Elisabeth Boeck

Here are some tips you can give your students to help them with their vocabulary acquisition and self study.

Make your own word box

• Use one card per word, with the English on one side and a translation on the other.
• Test yourself with the cards, sort them into categories, play games with them.

• Revise 8 words per day regularly.In your mind, try to lock the particular word onto the image of an object (e.g. 'influenza' - think of a person sneezing.
• To practise, randomly pick a number of words and make up a simple, but probably crazy, story using the words. You can do the same with the words in your vocabulary box.

• Note down all new words.
• 'Fish for language' by going through life with an open eye and attentive ear.
• 'Soliloquize', i.e. translate along in your mind silently
• as you are doing things (as if you were speaking to an imaginary friend by your side)
• as you are listening to the news
• as you watch people doing something
• as you see any object around

• Increase your exposure to words
• Television
• BBC Radio (shortwave world receiver)
• Books
• Magazines Newspapers (from UK/USA)
• English-language films on video
• Pop songs (wonderful for vocabulary and grammar!)
• Correspondence with an English native speaker pen-friend

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