Sheridan, R. & Markslag, L. (2017).

Effective Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary:

An Introduction to Engaging Cooperative Vocabulary Card Activities. Journal of Language
Teaching and Learning in Thailand, 53, 214-229.

Summary
Despite the vast extent of the English vocabulary, it has been estimated that only around 2400 high
frequency word families, make up over 92% of most general English texts. Several studies have
shown that a word must be encountered anywhere from 6 to 20 times for a learner to acquire it.
Unfortunately, many EFL textbooks do not adequately recycle high frequency vocabulary and
learners may not have enough encounters with these critical words in their language classes. This
raises the question of how teachers can ensure learners encounter high frequency vocabulary on a
regular basis. In this paper, the authors describe how learner made vocabulary cards help students
initially learn the lexical items found on the New General Service List (NGSL) and other important
special purpose vocabulary lists. The authors then present a variety of engaging cooperative
learning activities that reinforce the learning of these lexical items. These exciting activities have
been well received by learners across levels in a variety of EFL contexts.
Review
The reason why I chose this journal is because it’s about “teaching”. To my surprise, after reading, I
love the ideas of the vocabulary card and four activities mentioned in this article. In my personal
experiences, when I was in elementary school, even to high school, I have never been taught
vocabulary in these ways. We always learned vocabulary by memorizing and then took examines.
In my internship, I have found a teacher teach fifth grade’s Chinese words in familiar way with the
Chinese vocabulary card. Student were responsible for 2 to 3 Chinese characters, then make them
into vocabulary cards with an A4 paper, they didn’t have to make all of the Chinese characters by
themselves. In their Chinese classes, they had chances to present their vocabulary card to the whole
class. They first showed their drawings which represented the Chinese character and then taught
those new Chinese characters. At the end they had their classmates make sentences with the new
Chinese words. Along with this article, both ways make me believe that the utility of the
vocabulary cards, not only students learn the vocabulary by doing their own cards, but also they
have the stage to teach and to gain the confidence from their hand-made teaching aids.
In my own opinion, these activities are so fun to help elementary school students participate in
classes. Although the authors mentioned that they used them in the secondary and university levels,
I believe it still is useful in the elementary level. In the future, I will definitely let my students make
their own English vocabulary cards. By doing so, not only can my students enjoy the drawing
activities, but also help me prepare less teaching aids.