Teaching vocabulary in the EFL classroom involves more than just teaching words.
When we teach words, we need to teach their meaning, form (i.e. spelling) and pronunciation. We need to teach formulaic language, colloquialisms, and the differences between the different (relevant) varieties of English.
Teaching vocabulary means that students need to be able to:
- read the word,
- write the word,
- say the word,
- know and understand the different forms and meanings of the word, and
- use the word correctly and appropriately.
Dictionaries and thesauruses are very useful tools for vocabulary building.
A quick search of the internet will reveal a plethora of technology-based tools for vocabulary building. You can connect your computer to a large screen and the whole class will then be able to participate in the activity.
Make sure that the activities you select are appropriate for the CEFR level of the class you are teaching.
A few sites that you might consider using are the following (they have been chosen at random, and no recommendation is implied):
- Quizlet is a flashcard learning website: you can make your own flashcards for a variety of subjects.
- Snappywords is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus: it also visually shows the connection between words.
- Wordhippo functions as a thesaurus.
These dictionaries are useful for EFL learners:
- Merriam Webster (this is a US English dictionary.)
- Cambridge
- Macmillan
- Oxford
- Collins
At the end of the day, old-fashioned reading is still the best method for improving vocabulary.
Read more: 3 Activities For Vocabulary Retention