Accelerate Your Language Learning: Create Your Own Vocabulary Building Activities Part 1

When English EFL, ESL or foreign language learning students ask you, Teacher, what can I do to learn more words faster? Heres an answer that will serve you and them handsomely. Create your own TEFL vocabulary building games, activities and puzzles to boost your vocabulary in record time. Not sure how to go about it? Here are some suggestions:

Complete the Chart

First fill in a chart of foods under categories like:

Fruits

Vegetables

Meats and Proteins

Fish and Sea foods

Dairy Products

Cereals and starches

You can use a dictionary, talk with classmates or friends, look at pictures, etc. whatever you can to get yourself the biggest list you can as fast as you can. Once you have a good stash of vocabulary, reinforce it by using it in other activities like the ones that follow.

Create a Word-Find puzzle

Make a 15 space by 15 space grid on a letter-size sheet. You can use a computer or manually draw one. Leave space at the top of the page for a title and other data. There should be an even larger space at the bottom of the sheet. This is going to be the space for your word list. Now, using any of the words from your chart, make a list of about 25 to 30 words at the bottom of your puzzle page. Then, fill in the grid spaces using those words. Horizontally, vertically, diagonally, even backwards will do to use up as many spaces as you can.

If youre using this exercise in a class, students swap papers to solve each others puzzles. They can also check for errors, omissions and missing words or letters. Youll be using peer correction to its fullest.

Categories to Be Used

Word lists are created using relevant themes from the class. Examples of evergreen themes which can be used repeatedly include:

Clothes and colors

Occupations Jobs

Food and food categories

Parts of the body

Furniture and Rooms of the House

Animals and Pets

Cities in your state or country

Cities and Countries of the World

Famous Historic People and Places

Verbs (Regular or Irregular)

Music (artists, types of, instruments, etc.)

The list of possibilities is virtually endless. Youll also be able to use these same categories and word lists in other exercise types coming up in Part 2 of this series.

Three of my favorite puzzle creation programs are available online:

Puzzle Maker website www.puzzlemaker.com is the simplest and easiest of the trio of puzzle creation programs. It will also allow you to create word finds and other puzzle types. Its available free online, can be learned in a few minutes and doesnt require downloads or prior knowledge.

Hot Potato website for creating puzzles http://web.uvis.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ is fairly simple to manage, although more complex than Puzzle Maker. A demo version is available for free online, with the full version requiring only free registration if youre in the USA.

If you love flashy colors, are an artist who paints, draws, cartoons, creates or crafts, then your brain is highly – developed in the visual – spatial area. Do jigsaw puzzles increment and stimulate your brain? Then visit this website for more info and to try your hand at some visual – spatial activities. You can create or associate word lists to accompany each of the puzzles offered for free download at:

Jigsaw puzzle free downloads http://zone.msn.com/deluxegames/

Well continue in Part 2 of this series with more suggestions for developing English language vocabulary at the fastest possible rate for learning English as a foreign or second language. The same techniques exactly apply for developing foreign language vocabulary. In the next section we will focus on creating specialized puzzles like cross word puzzles, using the same vocabulary lists youve already developed. See you in Part 2.

For Part 2 of this article go to: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance, high adventure and get paid while travelling for free.

For more information on entering or advancing in the fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language send for his no-cost PDF Ebook, “If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here’s What You Need to Know”, immediate delivery details and no-obligation information are available online now at: http://bettereflteacher.blogspot.com/

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