HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY?

   Hi everyone! Today, my research topic is " How to teach English vocabulary in class? ". I was always interested in teaching English vocabulary. 

• How can we do that?  
• How can we manage to teach vocabulary for our pupils? 
• Are there funny and beneficial activities that we can apply in the classroom? 
• How can our students learn English vocabulary in an easy way? 

   There were always those kind of questions on my mind. That's why, I decided to focus on this research topic in this post as a curious researcher. I decided to research about this topic in depth and found very useful things and now I would like to share them with all of you. So, let's start to examine then! ;)

   Firstly, we are aware that students need to use grammar and structures correctly. Except for English grammar and structures, there are also words which are the main carriers of meaning. I call them " the main carriers " because without words and their meanings, the language itself would be meaningless and absurd. In this case, we need all these words so as to be able to communicate, write and understand a text for example. If we want our pupils to communicate in the target language, they need to learn new vocabulary and also we need to know how to teach and introduce new vocabulary. Never forget that the more words students can handle correctly, the better their chances of speaking and understanding English!

   In order to acquire new vocabulary in an effective way, your students must go through 4 essential and important stages :

1. Firstly, your students notice a new word with help.
2. Secondly, they recognize the word at first with help.
3. Thirdly, they recognize the word itself on their own.
4. Finally, they can both recognize and produce the word itself.

   For teaching vocabulary, there are some great ways that we can do in class. Especially, if you want to give your students the opportunity so as to put these new words to use, you can benefit from some enjoyable and useful activities and strategies. Right now, let's have a look at some of them!

• For example ; you can benefit from visual elements like flashcards and illustrations. Also, you can use real objects if it's possible. By the way, I suggest you not to forget that real objects work best with concrete things. Except for real objects, flashcards and illustrations, you can benefit from sounds, smells and tastes as well.

•  Let's say that you will introduce adjectives! How can you do that? It's so simple. You can introduce them with the help of pictures. For example ; if they are opposite adjectives like " big - small, short - long ", you can find some pictures that reflect these adjective examples or you can even use real life objects. For example ; if you have adjectives like " soft - rough ", you can bring an apple and a strawberry to your class. That apple represents the adjective which is rough and the strawberry represents the adjective which is soft. For more advanced adjectives like " spectacular, huge or stunning ", you can bring some pictures of popular sights from around the world such as " Egyptian pyramids, the Eiffel Tower etc. ".

• On the other hand, there are also abstract adjectives in English. How about them? How can we teach them easily? This one is also very simple. ;) You can benefit from " synonyms, definitions, substitutions etc. ". For instance ; let's say that you will teach an opposite abstract adjective like " early - late ". Firstly, remind your pupils what time class begins! Later, state that those who come to the classroom before this time are " early " while those that come to the classroom after this time are " late ".

• You can also do a " matching activity " in class if you want your students to recognize new words. 

 

• You can also hand out a piece of written text which includes blank spaces that need to be filled in from a list of words. Ask your pupils to fill in the blanks with suitable adjectives! 

• In order to be able to produce vocabulary, you can ask your students to describe something. How can they do that, though? For instance ; you can indicate that they need to use at least ten adjectives (10) in their own description. Maybe, they can describe the weather. They can describe an animal or their favourite food. They can even describe their own characters. Just let them describe and use the target language itself!

• You can make your students brainstorm as well. How? For example ; let's say that the subject of today's lesson is " the weather ". I strongly suggest you to write " weather " at the center of a blackboard and circle it! Later, tell your students that they need to think of words that they can use so as to describe the weather! Finally, after they finish thinking, get their words, write them around " the weather circle " and make connections among your students' words and the word that is written at the center of the blackboard, weather! 

  

NOTE : Also, I suggest you to teach vocabulary in a meaningful context. For instance ; if you are talking about shopping, it will be better to teach highly descriptive adjectives related to clothes and accessories. Namely, your topic and the words that you will use need to match with one another.  

NOTE 2 : By the way, you had better not teach a list of words just because. Otherwise, your students will be bored and they won't have a chance to practice this new vocabulary. ;) 

NOTE 3 : Try to use songs, music, real life objects and jigsaws ( puzzles ) in the classroom as much as possible! 

NOTE 4 : If you want your students to produce vocabulary both effectively and correctly, just let them recall the words spontaneously!