How to Teach Vocabulary to Young Learners

Why we should teach vocabulary to YL• Vocabulary of a language is just like bricks of a high

building. Despite quite small pieces, they are vital to the great structure (Innovative Techniques of Teaching Vocabulary at the Intermediate Level in the Second Language Classroom Prashant Subhash Mothe, Adarsh Senior College, Omerga Dist.Osmanabad (MS) India)

• Good vocabulary range increasing reading comprehension, ability in technical subjects and written ability.

• According to Cameron (2001:73) “Vocabulary is about learning words, children are not only expected to know the word but also they have to know what the meaning of that word.”

How to Teach Vocabulary to YL1. Make it interesting 2. Keep it relevance3. Set achievable goals – The words we are targeting - are they suitable for

the students ability– The amount of time we give students to learn

them – The number of words we set

4. Teach words in context

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Techniques to teach vocabulary for YL1. Pointing Teacher can use flashcard or power point presentation to show the item that they want to teach.2. Substitution

There are two ways to substitute the words • Synonyms : We substitute one word students are familiar

with or another new one Example: When you call someone, do you sometimes have to wait?

You have to hold.

• Antonym : We substitute one word they are familiar with for its opposite.Example : Is a Ferrari a cheap car? No it’s an expensive car.

3. NamingThis technique is similar to substitution,

but in this case, we set a scene or situation and then substitute it with a new word or phrase, thus effectively naming the scene

Example : » The steak I ordered last night was not

cooked enough. It was undercooked/rare/bloody.

» The hotel accepted too many reservations. The hotel is overbooked.

4. Miming and TPRThis technique works great with

kinesthetic learners. TPR works well with parts of the body (I’m touching my nose! Touch your nose!), actions (I’m walking to the door), and the imperative commands (Sit down! Stand up!)5. Realia

The using of realia can motivate the YL to learn. It’s fun and sets a more natural

learning environment

Spelling Bulls-eye

Word Ladder

Guess the Word

Vocabulary Puzzle

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Sparkle

Kind of Activities to Teach

Vocabulary to YL

Sparkle

• Before we do this activity have all members of the class stand up

• Choose a spelling word and have each student say one letter to spell out the word.

• After the last letter has been said the next student say sparkle and the next student in line is out of the game

• For example: Word = Cat, Student 1 - 'C', Student 2 - 'A', Student 3 'T', Student 4 - ' Sparkle', Student 5 is out!

Spelling Bulls-eye

• Divide the class into 2 groups• Each member of the group try to spell the

target word one by one• The winner is the group which can spell the

word correctly and fast.• The winner use a soft ball (or scrunched up

paper) and throw it a bulls-eye (circular target) and make points for their team

Word Ladder • Write the target words on large cards and place

them on the floor in a line to make the ladder.• Divide the students into 2 groups and ask them

to stand up at the opposite of the ladder• 1 student from each team start (at the same

time), before they can go forward one step on the ladder they must tell us the meaning of the word

• If they get it right the step forward.

• Do it until each member of the group meet in the middle of the ladder

• Do rock, scissor, paper to decide who can stay on the ladder

• The winner continues, the loser has to go to the back of their teams line, and a new team member starts from the beginning of the ladder.

• First team to the end of the ladder get a point.

Guess the Word

• Let the students sit in their chairs. • Give each one a list of words,

student A gives a definition or sentence but does not say the target word.• Student B has to guess what the

word is

Vocabulary Puzzle

• Write some words on a large cards and put it random• Teacher give the definition of one

word• Students should find a word with the

definition that the teacher already given