How to teach vocabulary

Are you looking for practical tips on how to teach ESL vocabulary?

You can’t learn a language without learning the words of that language. This is obvious, but what is best way to teach vocabulary?

According to Penny Ur (2012), the term vocabulary can encompass many types of words in a language. For example, lexical items (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs), grammatical items (pronouns and determiners), and even phrases such as How are you?

In this guide, the word vocabulary will refer to the lexical items of the language.

Read on for practical and research-based ways to teach vocabulary to your ESL students, and don’t miss the free vocabulary lesson at the bottom of this post!

Use Visual Aids

Using images, realia, and gestures help learners make direct connections between words and their meanings, reducing the need for translation. Visual aids also provide context, increase engagement, improve retention, and engage different learning styles. Some example visual aids include a grocery ad for food vocabulary, magazine pages, realia (real-life objects), and good old Google images.

Teach Vocabulary in Context

Avoid teaching vocabulary words in isolation. Base a set of new vocabulary words around a topic or theme. For example, if you are teaching a unit on shopping, you’d want to incorporate a set of vocabulary words related to that topic (shop, buy, customer, cashier, money, cash, credit card, salesperson, store). Students will internalize the meaning of new vocabulary words if they are exposed to the new words in a meaningful, communicative context.

Connect Vocabulary to Relevant Grammar Points

Vocabulary and grammar are inseparable aspects of language. If you want your students to use new vocabulary words in communicative ways, you’ll need to incorporate grammar. Use this to your advantage! Luckily, many ESL textbooks are designed this way. For example, it makes sense to have a chapter on giving directions that incorporates prepositions of location. A unit on family relationships could include possessive pronouns. A unit on food could include comparative adjectives. You get the idea.

Embrace Impromptu Vocabulary Teaching Moments

In class, there will be moments when a word pops up in a reading passage or a listening passage and students become curious (“Teacher, what does ’embark’ mean?”). Embrace and encourage this! Take the time to explain new vocabulary words in-the-moment. When students are curious, things are likely to stick.

Teach Vocabulary Inductively

Teaching vocabulary inductively – where students discover meanings through context rather than direct definitions – has several advantages. It encourages critical thinking, enhances retention, promotes active engagement, and mimics natural language learning. It also boosts confidence! 
This method helps students become less dependent on their dictionaries and translators. Explicitly teach them how to guess the meaning of unknown words from context. Explain to them that they don’t need to stop and look up every unfamiliar word – this can really slow them down! Instead, empower them by showing them that they probably have enough knowledge of English to make an educated guess as to what a word means by reading the surrounding words. There are some engaging and fun activities that you can do to help students practice this. Check out my ESL Vocabulary Inference Context Clues Reading Comprehension Task Cards!

Don’t Teach Too Much at Once

You want to teach 10-15 new vocabulary words at one time. More advanced students can handle a little more (around 20) since they know more synonyms, prefixes, suffixes, and word roots. Your lesson can get unwieldy if you try to teach too many words in one lesson.

Teaching vocabulary to ESL students is so much fun. Try these tips in your classroom!

For no-prep vocabulary lessons for beginners, check out the resources below. The Daily Routine vocabulary lesson is free, so download it and give it a try. If you like it, save money and grab the bundle to get more lessons at a discounted rate!

Vocabulary Activities for Beginner ESL
ESL Vocabulary Activities for Daily Routine