Here are some of the activities I use to present and recycle vocabulary:

Vocabulary Corner
Students need to dedicate a place to record new words. This can be a small spiral notebook or a page in their binder. They should review their lists regularly.

Teachers also need a place to record the class’s new vocabulary. I dedicate one area of the board to new words. At the end of each class, the class and I go over the words, pronouncing them, and then selecting 5 to 7 salient words for our vocabulary lists. We all record these words in our notes.

Dictation
At the beginning or end of class, I take five minutes to dictate short sentences with the new vocabulary.

Flash Cards
I encourage students to write up flash cards them and keep handy a zip-lock. They write a new word on one side of a small card and its translation or definition on the other side. They can clip the bag to their binder or keep in their back-backs. I remind them frequently to review their flash cards.

Question Cards
As a warm up, I often distribute questions on cards to pairs of students. These questions incorporate or review recently learned vocabulary. In pairs, students take turns asking and answering the questions; for example: How many nieces do you have? (niece is the new word) or How many parts of car can you name? (car vocabulary is the new vocabulary)

Class Vocabulary Cards
I write all the new class vocabulary on cards. I write each word or phrase in large print on a 3 x 5 card. Every few months I start a new collection of cards. We use these cards in the following activities.

• Sorting
  I hand ten random cards to each pair of students and tell them to sort the words in any of the following categories:
  parts of speech (verbs, nouns, adjectives)
  one, two, three, or four syllable words
  alphabetical order
  
  
• Classifying
  I call out a category and have students look through their words to find ones that fit. For example, I tell the class:
  Find all the verbs.
  Find all the words that describe a person.
  Find all the words you use at work.
  Find all the words that are about food.
  
  
• Generating Meaning
  I hand one card to each student. Students write a sentence with the word on their card. When the student is finished writing, I check the sentence. If the usage is correct, I hand the student a new card.
  

What are your tips for presenting and recycling vocabulary?

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Sarah Lynn currently teaches at a literacy/learning program in Cambridge, MA. She has trained volunteers and led workshops on many aspects of teaching adult education students. Sarah has taught ESL for 20 years in the U.S. and abroad. Sarah is a series author and a featured instructor on the Future Teacher Training DVD.

"Ask Sarah Lynn – Our Teacher’s Helper" is part of the Future website.