Teaching of Vocabulary

Teaching of Vocabulary at High School & College Vocabulary is one of the most important sub-skills of language. The more vocabulary of a language you have, the more effectively you understand a speech and produce the language in order to convey your meanings. The sad thing about our country is at high school and college level we use very much obsolete techniques to teach and learn vocabulary. Consequently, most of our students remain weak in vocabulary with limited number of words at their disposal to convey meanings. Do we learn or teach vocabulary as something vital? I have worked with countless students, and it is indeed a very rare thing that I meet students who are very good at using words in their writing and speaking. I am talking of students who have completed their high school and college and are studying at higher levels. Because of poor vocabulary students find it very hard understand text. So, their comprehension also suffers. Mostly these weaknesses make them carriers of inferiority complex and they start feeling at some stage of their life that they cannot achieve big things in life. Why vocabulary is important in our context In our country we teach language through literature. This literature thing is always loaded with heavy vocabulary. Some of the high school and college students memorize this heavy vocabulary after a lot of hard work, but most of the students cannot put this hard work to memorize this vocabulary and they leave it alone. Everyone knows that language remains a stunted and underdeveloped thing without strong vocabulary. Does it work for us? Different techniques can be used to teach vocabulary in classroom. Some of them can work in our context and some of them cannot. So whatever technique you take, you should be very much clear that your students should learn vocabulary as something which cannot be left out at all. Teaching of vocabulary is an issue, but equally important is evaluating whether or not your students learn all what you teach. For this a teacher should provide his students help. How do I do this? Here is how I do it. First of all I give students a list of words which they will come across in the literature they will be studying in their class. With words I also give their meanings and at least one synonym for each word. After students go through these words, I ask them to commit those words to their memory. When most of them say that they have done, I give them an evaluation sheet. In that sheet I sometimes leave the word and write the meaning only and ask students to write the original word. At other times, I give the original word and ask students to write the meanings. After students have worked on almost twenty words in this fashion, I give them another sheet with have all the words they have learnt a few minutes ago but this time with jumbled spellings. Students have to write the correct words. Let me give a better idea of the whole practice. First Work Sheet Instructions: Given below are twenty words, their classes, their meanings and synonyms. All this has been discussed in your class. Now you are to commit them to your memory. Sr. Word Class Meaning Synonyms 1 Fasten Verb بندھا ہونا Tied 2 Politely Adverb تہذیب سے Courteously 3 Broiler Noun چولھا Grill 4 Repress Verb دبانا Stifle 5 Offensive Adjective اشتعال انگیز Aggressive 6 Monetarily Adverb مالی طور پر Financially 7 Frown Verb تیوری یا تیوری چڑھانا Scowl 8 Gadget Noun مشین Device 9 Nod Verb ہاں یا ہاں کرنا Affirm 10 Hesitate Verb ہچکچانا Waver 11 Embarrass Verb حواس باختہ کرنا Discomfort 12 Stare Noun/Verb تیز نظر یا گھورنا Gaze 13 Genuine Adjective اصلی Real 14 Liberty Noun آزادی Freedom 15 Thrust Noun/Verb طاقت یا تھما دینا Push 16 Reflection Noun عکس Shadow 17 Scope Noun پہنچ R 18 Curious Adjective متجسس Inquisitive 19 Intrigue Noun/Verb سازش یا سازش کرنا Conspire 20 Eccentric Adjective خبطی Weird Second Worksheet Practice A Write word, class or meaning in spaces left blank. First try write to as many as you can from your memory. Sr. Words Class Meaning Synonyms 1 بندھا ہونا Tied 2 تہزیب سے Courteously 3 چولھا Grill 4 دبانا Stifle 5 اشتعال انگیز Aggressive 6 Monetarily Adverb Financially 7 Frown Verb Scowl 8 Gadget Noun Device 9 Nod Verb Affirm 10 Hesitate Verb Waver 11 Embarrass Verb Discomfort 12 تیز نظر یا گھورنا Gaze 13 اصلی Real 14 آزادی Freedom 15 طاقت یا تھما دینا Push 16 عکس Shadow 17 Scope Range 18 Curious Inquisitive 19 Intrigue Conspire 20 Eccentric Weird Third Worksheet Sr. Jumbled Spellings Correct Spellings Meaning Synonyms 1 Fnaste بندھا ہونا Tied 2 Plyolite تہزیب سے Courteously 3 Berroil چولھا Grill 4 Rssepre دبانا Stifle 5 Ofvefensi اشتعال انگیز Aggressive 6 Milyonetar مالی طور پر Financially 7 Fnrow تیوری یا تیوری چڑھانا Scowl 8 Getadg مشین Device 9 Ndo ہاں یا ہاں کرنا Affirm 10 Hitaeste ہچکچانا Waver 11 Erassmbar ہواس باختہ کرنا Discomfort 12 Sreta تیز نظر یا گھورنا Gaze 13 Gineenu اصلی Real 14 Liybert آزادی Freedom 15 Tsthru طاقت یا تھما دینا Push 16 Rctionefle عکس Shadow 17 Secop پہنچ Range 18 Cusurio متجسس Inquisitive 19 Iuentrig سازش یا سازش کرنا Conspire 20 Eicccentr خبطی Weird Final Word I hope that this blog post you will be helpful for you to understand how you can teach or learn vocabulary as teacher or students. Of course, you can come out with your ideas on this topic. Do not hesitate to share your ideas. However, if you are short of time, but you feel that you need this, I have prepared the whole list of vocabulary which you have to study or teach at your high school and college level, you can contact me and we can discuss how you can have them from me. Nevertheless, if you teach or learn twenty words per day with their synonyms, within one month your learnt vocabulary count jumps up 1200 words.