Ðåôåðàòû - Àôîðèçìû - Ñëîâàðè
Ðóññêèå, áåëîðóññêèå è àíãëèéñêèå ñî÷èíåíèÿ
Ðóññêèå è áåëîðóññêèå èçëîæåíèÿ
 

ÎÑÎÁÅÍÍÎÑÒÈ ÐÀÁÎÒÛ Ñ ÀÍÒÎÍÈÌÀÌÌÈ Â ØÊÎËÅ

Ðàáîòà èç ðàçäåëà: «Èíîñòðàííûå ÿçûêè»

                                    [pic]
                                    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

( ANTONYMS QUIZ  19

(MATCHED PAIRS.  20

(DEVELOP CHILDRENS’ UNDRESTANDING OF E MEANINGS   21

(  CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER      23

CONCLUSION  24

THE LIST OF LITERATURE:     26


                                INTRODUCTION

      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

      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.


      THE IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING VOCABULARY

      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.


                      HOW TO TEACH VOCABULARY IN SCHOOL

      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.
      There are two ways of conveying the meaning of words: direct  way  and
translation. The direct way of presenting the words of  a  foreign  language
brings the learner into direct contact with them,  the  mother  tongue  does
not come in between, and it establishes links between  a  foreign  word  and
the thing or the concept directly. The direct way of conveying  the  meaning
of foreign words is usually used when  the  words  denote  things,  objects,
their qualities, sometimes gestures and movements, which  can  be  shown  to
and seen by pupils, for example: a book, a table, red, big, take, stand  up,
etc.
      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.


                 GUIDELINES ON GIVING EFFACTIVE EXPLANATIONS

 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.


                              WHAT IS ANTONYMY

      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.


                     WORDS THAT ARE THEIR OWN OPPOSITES

      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]”.


                            HOW TO TEACH ANTONYMS

      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:  àíòîíèì  ñëîâà  “øèðîêèé”  íà
ðóññêîì ÿçûêå áóäåò “óçêèé”, à ïî-àíãëèéñêè ýòî ñëîâî çâó÷èò êàê “narrow”.


               ANTONYM QUESTIONS TEST KNOWLEDGE OF VOCABULARY

      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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Remember that a particular word may have more than one meaning.
  5. Use your knowledge of root, prefix, and suffix meanings  to  help  you
     determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.



                   WORD RETRIEVAL ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

      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”.


                            ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES

      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.


                      PLAYING GAMES INVOLVING ANTONYMS

      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).
      ( Play word games involving differences
      For example, “What is different about a bird and  a  plane?  They  can
both fly, but they are different because...”
      (  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
      (    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.”
      (    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.


                               ( ANTONYMS QUIZ

|                                         |                      |Score |
|FACETS                                   |Handout               |      |
|                                         |Prefix:               |      |
|1. What is the prefix that gives the     |a) -im b) il- c) in-  |      |
|opposite meaning of “happy”?             |d) ir- e) un-         |      |
|Write the word                           |                      |      |
|here:....................................|                      |      |
|................                         |2. a) im- b) un- c)   |      |
|2. What prefix makes the word “possible” |ir- d) il- e) dis-    |      |
|into something you cannot do?            |                      |      |
|Write the word                           |                      |      |
|here:....................................|3. a) dis- b) im- c)  |      |
|...............                          |un- d) ir- e) il-     |      |
|3. Which prefix creates the antonym for  |                      |      |
|“practical”?                             |                      |      |
|Write the word                           |4. a) im- b) il- c)   |      |
|here:....................................|un- d) dis- e) ir-    |      |
|...............                          |                      |      |
|4. Choose the prefix that creates the    |                      |      |
|antonym for “satisfied”.                 |5. a) dis- b) ir- c)  |      |
|Write the word                           |un- d) im- e) un-     |      |
|here:....................................|                      |      |
|...............                          |                      |      |
|5. The prefix that creates the opposite  |6. a) ir- b) il- c)   |      |
|of the word “patient” is...              |un- d) dis- e) in-    |      |
|Write the word                           |                      |      |
|here:....................................|7. a) dis- b) un- c)  |      |
|..............                           |in- d) im- e) il-     |      |
|6. What word means the opposite of       |                      |      |
|“human”?                                 |                      |      |
|Write the word                           |8. a) un- b) dis- c)  |      |
|here:....................................|ir- d) im- e) il-     |      |
|..............                           |                      |      |
|7. And the prefix that creates the       |9. a) un- b) ir- c)   |      |
|antonym for “imaginative” is?            |dis- d) im- e) in-    |      |
|Write the word                           |                      |      |
|here:....................................|10 a) un- b) dis- c)  |      |
|..............                           |in- d) im- e) ir-     |      |
|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:....................................|                      |      |
|..............                           |                      |      |



                               (MATCHED PAIRS.

      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.
   (    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);
 6. idioms (by the way - incidentally);
 7. proverbs (Time - heals all things.).


               (DEVELOP CHILDRENS’ UNDRESTANDING OF E MEANINGS

      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].

                        (  CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER

Please check to see if the question is asking for an antonym or synony
|1|Give the antonym for ‘forward’ (1 pt)                                |
|.|                                                                     |
| |[pic][A] advance                                                     |
| |[pic][B] ahead                                                       |
| |[pic][C] backwards                                                   |
| |[pic][D] behind                                                      |
|2|Are the following antonyms or synonyms? (FEARLESS/BRAVE) (1 pt)      |
|.|                                                                     |
| |                                                                     |
| |[pic][A] Synonyms                                                    |
| |[pic][B] Antonyms                                                    |
|3|What is the antonym of ‘no’ ? (1 pt)                                 |
|.|                                                                     |
| |[pic][A] yes                                                         |
| |[pic][B] forget                                                      |
| |[pic][C] eat                                                         |
| |[pic][D] know                                                        |
|4|True or False: An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of |
|.|another word. (1 pt)                                                 |
| |                                                                     |
| |[pic][A] True                                                        |
| |[pic][B] False                                                       |



                                 CONCLUSION

      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. Îáùàÿ ìåòîäèêà îáó÷åíèÿ èíîñòðàííûì ÿçûêàì â ñðåäíåé øêîëå. Ì., 1967.
 2. Ìåòîäèêà ïðåïîäàâàíèÿ èíîñòðàííûõ ÿçûêîâ çà ðóáåæîì. Ñîñò. Ì. Ì.
    Âàñèëüåâà è Å. Â. Ñèíÿâñêàÿ. Ì., Ïðîãðåññ, 1967.
 3. Ñòàðêîâ À.. Ï. Îáó÷åíèå èíîñòðàííîìó ÿçûêó â ñðåäíåé øêîëå. Ì.,
    Ïðîñâåùåíèå, 1978.
 4. Ïðîãðàììà ïî èíîñòðàííîìó ÿçûêó äëÿ ñðåäíåé øêîëû. Ì., Ïðîñâåùåíèå,
    1981.
 5. Õýêáîëäò Ï. Èçó÷åíèå èíîñòðàííûõ ÿçûêîâ. Ì., Ïðîñâåùåíèå, 1963.
 6. Êîñòèíèêîâà Î. À.. Basic English Lexicology. Ñî÷è, 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: Îáùàÿ ìåòîäèêà îáó÷åíèÿ èíîñòðàííûì ÿçûêàì â ñðåäíåé øêîëå. Ì.,
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


ref.by 2006—2022
contextus@mail.ru