Pregledni rad
Approach to lexical items in teaching Croatian as a second and foreign language
Sanda Lucija Udier
; Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Dealing with vocabulary is of great
importance when teaching a foreign and second language. In many cases students
who study a foreign language find mastering vocabulary more important than
mastering linguistic structures. At lower or earlier learning stages they are
interested in vocabulary in order to be able to manage basic communication in
the foreign language, while at more advanced stages they need vocabulary
proficiency in order to understand nuances in meaning and to be able to express
themselves accurately. In order to consider a lexical unit well-dealt with in
teaching Croatian as a second and foreign language, the following levels should
be covered: orthoepic (correct pronunciation of sounds and accent),
orthographic (correct writing), morphonologic (morphonologic characteristics of
a certain lexical item, forms and sound changes), syntactic (how a lexical item
is included in sentences), collocational (how a lexical item is combined with
other lexical items), semantic (what it means exactly) and pragmatic (in which
situations and contexts is the use of a certain lexical item adequate). In
dealing with vocabulary a distinction should be made between so called
receptive vocabulary (which students understand, but don't use on their own)
and productive vocabulary (which they actively use) and accordingly dealt with
in adequate ways. Also, a distinction should be made between language
acquisition and conscious language learning. One of the most important goals
and purposes of foreign language teaching is to find and develop ways,
activities and strategies by means of which students can consciously achieve
mastery of vocabulary in the most effective way. Language learning and language
acquisition are very individual and depend on the needs and affinities of
students, and their individuality proportionally grows with the level of
mastery of the foreign language. Learning of vocabulary can be improved by a
good understanding of each lexical item and its frequent repetition and
appearance in different contexts. It is necessary to pay great attention to
figuring out which lexical items should be taught, how many of them and in
which order, especially at lower levels of learning. Teacher should work on
developing students' strategies and skills and encourage students to be as
self-reliant as possible in mastering foreign language vocabulary.
Ključne riječi
vocabulary; Croatian as L2; teaching and learning vocabulary
Hrčak ID:
45330
URI
Datum izdavanja:
14.10.2009.
Posjeta: 3.723 *