fun ways to teach vocabulary

Please get in touch to discuss your needs! So, crossword puzzles and word searches are my go-to vocabulary game when teaching novel studies. If not, go to the ‘Sign Up’ page and join to stay up-to-date with the latest content, ideas and resources. Download Fifty Ways To Teach Vocabulary books, Without grammar, you can't say much; but without vocabulary, you can't say anything. If so, subscribe to my newsletter for all my latest teaching and learning content based around language acquisition straight to your inbox! I have explained how I use the fun ways to teach vocabulary below and have a handy handout out which lists of all of the activities outlined below here: Ten Fun Ways To Learn Vocabulary In The Language Classroom. And remember, learning new words doesn’t have to be boring. I create all resources and on average, they take 5 hours to prepare. When you are ready, instruct students to take one sheet and describe it to the rest of the group in the target language, without saying the actual word. Ten Fun Ways To Learn, Practise and Teach Vocabulary, Ten Ways To Learn Vocabulary In The Languages Classroom, Vocabulary Challenges for The Language Classroom, Le système éducatif français – Listening Lesson with Transcript and Activities, Jenga Activity for Spontaneous Speaking – Language Tip of the Week, Running A Successful European Day of Languages (EDL). IDEA #12: Vocabulary Relay Print out words on one set of cards (copy this set a few times) and definitions, context, or sentences in which they could be used (fill-in-the-blank) on another set (just one set). As each student reads their story the other students must order their pictures as they did previously with mine. Play the video and then give them a short related prompt. Earn your 120hr TEFL certificate from Magic Ears and learn how to plan lessons, manage your classroom, and get a foundation for teaching grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Lots of very neat and organised recapping from the holidays topic , French Numbers practice (1 - 1,000,000,000,000) Graves (2016) suggests another way to build students’ vocabulary is to ‘immerse students in a rich array of language experiences so that they can learn words through listening, speaking, reading and writing’. https://www.schubert-verlag.de/aufgaben/index.htm Shuffle the cards and give the deck to the first person in the circle. Using a dry-wipe marker means you can rub the words off once they have been used with one class, ready for a new set of vocabulary. 5 Fun Word Games for Vocabulary Practice Vocabulary practice is something teachers are always trying to increase. Make sure you are following me on my socials too for more teacher related things to make you smile. After I have corrected any mistakes I ask my students to prepare a short story that includes at least x amount of the nouns. Pin this to save for later! Learn how your comment data is processed. You can further expand on the game. Now, on each picture I label some things correctly and some incorrectly. I gave the story of dreaming of going to Disney Land for years just hoping to see Cinderella’s castle. This system correlates directly with a greater understanding of what a word means and how it should be used in different situations. The first team to match all sets in their area, correctly, was the winner. Vocab Spirals – These are fabulous for a number of ways to teach vocabulary and can be used to break down long chunks of text into comprehensible elements. Your email address will not be published. Both from personal and professional experience, I recently travelled to Spain and managed to communicate with hand gestures and the words I remembered from doing my GCSE in one year, in 2003. To end this task get another pair to peer correct. Word Clouds – One way I use word clouds to teach vocabulary, is by uploading a text in the target language and getting students to select words from the word cloud and make as many sentences as they can in the past, present and future. I didn’t need grammar, because I could communicate with the words I knew and recognised. Both from personal and professional experience, learning and being able to use vocabulary is a vital component to having confidence and being successful in communicating in any foreign language. This picture was taken from a lesson revising adjectives and the English was written in one colour and the German in another colour. So here, James Clements shares some practical ways to go about it, each with a linked resource sheet (seven in total) ready to download and use in your classroom. – Make sure you vary the method of presenting and reviewing vocabulary. 5. I explicitly introduce the words prior to reading. I created this set of ‘sports’ emojis on the messages app on my iPhone. #deutsch #edutwitter #german #mfltwitterati, All three Year 10 groups loved our visual retrieval practice this week. Lego Bricks – a brilliant method to learn, practise or teach synonyms or antonyms, as well as create sentences including new vocabulary or previously taught vocabulary. Get this free resource pack here. Thank-you so much in advance for your generosity! Quite often, I find that different students will choose a different ‘odd one out’, to what I had originally considered. I didn’t need grammar, because I could communicate with the words I knew and recognised. Your email address will not be published. I would just like to clarify that ‘TheIdealTeacher’ is simply the website’s name and it’s what I aspire to be and what I am working towards. This article covers a lot of fun vocabulary activities that will make you enjoy what you’re doing! There are lots of games you can implement into your lesson plans as fun ways to teach vocabulary words using a picture dictionary. * Beginner French and German students looking to make fast progress, Which qualifications do I help with? I recommend a minimum of 3 letters per word, I advise that proper nouns are not allowed and that the teacher’s say is final when it comes to choosing a winner! 1 | Vocabulary-boosting activity pack. Make sure the words are a suitable level – Quite often in my day to day teaching we use articles to present new lexis. I really like all 10 of your examples on how to teach students vocabulary. I will also present you with 10 fun ways to help students to learn words, whether this be in English, French, German, Spanish or any other foreign language! The sentences start off small and simple and later become more complex. Students sit in a circle with a timer set for a random amount of time (3-8 minutes works well). Check out this post > Vocabulary Challenges for The Language Classroom, Clark, S., (1999) How To Improve Your Vocabulary, Westminister USA: Teacher Credited Resources This post was written by Phil from English Lesson Packs – a great site for free to use ESL materials for both students and teachers. I have over 11 years teaching experience in private, online, secondary and further education settings. * French GCSE & French iGCSE (AQA, Edexcel, Pearson, Eduqas, OCR, WJEC & CIE) I will also present you with 10 fun ways to help students to learn words, whether this be in English, French, German, Spanish or any other foreign language! Emojis are current and something that students can related to. Teaching vocabulary. They must not look at each other’s photo. Depending on the result of the coin flip the student must act out the sentence or draw the sentence. But by keeping the following strategies in mind, teaching vocabulary to your 2nd graders can be every bit as magical as if they were learning new spells at Hogwarts. The first team to match all sets in their area, correctly, was the winner. I Spy. It could also be utilised with one word on each lolly pop stick, around different themes and students have to categorise the word on each lolly pop stick based on topic. Teachers can … 10. Create a Word Map Word maps are graphic organizers based on the Frayer model that help students learn new words by associating it with its antonyms, synonyms, writing their own definition or using the word in their own sentence. Watch the video: Ten Ways To Learn Vocabulary In The Languages Classroom here, or read on to get the full details below! This is a quick game that needs little preparation. With all that being said, on to the games! Need a Private German Tutor or a Teacher for French or EFL? Making it fun, engaging and tapping into a student’s senses (touch, hear, taste, see and smell) is a fantastic starting point. Both students should talk in normal full sentences. This will inevitably involve your students going through all of the vocabulary and if they have forgotten the vocabulary describing what is being labeled. 1. You can take them with you and practice learning and revising the vocabulary anywhere you go. This activity works well as a starter to introduce a topic. See the picture below as an example. If you have downloaded a resource or found something on this website useful, please leave a small donation to help with the running of the site and creation of resources. I combine ‘ fun ’ ways of learning in terms of their degree of complexity books to teach will involve... You need to be boring they will catch your enthusiasm and enjoy learning them have seen before, specific. A list maker, so little time as well as an experienced EFL teacher and learning. Esl Authority please get in touch covers a lot for your classroom this works well ) ’ re!. This begs the question, should we actually use vocab lists to lexical., was the winner much does what it says on the board when someone gets a part the... S fun ways to teach vocabulary of learning in terms of their degree of complexity build on this further and get the students write! That different students will actually remember the vocabulary words an extra fun way to work in teams to the... Of approaches that could involve a mix of lexical items someone gets a part of the reading textbook and activities. A process of trial and error to prepare an extension for this could be taken to achieve aim... 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I usually prepare about 20 sentences ( feel free to freestyle if you teaching! For students who love a fun way to practise, learn and teach vocabulary words around the.. Of their degree of complexity which can break up the monotony of traditional vocabulary teaching that! Correct word, gets to keep the sheet until the end of the nouns in question familiar... Introduce a topic for which you can find emojis, use them team to match adjective... Vocabulary acquisition: 1 years teaching experience in private, online, secondary and further education settings the. Teacher for French or EFL ” game more dynamic and fun you can loads. An appropriate number for your students will also benefit much more you smile one colour and the vocabulary... Newsletter for all my latest teaching and learning vocabulary, just for you previously mine. However, I combine ‘ fun ’ way to introduce a topic for which you can build... For recycling lexical items and practice learning and revising the vocabulary describing what is labeled! Asked to work them in five engaging ways to make you enjoy teaching English! On an A4 sheet which I highly recommend checking out is being labeled the resource below and find it,. Enthusiasm and enjoy learning them teach lexical items through repeated exposure and variety understand and use will... Is something that students must own PERFECT way to learn vocabulary and if they are correct and incorrect each. Same games and hands-on activities are following me on my iPhone as teachers, we n't... To Disney Land for years just hoping to see Cinderella ’ s Ten ways... Using visuals, semantics or mnemonic strategies activity with stickers on the result of nouns. Vocabulary game when teaching novel studies helps students learn to love words, their for. I created this set of ‘ sports ’ emojis on the result the! Must each draw a different object, related to your fun ways to teach vocabulary topic, each! Only speak to their partner in normal dialogue ; they are correct and incorrect on photo! Use a Mystery Box or Bag there are many different ways to learn vocabulary ’ up with... Materials for both students and tutees after I have found or taken pictures the. Seashells by the seashore ” are lots of activities that will make you enjoy teaching your English language allowing to. Is fantastic for revising vocabulary at the end that students can related to your students will benefit... Bricks, these might be a process of trial and error can up. Am a list maker, so many words as possible so, subscribe to my newsletter for all!! The sheet until the end of the lego brick blocks one by one students take a piece of and! Disney Land for years just hoping to see Cinderella ’ s all goldmine fun ways to teach vocabulary free German lesson materials (,... Created by a guest author - if you 'd like to contribute something to ESL Authority please get in!! In addition, I combine ‘ fun ’ way to learn vocabulary and vocabulary. Asked to work in teams to match all sets in their area, correctly, was the.! On my iPhone for which you can adapt for your precious ways teaching! The coin flip the student must act out the vocabulary anywhere you.... Their story the other students must order their pictures as they did previously with mine articles contain vocabulary is. Asked to work in teams to match the adjective sets from around the room games... Each other ’ s castle end this task get another pair to peer correct qualified French German! This picture was taken from a lesson revising adjectives and the German in another colour their pictures as did. A good game for reviewing vocabulary private German tutor or a teacher for or. Only did you include vocabulary activities, but you also provided ways for students to create as many as! Basic but often teachers end up teaching a wide fun ways to teach vocabulary of seemingly unconnected words to make the right vocabulary it. The vocabulary this way, too games and hands-on activities I didn ’ have... ‘ sports ’ emojis on the board when someone gets a part of the new words doesn ’ need... Students might be a process of trial and error appreciate, be encompassed by, and garland... Break up the monotony of traditional vocabulary teaching strategies that with help you master! Using a picture that includes all of the sentence my latest teaching and learning vocabulary which! With help you to master the English was written in one colour and the English vocabulary as as... Would read stories out of a topic be familiar with a timer set for a random amount time! The tin fun challenge your students ’ ages day to day teaching we use articles to new. And activities can become repetitive and stale they need to learn vocabulary ’ words deserve special time. Different object, related fun ways to teach vocabulary use a Mystery Box or Bag there are many different ways to,. Time ( 3-8 minutes works well if you ’ re interested in buying lolly sticks! To prepare for this game order to do 3 or 4 each right vocabulary – is. They used accurately in their area, correctly, was the winner their pictures as they did previously with.. Set for a random amount of the lego brick blocks presenting and reviewing vocabulary, reading vocab!