CHAPTER 1: TEACHING VOCABULARY

Chapter aims:
By the end of this chapter, students will be able to:

• explain why vocabulary should be taught;

• describe what aspects of a vocabulary item should be taught;

• demonstrate steps of vocabulary presenting;

• apply different techniques to elicit/present, check learners’

understanding, and integrate newly acquired words into their mental
lexicon.

MAIN TOPICS
• Why and what to teach

• Steps of vocabulary presenting

• Techniques for eliciting/presenting, checking and integrating

words to work

1.1. Why and what to teach

1.1.1. The importance of vocabulary

Activity 1: Work in groups to decide if the following statements are true or

false. Then read the text and compare your opinions with the author’s ideas.

1. For many learners, grammar is more important than vocabulary.

2. Advanced learners usually pay attention to different meanings of a new

word that they have learned.

3. Learners have the same ways to remember words.

4. The kinds of words that advanced learners want to learn and use
depend on their interests and needs.

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 Vocabulary is important to learners it is more important than
grammar for communication purposes, particularly in the early
stages when learners are motivated to learn the basic words they
need to get by in the language. Also, as the lexical system is ‘open’,
there is always something new to learn when learners have ‘done’
the grammar. Therefore, more advanced learners are motivated to
add to their vocabulary stock, to understand nuances (very slight
differences) of meaning, to become more proficient in their own
choice of words and expressions.

A learner’s receptive vocabulary is generally much larger than his

or her productive vocabulary: language learners can usually
understand many more words than they actively use. Learners are
also idiosyncratic (unusual and particular to a person) in the way they
remember vocabulary no two learners are exactly the same. In
particular, as learners become more advanced, their individual
interests and needs will help determine what kinds of words they will
want to understand, remember and use.

Source: Adapted from ‘Teaching Practice:

A Handbook for Teachers in Training’

by Gower et al. (2005, p.142)

1.1.2. What needs to be taught

Activity 2: Match the examples of vocabulary items with the definitions.

Write them in the table on page 13. Definition 1 in the table is done as an
example, so you can start from definition 2.

a) life→lives

b) Facebook, Google+, Flickr, Twitter

c) decrease ≠ increase

d) house: a building for people to live in usually for one family

e) harbour /ˊha:rbə(r)/

f) train→ trainer/trainee

g) c-o-m-p-u-t-e-r

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h) dragon: a woman who behaves in an agressive and frightening way
(British English)

i) bike- bicycle

j) background, freestyle

k) biodiversity

l) extreme→ extremely

m) fruit: apple, banana, orange

n) It is raining cats and dogs.

o) spacious = roomy

p) oil, coal, and natural gas → fossil fuels

Definitions Examples Your examples

1. Denotation: The meaning of a d) house

word is primarily what it refers to in
the real world.

2. Connotation: the association,

positive or negative feelings it
evokes, which may or may not be
indicated in a dictionary.

3. Formality: a particular item is the

appropriate one to use in a certain
context or not.

4. Derivation: the process of creating

new words using prefixes or
suffixes

5. Inflection: the creation of new

forms of a word, e.g. plurals,
participles…

6. Pronunciation: what a word sounds

like

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 7. Spelling: what a word looks like.

8. Synonym: items that mean the

same, or nearly the same

9. Antonyms: Items that mean the

opposite

10. Hyponymns: items that serve as

specific examples of a general
concept

11. Co-hyponyms: items that are the

same kind of thing

12. Super-ordinates: general concepts

that “cover” specific items.

13. Collocation: words which go

together, often verbs and nouns
like “come to a decision”

14. Compound words: a new word

made by combining two others

Activity 3: Read the text in the box below and check your answers in Activity
2. Then add one more example of your own in the table in Activity 2.

VOCABULARY: WHAT NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT?

1. Form: pronunciation and spelling

The learner has to know what a word sounds like (its

pronunciation) and what it looks like (its spelling). These are fairly
obvious characteristics, and one or the other will be perceived by
the learner when encountering the item for the first time. In
teaching, we need to make sure that both these aspects are
accurately presented and learned.

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2. Grammar

The grammar of a new item will need to be taught if this is not

obviously covered by general grammatical rules. An item may have
an unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts,
or may have some particular ways of connecting with other words
in sentences. Therefore, it is important to provide learners with this
information at the same time we teach the base form. When
teaching a new verb, for example, we might also give its past form.
If it is irregular (take, took), and we might note if is transitive or
intransitive. Similarly, when teaching a noun, we may wish to
present its plural form, if irregular (child, children), or draw learners’
attention to the fact that it has no plural at all (advice, information).
We may present verbs such as want and enjoy together with the
verb form that follows them (want to, enjoy-ing), or adjectives or
verbs together with their following preposition (responsible for,
remind someone of).

3. Collocation

Collocation refers to the way words tend to co-occur with other

words or expressions. The collocations of typical or particular items
are another factor that makes a particular combination sound
“right” or “wrong” in a given context, so this is another piece of
information about a new item which may be worth teaching. When
introducing words like decision and conclusion, for example, we
may note that you take or make a decision, but come to/lead to the
conclusion or draw some conclusions. Similarly, you throw a ball but
toss a coin; you may talk about someone being dead tired, but it
sounds odd to say dead fatigued. Collocations are often, but not
always, shown in dictionaries under one of the head-words, or by
a note in parentheses.

4. Aspects of meaning (a): denotation, connotation,

appropriateness/formality

The meaning of a word or expression is what it refers to, or

denotes, in the real world, its denotation; this is often a short of
definition given in a dictionary. For examples, dog denotes a kind
of animal; more specifically, a common, domestic carnivorous
mammal; both dank and moist mean slightly wet; and a tree is a

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 large plant with a wooden trunk, branches and leaves. In order
word, this is the meaning that describes the thing or idea behind
the vocabulary item, and this meaning is called denotation.

A less obvious component of the meaning of an item is its

connotation: the association, or positive or negative feelings it
evokes, which may or may not be indicated in a dictionary
definition. The word dog, for example, as understood by British
people, has a positive connotation of friendship and loyalty;
whereas the equivalent in Arabic, as understood by most people
in Arab countries has negative associations of dirt and inferiority.
Within the English language, moist has favorable connotations
while dank has unfavorable so that you could describe something
as ‘pleasantly moist’ whereas ‘pleasantly dank’ would sound
absurd.

A more subtle aspect of meaning that often needs to be taught is

whether a particular item is the appropriate one to use in a certain
context or not (This aspect is called appropriateness). Thus it is
useful for a learner to know that a certain word is very common,
or relatively rare, or “taboo” in polite conversation, or tends to be
used in writing but not in speech, or is more suitable for formal
than informal discourse, or belongs to a certain dialect. For
example, you may know that weep is virtually synonymous in
denotation with cry, but it is more formal, tends to be used in
writing more than in speech, and is in general much less common.

5. Aspects of meaning (b): meaning relationships

It is also useful to teach how the meaning of an item related to the

meaning of others. There are various such relationships: here are
some of the main ones.

▪ Synonyms: items that mean the same; for example, bright,

clever, smart may serve as synonyms of intelligent.

▪ Antonyms: items that mean the opposite; rich is antonym of

poor.

▪ Hyponyms: items that serve as specific examples of a general

concept: dog, lion, mouse are hyponyms of animal.

▪ Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates: other items that are the ‘same

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 kind of thing’: red, blue, green and brown are co-ordinates.

▪ Superordinates: general concepts that “cover” specific items;

animal is the superordinate of dog, lion, mouse.

▪ Translation: words or expressions in learners’ mother tongue

that are (more or less) equivalent in meaning to the item being
taught. Besides these, there are other, perhaps looser, ways of
associating meaning that are useful in teaching. You can, for
example, relate parts to a whole (the relationship between arm
and body); or associate items that are part of the same real-
world context (tractor, farmer, milking, and irrigating are all
associated with agriculture). All these can be exploited in
teaching to clarify the meaning of a new item, or for practice or
test materials.

6. Word formation

Vocabulary items, whether one-word or multi-word, can often be

broken down into their component “bits”. Exactly how these bits
are put together is another piece of useful information-perhaps
mainly for more advanced learners.

Teachers may wish to teach the common prefixes and suffixes: for
example, if learners know the meaning of sub, un, and able, this
will help them guess the meanings of words like substandard,
ungrateful, and untranslatable. They should, however, be warned
that in many common words the affixes no longer have any
obvious connection with their root meaning (for example, subject,
comfortable). New combina-tions using prefixes are not unusual,
and the reader or hearer would be expected to gather their
meaning from an under-standing of their components (ultra-
modern, super-hero).

Another way vocabulary items are built is by combining two words

(two nouns, or a gerund and a noun, or a noun and a verb) to make
one item: a single compound word, or two separate, sometimes
hyphenated words (bookcase, follow-up, swimming pool). Again,
new coinages using this kind of combination are very common.

Source: Adapted from ‘A Course in Language Teaching’,

by Ur (2012, pp. 60-63)

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 Activity 4: Read the following summary about aspects of a vocabulary item
that the teacher should consider and fill in the missing words/phrases.

(1) _____________

• What part of speech is the word ̶ noun, verb, adjective, adverb or

preposition?

• How is it spelt ̶ is it regular or irregular?

• Does it belong to a ‘family’ of words, for example electricity,

electrical, electrician?

• How is the word, or combination of words, pronounced and, in

words of more than one syllable, where is the stress?

• How does the word collocate with surrounding words? Is it part of

a set of expression?

(2) _____________

• Many words have more than one meaning. What exact meaning(s)
in which context do you want to focus on?

• What is the combination of the item?

• Could the vocabulary item have different meanings for different

people?

(3) _____________

• How is the vocabulary item used?

• Does it have a restricted use? Does it belong to a particular style

or register?

Adapted from ‘Teaching Practice:

A Handbook for Teachers in Training’,
by Gower et al. (2005, p.144)

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1.2. Steps for eliciting/presenting vocabulary

Activity 5: Read (Watch) the demo and ‘label’ each step. Step 1 is done as an
example.

Trainer’s example Trainer’s steps

T: (show a picture) (1) Eliciting the new word

using a picture

T: What’s this. Tell me in Vietnamese.

Ss: Tàu ngầm

T: Listen. A submarine (2)____________

a submarine…. a submarine

T: Everybody repeat. (3) ____________

Ss: a submarine
T: again
Ss: a submarine

T: student A (4)____________
A: a submarine
T: student B
B: a submarine

T: say it again. (5)___________

(If some students pronounce incorrectly)
T: Listen to me. A submarine…
a submarine… a submarine
Ss: A submarine
T: student C
C: a submarine

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 (T. writes “a submarine” on the board.) (6)_____________
T: copy this.
Who knows the word in
Vietnamese?
Come and write it on the board.

T: Which is strong? (7)_______________

Do I say submarine or submarine?

Ss: Hum…
T: Both are correct. Copy this.

After other words have been taught, (8)_______________

T. erases the word but leaves the
translation.
T. asks, “what’s this again? Can you
remember?”

1.3. Techniques

1.3.1. Techniques for eliciting/presenting a new word

Activity 6: Study one of the following techniques and present it in front of

your class.

(a) Visuals

Example: a submarine (n)

T: shows the picture and asks “what is it?”

Ss: a ship.
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T: says, “Yes. You are nearly right. What does this ship look like?”

Ss: Probably, it is very large.

T: asks “Can it travel underwater?”

Ss: Yes.

T: asks, “How do you say it in English?” Listen. It is a

“submarine”, a ship that can travel underwater.

T: Tell me the word in Vietnamese.

Ss: “tàu ngầm”

(If students don’t know, the teacher can tell them.)

T: Good!

(b) Mime

Example: glance at (v)

T: (mimes glancing at a school bag of a student) asks,

“What am I doing?”

Ss: You are looking at A’s school bag.

T: Yes. “I am glancing at A’s school bag. I am looking quickly at her/his

school bag”.

(c) Realia

Example: a floppy hat

T: (brings a real floppy hat into class) asks, “What is this?”

Ss: a hat.

T: says, “Yes” and asks, “What does it look like?”; “Is it hanging loosely?”
(demonstration); “It is not hard, so it is a “floppy hat.”

(d) Situation/Explanation

Example: go off (= ring)

T: says, “I usually find it hard to get up in the early morning. Before going to
bed, I must set my alarm to play at 5:00a.m. to wake me up.”

T: asks, “How does the alarm wake me up?” Tell me the word in Vietnamese.

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 Ss: reo, or báo thức

T: says, “Great! Listen to it in English…go off. My alarm goes off at 5:00 to

wake me up.

(e) Example/Listing

Example: science fiction film

T: (lists examples of science fiction films such as Star Wars, Superman, The
Iron Giant, Avatar) asks, “What are these?”; and then says, “They are science
fiction films”. Give me another example of … science fiction film…

(f) Synonym/Antonym

Example: contented with (n)

T: asks “What is another word for happy?”

Example: risky (adj.)

T: asks, “What is the opposite of safe?”

Ss: unsafe

T: says, “Perfect! It’s unsafe or risky.”

(g)Translation

Example: fauna (n)

T: asks, “How do you say “hệ động vật” in English?

Ss: say “We don’t know.”

T: listen to it… fauna…, fauna…, fauna…

1.3.2. Techniques for checking vocabulary

Activity 7: Match the checking techniques with the descriptions. Description

(1) is done as an example.

Techniques Descriptions

Bingo!

Guess the Picture

Jumbled Words

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 Matching

Networks

Noughts and Crosses

Ordering

Rub out and Remember (1)

Slap the Board

What and Where

Wordsquare

Wordstorm

Rub out and remember

• Description (1) _______________________

Teaching aim: to help learners to memorize new vocabulary

Procedure:

a. Present or elicit the new vocabulary and build up a list on the

board.

b. Put the Vietnamese translation after each word.

(Steps a & b are done in the presentation stage.)

c. Get learners to copy into their books and ask them to close their
books.

d. Rub out the new word once at a time.

e. Each time you rub out a word in English, point to the Vietnamese
and ask, ‘What’s this in English?’

f. When all the English words are rubbed out, go through the
Vietnamese list and get learners to call out the English word.

Source: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p. 65)

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 • Description (2) _____________________

Teaching aims:

a. To get learners to recognize new vocabulary through listening

b. To check if learners understand the meaning of new vocabulary

Procedure:

(Ask 3 or 4 student-teachers) to be observers and ask then to follow

your steps and say why it is a useful technique.

a. Put the new words all over the board – not in a list.

b. If you want to check understanding, put the Vietnamese

translation of the new words or pictures on the board.

c. Call two teams of learners to the front of the class.

d. Ask them to stand at equal distance from the board.

e. Call out one of the new words with a loud voice.

f. The two learners must run forward and slap the word on the
board.

g. The one who slaps the correct word first is the winner.

h. If you are playing in teams, the winning team gets a mark.

i. Then ask two more learners to come forward etc.

Source: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p. 66)

• Description (3) ___________________________

Teaching aim: To help learners memorize new vocabulary or to

revise vocabulary

Procedure:

a. Follow the same procedure as for RUB and REMEMBER; and SLAP
THE BOARD; i.e. choose observers.

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 b. Elicit words to do with the classroom from the learners.
c. As the learners give you the word, write it on the board inside a
circle.
d. Do not write the words in a list.
e. When all the words are on the board, rub out one of the words
but do not rub out the circles.
f. Get the learners to repeat the word including the rubbed –out
word by pointing.
g. Rub out another word but leave the circle.
h. Point to the words or empty circles.
i. Ask learners to read or remember the words.
j. Continue until all the circles are empty.
k. The learners now have to remember all the words.
l. Ask the learners (6 or 8 at a time) to come to the board and fill in
the circles with the correct words.
Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,
by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p. 66),
and from ‘English 10’, Unit 8 (2005, pp. 82-83)

cash crop flooded

muddy

shortage

straw
widen

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 • Description (4) _______________________

Teaching aims:

a. To get learners to match the new vocabulary with definitions,

translations of pictures

b. To save time pre-teaching

Procedure:
a. Write the new words in a list on the left side on the board.
b. Write definitions, translations or draw pictures, on the right side
of the board.

c. Get learners to come up the board and match items in the left
side list with item in the right side list by drawing a line between
them.

d. 4 or 5 learners can work at the board at the same time.

e. Check answers by asking the class, “Do you agree?”

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, pp. 65-70) and
from ‘English 10’, Unit 9 (2005, pp. 94-103)

A (words) B (definitions)

1. jellyfish (n) a. a large reptile with hard round shell that

lives in the sea (rùa biển)
2. starfish (n)

3. turtle (n) b. a large sea fish with very sharp teeth and
pointed fin on its back (cá mập)
4. whale (n)
c. a sea creature with a body like jelly and
5. shark (n)
long thin parts called tentacles that can
give a sharp sting (con sứa)

d. a very large animal that lives in the sea

and looks like a very large fish (cá voi)

e. a flat sea creature in the shape of a star

with five arms (con sao biển)

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• Description (5) ______________________

Teaching aim: to get a lot of learners to practice saying the

new words in a meaningful way
Procedure:
a. Make A4 pictures of new words you are going to teach.
b. Put the pictures in a file.
c. Get learners to come to the front and choose one of the pictures.
d. Make sure nobody else can see which picture has been chosen.
e. Get the rest of the class to guess which picture it is.
f. Learners ask, “Is it a…?”
g. The 1st learner who guesses the picture correctly comes up to the
front, chooses a new picture and the game continues.
Source: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,
by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.67)

• Description (6) _______________________

Teaching aim: to get learners to recognize the pronunciation

of new words and give them listening practice
Procedure:
a. Teach the new words and write them on the board in the wrong
order.
b. Get learners to copy the words in their books.
c. Read or tell the story with the new words in it. Get learners to put
the words in the correct order by numbering them.

Example:

(to) continue

(to) drop 2

(to) get up 1

(to) park (x)

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 (to) pedal

(to) ride off

Hello everyone, my name is Lam. I’m a cyclo driver in Ho Chi Minh

City. I usually have a busy working day. I get up at five thirty in the
morning. I start work at six. My first passenger is usually an old
man. T take him from District 1 to District 5. After I drop him at a
café near HCMC College of Education. I pedal to Thai Binh market.
My next passenger is a lady who does shopping there every two
days. I help her put all her purchases into the cyclo and then take
her to a shop in Tran Hung Dao street. At about ten thirty, I ride
off toward Nguyen Thi Minh Khai school. There I park my cyclo,
chat with some of my fellows and wait for my third passengers.
They are two school pupils, a girl and a boy. I take them home. At
twelve I have lunch at a food stall near Ben Thanh market. After
lunch, I park my cyclo under a tree, take a short nap and then
continue my afternoon’s work.
Sources: Adapted from English 10,
Unit 1 (2005, pp. 16-17)

• Description (7) ________________________

Teaching aim: To get learners to practice listening to new

words and to match sounds with spelling
Procedure:
a. The teacher gets learners to brainstorm a list of 10-15 new words
and puts them on the board.
b. Learners choose 5 words to copy them in their notebooks.
c. The teacher reads out the words in any order.
d. Each time the learner has one of the words the teacher reads,
s/he puts a tick next to that word.
e. The first learner to tick all five words shouts “Bingo!”
Source: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,
by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.68)

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• Description (8) _____________________

Teaching aim: To get learners to put new vocabulary into a sentence

Procedure:

a. The teacher puts a grid on the board with nine new words in it.

b. Learners work in pairs. ONE of the learners copies the grid in

his/her book.

c. One learner is “noughts” (‘O’); the other is ‘crosses’ (‘X’).

d. One learner starts. S/he chooses a word and makes a sentence

with it. If the sentence is correct, s/he puts her mark (“O” or “X”) in
that square.

e. The 1st learner to get three-in-a-row (across, down or diagonally)

wins.

Example:

L1: “hilarious”. I enjoy watching Comedy (i.e. Mr. Bean as this kind
of film is hilarious.

L2: “moving”. I am interested in watching love story films

because most of their love stories are moving.

L1: “interesting”. I like science fiction films because they are

interesting.

L2: “terrifying”. I don’t like action films because actions in these

films are really terrifying.

boring interesting terrifying

exciting moving touching

frightening hilarious violent

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.68) and from
‘English 10', Unit 13 (2005, pp. 132-141)

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 • Description (9) ____________________

Teaching aim: To get learners to practice spelling of new words

Procedure:

a. The teacher writes 5 or 6 words with jumbled letters on the board

and tell learners what the topic is.

b. Learners write the words correctly in their books.

c. Learners come to the board to write the correct words there to

see if everyone agrees.

Example: Topic SCHOOL SUBJECTS

HSICPSY= physics THAMS= Maths

LYGIOBO= biology TYHOSIY= history

RUTELARITE= literature RTYHSEICM= chemistry

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.68), and from
‘English 10’, Unit 2, (2005, pp. 22-31)

• Description (10) __________________________

Teaching aims:

a. To get learners to revise lexical sets

b. To put words from different sections into one context, so

learners remember them better

Procedure:

a. Write the network like in the example on page 24 and put some
more words below it.

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 b. Don’t use just concrete nouns-remember to include some verbs.

c. Get the learners to put the given words in the appropriate circles.

d. Learners fill in the remaining empty circles with their own words.

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.69), and from
‘English 10’, Unit 13 (2005, pp.132-141)

cartoon
Titanic

love
films action
story

moving
science
fiction

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 • Description (11) _________________________

Teaching aim: To get learners to recognize the spelling of new

words.

Procedure:

a. The teacher writes the word square on the board or make a

poster of it.

b. The teacher tells the learners what the topic is and how many
hidden words there are. The learners come to the board and circle
any words they can see.

Example: Music

A C O M P O S E R Q

X L Q O F O Z L N W

K A W U P O P S M E

L S E R L U L L K R

M S R N I X T K N T

V I T F K G S D M Y

X C Y U I W T C E U

Z A U L G E N T L E

C L E O L O V B O Z

Z D I Z Z A J G S H

Keys:

Across Down Diagonally

- composer - classical - delight

- jazz - mournful - pop
- gentle - solemn - folk

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2003, p.69), and from
‘English 10’, Unit 12 (2005, pp. 124-131)

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 • Description (12) ________________________

Teaching aim: To get learners to put new vocabulary into a

sentence

Procedure:

a. Get learners to work in pairs and brainstorm all the words they
know on a topic, e.g. ‘CITIES’.

b. Learner A thinks of a word and tells learner B.

c. Both learners write down the word.

d. Learner B thinks of another word, tells learner A and both write it

down.

e. When they have thought of all words they can, put two pairs
together to share their lists.

f. One pair reads to the other pair who ticks off the same words or
adds any new words. The group with the most word is the winner.

Sources: Adapted from ‘ELT Methodology’,

by Nguyễn Bằng et al. (2005, p.70) and from
‘English 10’, Unit 15 (2005, pp. 156-165)

1.3.3. Techniques for integrating new words to work

Activity 8: Read the text in Box 1. Then (1) match each description in Box 2
(pp.23-24) with the correct task type (listed 1-7) in the table below Box 2
(Description A is done as an example); and (2) match each task type with its
correct example (Example 1 is already done for you).

Box 1

Traditionally, the presentation of new language items would

swiftly be followed by the practice of these items, and this
practice would typically take the form of some kind of oral
repletion like a drill. This notion of mechanical practice underlines
the popular belief that ‘practice makes perfect’. However, simply
repeating newly learned words is no guarantee that they will
move from the short-term memory store into permanent
memory. New knowledge - i.e. new words - needs to be

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 integrated into existing knowledge - i.e. the learners’ existing
network of word association, or what is called the mental lexicon.
There is a greater likelihood of the word being integrated into
this network if many 'deep' decisions have been made about it.
In other words, to ensure long-term memory retention and recall,
words need to be 'put to work’. They need to be replaced in
working memory, and subjected to different operations. Such
operations might include: being taken apart and put back
together again, being compared, combined, matched, sorted,
visualized and re-shuffled, as well as being repeatedly filed away
and recalled since the more often a word is recalled, the easier
recall becomes. Therefore, there should be classroom activities or
integration activities rather than 'practice activities' or
‘reinforcement activities because both these latter terms have
associations with a more mechanical, less cognitive, approach to
language teaching. These activities encourage learners to
integrate newly acquired words into their mental lexicon.

There are two categories of tasks: (i) decision-making tasks, and

(ii) production tasks. The former category of tasks roughly
arranged in an order from least cognitively demanding to most
demanding includes: identifying, selecting, matching, sorting,
ranking and sequencing. The latter category consists of
production tasks that can be divided into two main types:
completion of sentences and texts, and creation of sentences and
texts.

Source: Adapted from ‘How to teach vocabulary’,

by Thornbury (2008, pp. 93-105)

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Box 2: Descriptions

A. This task involves both recognizing words and making choices

amongst them. This may take the form of choosing the ‘odd one
out’.

B. This task involves first recognizing words and then pairing them
with ‘for example’ a visual representation, a translation, a
synonym, an antonym, a definition, or a collocate.

C. This task simply means finding words where they may otherwise
be ‘hidden’, such as in texts.

D. This type involves production tasks more generally known as

gap-fills. One basic distinction can be made between open and
closed gap-fills. The open type is one where learners fill the gaps
be drawing on their mental lexicon. On the other hand, in a
closed gap-fill, the words are provided, in the form of a list at the
beginning of the exercise, so learners decide which word goes in
which gap.

E. This activity requires learners to sort words into different

categories. The categories can either be given, or guessed.

F. This is a production task that requires learners to create the

contexts for given words. For example, choosing six words from
the list and writing a sentence using each one; writing a short
narrative (or a dialogue) which includes at least five words from
the list.

G. This activity requires learners to put the words into some kinds
of order. This may involve arranging the words on a cline: for
example, adverbs of frequency; or learners may be asked to rank
items according to preferences.

Source: Adapted from ‘How to teach vocabulary’,

by Thornbury (2008, pp. 93-105)

35
 Tasks/Activities Descriptions Examples

1. Identifying
2. Selecting (A)
3. Matching (1)
4. Sorting
5. Ranking & sequencing
6. Sentence & text completion
7. Sentence & text creation

Example (1): _________________

In 3 minutes, write as many correct pairs of verbs + nouns (noun

phrases) as possible. One verb can go with many nouns (noun
phrases).

- Verbs: go, play, do

- Nouns: gardening, shopping, football, running, yoga, cards,

fishing, the piano, surfing, karate, swimming, tennis, hiking,
exercises, cycling

Example:

- Do gardening

- Go fishing

- Play karate

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 1,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 12)

Example (2): ___________________

Put these stages of life into the correct order (1-7) from youngest
to oldest.
adolescent child infant middle aged
pensioner teenager young adult

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 6,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 70)

36
 Example (3): ________________________

In the text “Bolivian wrestlers”, like can be found in many

sentences with different meanings such as (i) enjoying in general,
(ii) wanting to do in the future, (iii) similar behavior to, and (iv)
similar appearance to. Make four sentences of your own using
like (with four different meanings).

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 2,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 26)

Example (4): ______________

Put the nouns in the box into two groups: where to play and what
you need. Then complete the table below the box.

court ball bat course

net goggles ring pitch
racquet pool gloves car
track club

Sports Where to play What you need

1. Boxing
2. Cricket
3. Golf
4. Motor racing
5. Swimming
6. Tennis

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 2,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 13)

Example (5): ____________________________

In the biography about life of Jane Goodall (by Hughes et. al.
2016, p.135), there are four phrase verbs with set as follows:

- set off: start a journey

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 - set up: start something new such as a new business
- set about: start doing something with energy and enthusiasm
- set out: start something with a particular aim
Complete each of the questions below with a phrasal verb with set.
Then ask and answer questions with your partner.

1. What time did you _________ to school this morning?

2. When did you _________ learning English?

3. Did you always __________ to major in the subject that you are
pursuing at this university?

4. Have you ever wanted to ___________ your own business after

graduation?

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 11,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 113)

Example (6): ______________________

Work in pairs. Choose three adjectives in the box to describe

yourself. Then tell the class if two of you have similar or different
personal qualities.

ambitious careful decisive

experienced patient
reliable intelligent determined

Source: Adapted from ‘Life,’ Pre-intermediate, Unit 4,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 48)

Example (7): ___________________

Listen to an extract from two documentaries (see appendix 1,

page 259) and identify ten adjectives (as + adjective + as, the +
adjective-EST) in the texts.

Source: Adapted from ‘Life’, Pre-intermediate, Unit 3,

by Hughes et al. (2016, p. 36)

38
Chapter summary

In this chapter, you have just looked into various issues related to
vocabulary teaching. First, the importance of vocabulary teaching and
what aspects of a vocabulary item are examined. Second, steps to
elicit/present a new word are introduced. Third, seven techniques for
eliciting/presenting a new word and 12 techniques for helping the teacher
to check learners’ ability to remember the form and meaning of newly

learned words are discussed. Finally, two main types of tasks: decision-
making tasks such as identifying, selecting, matching, sorting, ranking and
sequencing, and production tasks including completion-of sentences and
texts and creation of sentences and texts are recommended. These tasks
require learners to incorporate the newly studied words into some kinds
of speaking and writing activities. In other words, these integration tasks/
activities help learners move these words into their long term memory for
using them later.

Multiple-choice questions

Choose the best answer.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. A learner’s productive vocabulary is larger than his/her receptive

vocabulary.

B. Vocabulary is more important than grammar for communication

purposes.

C. Learners can actually understand more words than they actively use.

D. Advanced learners’ interests and needs determine words they want

to learn and use.

2. Which of the following is NOT an aspect of a vocabulary item that the

teacher should consider?

A. Function C. Meaning

B. Use D. Form

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 3. What does the form of a vocabulary item include?

A. Its spelling, part of speech, and pronunciation

B. How it is used in different contexts

C. Its exact meaning in a certain situation

D. Its family and different meanings

4. This meaning of a word or expression is what it refers to or denotes in

the real world. What is it?

A. Denotation C. Connotation
B. Formality D. Superordinate

5. What is the best definition of ‘co-hyponyms or co-ordinates’?

A. Items that are the ‘same kind of thing’ like red, blue, green and
brown

B. Items that serve as specific examples of a general concept

C. Items that evoke positive or negative feelings indicated in

dictionaries

D. Items that are fixed expressions because they cannot be

changed.

6. What does this set of words “bear-bare; flour-flower; which-witch;

right-write” have in common?

A. Homophones C. Homonyms
B. Collocations D. Antonyms

7. What does this set of words “to be over the moon, all roads lead to
Rome, pay through the nose” have in common?

A. Idioms C. Word families

B. Compounds D. Affixes

8. What does this set of words “a straight road, a brilliant idea, hard
work, no problem, extremely grateful” have in common?

A. Collocations C. Compounds
B. Homonyms D. Idioms

40
9. Which of the following is NOT an example of a chunk?

A. Yellow roses C. Once upon a time

B. Have a good trip D. My name’s ……

10. Which of the following is NOT a technique for eliciting a new

vocabulary item?

A. Slapping the board C. Explaining

B. Using visuals D. Giving synonyms

11. Which technique can be used when you introduce a new concept that
covers specific items?

A. Listing (examples)

B. Visual aids

C. Situation/explanation

D. Synonyms/antonyms

12. Which technique can be used if you want to save time in the pre-
teaching vocabulary stage of a reading lesson?

A. Matching vocabulary with definitions

B. Guessing the words from the pictures

C. Jumbled words and networks

D. Rub out and remember

13. According to Thornbury (2008), what is the weakness of using

mechanical drills like choral repetition drill?

A. Newly-learned words cannot go to permanent memory for later

use.

B. Conducting choral drills is very time-consuming, and learners

will become tired.

C. The classroom is extremely noisy, which affects other classes.

D. Active learners may find this this kind of rote-learning very

boring.

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 14. Which of the following is NOT a decision-making task?

A. Scrambling C. Identifying

B. Selecting D. Sorting

15. Choose ONE word in the group (i.e. train, bike, bus, subway) that
does not belong to other. Which technique does this task belong to?

A. Selecting C. Sorting

B. Identifying D. Ranking

16. Which technique does the teacher use when s/he asks learners to
underline all words ending in –ing in the text?

A. Identifying C. Matching

B. Sorting D. Selecting

17. Which technique encourages learners to put words into different

categories?

A. Sorting B. Ranking C. selecting D. Identifying

18. Why does the teacher use decision-making tasks and productive tasks?

A. Helping learners to move newly learned words into long-term

memory

B. Encouraging learners to employ different ways to learn

vocabulary effectively

C. Making vocabulary less boring but more interesting and useful

D. Motivating learners in learning new vocabulary of the target

language

19. Choose the best word (sneezing, yawning, coughing, weeping) to

complete the sentence: “When I am tired, I cannot stop _________.” What
kind of task does this example belong to?

A. Gap-filling C. Selecting

B. Matching D. Identifying

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