Wanna know how to teach vocabulary to your students in a super fun and effective way? Then you’re in the right spot! When I was in school, we always just had to cram a bunch of lists into our heads and that was it. You were expected to remember the translations of words this way and also be able to use them correctly. I can tell you, my German and French vocabulary is super tiny, even though I took them 5 and 6 years respectively.
So what do I think is an effective way to teach vocabulary? Not cramming lists, that’s for sure. There are much more fun ways to teach vocabulary! And it’s important to offer students a variety of ways to interact with said vocabulary too, so they can internalize the knowledge. You can pick and choose from these methods to teach vocabulary, or you can go through all of the stages. I usually go through all of them, because that is what works best.
Wanna skip ahead to the answer to your question? Grab this free Phenomenal Vocab Teaching Checklist right now by clicking here!
Strategies to teach vocabulary
Let me tell you the best way to teach vocabulary:
- Brainstorm together what students already know. Get them to make connections. Use a word web on the board to collect any vocab that is already familiar to the students.
- Pre teach vocabulary! You are allowed to tell students the meaning of words that you want them to learn. However, I do recommend you then use the next step to solidify what you showed them.
- Show the word(s) in context. Give students a piece of text, or a video or recording to see and hear the word in action. This will help them connect vocabulary words to real life situations, which helps it stick better. Watching or reading content is always a great activity to teach vocabulary!
- Show students the spelling of the word and pronounce it. Get students to practice writing and pronouncing it the right way.
- Have students work with the word. Provide exercises to spell the word, match the word, or fill it in in sentences. Then get them to produce text (spoken or written) using the word.
- Review newly acquired vocabulary a few times for optimal retention. Games are an excellent way to review vocabulary.
Games to teach vocabulary
I love using games to teach vocabulary! It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I do it often 🙂 Vocabulary games can be used as a lesson starter, as a review of what was learned, as a brain break in between lesson segments, or as a finisher activity.
There are many games I love to play in my lessons. You can read more about this in this article, where I tell you all about my favorites. But here is a list for right now:
- Dominoes & Memory
- Board games
- Bingo
- Bananagrams & Scrabble
- Charades & Pictionary
- Taboo
- Categories
Need all this information in a handy PDF to keep on hand while you’re lesson planning? Grab my free Phenomenal Vocab Teaching Checklist by clicking here, and never wonder again what to do or how to start!
Related articles:
Why games for vocabulary are amazing tools for learning
Top 7 funnest games with whiteboards to play with students
Why board games for teaching are an amazing asset for your lessons
How to combine games with learning in a fun and easy way
