In this webinar, Touchstone author Helen Sandiford discusses good teaching materials for teaching vocabulary, considers the most useful features to look for and explores how these features can positively impact your students’ learning experiences.
In ELT classrooms around the world, vocabulary often takes second place to grammar. But as David Wilkins famously said: “While without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” A relatively large vocabulary is crucial for understanding and participating in conversations, not to mention higher scores on English tests.
Vocabulary is obviously a very important part of English language teaching – but how to teach it? Making students memorise words rarely achieves the desired result, and large quantities of unknown expressions will quickly make them lose interest. This is why teachers need good teaching materials that will tell them which words are absolutely essential for their students – for example, tell them which items of clothing or colours are the most commonly talked about in English language. This way, the students can learn useful words without getting too frustrated about the sheer quantity of them.
How can you keep repeated exposure to new vocabulary items fun? What fun activities are there for recycling vocabulary in a meaningful way to keep it fresh in your students’ minds? Watch the webinar and find out!