ACTIVITIES FOR

TECHNIQUES FOR
TEACHING VOCABULARY
ABRAHAM YU SOON HAN, ALICIA WANG SHIN PING, CHEONG KAH MIN
 01

WORD ATTACK
STRATEGIES
A strategies that help students with
unfamiliar words
Word attack strategies

● Help students to decode, pronounce and understand unfamiliar words

● Helps students to attack words pieces from different angle

● Flexibly use different strategy to overcome the problem for vocabulary

● Suitable for the students who are the beginner

 Example of word attack strategies

Look for
Using picture Sound out chunks in the
clues the words words
Connect the picture Blend the word and try Looks for the familiar
with the words to say the word chunks and read it

Connect to a Reread the

word you know Keep reading
sentences
Think of a word that look Read the word more Read past the unfamiliar
like the unfamiliar word than once words and look for the clues
 02

CONTEXTUAL
CLUES
A clues that help students understand
unfamiliar words easier
 Contextual clues

Contextual clues is an active process that involves purposeful

interaction between a reader and a text. Strategic readers think about
words in context, looking for meaning and its sentences that frames
an unfamiliar word

This can helps students to develop the ability to use the context of a
unfamiliar words
 Steps in using contextual clues

01 02
Reread and read ahead Identify context clues
Stop and reread the wods that come before Think about the meaning of the words in the text that
and after the unfamiliar word surround the unfamiliar words

03 04
Decides on a meaning Check the meaning in the
context
Use what you know from the context to make an
educated guess about the meaning of the unfamiliar The meaning you decided on should make
word sense in the sentence and in relation to the
main idea of the text
 02

DICTIONAR
Y
A source with a list of words in a
language
 DICTIONARY

Dictionary could be in a physical or digital format. It contains a lists

of words of a language (usually in alphabetical order) and gives their
meaning, or equivalent words in another language.

It helps to develop learners autonomy.

If students learn how to use them effectively, students can learn by

themselves by self-guiding themselves more effectively.
 DICTIONARY - DICTIONARY RACE

1 2 3

WORDS OF THE DAY MIX AND MATCH BE QUICK!

Teacher will prepare 8-1o The group that has

Students are given handouts
vocabulary to learn that day completed matching the
with the words and the
ahead of lesson. Teachers words with its definition will
meanings jumbled up. In
jumble up the words and quickly race to get their
groups of 4, they will look
definition, and prepare it in a answers check by the
into a dictionary and match
handouts. teacher. The fastest group
the words with the meaning.
wins the game.
 03

GAMES
A fun way to teach students new things like vocabulary
 GAMES

● Games are important in teaching vocabulary

● It highlights the necessary and important words to achieve the objectives of the game
● Students are able to engage and pay attention more because they enjoy the learning
process carried out as games.
● They will feel excited and better during and after the game
● Makes them find joy in learning instead of just learning for the sake of passing their
examinations.
 GAMES - LAST MAN STANDING

01 02
A THEME TOSS THE BALL!
Teachers will have a ball in hand and set The teacher will toss the ball to another students and
a theme (example: something blue) the student will have to come up with a word based
on the theme.

03
NO REPEATS!
The student who have already answered will toss to
another students and the student will have to say
another word related. If they repeated the same
word, they are out of the game.
04
LAST MAN STANDING
Students will keep on coming up with
words related to the theme until only one
student is left and wins the game.
 03

Visuals
Visual techniques for the presentation of new lexical items
pertain to visual memory
 VISUAL ACTIVITY - CREATING
FLASH CARDS

1 2 3

PRODUCTION Memorize DISPLAY

Use these handmade

Have students make their
Ask them to print the flashcards to make a word
own flashcards by looking
picture, glue it on a card, and wall, where new, and
up vocabulary words write a silly sentence under current, vocabulary words
online and finding pictures the picture to help them can be displayed for your
that show the definitions remember the word. student to see and read daily.
 04

Mime, actions
and gestures
A source with a list of words in a
language
Mime, actions and gestures

● Mime and gestures will be able to facilitate communication, understanding and participation.

● Additionally, mime and gesture will make you appear to be a more charismatic teacher.

● Putting yourself out there, fearlessly, demonstrates confidence.

● Your students will therefore be more engaged and more likely to retain what they’re being taught in the
classroom.
 Mime - What’s my job?

01 02
The other students must then find out exactly what
One student mimes an action that is
that job is by asking questions to which the student
typical of the job they do.
can only answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

03 04
If the teacher wants to focus on a
They are allowed only ten questions. Clues can be
particular tense, they can set the
put on the blackboard to help the students
particular tense in the game.