Three ways to learn new English words

Vaughan Jones
Vaughan Jones
A young woman sat on a laptop outside, smiling and pointing to her laptop

It¡¯s more important for teachers to help students find ways to practice their English outside the classroom. The more efficient students become at autonomous learning, the better they¡¯ll be able to overcome interruptions and make up for lost time.

It will be even more challenging if you're a self-learner as you do not have a teacher looking over you and steering your learning. But it¡¯s helpful to learn from the teaching world and pick up teacher tips that you can apply to your own studies and techniques.

Why are learning new words so challenging?

Students learning new words in English generally progress steadily up until the pre-intermediate and intermediate levels. But after that, they start to struggle.

This is because there¡¯s a big difference between the volume of the vocabulary that intermediate students and upper-intermediate students need to know.

  • Intermediate (B1/B2 level) students need to know about 2,500 words
  • upper-intermediate (B2/C1 level) students need to know about 7,500-9,000 words.

That¡¯s a big jump in numbers. But the real challenge is that those 5,000+ new words are not very frequent. Consequently, students don¡¯t encounter them very often, making it difficult to recall them and leap from one level to the next.

While there¡¯s no simple answer to this problem, there are ways to help students overcome it. The following framework can be a big help in any classroom:

  1. Focus on the most important words:?Always teach appropriate words for the levels your students are currently at.
  2. Provide memorable first encounters:?You never get a second chance to make a first impression. So, ensure your student's first encounter with a new word is as memorable as possible.
  3. Teach effective word-learning strategies:?Provide your students with valuable tools, tactics and resources so that they can learn new words outside the classroom, too.
  4. Organize repeat encounters:?Vocabulary works on a ¡°use it or lose it¡± basis, so ensure your students encounter the vocabulary you want them to learn repeatedly.

How to teach effective word-learning strategies

There are three steps to teach students how to learn new words effectively:

1. Help learners maximize their exposure to English and find opportunities to use English outside the classroom

Thanks to the internet and technology, there are many ways that students can engage with the English language outside the classroom.

However, simple exposure to a new language is not enough ¨C it takes much longer and is less effective than active learning. When students do something with the language they¡¯re exposed to; it is far more memorable.

That¡¯s why it¡¯s crucial for teachers to help their students seek out English in their own time and use the language, turning passive exposure into active learning.

  • Encourage students to read, listen and view things that they¡¯re interested in or passionate about in English. For example, introduce them to new blogs, podcasts, YouTube videos, or TV series that fit their interests ¨C since personalization leads to more effective learning.
  • Help students find ways to use English in different ways. For example, they can start a learning diary, make to-do lists in English, write social media posts, and create word cards to practice their writing. For speaking, they can record voice memos or video stories, take part in Zoom discussions, or participate in speaking projects and live classes.

2. Provide ways for students to discover the meaning of new words

It¡¯s crucial to help students improve their guesswork. Instead of asking online translators to translate every time they encounter a new word, they should be able to guess the meaning of new vocabulary differently.

  • One approach is to look at the morphology of words and consider word families. For example, you can ask your students to brainstorm words with a common root. Or, you can have them identify and practice common suffixes.
  • Explore ¡°true friends¡± or words that are similar in English and your student's native language.
  • Help your students figure out how to guess the meaning of a word from the context. To do this, you must ensure that your students don¡¯t just hear or read new words but also put them into use.

One way to get students to learn and retain vocabulary is to get them to create word cards:

  • Ask students to collect ten new words that they¡¯re exposed to throughout the week and bring them to class, like a ¡°show and tell¡± for words.
  • Then have a debate about how useful each of those words is.

This helps to connect learning inside and outside the classroom, and it¡¯s fun!

3. Provide students with strategies to consolidate their knowledge of new words

Finally, teachers should give students ideas on how to memorize words outside the classroom. You can have your students produce word cards and use a Word Store booklet to practice tasks like matching words with images or definitions.

Lastly, it¡¯s important to teach students memory tricks or mnemonics so they can retain the new words they encounter.

More blogs from ÃÛÌÒapp

  • children with their hands up and their teacher

    What is a Horizontal Syllabus?

    By Andy Lankshear
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Over the last few years,?I have been reflecting on and developing an approach within my own young learners¡¯ classroom that I call the horizontal syllabus. This is a way to design a unit of study and it is aligned with what we know about how students learn. We know that students require spaced repetition and they need to progress from easier, manageable tasks towards more demanding, independent ones. First, spaced repetition is a memory technique that involves reviewing and recalling information at spaced intervals until learned.?My Disney Stars and Heroes?does this by recycling language throughout its units but horizontal syllabus design can add to this by reviewing vocabulary and phrases every lesson. In essence, it means we don¡¯t move from one page to the next (a vertical syllabus), but rather we revisit and build upon each page as we go through the unit.

    In this blog, I will focus on the input stage of this, which I call extended input. It comprises of conveying meaning, segmentation, elocution, checking pronunciation and critical engagement with the vocabulary.

    For my upcoming webinar (August 24th), and in a further two blogs, I will also look at output and assessment and how to put it all together in a horizontal syllabus for a specific unit of My Disney Stars and Heroes. Let¡¯s look at the stages of extended input.

  • Two people sat togther with phones smiling

    Don't give up when it comes to learning English

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 2 minutes

    We love sharing stories of English learners and educators whose lives have been positively transformed by the language. One such inspiring story comes from Rodrigo Tadeu in S?o Paulo, Brazil. Discover why he holds a special appreciation for mastering English.

    Motivations for learning English?

    Rodrigo grew up speaking Portuguese in South America. As a child, he never thought about learning another language. However, when he became an adult?and began aspiring to a career, he realized that expanding his language abilities would help him achieve these dreams.

    "I worked as an accountant for an American company," he said. "So, to communicate and achieve professional success, I had to learn English!"

    Rodrigo has changed jobs since then. And even though he¡¯s no longer required to speak English with his new company, he still feels a responsibility to himself to continue his education.

    The road to English fluency

    There are many tools that you can use to improve your English language skills, and Rodrigo used several ¨C some he¡¯s still using to this day. First, he started learning English formally by taking classes in high school. However, his shy disposition made it difficult for him to practice because he was afraid of failing in front of others. At the time, he didn't have?career goals motivating him to learn the language either.

    Later, however, our adventurous accountant decided to learn English in earnest, so he traveled to Canada to study and become a?confident speaker. When he returned to Brazil, he kept studying and continues to do so. Reading books and articles, listening to podcasts and copying other English speakers have also helped develop his conversational skills. Among his favorite podcasts are "English as a Second Language" and "Freakonomics".

    English learning is not without challenges

    Rodrigo noted that he struggles with pronunciation most.?¡°The way English speakers say words is very different than the way you would say something in Portuguese.¡±

    He thinks the issue is the same for Spanish speakers as well.?"In Portuguese or Spanish, if you know the words,?you can basically speak exactly what you read. In English, it's totally different. You cannot speak the words that you are reading. So you have to know about this!"

    This might be the most challenging part of learning the language for Rodrigo, but he assured us that he¡¯s not giving up.

    English for enjoyment

    Rodrigo may have initially studied English as a way to progress his career, but the language quickly became something he enjoyed.?And instead of being content with the skill that he has now, Rodrigo dreams of continuing his English-speaking education so he can travel and further enjoy his life.

    "These days, English has become fun!" he said. "Now it's better to watch movies and TV in English."

    He also mentioned that he eventually would like to visit Europe. But when asked about his dream destination, Rodrigo said that:?¡°I¡¯d like to move back to Canada, maybe live in Vancouver for a year or two!¡±

    Advice for English language learners

    After working hard for years to learn English, Rodrigo now offers advice to fellow Brazilians (and others) who wish to speak another language:

    "You have to be confident, and don¡¯t give up. You have to keep your dreams. It's difficult to ... speak one language that's not your mother language ... If you can imagine, you can achieve, and you can do. So 'don't give up' is the perfect phrase."

  • College students sat together at a table smiling

    Practical tips for supporting neurodivergent learners in the classroom

    By Charlotte Guest
    Reading time: 7 minutes

    Educators need to meet the needs of all students, including those who are neurodivergent. Neurodivergence refers to variations in the human brain and cognition, including dyslexia, ADHD, and autism. Among these, dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, affecting how individuals process written and spoken language. Although each student¡¯s needs are unique, there are several practical, research-backed strategies educators can employ to support and empower these learners.?

    Let¡¯s look at some tips for teachers, which cover everything from font choice and classroom environment to presentation of information and assessment design. Although these are designed to support neurodivergent students, they will in fact help foster?a more inclusive, accessible, and positive learning experience for all learners.