Integrate games into your languages classes to teach new vocabulary.
When teaching any level of language, games and group activities can provide a break from the regular curriculum and introduce ways for students to have fun while learning. Competitive games can provide extra motivation to students, especially if the winner is rewarded. Games and activities can also help students develop language skills and build vocabulary within a specific context. Group activities will encourage your class to work together and practice language skills while interacting with one another.
Instructions
1. Determine the objective of your lesson. The goal of the class session and the level of your students will determine what kind of activity to use. For example, if you are teaching beginning English as a Second Language (ESL) students, introduce them to new vocabulary with a matching game. Write vocabulary words such as nouns on small pieces of paper and require your students to match them to corresponding photos of those nouns. For more advanced students, choose activities such as sentence scrambles or fill-in-the-blank exercises that will help them improve grammar and vocabulary.
2. Find the appropriate type of vocabulary for the lesson. For elementary-level students, use a list of vocabulary words with a related theme, such as fruits, vegetables, animals or household items. If you are using a written passage such as newspaper article or short story, choose an activity related to the words in the passage. Ask your students to identify about seven new vocabulary words in the passage and guess the meaning in the context of the article. Keep score for correct guesses and reward the winner at the end of the activity.
3. Print out the necessary amount of reading materials for your class. If your students are reading a passage and they need to highlight or circle new vocabulary, print out copies for each student. Require your students to work in pairs or small groups so they can share papers and help preserve your printing resources. If you cut out words to use in a matching game or sentence scramble, you can have them laminated in order to use them multiple times.
Tags: your students, vocabulary words, language skills, matching game, words passage