Abstract
Word learning is one of the most fundamental parts of foreign language learning. It is pretty difficult for many foreign language learners to memorize new words. In China, the most traditional teaching method in teaching English vocabulary focuses on the meaning and usage of the words but not the effective way to spell and memorize words. The core of phonics is building correspondence between letters and sounds. Phonics is a teaching method contains pronunciation, spelling and reading, which is concerned by more and more scholars and teachers. Primary school students are poor at abstract thinking and they mainly learn and spell new English words by mechanical memory. Their phonemic awareness which has great influence on word spelling is seldom concerned. So, this essay focuses on primary school students’ word learning and phonemic awareness. According to the test, teaching practice, questionnaire and interview, using phonics in English word teaching and improving students’ phonemic awareness can help students spell English words effectively and arouse their interest in English word learning. For Chinese children who learn English as a foreign language, the earlier they are taught phonics, the more vocabulary they can accumulate. They will be more sensitive to the English phonemes and their phonemic awareness will be promoted. High phonemic awareness will bring great help for them to learn phonics and develop their word acquisition. So essay will focus on the following two questions: 1）What is the current situation of primary school students’ phonemic awareness and their word learning? 2）How to promote primary school students’ phonemic awareness in English class? The results of the research suggest that though students’ phonemic awareness is at a low level, phonics teaching can promote their phonemic awareness. Besides, there are a variety of phonics teaching methods, which can help to promote students phonemic awareness and improve their word spelling skills.
Keywords: primary school students; phonics; phonemic awareness; English word spelling
Contents
Abstract
摘要
1.-Introduction-1
1.1 Current Situation of Phonics and Phonemic Awareness-1
1.2 Significance of the Thesis-1
2.-Literature Review-4
2.1 Related terms-4
2.1.1 Phonics-4
2.1.2 Phoneme and Phone-4
2.1.3 Phonemic Awareness-4
2.2 Literature Review Abroad and At Home-5
2.2.1 Literature Review Abroad-5
2.2.2 Literature Review At Home-6
3.-Methodology-7
3.1 Hypothesis and Research Questions-7
3.2 Participants-7
3.3 Instruments-7
3.3.1 Classroom Observation-7
3.3.2 Interview and Questionnaire-7
3.4 Research Procedures-7
3.4.1 Pre-test-7
3.4.2 Teaching Practice-8
4.-Data Analysis and Discussion-9
4.1 Results and Analysis on Classroom Observation-9
4.1.1 Teachers’ methods of teaching vocabulary-9
4.1.2 Students’ performance in new words learning-12
4.2 Results and Analysis on Interview and Questionnaire-12
4.2.1 Teachers’ attitudes towards phonics and phonemic awareness-12
4.2.2 Students’ attitudes towards word learning-13
4.2.3 Students’ knowledge of phonics and phonemics awareness-14
4.3 Results and Analysis on Pre-test and Post-test-15
4.4 Discussion-16
4.4.1 Phonemic Awareness and Word Recognition-16
4.4.2 Phonics teaching builds self-confidence of students-17
5.-Findings and Suggestions-18
5.1 Findings-18
5.2 Suggestions-18
5.2.1 Singing Songs-18
5.2.2 Telling Stories-18
5.2.3 Promoting Listening Skill-19
5.2.4 Learning monograms-19
5.2.5 More Activities and Exercises-19
6.-Conclusion-20
6.1 The summary of the thesis-20
6.2 Limitations-20
References-21
Appendix I Questionnaire-23
Appendix II Pre-test-24
Appendix III Post-test-25
