【Abstract】Vocabulary is an elementary component of a language， which is essential to communication and plays an important role in language learning. Therefore， how to strengthen and improve the vocabulary teaching has become one of important fields in English teaching. To some degree， whether or not the vocabulary teaching is successful will have direct effect on the quality of English teaching. In retrospect， foreign language researchers and educators have probed into vocabulary teaching theoretically and practically on the second language acquisition， linguistics， psychology， pedagogy and have obtained great accomplishment. The present paper incorporates five parts： 1） introduction， 2） English vocabulary learning strategies， 3） English vocabulary teaching principles and strategies and 4） conclusion.

【Key words】vocabulary learning；vocabulary teaching；strategies

1. Introduction

Vocabulary is one of the three major components that constitute the English language knowledge （the other two are phonetics and grammar）. It is also the foundation of the formation and development in students’ listening， speaking， reading and writing. So vocabulary plays a crucial part in English study. Wilkins （1972） states that without grammar very little can be conveyed， but without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. However， there are a lot of frequently mentioned problems in the students’ vocabulary learning. Some count on the textbooks alone to learn words， some have no effective ways to memorize them， and others get fairly confused about how to deal with them. A number of linguists and language teachers have made great efforts to help students to learn vocabulary， cracking their brains to use all kinds of strategies to strengthen students’ vocabulary learning. Therefore， it is significant to research vocabulary learning strategies and enhance students’ lexical competence.

2. Researches on English Vocabulary Learning

Strategies

2.1 The Definition of Language Learning Strategies

Learning strategies are the thoughts and actions that individuals use to accomplish a learning goal， and are the mental and communicative procedures learners use in order to learn and use language. According to Rosa Maria and Jimenez， vocabulary learning strategy is knowledge about the mechanisms （process， strategies） used in order to learn vocabulary as well as steps or actions taken by students. That is vocabulary learning strategies concern techniques， approaches of discovery， consolidation and production of words.

2.2English vocabulary learning strategies in general

2.2.1 Meta-cognitive Strategies

Meta-cognitive strategies are used by students to control and evaluate their own learning by having an overview of the learning process in general. It is a kind of strategies that facilitate learning by actively involving the learner in conscious efforts to remember new words. Usually， meta-cognitive strategies divided into plan strategies， control strategies and adjust strategies. Planning strategies include setting learning objectives， browsing the reading materials， producing the questions to answer， and analyzing how to fulfill the tasks. According to the actual process of evaluation and feedback in cognitive goal of cognitive deficiencies， control strategy is the cognitive activities which correct estimation results and the degree of goals. And adjust strategy is based on cognitive activities， such as finding problems， adopting corresponding remedial measures.

2.2.2 Semantic Field Strategies

Vocabulary is not isolated in people’s memory， but store in human’s memory as a whole. Semantic paradigmatic relations have known as polymerization， antonym； hyponymy， etc. According to previous research， vocabulary learning strategies have an influence on context strategy is more than semantic field strategy in short-term memory. As a result， if you want to remember more vocabularies in short period of time and it is appropriate to memory through semantic strategy.

2.2.3 Context Strategies

Context strategy is a strategy that learners guess the new word through the information which is provided in the context language environment. Context strategy can not only expand students’ vocabulary but also let them understand some cultural knowledge. Students can use synonym and antonym to guess meanings of new words. They also can use the whole sentence or the paragraph even the whole passage to guess the meaning of new words.

3. Study on English Vocabulary Teaching

3.1 What Should Be Taught in English Vocabulary Teaching and Learning？

Wallace， M. J. （1982） states that to know a word means the ability to “recognize it in its spoken or written form， recall it at will， relate it to an appropriate object or concept， use it in the appropriate grammatical form， pronounce it in a recognizable way in speech， spell it correctly in writing， use it with the words it correctly goes with， use it at the appropriate level of formality， and be aware of its connotations and associations”. According to Nation （2001）， nine aspects are involved in knowing a word， which fall into three categories， namely Form， Meaning， and Use.

The aspects involved in knowing a word mentioned above are certainly the information needed to be presented， but can we present all those information just in one presentation activity？ How should the information of new words be presented？

3.2 How Should the Information of New Words Be Presented？

It is commonly accepted that presentation is one of the steps or stages in language teaching， during which new language items are introduced. Presentation stage includes showing the language items and explaining their meanings， giving examples， illustrations， etc. as well as introducing other necessary information， and it is also called the stage of showing or introduction.

Generally， two presentation modes are typically adopted. Firstly， teacher shows some target words to students， and then asks them to read and memorize the vocabulary items. Second， after the target vocabulary items are presented， the teacher offers some example sentences. Gairn Redman （1986） put forward 3 kinds of traditional approaches and techniques used in the presentation of new vocabulary items， namely Visual Techniques， Verbal Techniques， and Translation. Actually， there is not a fixed way of presentation which is always suitable for all the vocabulary teaching and learning contexts， and hence in the actual teaching practice， we need to take the concrete teaching and learning situations into consideration to find out more appropriate and effective presentation methods.

3.4 Some Strategies of English Vocabulary Teaching

3.4.1 Teaching Students to Use Dictionary Correctly

As Pan Shumin （2007） put it “A dictionary is an invaluable aid to every educated person. Used to its fullest extent， it can provide learners with a great deal of useful information.” Although a majority of students have realized the importance of dictionary， they don’t know how to choose a suitable dictionary for themselves.

In order to accurately understand the meaning of a word， English teachers should guide students to choose a suitable dictionary and use it well. For less-successful learners， a bilingual dictionary is acceptable if it includes adequate English example sentences. For better learners， English-Chinese dictionary is advocated. For successful learners， English- English dictionaries are encouraged to use. Of course， students should also be informed that the choice of dictionaries is dynamic. With the increasing English level， the choice of dictionaries shifts to monolingual dictionaries from bilingual dictionaries. In a word， English teachers should tell their students that they should escape the dependence of Chinese gradually and turn to English， and the monolingual dictionary is the ultimate goal.

3.4.2 Guiding Students to Learn New Words in Context

In long-term memory， episodic memory is a very important element that can make something to be remembered permanently. According to the access of mental lexicon， the context plays an important role in activate the specific meaning of polysemous word. In terms of logogen model， cognitive system is the indispensable element for vocabulary comprehension and production， and the context information is the important component of cognitive system. This indicates that vocabulary learning must make use of context， as learning in context can facilitate the accurate and fast access of words.

3.4.3 Teaching Words in Specific Culture

Language is rooted in culture and reflects people’ beliefs and emotions. And vocabulary， as the most active element of language， sensitively reflects the social life， social psychology and the change of social thought. Therefore， vocabulary is full of cultural characteristics and cultural connotations. If foreign language learners do not know the culture of target language， it is difficult for them to accurately understand words’ meaning. Therefore， English teachers should tell their students the diversity of Chinese and English culture when they teach English words.

3.4.4 Grammar Teaching

A very interesting and unique phenomenon is that learners tend to give grammar usage as a response， and this response is grammar-based association. That is to say， grammar teaching is still attached more importance than other aspects in language teaching， and this importance would not fade as long as language learning is exam-oriented. The best way to make learners master the grammar usage of word without elaborating too much on it is to maximize TBLT， namely task-based language teaching， which asks learners to learn grammar in a assigned task by their own instead and teaches them grammar rules directly.

4.Conclusion

To sum up， vocabulary is the basic component of language， and a fundamentally important aspect of language development. Evident indicates that the early development of an extensive vocabulary can enable students to “outperform their competence” （Nunan， 2001）. So， to some extent， the improvement on vocabulary can activate the whole language learning. This study of English vocabulary teaching can not only promote the primary English teaching but also provide information for students more or less.

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