Having taught English as a second language to Chinese students for over three years, I have learned some good methods for getting students to remember new vocabulary. Often times, children and adults who learn a foreign tongue struggle with memorizing new terms and how to use such words and phrases in speaking and writing. As teachers, we must not only be patient, but also must come up with creative and inspiring ways to teach these words.
From taking classes on how to teach English to teaching the language for over three years, I have found games to work for all ages. And they can be simple too. Just keep in mind that while it’s supposed to be fun, the language should be at the center. In addition to games, more traditional techniques, like dictation, work as well.
1. Make up rhyming sentences to teach new vocab terms. Teaching words that are similar in phonetic sound is always a good idea regardless; most books should be good about grouping words like this. I tutor a eight year old boy, and he loves sentences that rhyme because it’s difficult yet entertaining to say them over and over again. One day, the words, “sea”, “seed”, and “seat” were in a book we were reading together, so I made this sentence and told him to memorize their meaning: “Lee set a seed on a seat by the sea and soon he had a tree”; to do this day, he can still recite it word for word.
2. Do dictation. It sounds boring, but it works. This is good for all ages too. It’s up to you and the level of your class when it comes to how will do this. For lower level and younger students, I just say the word and have them spell it. For older students and those with a higher level, I require them to either write or say a sentence with a word as well as being able to spell it.
3. Play matching games with synonyms and antonyms.. When teaching new words, teach words that are similar or the complete opposite. For example, if you come across the word “nervous”, teach the antonym “calm”. I like to draw up a list of words and their opposites and have students match them together in class.
4. Do crossword puzzles and other games like jeopardy and 21 questions. These are great ways to get students active and using the words they know. If the class appears to be uninterested, I offer rewards as motivation to participate actively in the game. I like crossword puzzles because they help students learn how connect a definition in English to the word in English. Many students can translate words back to their native tongue, but being able to give a definition of a word in a foreign language by using that specific foreign language shows deeper understanding of vocabulary.
References
Author’s Own Experiences
http://www.ehow.com/how_4499229_teach-vocabulary-esl-students.html
