Strategies For Teaching Vocabulary

Posted by Dorit Sasson Sep 15, 2007

When starting out teaching new vocabulary, different strategies can appeal to a variety of activities. But first, decide on your own teaching style. Do you like to stimulate children through the visual, kinesthetic, auditory learning experiences?

Finding your own unique style teaching vocabulary will help form a positive learning experience with students, especially those whose first language isn't English.

I have found that teaching vocbulary has become a personal experience for me, as in my teachings, I develop relationships with words. This relationship can be enjoying the thesounds of a word, its associations, the length of the word among other associations. Depending on the ages and interests of the children, this connection is very important when teaching new vocabulary.

I have used drama, free associations, visuals and photos to teach new vocabulary. I have also took a word and explained why it is my favorite. Students need to build relationships with words early on in their language learning experiences.

You may find it hard to use all the different strategies for teaching vocabulary as they don't always meet your style of teaching.

*Activity taken from Penny Ur's Five Minute Activities , Cambridge University Press, 1989.