Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Vocabulary is one of the most important parts of language and the foundation of all thevocal activities. As D. A. Wilkins says,“Without grammar very little can be conveyed,without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”.[1]As to foreign language learners, none of thefour skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing, can be improved, if there is not enoughvocabulary. Junior Middle School English Curriculum Standard, requires that junior middleschool graduates should reach the fifth level of English, which includes 1500~1600 wordsand 200~300 idioms and collocations.[2]Vocabulary is the building block of language. Vocabulary is to language what a brick isto a house. Language acquisition usually begins with words. Vocabulary in junior middleschool is not only the core of English teaching, but also the difficulty of English learning.Vocabulary is the key factor of foreign language learning. The level of vocabulary directlydecides the level of foreign language performance. Therefore, it is very important to enlargejunior middle school students’vocabulary.In the process of vocabulary teaching, it is more important to teach the students effectivelearning strategies than just vocabulary knowledge. However, for many years, vocabulary hasbeen the weak part in language teaching. The neglect of vocabulary teaching has beenpartially due to a specialization in linguistic research on syntax and phonology which mayhave fostered a climate in learning a second language. Since the late 1970s, there has been arevival of interest in vocabulary teaching, especially in Britain where lexical research projectswere in any case undertaken in the late 1960s.[3]Since the 1980s, schema theory has beenapplied to foreign language teaching.
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1.2 Significance of the Study
According to Junior Middle School English Curriculum Standard, the three-yearlearning in junior middle school is a critical period of accumulating vocabulary.[2]Every year,questions about vocabulary are the main parts of Senior High School Entrance Exams. Thekey factor that limits students’ reading and writing skills is also the insufficient vocabulary.Therefore this research has great practical significance. Since the 1980s, schema theory hasbeen playing an important role in foreign language teaching and learning. Applying schematheory to junior middle school English vocabulary teaching, will improve students’vocabulary learning. Based on the studies about schema theory in the second languagelearning at home and abroad, the author found abundant researches about reading and writing,but fewer in vocabulary. Thus the present study may shed a new light on the study ofvocabulary teaching.Linguistic studies indicate that, schema is an important factor in vocabulary acquisition.In the process of vocabulary acquisition, schema plays a more important role than foreignlanguage skills do, and it is more useful to the underachieved foreign language learners.Vocabulary learning is a very important part of language learning. The foreign languagelearners’ language level closely depends on their vocabulary size. Without vocabulary, therecan be nothing to speak of about language.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the core part of foreign language learning, especially for the new learners.Words make up sentences. Sentences make up passages, and then one gets the basic forms tocommunicate with people and spread culture. Without vocabulary no one can master alanguage, in other words, vocabulary is the blood of language.Vocabulary is a basic and flexible part of language. Before studying vocabulary, it isnecessary to know what vocabulary is. The simplest way is to look for the answer from adictionary. In Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, vocabulary is given two meanings:“All the words known and used by a particular person; All the words that exist in a particularlanguage or subject.”[4]In the aspect of linguistics, the definiti
