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How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

Question 1: What needs to be taught? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Form (pronunciation and spelling) grammar collocation aspects of meaning: denotation, connotation, appropriateness aspects of meaning: meaning relationships such as synonyms or antonyms word formation (prefixes & suffixes)

Question 2: How to teach new vocabulary? Step one: presenting new words Step two: helping students remember new words Step three: making sure students make the new words their own

Step One: presenting new words (meaning & form) 1. 2.

3.

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explanation: concise definition /detailed description using visual images • realia • pictures • masking • drawing • scales using gestures and actions • mime • gesture • facial expression • action showing lexical relations • synonyms • antonyms • associated ideas, collocation

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6. 7.

words in context • dialogues • role play • drama • stories • songs • rhymes & poems • videos guessing / predicting translation

Step Two: helping students remember new words use memorizing games and activities 1. matching words 2. labeling words 3. sequencing words 4. guessing words 5. eliminating words 6. classifying words 7. Others?

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How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively? Note: n It’s better if items can be linked with each other, or with ones already known, through meaning-or sound-association n It’s better to teach vocabulary in separated, spaced sessions than to teach it all at once. In other words, words will be learned better if they are taught briefly at the beginning of a lesson, reviewed later in the same lesson, and again in the next than if the same total amount of time is used for learning the words all at once. This needs careful lesson-planning, but will repay the efforts. n Teach more important new words first or at the beginning of a lesson.

Step Three: making sure students make the new words their own 1. 2.

3. 4. 5.

recycle words personal dictionary (word notebooks/vocabulary books) • marking word stress • adding pictures • putting a L1 translation • putting the word into context • adding a synonym / mapping a word family personalize the new words design wordsearch games / picture labeling /crosswords / Bingo / dominoes / puzzles/ charts or survey for their peers

Question 3: How to test vocabulary 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Multiple choice matching odd one out writing sentences dictation-translation gap-filling gap-filling with a pool of answers translation sentence completion

Online Learning Resources & Tools • • • • •

Teaching Vocabulary: Two Dozen Tips and Techniques English Vocabulary Word Listswith Games, Puzzles and Quizzes LearnEnglishKids An authoring tool: HOT POTATO A Collocation Tool: UWiLL

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How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

Word Map What a student may need to know about an item:

Affixes, prefixes, suffixes

meaning form

pronunciation

Collocation, idioms New vocabulary

spelling Lexical relation, synonyms, antonyms

Situation, context

Connotation

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Particular grammatical pattern

How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

ways to present a new word:

Visual images mime

Teaching others

guessing, matching, categorizing

Ways to present a new word

context

Synonyms antonyms

definition translation

ways to review a new word:

Using it in the diary

Keeping a bank of cards

Creative writing

Write personal sentences

Ways to review a new word

Example sentences

Matching, categorizing

Teaching others Giving tests to others

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How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively? Contextualized Vocabulary Activities l Using songs, chants, pictures and games l Simon says l What’s in the picture?

Word Grouping, Classifying, or Word Formation or Derivatives Word Association Categorizing l Matching action words in l Word grouping l Singular / plural column A with nouns in l Odd-Man-Out l Rewrite a short passage by column B using a different tense l Choose irregular verbs from l Matching descriptive words to things, people or place a few lessons in the textbook l Compound words l Match new vocabulary with definition l Antonyms

Guessing Word Meanings From Context l Multiple Choice exercise l Cloze procedure 1) fill-in-the –blanks 2) word choice exercise using N, V, Adj 3) crossword puzzle 4) circle the correct word to complete each sentence 5) word search activity

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Odd-Man-Out l Categorize concept words Grouping descriptive words l for each event l

Construct words from root l words Comparative and superlatives quiz l Countries, nationalities and l languages

Same or different 1) synonyms 2) antonyms Which belongs to what? Substitution activities

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Matching Activities 1) using sentence strips 2) using Q & A strips Using chants to expand vocabulary Bingo

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Cloze sentences Using popular songs

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Classifying “The Big-Little l Domain” vocabulary l Brainstorming ideas to elicit “feeling” words from the class for writing them on the l board

Dictation with a difference affixes 1) prefixes 2) suffixes connections

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Words with Multiple Meanings Masculine and Feminine activity Semantic Mapping

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Review word bank vocabulary Words with multiple meanings

Contextual guessing of idioms

How to Teach Vocabulary Effectively?

10 STEPS TO INTRODUCE VOCABULARY (From Do and Understand) 1. Show picture flashcards. 1. Say and mime the pictures. 1. Present the written form of the 1. Quickly flash the words cards 2. Name each word as attaching 2. Encourage students to imitate words. ant let your students shout out it to the blackboard. your gestures or movements. 2. Hold up the word cards and the words. 3. Repeat the new words several pronounce them at the same 2. The speed of the presentation times. time. effectively prevents your class 4. Leave out the gestures and only 3. Do this with all the words that from trying to read the word say the words. are to be introduced. letter by letter. 5. The children make the 3. When children call out the correspondent gestures. correct word, you should repeat it and tack the written version next to the appropriate drawing. (Or have a child do it). 4. You can flash your card upside down or sideways. 5. You can also present a card with just the first letter of the word. 1. Children still close their eyes. 1. Ask your students to open their 1. Ask the children to close their 1. Write a number next to each 2. Say the words aloud and ask eyes. eyes again. word (drawing + written the children to repeat after you. 2. Mouth one of the words 2. Remove one or more drawings words) on the board. 3. Vary your voice (whisper, without making any sound. or word cards form the board. 2. Tell your class they have one shout, and talk in high pitch) 3. Let your class guess which 3. Ask the children to open the minute to concentrate on the and get the class to imitate you. word it is by reading your lips. eyes and find what’s missing. numbers and words, and to 4. Encourage your students to remember which word goes visualize the corresponding with which number. drawings in their minds. 3. After time’s up, ask them to close their eyes. 4. Say a number and get them to remember the word that goes with it.

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1. Then pronounce each of the words again and point to the appropriate pictures. 2. Ask your students keep silent but concentrate on listening to your pronunciation only. 3. Children can close their eyes or focus their gaze elsewhere. 4. Explain to them why they shouldn’t try to repeat after the teacher.

1. Remove all the cards and drawings from the board. 2. Ask the children to name the words. 3. Each time a child correctly names a word, he/she should point to the spot on the board where his word was. 4. Write the first letter of this word on the spot. 5. (Or) you point to a certain spot on the board and get the class to name the word from memory.