- Home
- web tools
- quick links
- reading resources
- listening resources
- speaking activities
- pronunciation
-
visuals
- A Day in a life
- The story behind the image
- Women today
- Poetic images
- Emotional reactions
- Our nation
- Metaphors and symbols
- Interpretations
- Mini saga
- Snapshot: before and after
- Off camera
- Appreciating art
- From another perspective
- Speculations
- Connections
- Controversies
- Poetry
- Short stories
- Language focus
- Memory
- Listen and draw
- How similar?
- Culture
- teacher roles & classroom management
- grammar
- vocabulary
- learner dictionaries
- games
- contact me
- about me
Introducing new vocabulary: here are some approaches to try.
§ using images - clip art images are sometimes clearer than photographs for individual items, so consider making worksheets using say 10 clip-art images. You can put the words in a box at the top and see if the learners can match any to the appropriate image.
Clip art often photocopies better than photos too.
§ photographs should be clear and large enough to be enlarged without pixellating. They can be very effective if you can project them using a digital projector.
§ the internet is a great source of images, but some may be subject to copyright restrictions (and royalties) - so it's best to use royalty-free images
§ two good online sources of royalty-free images are:
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/
Unsplash: https://unsplash.com
§ realia: real objects are a very effective way of introducing some vocabulary items - not only the name of the object, but also colours, shapes, textures, materials etc
§ the classroom itself, the school building, and the immediate surroundings are rich in vocabulary - take you class outside to meet and learn the vocabulary of roads and traffic, for example
§ reading texts have the vocabulary embedded in a context, and are obviously a rich source of vocabulary. Be careful not to overdo the vocabulary focus of a text, however - a long list of words quickly becomes tedious and forgettable. When appropriate, use texts to focus on collocations and chunks of language, rather than simply individual words.
§ songs may also contain some good items - but make sure that the words are clearly audible and distinguishable (The Beatles lyrics, for example, are really clear)
§ learner dictionaries can also be used to focus on new words, especially when combined with a worksheet that guides the learners towards the target words
§ miming can be effective, especially at lower levels - miming verbs and some adjectives is relatively straightforward but miming nouns less so!
§ building a lexical field is a good way to build on some basic items: for example, if the field is "food and cooking" and the learners already know two or three vegetables, you can add another three or four
§ you can develop the above by using mindmaps based on a topic or lexical field, which can also be a good way to revise and practise vocabulary
§ see the Oxford Teachers' Club online resources for English File, which has 100+ topic-based mindmaps at seven levels: https://elt.oup.com/teachers/englishfile
§ and the Oxford Teachers' Club online resources for Navigate, which has 100+ topic-based mind maps at six levels: https://elt.oup.com/teachers/navigateelt.oup.com/teachers/navigate
§ working with (near) synonyms and antonyms can be good, especially at mid and higher levels
§ word family tables are another way of building on basic items: for example, if the learners know examination, you can introduce the verb and the noun for the person in charge
§ using images - clip art images are sometimes clearer than photographs for individual items, so consider making worksheets using say 10 clip-art images. You can put the words in a box at the top and see if the learners can match any to the appropriate image.
Clip art often photocopies better than photos too.
§ photographs should be clear and large enough to be enlarged without pixellating. They can be very effective if you can project them using a digital projector.
§ the internet is a great source of images, but some may be subject to copyright restrictions (and royalties) - so it's best to use royalty-free images
§ two good online sources of royalty-free images are:
Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/
Unsplash: https://unsplash.com
§ realia: real objects are a very effective way of introducing some vocabulary items - not only the name of the object, but also colours, shapes, textures, materials etc
§ the classroom itself, the school building, and the immediate surroundings are rich in vocabulary - take you class outside to meet and learn the vocabulary of roads and traffic, for example
§ reading texts have the vocabulary embedded in a context, and are obviously a rich source of vocabulary. Be careful not to overdo the vocabulary focus of a text, however - a long list of words quickly becomes tedious and forgettable. When appropriate, use texts to focus on collocations and chunks of language, rather than simply individual words.
§ songs may also contain some good items - but make sure that the words are clearly audible and distinguishable (The Beatles lyrics, for example, are really clear)
§ learner dictionaries can also be used to focus on new words, especially when combined with a worksheet that guides the learners towards the target words
§ miming can be effective, especially at lower levels - miming verbs and some adjectives is relatively straightforward but miming nouns less so!
§ building a lexical field is a good way to build on some basic items: for example, if the field is "food and cooking" and the learners already know two or three vegetables, you can add another three or four
§ you can develop the above by using mindmaps based on a topic or lexical field, which can also be a good way to revise and practise vocabulary
§ see the Oxford Teachers' Club online resources for English File, which has 100+ topic-based mindmaps at seven levels: https://elt.oup.com/teachers/englishfile
§ and the Oxford Teachers' Club online resources for Navigate, which has 100+ topic-based mind maps at six levels: https://elt.oup.com/teachers/navigateelt.oup.com/teachers/navigate
§ working with (near) synonyms and antonyms can be good, especially at mid and higher levels
§ word family tables are another way of building on basic items: for example, if the learners know examination, you can introduce the verb and the noun for the person in charge
