As teachers you'll spend a lot of classroom time teaching vocabulary, so let's look at teaching vocabulary.

Overview

We tend to find that students can remember vocabulary easier if it is presented in recognisable sets (e.g. colours, clothing, food) or in groups of related words (e.g. health, school, work). Students find learning vocabulary in sets or groups easier than learning a lot of random words.

When we present vocabulary to students we need to consider what information the student needs to really 'know' a word. To really 'know' a word students need the following: meaning, pronunciation, spelling and usage.

Meaning

There are a number of different ways teachers can show meaning. Some of these ways are as follows; using visuals, using ‘realia’ (real things), drawing pictures, pointing to things in the classroom or the immediate vicinity, using antonyms and/or synonyms, using mime, building up a short story, setting a context, explaining, using a cline (scale) and sometimes simply translating.

Pronunciation

To make sure that students can pronounce the word correctly the teacher should provide a clear model (say the word two or three times). While the teacher is modelling the word, the students are listening and not repeating after the teacher.

Once the teacher has modelled the word, the drilling stage can start. Drilling should be done chorally (all together), in smaller groups and individually. During the individual stage the students and teacher get a chance to work on pronunciation issues. Correction can take many forms here: self-correction, peer correction and teacher correction.

To further help with pronunciation we can include the phonetic spelling and the stress in the written record (when the words go on the board).

Spelling

The teacher can elicit the spelling from the students and write the words up on the board as the students give the spelling. Keep the students involved here, don't just write the words up on the board – elicit the spelling.

Usage

Students need to know how to use the words that have been introduced. Try eliciting the part of speech from the students rather than just giving it. Elicit some example sentences from the students using the new words. See if they can use them correctly. Ask questions about the new word.

Student record keeping

We should allow our students an opportunity to write the words down so that they have a record they can refer to (both in and out of the classroom). Encourage your students to start a vocabulary notebook.

Revise, review and recycle

After presenting new vocabulary we need to get students using it. This gives us as teachers further evidence that the students have understood and can use the vocabulary presented. It is important to revise, review and recycle vocabulary taught wherever possible.

Have a look at the sample vocabulary lesson.