Learning Vocabulary

One thing that I love to integrate into my classes to encourage learner autonomy is the use of a vocabulary notebook. So often, learners simply write a translation of the new lexis they come across. However, this is really not the most effective way for them to learn the lexical item. It has been said that to really know a word or expression, one needs to know the following:

1. The meaning of the lexical item
2. The pronunciation of the item
3. How to use the item in a sentence

For learners, keeping a vocabulary notebook containing their new lexis and these elements of the items not only give them a record of the lexis they've studied, but the act of writing these elements down means that they are more likely to remember and use the item.

To encourage your learners to use a notebook, the best thing to do is to make it part of your class. I usually introduce the notebook by bringing a notebook to class to show them and ask them to bring one to class on a specific day. On that specific day, we might read a text and the learners have to choose 5 new words or expressions that they don't yet understand.
As an example, I take a word from the text and together, the whole class decide what is important when recording new vocabulary. Here is what I recommend:

        Example (Class of word) (Pronunciation in phonemic script)

1. A definition
2. A sentence that demonstrates how the item is used.
3. Connotation
4. What other words are commonly collocated with it, especially prepositions.
5. Translation into L1 (This can be tricky as learners tend to translate directly. The equivalent item in their language might be used in a different way or have a different connotation.)
6. Synonyms

Then the learners work together to write entries into their notebook for some of their other chosen vocabulary. For homework, they have to find more items to enter. The key to this being successful is that the teacher checks up that they've completed their entries. After this initial lesson and homework, give the learners a target number of lexical items that they have to enter before the following week. It's a good idea to choose the same day every week so that it becomes routine. So, for example, every Wednesday, take the first 10 minutes of class and learners have to share their new vocabulary with their partner. This way it reinforces what they have already learned and it gives them the opportunity to learn more from their peers.

This can be tricky when you have continuous enrolment, but if you make it a routine activity on the same day every week, the learners will pick it up quite quickly.