Английский тезаурус

The subject of the project

«English Thesaurus»

The goal of the project

How to gain the lexicon of the students , to incourage them  to understand the relationship between a word and its synonyms and antonyms , to make the task of searching synonyms and antonyms  more effective.

The manager of the project

Volivetskaya Marina Gennadyevna,an English teacher

Why is it important?

After analyzing the textbook «Rainbow English» I have found that there is no list of basic synonyms and antonyms that are engaged in the process of   developing the needed vocabulary knowledge .Studying this difficult subject is very important for me.I am  going to take an  English exam.Besides acquiring the knowledge of new words and their meanings,students may also learn the synonyms and antonyms for those words.Vocabulary tests are usually made use of  to evaluate the width and the depth of vocabulary the students have.The more words the students know,the better chances of succeeding in the tests will be.The students progression is often characterized as a move from words to  their synonyms and antonyms .Learning synonyms and antonyms  is an effective way to increase students vocabulary.

 The concern of the present study is  the effective use of  vocabularies .

One more important question which concerns todays language learners:How «not to drown in the sea of information» and to be able to find necessary synonyms and antonyms  quickly. I always asked our teacher for dictionary to have on hand .It is hard to keep in mind many words.Every synonym and antonym should be found.It takes a lot of time and frustration.The effective use of vocabularies is another skill to be learnt in school.It is evident that students need practice in working with dictionaries.Many students look just for the translation or explanations in dictionaries.But dictionaries can offer much more.It can provides the synonym and antonym of every word listed in Rainbow textbook.It is develops the effectiveness  of dictionary for all sorts of communications  . Their practice should provide by a helpful  resource in order  to help them succeed in their  language studying.  We suggest to remember the old,but checked way-to use the  vocabulary  with variety of words with their  synonyms and antonyms  based on the students books «Rainbow English» for 5-10. Use this vocabulary  as a tool to introduce new vocabulary words .

So this kind of  development that improves practical knowledge about word relationships seems very relevant  for language learners development. (pp. 707-708) Prudent Word Part and Vocabulary.

The purpose of the project

«Development  and  enhancement vocabulary by using synonyms and antonyms    and organizing it  in the form of the Thesaurus ».

Objectives

1.Study vocabulary  based on the students books «Rainbow English» for 5-10 forms.

2.Select the active vocabulary .

3.Search synonyms and antonyms for every word.

4.Present the results at a school and city festival of projects

The project result

Vocabulary in printed form containing words alphabetically arranged with their synonyms and antonyms  .This vocabulary provides the noun,adjective and verb forms of vocabulary listed in Afanasyeva’s textbook.

The main idea of the project

The most common way in our textbooks is 3-column recording,i.e.English word-pronunciation-translation.Learning of new words is mainly limited to the classroom context,it is important to pay special attention to synonyms and antonyms. In order to develop the needed vocabulary knowledge, learners should observe synonyms and antonyms  (according to Graves’, 2004, components of vocabulary instruction). The concern of the present study is  vocabulary- learning strategies, particularly those related to synonyms and antonyms.The idea is to make tables for word-classes.This gives students the chance to observe synonyms and  antonyms .Many students look just for the translations or explanations in dictionaries.But dictionaries can offer much more.

The project plan

September-Look for information,prepare the plan of the project.

October-Analyze all materials.

November-March-Study synonyms and antonyms.

April-Prepare « Thesaurus» , present the project.

Description of the project result

It is a lexicographical product that .It has  a collection of  over 35,000 words  that aren't in our textbook vocabulary.The words are  arranged alphabetically .

The Thesaurus  turns  into a learning  tool, showing students synonyms and antonyms  of these words.The words were specially chosen for their suitability for English exam .That means all words will be tested in exam.

How did this project help to solve the goal?

 Rather than introducing a new word in isolation, the Thesaurus   introduces students  a rich variety of words . This approach should help  English language learners make important connections among vocabulary words.

Positive effects

        Doing activities with the help of the Thesaurus students and teachers  provide opportunities for error correction work,self-access work,learner training, developing study skills,stimulate st-s to systematic work. Effective vocabulary framework requires active and positive student participation, and personal engagement with a new word can lead to deep processing of the meaning. It will  help them   cope with the difficulties and successfully prepare for the exams.

What did not make happen?

 This is a huge number of items , and so  teachers must give up on the idea of ever teaching all of them to  students in a classroom situation.

The thing that is not nice also is that the Thesaurus is not for different levels.

List of sources

1. «Rainbow English» 5-10 forms.Afanasyeva O.V.

2. LearnEnglish Grammar (UK edition) - British Council:  https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org

3.Vocabulary Development: Critical Criteria Tom S. Bellomo Daytona State College.

4.Bauer, L., & Nation, P. (1993). Synonyms and Antonyms. International Journal of Lexicography, 6(4), 253-279. doi:10.1093/ijl/6.4.253

5.Browne, C. (2013). The new general service list: Celebrating 60 years of vocabulary learning.

6.Hirsh, D., & Nation, I. S. P. (1992). What vocabulary size is needed to read unsimplified texts for pleasure?

7.Reading in a Foreign Language, 8(2), 689-696. Retrieved from http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/PastIssues/rfl82hirsh.pdf

8. Cambridge Learner's Dictionary - Cambridge Dictionary dictionary.cambridge.org/ru/словарь/ английский-для-учащихся/

9. Longman Dictionaries Online global.longmandictionaries.com/

Project reviews

 Vocabulary is one of the most important tools to facilitate communication.Because vocabulary is so important,it is wise to increase the size of your vocabulary.Great resource! I'm hoping this will be helpful to my students. Thanks so much for it!

                   Volivetskaya M.G.,an English teacher

This is absolutely FABULOUS! I will definitely be using it this year. Very thorough and well thought out. Top- notch product!

                                       Osokina Polina,8 A form

 Looks like a great resource! Looking forward to using it. Thank you for sharing.

                                                Grishina Polina,10A form

Easy-to-use  tool.

                                        Fadeyev Nikita,8A form                                          

I think that «The Thesaurus»    is great. It's such a great recource for English learning! I'm going to take the English exam  and I think that it will help me for better preparing for it. Its pages are simple."

                                                                  Maranova Polina,11 form