Vocabulary exercises
Build linguistic strength and flexibility

Vocabulary exercises are activities that help students students learn new English vocabulary words well enough to:

• Recognize them when they see or hear them.

• Recall them.

• Apply them on demand.

Achieving these three objectives does not assure that students will use this new vocabulary without prompting in writing and speaking. However, these objectives must be met before you can proceed to the higher level learning tasks required if students are to use use newly-acquired vocabulary words without prompting in their writing and speech.

How exercises build word knowledge

Before they add a new word to their recognition vocabulary, most students need to:

• Connect the new word to something they know already.

• See how the new word is used and defined in multiple contexts. The more of these you can draw from students' class materials, the better.

• Identify the new word's structural elements such as its roots, prefix, and suffix.

With good planning you can lead students in one of these exercises in the classroom in a 5-minute lesson, without using workbooks, worksheets, or similar packaged products.

If you are wise, you will integrate vocabulary learning throughout your entire curriculum. Integration allows you to teach thoroughly without boring students with blatant repetition.