sample 1:
题目: English Vocabulary Learning Strategies (英语词汇学习策略)
The mathematicians that study language and have lots of computing power are forming English language databases. These databases can be used for machine language translation, formulas to rank collocation, most used priority word lists, word grouping tendencies and other linguistics research.
These frequency-based wordlists contain the words that are most used in English. Frequency-based wordlists can help you target specific English vocabulary by indicating which words you should try to learn first.
Vocabulary analysis and summaries from the "Brown Corpus 1990".
Table 1
Words - Percent of words in average text
86,741 - 99.99%
43,831 - 99.0%
15,851 - 97.8%
6,000 - 89.9%
5,000 - 88.6%
4,000 - 86.7%
3,000 - 84.0%
2,000 - 79.7%
1,000 - 72.0%
10 - 23.7%
Table 1 shows us that in most written English just a few word types account for most of the English words in any text. Ten words account for 23.7 % of the words on any page and just 1000 word families account for more than 70% of the words used.
The ESL in Canada English Immersion camps experimented with the 1000 word lists and used them for the core vocabulary for spelling, poetry writing and public speaking contests. The constant reinforcement and repetition with variable context was quickly absorbed by the beginner students and greatly increased their confidence when speaking or writing.
Altavista's Babelfish or Google by Systran machine translation performs with an error rate of 20 to 30 percent. The large error rate is due to how a word's meaning varies with context. One example: "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" translated from English to Russian and back again only to yield "The vodka is good but the meat is rotten." So far Babelfish has 19 language pairs available and it has taken decades to develop language-pair rules for each of the 9,900 language word pairs.
Some observations for language students and language teachers is the translation pool for just average translations is 9900 words. The big variable is context, which means that a word can be used in various formats: "formal, industry specific jargon, slang, idioms, act a different part of speech performing a different function within that particular meaning. If every word has an average of five context variables then the student really has to learn 50,000 items.
As final conclusions: second language learning takes time and effort and there should be plenty of translation jobs for the next 20 years if you are willing to invest the seven to nine years to be proficient.
In the following example the word "weather" can be used in about eight different contexts and be used to mean, define or explain about thirty different situations or conditions. To properly study vocabulary students require background information and context.
"Weather"
As a Noun
Definition 1. the state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as characterized by sunshine, moisture, temperature, precipitation, and other variables.
Similar Words: elements, climate
Definition 2. unpleasant, turbulent, or violent atmospheric conditions.
Example: We needed shelter from the weather.
Similar Words: gale, elements, blow, windstorm , storm
As a Transitive Verb
Inflected Forms: weathered, weathering, weathers
Definition 1. to dry, season, or modify by exposing to weather.
Similar Words: season , dry
Definition 2. to discolor, deteriorate, or harm by exposing to weather.
Similar Words wash , rot , erode, deteriorate
Definition 3. to endure past the end of; survive.
Example Their marriage weathered the hard times.
Synonyms: withstand , survive, stand, outlast , endure , ride out
Similar Words: overcome, surmount, outlive, sustain, brave
As an Intransitive Verb
Definition 1. to resist deterioration when exposed to weather.
Example: The colour has been able to weather the intense sun shine.
Definition 2. to display the effects of exposure (deterioration or change in color)
Similar Words: rot, corrode, fade, deteriorate
As part of Idiomatic Expressions
Phrase used as an idiom: "under the weather" = sick or not well
sample 2:
题目: Using the keyword method to learn vocabulary(重点记忆学习法)
The keyword mnemonic is undoubtedly an effective means of learning the words of a foreign language
How well you remember depends on how well you learned them, not on whether you have learned the words using a keyword mnemonic or rote repetition or some other method
Even using a keyword mnemonic, you still need to rehearse the information to be learned
The keyword mnemonic is not always the best method of learning particular words
Skilled learners may be best to use the keyword mnemonic selectively, for particularly difficult words
The keyword mnemonic requires individual instruction and practice, to use effectively
Using a verbal (sentence) link is at least as effective as an image, and is easier for many people
Whether using a sentence or an image, the critical factor is that the keyword interact with the definition or own-language word.
sample 3:
题目: experience of learning vocabulary and grammar (英语词汇及语法的学习经验)
I could say what I’ve been instructed is a focus on deductive ways. In junior high school, my teacher listed out the key rules of each lesson and would did the fill-in the blank exercise in the class. Since I was not a quick thinker, what I could do was merely imitate the examples given by the teacher. This meant that I didn’t know “why” I was supposed to make a sentence in this way.
When days went to high school, the mode of instruction didn’t change much. The teacher would point out the crucial rules as well, but he didn’t do much practice in class. In the scope of vocabulary teaching, he just read through the words and sample sentences.
You must be curious about how I could last my interest in learning English under this way of instruction? I think what prompt me to keep on learning is owing to my highly motivated attitude. Because I like the language and its culture, I’ll do my best to learn it well through self-study. Though the inspiration from teachers is essential in some ways, the attitude of learners will be the momentum to maintain a lifelong learning.
I don’t like the ways I’ve been taught because I learn the rules by rote-learning. Actually, I didn’t object the use of rote-learning. But, it should be under the condition of meaningful practice so that I know “why” the rules are supposed to be used in this way. As for the ways how I will teach in the future, I’m still struggling to explore my answers. No matter what, I will put much emphasis on learner-centered aspects and inductive teaching.