Ways To Vocabulary Enrichment During The Preparatory Program Of Romanian For Foreigners

Abstract

Teaching a foreign language is an activity that requires accuracy. In order to achieve the ultimate goal with maximum efficiency, the use of language as a means of communication, in any form, written or oral and in any circumstance, the teacher must stagger and clarify the facts of the language with rigor, each aspect has its place and a well-established way of teaching. In traditional education, most of the time, language lessons were organized on well-defined themes, the words used were directly dependent on these themes, and rarely the students were obliged to acquire a lexical, if not passive but of a low frequency. Modern learning focuses on the need to know the fundamental vocabulary words of broad interest that can be used in everyday situations. In terms of teaching and learning the vocabulary of a foreign language, two levels are known as being important: At the first level the lexical elements will be subordinated to the grammatical structures, keeping within the limits of the minimal fundamental vocabulary. At second level, the means used for the new lexeme significations are totally linguistic. The ability to think and express in the target language is a basic objective without which a foreign language cannot be acquired. The ability to establish connections, relationships and parallelisms in the target language must become a daily habit. In the formation of this skill, the linguistic means of enriching the lexicon are considered to be a support of great importance and efficiency.

Keywords: Foreign languagevocabularyteachinglearningspeaking

Introduction

Language is defined as a social product, consisting of a set of rules necessary for communication. Speaking is like an individual segment of language that is used in a statement, in a communication act. Speech is also attributed to the quality of creation and freedom act belonging to the speaker. The relationship between language and speech can be synthesized as follows: language is a general social phenomenon and is manifested through speech; an individual, particular manifestation of the language by speaking to each individual, while speech is the concrete manifestation of language in oral communication between people (Moldovan, Pop, & Uricaru, 2002). Language mistakes must be detected and corrected in advance to prevent the occurrence of defects that uproot later with great effort. The use of various methods and means, from composing to conversation, literary debates, dramatizations offers real possibilities to enhance the capacity for active manifestation, to use a nuanced language with great intellectual and affective potential, giving all students the right to solve and create the same exercises, the same kind of composition. (Cosăceanu, 2003).

An appropriate vocabulary implies a clear pronunciation of words and sentences, an adequate combination of words in sentences and in phrases, so that what the student wants to express is presented in a clear, correct, nuanced form. Knowing that creative skills and attitudes do not develop automatically, with biological maturity of the individual, but special, early, systematic and relevant intervention is required, any teacher needs to assess his or her formative mission with utmost responsibility and relevance (Morărescu, Tetean-Vinţeler, & Sofian 1993).

By addressing the acquiring, practicing and valuing aspects by the act of speaking a foreign language, it is found that the process can be approached from two directions: the explanatory and the applicative aspect. The vocabulary enrichment aims to blend the explanation with the application. In terms of teaching and learning the vocabulary of a foreign language, two levels are known as being important.

In traditional education, most of the time, language lessons were organized on well-defined themes, the words used were directly dependent on these themes, and rarely the students were obliged to acquire a lexical, if not passive but of a low frequency. Modern learning focuses on the need to know the fundamental vocabulary words of broad interest that can be used in everyday situations.

For Romanian, as a foreign language, it is good to have a fundamental vocabulary organized on the basis of the frequency and availability of words.

Problem Statement

Modern methods focus not only on understanding the meaning, but rather on acquiring the skill to use the words, on actively capitalizing their combining possibilities, to achieve the speaking act (Cerghit, 2006, p. 73).

However, the precursory phenomenon and the implicit condition for the birth of fluent speech is knowing the words’ meaning. Learning the meaning is not done mechanically, but words are seen in their phraseological dependence.

The vocabulary enrichment actually involves the ways in which the semantic decoding is done in an advanced language learning phase.

At second level, the means used for the new lexeme significations are totally linguistic. The ability to think and express in the target language is a basic objective without which a foreign language cannot be acquired.

Research Questions

The ability to establish connections, relationships and parallelisms in the target language must become a daily habit. In the formation of this skill, the linguistic means of enriching the lexicon are considered to be a support of great importance and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study

This investigation, on the application of didactic methods for the enrichment of foreign students’ vocabulary, is the result of my concern to improve the teaching and learning of vocabulary notions within the Preparatory program of Romanian language. The instructive-educational issues related to vocabulary lessons are multiple and important, therefore the teacher must:

• show students the richness, variety and meaning of the forms existing in Romanian language;

• highlight the importance of the lexical elements used in a listened / read message;

• teach the foreign students to apply them using their own words;

• make the foreign students understand that the correct use of semantic categories is an absolutely necessary condition for oral and written expression;

• demonstrate that the vocabulary study contributes to a better understanding of a particular text.

Research Methods

As psychological reactions, especially discouraging, play an important role in the orlanguage acquisition mechanism, they must be circumvented by providing helpful materials to ease and impart safety, both practically and mentally, to the student’s work.

For this reason, special glossaries are useful for beginners, in which the fundamentals of the basic vocabulary, alphabetically arranged, should be indicated by their number and gender, and the marking of phonetic alternations would increase their efficiency. Such glossaries should accompany each reading unit, and at the end of the handbook be a general repertoire, with definitions and synonyms.

Findings

The teachers of foreign language know the tendency of learners to make analogies and parallels, to lean on their native language, both in terms of structure and lexicon. This hinders the establishment of direct links between thinking in the target language and speaking; the use of the new code is hampered, while also imparting a slow rhythm of free speech (Lemnaru 2013). Moreover, not all the words of a language have perfect equivalents in another language, as neither grammatical structures have. A transposition in which equivalences are not absolutely perfect risks serious mistakes or semantic incompatibility.

Conclusion

Our article highlights the possibilities of enriching the vocabulary and, as we have seen, they are varied. Whatever the technique used to introduce a new word, it is important to note that teaching vocabulary is a long and complex process that requires attention, time, training, creativity from the teacher. Arousing the student’s interest in a new word, making him/her “interact” with it, and making him/her use it appropriately in communication situations is a difficult task for the teacher. Harmonely, well-used and balanced at the right time, they ensure a semantic decoding, followed by the widening of the sphere of applied lexical knowledge of foreign students.

References

1. Cerghit, I. (2006). Metodele de invatamant [Teaching methods]. Bucuresti: Polirom.
2. Cosăceanu, A. (2003). Language teaching: disciplinary reconstruction. Bucuresti: Universitatea Bucuresti.
3. Lemnaru, A.C. (2013). New Methods in Teaching Romanian Language for Foreign Students. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, (76), 451-455. https://doi. org/
4. Moldovan, V., Pop, L. & Uricaru, L. (2002). Nivelul Prag in predarea limbii romane ca limba straina [Threshold level. For learning the Romanian language as a foreign language]. Strasbourg: The Council of Europe.
5. Morărescu, S., Tetean-Vinţeler, D. & Sofian, M. (1993). Jocurile didactice si invatarea limbilor straine [Didactic games and teaching and learning languages]. Cluj-Napoca.