Teaching Vocabulary In The EFL Classroom

Have you ever noticed that some words are much easier for learners to remember than others? (hello, swear words!)

Often, the difference comes down to connection. Words that are linked to emotions, experiences, or meaningful contexts tend to stay in learners’ memories much longer.

The difficulty is that most of the vocabulary students encounter in class doesn’t always come with those memorable connections. This is one of the reasons vocabulary learning can be such a challenge for EFL learners – and why teaching vocabulary is such an important skill for TEFL teachers to master.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• Why vocabulary learning is difficult in language learning – but oh-so important
• Principles for teaching vocabulary effectively
• Practical strategies and steps to use in your lessons
• Games and activities you can use for retention and revision – and just pure fun!

Why learning vocabulary is important in language learning

Imagine you spend a week in Barcelona, Spain and you can’t speak a word of Spanish. Which is going to be more helpful – knowing that tapas are small dishes enjoyed for lunch or dinner, or knowing that adjectives come after nouns?

When you think about it, it’s possible to get by with knowing any grammar at all, as long as you know some vocabulary. Even a handful of well-chosen words can help you order food, ask for directions, or make yourself understood in everyday situations.

However, while vocabulary is essential for communication, learning and remembering new words is often one of the most challenging parts of language learning.

Why learning vocabulary is difficult for language learners

When it comes to language learning, remembering new words can feel overwhelming. And no wonder – there are apparently over 1 million English words that exist!

One of the biggest challenges language learners face is the sheer amount of vocabulary they need to acquire. English words don’t exist in isolation. We can’t forget about collocations, idioms, word families, figurative language and context. Shooh!

Then the grind begins. Learning a word once-off is impossible. Repetition and revision on the regular, are essential. That’s the only way vocabulary is retained in your long-term memory. 

The difficulty with revision comes with taking it outside the classroom. Many language learners are isolated in their learning journey and have nobody to practice with. As a result, vocabulary stays in a langauge learner’s passive knowledge without making it to their active knowledge.

This is why what happens in our EFL classrooms is so important.

Read more: Spaced Repetition: What Is It And Why Do We Need To Know About It?

Teaching vocabulary: Strategies and techniques

When it comes to teaching vocabulary, success lies in having the following fundamentals as part of your strategy:

• Teach the most relevant words. Choose words that students will be able to use in their everyday lives and that are level-appropriate. 
• Teach words in context rather than in isolation. 
• Teach meaning, form, and pronunciation (MFP). 
• Limit new vocabulary to a manageable number per lesson. Research suggests teaching between five and ten new words in a lesson, depending on your students’ ages. 
• Recycle vocabulary regularly across lessons. Comprehension and retention can only happen through consistent exposure and practice. 
• Engage multiple senses through visuals, movement, and sound. Encouraging interest leads to better learning outcomes. 
• Give learners time to notice, think, and clarify meaning.

Vocabulary learning is gradual, so repetition and meaningful exposure are essential.

Tip:Avoid overloading your learners with new vocabulary too quickly. Rather revise words more frequently and introduce vocabulary in chunks – groups of words that go together.

5 Easy steps to teaching vocabulary to English language learners

Have a look at our foolproof vocabulary teaching strategy:

Step 1: Elicit meaning through context

Give students a scenario, be it through pictures, text, or a recording. Allow students time to figure out the meaning the target language based on context.

Step 2: Elicit MFP (Meaning, Form & Pronunciation)

Allow students to work out the different facets of the given word – its definition or meaning, form, and pronunciation. Your role is to facilitate learning through guided questions and fill in their gaps in knowledge where needed.

Read more: Ways To Elicit Effectively In The EFL Classroom

Step 3: Check their understanding

Now you can use concept checking questions (CCQs) to gauge your students’ understanding of the word. CCQs decipher if students have comprehended the MFP and to clarify any gaps in knowledge.

Step 4: Guided practice, then independent use

Give your students controlled exercises or activities to engage with the target vocabulary. Controlled activities like gap-fills, matching, and word sorting are some great go-tos.

After that, allow students to use the target language with freer activities: role plays, writing, debates, dialogues.

Key tip: Give students guiding questions they can use to create their own sentences. 

Step 5: Revision, revision, revision

This step spans across tsubsequent lessons. Revision at the end of the lesson to solidify meaning and comprehension is a must, and so is it in the next set of lessons. 

To consolidate the target language, consistent exposure and usage is the name of the game.

Techniques for teaching vocabulary to Young Learners

Young learners thrive on interaction and just pure stimuli in any form. Games, on the other hand, can be quite tricky. Giving instructions for complex games can go over their little heads, so these other forms of activities are recommended.

Songs

Drop a beat, and watch your classroom activate. Learning words to a song or nursery rhyme seems pleasurable rather than learning, and Young Learners will vouch for this. 

The melodious repetition of words makes vocabulary learning a breeze. But make sure to regularly use these songs throughout your lessons to ensure retention.

Read more: 9 Amazingly Effective Songs To Teach English

Storytelling

Who doesn’t love a good story? Telling or reading a story doesn’t just expose Young Learners to new vocabulary; it provides a vivid context that helps connect meaning to words. It creates excitement and discussion, too! 

Naturally, stories or nursery rhymes need to be read on regularly for memory retention and growing comprehension. As Young Learners become more acquainted with the tale, they can be prompted to give the target vocabulary.

Read more: Teaching Young Learners Using Storytime

Flashcards

Young learners, despite their inability to read skillfully, still need exposure to written words. Flashcards have been a staple tool in teachers’ toolkits for decades, and for good reason – the simplicity of pairing words with images makes vocabulary learning clear, engaging, and easier to remember. 

Video

Short, relevant, and age-appropriate videos work for Young Learners. Research shows that using videos related to the target language can indeed increase engagement and vocabulary mastery.

Physical actions and TPR

Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes. The combination of physical action and song transforms learning 

Don’t have materials to represent a vocabulary word? Say less, act it out, or point to it! Using the popular TPR (Total Physical Response) method works best with Young Learners. Signaling, gestures, and facial expressions translate meaning with immediate effect. 

Teaching vocabulary games and activities

These are games and activities we would recommend for your lesson:

Strangers on a train: 

*One of our favourites*

• Each student is given a word or phrase. 
• In pairs or groups the students must have conversations together – like they are sitting next to each other on a train!
• Students try to use their word or phrase as naturally as possible in conversation.
• The game ends when a student has used all the words on their cards. 

Pictionary: 

• Students draw a word and their classmates have to guess the word from their drawing. 
• This works in pairs and groups.

Half a crossword: 

• Each student or group gets a half-completed crossword with the target language. 
• Student 1 will have all “down” words filled in  already and will have to create clues, aka definitions, for all the “across” words; and vice-versa for Student 2. 
• They have to then ask one another for the clues to fill in their half-crosswords. 

Back to the board: 

• One student per group sits with their back to the board. 
• The teacher writes the target word or phrase on the board. 
• The other students of the group must describe it to the one with their back to the board. 
• The student in the hot seat must shout out their answer as soon as they have guessed it.

Vocabulary pictures

• Give students a set of random pictures. 
• Ask the students to choose a picture and describe the situation using as many of the target vocabulary items as possible. 
• For example, they may simply describe the scene or they may use the picture as the backdrop to a story.

2 Truths and a lie

This classic game works in the classroom too! 

• In pairs, groups, or as a class, each student must write two truths and one lie about themselves, using the target language. 
• Students must then read their sentences aloud to their partners/groups or class, and the others must guess which sentence is a lie.

Storytime

• Write the target language on the board. 
• In small groups, each student in turn says a sentence using one of the target vocabulary items. 
• The next person continues the story with another sentence, using another vocabulary item. 
• The story continues until all the words have been used.

Game tip: To up the ante, get one student from each group to retell their group’s story to the class.

Connections

This activity helps students put the words into context and create links between words. 

• Write the list of target vocabulary items on the board. 
• Give the students some time to think of connections they can make between the words. 
• They share their ideas with other students. 
• At the end of the activity, the students can report back on which connections they feel are the most memorable.

Read more: Our 5 Favourite Vocabulary Games

Teaching the roughly 1 million English words that exist is luckily not your objective, nor is it humanly possible! What matters most when teaching vocabulary in the EFL classroom is helping grow your students’ vocabulary through context, repetition, and useful activities. 

Author Bio

Written by

Yasmien Winkler

Edited by Kirsten Colquhoun

Yasmien Winkler is a TEFL Teacher Trainer, qualified English teacher, and content writer with 5+ years in the TEFL industry. She’s dedicated to empowering teachers and is an animal lover at heart. Read Yasmien Winkler's story →