Plan: introduction main part

English vocabulary learning can often be seen as a laborious process of memorising lists of unrelated terms. However, there are many other much more successful and interesting ways to learn and teach vocabulary in the EFL classroom. If English vocabulary is taught in an uninteresting way such as by drilling, simple repetition and learning lists, then the words are likely to be forgotten. Teachers need to teach vocabulary so that the words are learned in a memorable way, in order for them to stick in the long-term memory of the student. When thinking about how to teach vocabulary, it is important to remember that learners need to have both active and passive vocabulary knowledge.

That is, students must vocabulary should consist of English words the learners will be expected to use themselves in original sentences, and those they will merely have to recognise when they hear them or see them written down by others. Teaching passive vocabulary is important for comprehension – the issue of understanding another speaker needs the listener to have passive vocabulary, that is, enough knowledge of words used by others to comprehend their meaning. This is also called receptive knowledge of English. Teaching active vocabulary is important for an advanced student in terms of their own creativity. This is because in order to create their own sentences, students need active vocabulary.
Active vocabulary contains the words a student can understand and manipulate in order to use for their own personal expression. This is called productive knowledge of English.
Tips for teaching vocabulary that include letting students select the words, putting away dictionaries, and creating time for talk and play with new terms. Copying definitions from the dictionary we would probably all agree is not an effective way to learn vocabulary. Passive learning hardly ever is. It's just often the way we learned, and as teachers, we sometimes fall back on using these ways when teaching rather than taking a good look at student data, the latest research, and then trying something new.
The truth is, and the research shows, students need multiple and various exposures to a word before they fully understand that word and can apply it. They need also to learn words in context, not stand alone lists that come and go each
week. Of course the way we learn words in context, or implicitly, is by reading, then reading some more. (This is why every classroom should have a killer classroom library stocked full of high-interest, age appropriate books.)
So many words, so little time. When choosing which words deserve special instructional time, we don't have to do it alone. One of the biggest mistakes teachers make in vocabulary instruction is selecting all the words for the students and not giving them a say in the matter.
Then, here's what to do after the students pick their own words: Ask each child to create a chart where he/she writes down words of choice, and rates each one as "know it," "sort of know it," or "don't know it at all." Then, on the same paper, have them write a definition or "my guess on meaning" for the words they know and kind of know (No dictionaries!)
An education researcher and teacher, he stresses that in all content areas, direct vocabulary instruction is essential and suggests five steps:
Step one: The teacher explains a new word, going beyond reciting its definition (tap into prior knowledge of students, use imagery).
Step two: Students restate or explain the new word in their own words (verbally and/or in writing). ²
Step three: Ask students to create a non-linguistic representation of the word (a picture, or symbolic representation).
Step four: Students engage in activities to deepen their knowledge of the new word (compare words, classify terms, write their own analogies and metaphors).
Step five: Students discuss the new word (pair-share, elbow partners).
Methods for Teaching Vocabulary
Word cards and word association. Teachers can use devices for vocabulary teaching such as simple flash-cards or word-cards. The teacher writes the English language word on one side of the card and a sentence containing the word, its definition, its synonyms and pronunciation on the other. Word cards can be an excellent memory aid. This is also a handy way for students to carry their new vocabulary around with them to look at whenever they have the opportunity.
Another successful method of teaching vocabulary is the word association technique. If words are stored individually, they are more difficult to remember as they have no context. But if the words are stored together in commonly used phrases and sentences, they are more readily absorbed. Putting words with collocational partners in this way helps the students to relate connected words together.
Visual techniques. Teaching vocabulary can become easier with the use of cards with pictures, diagrams and liberal colour coding for grammatical clarity. In this way, words are remembered by their colour or position on a page or their association with other words, pictures or phrases. Images can link to words; words can also be linked to other words, for example, a student might link the word ‘car’ with ‘garage’ and with ‘mechanic’. This idea of engaging the other senses can also help with developing a kind of semantic map where words are listed which relate to each other, which creates a situation where one word reminds the student of another students to relate connected words together.
Brainstorming. When teaching new vocabulary, the method of delivery needs to be fresh and interesting for the students or else they will not remember the words.
Ways are which to liven up the introduction of new English vocabulary could include brainstorming around an existing word in the students’ vocabulary knowledge. This key word should be written up in the middle of the board and the new vocabulary relating to it can be written around it. Use colourful pens if writing on a whiteboard to emphasise different word types.
Matching columns. Once the new vocabulary has been taught, a useful way to test if students have understood the meanings of this new vocabulary is to ask them to match new words from one column with definitions from another column.
Testing comprehension is vital before moving onto new vocabulary. The new words are numbered in column one, and the definitions are mixed up and lettered in column two. Students can also make up sentences using this technique, matching the beginning of the sentence or phrase from column 1 with the end of the sentence or phrase from column 2.
What is it to know a word? Teachers need to ask what is it to know a word? There is more to teaching a word than simply translating it or even using it in a sentence as an example. Knowing a word means knowing not only the meaning, but knowing the contexts in which that word is used, the words which are related to it and where to use the word. It also requires knowing hidden implications that could be connected with the word.
Idioms. Alongside chunks of language and fixed phrases and expressions, teachers should include in their vocabulary lessons these kinds of idioms of the English language. Idioms are common features of every day language and are an important part of advanced language use and a major step towards fluency. Idioms can be introduced to the ESL classroom through authentic reading materials such as informal text from magazines, low-brow newspapers, letters, comic strips, pop songs, dialogue from radio or television, popular films and soaps.
Collocations. Grammatical collocations are when a noun, verb or adjective occur (usually) alongside a preposition. For example: ‘on purpose’, ‘by accident’, ‘in case’.
Lexical collocations are made up of combinations of lexical items such as nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs. Examples of lexical collocations are: dripping tap, hopelessly addicted, cook dinner, happy birthday, great expectations.
Lexical phrases are good for teachers to include in lessons as another way of improving the natural sound of the students in speaking the language. Phrases such as ‘thanks very much’, ‘don’t mention it’, ‘have a nice day’, ‘sorry about that’, are all useful in conversation.
More idiomatic phrases such as ‘practise makes perfect’, ‘it’s a high mountain to climb’ or ‘it glides like a knife through butter’ are good for fluency and help with understanding commonly used similes.
In addition there are lots of idiomatic and phrasal verb collocations such as:
putting something or someone off
coming down with a cold
giving up on something
giving in to something
feeling under the weather
striking up a conversation
bumping into someone
getting out of something
butting in on a conversation
giving in to something or someone In telephone calls, we talk about ‘being put through’ and ‘cutting someone off’
Sometimes single words in English have different meanings, for example, the words ‘drive’, ‘pool’, ‘stroke’, ‘bottom’, ‘fence’, ‘catch’, ‘strike’, ‘match’.
Prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes can make a word negative, for example, adding ‘un-’, ‘a-‘ or ‘dis-’. These inflections are vital for students’ understanding of words and can increase their vocabulary substantially simply by inflecting words they already know. Suffixes work in this same vocabulary enhancing way, by adding endings such as ‘ing’, ‘less’ and ‘ly’. Teaching the prefixes and suffixes appropriate to new vocabulary can help students to guess what a new word might mean by reference to words they already know. In this way, prefixes and suffixes can help to introduce new words easily. For example, knowledge of the word ‘friend’ can help a student to guess the meanings of the words ‘friendly’, ‘friendship’, ‘unfriendly’ or ‘friendless’.
Teaching students the common prefixes and suffixes of the English language can help students to increase their vocabulary greatly by recognising these other derived words³.
Connotations and Appropriateness. Teaching vocabulary involves teaching the connotations of a word and its appropriate usage. The connotations of a word are the feelings it strikes up such as positive or negative feelings, and more specific ones for certain words. Related to this area of connotation is appropriateness, such as whether or not a certain English phrase is acceptable in polite conversation with a stranger, or if it would be a faux pas or even taboo. It can help students understand if a word is rare or old fashioned, if it is a funny word, or more commonly used in written text, formal or informal or only used in a certain dialect. These issues are important in vocabulary teaching in order for the student to feel confident using the new vocabulary in new or challenging situations. Polysemy and homonemy. When teaching vocabulary, there are subtle differences between similar English words that needs to be communicated to the students in order to avoid causing confusion. Teaching polysemy enables the student to distinguish between the different meanings of a word with closely related meanings; teaching homonymy distinguishes between the different meanings of a word with distinct meanings.
Read more about homonyms in our English phonology section. Remember also to consider rhythm and intonation in English, both of which can make a huge difference to meaning or nuance and can be difficult for students to master. Check out the the language guide, in particular the orthography, phonology andvocabulary sections, for more discussion on these kinds of confusing words.
Register. Register is the relationship between the content of a message, the receiver, and how the message is communicated. Knowledge of these things helps students to distinguish between levels of formality and the effects of certain topics on the listener. Explore more about register, form and genre in the English orthography section.⁴
Practice, presentation and production. The Practice, Presentation and Production teaching method is a popular and effective way in which to teach new vocabulary. Browse the site for more information on all areas of English language teaching, including this popular PPP technique.
If you ask students who are self-taught what methods they used to learn English on their own, they will invariably tell you the following;
They listen to and learn their favorite English songs and watch movies and TV shows with subtitles in either English or Spanish (some students swear by English subtitles, saying that it helps with their pronunciation). ⁵They read English books and magazines that are of interest to them. Many students also download language learning apps, such as Babbel and Duolingo, to their smartphones, so encourage them to use these tools to help develop their language skills on their own time. Another way to improve students’ vocabulary is to have them keep a notebook that is small enough to fit in their pockets. (They can also use their phones for keeping lists.) This is a great way for them to have a real-time record of the words and short phrases they use in their daily lives. When students keep a list of the words that are of interest to them, they are effectively writing their own little dictionaries that can be filled with pictures, synonyms, antonyms, and sentences that are useful to them.
Here are some more tips for helping your students learn vocabulary better: Whether you are teaching vocabulary, grammar, phraseology, or pronunciation in a physical classroom or online, do your best to make sure your students can relate to each lesson and are almost immediately able to use what they’ve learned.
Follow a logical and organic order when teaching new vocabulary, and put words into useful phrases as often as possible . ⁶
Look for every opportunity to review what you’ve taught from one lesson to the next, and engage your students by focusing on topics that interest them the most.
Always encourage your students to ask you about the meanings of words and how these can be applied to their lives outside of the classroom

INTRODUCING PHYSICAL VOCABULARY. The entire class walks in a circle throughout the activity. Each student changes the nature of his or her walk (rhythm, gait, pace, etc.) in response to vocabulary prompts. The activity is best suited to beginner classes in which students are learning basic vocabulary, but both older and younger students enjoy the activity. And, while the activity is easiest to use in classes with fewer than 30 students, it can be adapted to larger classes by having one group walk at a time, with the other groups taking turns calling out the prompts. Because this type of physical activity may be unusual for some students, allow them to acclimate to using movement in the classroom. I recommend using music. Moving to music comes naturally to most learners. Try to play four or five genres with different tempos; choices can range from somnolent background music to something more energetic, like punk rock or heavy metal. You don’t need to play an entire song—just enough to allow the students to react to it. For this activity, lyrics are not important, as students will be responding only to the music. The Free Music Archive (freemusicarchive. org) has music in nearly every genre imaginable, available for play or download.

PART 1: WALK, LISTEN, AND SHOW. Arrange the desks or chairs in a large circle, or, if the classroom is small, push them to the walls to make space in the middle of the classroom. Keep in mind that the students will have to return to their seats during the class, so the desks should be out of the way but still accessible. Write the words walk, listen, and show on the board. Ask the students what walk and listen mean. If they can’t explain, ask them to show each action by pointing to the word show on the board. If no one knows these words, demonstrate each of them yourself while repeating the word. To check comprehension, repeat the word and ask students to demonstrate (that is, “show”) the meaning. Encourage students to “show” you the word rather than calling out a translation. After students understand the concept, ask them to form a circle in the middle of the room. Say “Walk,” point to the word walk on the board, and motion for the students to walk in a circle. Then say “Listen,” point to the word listen, and play a relaxing song. Now, ask the students to “show.” Demonstrate by joining the circle and walking with the rhythm of the music, swaying, using your hands or doing anything you like, but continue to walk in a circle. Encourage the students to do the same. After they have found their rhythm, change the genre of music and encourage the students to move differently. Start from slower selections and move to faster tempos. While there may be a little embarrassment at first, students should overcome their hesitation when they realize they are moving more as a group responding to the music than as individuals. Adolescents, in particular, may be reluctant to “show” the music. You can deal with this reluctance by asking students a few days before about their favorite music. Usually when they hear familiar selections, they are more inclined to “show” the music. It is best to limit this activity to around five songs; about 30 seconds per song is sufficient. After students have “shown” you a sufficient variety of music, have them return to their seats.
PART 2: WALK, LISTEN, SHOW, AND SAY One way to transition to the language function of this activity is by using weatherrelated adjectives (e.g., hot, cold, windy, rainy, stormy, snowy). Introduce these terms by using labeled pictures on cards. (If you are not a great artist, clip pictures out of a magazine and add your own labels.)
With students seated, show them a card, point to the picture, say the word (for example, “cold”), and then point to the word show on the board. Show “cold” to students by wrapping your arms around your body and shivering. Say the word while you show it. Present more cards, again saying each word and pantomiming an action; then go back to your card for cold and ask the students to show the word. Let them look at the picture and react. They don’t have to repeat the word yet. Continue in this way until the students have “shown” all the adjectives. Return to the board and write say. Hold up the cold card again, say “Cold,” and then point to the word say and repeat “Cold.” Gesture for students to say it as well. Then point to show again and pantomime shivering. Gesture for students to do the same. Start from the beginning with the cards. Go through them one at a time. This time, students say the word and show it. If students forget to “say” or “show,” point to those words on the board. Because one goal of this activity is to allow students to find their own physical understanding of the adjectives, encourage them to show the words in their own way. If you have a particularly expressive class, consider letting them show all the words without help after you provide the first example.
PART 3: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER After students have demonstrated their understanding, have them return to the middle of the classroom. Point to the word walk on the board and pantomime the action so students will know to walk in a circle. Now, instead of playing music, you can hold the cards up and call out each word while pointing to show on the board. As students walk in a circle, they must “show” the adjective. Most of them will naturally incorporate this into their walk, but if they are having a difficult time, demonstrate how their walk would adjust to the adjective. If you feel comfortable, give a theatrical performance of someone walking in a frigid blizzard for cold, but allow students to interpret the other adjectives on their own. Instruct students to say the words as they show them by pointing to say on the board again if necessary. Remember to reorder your cards so you are not reading them in the same order every time. After students feel comfortable with the activity, you can change the length of the pause between cards so that students have to quickly change the way they are walking. You could also call out two adjectives at once so that the students have to try to show them simultaneously (which is always funny).
CONTINUING PHYSICAL VOCABULARY Initially, this activity can be limited by students’ experience. That is why I recommend starting with the simple weather vocabulary. Students may have never experienced cold weather, but they usually know how to show it. They may not have any idea how to show concepts such as “humid” even if they understand them. In exploring these concepts by relating them to known vocabulary, students find ways to respond to vocabulary that is more complex. Humid, for example, could be shown as a combination of wet and hot, once those terms are understood. After the initial class, I continue to use this activity as a warm-up to review the previous lesson’s vocabulary. If the class learns other weather adjectives, the students find ways to show the new words like misty or icy. The activity helps students explore and personalize many beginner vocabulary sets. For example, “feelings” vocabulary sets are also easily shown. The reason I don’t start with feelings is that the whole body reacts to weather, but when I have started with feelings, students have had a hard time giving more than facial expressions. For “rooms in the house” vocabulary, students can show what they do in each room, and the same approach can be used for “places around town.” Rather than physically reacting to a command (“Stand up,” “Sit down,” etc.), students are reacting to their interpretation of a concept. As a result, vocabulary sets related to family members, food items, clothing, and even colors can be used (see the suggestions below). As a warm-up, this activity serves the functions of refreshing students’ knowledge of a word and allowing them to have fun interacting with it. Encourage them to interpret each term for themselves when they “show” it. If students feel that they are only copying the teacher or other students, the activity ceases to be enjoyable. As long as students feel free to react personally to the word, they will continue to enjoy the activity.
SELECTED PHYSICAL VOCABULARY TOPICS 1. Clothing. Sweaters are heavy; formal clothes are stiff; casual clothes are loose; footwear changes the way students walk (everyone loves showing high heels or a “slippers shuffle”). With less obvious articles of clothing like hats and socks, students can pantomime putting them on or adjusting them.
2. Family members. Students usually agree on universals such as mothers hold babies, sons jump around, daughters skip, fathers have a dignified walk, grandparents hobble, and aunts and uncles take on idiosyncratic actions (ask students about their aunts and uncles to discover these characteristics).
3. Rooms in a house. This topic is usually appropriate to include after students have learned common action terms such as eat, sleep, drink, read, and watch TV. Students pantomime each action depending on what they usually do in each room: they watch TV in the living room, eat in the dining room, and sleep in their bedroom. The garage usually suggests a driving pantomime; for basements, students start at full height and “walk downstairs,” bending their knees as they go.
4. Colors. It is important to have already studied feelings before using colors in this activity because the two are linked. Students determine for themselves how certain colors make them feel. I ask them this and write feelings on the board next to each color in a mindmap cloud. After we have explored the emotional range of each color, students walk and show these colors.
5. Food. Students respond to food items usually by showing a pleased or disgusted overall appearance, varying in terms of severity. I introduce the scale of preference (hate, dislike, like, love, etc.) as part of this lesson, and students explore in advance ways of showing varying degrees of preference for food items.⁷

Asher, J. 1996. Learning another language through actions. 5th ed. Los Gatos, CA: Sky Oak Productions.

10 Ways to Teach Vocabulary to ELLs

1. 
   Label everything in your classroom.
   
2. 
   Speak to your students with rich vocabulary.
   
3. 
   Pre-teach key vocabulary.
   
4. 
   Use text with rich vocabulary and images.
   
5. 
   Play vocabulary games.
   
6. 
   Sing songs.
   
7. 
   Teach prefixes and suffixes.
   
8. 
   Use cognates.
   
9. 
   Introduce words in pairs.
   
10. 
    Seize teachable moments.
    

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