Vocabulary teaching ratio

I once read somewhere that you should never teach more than seven vocabulary items at a time. People just won't remember more than seven. In my expereince, seven is actually a hell of a challenge, both for you and the students. A fair number, if you ask me, is two.

Hear me out before you frown. 

The thing is, I feel, that the point of a vocab-focused activity should not just be to learn new items. Maybe there's something more to it. Maybe, for instance, students know lots of words but never actually use them (something known as passive vocabulary), or maybe they've been exposed to some vocab and they just need to reinforce it with you... There are a number of things you can work on, not just memorisation.

So, whenever I wanna teach my students a bit of vocab, I use this ratio I've come up with (to be taken quite loosely, of course), which can really help you give variety to a vocab activity that's otherwise been done to death.

Here it is:

2/10 should be known to the students (although 1 active vocabulary 1 passive) 

4/10 should be uknown to the students but easily guessable

2/10 the students have been exposed to, but the students are not yet confident with (e.g. fun vs funny) 

finally 2/10 should be completely new to them

Adjectives around the classroom [Adult Learners] [Young Learners]

Simple but powerful activity for lower levels.

Have your students come up with a bunch of adjectives in pairs. Have them write the adjectives down on bits of paper. Collect the pieces of paper and put them all together in the middle of the classroom, on a desk. Throw in a few you'd like your students to learn or practise more. It doesn't matter if there are doubles.

Ask your students to take each an adjective and stick it (with blue-tac) to something in the classroom that could be described using that adjective. This works best if you've got some posters around (alternatively, bring in magazines). Why not, encourage them to stick adjectives on other students as well.

At the end of the activity, ask them to find a combination of adjective+thing that they agree with and one they don't agree with.

Rorschach inkblots [Speaking] [Adult Learners]

There's a set of very sensible activities you can use to teach there is/there are to adult lower levels. But sometimes you've given it all your best shots and you realise your students still need some practice with it. But if you use your old activities they'll feel like they're not making any progress , plus maybe they just need a bit of practice and a whole thing based on it might just be too boring for them.

Or maybe you just wanna be original.

Pretty straightforward: use Rorschach inkblots. If you don't know what they are, check here. Have students work in pairs and give each pair a different inkblot. Give them a couple of minutes to describe what they see using there is/there are. When the two or three minutes are over, ask them to give their inkblot to the pair next to them, clockwise; and have them discuss the new picture.

What I like to do is focus on the structure for the first two, then let them speak more freely, allowing them to ask you "how do you say..." questions.

It's always nice to finish off the activity with a bit of feedback on what the pictures mean. So find out about the test on Wikipedia, but be very very general! E.g. this is the card of love! This is the card of money! You don't want your class to turn into a shrink session.

Answers on your back [Sp/Writing] [Young Learners]

So your teenagers need to practise question formation and answers? Give them some words or have them guess while you slowly spell them. E.g. S-C-H... Kids: School! Once they have a bunch of words tell them they have three minutes to come up with as many questions as possible for their friends, with those words in them.

Once the time is up stop them and see who got the most. Now have them stand and stick a large sheet of paper on their backs (one for each student), then ask them to mingle around the room and ask each other questions. But!! Tell them that they should NOT answer by speaking, but by secretly writing their answers on the back of the person who's asked them.

At the end of the activity students look at their sheets and guess who wrote what. This is good for revision and correction and a great opportunity for feedback on common mistakes, because it feels like a game rather than like a feedback activity.

Speaking with your mouth full [Listening] [Young Learners]

There's not just one type of listening skill. Usually you can listen for gist or specific information. But there's at least another listening skill: listening with impeding elements. Impeding elements can be external, such as traffic, a bad connection on the telephone, or someone talking with a hand in front of their mouth; or they can be internal, such as a speech impediment, somebody whispering or... Somebody speaking with their mouth full.

This is a great filler or revising activity. You'll just need some food. They think they know their vocab twice? Show them who's boss with this activity. So, get a mouthful of fruit or cracker or something and pronouce words or sentences to them and see how well they do at making out words.

It's backed up by theory and it's just tons of fun.

Alphabet Circle [Speaking] [Young Learners]

This is a cool game to play with your kids to rehearse the alphabet. Have them stand in a circle and explain to them that they're gonna say one letter each going clock-wise. Every time they get a letter wrong, everybody has to change positions, so everybody moves randomly around the room and when you give the signal they form a new circle. So a new game begins.

The game ends when the kids have successfully rehearsed the alphabet without a single mistake.

I'd suggest you come up with a catchy funny li'l song when everybody's mingling. It's a good way to signal that the first game is over and when you stop they'll know they have to find a new place and a new game starts.

By the way, adults will frown at this just because it feels like a kiddies' game. But they will love it just the same.

Nicknames [Speaking] [Young Learners]

You need to teach your kids the alphabet. Again? Can't come up with any good ideas 'cause you've run out trying to get them to learn it? Try this one out.

Ask the kids if they have any nicknames. Tell them you're gonna give them new ones. Draw the kids' names on the side of the board. Get them to rehearse the alphabet in turns and explain to them that every time they get a letter wrong, that letter will be the first letter of their new nickname. Keep a record of the letters they get wrong on the board next to their names to create their new nicknames.

They'll just love it.

At the end, call them by their weird new nicknames and challenge them: can they spell their own nickname?

A cool rehearsing game I like to use is the Alphabet Circle.