[Abstract] Grammar，phonetics and vocabulary are the three main elements which make up language. Especially， vocabulary is the most important one. In fact the amount of vocabulary one acquired represents one’s English level. So vocabulary teaching is the supporting point in English teaching. Both English teaching and learning in the intermediate period (middle school) are the key stage. For many years English learners have been laying stress on grammar teaching overlooking the importance of vocabulary teaching. The aim of this survey is by making a thorough research on the techniques for English vocabulary teaching and learning used by teachers and students in middle school， to know about the present state of English vocabulary teaching; to know about the attitude of students toward English study and the methods they used for English vocabulary memorizing; to know about the problems exiting in their English study; to know about the attitude of teachers toward English vocabulary teaching， and put forward several pieces of suggestion for the teachers and the students in English vocabulary teaching and learning. [Key words] middle school English；vocabulary teaching and learning；strategy

【摘 要】語音、語法和詞匯是構成語言的三大要素，其中詞匯又是最重要的因素。詞匯量的多少代表了一個人的英語水平高低。因此詞匯教學是英語教學的支撐點。而中學是外語教學的關鍵時期。然而一直以來我們中國的英語學習者只強調英語教學法中的語法教學忽視了詞匯教學。本文通過對中學階段教師在詞匯教學和學生在詞匯學習方面所采取的一些策略調查，了解中學英語詞匯教學的基本情況；中學生對英語學習的態度及學習詞匯的方法；中學生在學習英語過程中存在的問題；以及中學英語教師的詞匯教學態度。 【關鍵詞】中學英語；詞匯教與學；策略

1. Introduction

Language is made up of three main elements : grammar，phone and vocabulary .While vocabulary is the most important one. Vocabulary is the carrier of phone and grammar and also is the construction material of linguistic building.[1] Just as the great English linguist Wilkins said: “If there is no grammar， people can only express something; but if there is no vocabulary， people can express nothing .”[2] So vocabulary teaching and learning is the basic point in English teaching and learning . For many years， however， programs that prepared language teachers paid little attention to techniques for helping students learn vocabulary.[3] And there are many problems existing in English vocabulary teaching. So the students find it difficult to learn vocabulary and gradually lose the interest in memorizing vocabulary. This survey is to know about and analyze the recent situation of English vocabulary teaching and learning in middle school and also to provide some practical techniques for the teachers and the students. 2. The way and the course of this research 2.1 The aim of this research: （1）To know about the middle school students’ attitude in English study and the method they take in learning English vocabulary. （2）To know about the method that teachers take in middle school English vocabulary teaching. (3 ) To provide some practical methods of English vocabulary teaching and learning by this survey. 2.2 The objects of this research: students in Senior 2 Class 3 and Class 6 in NO.3 Middle School in Zhangzhou City; students in senior1Class 2 and Class 4 in NO.2 Middle School in Jianou City; English teachers in these two schools; The number of students and teachers is 400. 2.3 The means of this research: questionnaire research 3. The questionnaire (Appendix) 4. Analysis on the questionnaire 4.1 In this research there are 65.8% students are interested in English study. They have a certain understanding of English study， but there are still 12% students in this research have a passive attitude in English study. They are not interested in it at all. So this part of students are not so active in vocabulary learning. Another 22.2% students in this research just feel some fresh in English study. This kind of active attitude is like a flash， so once this kind of students can not find fresh in English study， they would lose their interest in English study. For this part of students ， teachers should help them keep feeling fresh in English study time and time. 4.2 There are 89.8% students in this research have realized that vocabulary memorizing in English study is important. For this part of students， they at least have a correct attitude toward English vocabulary learning. There are 7.8% students consider that vocabulary memorizing is not so useful at all. For this part of students， they can not learn English vocabulary well， and in the counterpart， they can not study English well. 4.3 In this research 20% students think that it difficult to memorize English vocabulary because of so many vocabulary and some of them are complex. For this part of students， they do not pay attention to the inner rules in English vocabulary composition and the skills in memorizing English vocabulary. To our pleasure， 53.4% students in this research have found there are many kinds of skills in memorizing vocabulary. And 15.6% students try to memorize but in vain. For this part of students， they may not use proper skills to memorize vocabulary. 4.4 On the aspect of time arrangement in English vocabulary memorizing vocabulary. There are 30% students in this research do not have scheduled time and the other part all have their own time in memorizing vocabulary. For the former part of students， they can not guarantee a period of time for English vocabulary memorizing each day. For this part of students， if they can not learn English vocabulary well， one of the reasons is that they lack the key step—memorizing. 4.5 When memorizing a new word， over 80% students in this research mainly memorize the meaning， spelling， and pronunciation of the new word. 38% students could memorize the usage， while only 14.4% students could memorize the word-formation， and 9.5% students could memorize the sources of new words. In fact， commanding of word-formation and sources are a good skill in vocabulary learning. 4.6 For the attitude to memorizing vocabulary， only 10.1% students in this research are fully enthusiastic. They can memorize English vocabulary in an active way. 46.7% students are comparatively active. They can spend some time memorizing vocabulary. 41.9% students just memorize vocabulary when necessary. For this part of students， their attitude to vocabulary memorizing is passive. 1.2% students spend few time memorizing vocabulary. 4.7 86.2% students in this research acquire their vocabulary from English textbooks， and 66.5% from their teachers’ teaching. 41.3% students can acquire their vocabulary from listening to the radio， watching TV， besides from English textbooks and their teachers. 22.8% students can acquire their vocabulary from other channels. 4.8 When come across a new word in reading or listening to the radio，22.8% students in this research can write down the new word immediately and try to get the meaning and memorize it . 43.1% students pay little attention to it. 16.1% students make a remark on it and do with it when have time. 18.6% students pay no attention to it， just let the new words pass. This kind of attitude is quite passive. 4.9 As for how long students can memorize a new word， in this research there are 16.8% students can keep a new word for only several hours， while 46.7% students can keep several days， and 22.8% students can keep longer for several months. Only 13.2% students keep a new word much longer than several months. From this data we know that nearly half of the students in this research easily forget new words which they have learnt. 4.10 In this research， for the series connected memory system， 29.5% students know this kind of approach but never use it. Only 15.7% students use this kind of approach sometimes. 55.8% students even have no idea about this approach. From this research we know that this is a rarely used method. For teachers， they should encourage students to use this method as much as possible. The data in this research shows that the following approaches are comparatively well-accepted. Those approaches include: A discriminate the meaning of a word by distinguishing the root. B use polysemy to expand vocabulary C English to English D use word-formation rules: according to word-formation rules in English compounding， conversion and affixation E image association: associate the words and the image of something which the words refer to F Synonyms， Antonyms， Homonyms memory approach For the above methods in English vocabulary memorizing， there are 50% to 60% students in this research can use them according to each word. The second accepted approaches : A by word tree B pay attention to everything around you at ordinary times C study and remember vocabulary in a certain context: means putting a word to be remembered in a paragraph or a passage D similar association: associate the things that have a similar feature E topical memory approach F comparison association G by the pronunciation rules in alphabetical combination For the above 7 kinds of methods， there are 30% to 40% students in this research use them sometimes according to each word. The least accepted methods in English vocabulary memorizing are the two approaches: A according to the arrangement alphabetical order in vocabulary list in textbooks B day by day memory approach There are only 10% to 20% students in this research use those two methods. 4.11 For the teachers’ attitude to English teaching， 44.9% teachers pay much attention to and often teach some techniques of English vocabulary learning to the students. 32.9% teachers pay the same attention to in as to other parts of English teaching. To our surprise， there are 22.2% teachers pay not enough attention to vocabulary teaching. 4.12 As the data shows in this research， we can conclude that among the skills in English vocabulary teaching .The most widely used are the following skills: A acquire the spellings of vocabulary through the pronunciation rules in a alphabetical combination B use real objects to teach new words C draw pictures， diagrams and maps to show meaning D mine， act or use face expression to introduce new words E introduce the cultural background in the target language while teaching some words F comparison G introduce new words by making sentences or examples H English—explanation For the above 7 kinds of methods in English vocabulary teaching， there are 80% to 90% teachers use properly While for the other 3 kinds of methods in English vocabulary teaching， there are 62.5% to 68.8% teachers used them: A use classification approach B use word-formation rules: 1) compounding 2) deveriation 3) conversion C use association approach 1) close association 2) relation association 5. Discussion In the previous parts， the writer has given a detail description of the outcomes of the two sets of questionnaires. Based on the comprehensive study of the outcomes， the writer has reached a conclusion that though the performance of the students and the teachers in the questionnaires are encouraging， and most of students feel that they have acquired a lot in vocabulary from their English textbooks and their teachers’ teaching. and most of the teachers also feel that they have done well in their English vocabulary teaching. In fact the students and the teachers in this research are still lacking in effective and efficient English vocabulary learning and teaching strategies. There are many problems existing in the course of vocabulary learning and teaching. In this part the writer would like to make some discussion on the current situation of English vocabulary teaching and learning. 5.1 The attitude of the students toward English study and the method they used in learning English vocabulary in middle school. 5.1.1 The students we make research on have a certain understanding of English study and have a certain interest in it. 5.1.2 On the aspect of memorizing English vocabulary， at present the students we make research on have been aware of its important role in English study. 5.1.3 A large number of the students we make research on can memorize English vocabulary according to word-formation rule， pronunciation rule， and image association， overcoming mechanical memorizing. 5.1.4 As for the time distribution， the students we make research on all have their own English vocabulary memorizing time 5.2 Problems existing in the course of the students’ English study. 5.2.1 The attitude toward study is not good enough， and they show little interest in English study， so they are not so active in vocabulary learning. 5.2.2 Being influenced by traditional English vocabulary teaching， most students always pay their attention to the meaning， spelling， and pronunciation， When they memorize a new word， neglecting the word’s usage， word-formation and origin. 5.2.3 The source of their vocabularies is confined to their textbook and the content their teachers teach to them 5.2.4 As for the new words appearing in their outside reading， the radio， and TV the students pay not enough attention to 5.2.5 Most students are only confined to some common English vocabulary memorizing methods， they lack the initiative to actively explore different kinds of methods in English vocabulary memory. As for some newly invented methods， they do not know use them. Even for the common methods there are also a great part of students never used. 5.2.6 As the survey shows， there is a common phenomenon existing: half of students easily forget the vocabularies they have learned. This phenomenon can be explained as following: Firstly， the students cannot review the vocabularies which they have learned in time Secondly， the students cannot exercise those vocabularies in time， for example， they can try to write a passage or diary with those vocabularies.

7. Conclusion This paper has analyzed the present state of English vocabulary teaching and learning through research. Generally speaking， most students’ attitude to English vocabulary study is active and most of them can use some effective techniques for vocabulary learning. And the teachers’ attitude toward English vocabulary teaching is good. They can use various methods in vocabulary teaching in a flexible way. But there are still many problems existing in English vocabulary teaching and learning. As for the students， they have limited sources of vocabulary; they easily forget vocabulary they lack the initiative to explore new methods in vocabulary memorizing， etc. As for the teachers， many teachers still keep a traditional English vocabulary teaching procedure; their teaching pattern is unitary; some teachers cannot permeate cultural background knowledge in their vocabulary teaching; some teachers cannot help students to develop vocabulary learning strategies. In the last part this paper put forward some practical suggestion for English learners and English teachers.

References [1] 張懷珍. 中學英語詞匯教學方法談 [J]. 淮北煤師范學院學報， 2001， 7. P193

[2] D.A.Wilkins. Linguistics in Language Teaching [M]. London: Edward Arnold， 1972. P3 [3] Virginia French Allen. Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary [M]. Shanghai: Foreign Language Education Press， 2002， 11. P1

[4] 范振輝 覃軍艷 蔣桂紅. 中學英語詞匯教學調查與大學英語詞匯教學的改革 [J]. 廣西梧州等專科學報， 2003， 1. P55 [5]同[4]P55 [6]同[4]P56 [7]同[4]P56 [8]同[4]P56 [9]同[4]P57 [10] 曹健. 談談如何記憶英語詞匯 [J]. 常熟高專學報， 1999， 3. P118 [11]同[10]p119 [12]同[10]P119 [13]同[10]P119 [14]同[10]P119 [15]同[10]P119 [16]同[10P119 [17]同[10]P119 [18]同[10]P119 [19]同[10]P119 [20] 張俊玲. 有效擴大詞匯量的技巧 [J]. 北京印刷學院學報， 2006， 6. P51 [21] 婁萌. 英語詞匯記憶的集中有效途徑 [J]. 黔西南民族師專學報， 2001， 12. P41 [22]同[20]P41 [23] 張文. 英語詞匯記憶法淺析 [J]. 安順高等?？茖W校學報， 2005， 7. P53 [24]同[22]P53 [25] 張文舉 劉書林. 淺談中學英語詞匯教學的藝術 [J]. 南都學壇， 1995， 4. P113 [26]同[24]P115 [27]同[24]P113 [28]同[24]P113 [29]同[24]P114 [30] 黃冬梅. 英語詞匯教學歸類方法探討 [J]. 現代中小學教育， 2004， 7. P34 [31]同[1] P193 [32]同[1]P194 [33]同[1]P194 [34] 丁江. 文化背景與語言教學 [M]. 江蘇外語教學與研究， 2002， 1. P152-153 [35] 沈曉陽. 中學英語詞匯的教與學 [J].楚雄師專學報，1995， 2. P101 [36] 黃穎. 初中英語詞匯教學探析 [J].廣西教育學院學報，2003， 1. P143 [37]同[35]P143 [38]同[35]P143 [39]同[35]P143 [40]同[35]P143 [41]同[35]P146-147 [42] 賈硯萍. 對英語詞匯教學的幾點思考 [J].唐山師范學院學報，2004， 3. P101