................
10. The
opposite of “responsible” is:
Write the word
here:..................................................
|
1.
a) -im b) il- c) in- d)
ir- e) un-
2. a) im-
b) un- c) ir- d) il- e) dis-
3. a) dis-
b) im- c) un- d) ir- e) il-
4. a) im-
b) il- c) un- d) dis- e) ir-
5. a) dis-
b) ir- c) un- d) im- e) un-
6. a) ir-
b) il- c) un- d) dis- e) in-
7. a) dis-
b) un- c) in- d) im- e) il-
8. a) un-
b) dis- c) ir- d) im- e) il-
9. a) un-
b) ir- c) dis- d) im- e) in-
10 a) un-
b) dis- c) in- d) im- e) ir-
|
|
Purpose:
To review vocabulary. Sometimes, new words can be added to the set, as long as
the number of new words s small and not disruptive. A second purpose, if the
game is played as a team activity, is to stimulate conversation among the team
members—“I think 7 matches 23.” “Do you remember where ____ is?” Finally, the
game, like all the card games, is fun and contributes to group building.
Targeted
Skill: vocabulary development
Preparation:
Choose a category, e.g. antonyms. Write a word on each of 15 cards and the
matching antonym on another 15 cards. Shuffle the cards well and then turn the
over and number them from 1 to 30 on the back.
Because
the purpose of this game is to review something that has been taught rather
than teach something new, go over the pairs before the game begins to be sure
everybody knows what the 15 pairs are.
B Procedure:
1.
Lay the cards out face down with the numbers
showing.
2.
Taking turns, the students call out 2 numbers.
Turn over the called cards. If the cards don’t match (chances are they won’t
for the first few turns), the cards are turned back over.
3.
When a student makes a match, the matched areas
are removed from the lay-out and that student gets another turn, continuing
until the cards picked don’t match.
4.
When all the cards have been matched, the
student with the largest pile wins.
Variations:
1.
The game can be played as a team activity. One
person from each team is the spokesperson for the team’s collective effort to
remember locations. Students can take turns being the spokesperson.
2.
When a match is made, the player can be required
to use the two card words in a sentence. If the player can’t do this, the cards
are retuned to the layout, and the next player gets he opportunity to match and
use the two words.
Suggestions:
1.
adjective synonyms (big-large; next-following;
skeptical-doubtful);
2.
antonyms (warm-cool; light-heavy);
3.
two-word verbs: separable (find out - discover);
4.
two-word verbs; inseparable (come back -
return);
5.
prefixes (un - believable);
7.
proverbs (Time - heals all things.).
The following activity develops the children’s
understanding of the meanings of the above two terms, while increasing their range
of vocabulary.
1) Begin by explaining the two terms, giving examples to illustrate
the point.
2) Have a list of words which have lots of synonyms / antonyms. Some are listed
here:
strong
|
big
|
happy
|
short
|
soft
|
fast
|
easy
|
fat
|
nice
|
new
|
good
|
quiet
|
bright
|
warm
|
3) Split the class into an even number of groups. Label half of the groups
“Synonym” and half of the groups “Antonym”.
4)
Say one of the words on your word list. Each group then has to think of as many
synonyms and antonyms for that word as possible (depending on the group’s label
given earlier). The children can have a fixed time limit to do this, or can
continue until they run out of words.
5)
Now count up the number of words each group has produced and award points to
the group with the longest list.
6)
Repeat using different words. You could also swap the groups, so the “Synonyms”
groups now find antonyms and vice versa.
7)
This would also be a useful exercise in using a thesaurus, so if there were
enough for one per group, the children could use these to add to their own
lists.
Antonyms:
Students fold a piece of construction paper in half. They look through the
newspaper to find and cut out words or pictures that are antonyms. They write
or paste the antonym words or pictures on opposite sides of the construction
paper[3].
A CHOOSE
THE CORRECT ANSWER
Please check to
see if the question is asking for an antonym or synony
The process of teaching a foreign language is a complex
one: as with many other subjects, it has necessarily to be broken down into
components for purposes of study: the teaching acts of (1) presenting and
explaining new material; (2) providing practice; and (3) testing.
In principle, the teaching processes of presenting,
practicing and testing correspond to strategies used by many good learners
trying to acquire a foreign language on their own. They make sure they perceive
and understand new language; they make conscious efforts to learn it through; and
they check themselves.
In the class, it is teacher’s job to promote these three
learning processes by the use of appropriate teaching acts. Thus, he or she:
presents and explains new material in order to make it clear, comprehensible
and available for learning; gives practice to consolidate knowledge; and tests,
in order to check what has been mastered and still needs to be learned and
reviewed.
These acts may not occur in this order, and may
sometimes be combined within one activity; nevertheless good teachers are aware
which is their main object at any point in a lesson.
In modern teaching materials now in use the words pupils
are to learn pass through the following stages:
1.
Pupils listen to the words in sentences arranged
in a structural group.
2.
They learn the meaning of the words in various
contexts.
3.
Pupils learn the forms of the words.
4.
They perform various exercises with the words in
phrases and structures to assimilate the usage of the words.
5.
Pupils use the words in speaking in various
situations.
The rules, techniques, methods and structures mentioned
in this paper are available for teaching any unit of vocabulary and antonyms as
well. Following these learning processes you will achieve a step and will be
successful in teaching antonyms and vocabulary in the whole.
THE LIST OF LITERATURE:
1. Общая
методика обучения иностранным языкам в средней школе. М., 1967.
2. Методика
преподавания иностранных языков за рубежом. Сост. М. М. Васильева и Е. В.
Синявская. М., Прогресс, 1967.
3. Старков
А.. П. Обучение иностранному языку в средней школе. М., Просвещение, 1978.
4. Программа
по иностранному языку для средней школы. М., Просвещение, 1981.
5. Хэкболдт
П. Изучение иностранных языков. М., Просвещение, 1963.
6.
Костиникова О. А.. Basic English Lexicology. Сочи, 2000.
7.
Flower J. Berman M. Build your vocabulary 2.
LTP, London, 1998.
8.
Ur P. A Course in Language Teaching: Practice
and Theory. Cambridge University, 1997.
9.
The All Nations Dictionary (International
Phonetic Alphabet). All Nations Literature, Colorado Springs, 1992.
[1]
See: Общая методика обучения иностранным языкам в
средней школе. М., 1967
[2] LINGUIST List 6.86 p.-32/1995/ Dr. Alex Eulenberg USA
Department of Speech, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
[3] This idea contributed by Mrs. Amada Pérez