THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH TO VOCABULARY ACQUISITION AND ASSESSMENT

Abstract

The Structural Approach is a method wherein the learner comprehends the pattern of sentence. Structures are the different arrangements of words in one accepted style. It is based on the statement that language teaching can best be done through methodical selection and classifying of structures or sentence configurations. It comprises various patterns in which clauses, phrases or words might be used, always considering the main principle of a scientific assortment of grading of the structures or patterns of sentences and vocabulary. The principle of “Language is speech, not writing” is applied, identifying the language as a set of apprehended perpetual behaviors. On the initial phase, the language should involve the learning of the structures, including the patterns of sentence - and the mastery of these structures being more important than the acquisition of vocabulary. A good understanding of these structures will improve drastically the capabilities of vocabulary acquisition and assessment. Students who possess bigger vocabularies can express their concepts and opinions easier and understand new ideas faster than students with smaller or limited vocabularies.