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Teaching vocabulary is of the upmost importance in the classroom. Without a well-developed vocabulary, students will not be able to communicate in English about many different subjects. Over the past few months I have tried a few different methods while teaching vocabulary. During that process I found a method that works best with my communication style. The method I discovered was a result of trial and error. I first began teaching vocabulary by using the pictures in the course book to teach new vocabulary. Although, the students seemed to learn the vocabulary well, I noticed that they were having a difficult time of using that vocabulary when encountering real word examples. I believe the problem was the students were memorizing the word to the picture examples, but they were not really understanding what the object was they were learning. From this point, I began experimenting with different teaching methods. At one point I tried using popular songs to introduce new vocabulary. Each method seemed to have its own pros and cons. I quickly realized that using music can be a good way to introduce the vocabulary, but there still needed to be a more concrete way for the students to study and learn the vocabulary. This led me to the solution that has been most successful for me. In my solution I spend a lot of time gathering different pictures of the same vocabulary items that are presented in the book. This allows the students to be able to see same objects from multiple different points of views. I then looked for reading articles that contained a lot of the vocabulary that was studied. After studying the vocabulary, I would have the students read these articles. The articles helped reinforce the studied vocabulary and often provided organic discussions about even newer vocabulary that the students were interested in learning. After some moderate success with vocabulary retention I would often have small segments of quick review in future lessons with new pictures or videos that contained the vocabulary. I have discovered that constant review is necessary for the students to truly learn the vocabulary for the long term. Also, allowing the students to see different points of view of the same vocabulary helped solidify it in their minds. After a lot of different vocabulary had been learned I would I would combine the vocabulary into comprehensive review games like vocabulary bingo. I learned that students preform better with vocabulary when it is placed in a competitive atmosphere. It gives them a purpose to work towards and the ability to feel like they truly accomplished something. Many language learning classes devote one day to revision before the final exam. However, I think revision should be a constant thing that should occur for at least ten minutes of every lesson. This will help the students be able to use the vocabulary in the real world instead of just learning it to do well at a test. However, I think the most important part that a teacher has in helping their students learn vocabulary is to try and get the students to have a real desire to learn English. Some students are put in the class because their parents placed them there. The teacher must do all they can to try and convince these students to want to learn English so that they will be motivated to give it their best and put the practice time at home that they will need. My teaching method is simple to understand but takes a considerable amount of time from the teacher to prepare. However, I think if a teacher truly wants their students to learn they will do all that they can to help them.
