“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below

Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”


                                                                 W. Shakespeare (1564-1616)




Teaching Vocabulary:


People often have strong, unexpressed relationship with words. The word may influence us with all
sorts of things. We may perceive the sound the word has. We may be influenced by the shape, by the
look and the position it has on the page. It may be pleasant to pronounce the word. It may recall
the feeling we had when we once used the word wrongly and we were laughed at by our classmates. On
the other hand the feeling may be nice when we once used the word and we were praised by the
teacher. Word is like a person we meet for the first time. It sends signals; it can affect our
first impressions and thus affect how well we will remember the word.


Presenting new words.

The teacher should bear in mind how important these things are when we present new words. How
important the sound of the word is, the kinetic sensation of lungs, throat, mouth and nose, the
shape on the page, its colour, associations it evokes, collocations, metaphors. The circumstances
of meeting the word play an inevitable role in presenting new words. Not only context, also the
room, the people present, the time of the day, the atmosphere are important..


Visual techniques should be used with young learners as often as possible. We have a wide range of
possibilities: flashcards, photographs, blackboard drawings, wall charts, realia, real objects,
miming, gestures etc. Abstract thinking is not on the same level as with older learners. We may
rely on a certain level of abstract thinking with older learners therefore verbal techniques can be
used with better effect. Anyway, the teacher must be flexible and empathetic with the age and level
of his/her students and choose right methods sensitively.


Remembering vocabulary.

When pupils can easily assign meaning to the word better results are achieved. If pupils learn
words in groups (animal, dog, legs, eyes, ears, tail…), the words can be remembered in an easier
way. Learning through rhyme helps, too (bad /sad, well/shell …). Learning through meaning mustn’t
be neglected (mum/dad/brother/sister …). When the words learnt at the beginning of the lesson are
revised at the end, they will not be forgotten so easily. Emotive and personal significance of the
word may also affect the process of remembering.


Training vocabulary.

Techniques training vocabulary should enable the pupil to be more responsible for his own learning.
Great attention should be paid to individual needs. The teacher just equips the pupil with
necessary strategies in learning vocabulary and offers suitable activities. Vocabulary can be
trained by a vast range of exercises: matching, odd one out, writing sentences, translation,
sentence completion, gap-filling and techniques training speaking, of course, asking others,
interviewing, role-playing, mingling etc.


Practising vocabulary is very important. Pupils should hear the new word, repeat it, say it, see
it, and eventually write it. To do that they need a lot of practice and revision, communicative
activities, games, songs, rhymes, fun topics they like, they are interested in, and are familiar
with (family, pets, animals, friends, school …), feeling of success, physical movement and also
parents’ involvement. Parents may see their children’s progress through their home works and also
through displays of pupils’ works in school. Portfolio containing the results of pupil’s struggling
and covering the process of his learning is also very suitable. What young learners don’t need in
their lessons is not moving at all and sitting still, bad marks when they only begin to learn
English and silly tests.