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Top 10 Ways to Introduce Vocabulary

Teachers often explain new vocabulary to learners. Lexical items can include single words (house), collocations (make a bed) and longer chunks (once in a blue moon). To illustrate meaning, our default mode is often to give a definition. With definitions, drawbacks include a lack of context, a need to use equally complex terms, and the temptation to provide other meanings of new words. As teachers, we can add other ways of teaching lexis to our teaching tool belt.! "or students, the method we choose to illustrate is often the key to making the item meaningful and useable. #ere are ten ways to illustrate lexis.

1. Synonyms
$sing items with a similar meaning can be useful. Ad%ectives such as intelligent have several synonyms& bright, smart, clever. 'hrasal verbs usually have a non(phrasal verb equivalent& go off explode. Teachers should be wary of saying that items have the same meaning. )ften, the meaning is close, but there are differences in formality, connotation, and grammatical usage.

2. Antonyms
)pposites are a common way to present and learn the meaning of new lexis. At lower levels, items such as rich and poor are obvious examples. Again, teachers should be mindful of making generali*ations. Rich people and poor people are opposites, but rich food and poor food are not. +ollocations are helpful here. At higher levels, prefixes and suffixes are excellent for vocabulary building through opposites e.g. helpful and unhelpful.

3. Drawing
The most basic sketch or stick figures can provide the perfect medium to illustrate certain items. ,ome good examples include geographical terms like estuary or peninsular, statistical features of graphs like peak, trough, or go through the roof, and physical terms such as back-to-back. Artistic skills are not required-

4. Points on a scale

A scale is an excellent way to illustrate the meaning of several gradable items at the same time. +ommon examples include adverbs of frequency& never-rarely-occasionally-sometimes, or ad%ectives of fear& apprehensive-nervous-scared-terrified. Less common items such as petrified can be added to the scale at higher levels. Where appropriate, teachers can add useful information such as prepositional usage on the scale. "or example& nervous about and scared of.

5. Cuisenaire rods

These coloured blocks are wonderful teaching aids, and are especially useful for certain lexical areas. .ey examples include prepositions of place& on, under, between, among, comparison of ad%ectives& bigger than, the smallest, twice as big as. /locks can also represent items in a narrative to act as a visual aid to comprehension.

6. Pictures
"or pre(planned teaching of lexis, taking pictures to class can convey a great deal of lexical information very quickly. 0ouns and verbs relating to specific places such as kitchens, airports or offices work well with pictures. 'arts of machines or living creatures show well in picture format too. )f course, having internet access in the classroom will provide many pictures through sources like 1oogle images.

7. Mime

2ime, often overlooked by teachers, is extremely effective for many items. 3nstead of defining proud, fold your arms as if carrying a newborn, puff out your chest and whisper, 2y son!. Then ask the class how you feel and provide the word if necessary. Another useful exercise is to mime an everyday

routine such as getting ready for work, driving, or preparing a meal. Ask students to %ot down any verbs they see. This is an excellent test of recall and a good needs(analysis activity.

2aking the sound is a quick and easy illustration of many words& whistle, groan, howl, clear one s throat, snap your fingers etc. 4ecordings of sound effects are an evocative way of bringing less familiar lexis into the lesson. Listening to a sequence of sounds such as rustling, scratching, tapping, and tinkling glass provides clear illustration, a need to describe the sound, and an effective way of fixing the concept in the student5s mind.

. Sound

!. "otal #$ysical res#onse %"P&'

Aspects of this approach to language learning can help students take control of new language. After illustrating physical lexis such as stare, peer, glance, and blink, the teacher can ask students to perform the action after the words are given. This can be used for more complex items such as peel an apple and change a tire.

1(. &ealia
Where practical, bringing the actual item to class provides an unmistakeably clear illustration of an ob%ect. This can also provide a useful stimulus to a lesson. )n a slightly more ambitious scale, asking students to teach other students how to perform a task using realia can be very motivating and memorable. 6xamples include how to prepare a salad, how to send a text message using a particular cellphone, and how to play a card game. This is not an exhaustive list. The most important thing is to anticipate what lexis you might have to clarify and then choose the technique7s8 that best helps illustrate meaning.

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