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Ask for help > V-O-C-A-B-U-L-A-R-Y-!-!-!
V-O-C-A-B-U-L-A-R-Y-!-!-!
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srachel
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V-O-C-A-B-U-L-A-R-Y-!-!-!
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HI!I �m desperate for ideas how to make my students remember new (or old  ) vocabulary!
(most of them have some learning disabilities)
Thanks in advance! |
22 Mar 2011
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angelcris
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My dear friend,
You may try to work with word web and also motivate them to produce their own glossary.
Cheers! |
22 Mar 2011
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chiaras
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In my opinion, if you want your students to remember new words you should make them work with them. For examples you could prepare exercises like that:
- fill in the gaps
- invent a sentence with the word...... (my students like this exercise very much)
- odd man out (for the younger kids)
Another way to involve them in vocabulary studying is to ask them to prepare a card with every new word they �ve learnt during your classes; you will keep all the cards in the drawer and at the beginning of every class you can revise them.
Building their own glossary can be useful too, but I �ve taught all my students to learn words in their typical contexts and not just as a list. For example, if we are reading a text and we find the word LOOK FOR (it happened yesterday!), I ask them, and then write on the board, all possible things they can look for: keys, job, a person, and so on. In this way, they partecipate in the building of their knowledge.
I �ve learned a lot about vocabulary teaching thanks to this book: "How to teach vocabulary" by Scott Thornbury- Longman
I have some students with disabilities too, and I know it may be difficult for them to remember words, but if they feel involved they may learn something too.
Have a nice day!
Chiara
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22 Mar 2011
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ueslteacher
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It sometimes helps if you build an memory association with a word from your native tongue which sounds somewhat similar. E.g. in Russian there �s a word which means "to drip" (about water) and it sounds just like the English word cup, so I could tell my ss that the water "kap-kap" (meaning drip-drip) into the cup. It �s very effective and they remember the words better. One more example I used with my 7th-graders, when we were studying environmental protection, I said that "car fumes" is opposite to "perfume" -- in Ukrainian "parfumy", so I changed the first letter to make it "carfumy" and they remembered "car fumes" right away. I �m sure you can think of something in your language. Sophia |
22 Mar 2011
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teacher jessie
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You should try games and activities where they have a very active part. E.g make their own picture dictionary, if they use a folder they can add new vocabulary whenever you/they want.
playing games like hangman, or with a baloon (they stand up, thay have to keep the baloon from falling onthe floor, every time they touch the baloon they say a word related to the category you give them).
Being active is the way.
Hope it �s helpful
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22 Mar 2011
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5puravida5
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Sophia you are very clever to use word associations. I think mnemonics can help students in a way that is fun for them. There is a funny ad on television where a guy uses mnemonics to remember people �s names. Duane (drain) the bathtub. Penny (a penny) saved is a penny earned.) You are a Dan (damn) fool. Whenever I teach the vowels, one of the kids will always sing the refrain from Old MacDonald had a Farm...EIEIO! If you can relate a word to something they know, they will remember. I always remember the past tense of the Spanish verb venir by remembering "Vino con vino." He came with wine. :) |
22 Mar 2011
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Zmarques
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With students with difficulties in vocabulary acquisition, or that they lack the vocabulary, I usually offer them a simple notebook and work out with them a sort of mini-dictionary. For this, I ask them to bring scissors and markers (to write a colourful alphabet) to class. The notebook should have a horizontal line marking the edge of the sheet on the right side of the paper. Then I ask them to write the letter A in the first row of the sheet and beyond the margin. Then I ask them to join two sheets and cut to below the A. On the next line, and below A, they should write B and so on, till the end of the alphabet.
The effect will be a phone book-shaped notebook with the whole alphabet visible. From here, students begin to create their own dictionary. They add new words as they appear, or you give them a list of vocabulary you think they should know. For example, you want them to know the meaning of " scissors". Ask them to go to the letter S, and write the word there, and then its meaning in their mother tongue.
My pupils enjoy creating it and it is a real hand-made tool that can be updated constantly. I usually tell them that we more easily memorize what we write than what we listen to.
I hope it helps!
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22 Mar 2011
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srachel
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THANKS A LOT FOR ALL THE GREAT IDEAS!!!
GOOD-LUCK TO YOU TOO!! |
24 Mar 2011
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