180 HOUR COURSE

UNIT 5 – Top Tips for Teaching Vocabulary

• Give students lots of time to hear and practise the correct way to pronounce words.
Remember that some sounds may be unfamiliar to them as they don’t appear in their first
language.
• Model words effectively and realistically; don’t slow down your speech to the point where
it becomes unnatural.
• Remember to model the pronunciation of words if you are using written discovery tasks to
introduce vocabulary with your students.
• Use short phrases or a sentence to help students practise and remember the meaning of
new words.
• Think about combining techniques to help get your meaning across. For example, you
might show pictures of people / things that are hot (a hot fire, a blazing sun, etc.). You
could then combine this with a mime about being hot (e.g. taking off your jumper).
• Write new words on the blackboard and mark syllable stresses to help students remember
how they are pronounced.
• Remember communication is key: don’t be too critical of slight mispronunciations if the
meaning is clear.
• Do not highlight an individual student’s challenges in front of the whole class. Instead, use
pair / small group work as an opportunity to gently correct students on an individual level.
• Listen for common errors and use group activities to help address these.
• Set a limit for how often students can refer to their dictionary during a class. If a student
looks at their dictionary more times than permitted, it is confiscated.
• Keep student’s confidence high by praising good effort.
• Build short bursts of pronunciation work into your classes: the more they practice, the
better they will get!

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