5 - Vocabulary

Summary

The importance of learning and reviewing vocabulary can hardly be overestimated; and the activities in this section provide opportunities both for vocabulary expansion (‘Looking up words you know’ or ‘Input enhancement’) and for meaningful repetition and consolidation (‘Do you remember?’, ‘A long and growing list’). Sometimes the tasks require encountering or using the vocabulary in context (‘Search a page’, ‘Connect two’), sometimes they focus on single items (‘How many things can you think of that … ?’ and ‘Pass it round’). Often the tasks suggested involve thinking ‘outside the box’: the ‘Odd one out’ activity, for example, does not dictate in advance which is the ‘right’ answer, but challenges students to find different right answers and justify them. But all of the activities provide opportunities for intensive, as well as enjoyable, engagement with English vocabulary.

A long and growing list

From Games for Language Learning 3rd edition by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby

Outline Each student repeats what the person before said and adds something, so the utterances get longer

Authors’ comment Whatever sentence pattern you choose (see Variations), the challenge of this game is to remember and repeat all the additions given earlier and then to contribute your own. The object of all the variations of the game is to see how long and elaborate a sentence learners can devise. You might judge that your learners cannot do such a game spontaneously and will need preparation time, perhaps in groups, using dictionaries or textbooks as necessary. In some of the alternative sentence patterns and stipulated rules it might be essential for this preparation to be done and, in any case, preparation then involves everybody.

Editors’ comment This is a classic, and excellent for younger classes. As the lists get longer and longer, you will find that other members of the class are helping the student whose turn it is to remember all the items – this is good, it keeps everyone involved and lowers the stress for the student trying to remember. But anyway, stop and start again if you see that the list is becoming unmanageable.

Level Beginner to Elementary (A1–A2)

Preparation None