Suggested Teaching Techniques
Presenting New Vocabulary
Much of the new vocabulary in Blockbuster is presented through pictures, and students are asked to match the pictures to listed words. Vocabulary is always presented in context, and emphasis is placed on collocations and word association, since memorising new words is easier when they are presented in lexical sets.
Further techniques that you may use to introduce new vocabulary include:
- Miming
Mime the word to be introduced. For instance, to present sing, pretend you are singing and ask students to guess the meaning of the word. - Synonyms, opposites, paraphrasing and giving definitions Examples:
- Question: Present store by giving a synonym:
Answer: A store is a shop. - Question: Present tall by giving its opposite:
Answer: He isn’t short, he’s tall. - Question: Present weekend by paraphrasing it:
Answer: I don’t work at the weekend. I don’t work on Saturday and Sunday. - Question: Present garage by giving a definition:
Answer: A garage is the place next to the house where we put our car. - Context
Place vocabulary items in context with examples which make understanding easier and more complete. For instance, introduce the words city and town by referring to a city and a town in students’ own country: Rome is a city, but Parma is a town. - Visual prompts
Show photographs or drawings to make understanding easier. - Use of (bilingual/monolingual) dictionary -
Encourage students to guess the meaning of a word, then use their dictionaries to check if their guess is correct. - Sketching
Draw a simple sketch on the board to illustrate the word(s) to be explained. For instance:
- Flashcards
Make flashcards out of magazine or newspaper pictures, photographs, ready drawings and any other visual material which may serve as vocabulary teaching tools. - Use of L1
In a monolingual class, vocabulary can be explained in the students´ mother tongue, although this method should be used only in moderation. Students also need to compare their mother tongue to the English language to find similarities and/or differences.
The choice of technique depends on the type of word or expression. For example, it may be easier to describe an action verb through miming, and not through synonym or definition.