Effective Foreign Language Vocabulary Teaching Methods

for Young Learners

AUTHOR : HONG NGOC NGUYEN

PROGRAMME : MA TESOL
MODULE CODE : LEM116
ESSAY/PROJECT TITLE : Literature review
1. Introduction

Vocabulary is among the most important elements of foreign language learning since
successful communication in any language require an extensive range of words. As
stated by (Wilkins, 1972): “without grammar very little can by conveyed, without
vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (p.110 – 111). A wide and growing range of
methods has been developed to enhance EFL vocabulary attainment such as the
employment of audio and visual aids, mnemonic devices, intensive and extensive
reading, paired associates, and many others. When it comes to teaching EFL
vocabulary for young learners (YLs), there is a need to explore the most appropriate
approaches that can effectively assist children in their vocabulary development.

Considering this motive, the current literature review aims at answering the question:
“What are the most effective methods of teaching vocabulary for young learner?”.
Among a variety of techniques, the author specifically chose translanguaging,
storytelling and games to review since they have captured the attention of many
researchers and educators in the field of TEYL, resulting in numerous contributions to
the insights of vocabulary teaching for children.

2. Vocabulary acquisition in young learner

Knowledge about how children acquire second language (L2) and its vocabulary may
contribute to the understanding of which pedagogical approaches should be employed
in teaching vocabulary for YL. It is evident that children attain L2 vocabulary by making
connections between words in L2 to their equivalents in L1 (Taka, 2008). In other word,
L2 vocabulary acquisition during its initial stages involves a mapping of the new lexical
forms onto their translational meanings in L1. This is advantageous for teachers to use
L1 as explicit means to explain new words (Alshehri, 2017). In addition, L1 transfer also
benefits the vocabulary learning process in the case of words that share similar
linguistic features, for example music and musique in English and French. Similarly,
international vocabulary such as hamburger, pizza, internet, sushi are classified as easy
to obtain since most of them are “borrowed” and adapted from other languages (Spada
and Lightbrown, 2021). However, EFL teachers should not assume that students can
always recognize and use borrowed words correctly since some cognates may be
identical in forms and meanings but different in pronunciation patterns (Spada and
Lightbrown, 2021). Therefore, lacking the guidance in practicing cognates could lead to
serious incorrect pronunciation among YL.

Interaction is another pivotal aspect that contributes to the development of vocabulary.

Language is learnt best through interaction(Sinha, Ganesh and Sanatan, 2021),
especially if the learners are in their formative years. This is because unlike adults, who
learn language using conscious or explicit processing, children mainly acquire the
knowledge implicitly or without conscious awareness (Reber, 1989). Further explaining
this standpoint, Nation (2013, cited in Garton and Copland, 2018) states that YLs obtain
vocabulary by paying attention to language features while taking part in interactive
tasks. In other words, word knowledge is learnt implicitly through learning activities
involving rich interaction. (Sinha, Ganesh and Sanatan, 2021) share similar viewpoint
when concluding that it is easier for YL to develop vocabulary and grammar patterns by
participating in activities shared with teachers or other children than by rote learning.

As Garton and Copland (2018) notes: ‘Children learn L2 vocabulary incrementally’

(p.242), which means the process of acquiring the form, meaning and use of words as
well as consolidating these pieces of knowledge occurs gradually and little by little over
time. In fact, learning a new word requires many meaningful encounters before it is
firmly ingrained in the memory (Nation, 2001). The estimated number is suggested to be
16 times in some studies (Spada and Lightbrown, 2021). Considering children are born
curious, this acquisition progress begins very early if they are immersed in a L2
environment. Indeed, some studies discover that children can attain new words and
have short conversations in L2 even before entering school (Lefever, 2013, cited in
Garton and Copland, 2018) and that pre-primary children tend to use L2 chunks to
participate in child-initiated play (Mourão 2014, cited in Garton and Copland, 2018).

3. Effective vocabulary teaching methods for YL

3.1. Translanguaging

It is worth mentioning that translanguaging or the use of L1 is not a specific teaching

method as storytelling, flashcards, or games since it is often employed in different
teaching stages with various purposes such as communicating, making explanations or
maintaining discipline (Sali, 2014). Even so, translanguaging has been proven to play
significant roles in reinforcing the vocabulary attainment of EFL leaners (Wang, 2006;
Lee, 2012; Song and Lee, 2019). These studies have demonstrated positive effects of
using the L1 as a facilitating tool in vocabulary teaching, particularly in the early stages
of EFL learning.

For example, Song and Lee (2019) carried out a study into the relative effects of
teacher’s translanguaging and English-only instruction on the glossary learning of 72
Korean EFL preschoolers. Two classes of 6-year-old were assigned to English-only and
code-switching conditions; the same procedure was conducted to the two classes of 5-
year-old. During the experiment, they were given three tests including the pre-test, post-
test and delayed test to measure the development of vocabulary. The findings revealed
that compared to English-only instruction, brief switch to the L1 proved more effective in
both age groups, and this effect even continued two weeks later. Interestingly, the 6-
year-old children performed better than their 5-year-old cohort in the English-only
condition, which may be due to the former’s larger schemata in some of the target
words (Song and Lee, 2019). Also taking age into consideration, Macaro and Lee
(2013) examined the attitudes of 487 primary children and 311 university students
towards translanguaging and English-only instructions in teaching vocabulary. The
findings of this research indicated that young learners expressed more negative
reactions towards English-only classroom settings than adults though both age groups
preferred having the vocabulary explained in L1 as “it was easier to understand new
vocabulary through a direct comparison with their L1 (Macaro and Lee, 2013, p.737).”

Another benefit of translanguaging is that it contributes to the YL’s long-term retention of

vocabulary (Laufer and Shmueli, 1997). As Baker (2001, cited in Wang, 2006)
discovered, the repeated process of introducing a lexical item in the target language
and explaining it again in the L1 strongly reinforces the understanding and retention of
vocabulary. This benefit was scrutinized in the study of Sieh (2008) in which 64 fourth-
grade pupils participated in a storytelling programme employing explicit vocabulary
teaching. The results shown that the pupils provided with Chinese translation were not
only able to gain more new words but also quicker in word retrieval. Similar finding is
found in the research of (Camó and Ballester, 2015), which examined the role of L1 in
enhancing YL’s retention of and access to English lexical resources. In post-test I,
auditory and visual aids were used to help the children temporarily remember the target
words. In post-test II, the L1 translation group managed to remember the number of
lexical items without the supports of displays and audio by employing the L1 – L2
connection, whereas the English-only group failed to make such link and therefore
experienced a memory decrease.

Observing all the results above, it is clearly that translanguaging can effectively facilitate
the vocabulary acquisition at the beginning stage. This is because children often rely on
L1 forms to access L2 lexical meaning instead of composing a separate conceptual
structure, thus they are likely to process L2 words by matching them to their L1 (Kroll
and Stewart, 1994). Furthermore, beginners are found lacking the adequate vocabulary
to understand the teacher’s explanations in L2 (Macaro and Lee, 2013). It is also
challenging for them to infer the meanings of unknown words from unclear contexts
(Camó and Ballester, 2015). Nevertheless, what problematic is that this shortcut in
acquiring the meanings of words may result in over-reliance on the L1 route, limiting
their ability to infer meanings by using L2 (Macaro and Lee, 2013). This leads to
consideration of the appropriate method of combining L1 and L2 in EFL classrooms and
which age groups may have preferences for English instructions.

3.2. Storytelling

When it comes to teaching vocabulary for EFL children, storytelling has been
considered to be an effective and meaningful method since it provides the learners with
various, memorable and familiar contexts to obtain new words (Ellis and Brewster,
2014). Indeed, Rupley, Logan and Nichols (2006) argue that activities linking
experiences and contexts with words like storytelling can enhance vocabulary
attainment and improve comprehension. In fact, acquiring lexical resources through
meaningful contexts offers several benefits, especially for young learners.

First, it can facilitate incidental vocabulary learning, which is particularly essential for
children as their acquisition occurs naturally along the stages of language development,
not through formal instruction (Chomsky, 1972). By being immersed in rich sources of
vivid language, YL would learn unconsciously while pursuing the meaning of words
(Brewster, Ellis and Girard, 2002). The large amount of repetitive vocabulary and
formulaic structures in oral stories also allows children to reinforce the lexical items
naturally (Garton and Copland, 2018).

Second, it is proven that learning lexis in specific contexts is beneficial for YL to

understand the uses of new words, which means they are not only able to remember
the meanings of separate words but also acquire their collocations (Garton and
Copland, 2018). In the study of (Hà and Bellot, 2020), they explored the effect of
storytelling in helping primary students to gain vocabulary and improve reading skill by
using quasi-experimental method. The experimental group was instructed through
storytelling and the control group learnt the same topic but through pictures and
activities. The findings indicated that both groups successfully retained a majority of
new words, however, the experimental group could make correct pairs of words (such
as snake – hiss, lion – roar with the model verb can) whilst the control group could not.
This is because learning through storytelling provides input in the form of connected
discourse that can help YL pay attention to it and generate form-meaning connections
(VanPattern 2004, cited in Hà and Bellot, 2020). In contrast, the control group did not
form those connections since they practiced through pictures and games instead of text
and context, thus they could remember separate words only (Hà and Bellot, 2020).

Another advantage of storytelling is that it fosters the motivation and interests of the
children (Abasi, 2014). Stories can help teachers and students create a relaxed and
engaging environment in the language classroom (Moon, 2000), leading to positive
attitudes towards language learning. Shin (2006) shares a similar viewpoint, that is
stories serve as valuable tools for YL to study language since they offer children a safe
and relaxing environment which reduces the stress and anxiety, therefore successful
language acquisition can be achieved. This notion is supported by the study of Lee
(2012) which investigated the children’s changes in attitude, motivation and
responsiveness to storytelling and English learning by interviewing and classroom
observation. The results showed that the children’s motivation and attitude did
considerably improve after they were familiar with the storytelling method. As a
limitation, however, there was no comparison group or measures of language
proficiency in this study. Recently, Khamsuk and Whanchit (2021) conducted their study
into the effectiveness of home education for early childhood involving storytelling as a
family activity to promote vocabulary learning. Unlike the research of Lee (2012), an
analysis of pre- and post-test scores as well as observation of children’s performance
and parents’ reflection were implemented. Noticeably, the study not only found YL’s
positive attitudes towards storytelling but also positive effects on vocabulary knowledge
development among preschoolers. This opens up the possibility of employing the casual
and engaging environment of storytelling to teach English vocabulary for children at
home.

For storytelling to reach full potential, however, many educators believe that it should be
combined with explicit teaching methods. For example, Collins (2010) compared the
vocabulary acquisition of preschoolers from storybooks in two different groups, one with
explicit vocabulary explanations and one without. Findings revealed that 33% of the new
words were acquired after the children heard them in context, but the rate increased to
50% when they were exposed to rich definitions. Similarly, the study of Arvizu (2020)
has proven the advantages of pre-teaching vocabulary when being integrated with
stories to increase lexical resources among primary students. Arvizu (2020) stressed
the importance of introducing new words before telling stories in facilitating the listening
comprehension and strengthening the vocabulary retention.

3.3. Games

For very young children, games are such appropriate and powerful educational tools
because they reflect the nature of children (Derakhshan and Davoodi, 2015). Basically,
YLs like to play and games offer a stress-free environment for them to acquire and
practice the target language in a fearless and creative manner (Bakhsh, 2016). This
section is devoted to present two significant advantages of games in YLs’ vocabulary
acquisition.

First, games are capable of motivating and engaging children throughout the learning
process, even those who are quiet and passive (Iran and Mikaili, 2011). Indeed, YLs
can use words, mime, gestures or body movements to communicate with others when
participating in a game, which create a fun, dynamic and unpredictable classroom
environment (Rixon, 1981). In the study of (Utku and Dolgunsöz, 2017), he investigated
the effects of online games on vocabulary attainment and the learners’ attitudes towards
this learning approach. Apart from the satisfactory results of the post-test, the
interview’s findings revealed that online games had effectively increased the children’s
motivation. Especially, there were some participants expressed that although they were
not very good at English, they felt more confident after playing those games since
learning vocabulary with them was fun and easy. Furthermore, games could eliminate
the boredom of some traditional teaching methods that mainly involves repetitions and
restricted responses such as drilling (Scrivener, 2005). Unlike drilling, games integrate
communicative interactions, physical and cognitive activity, competition and cooperation
(Kalaycioglu, 2011, cited in Derakhshan and Davoodi, 2015), which makes repetition
less dull and engaging enough to sustain the desire to learn (Bakhsh, 2016).

Second, it is claimed that games provide YLs with various and meaningful interactions
in the vocabulary learning process (Wright, Buckby and Betteridge, 2005). When
participating in classroom games, children often collaborate or compete with each other
to achieve a sharing goal – being the winners (Aslanabadi, 2013). In some games,
children are offered the opportunities to work in pairs or groups, which may result in
peer tutoring or cooperative skills being cultivated (Aslanabadi, 2013). By doing so, not
only L2 is produced naturally but the lexical items are also practiced in meaningful
conversations. Regarding online games, there have been many games particularly
designed to assist vocabulary learning and EFL education in general. The Sims is a
good example of a digital entertainment game that is especially employed for learning
lexis as it provides players with familiar and common vocabulary of daily actions
(Lorenset, 2019). As Yudintseva (2015) discovered, playing this game allows children to
interact with peers to assist each other, thus word knowledge is strengthened through
the verbal and written repetitions. It is concluded from this study that imagery,
repetitions, contextual clues and interactions are effective glossary learning
approaches.

Although games bring such tremendous advantages in developing EFL vocabulary,

there are several challenges that should be noticed when employing this technique. The
first issue is the noise and disorganization in classrooms. Children sometimes talk too
much or move a lot when they are excited, creating a difficult situation to control
(Bakhsh, 2016). Additionally, YLs could easily distract from the learning objectives while
playing games since they may only play for fun (Wagdi, 2021). Therefore, teachers
should be aware of the appropriate learning stages to use games and how to integrate
them with the lesson’s aims.

4. Implications

From the review presented above, several implications should be proposed to fully
evaluate translanguaging, storytelling, and games as effective methods of vocabulary
acquisition. In terms of educational games, teachers could maintain order in a
classroom while implementing playful activities by regulating sets of classroom routines.
In this way, YLs are aware of what is expected of them throughout the class’s duration
(Kang, 2017). Another suggestion is that teacher should present a summary of the
vocabulary after playing games so that the lesson’s aims are covered.

Regarding storytelling, there are some useful strategies to make the language input
more comprehensible such as activate the background knowledge and experience; pre-
teach new vocabulary; use actions, mime and gesture as well as interact with the
learners while telling stories (Heathfield 2011, cited in Kirsch, 2016). Furthermore,
teachers should take into consideration that the stories used are engaging, rich in
language experiences and appropriate with the children’s levels.

The problem of translanguaging, again, is the hinderance it may pose on the children’s
ability to achieve comprehension by inference in L2. On the one hand, the skilfulness of
teachers in giving L2 explanations should be improved to enhance the capacity of
solving problems caused by English-only instructions. On the other hand, further
research is required to explore the age range whose L2 proficiency is adequate to be
less relied on L1.

5. Conclusion

This literature has reviewed three different vocabulary teaching methods for YLs namely
translanguaging, storytelling and games. The positive effects that each approach has on
the language acquisition process of children have been presented. Additionally, a
number of implications has been proposed to optimize the effectiveness of these
strategies. This study also calls for further research into the field of teaching vocabulary
for YLs and the use of L1 in assisting this practice in particular.

Word count: 2904 words.

6. References
Abasi, M. (2014) “Is Storytelling Effective in Improving the English Vocabulary Learning
among Iranian Children in Kindergartens?,” International Journal of Education and
Literacy Studies, 2(3). Available at: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.2n.3p.7.
Alshehri, E. (2017) “Using learners’ first language in EFL classrooms,” IAFOR Journal
of Language Learning, 3(1).
Arvizu, M. (2020) “L2 Vocabulary Acquisition through Narratives in an EFL Public
Elementary School,” IAFOR Journal of Education: Language Learning in
Education, 8, pp. 115–128.
Aslanabadi, H. (2013) “The Effect of Games on Improvement of Iranian EFL Vocabulary
Knowledge in Kindergartens,” International Review of Social Sciences and
Humanities, 6(1), pp. 187–195.
Bakhsh, S.A. (2016) “Using Games as a Tool in Teaching Vocabulary to Young
Learners,” English Language Teaching, 9(7), p. 120. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n7p120.
Brewster, J., Ellis, G. and Girard, D. (2002) The primary English teacher’s guide.
England: Pearson Education Limited.
Camó, A.C. and Ballester, E.P. (2015) “The effects of using L1 translation on young
learners’ foreign language vocabulary learning,” Elia, 15, pp. 109–134. Available
at: https://doi.org/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.06.
Chomsky, C. (1972) “Stages in language development and reading exposure,” Harvard
Educational Review, 42, pp. 1–33.
Collins, M.F. (2010) “ELL preschoolers’ English vocabulary acquisition from storybook
reading,” Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(1), pp. 84–97. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.07.009.
Derakhshan, A. and Davoodi, E. (2015) “The Effects of Using Games on English
Vocabulary Learning,” Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research,
2(3), pp. 39–47. Available at: www.jallr.ir.
Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (2014) Tell It Again: The Storytelling Handbook for Primary
English Language Teachers. 3rd edn. New York: British Council.
Garton, S. and Copland, F. (2018) The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to
Young Learners. 1st edn. Taylor and Francis.
Hà, T.A. and Bellot, A.R. (2020) “Assessing storytelling as a tool for improving reading
comprehension in the EFL primary classroom,” English Teaching, 19(2), pp. 169–
196. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-11-2018-0096.
Iran, R. and Mikaili, P. (2011) “Effects of instructional games on facilitating of students’
vocabulary learning,” Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5(11), pp.
1218–1224.
Kang, J. (2017) Get Up and Sing! Get Up and Move! Using Songs and Movement with
Young Learners of English, English Teaching Forum. Available at:
americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum (Accessed: July 17, 2022).
Khamsuk, A. and Whanchit, W. (2021) “Storytelling: An alternative home delivery of
english vocabulary for preschoolers during COVID-19’s lockdown in southern
Thailand,” South African Journal of Childhood Education, 11(1). Available at:
https://doi.org/10.4102/SAJCE.V11I1.897.
Kirsch, C. (2016) “Using storytelling to teach vocabulary in language lessons: does it
work?,” Language Learning Journal, 44(1), pp. 33–51. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.733404.
Kroll, J.F. and Stewart, E. (1994) “Category interference in translation and picture
naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory repre-
sentations,” Journal of Memory and Language, 33, pp. 149–174.
Laufer, B. and Shmueli, K. (1997) “Memorizing New Words: Does Teaching Have
Anything To Do With It?,” RELC Journal, 28(1), pp. 89–108.
Lee, S.-Y. (2012) “STORYTELLING SUPPORTED BY TECHNOLOGY: AN
ALTERNATIVE FOR EFL CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DIFFICULTIES,” TOJET:
The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 11(3), pp. 297–307.
Available at: http://voicethread.com/.
Lorenset, C. (2019) “Digital games, foreign language and vocabulary development,”
EducaOnline, 13(3), pp. 1–19.
Macaro, E. and Lee, J.H. (2013) “Teacher language background, codeswitching, and
English-only instruction: Does age make a difference to learners’ attitudes?,”
TESOL Quarterly, 47(4), pp. 717–742. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.74.
Moon, J. (2000) Children learning English. Hong Kong: Macmillan Publishers Limited.
Nation, I.S.P. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Reber, A.S. (1989) “Implicit learning and tacit knowledge,” Journal of Experimental
Psychology: General, 3, pp. 219–235.
Rixon, S. (1981) How to use games in language teaching. London: Macmillan.
Rupley, W.H., Logan, J.W. and Nichols, W.D. (2006) “Vocabulary instruction in a
balanced reading program,” Reading Teacher, 52(4), pp. 336–346.
Sali, P. (2014) “An analysis of the teachers’ use of L1 in Turkish EFL classrooms,”
System, 42(1), pp. 308–318. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.12.021.
Scrivener, J. (2005) Learning Teaching - The Essential Guide to English Language
Teaching. 3rd edn. Oxford: Macmillan.
Shin, J.K. (2006) “Ten helpful ideas for teaching English to young learners,” English
Teaching Forum, 44(2), pp. 2–7.
Sieh, Y.-C. (2008) A POSSIBLE ROLE FOR THE FIRST LANGUAGE IN YOUNG
LEARNERS’ PROCESSING AND STORAGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE
VOCABULARY, ARECLS.
Sinha, R., Ganesh, G. and Sanatan, D. (2021) “Teaching English to ESL young
learners: the use of activity-based learning as a teaching strategy,” Elementary
Education Online, 20(4), pp. 1136–1140. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.17051/ilkonline.2021.04.126.
Song, D. and Lee, J.H. (2019) “The use of teacher code-switching for very young EFL
learners,” ELT Journal, 73(2), pp. 144–153. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccy049.
Spada, N. and Lightbrown, P.M. (2021) How language are learned. 5th edn. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Taka, V.P. (2008) Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Foreign Language Acquisition.
Bristol: Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters.
Utku, Ö. and Dolgunsöz, E. (2017) “Teaching EFL Vocabulary to Young Digital Natives
though Online games: A study with Turkish 5th Grade EFL Learners,” International
Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 5(1), pp. 115–130. Available
at: http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/228/223.
Wagdi, R. (2021) “The Role of Games in Enhancing EFL Students’ Vocabulary
Acquisition,” Faculty of Education Scienctific Journal, 17(1), pp. 59–68. Available
at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344283980.
Wang, X.J. (2006) “Code-switching between Mandarin and English in English-dominant
environments,” Arecls E-Journal [Preprint], (3).
Wilkins, D. (1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching. London: Arnold.
Wright, A., Buckby, M. and Betteridge, D. (2005) Games for language learning. 3rd edn.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Yudintseva, A. (2015) “Game-Enhanced Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition
Strategies: A Systematic Review,” Open Journal of Social Sciences, 03(10), pp.
101–109. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2015.310015.