Vocabulary Building
Strategies
ELCE Summer Institute: July, 2013
Facilitator: Sonja Follett

Practice makes perfect…
We need to see learning any particular word as being a cumulative process where knowledge is built up over a series of varied meetings with the word.
At best, teaching can provide only one or two of these meetings.
The others involve deliberate study, meeting through meaning-focused input and output, and fluency development activities
(Paul Nation, “Teaching Vocabulary”, Asian EFL Journal)

“Light”
With a partner, write down the definition of the word “light”
Please also include the part of speech
Now, share with the group…

Difficult?
Explain what you found difficult about the assignment.
What are the problems language learners have when they learn new vocabulary?

“Light” Definition

Still going…

Not done yet…

Just a little bit more…

And…DONE!

The 3 aspects of vocabulary learning…
Meaning
Form
Use

Definition
Concept
Associations
Meaning

Spoken Form
Written Form
Word parts
Form

Grammatical functions
Collocations
Constraints on use
Use

“Save”
What is the meaning?
What is the form?
What is the use?

Meaning
What activities help Ss to learn a word’s meaning?
In pairs, write down one or two activities that you think help Ss learn a word’s meaning.

Meaning activities
Word and meaning matching
Labeling
Sentence completion
Crossword puzzles

Form
What activities help Ss to learn a word’s form?
In pairs, write down one or two activities that you think help Ss learn a word’s form.

Form activities
Following spelling rules
Recognizing word parts
Building word family tables

Use
What activities help Ss to learn a word’s use?
In pairs, write down one or two activities that you think help Ss learn a word’s use.

Use activities
Sentence completion
Collocation matching
Collocation tables
Interpreting dictionary entries

Content Bingo
Have Ss make their own definitions (advanced)
Give descriptions instead of words
(intermediate/advanced)

Word form charts

Word Form Fill-in-the-blank
Complete each sentence with the correct form of the word.
1.
Large rocks and meteorites crashed into the moon’s surface_________________________ large holes called craters.
create creation creator creating
2. One of the _______________________ of the space program was to land a man on the moon.
goal goalkeepers goals goal-oriented

Flashcards

Flashcards
Flashcards can be either picture and English definition or
L1 and L2 words
For example: Ekimi Doctor
Have Ss make their own set of flashcards for new vocabulary.
Then, have pairs quiz each other using the flashcards.

Student generated
Fill-in-the-blank
Give Ss a list of vocabulary words
Ask pairs to create their own fill-in-the blank sentences for 2 words.
Have pairs exchange papers with another pair and try to complete their sentences.
Have the small group discuss answers.

Fill-in-the-Blank
Words: sun, wind
The ________ was shining brightly yesterday.
The terrible _________ blew down a tree today.

Using 10 words in a story
Give Ss a list of vocabulary words.
Tell them they must use at least 10 of the words in a short story or paragraph.
(Note: this can be done in pairs or small groups)
Collect the story (it is a vocabulary assessment).
(pollution, environment, trash, smoke, plastic bags, cans, recycle, community, laws, throw away)

Categorization
1. Sort the word cards by category. (e.g., words related to people, words related to things).
2. Find words that have certain connotations such as positive and negative, good and bad, desirable and undesirable.
3. Sort words by part of speech
(e.g., nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives).

Spelling Bee
Small class or small groups
Have Ss stand in a line in front of the board.
Say the first vocabulary word and ask the first student to spell the word.
If the student is correct, she/he stays at the board.
If the student is incorrect, she/he must sit down.
Note: Emphasize that learning is a process and mistakes are a normal and necessary part of that process.
Consider if this activity is appropriate for your students.

Fly Swatter
Choose a vocabulary word from your lesson.
Have two Ss come to the front of the class.
Give each Ss a rolled up piece of paper.
Write the word on the board – (one word is spelled correctly, the other word is not)
For example:
Truck Truk
The first student to “hit” the correct word wins a point for their team.

Word Tiles
Have Ss make a set of alphabet cards
Ask Ss to make 2 or 3 cards for each letter.
Ask Ss to work in pairs and spell as many words as possible related to their lesson content.
When Ss complete one word, they must write it on a piece of paper.
At the end of 10 minutes, collect the papers and see which group has won!

Vocabulary charts
See handout provided…
When you teach new content words, give Ss a list of the words as homework.
Ask Ss to fill out at least 4 of the chart boxes for each word.
Have pairs work together in the next lesson to share what information they wrote down.
Collect the charts at the end of the unit and test Ss on their acquired word knowledge.

References
Nation, Paul. “Teaching Vocabulary” Asian EFL
Journal.
Nation, P. (2008). Teaching Vocabulary. Online Course offered by Thomson ELT.
Nation, P. (2007). The Four Strands. Innovation in
Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 2-13.