Vocabulary Learning Strategies How to improve your way of learning new words

Aim of this presentation Reflect about your own strategy use Learn general strategies that assist memory Understand more about memory and how to use this information to your advantage

How does the brain work? Short-term memory working memory (taking in new vocabulary) (encoding vocabulary) long-term memory (remember vocabulary)

Do you know how you learn? You can only improve your learning if you know how you learn Analyse your way of studying Keep a reflective learning journal for a few weeks Ask your friends how they learn and compare your ideas of learning

What are learning strategies? Learning strategies are techniques that you can use to improve your learning There are far more strategies than you might know Maybe you already use many strategies without knowing it Most strategies can be improved

Strategies which some of you already use Repetition repetition repetition (Verbal/written) Test yourself Use words in conversation Study the sound of a word

Strategies for vocabulary learning Carry a small vocabulary notebook with you Revise vocabulary whenever you have a few extra minutes (e.g. when waiting in a queue) Get active / take responsibility for your learning

Strategies for vocabulary learning Learn associated words together Learn word families together Play – player – replay – playful – playing – played Employment, employer, employee, employable, unemployed, self-employed Use Look for similarities clothes socks trousersdress shirt

Strategies for vocabulary learning Think of a physical action or movement which could be related to the word Be creative: Walking table wave Give each word a certain sound and/or melody Connect words to synonyms/antonyms Synonyms: Old: antique – mature – aged - elderly Antonyms: Old-new but also old-young

Strategies for vocabulary learning Paraphrase the word’s meaning “An ambulance is a vehicle which takes ill people to the hospital” Use index cards / flash cards Use mnemonics (tricks to remember better) Acronyms/Abbreviations: pto=please turn over, FYI= for your information Find a word with a similar sound in your own language: lundi/laundry “I wash my laundry every “lundi”. Spanish: gato French: gateau image: cat eating cake

Strategies for vocabulary learning Learn words with collocations (words that normally go together) home: “I went home”, “on the way home”, “I got home”, “I came home” Look out for idioms and multi-word units “that sort of thing”, “more or less”, “now and again”, “out of the blue”

Strategies for vocabulary learning Use diagrams, charts, pictures and cartoons whenever possible Relate words to a personal experience

Strategies for vocabulary learning Use the words in a story The more unusual the easier to remember

Strategies for vocabulary learning Take a mental picture of a word Involve your feelings and emotions Make it funny

What do you remember? How does the brain work? Short-term memory  working memory  long-term memory What are vocabulary learning strategies? Which strategies do you already use? Which other strategies do you remember? Which ones do you like best?

Thanks for listening Now it’s your turn Experiment with the strategies Find out which ones work best for you Personalise them

References Cottrell, S. (2003) The Study Skills Handbook (2 nd ed.) Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan McCarthy, M. & O’Dell, F. (2001) English Vocabulary in Use – upper intermediate Cambridge, CUP O’Malley, J. & Chamot, A. (1990) Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition Cambridge, CUP Payne, E. Whittaker, L. (2000) Developing Essential Study Skills Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd Scharle, A. & Szabó, A. (2000) Learner Autonomy - A guide to developing learner responsibility Cambridge, CUP Schmitt, N. & McCarthy, M. (1997) Vocabulary - Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy Cambridge, CUP Thornbury, S. (2002) How to Teach Vocabulary Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd