Effective answers to the question – ‘How can I improve my vocabulary’

A lot of people have asked the question ‘How can I improve my vocabulary?’ knowing
just how important effective communication is in everyday life. Whether you’re an
executive for some organization or just a student working on a thesis, the ability to say
the right thing in just the right way, using just the right words, is crucial. This ability
depends a great deal not only on one’s knowledge of the subject, which is crucial, of
course, but also on one’s vocabulary. Without a good vocabulary, self-expression
becomes a tedious drudgery, a difficult task in which a person spends long minutes being
lost for words, knowing what they want to say and finding it so difficult to say it.

So what sort of person can go in for improving their vocabulary? And the answer is that
virtually anyone, from a clerk to a university graduate, can find an effort to improve their
vocabulary beneficial. Indeed, often the main motivation that a person has when they try
to improve their vocabulary is a major project for their university or a major presentation
at work. But many people don’t realize just how interesting and even fun improving
one’s vocabulary can be.

A person who asks the question ‘How can I improve my vocabulary?’ will find that one
of the very simplest and most effective methods to improve one’s vocabulary is simply, a
more intensive reading schedule. Or, more simply put – just read more books. Studies
have shown a considerable link between people who read a lot and those who have a
considerable and effective vocabulary. It’s important to read something that you’re
interested in, a subject that will engage your attention and absorb your interest. It doesn’t
matter whether you’re interested in fiction or non-fiction, either can greatly benefit your
vocabulary.

Of course there are a few things you’ll have to do while reading, simple exercises to
ensure that new words remain in your mind and become a permanent part of your
vocabulary. When you think about how to improve your vocabulary, you need to have a
small note pad beside you as you read in which you make up a list of the more unfamiliar
terms that you come across. Later, this list can be used to better your understanding of the
words, when you look up the meanings of each with the help of a dictionary or a
dictionary software. But it obviously isn’t enough to to just write down the words and
forget them – no, you need to revise your knowledge of them by going through your little
vocabulary note pad regularly, perhaps at least once a day.

So this is an answer to the question ‘How can I improve my vocabulary?’ You’ll find that
within a month of using this simple exercise, there will be a significant enhancement of
your command of words. But you need to keep up this training, month after month, if you
would make this enhancement permanent. Enhancing your vocabulary is a continuous
process, and lasts one’s life long. This isn’t a burden. It is, on the contrary, a fascinating
journey.
A simple strategy of how to expand vocabulary

It is a natural desire to expand ones vocabulary as a bigger supply of words increases the
chances of succeeding in your studies, career and even personal relationships. Even if
you don’t see yourself as a brilliant public speaker or highly articulate person, it is
important to develop the skills of using the right words under different circumstances.

Imagine your vocabulary divided into three groups: a) the words you are absolutely
comfortable with – you know their meaning and frequently use them in everyday
conversations, correspondence and inner monologues; b) the words you often come upon
in books and speech of other people – intuitively you can guess their meaning, but you
hesitate when it comes to using them; c) completely unfamiliar words; you do not
understand their meaning and have no clue how they could be used.

Try to visualize these categories as three air balloons of different sizes. Which one is the
smallest? In case it’s balloon number one, your goal is to pump it until it is bigger than
other two categories.

In order to expand vocabulary you should set a certain target. For example, two words a
day. Of course, with time you can increase this number. You will need to keep a
notebook (or a special file in your laptop) to write down the unfamiliar words you heard
or read in the course of a day. Do not ignore the new words you come across in
conversations with your family, friends and colleagues, in TV programs, radio,
newspapers, textbooks, comics, novels and so on.

It will be easier to expand vocabulary if you write down not only the words alone, but the
whole sentences in which they were used: context is something that should never be
ignored. When you have time, consult the dictionary in order to find the words you do not
know. Pay attention at the words with the same root: after you understand the meaning of
a noun, it will be easier to memorize adjectives and verbs from the same word family.

Do not forget to use Thesaurus to see the words that mean the same or almost the same.
Generally speaking, using Thesaurus is one of the best methods to expand vocabulary.
Also, if you find yourself revealing enough linguistic interest, you can use different
online tools to see the synonyms and antonyms of the word you did not know. Perhaps it
would be interesting to find out its origin as well.

Of course, this process will require patience, purposefulness and time, but in any case
there is no need to hurry: improving your language skills and expanding vocabulary is a
life long process. Working in this direction, you will be able to improve not only your
vocabulary, but the quality of life as well.
Simple Strategies for Expanding Your Vocabulary

Vocabulary expansion is often pursued for a variety of reasons. Individuals may seek to
communicate more effectively at work, or college students may be searching for a richer
vocabulary to assist understanding and obtaining better grades. Perhaps the learner
originates from a non-English speaking background and wishes to learn English for work
or study purposes.

Whatever the reason, expanding your vocabulary is within everyone’s reach.

Strategies for increasing your vocabulary are many. What should be noted, however, is
that we only remember a fraction of what we read (see Figure 1). The amount
remembered increases to 30% of what you hear; 40% of what you see; and, 60% when
you actually perform the task. As such, it is important that we combine all types of
activities to obtain maximum learning.

Figure 1: Tasks and rate at which information is remembered

Taken from JCU (2009)

Apart from the above diagram and the types of activities related to retention, other facts
to consider when expanding your vocabulary include:

• Wide reading is extremely important when developing your vocabulary. The

richer and more varied the text, the more opportunities you have for increases.
Knowledge of word meanings can also be grouped into the amount of words a
person knows and the in-depth knowledge of a word. Many people have a wide
knowledge of words. That is, they can recognize a significant amount of words,
but when it comes to demonstrating meaning, it is often another story.
• Knowing a word means knowing context. Words used alone do not provide the
full meaning. Depending upon the surrounding words and text, words can take on
different meanings
• Our verbal vocabulary is often less sophisticated than our written vocabulary.
This is because verbal communication relies heavily upon non-verbal cues and
gestures. As such, it is important that we experience vocabulary in both
environments (Allen, 2006).
Vocabulary development can also occur through exploring similarities and differences
amongst related words and keeping written documentation of the words learned, their
definitions, and the different ways the words can be used. Word associations (e.g. roots),
words that signal a connection to other words and assist meaning (e.g. therefore), and
words that have similar sounds but are spelled differently are all techniques that can be
explored for improving vocabulary (California Department of Education, 2007).

Expanding your vocabulary is achievable. It can improve your communication skills and
develop reading and writing ability. It does not matter at what stage of your career, your
education, or your personal growth, vocabulary develop can benefit everyone. Using
vocabulary software, such as that produced by Ultimate Vocabulary, is a very effective
way of achieving these goals and benefiting from the results.

References

Allen, J 2006, ‘Too Little of Too Much? What Do We Know about Making Vocabulary
Instruction Meaningful?’, Voices From the Middle, vol. 13, no. 4. pp. 16-19.

Educational games are a great way to tap into student motivation and increase learning.
Have five minutes left after a lesson? Need to review vocabulary before a test? Want to
help struggling ELL students with English? "One Word Only!" is a classroom game
designed to engage students and reinforce vocabulary.

Step 1: Explain game procedures. The teacher will write a secret word on a mini-white
board and hold it behind a student's head. The class will have to get the student to say the
secret word, but they can only offer one-word clues. If a class member provides a one-
word clue that enables the student to guess correctly, the class member becomes the next
volunteer and game play continues for a set amount of time. When a student guesses a
word correctly, place a sticker on their hand before they return to their seat. The student
with the most stickers at the end of the game receives a small reward.

Step 2: Model an example game. Before actually playing the game, model a quick
example with a student volunteer. Bring the student to the front of the class. Write a
simple word, like "lunch," on a small white board behind the student's head. Once the
classroom has seen the word, set the white board aside. Have the class practice providing
one-word clues by raising their hands and waiting to be called on by the student.
Invariably, class members will use more than one word, "it's after breakfast." Gently
remind students of the rules. They will quickly discover they need to put some thought
into their one word and will have to play off other students' clues: "food," "afternoon,"
"everyday," etc. You will also find that students want to use gestures. The game is "One
Word Only" not "One Word and Some Gestures." Once the class gets the hang of the
rules, begin the game.

Step 3: Begin the game. Set an amount of time for game play and stick to it. Have a list
of target words ready to use during game play. They can be spelling words, story
vocabulary, social studies concepts, math terms, science words, or any words that the
students need to know to be successful. Write "One Word Only" on the classroom white
board and select a student volunteer. As a teacher you will need to monitor the game and
make sure students are waiting to be called on, only one-word clues are given, gestures
are not used, and stickers are given to each round's winner.

Step 4: End the game. At the end of the set amount of time, end the game and declare a
winner. Provide a small reward like a pencil or a certificate that says "One Word Only
Champ." Incorporate this game throughout the school year to increase vocabulary and
engage students.
This game can be used with any content and any grade level. Try it out and watch your
students become word masters by the end of the school year.
 TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY USING GAMES
By
Mohammad Agus Salim El Bahri
Abstract

Learning is one of the primary activities of students in the classroom. Successful learning is only on the

right way to lead the process. Good learning atmosphere and method can guide the students to learn more

and meaningful. To accomplish such condition, teachers must create varitype and attractive methods for the

class.

What should a teacher do if their students get bored? Using varitype games can be an alternative

solution to handle this problem. Games, as a matter of fact, can help and encourage many students to

sustain their interest and work. By this paper, the writer wants to share experiences about “how to teach

English vocabulary using

games”.

There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature and that if

one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really learning. This is a misconception. It

is possible to learn a language as well as enjoy oneself at the same time. One of the best ways of doing this

is through games.

Games can help the teachers to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. In

the whole process of teaching and learning by games, the students can take part widely and open-mindedly.

To win the games each student or group should competitively answer the questions addressed by the

teacher or other students or groups. In order to do so they must understand what the teacher or others are

saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give

information

The English instruction in elementary school is intended to endorse the mastery and development of

the four basic abilities and skills. Those are reading, writing, speaking and listening as reflected in abilities

and skill concerning language use so that the students are able to express simple expression with emphasis

our vocabulary mastery in order to avoid to vocabulary infraction and attain better out comes, the teacher
should choose an appropriate teaching method, which is suitable with subject matter in teaching learning

process. The need to use various instructional media will be able to help students to increase their English

vocabulary.

Teaching vocabulary is clearly more than just presenting new words. It also includes a decision that

words should teach the basic of how frequent they are used by speaker of the language. The words are most

commonly used are those a teacher should teach first.

But commonly and usually the way of teaching makes the students lazy and bored. The teacher needs

something different to make students interested, mostly children, because they are very easy to get bored.

Therefore, teacher needs something interesting which can make motivate them. It is based on the

characteristics and attitude of the children that they are curious and often seeks something that the teacher

notices them and shows appreciation for what they are doing. So, to motivate them teacher needs

something new that can stimulate their curiosity.

With the current analysis on communication in teaching language, using games appears to hold a

solution for many teachers. The communication activities somehow involves in a varied use of language.

It had been found in many schools, teacher use games activities as their teaching aid. The students

really appreciate any kind of activities which provide excitement and fun. It will be easy to understand and

practice of English. The writer chooses games as the simple illustrated media to facilitate students’ method

of learning, as we know children learn while playing games. It is easy to be understood and comprehended

by students.

However, learning English vocabulary using games has an importance role for elementary teachers

and students. The first, as students, they have strong and good motivation to deepen English language. The

second, they are easy to accept the English language because they learn by playing games that nowadays

has been grown and developed in Indonesia. The third, teaching English vocabulary using games can help

teacher in teaching learning process. Finally, they (teacher and students) can teach and learn English

vocabulary using games.

1. The characteristic of children as learners

Slattery and Willis (2001)

a. They are developing quickly as individuals; it means that they have difference
in language acquisition.

b. Learn in a variety of ways, for example; by watching, by listening, by imitating and by doing
things. It means children learn their knowledge through what they see, heard in their surrounding

and then imitate it and imitating by doing things (children learn by doing)

c. Are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about language. Children are not
understanding about the rule of language, they only imitate what they are seeing and hearing.

d. Try to make sense of situations by making use of non-verbal clues. Children will do imitate, it
means learning by doing.

e. Talk in their mother tongue about they understand and do this helps them learn. It means they use
their mother tongue to understand everything.

f. Can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak. It
means they do imitation, memorization, practice and over learning, what the people are said.

g. Are naturally curious. They have strong willingness to know what they see and hear in their
surrounding.

h. Love to play and use their imagination. It means they are learning while playing.
i. Are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition. It means they need habit to learn.
j. Have quite a short attention span and need variety. Because they are learning while playing, it is
needed many ways to make them understand what the teacher means.

2. The Definition of Vocabulary

Vocabulary is the total number of words in a language (Hornby, 1995; 1331). Vocabulary is an important

part to mastery English well. According to Pigeat’s theory, a child at the age of 7 – 10 years is always

interesting in recognizing and knowing new words, he stands to repeat new words repeatedly so that he will

memorize them.
There are essential steps of learning vocabulary (Brown, 1995; 373) which has

recited by Cameron:

• Having source for encountering new words.

• Getting a clear image for the form of new words.

• Learning the meaning of new words

• Making a strong memory connection between the form and the meaning of the

words

Using the words.

In teaching to children, teacher has to use performance to teach vocabulary to them, because the children in

literacy level are Performance, it means children learn language with accompanying action / scaffolding. In

this level, teacher can use media, according to Nation (1990) in recited by Cameron is listed basic

technique of explaining the meaning of new words.

By demonstration picture:

• Using an object

• Using a cut-out picture

• Using gesture

• Performance action

• Photographs

• Drawing and or diagram on the board

• Picture from books, TV, Video or Computer

By verbal explanation:

• Analytical definition

• Putting in a context

• Translating
3. The important of vocabulary

A good mastery of vocabulary helps the learners to express their ideas precisely. By having many stocks of

word learners will be able to comprehend the reading materials catch other talking, give response, speak

fluently and write some kind of topics. On the contrary, if the learners do not recognize the meaning of the

words use by those who address them, the will be unable to participate in conversation, unable to express

some ideas, or unable to ask for information.

Considering the important of vocabulary role in learning foreign language. The mastery of this

element should be ensured and develop. Otherwise, the vocabulary mastery of the children will be limited

and consequence of it is that they will find difficulties in learning the skills of the language. Therefore,

schools have a task to teach vocabulary to their students as suggested by John Carol as showed by

Margaretha MC Keown (1987; 01)

Although a considerable amount of vocabulary, learning is associated with primary language

learning in early years. The acquisition of most the vocabulary characteristic of an educated adult occur

during the years of schooling, and infects one of the primary task of the school as far as language learning

in concerned, as to teach vocabulary.

4. The use of Games

To increase the vocabulary we need media to be used. One of them is game. The definition of game

is an activity that you do to have some fun (Hornby; 1995; 486). Games can make the students more focus

in learning, because they do not feel that they are forced to learn.

Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely (Richard-Amato, 1988;

147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to

express their opinion and feelings (Hansen;1994;118). They also enable learners to acquire new

experiences within foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Games can be

media that will give many advantages for teacher and the students either.
 The useful of games are attract the student to learn English because it is fun and make them want to

have experiment, discover and interact with their environment (Lewis,1999) other useful of games are:

• Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use

the target language. For many children between for and twelve years old, especially the youngest,

language learning will not be the key motivation factor. Games can provide this stimulus. (Lewis,

1999).

• The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the

target language to life. (Lewis, 1999).the games make the reason for speaking plausible even to

reluctant children. (lewis,1999)

• Through playing games, students can learn English they way children learn their mother tongue

without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot.

• Even shy students can participate positively.

5. Moon (2000) suggests a positive learning environment:

♣ Make your classroom a lively place through the use of attractive wall displays, displays of pupils’

work, etc. language classroom is noisy with the language (English) is good because it will make the

classroom more a live in English (practice)

♣ Motivate pupils to want to learn English by using interesting and enjoyable learning activities. E.g.,

project work, games, drama. It means learning by playing.

♣ Create warm and happy atmosphere where teacher and pupil enjoy working together. Teacher

arranges good atmosphere in classroom and make the students interested.

♣ Help pupils to develop personal reasons for learning English. For example by encouraging out-of –

school class activities, e.g. pen friends, project, reading story books.
 6. How teachers can teach children.

a. Make learning English enjoyable and fun-remember you are influencing their attitude to language
learning. (Lower as affective filter). It means teacher has to try in order to students are having fun

in learning (learning by playing). Remember teacher is influencing their attitude to language

learning.

b. Do not worry about mistakes. Be encouraging – make sure children feel comfortable, and not afraid to take

part. It means teacher does not blame directly to students, teacher must give support to students while

repair their mistakes.

c. Use a lot of gestures, actions, pictures to demonstrate what you mean. It means teacher has to try to
accompany her explanation with media in order to students understand easily. Don’t force the students to

use the language directly, just give them examples by gestures.

d. Talk a lot to them in English, especially about things they can see. Teacher must teach them by using
English, especially about anything in their surrounding.

e. Play games, singsongs, say rhymes and chants together. It means teacher has skills in playing games,
singsong etc to make them enjoy and interest in learning.

f. Tell simple theories in English, using pictures, acting with different voices.

g. Do not worry when they use their mother tongue. You can answer a mother tongue question in English, and
sometimesrecast in English what they say in their mother tongue. It means if the students use their mother

tongue, the teacher translate to English and repeat again, again and again to make them always remember

what teacher means.

h. Constantly recycle new language but do not be afraid to add new things or to use words they will not know.
Teacher gives new language while remember the last topic.

i. Plan lesson with varied activities, some quiet, some noisy, some sitting, some standing and moving, it

means teacher must demonstrate his teaching with several activities (mobilling teaching), sometimes

teacher sit, stand up in front of or behind the students.

7. Teaching English vocabulary-using games

Language learning is hard work. Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over

a long period. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work. Games also help

the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners want to take part

and in order to do so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write

in order to express their own point of view or give information.

The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A useful

interpretation of meaningfulness is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are

amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus, the meaning of the

language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better

remembered.

There are many kinds of games which can be used in teaching English. Of course, as a

technique games need help from media. The media can be picture, flash cards, object, puppet, cassette,

projector and many others object surround them. It is better if the games are familiar for children, because

they learn in a variety of ways, for example; by watching, by listening, by imitating and by doing things. It

means children learn their knowledge through what they see, heard in their surrounding and then imitate it

and imitating by doing things (children learn by doing)

Children can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults

speak. It means they do imitation, memorization, practice and over learning, what the people are said

Bruner says that language is the most important tool for cognitive growth and he also investigate

how adults can help the children to solve their problem. Scaffolding is bruner’s theory, it means that

scaffolding is explainig to students and interacting to students to communicate, in scaffolding is holistic

and must permeate all aspects of scientific teaching, if we answer.

So, teaching vocabulary-using games as methodology in learning – teaching process and the

teaching materials for children less than five years old which is related with their surround, it means the
vocabulary which related and introducing things surround them such as family names, naming of alphabet,

name of number. And teaching material

Learn how to teach math vocabulary and specific words as you demonstrate math activities and

when you talk to your students about their math experiences. Children learn the language of math just like

they learn to talk about other topics .

In this variation, students break up into small groups and play a board game following commands.

After the students have completed the game, they create their own board game using commands they have

created on their own.

Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is

required to understand, produce and manipulate the target language. Well-chosen games are invaluable as

they give students a break and at the same time allow students to practice language skills. Games are highly

motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging. Furthermore, they employ meaningful

and useful language in real contexts. They also encourage and increase cooperation.

Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they

should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that

at times seem overwhelming.

Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a

lesson. Yet, a game should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher

and class have nothing better to do. Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Games

are used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen.

Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a

pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in

noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom

since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency.
There are many criteria games as educational media for teaching English

to children:

• A game must be more than just fun.

• A game should involve "friendly" competition.

• A game should keep all of the students involved and interested.

• A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language

itself.

• A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.

• A game should be familiar by children.

The important things in teaching English vocabulary is how to make English learning fun for children with

these excellent products .

There are many advantages of using games in the classroom:

Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.

a. They are motivating and challenging.

b. Learning a language requires a great deal of effort.

c. Games help students to make and sustain the effort of learning.

d. Games provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing, listening and reading.

e. They encourage students to interact and communicate.

f. They create a meaningful context for language use.

g. Vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and increase students’ use of English in a

flexible, meaningful and communicative way.

h. Games usually involve friendly competition and they keep students interested in learning the language.

i. Games can help them (children) learn and hang on to new words more easily

The reasons of the writer in choosing games as educational media for teaching children

are:
1. Games make learning fun so your class and children are willing participants and not just there

because they have to be.

2. Playing a game has a purpose to it, an outcome, and in order to play students have to say things –

they have a reason to communicate rather than just repeat things back mindlessly. Therefore, they

want to know and learn more.

3. Students get to use the language all the time during the games .
4. They involve a lot of repetition, and repetition is the mother of skill, it can be boring, but thanks to

these games, it is fun.

5. How do you expect your class or children to remember vocabulary if they never use it? Repetition

is the mother of skill.

6. The games lend themselves perfectly to quick bursts of revision. Using some of the games, you

can revise a massive amount of vocabulary and grammar in a few minutes.

7. If you use games to revise two or three topics every lesson, as well as teach the new language,

imagine how well your kids will do at exam time, and how proud you will feel.

8. Children have a short attention span (even more so these days with the style and pace of the
media, and computer games), so injecting lively varied games into your classes to practice the

language you are teaching will keep your children alert and enjoying themselves.

9. The philosophy of encouragement incorporated into these games allows all students, including the

less good ones, to gain in confidence. Usually this doesn't just mean they get better at your subject,

but in all subjects. This makes everybody, including you, more motivated and optimistic, and you

can really make a difference by helping your pupils have more self-esteem so they succeed in all

areas of life.

10. You do not need many materials to play these games (in some cases you need only your regular

black board or classroom props). Once you have used the games once you will need virtually no

preparation time at all!

11. You will be able to give stimulating fun classes while keeping your evenings free for yourself and

your own hobbies, family and friends

Pay attention:

• Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a

lesson. In this case, a game should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments

when the teacher and class have nothing better to do. Games ought to be at the heart of teaching

(foreign) languages.

• Games can be used at all stages of the lesson. But teachers must be sure that games provided, are

suitable and carefully selected by the teachers.

• Before playing a game teachers should give attention to the number of students, proficiency level,

cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings.

• Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a

pleasant, entertaining way.

Reference list:

Cameron Dynne, 2001 “Teaching Language to Young Learners” Cambridge Unversity

Press

Harnby As, 1995“Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English “Oxford

University Press

Slattery M & Jane Willis, 2001“English for Primary Teacher ” Oxford University

Press.
 PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO TEACH PACKETS OF
VOCABULARY
Tent cards.
Take a vocabulary set. As class activity, pair the words (choose which to pair
with which by general agreement). Ask the students in groups of 4 to make
tent-shaped cards (i.e. bent over like a tent), and write one of the paired words
on each side of the ‘tent’. Place them between the players. The game lies in
remembering which word is on the hidden side. These tent cards could be
robust and reusable if you make them with self-adhesive memo paper, and so
stick words on a tent face. They could be coloured attractively and kept in sets.
For example sets of adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, time words etc.

Learning by association.
Put together a verb from a verb set with a word from a vocabulary set in a
memorable way. The same word could be used, lets say, 4 times. This works
best when the pupils have a verb list and vocabulary list open before them for
free association. The verbs could go in one tense. The verbs could be freely
taken from a page of the glossary or just from 10 indicated verbs.
e.g. parts of the body + verbs
Her hands cried. Her hands laughed.
Her eyes sank. Her eyes spoke.
Her body fell. Her body sang.

Vocabulary dictation.
The teacher reads a set of 20-30 words from a set in steady continuation. Then
there is a competition to see which student (or pair) succeed in first writing
them all down. This activity can also be used with the nuggets.

Simple poems.
Use sets of vocabulary for writing short poems or Haiku (a Haiku contains 17
syllables though the pupils needn’t respect this). e.g. Use body vocabulary :
Hands to hold, for teeth to devour:
brain to describe for time to sour.
As in this case, a grammar unit could be indicated. Here it is unit 24 on
the infinitive and its use to indicate aim/purpose.

Ping-Pong with lists.

Activity for two students (A and B). One word has to be answered with another
from the set, or if using a verb list, a given tense can be required; e.g. an
infinitive followed by a past tense:
A. When did she come? - B. She came yesterday.
 A. Who did you see? - B. I saw the queen.
or A. go B. went A. see B. saw
A. come B. came A. tell B. told
or A. hand B. nail A. finger B.. arm A. leg etc. until all of a list has been
named.

Memory game.
Put 20 Vocabulary / verbs on the board. Then progressively cancel them, and
let the students recreate the lists.
Variant I After an activity that requires a vocabulary set on the board,
rub out part of the words. Then ask the students to complete the words
with full spelling.

Cards.
As a class or home work activity. Each student is given a vocabulary set. They
have to make a visual-decorative card. Place the words on a piece of paper
twice the size A4. The words are coloured and lettered by hand, and in between
are placed patterns or suggestive photos. These sets can be used for subsequent
memory activities or poem writing.
[Teachers may say that there is not time for such card making or that it is like
primary school. This is mistaken. Vocabulary sets can be used for many
activities and remember that with vocabulary which is so neglected, these 5-10
minute activities save vocabulary from its usual oblivion. These cards will be
used by other classes who in their turn make others for general use. They can
be stored in envelopes or plastic boxes for study periods. The only way to make
up for the huge deficit in vocabulary learning is to make long-term plans. The
secret is to do short but frequent activities that are fun. ]
Riddles.
One player has to give a hint of the word which then has to be guessed (this is
relatively easy, because both players are familiar with the whole set), e.g. You
use it with other food, it’s like strong onions = garlic. To score a point you kick
it between two posts = football.
Sounds. Associate verbs of sound with a vocabulary set, e.g. The spoon
splashed, or verbs of human response with objects: The knives giggled. These
pairings can make entertaining "poems".
Word association.
One word from the list is used as a magnet. Brainstorm all the vocabulary you
can associate with it, e.g. foot: toe, ankle, shoe, run, slip, walk, big, nail, heel,
tiptoe. Have a competition, in pairs or singly to see who can think of more
words.
Connotation.
Take a vocabulary set. Each word is said several times by the teacher,
meanwhile the students write down, in L1, all the associated words they can
think of. Then ask the students for their 5 or more words in L1. The class
translates them as the teacher arranges them around the original word from the
set at the centre of the board. These word associations can be made use of as
class poem material.
String of words.
From a vocabulary set put together words to make a nonsense poem/song, e.g.
The kettle is complaining
the cups are quarreling
the butter is slipping away
The loaf is looking uncomfortable
A Chinese poem.
(by Chinese we mean simple and brief).
Put adjective and noun together in imitation of a simple poem format.
Possibly as here the last lines could change syntactic structure. Adjective
+ noun....noun + verb
Slow legs,
bent head,
tired eyes,
sun sinks.
Night spreads.
4 line poem.
Choose a word and make a 4-line poem. Everyone might be helped by a whole-
class free association activity.
Evocative phrases. Use unit word lists to invent suggestive phrases. Use a
collection of these for poem materials (they can also be modified). In this case
I’ve chosen some difficult but interesting sound verbs. Oddly pupils more
readily learn these sound verbs and find them fascinating.
The Birds
Listen!
They
chatter croak crow and cluck,
chirrup chirp cheep and chatter,
then clap their wings
and flitting
flapping
fly fly free
Choose a poem.
Cut off parts of its lines and ask the students to fill in the ‘lost’ poetry. Tape the
results and follow up by showing the students the original poem.
Random poems.
Have the students make almost random poems. This is an activity that imitates
an often seeming arbitrariness in some modern poetry. By encouraging near
random combination the students feel freer to invent and often the results show
them the expressive possibilities of language.
Variant I
Recite short poems dramatically - you can exploit this even in the case of
banal vocabulary sets and verb sets - verb + noun: I swim in bathrooms -
I sleep in baths. These associations can be easily done with a pile of
vocabulary and verb cards: She feeds me promises and they taste of
snow..
Nonsense. The students make use of a word from a set to
make a nonsense sentence, such as The mouse ate the cat.
Extempore dialogues.
One speaker starts with a word from a common vocabulary set,
making a statement which includes it (e.g. I bought a goose
vocabulary set from Unit 2, Animal and insects). The other
speaker asks questions. Why did you buy a goose? This can
last for several extempore exchanges. These extempore and
almost random dialogues produce funny things and are
enjoyed by the spectators.
Guessing.
End of lesson vocabulary session. The teacher or a student
says a sentence, substituting the target word with a buzz
sound. The other students guess the missing word
(e.g. I went to the buzz to get a knife = kitchen).
Variant I
A student goes out. The class choose a word from the
vocabulary list. The student returns and has to guess the
word, but cannot use any words from the list, using
roundabout questions instead, e.g. spoon: Is it a metal
object? / Is it a thing that is used to carry soup to your
mouth?
Riddles.
Make ‘riddles’ of words from a set as guessing material, e.g.
This animal gives us something white we pour on cereals
(writing, listening exercise).
Definitions.
The teacher or a student defines a word (the teacher can make
the clue as long as desired - this increases concentration and
provides listening practice): If you want to eat an egg, you can
fry it (they may shout frying pan), or you can boil it (they may
shout saucepan); when it’s ready, you usually put it in a special
container so that it doesn’t roll about = egg cup.
No hesitation.
A student chooses a word and has to speak without hesitation
or pauses about it for 30-45 seconds. This works best after a
period of preparation. This preparation might include a session
in which the teacher dictates a set of useful phrases that help
the definitions. e.g. it’s something that you use......... see......
etc. When you........ you....... It can be done in pairs, with 2
words to every pair.
Word call.
Each student takes as his name, a vocabulary word. One
student starts by calling out another student’s name-word; the
student indicated by that word then immediately calls out
another student by her/his word. Each student has 3 lives, and
any hesitation loses one life.
Revision.
A vocabulary set is given to the class. The students have to
revise a given number of grammar units. To give an aim to this
revision, ask them to combine a vocabulary set with the
exemplifying sentences from a grammar unit.
Variant I
As an alternative, the grammar structure to be practised
can be put together with a vocabulary word that each
student has chosen to do a quick no-hesitation drill. e.g.
Structure: whose vocabulary clothes Whose is that
sweater?;
or Whose is that tie?
Structure: will vocabulary clothes I’ll wash the shirt
Explain yourself. Would you prefer to be a spoon or a fork?
Why?
The odd one out.
Choose a vocabulary set and put in an odd word. The students
have to argue that it isn’t really the odd one out, but may fit
perfectly.
Variant I
 A student recites a vocabulary set and tries to slip in an
odd word unnoticed.
Make a list. List all the uses of any given object, and all the
situations in which you could see that given thing.
General knowledge.
Use a word from a set as a keyhole, e.g. Ant (Insects &
Animals). Ask the students to go home and find information in
an encyclopedia as a source for them to use in a mini-talk for
which they have also prepared some comprehension
questions. Even such objects as knives and forks can yield
interesting facts, e.g. first use, design and so on; they can be
good material for short talks later. These talks could be given a
further ingredient. The student could be instructed to use a
grammar page. e.g. modifiers; more, much more/less, a few
etc.
Go on, smile!
A student sits in front of the class, and has to role-play
complete misery. The students say any words from a set in
such a manner as to provoke a smile. The word can also be
incorporated in a sentence: Would you like a to go on holiday
with a pig?
Simultaneous translation.
Divide the class into 2 teams. A student from one team says a
word in L1. The other team must give an immediate L2
translation; everyone writes it down. This could be done in
groups of 4.
Pair them.
Dictation of jumbled L1 and L2 words from a vocabulary set.
After all words are dictated, the students have to ring together
the L1 and L2 of words. The exercise is timed.
Variant I
Choose a verb set. The activity lies in associating 1-5
words from a vocabulary set with a verb from the list.
Alternately, use the see, hear, smell etc. set as the one to
associate with the vocabulary words, e.g. I can hear the
socks. As oral practice the students can each remember
their odd combinations; this reinforces memorising. Use
the same idea with adjectives as focusing lens: Sad
windows - followed by Why? - Because nobody lives there
now.
Variant II
 Use paired sets of vocabulary which are stimulating in
combination, e.g. vegetables + parts of the body. Offer a
construction that allows their combination, e.g. like: His
ears are like cauliflower’s. This can be done with a set of
adjectives plus another set of vocabulary.
"No problem": revision. Take a set of vocabulary or verbs.
Along a line, each student reads a word of the set. Now repeat
the procedure. Ask the class to cover the lists and repeat this
recitation along the line. Each will have managed to memorise
their single word. This is also useful for nugget revision (this
simple activity reinforces a fading memory of a vocabulary
set). A possible fun-variant is that at any mistake you must
start again from the opposite end or make 2 teams and do a
timed relay race.
Scrabble.
Use the 5x5 numbered board. Choose a vocabulary or verb set.
In turn the students call out a letter. All the students have to fill
a square with the letter. Make words that are multiple, as in
the game scrabble.

Crosswords.
Use a 5x5 board. All students place their vocabulary set in a
maze, they place the words interlocking and then fill all
remaining squares with a letter to distract attention. Change
papers and time to see who is the first to discover all the
hidden words.
Bingo.
Use an unnumbered board 5x5 squares. The students are told
what the target vocabulary list is. If you use 15 words, you tell
them that 10 of the words will appear twice in order to fill up
the 25 spaces. They now fill in their 25 spaces with words
making sure that they appear at least once. After they’ve filled
in their board, let the students call out a word on their own
board, and all the others tick off that word if they have it. The
first to have all the 25 words called is the winner.
Quick glance "dictation".
Take a set of 25 words. On the blackboard arrange them on a
5x5 grid. Tell the class to study them carefully without copying
them. Now cover the blackboard with a sheet. Tell the students
to fill in their grid with the words placing them so as to mirror
those on the blackboard. Draw back the sheet from time to
time for a quick look. They might be asked to translate the
words on the grid which could be either in L1 or L2.
Variant I
At a later stage (it maybe a day later) give the students
an empty grid 5X5 and ask them to write the translations
in them. Possibly an activity for pair work.
Public spelling.
A student comes and writes a word on the board. The teacher
invites them to introduce a false spelling when they want to.
For example in writing the string of words, in each word one
letter can be altered. Other students silently correct if
necessary. This is only partly a spelling game. It is useful as
just another way to remind the students of a target vocabulary
set- perhaps a set of words that have given particular difficulty,
or they may be words that are to be used in a subsequent
activity.
Variant I
The teacher writes up or photocopies a very reduced
version of a word, such as k-t--n, for the students to
complete.
Jumble.
Each student writes down the vocabulary set without spacing
as one enormous word. Change papers. Race to see who
divides each word correctly with a spacing line. When all the
students have finished, exchange the papers back and correct
Riddles questions. The students, in pairs, take a vocabulary set
and possibly a particular grammar unit page (in this example
lets say it’s so, because etc.). One player silently chooses a
word and says a partial sentence: I was hungry, so I went to
----. The other player has to provide the missing word (the
kitchen, fridge, restaurant, supermarket etc.).
Fit them in.
Ask the students to write their own monologue/dialogue, which
has to include a whole vocabulary set. If this is difficult, ask
them to modify a play by fitting into the play 50% of a
vocabulary set. They can make any changes that they want to
the play.
Sentence maker.
Choose a vocabulary set + a verb set. Students have to create
as many sentences from these 2 sets as possible. Words can
be used twice but always in new combinations. He filled the
pan. She filled the bottle. The bottle fell.
Chorus response.
First, establish a sequence of words by association, or simply
by assigning each student with a word. Do a relay race, i.e. the
words should be called out at maximum speed passing along
the rows of students. The teacher now calls out a word from a
set and all the class shout out the next one in the sequence.
Sounds/spelling.
Stick on the walls posters of sound families with words which
present both common and rare spellings of that sound during
the following weeks.. Ask the students to recognise where new
words will fit.
Newspaper headlines.
Create newspapers’ headlines which utilise words from a set.
Riddle dictation.
Tell the class to look at one of the unit vocabulary lists. Tell
then you are going to dictate a sentence and they have to just
write down the target volubly that it associates with. e.g. I’m
feeling very cold. = fire/snow.. If we didn’t have it we’d just eat
cold food = fire/stove.
Sort it.
Tell the students that you will dictate vocabulary taken at
random from 4 sets of vocabulary and they write the words in
the appropriate 4 columns of categories.
Extend the dictation. The teacher could dictate verbs and the
pupils have to immediately write a surrounding sentence. You
possibly direct them to use a target structure, tense or modal.
e.g. The target is mustn’t have to etc. You dictate spill.
Someone may write You mustn’t spill the milk.
Vocabulary card game.
Enlarge the print size of a vocabulary list (a set of 10-15 words)
and give out 4 copies of the vocabulary sheet to each group of
4 students. The groups mount each single word on card. The
group will therefore have a set of 15 words X 4 copies. (15x 4
= 60 cards). Six cards are given to each of the 4 players and
the remaining 36 are left as a pack in the middle. The first
player takes one card from the pack and one from the previous
player (or extra from the pack for the first player). The player
then makes up a sentence (receiving 1 point for each word
used) and throws away one card (adverbs, prepositions,
pronouns, conjunctions can be freely introduced and are worth
a 1/2 point). The next player takes the thrown card and 1 from
the pack and plays. When there are no cards left in the pack, 2
are taken from the neighbour player and only 1 thrown out) the
players can start to make sentences (maximum 3) using the
displayed cards of the other players. A maximum of 3 such
sentences is allowed per turn.
Vocabulary charts. Choose 2 sets of vocabulary; 10-15
Students make a 10 X 10 or 15 X 15 grid. Along the top they
write one set of vocabulary and another set down the side.
Where the line meet could be the seed of various extempore
activities which are suggested by these 2 words together.

From 'Games for Language Learning'

by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby

Cambridge University Press, 1984.

'Language learning is hard work ... Effort is required at every moment and must be
maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to
sustain their interest and work.'

'Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and
meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what
others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their
own point of view or give information.'

'The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A
useful interpretation of 'meaningfulness' is that the learners respond to the content in a
definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly
meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and
write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered.

If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then
they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely
on wet days and at the end of term!' (from Introduction, p. 1)

From 'Six Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom'

by Aydan Ersoz
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6, June 2000.
'Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is
required to understand, produce and manipulate the target language. Well-chosen games
are invaluable as they give students a break and at the same time allow students to
practise language skills. Games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the
same time challenging. Furthermore, they employ meaningful and useful language in real
contexts. They also encourage and increase cooperation.'

'Games are highly motivating because they are amusing and interesting. They can be used
to give practice in all language skills and be used to practice many types of
communication.'

From 'Creative Games for the Language Class'

by Lee Su Kim
'Forum' Vol. 33 No 1, January - March 1995, Page 35.

'There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature,
and that if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really
learning. This is a misconception. It is possible to learn a language as well as enjoy
oneself at the same time. One of the best ways of doing this is through games.'

'There are many advantages of using games in the classroom:

1. Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.
2. They are motivating and challenging.
3. Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help students to make and
sustain the effort of learning.
4. Games provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing, listening and
reading.
5. They encourage students to interact and communicate.
6. They create a meaningful context for language use.'
.

From 'The Use of Games For Vocabulary Presentation

and Revision'

by Agnieszka Uberman
'Forum' Vol. 36 No 1, January - March 1998 Page 20.

Using Games

'Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games
are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee holds that
most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning
the correct forms (1979:2). He also says that games should be treated as central not
peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed by
Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their
pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many advantages
of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more
likely" (Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they
can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen
1994:118). They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign
language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote
Richard-Amato, they, "add diversion to the regular classroom activities," break the ice,
"[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas" (1988:147). In the easy, relaxed
atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better
(Wierus and Wierus 1994:218). S. M. Silvers says many teachers are enthusiastic about
using games as "a teaching device," yet they often perceive games as mere time-fillers, "a
break from the monotony of drilling" or frivolous activities. He also claims that many
teachers often overlook the fact that in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place,
and students use the language they have been exposed to and have practised earlier
(1982:29). Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good
way of practising language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the
language for in real life in the future (1994:6).'

'Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons,
they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and
not just problems that at times seem overwhelming.'

When to Use Games

'Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the
end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded as a marginal
activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do"
(1979:3). Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon suggests
that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully
chosen.'

'Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in
a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if
games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying
attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote
communicative competence, and generate fluency.'

From 'Learning Vocabulary Through Games'

by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga

'Asian EFL Journal' - December 2003.
'Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in
various ways. First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn
and retain new words more easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition
and they keep learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to
get involved and participate actively in the learning activities. Third, vocabulary games
bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a
flexible, communicative way.'

'Therefore, the role of games in teaching and learning vocabulary cannot be denied.
However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable
games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students,
proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are
factors that should be taken into account.'

'In conclusion, learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way
that can be applied in any classrooms. The results of this research suggest that games are
used not only for mere fun, but more importantly, for the useful practice and review of
language lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving learners' communicative
competence.'

From 'Using Games in an EFL Class for Children'

by Yin Yong Mei and Jang Yu-jing

Daejin University ELT Research Paper. Fall, 2000.

Why Use Games in Class Time?

* Games are fun and children like to play them. Through games children experiment,
discover, and interact with their environment. (Lewis, 1999)
* Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible
incentive to use the target language. For many children between four and twelve years
old, especially the youngest, language learning will not be the key motivational factor.
Games can provide this stimulus. (Lewis, 1999)
* The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It
brings the target language to life. (Lewis, 1999)
* The game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. (Lewis,
1999)
* Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother
tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot.
* Even shy students can participate positively.

How to Choose Games (Tyson, 2000)

* A game must be more than just fun.

* A game should involve "friendly" competition.
* A game should keep all of the students involved and interested.
* A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the
language itself.
* A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language
material.

From 'Index Cards: A Natural Resource for Teachers'

by M. Martha Lengeling and Casey Malarcher

'Forum' Vol. 35 No 4, October - December 1997 Page 42.

'In an effort to supplement lesson plans in the ESL classroom, teachers often turn to
games. The justification for using games in the classroom has been well demonstrated as
benefiting students in a variety of ways. These benefits range from cognitive aspects of
language learning to more co-operative group dynamics.'

General Benefits of Games

Affective:
- lowers affective filter
- encourages creative and spontaneous use of language
- promotes communicative competence
- motivates
- fun

Cognitive:
- reinforces
- reviews and extends
- focuses on grammar communicatively

Class Dynamics:
- student centered
- teacher acts only as facilitator
- builds class cohesion
- fosters whole class participation
- promotes healthy competition

Adaptability:
- easily adjusted for age, level, and interests
- utilizes all four skills
- requires minimum preparation after development

Publication Details:

'Games for Language Learning' (2nd. Ed.)

by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby.
Cambridge University Press, 1984.

(To read the articles below in full, click on the titles.)

'Six Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom'

by Aydan Ersoz.
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6, June 2000.

'Creative Games for the Language Class'

by Lee Su Kim.
'Forum' Vol. 33 No 1, January - March 1995, Page 35.

'The Use of Games For Vocabulary Presentation and Revision'

by Agnieszka Uberman.
'Forum' Vol. 36 No 1, January - March 1998 Page 20.

'Learning Vocabulary Through Games'

by Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga.
'Asian EFL Journal' - December 2003

'Using Games in an EFL Class for Children'

by Yin Yong Mei and Jang Yu-jing.
Daejin University ELT Research Paper. Fall, 2000.

'Index Cards: A Natural Resource for Teachers'

by M. Martha Lengeling and Casey Malarcher
'Forum' Vol. 35 No 4, October - December 1997 Page 42

English is an important language for the purposes of giving or receiving information and
for the development of education, technology, and arts. We can start preparing young
learners to study English from now. Nowadays, learning English for young learners
becomes a new trend in Indonesia. Many kindergartens and playgroups have started to
give English lessons to young learners. It is because in new curriculum, English have to
be introduce to young learners. Teaching English to young learners can be started by
introducing vocabulary to them. It is very important to learn vocabulary from the very
first time because it is very prominent in a language and it is always taught in language
classes. Teaching foreign language to young learners should be interesting and fun in
order to make young learners like what they learn and improve their motivation in
learning English. There are several ways in teaching vocabulary to young learners to
make learning become interesting such as by using songs, playing games, telling stories,
drawing picture, etc. In this research, the writer is interested in teaching vocabulary
through songs to young learners because young learners love to listen to music and enjoy
singing. The population of this research is the English teacher and the young learners in
TK. Kemala Bhayangkari 5 consisting of 81 young learners. In collecting the data, the
writer observed the teachers of English in teaching English through songs, interviewed
the teachers, and interviewed the young learners about the most interesting songs for
them. The data was analysed by using qualitative descriptive method. The result of this
research shows that by singing, they can improve their pronunciation. The most
interesting songs for young learners are Good Morning To You, Are You Sleeping?, and
Old Mc. Donald Had A Farm. The coverage vocabulary of the songs used to teach is
about greeting, counting, spelling, parts of the body, the things around us, fruits, and
animals. Young learners like the songs with cheerful rhythms and common words. To
make the teacher a lot easier in teaching the young learners, it is suggested that the role of
parents is needed to guide the learners at home.

Using Games to Promote Communicative Skills in

Language Learning
Chen, I-Jung
ijchentw [at] ms74.hinet.net
Takming College, (Taipei, Taiwan)
This article considers the reasons why games serve as excellent communicative
activities. The use of games can be a powerful language learning tool. On the
surface, the aim of all language games is for students to "use the language";
however, during game play learners also use the target language to persuade
and negotiate their way to desired results. This process involves the productive
and receptive skills simultaneously. In this article the author also shares her
experience of some interesting games and their application in the language
classroom.

Introduction
In recent years language researchers and practitioners have shifted their focus
from developing individual linguistic skills to the use of language to achieve the
speaker's objectives. This new area of focus, known as communicative
competence, leads language teachers to seek task-oriented activities that
engage their students in creative language use. Games, which are task-based
and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, serve as excellent
communicative activities (Saricoban & Metin 2000). On the surface, the aim of all
language games is for students to "use the language"; however, during game
play learners also use the target language to persuade and negotiate their way to
desired results. This process involves the productive and receptive skills
simultaneously.

Games offer students a fun-filled and relaxing learning atmosphere. After

learning and practicing new vocabulary, students have the opportunity to use
language in a non-stressful way (Uberman 1998). While playing games, the
learners' attention is on the message, not on the language. Rather than pay
attention to the correctness of linguistic forms, most participants will do all they
can to win. This eases the fear of negative evaluation, the concern of being
negatively judged in public, and which is one of the main factors inhibiting
language learners from using the target language in front of other people
(Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope 1986). In a game-oriented context, anxiety is
reduced and speech fluency is generated--thus communicative competence is
achieved.

Games are also motivating. Games introduce an element of competition into

language-building activities. This provides valuable impetus to a purposeful use
of language (Prasad 2003). In other words, these activities create a meaningful
context for language use. The competitive ambiance also makes learners
concentrate and think intensively during the learning process, which enhances
unconscious acquisition of inputs. Most students who have experienced game-
oriented activities hold positive attitudes towards them (Uberman 1998). An
action research conducted by Huyen and Nga (2003), students said that they
liked the relaxed atmosphere, the competitiveness, and the motivation that
games brought to the classroom. On the effectiveness of games, teachers in
Huyen & Nga's (2003)reported that action research reported that their students
seem to learn more quickly and retain the learned materials better in a stress-
free and comfortable environment.

The benefits of using games in language-learning can be summed up in nine

points.
Games....

• are learner centered.

• promote communicative competence.
• create a meaningful context for language use.
• increase learning motivation.
• reduce learning anxiety.
• integrate various linguistic skills.
• encourage creative and spontaneous use of language.
• construct a cooperative learning environment.
• foster participatory attitudes of the students.

Some Fun Games

Based on the advantages discussed above, English teachers in our school
designed a school-wide English competition to help students experience the fun
and usefulness of English. Here I would like to share with other teachers the
games we played and some observations I have made.

Our competition involved major five tasks. Students broke into teams of five
members. The team that finished first was the champion. To further complicate
the game, each task station was hidden in different locations all over campus.
Participants only obtained directions to the next station after completing the
present task. This not only offered students a chance to use their map-reading
and problem-solving skills, but it also added a dynamic atmosphere to the
competition. The participants were college freshmen at lower-intermediate
language level (about 18 years old).

The tasks are described as follow:

I. Mysterious Landmarks

1. Competitors assemble a 20-piece jigsaw puzzle of a world famous

landmark (such as the Eiffel Tower, Mt. Fuji the Great Wall, etc).
2. Then they describe puzzle image in five sentences to complete the task.

This game encourages students' productive skills and elicits their speech fluency.
Cross-culture concepts are also addressed. The number, the length, and the
patterns of sentence can vary depending on the students' language ability and
linguistic points the instructor would like to reinforce.

II. What's the Number?

1. Participants use the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, division

and multiplication) to compute a simple mathematical equation provided
orally by the instructor.
2. They call out the correct answer as soon as possible.

This game addresses students' listening skills and tests their understanding of
numbers, which is often an important part of language teaching materials.

III. Story Time

1. Participants pick and listen to a tape randomly selected from a provided

stack of tapes (the recording contains a spoken excerpt of a well-known
children's story, such as the Snow White, the Ginger Bread Man, etc).
2. After listening to the entire excerpt, competitors correctly identify the title
of the story from a provided list.

The recorded stories are all classical bedtime stories for young children and have
been translated into most of the major languages worldwide. Students should be
familiar with those stories. This game focuses on gist-listening skills. Students
only need to catch the key terms to figure out what the story is.

IV. Art Master

1. The instructor describes a picture orally.

 2. Competitors simultaneously recreate the picture on a sheet of paper,
correctly including named objects in accurate positions.

This game reinforces the use of prepositions, such as to the right of, to the left of,
in the middle of, or under, etc. It also reinforces the vocabulary of concrete
objects students have already learned before. The complexity of the picture will
depend on the level of the students.

V. What's Cooking?

1. Participants read a recipe and make the dish.

2. The amount of ingredients and assembly process must follow exactly the
instructions laid out in the recipe.
3. The participants eat the dish they have prepared, all together and as fast
as possible, because whoever finishes the five tasks first wins the entire
competition.

This game not only reinforces food vocabulary, but it also tests the ability of
students to comprehend written instructions. This is also good for introducing
cross-culture topics. Recipes may vary depending on what food terms and
cultures the teachers wishes to cover. Salads and sandwiches are easy-to-
prepare recipes. The eating part adds an additional element of fun to the game.

Although the whole competition is a combination of five games, each game is

suitable for reinforcement of individual language skills and easily applied in the
classroom. One feature of these games is that students with lower language
ability in a team can still contribute if they are good at skills other than languages,
such as putting together jigsaw puzzles, calculating numbers, drawing, or eating
fast.

Observations
Throughout the competition, I observed that students were more engaged in and
committed to using English than they would be in the classroom. They were
attentive to instructions, which they usually are not in regular class. In each of the
games, students found their own ways to express themselves. Participants went
all out with their English to win the game.

The games also aroused cultural awareness. After the competition, students told
me they will now pay more attention to geographical names that they often
ignored before simply because they had never been there. Thus, students
expressed a motivation and desire to know more than just linguistic knowledge.

Conclusion
Our experience creating a competition for our students taught us that games
stimulate communicative skills. Competitors revealed that they felt less afraid of
using their English during game play. I also observed that they were more willing
to ask questions and think creatively about how to use English to achieve the
goal. The competition gave students a natural opportunity to work together and
communicate using English with each other. Furthermore, by integrating playing
and learning, students practiced the learned linguistic knowledge in a vivid and
meaningful context. Many came to understand that they could successfully use
English to accomplish a variety of tasks. And finally, the competition stimulated
their interest in foreign culture. As Uberman (1998, 87) writes, "Games
encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency and communicative skills. If not
for any of these reasons, they should be used just because they help students
see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that at times seem
overwhelming."

References

• Horwitz, E.K., Horwitz, M.B., and Cope, J.A. 1986. Foreign language
classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal 70 (2): 125-132.
• Nuyen, N.T.T. & Nga, K.T.T. 2003. The effectiveness of learning
vocabulary through games. Asian EFL Journal 5. http://www.asian-efl-
journal.com/dec_03_sub.Vn.html(accessed September 25, 2004)
• Prasad, U. 2003. Achieving communicative competence in English. India's
National Newspaper (29,
July).http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/edu/2003/07/29/stories/20030729000
10200.htm(accessed September 25, 2004)
• Saricoban, A. and Metin, E. 2000. Songs, verse and games for teaching
grammar. The Internet TESL Journal 6
(10). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Saricoban-Songs.html(accessed Septemb
er 27, 2004)
• Uberman, A. 1998. The use of games: for vocabulary presentation and
revision.English Teaching Forum 36 (1):
20.http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol36/no1/p20.htm (accessed Se
ptember 27, 2004)

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Teaching Vocabulary To Advanced Students: A Lexical

Approach
by Solange Moras, Sao Carlos, Brazil, July 2001

1. ADVANCED STUDENTS AND THEIR NEEDS

Advanced learners can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic
structures of the language. However, they need to broaden their vocabulary to
express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of
situations.
Students might even have a receptive knowledge of a wider range of
vocabulary, which means they can recognise the item and recognise its
meaning. Nevertheless, their productive use of a wide range of vocabulary is
normally limited, and this is one of the areas that need greater attention. At this
stage we are concerned not only with students understanding the meaning of
words, but also being able to use them appropriately, taking into account
factors such as oral / written use of the language; degree of formality, style and
others, which we are going to detail in Part 2.

2. THE TEACHING OF VOCABULARY

Traditionally, the teaching of vocabulary above elementary levels was mostly

incidental, limited to presenting new items as they appeared in reading or
sometimes listening texts. This indirect teaching of vocabulary assumes that
vocabulary expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills,
which has been proved not enough to ensure vocabulary expansion.

Nowadays it is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the

syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by
Lewis (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the centre of language
teaching, because ‘language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised
grammar’. We are going to discuss aspects of the ‘Lexical approach’ in Part 2.

There are several aspects of lexis that need to be taken into account when
teaching vocabulary. The list below is based on the work of Gairns and
Redman (1986):

· Boundaries between conceptual meaning: knowing not only what lexis

refers to, but also where the boundaries are that separate it from words of
related meaning (e.g. cup, mug, bowl).

· Polysemy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word

form with several but closely related meanings (head: of a person, of a
pin, of an organisation).

· Homonymy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word

form which has several meanings which are NOT closely related ( e.g. a
file: used to put papers in or a tool).

· Homophyny:understanding words that have the same pronunciation but

different spellings and meanings (e.g. flour, flower).
 · Synonymy: distinguishing between the different shades of meaning that
synonymous words have (e.g. extend, increase, expand).

· Affective meaning: distinguishing between the attitudinal and emotional

factors (denotation and connotation), which depend on the speakers
attitude or the situation. Socio-cultural associations of lexical items is
another important factor.

· Style, register, dialect: Being able to distinguish between different levels

of formality, the effect of different contexts and topics, as well as
differences in geographical variation.

· Translation: awareness of certain differences and similarities between the

native and the foreign language (e.g. false cognates).

· Chunks of language: multi-word verbs, idioms, strong and weak

collocations, lexical phrases.

· Grammar of vocabulary: learning the rules that enable students to build

up different forms of the word or even different words from that word
(e.g. sleep, slept, sleeping; able, unable; disability).

· Pronunciation: ability to recognise and reproduce items in speech.

The implication of the aspects just mentioned in teaching is that the goals of
vocabulary teaching must be more than simply covering a certain number of
words on a word list. We must use teaching techniques that can help realise this
global concept of what it means to know a lexical item. And we must also go
beyond that, giving learner opportunities to use the items learnt and also
helping them to use effective written storage systems.

2.1. MEMORY AND STORAGE SYSTEMS

Understanding how our memory works might help us create more effective
ways to teach vocabulary. Research in the area, cited by Gairns (1986) offers us
some insights into this process.

It seems that learning new items involve storing them first in our short-term
memory, and afterwards in long-term memory. We do not control this process
consciously but there seems to be some important clues to consider. First,
retention in short-term memory is not effective if the number of chunks of
information exceeds seven. Therefore, this suggests that in a given class we
should not aim at teaching more than this number. However, our long-term
memory can hold any amount of information.

Research also suggests that our ‘mental lexicon’ is highly organised and
efficient, and that semantic related items are stored together. Word frequency is
another factor that affects storage, as the most frequently used items are easier
to retrieve. We can use this information to attempt to facilitate the learning
process, by grouping items of vocabulary in semantic fields, such as topics (e.g.
types of fruit).

Oxford (1990) suggests memory strategies to aid learning, and these can be
divided into:

· creating mental linkages: grouping, associating, placing new words into a

context;

· applying images and sounds: using imagery, semantic mapping, using

keywords and representing sounds in memory;

· reviewing well, in a structured way;

· employing action: physical response or sensation, using mechanical

techniques.

The techniques just mentioned can be used to greater advantage if we can

diagnose learning style preferences (visual, aural, kinesthetic, tactile) and make
students aware of different memory strategies.

Meaningful tasks however seem to offer the best answer to vocabulary

learning, as they rely on students’ experiences and reality to facilitate learning.
More meaningful tasks also require learners to analyse and process language
more deeply, which should help them retain information in long-term memory.

Forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items

they have learnt. Therefore, recycling is vital, and ideally it should happen one
or two days after the initial input. After that, weekly or monthly tests can check
on previously taught items.

The way students store the items learned can also contribute to their success or
failure in retrieving them when needed. Most learners simply list the items
learnt in chronological order, indicating meaning with translation. This system
is far from helpful, as items are de-contextualised, encouraging students to over
generalise usage of them. It does not allow for additions and refinements nor
indicates pronunciation.

Teachers can encourage learners to use other methods, using topics and
categories to organise a notebook, binder or index cards. Meaning should be
stored using English as much as possible, and also giving indication for
pronunciation. Diagrams and word trees can also be used within this
topic/categories organisation. The class as a whole can keep a vocabulary box
with cards, which can be used for revision/recycling regularly.

Organising this kind of storage system is time-consuming and might not appeal
to every learner. Therefore adapting their chronological lists to include
headings for topics and a more complete definition of meaning would already
be a step forward.

2.2. DEALING WITH MEANING

In my opinion the most important aspect of vocabulary teaching for advanced

learners is to foster learner independence so that learners will be able to deal
with new lexis and expand their vocabulary beyond the end of the course.
Therefore guided discovery, contextual guesswork and using dictionaries
should be the main ways to deal with discovering meaning.

Guided discovery involve asking questions or offering examples that guide

students to guess meanings correctly. In this way learners get involved in a
process of semantic processing that helps learning and retention.

Contextual guesswork means making use of the context in which the word
appears to derive an idea of its meaning, or in some cases, guess from the word
itself, as in words of Latin origin. Knowledge of word formation, e.g. prefixes
and suffixes, can also help guide students to discover meaning. Teachers can
help students with specific techniques and practice in contextual guesswork, for
example, the understanding of discourse markers and identifying the function
of the word in the sentence (e.g. verb, adjective, noun). The latter is also very
useful when using dictionaries.

Students should start using EFL dictionaries as early as possible, from

Intermediate upwards. With adequate training, dictionaries are an invaluable
tool for learners, giving them independence from the teacher. As well as
understanding meaning, students are able to check pronunciation, the grammar
of the word (e.g. verb patterns, verb forms, plurality, comparatives, etc.),
different spelling (American versus British), style and register, as well as
examples that illustrate usage.

2.3. USING LANGUAGE

Another strategy for advanced learners is to turn their receptive vocabulary

items into productive ones. In order to do that, we need to refine their
understanding of the item, exploring boundaries between conceptual meaning,
polysemy, synonymy, style, register, possible collocations, etc., so that students
are able to use the item accurately.

We must take into account that a lexical item is most likely to be learned when
a learner feels a personal need to know it, or when there is a need to express
something to accomplish the learner’s own purposes. Therefore, it means that
the decision to incorporate a word in ones productive vocabulary is entirely
personal and varies according to each student’s motivation and needs.

Logically, production will depend on motivation, and this is what teachers

should aim at promoting, based on their awareness of students needs and
preferences. Task-based learning should help teachers to provide authentic,
meaningful tasks in which students engage to achieve a concrete output, using
appropriate language for the context.

2.4. THE LEXICAL APPROACH

We could not talk about vocabulary teaching nowadays without mentioning

Lewis (1993), whose controversial, thought-provoking ideas have been shaking
the ELT world since its publication. We do not intend to offer a complete
review of his work, but rather mention some of his contributions that in our
opinion can be readily used in the classroom.

His most important contribution was to highlight the importance of vocabulary

as being basic to communication. We do agree that if learners do not recognise
the meaning of keywords they will be unable to participate in the conversation,
even if they know the morphology and syntax. On the other hand, we believe
that grammar is equally important in teaching, and therefore in our opinion, it is
not the case to substitute grammar teaching with vocabulary teaching, but that
both should be present in teaching a foreign language.

Lewis himself insists that his lexical approach is not simply a shift of emphasis
from grammar to vocabulary teaching, as ‘language consists not of traditional
grammar and vocabulary, but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks’(Lewis,
1997). Chunks include collocations, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and
idioms, and according to him, occupy a crucial role in facilitating language
production, being the key to fluency.

An explanation for native speakers’ fluency is that vocabulary is not stored

only as individual words, but also as parts of phrases and larger chunks, which
can be retrieved from memory as a whole, reducing processing difficulties. On
the other hand, learners who only learn individual words will need a lot more
time and effort to express themselves.

Consequently, it is essential to make students aware of chunks, giving them

opportunities to identify, organise and record these. Identifying chunks is not
always easy, and at least in the beginning, students need a lot of guidance.

Hill (1999) explains that most learners with ‘good vocabularies’ have problems
with fluency because their ‘collocational competence’ is very limited, and that,
especially from Intermediate level, we should aim at increasing their
collocational competence with the vocabulary they have already got. For
Advance learners he also suggests building on what they already know, using
better strategies and increasing the number of items they meet outside the
classroom.

The idea of what it is to ‘know’ a word is also enriched with the collocational
component. According to Lewis (1993) ‘being able to use a word involves
mastering its collocational range and restrictions on that range’. I can say that
using all the opportunities to teach chunks rather than isolated words is a
feasible idea that has been working well in my classes, and which is fortunately
coming up in new coursebooks we are using. However, both teachers and
learners need awareness raising activities to be able to identify multi-word
chunks.

Apart from identifying chunks, it is important to establish clear ways of

organising and recording vocabulary. According to Lewis (1993), ‘language
should be recorded together which characteristically occurs together’, which
means not in a linear, alphabetical order, but in collocation tables, mind-maps,
word trees, for example. He also suggests the recording of whole sentences, to
help contextualization, and that storage of items is highly personal, depending
on each student’s needs.

We have already mentioned the use of dictionaries as a way to discover

meaning and foster learner independence. Lewis extends the use of dictionaries
to focus on word grammar and collocation range, although most dictionaries
are rather limited in these.

Lewis also defends the use of ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ material from the early
stages of learning, because ‘acquisition is facilitated by material which is only
partly understood’ (Lewis, 1993, p. 186). Although he does not supply
evidence for this, I agree that students need to be given tasks they can
accomplish without understanding everything from a given text, because this is
what they will need as users of the language. He also suggests that it is better to
work intensively with short extracts of authentic material, so they are not too
daunting for students and can be explored for collocations.

Finally, the Lexical Approach and Task-Based Learning have some common
principles, which have been influencing foreign language teaching. Both
approaches regard intensive, roughly-tuned input as essential for acquisition,
and maintain that successful communication is more important than the
production of accurate sentences. We certainly agree with these principles and
have tried to use them in our class.

3. RATIONALE OF THE LESSON

We believe that the Lexical Approach has much to offer in the area of
vocabulary teaching, and therefore we have tried to plan a lesson that is based
on its main concepts, specially exploring the use of collocations.

3.1 CHOICE OF MATERIAL

As both the Task-based and the Lexical approach suggest, we wanted to use
authentic material to expose our students to rich, contextualised, naturally-
occurring language.

For the topic of holidays we chose a big number of holiday brochures (about
twenty five) and read them through, trying to notice recurrent patterns of lexis.
Confirming what Hill (1999) affirmed, this analysis showed us a large number
of collocations, specially adjective + noun ones, and that some were extremely
common, such as golden sandy beaches, rolling countryside and others.

We did not want to overload students with much reading, which would detract
them from the main task of working with vocabulary, and therefore we selected
twenty-one short yet meaningful extracts in which common collocations
appeared.
3.2. NOTICING COLLOCATIONS AND DEALING WITH MEANING

Although the extracts are authentic, we do not think students will have many
problems in understanding most of the collocations, as they contain vocabulary
which they probably know receptively. This again should confirm the idea that
students know individual words but lack collocational competence.

We are going to work as a whole class in step 5 to make students aware of the
collocations we will be focusing on, and hopefully this will enable students to
find other collocations. Regular awareness raising activities like this should
help students improve their collocational competence, and even fluency, as
discussed in part 2.4.

For the few words that we predict students will not fully understand meaning
of, or are not sure how they are pronounced, we are going to ask them to look
these up in monolingual dictionaries. As we said in part 2.2., dictionaries are a
vital tool for Advanced learners, and so is contextual guesswork, which we are
going to encourage before they look the words up. We are also going to ask
students to notice examples given in the dictionary, observing and recording
other possible collocations of the words, as suggested by Lewis.

We have also taken into account the importance of recording the vocabulary
observed during the class. The list that students will produce in step 9, to
prepare for the final task, is also a way of recording vocabulary in an organised,
personalised and meaningful way, as suggested by Lewis in part 2.4.

3.3. GROUP WORK

Working in groups help fostering learning independence, and specially in

vocabulary work, learners can exchange knowledge, asking others to explain
unknown items.

We also hope that group work will be a motivating factor, as students talk
about places they have been on holiday to, trying to remember details together,
exchanging impressions and even good memories!

3.4. CHOICE OF TASK

As we said earlier in part 2.3, we find it vital that students are given
opportunities to use the language they are learning in a realistic context.
Therefore, we have devised the final task to meet this principle.
Writing a leaflet is a possible task in the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced
English, which these students are preparing for. It is also a relevant, real life
task that we expect will interest students. I always like to mention that the
standard of leaflets written in English in Brazil is very poor, and that they could
do a much better job.

We expect that this writing should also enable students to use the vocabulary
they have studied in a realistic context, and that they could be motivated to
learn even more vocabulary they feel they need to accomplish the task.

The completion of the final task for homework will also help to reinforce and
revise the vocabulary learnt, giving students a better chance to store the items
in their long-term memory, as we mentioned in part 2.1.

We are going to explain what the final task will be right after step 3, in which
they should notice what kind of text the extracts come from. By doing this we
want to motivate students to do the enabling tasks, mainly to show them the
need to learn new vocabulary.

As this is a borrowed group, it might be the case the students are not yet
familiar with the leaflet format, in which case more input would be necessary
before the conclusion of the final task.

If students are really interested in the task, this could be transformed into a
project, involving research and the production of a leaflet or web page in the
multi-media centre.

References
Allen, V. (1983) Techniques in teaching vocabulary. OUP.

Gairns, R. Redman, S.(1986) Working with words. CUP.

Hill, J. (1999) ‘Collocational competence’ English Teaching Professional, 11, pp. 3-6.

Lewis, M. (1993) The lexical approach. LTP.

Lewis, M. (1997) Implementing the lexical approach. LTP

Oxford, R.(1990) Language learning strategies. Newbury House.

Richards, J. (1985) The context of language teaching. CUP.

Scrivener, J. (1994) Learning teaching. Heinemann.

Thornbury, S. (1998) ‘The lexical approach: a journey without maps’. MET, 7 (4), pp. 7-13

Willis, J. (1996) A framework for task-based learning. Longman.

Vocabulary is an important part of nearly any subject. Students need to develop their
vocabulary base to fully communicate and comprehend a topic. As they learn how to use
more vocabulary properly, you will see an improvement in their writing and speaking.

Unfortunately, new vocabulary is not always fun to learn. Worksheets and homeschool
worksheets will only go so far, and many students find them to be tedious and boring.
The default way of explaining vocabulary is to give a definition, but this does not always
work efficiently because of the lack of context clues. Here are ten other ways to explain
vocabulary that you can work into your teacher worksheets.

1. Synonyms: These can be effective since they build on words and phrases that students
already recognize. Adjectives often have several symptoms, and phrasal verbs will
usually have a non-phrasal verb equivalent. Use caution that you do imply that all the
words have exactly the same meaning, since different words often are used for different
connotations or to imply different meanings.

2. Antonyms: Like synonyms, antonyms build on words or phrases that students already
know. At lower levels, you can use words like rich and poor. However, this does not
work for all advanced vocabulary lessons, since rich actually has more meanings than
"having a lot of money." For older students, prefixes and suffixes are also helpful.

3. Drawing: For visual students, drawing can be a fun medium to explain vocabulary.
You do not have to be a perfect artist - stick figures and basic sketches will often work
well. You can even have students do their own drawings, which further reinforces their
understanding of the vocabulary.

4. Rankings: If you have several gradable words to introduce at the same, you can
introduce them together on a scale. For instance, you can use frequency, such as always-
often-occasionally. Or you can do emotions in this way, with cheerful-happy-joyous-
ecstatic.

5. Cuisenaire Rods: This is another tactic to help visual students. You can use different
colored rods to symbolize different types of words, such as prepositions, verbs, or
adjectives.

6. Pictures: Some words work well with pictures, particularly nouns. This can also be a
good way to introduce blocks of related words, which is often utilized in foreign
language classes, such as nouns and verbs related to the classroom or the house. Pictures
can also be used in printable worksheets and flashcards, where pictures are matched to
the word they represent.

7. Mime: Miming works well with younger students. You can mime out emotions and
everyday activities to teach new words.

8. Sound: Sound can be an easy way to illustrate words that describe sounds, such as
whistle, scratching, and tinkling. You can make the sounds yourself, or bring in tapes or
CDs for students to listen to and write down the words that they hear.

9. Total physical response: This works well with young students or students studying a
foreign language to help introduce them to new concepts. After explaining new
vocabulary, you can then ask the students to perform the actions. This can work with
simple words like blink or sneak, or more complex ones like eat a sandwich or read a
book.

10. Reality: When it is convenient, bringing in the actual item can help students
remember the word better and allows for a hands-on experience. You can also use this to
introduce step-by-step concepts, like how to play a card game or run a computer program.

How you choose to teach vocabulary depends upon your preferences and your class'
learning style. By alternating in different teaching techniques, you will be able to help
students remember new vocabulary words better.

TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY BY GAMES

By : Saverinus Kaka, S.Pd.
Learning is one of the primary activities of students in the classroom. Successful
learning is only on the right way to lead the process. Good learning atmosphere and
method can guide the students to learn more and meaningful. To accomplish such
condition, teachers must create varitype and attractive methods for the class.

What should a teacher do if their students get bored? Using varitype games can be
an alternative solution to handle this problem. Games, as a matter of fact, can help and
encourage many students to sustain their interest and work. By this paper the writer wants
to share experiences about how to teach English vocabulary using games.
There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in
nature and that if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really
learning. This is a misconception. It is possible to learn a language as well as
enjoy oneself at the same time. One of the best ways of doing this is through games.
Games can help the teachers to create contexts in which the language is useful and
meaningful. In the whole process of teaching and learning by games the students can take
part widely and open-mindedly. To win the games each student or group should
competitively answer the questions addressed by the teacher or other students or groups.
In order to do so they must understand what the teacher or others are saying or have
written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give
information.
Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that
games are not just time filling activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee
holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking
about learning the correct forms (1979:2). He also says that games should be treated as
central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching program. A similar opinion is
expressed by Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against
overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. According
to him “Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely”
(Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can
give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen
1994:118). They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign
language which are not always possible during a typical lesson.
By those opinion above, it can be concluded that games as “the teaching devices,”
perceived as mere time-fillers, “a break from the monotony of drilling” or playful
activities. The writer recognizes that many teachers often overlook the fact that in a
relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place, and students use the language they have
been exposed to and have practiced earlier. In fact, students remember things faster and
better.
The advantages;
1. Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.
2. Games are motivating and challenging students to get involved and participate actively
in the learning activities.
3. Games provide language practice in the various skills; speaking, writing, listening
and reading.
4. Games can help them learn and hang on to new words more easily.
5. Games usually involve friendly competition and they keep students interested in
learning the language.
6. Vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and increase students’
use of English in a flexible, meaningful and communicative way.
Suggestions:
1. Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the
end of a lesson. In this case, a game should not be regarded as a marginal activity
filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do. Games
ought to be at the heart of teaching (foreign) languages.
2. Games can be used at all stages of the lesson. But teachers must be sure that
games provided, are suitable and carefully selected by the teachers.
3. Before playing a game teachers should give attention to the number of students,
proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings.
4. Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material
in a pleasant, entertaining way.

Comments
I agree game can make the student learn English easily. I’d like to applied some game
in elementary school but i don not have new game that can make the student
learning more easily than before.

Games are so effective and attractive in teaching elementary school students. Many
kinds of games can be browsed by the internet. You can get them easily and you can
choose the kinds of games which are suitable with your students characteristics and
condition. So, good luck and do try!

i have difficulties in teaching students in high school to improve their vocabulary

because they are too lazy to do that. maybe with game, it could help students learn
english fun and easily. i’d like to apply it for my students but i haven’t had suitable
game for my students yet.
Teaching Vocabulary through Games & Other Activities –
This Week’s Teaching Tip!
March 14, 2009 by Writing for Children
Filed under Tips for Teachers & Parents
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from Dorit Sasson, Contributing Editor for the National Writing for Children Center
Teaching vocabulary in context may initially appear challenging, but there are many ways to
make it an enjoyable and lively experience especially for young learners.
Just remember, there are three principles involved in teaching and learning vocabulary in context.
Students must:
Practice
Understand
Infer (go beyond the text)
Vocabulary activities, read alouds and games are all part of this vocabulary learning. As a general
rule of thumb, vocabulary can be taught inductively (through some process of discovery) or
deductively (example: providing a picture – “this is a _________” ) The discovery process has a
general appeal to learners especially when the words have been previously introduced using a
picture book or a text. Don’t introduce more than 7 new vocabulary words in a given lesson (5-7
words is ideal).
Stages of Vocabulary Practice
Vocabulary practice should be taught in a variety of fun, communicative and motivating contexts
so students will feel confident using the new words. The stages of practicing vocabulary can [and
should] be both oral and written.
Stage 1: Guided – teacher orientated activity.
Stage 2: Semi-guided – a clue is provided. Example: Teacher asks: What did you do last night?
[S/he guides the students to give an answer with the target word]
Stage 3: Free – students are expected to produce. [Tell your neighbor what you did last night -
again, hoping that students will respond using the target vocabulary words]
Fun Vocabulary Practice Techniques
Once the targeted word has been formally introduced, students can practice learning the new
words. Pictures are a great way to reinforce vocabulary concepts and words. Younger kids, for
example, can talk about the animals on Old McDonald’s farm in context with the other animals.
Personalize: Teacher can ask students: “Do you have a dog at home?” or, “What animal do you
like the best?”
Teacher numbers each picture: students say the number of each word as it is called or show
the number of fingers if the teacher wants to keep the noise level down.
Students can describe the colors of Old McDonald’s farm.
Interactive: students come and put the dog in a place the teacher says.
I’m thinking of a word: teacher describes the word and students guess the meaning.
Use imagination: for example, imagine you are in a cabin. Students have ten minutes for
creating a story using as many words as possible.
Other Tips and Strategies for Practicing New Vocabulary
Be selective. Don’t use a drill or exercise just because it happens to be in the book.
Examine the vocabulary activity. Is its purpose clear? Is it useful? Does it force the students to
think about the language? Can it be made more interesting?
Make sure your drills are adapted to the needs of the individual student. Make up your own
exercise if the book does not have any suitable ones.
Use as much time as possible on listening and speaking. Let students work in pairs or in small
groups as often as possible.
Start written work in the classroom to make sure everyone understands what they are doing. Do
some exercises orally first, then let the students finish them for homework. Don’t underestimate
your students. Show them that you expect them to be able to work individually or in pairs or
groups.
Make the lessons as enjoyable as possible. If you enjoy your work, the students will enjoy your
lessons.