Whats the Trick to Teaching Vocabulary to English Language Learners?
There are four stages in acquiriring new words: The learner notices the new word (with help) The learner learns to recognize it (with help) The learner recognizes it on his/her own The learner can both recognize and produce it Ways to make learning new words interesting Since students need to be motivated to learn new words constantly, it is important that it is as interesting as possible. Teachers can vary the types of exercises, strategies and activities using the four stages of vocabulary learning: Stage 1: Noticing the word: the visual element • Flashcards • Pictures Stage 2: Recognition • True/false • Categorize the words • Matching. (this category is huge with both open and closed types of exercises) Matching the word to its definition, L1-L2, opposites, adjectives and nouns, verbs and adverbs, word to the picture, match two words that go together • Multiple choice • Drawing the word • Bingo games • Circle the word you hear Stage 3: Production ·Dictation • Answering questions • G
