Presenting vocabularyRichard Frost, British Council

This article looks at what needs to be taught when teaching vocabulary and ways to present and teach vocabulary.

Introduction What a student may need to know about an item Ways to present vocabulary Alternative ways of teaching vocabulary Other things to consider

IntroductionWith hundreds of thousands of words in the English language, teaching vocabulary can seem like a very daunting prospect. Remember though that the average native speaker uses around only five thousand words in everyday speech. Moreover, your students won't need to produce every word they learn, some they will just need to recognize. Selecting what to teach, based on frequency and usefulness to the needs of your particular students is therefore essential. Once you have chosen what to teach, the next important steps are to consider what students need to know about the items, and how you can teach them.

Top of pageWhat a student may need to know about an item

What it meansIt is vital to get across the meaning of the item clearly and to ensure that your students have understood correctly with checking questions.

The formStudens need to know if it is a verb/a noun/an adjective etc to be able to use it effectively.

How it is pronouncedThis can be particularly problematic for learners of English because there is often no clear relation between how a word is written and how it is pronounced. It is very important to use the phonemic script in such cases so the sts have a clear written record of the pronunciation. Don't forget also to drill words that you think will cause pronunciation problems for your students and highlight the word stresses.

How it is speltThis is always difficult in English for the reason mentioned above. Remember to clarify the pronunciation before showing the written form.

If it follows any unpredictable grammatical patternsFor example, man-men / information (uncountable) and if the word is followed by a particular preposition (e.g. depend on )

The connotations that the item may haveBachelor is a neutral/positive word whereas spinster conjures a more negative image.

The situations when the word is or is not usedIs it formal/neutral/informal?For example, spectacles/glasses/specs. Is it used mainly in speech or in writing? To sum up is usually written whereas mind you is spoken. Is it outdated? Wireless instead of radio.

How the word is related to othersFor example, synonyms, antonyms, lexical sets

Collocation or the way that words occur togetherYou describe things 'in great detail' not 'in big detail' and to ask a question you 'raise your hand' you don't 'lift your hand'. It is important to highlight this to students to prevent mistakes in usage later.

What the affixes (the prefixes and suffixes) may indicate about the meaningFor example, substandard sub meaning under. This is particularly useful at a higher level.

Which of these areas you choose to highlight will depend on the item you are teaching and the level of your students. Now it's time to think about how we can get the meaning across.

Ways to present vocabulary

There are lots of ways of getting across the meaning of a lexical item.

IllustrationThis is very useful for more concrete words (dog, rain, tall) and for visual learners. It has its limits though, not all items can be drawn.

MimeThis lends itself particularly well to action verbs and it can be fun and memorable.

Synonyms/Antonyms/Gradable itemsUsing the words a students already knows can be effective for getting meaning across.

DefinitionMake sure that it is clear (maybe check in a learner dictionary before the lesson if you are not confident). Remember to ask questions to check they have understood properly.

TranslationIf you know the students' L1, then it is fast and efficient. Remember that not every word has a direct translation..

ContextThink of a clear context when the word is used and either describe it to the students or give them example sentences to clarify meaning further.

Again which you choose will depend on the item you are presenting. Some are more suitable for particular words. Often a combination of techniques can be both helpful and memorable

Top of pageAlternative ways of teaching vocabulary

Give your students a few items of vocabulary and tell them to find the meaning, pronunciation and write an example sentenced with the word in. They can then teach each other in groups.

Prepare worksheets and ask your students to match words to definitions. Ask students to classify a group of words into different categories. For example, a list of

transport words into air/sea/land. Ask students to find new vocabulary from reading homework and teach the other

students in the class.

Other things to consider Review the vocabulary you teach through a game or activity and encourage your

students to do the same at home Encourage autonomy in your learners. Tell them to read, watch films, listen to songs etc

and note the useful words Have a section of your board for vocabulary items that come up as you are teaching. Use

different colours for the word / the phonemics / the prepositions / the part of speech It is a good idea to teach/learn words with associated meanings together Encourage your students to purchase a good dictionary and use class time to highlight

the benefits of one Teach your students the grammatical names for the parts of speech and the phonemic

script Always keep a good dictionary by your side in case a student asks about a word you

don't know If you don't and have never heard of the word, tell the student you will check and get back

to them. Do get back to them

Give extra examples sentences to the students if they are unsure and encourage them to write the word in an example sentence (maybe for homework)

Vocabulary activitiesPractical activities to help students with vocabulary learning.

Lexical threads The memory game Making it up - Phrasal verb stories Word grid Poetic introductions / Picture game Snake-word The fly swatter game Definitions - Get rid of it Word guessing games 1 'Wall dictionary' Same, opposite or different dictation Vocabulary box Hot seat Vocabulary phonemic revision activity Vocabulary self-study activities Washing line - teaching clothes vocabulary

Lexical threadsShaun Dowling, Teacher trainer, Cultura Inglesa, Brasilia

These are two of the lexical threads that I use when dealing with the vast amounts of words that come up within my own classroom teaching.

The main beauty of lexical threads is that they become familiar to the learners, they are easy to plan and aid memory. After doing these activities once the students don't need any further explanation of what to do when they are repeated. This leaves the teacher important time to listen to the students without worrying about how to manage the activity.

Thread 1 The verb domeThis is a favourite of activity of my learners that originally started out as a warmer. One of my students gave it its name and it just stuck. This is not linked to any themes or part of the course but it enables students to see how much they know in a fun way.

PreparationYou only need the board and a pen and most importantly your students.

Procedure

First split the students up into two groups. Have one student give you a letter from the alphabet (make sure they don't say Z or X though).

Then have each group call out a verb, in its infinitive form that begins with the letter chosen. Each group calls out a new word and you record it on the board. The group who can't think of anymore loses.

With this activity you will find you can write a lot of language on the board. It is highly motivating when learners see how much they know. For this activity language emerges from the knowledge of the students and Teaching is kept to a minimum. I find that if someone shouts out a word the others don't know, instead of having to teach the word, the students usually tell each other what the word means as the games goes on. It helps them recall words they may have only seen once or twice and aids memory.

Follow upAfter a few classes you can choose another letter and do this again or ask for them to do this for collocations of phrasal verbs. This time the students call out the verb and must complete it with another word that collocates naturally with the other. For phrasal verbs have the learners call out the phrasal verb with following noun or phrase that helps them show they understand its meaning.

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Thread 2 Pre-teaching slipsThis activity is useful when I come across a new unit of language in the course book or start a new theme or topic we are about to discuss.

PreparationFirst preview the new language that you think will be useful or which your learners may need to complete the task. As the heading says, this activity consists of slips of paper with L2 collocations or idioms on one side and their translation or definition on the other. You'll need to prepare these before class.

Procedure

With the learners seated show one phrase to the first student, have them pronounce the phrase correctly. When they have done this give them the phrase. Next do the same with the next student with a new phrase and do this with the rest of the group until all of the phrases have been given out.

Have the students stand up and 'teach' their information to the others. They must make sure each person pronounces their information correctly before showing it to the next one.

When all of the learners have seen all of the phrases collect the slips and have learners sit down.

Now mix up the slips and approach each student individually and show the first slip of paper and have them explain the definition or say the translation. If they get it right, show the slip to everyone and put it away for the next phase.

Go to the next learner and do the same. If one should get it wrong move round to the next student until you receive the correct answer. Again put the slip away.

When all this exercise has been successfully completed do it all over again, this time with the translation or definition side being shown so the learners have to say the word.

Pronunciation is an important requirement at this stage. When all of the slips have been said correctly put them away.

Now have the students write them all down in their notebooks (for teens I give them a prize if they can note down correctly all of the vocabulary covered in the exercise)

Even if you do about 30 phrases, it is amazing how many students can remember even in the next class and by writing them down they have something to look back to should they forget.

Since this is a pre-teaching task students will see these again and again through the next few weeks of your teaching. This will give them a chance to notice their use in context and more importantly have opportunities to use them.

This activity is an adaptation of an activity I once saw at a Braz-Tesol workshop. It helps students to see, hear and feel the words and allows intonation and connected speech to be emphasised. In the original you had the English word on one side of the paper and the translation on the other. This way it either uses translation or with higher levels write a short definition instead of the learners L1. I recommend that each side should be written in different colours so you don't get mixed up as to which side is which, and also this should stimulate visual learners.

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The memory gameShaun Dowling, Teacher trainer, Cultura Inglesa, Brasilia

This is an adaptation of the popular game we all played as children when we had to pick up matching pictures, but in this activity we use the two parts of collocations.

PreparationDuring regular classes, note down the word combinations that come up. Then put each part or the collocation on 2 separates pieces of paper. Here is an example I had when we were taking about the environment. The word combination were

ozone layeroil spils

environmentally friendlycut down trees

greenhouse effectanimal poaching

endangered speciesmelting polar ice-capsrecycle waste

The first part of each phrase should be written on one coloured sheet of paper, or if you haven't got coloured paper in a different coloured pen. Then with a different coloured pen ,or paper, write the second part of the phrase, for example, 'ozone' on the first and 'layer' on the second.

ProcedurePut the all of the first parts of each phrase together, face down on the floor. Then mix up the second group of words / phrases face down , in a separate group to the first.

In groups students work together to pick up one piece of paper from each group so as to make a phrase from the previous class.

As the students match them up incorrectly students start to recall the correct collocation or phrase.

The activity is fun which also aids efficient memorising of the target language. The more opportunities we allow out students to see the words the more likely they are to actually have them 'stuck in their heads' for easy access at a later stage.

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Making it up - Phrasal verb storiesJackie McAvoy, Teacher and materials writer, British Council, Tunisia

A persistent problem area for students is phrasal verbs. This story activity presents the verbs in a context helping the students to work out the meaning. It is also memorable so it's easier for students to remember them too.

PreparationHave each of the phrasal verbs from the story written on a piece of card, large enough for all the students to read. Have the verbs in their infinitive form e.g. to go out with / to turn up / to break down etc. Also make sure the pronoun is in the correct place depending on whether the verb can be separated from the particle or not e.g. to get on with something / to ask somebody in etc.

Download sample story >> 45k

Procedure Read out the story to the class slowly using gestures and miming to help meaning. Place

a phrasal verb on the board each time you say one. After each paragraph invite students, with your help, to repeat the story with you. Once all the story has been presented put students in pairs and, using the cards on the

board as prompts, get students to tell each other the story. Monitor and after they have all tried to say the story get them to tell you it themselves without you saying a word.

Keeping the students in pairs hand out the cards (have copies ready if you have a large class) so that each pair gets about 5 or 6 each. Working together the students have to make up a very short story using the verbs. Use the same verbs from the story. They can write the story down if they want.

When they have finished students have a few minutes to remember their story so that they can tell it to somebody without looking.

When the students have finished swap partners and get them to take it in turns to tell their story. The students should not be looking at their stories just remembering them. The listener can listen out for which phrasal verbs are being used.

For consolidation/revision you can make a matching verb and definition exercise with the more difficult verbs:

to call (somebody) out to have no more

to run out (of) to leave suddenly, quickly, unexpectedly

to pop out to telephone somebody in order to get help

You can also provide a speaking activity that personalises the verbs:

How long should you go out with somebody before getting married? Does you teacher sometimes pop out of the class? Why?

Related

Download - Quizzes - Vocabulary and phrasal verbs

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Word gridNik Peachey, teacher, trainer and materials writer, British Council

I've commonly found that although students are able to remember words and what they mean, they still have problems when they actually try to use the words in a sentence. This is an activity which I found useful to highlight the problem and to move students' knowledge of the word on to beyond what the word means.

Preparation

Collect together a list of words your students have learnt recently and some quick definitions of the word. Draw a large grid on the board. The size will depend on the number of students you have, but limit to a maximum of twenty as beyond this, their concentration is likely to lapse.

Procedure

Read out one of the definitions and see if the students can remember the word. As students guess the words write them up on the board in one of the spaces on the grid. You can make this stage more competitive by putting students into groups and awarding point.

Keep reading out definitions and getting the students to guess the words until the grid is completely full of words.

Then put the students into pairs or small groups and get each group to choose two of the words from the grid. Try to make sure that each group has different words and that as many of the words as possible from the grid are chosen.

Once the groups have chosen their words, tell them that they must write a single sentence that uses both words and that you will award points for the most interesting sentences. At this point it's better to focus them on the creativity rather than accuracy of the sentences.

Once all the groups have written their sentences you could either get a volunteer to write each sentence on the board, or read the sentences out. At this point you should award points for the sentences for their creativity and good use of the words.

Try to involve the class in voting for the sentences that they like the most and awarding points. You could even make this more fun by having number cards for you or the students to hold up giving marks out of ten.

Follow up

Once this is done you can then look at the sentences again to see how grammatically accurate they are and how appropriately the students have used the words. Particular things to look for are correct collocations and the appropriate degree of formality etc.

Try to get the students to check each other's work and see if they can correct any errors. You may like to award extra points if they can find and correct errors in their peers' work.

Another approach to correction that I've tried is taking the sentences in and looking at them closely myself. Instead of correcting them though, I write up a list of collocations or grammar 'rules' that have been broken and then give them back the sentences along with the rules so that the students can find the errors and try to apply the rules themselves.

This is a variation on an activity that I first saw in a book called 'A way with words' By Stuart Redman and Robert Ellis.

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Poetic introductions / A picture gameMartha Valenzuela, Honduras

One way to introduce vocabulary could be having your students write poems.

It sounds difficult, but you can make one yourself, such as "I am a teacher, I work hard, I love my students, and they love me too."

Tell them that you want to be the first to have the poem they write before it is published. Give them the words you want them to use Perhaps elicit some rhyming words for this vocabulary set Students may work in pairs or individually You can display the poems around the wall for the students to walk around - in pairs -

and give some kind of mark or comment of appreciation

Another way is to use the words in a picture game.

Have each student write a card with the written word and one with a drawing or a magazine (or similar) cut-out.

Put 20 of them in line face down (one line for words and one for pictures). Each student lifts one picture and a word. If they match, he gets one point. If not, s/he puts them back. The others probably will take notice where the answer is. You have to have a place where they will not disturb other classes, because it gets noisy.

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Snake-wordBernard Ouedraog, Burkina Faso

To check how rich my students' vocabulary is, I have them play the snake-word game.

Each row or team sends a representative to the blackboard. He/she chooses a coloured piece of chalk and they stand in a line. I write a letter and the first student must write a word beginning with that letter; the following student writes a word beginning with the last letter of the previous word:

For example: D Data Amount Tomato On Narrow What........

They should write the words so that they make a snake…

Datamountomatonarrowhat….

Time is limited, depending on the level of the class. After the time devoted has passed, and you haven't written a word, you pass your turn. If you pass your turn 3 times, you are replaced by another pupil in your row/team. Only two replacements are allowed. After that, the row/team is eliminated.

I teach English as a second language. We have an English club where students improve their skills after classes. They have debates, film shows, writing activities… Visit us at englishclub

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The fly swatter gameCarol Haring, USAHere is a lively and distinctive activity to practise vocabulary.

When we have a new list of 15 or 20 words from a chapter, I play the fly swatter game. I write the words (without the article for nouns) in large print in rows across the board. Then I divide the class into two teams. The first time around with the fly swatters, I explain how the game works. After that, it's not necessary.

(A fly swatter is an instrument used to kill flies. It consists of a small square piece of material or mesh which is on the end of a short flexible stick. it makes a great thwacking noise when hit onto a wall or similar surface)

For those not familiar with the fly swatter game, one student from each team comes to the front of the room facing the class, with their back to the board. Each has a fly swatter. When I say a word, they have to turn around, look over the words on the board and touch the word I've said with the fly swatter. The first one to touch the word gets a point for their team. There are some other basic rules: 1) You may not hit another student with the fly swatter. 2) You may not throw the fly swatter at anyone. 3) You may not "block" another player with your arm or your body to prevent them from getting at a word.

For the first round, I tell the class we're going to start with something easy. I say the word in English and the two at the front have to find it. The one who touches it first with the fly swatter gets the point. I do this until every person on each team has been at the board once.

Then we do round two, with the same words on the board. I pair the students up differently so that they are competing against a different person from the opposite team. This time I say the word in the studetns native language and they have to find the English. (Obviously, this round is for monolingual classes)

For the third round, I give clues such as:

Find something you can sit on (chair, couch, bed, carpet when we did items in a room, for instance). If they touch a word that's plausible, they get the point.

Find something that you can wear on your feet (when we did clothing)

Find a male family member (when we did family words)

Find something you usually do indoors (when we had activity verbs - play cards, go hiking, play the piano, go horse riding).

For each round, I make sure every student has a chance at the board. I find this repetition helps, plus we have lots of laughs as we do it and I think that aids retention, too.

Happy swatting!

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Definitions - Get rid of itClare Lavery, Teacher trainer and materials writer, British Council This game can be adapted for matching definitions to words or matching opposites.

You need two sets of cards. White cards for the words and another colour (yellow?) for the questions. Put all questions in a bag or hat at the start of the game.

Give each student at least three word cards, placed in front of them on their desks.

Choose one card from the hat and read the question. Students study their word cards. Whoever has the corresponding word can get rid of it. The winner gets rid of all his cards first.Example questions on cards:

What type of animal has kittens?What’s the opposite of the verb ‘to borrow’?What do you call a person who cuts hair?Where can you buy medicine?

This activity first appeared on the British Council Language Assistant web siteGo to this site >>

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Word guessing games 1Clare Lavery, Teacher trainer and materials writer, British Council

The following games can be played throughout the school year but are also very useful as a round up at the end of term. You can play them a few times. First play with the whole class and then try in groups (good for mixed ability groups).

Guess the word (can be used for abstract nouns)Choose five words relating to recent conversational themes. Write sets of clues to help students guess the words. Play with whole class or teams. Use one word per lesson over five lessons or use all words in one session as a longer game.

Example clues:

I am a noun but I am very important.I begin with the letter ‘f’.People in prison have lost it and want it back.People demand it when it is taken away by dictators.It is related to speech.(Puzzle word = Freedom)

Coffee Pot game (a very popular game in EFL)This game is good for practising and reviewing action verbs and adverbs.

Ask one student to leave the room then the rest of the class choose a verb e.g. type, ski, fly.

The student returns to the room and asks questions to guess the verb. The missing verb can be substituted with coffeepotExample questions:

Why do you coffee pot?Where do you coffee pot? Do you coffee pot by yourself?Do you need any special equipment for coffee potting?

These activities first appeared on the British Council Language Assistant web site Go to this site >>

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'Wall dictionary'Nonia Gao, ChinaThis is a good way to help kids learn and review their vocabulary. It really helps them with the alphabet and spelling.

Procedure:

1) Prepare a colourful piece of paper which can be used as a background for the wall dictionary.

2) Sew 26 pockets on it (or use glue/sticky tape) and label each pocket with a letter of the alphabet

3) Ask the children to prepare sets of letter cards by writing the 26 letters on some small pieces of paper. They put their letters into the pockets as soon as they can.

We can use this wall dictionary at any time to practise spelling.

For example, divide the class into three or four groups. They listen to words and then choose letters from the pockets to spell the words.

Of course, you can make several wall dictionaries so that students can play at the same time without fighting.

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Same, opposite or different dictationAna Paola Reginatto, ItalyThis is an activity for advanced or, at least, upper intermediate students.

Dictate to the students pairs of words (e.g. hold/embrace, high/tall) and ask them to classify the pairs as Same, Opposite or Different. Once you have finished dictating the pairs of words, the students should compare their choices with their partner and explain their reasons, especially the pairs classified as different (why are they different?) or same (are they always synonyms? Are there slight differences in meaning and connotation? Are there differences in collocation). If you wanted, students could use dictionaries to check ideas.

After the students have discussed the words, elicit the pairs to the board and deal with spelling, pronunciation and meaning.

This activity can be done to introduce vocabulary that will be found in a text, listening activity or song lyrics, but also for reviews. So, you find words in the text, and think of partners for them for the S.O.D. dictation.

The activity is demanding but it is an excellent way to explore vocabulary and shades of meaning.

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Vocabulary BoxGillie CunninghamA small box, such as a shoe box, is a very useful tool in the classroom - it can become a vocabulary box. You also need some small blank cards or pieces of paper.

At the end of each vocabulary lesson - for example 'Houses and Homes' - either you or the students should write words from the lesson on different cards. So, you may end up with ten words on ten cards - bedroom, kitchen, roof, window…- and these cards are then placed in the vocabulary box. If you have time, and with better classes, you, or the students, may write a definition of the word on the reverse of each card.

This vocabulary box can then be used at any time to review the vocabulary studied over the weeks.

You could simply pick words from the box at random, give the definition and ask for the word. This can be done as a simple team game.

Or you may try something more active. For example, when you've had this vocabulary box for a month or two months and there are quite a lot of cards in there, you might say to the students 'OK, collectively I want all these cards divided into nouns, adjectives and verbs … Go! You have three minutes'. Or, you might say 'OK I want all these cards divided into lexical sets … Go!'. Or, you might say 'Each corner of the room is a different lexical set - that one's furniture, that one's medicine, that one is food and that one is sport. Put the cards in the right corner, you have one minute to do this…Go!'. Then they're all running around trying to get their words in the right corner. This could also be done in teams, giving each team a handful of words to sort.

This box just becomes so flexible in how you can use it. It could be at the end of the lesson. For example 'You can't leave the classroom until you've defined two words that are in the box'. Vocabulary boxes are fantastic and they take so little time but provide so many activities.

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Hot seatCallum RobertsonThis is a good activity for getting your students going in the morning. It is also excellent for revising vocabulary.

First, split your class into different teams (two is best, but if you have a large class, any number could be used).

Sit the students facing the board. Then take an empty chair - one for each team - and put it at the front of the class, facing

the team members. These chairs are the 'hot seats' Then get one member from each team to come up and sit in that chair, so they are facing

their team-mates and have their back to the board. As the teacher, have a list of vocabulary items that you want to use in this game. Take the first word from that list and write it clearly on the board. The aim of the game is for the students in the teams to describe that word, using

synonyms, antonyms, definitions etc. to their team mate who is in the hot seat - that person can't see the word!

The student in the hot seat listens to their team mates and tries to guess the word. The first hot seat student to say the word wins a point for their team. Then change the students over, with a new member of each team taking their place in

their team's hot seat. Then write the next word…

This is a very lively activity and can be adapted to different class sizes. If you have many teams, perhaps some teams wait to play. Or if the team sizes are large, you can restrict how many team members do the describing. Have fun!

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Vocabulary phonemic revision activityElisabeth Boeck

I am a great believer in teaching phonetic script with new words, alongside their spelling, stress patterns and L1 equivalents. Being able to work out the correct pronunciation of a word from the dictionary all on their own helps the learner to become autonomous and independent of any 'helpers' in real life situations.

So one of my revision exercises goes like this:

I draw up a list of the new words recently encountered in class, but I do so exclusively in phonetic script.

The class is divided into groups A and B. I hand out one list to each group. In their groups, students work out the 'real' form of their words. The teacher goes round checking for correctness.

Then group A gets a separate copy of group B's word list (phonetic). Group B students take turns dictating their words to group A, making up sentences with each respective word. Group A write down the words next to the already provided phonemic script.

The same procedure is used by group A testing their words on group B.

We then make transparency copies of both lists, put them on the OHP, and in plenum check for correct spelling. Also in plenum, words are translated into their L1 equivalents.

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Vocabulary self-study activitiesElisabeth BoeckHere are some tips you can give your students to help them with their vocabulary acquisition and self study.

Make your own word box o Use one card per word, with the English on one side and a translation on the

other. o Test yourself with the cards, sort them into categories, play games with them.

Find a good basic vocabulary word list, say of about 1 - 2000 words which are sorted according to subject areas.

o Revise 8 words per day regularly.In your mind, try to lock the particular word onto the image of an object (e.g. 'influenza' - think of a person sneezing.

o To practise, randomly pick a number of words and make up a simple, but probably crazy, story using the words. You can do the same with the words in your vocabulary box.

Have a good general attitude towards words o Note down all new words. o 'Fish for language' by going through life with an open eye and attentive ear. o 'Soliloquize', i.e. translate along in your mind silently

as you are doing things (as if you were speaking to an imaginary friend by your side)

as you are listening to the news as you watch people doing something as you see any object around

Read aloud to yourself from printed text. o Increase your exposure to words o Television o BBC Radio (shortwave world receiver) o Books o Magazines Newspapers (from UK/USA) o English-language films on video o Pop songs (wonderful for vocabulary and grammar!) o Correspondence with an English native speaker pen-friend

Top of page'The Washing Line' - teaching clothes vocabularyEce Sevil, Turkey

This is a good vocabulary activity to use with younger learners

To teach the names of clothes, I have my students cut a page of a newspaper in the shape of a hat, gloves, trousers, etc. Then, using a washing line and clothes pegs, I ask my students to hang their projects on the washing line. My students repeat the names of the clothes after me. After teaching the vocabulary of clothes, I ask them to close their eyes while I hide some of the clothes. A few seconds later I ask them to open their eyes and name the missing clothes and then to find them.

This activity is both very useful and enjoyable for my students.

Vocabulary and autonomyVisnja Pavicic, MA, Pedagoski fakultet [Faculty of Education], University of Osijek, Croatia

This article looks at ways to improve your students' abilities to both explore, store and use vocabulary. The general aim is to involve the students in a more autonomous fashion in their learning, rather than simply having them presented with word lists selected by the teacher or syllabus.

The role of vocabulary teaching How can teachers help their learners? Self-initiated independent learning Formal practice Functional practice Memorizing Best approach Practical activities References

The role of vocabulary teachingIn the context of learning English as a foreign language, a learner is forced to be autonomous and independent and make conscious effort to learn vocabulary outside the classroom simply because the exposure to the target language is limited in class. So teachers cannot rely on their Ss 'picking up' lexical items. This makes explicit vocabulary teaching necessary. However, vocabulary is notoriously difficult if not impossible to teach because of the complexity of its linguistic, semantic and psycho-cognitive aspects.

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How can teachers help their learners?First of all, ways of presenting new vocabulary should be varied. In order to improve the efficiency of vocabulary learning (memorizing and retrieving lexical items) students should be encouraged to make use of learning strategies that are at their disposal, and be taught, either implicitly or explicitly, new strategies for vocabulary learning. According to one research (Pavicic, 1999) strategies can be divided into four groups

Self-initiated independent learningThese strategies involve planned, active and motivated learning and exposure to language outside the classroom (media).

Examples of strategies o Word grouping o Making notes of vocabulary while reading for pleasure/watching TV o Word cards / Leafing through a dictionary o Planning o Recording and listening o Regular revision

In this group cognitive strategies which include direct manipulation of lexical items are connected to meta-cognitive strategies that make the use of cognitive ones more effective. The aim is communicative use of vocabulary.

Top of pageFormal practiceThese strategies promote systematic learning and vocabulary practice. The aim is accurate reproduction and is often connected to the tasks of formal instruction.

Examples of strategies o Loud repetition o Bilingual dictionary o Testing oneself o Noting new items in class.

Functional practiceThese strategies are based on context as a vocabulary source. They also include exposure to language, but without making a conscious effort (incidental learning). They also have a social aspect, i.e. interaction.

Examples of strategies o Remembering words while watching TV/reading o Using known words in different contexts o Looking for definitions o Listening to songs and trying to understand o Using words in conversations o Practice with friends.

MemorizingThis group includes a number of memory strategies based on inter-, intra-lingual and visual associations.

Examples of strategies o Using pictures, illustrations o Associations with L1 (cognates or key word method) o Looking for similarities between words o Visualisation

Top of pageBest approachThere are no universally useful strategies and they contribute to vocabulary learning in different ways. Students use a number of strategies, often simultaneously. The efficiency of vocabulary learning depends on how students combine individual strategies. If students combine and employ individual strategies from different groups they will be more successful in developing the target language lexicon. Thus, the ideal combination would be that of strategies from all four groups.

The teacher should create activities and tasks (to be done both in and outside class) to help students to build their vocabulary and develop strategies to learn the vocabulary on their own. Students experiment and evaluate and then decide which to adopt or reject since strategies are not intended to be prescriptive.

Practical activitiesHere is a selection of practical activities that direct learners towards using strategies of vocabulary learning.

The useful alphabet (self-initiated independent learning)

Each student gets a letter and has to find 5, 10 or 15 words s/he thinks would be useful for them. They then report to the class, perhaps as a mingle activity, using word cards (on one side they write the letter, on the other the information on the word - spelling, pronunciation, definition).

Word bag (formal practice)This is to get your students to write down new words they hear in class.

At the beginning of the term/course divide students into groups of about 5 and give each group a number (e.g. 1-6). At the beginning of each class give each group about 10 cards on which they write the number of their group and the new words they hear in class. At the end of each class they put their cards into the "word bag" and every 2 weeks you check whether they still know those words and which group has the most cards. In the end there are two winners: the group that has the most cards, and the one that knows more words.

Especially for you (Functional practice)

The teacher prepares a list of words. Each student gets one word which is prepared especially for him or her. The trick is that each student gets a word whose initial letter is the same as the initial of the student's first name, e.g. Linda gets listless. Each student must look it up in the dictionary during the class and after a few minutes report to the class. E.g. "My name is Linda and I'm listless. That means that I am ... (definition)...". For homework students can do the same using their surname.

Word tour (memorizing)

Instructions for your students: 'Think of a town or city you know well. Imagine that you are organising a sightseeing tour. Think of 5 places you would include on your tour and write down the order in which the tourists would visit them. Learn your tour off by heart so that you can picture it in your mind. Whenever you have 5 new English words to learn, imagine these words are the tourists on your tour and picture the words in the places on your tour like this.Tour: Trafalgar Square; Buckingham Palace; Houses of Parliament; Westminster Abbey; Downing Street. Words to learn: apron; dustpan; vacuum cleaner; feather duster; broom. Imagine Nelson on his column in Trafalgar Square wearing an apron, the queen brushing the floor in Buckingham Palace and using a dustpan...

Top of pageLiterature reference

*Ellis, G., B. Sinclair (1989a) Learning to Learn English: A Course in Learner Training (Student book). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

*Ellis, G., B. Sinclair (1989b) Learning to Learn English: A Course in Learner Training (Teacher's Book). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

*French Allen, Virginia (1983) Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary. Oxford: OUP.

*Gairns, Ruth and Stuart Redman (1990) Working With Words: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Cambridge: CUP.

*Morgan, Rinvolucri (1993) Vocabulary. Oxford: OUP.

*Pavicic, Visnja (1999) Strategije ucenja engleskog kao stranog jezika /Learning Strategies in English as a Foreign Language/ [unpublished master thesis] University of Zagreb.

*Wordflo Your Personal English Organiser . Longman, 1998.

*Wright, Jon (1998) Dictionaries. Oxford: OUP.