2. Literature Review

Specialists have been seeking the strategies to make vocabulary teaching more effective. However, they didn’t have significant effect as expected. “Pronunciation and grammar were emphasized, but there was little or no emphasis on vocabulary. In short, vocabulary has been neglected in programs for teachers during much of the twentieth century” (Allen, 2002:1).The National English Curriculum highlights the importance of communication. And with the deepening understanding of language teaching, the study of vocabulary teaching, from its instructional theory to the practice, has also been improved. Among those methods, the Situational Teaching Method is receiving more attention because of its specificity.

2.1 Situational teaching at early stage源:自'751.·论,文;网·www.751com.cn/

The situation-based teaching concepts of renowned scholars at home and abroad that been handed down so far have a far-reaching influence on present situational teaching thoughts. Chan Korsakov, the educationalist of the former Soviet Union, believes "once stimulating student's emotion, willpower and spiritual needs, teaching method will play a highly efficient role." (Li Jilin, 1988:20) While implementing the experiment of educational reform, Sukhomlinskii suggests guiding students to observe and experience the beauty of the nature in natural environment and educating students in the real natural situation to further their healthy growth. Sukhomlinskii says "I strive to guide the thinking of students in their childhood based on the vivid image, scene, concept and impression of the world and the nature."(1981:157)

In China, the example of Moving Three Evictions is early story that explains the favorable environment which can help someone make progress. Confucius's "timing-based teaching" and his words，"Never make explanations unless one is desperately anxious to learn; never make explanations until one is determined to learn." have implied the principle of situational teaching, which has embodied the induction and transference roles of situation in learning. The educational monograph Records of Education suggests that creating situation to encourage student's learning, and proposes the view of "guiding students without compelling students; being strict with students without suppressing students; inspiring students to think without showing the final results at the beginning". All these are the epitomes of the situational teaching thoughts in ancient China.

2.2 Study on the situation-based vocabulary teaching

The communicative approach emerging in 1970s pays attention to the authenticity of the selected language materials, requires that the materials should stem from real life, and argues that interpersonal communication skill is learnt in situation and then used in situation. Situational language teaching proposes learning vocabularies and doing vocabulary exercise in situation. It can motivate students to learn a language, and also create a real communicative situation for students. 

In western countries the study on teaching design began in the 1950s. In the 1980s, the first generation instructional design proposed by American psychologist Gagne as a representative has grown mature. Rita Richey claims that instructional design is "a science that makes detailed planning for the development, assessment and maintenance of learning situation to facilitate the learning of different subject units." (Zhou Xiaoshan and Yan Xianyuan, 2002: l) In the 1990s, the situation-based foreign vocabulary teaching design has been universally acknowledged by psychological linguistics and sociolinguistics communities.文献综述

In China, the importance of instructional design was emphasized in the mid-1980s. In the specific operation of classroom teaching, Li Jilin has explained that instead of being the target, situational teaching is ultimately intended to further the development of children from the perspective of the relationships between situational teaching and children's development. (Li Jilin, 2002:6) In the light of the features and principles of English situational teaching design, Jin Yuefang suggests that teachers should create a favorable environment for student's innovative development, and lead students into a colorful and sophisticated teaching situation with the purpose of inspiring students to experience the life in situation. (2005:126) Ren Zhijuan comes out with the steps of English classroom teaching design for the sake of situation construction, group activities, inter-group communication, and summarization and assessment according to the implications and features of situational learning. (2005:14) 小学英语词汇教学中的情境设计研究(2):http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_67151.html