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
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 YL

1. Make it interesting
2. Keep it relevance
3. 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

(
http://emmainindia.hubpages.com/hub/Teaching-Vocabulary-to-YoungLearners
)

Techniques to teach vocabulary for YL

Pointing
Teacher can use flashcard or power point
presentation to show the item that they want
teach.
2. Substitution
There are two ways to substitute the
words
1.

to

Synonyms : We substitute one word students are familiar

with or another new one
Example: When you call someone, do you sometimes
have towait?
You have tohold.
Antonym : We substitute one word they are familiar with for
its opposite.
Example : Is a Ferrari acheapcar? No its
anexpensivecar.

3. Naming
This 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 effectivelynamingthe
scene
Example :

The steak I ordered last night was

not
cooked enough. It
wasundercooked/rare/bloody.
The hotel accepted too many
reservations. The hotel isoverbooked.

4. Miming and TPR

This technique works great with
kinesthetic learners. TPR works well with
parts of the body (Im touching my nose!
Touch your nose!), actions (Im walking to
the door), and the imperative commands
(Sit down! Stand up!)
5. Realia
The using of realia can motivate the YL to
learn. Its fun and sets a more natural
learning environment

Vocabulary
Puzzle

Guess the
Word

Sparkle

Kind of
Activiti
es to
Teach
Vocabul
ary to
YL

Spelling
Bulls-eye

Word Ladder

http://emmainindia.hubpages.com/hub/Te
aching-Vocabulary-to-Young-Learners

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