Teaching vocabulary

While introducing words the teacher uses flashcards, illustrations, real objects. For example, to present the words on the topic “Fruit” the teacher brings a bag of different fruit, picks up one fruit and says the word clearly a number of times, encouraging the students to repeat the word. In this way the teacher goes through all the words. Teacher regularly returns to the words to check if students remembered them. He picks up a banana and asks: Is this an apple? Students should say “yes” or “no”. For teaching abstract nouns synonyms, antonyms, definition, substitution, context are used.

For practicing vocabulary the teacher uses Bingo cards with illustrations. Also he may use matching the word or its definition to a picture, matching words to synonyms or antonyms. The teacher may prepare a short story with blank spaces that must be filled in from a list of words. Mind maps are used vocabulary revision. For example, the teacher writes the word “Weather” on the middle of the board and circles it. Students reply with previously taught words: mild, frosty, heat wave, etc. The teacher writes them around the word “Weather”.

Although children seem to learn new words very quickly, they will also forget quickly, so it is very important to give them lots of practice of vocabulary to help them remember.

Vocabulary practice activities:

-Children unjumble the letters to make the word. Teacher could also do this on the board with children coming up and doing the activity one at a time.

-Word searches

These are good for children to recognize words within a jumble of other words. It makes them concentrate and ‘see’ words on the page. Children have to circle or color the ten key words in the grid.

-Children have to find the ten animal words in the box. Teacher can either give them the ten words at the bottom to help them look. Or attach the pictures of the animals to the word search.

BIRD, CAT, COW, DOG, ELEPHANT, FISH, LION, MOUSE, SNAKE, TIGER

-Crosswords

Children look at the picture, have to remember the English word and then have to write the word – spelling correctly – to fit it into the crossword.

-For food vocabulary and fun

Teacher gives each student a paper plate and asks them to design their favorite pizza by drawing the things they most like onto it. Teacher can show them his own example with e.g. cheese, tomato, ham, pineapple and chocolate!

If they are pre-writers, they can teacher and each other what is on their pizza. If they are able to, they write the words of the ingredients next to them on the pizza. The ‘pizzas’ can be displayed on the classroom walls.

-I went to market (for older students)

Students get into a circle.

Teacher starts by saying: ‘I went to market and I bought an apple’.

The student to his right must repeat what teacher said and add another thing beginning with B.

Teacher keeps going until the last student has to remember 26 things bought in market!

-Bingo (To practice word recognition)

Teacher preparer a list of 20+ words the students know well – they can recognize them in their written and spoken form and know the meanings. Either write the words on the board or hand out a list of the words to the students. Students must choose any 9 of the words and write them onto a piece of paper that looks like this:

tiger blue pen

pizza ten orange

chair book girl

Teacher chooses words from the list at random and reads them aloud. If the student has the word on their paper they cross it out. As soon as a student has crossed out three words in a line – up, down or diagonally – he shouts “Bingo”! And he is the winner.

-Label the classroom