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Hello everyone! How are you doing?

Today we’ll see a tool you can use to learn vocabulary online! That’s awesome!

The online language learning tool at http://comprehencia.com/en/home helps improving your vocabulary in any language. Build vocabulary online, exchange word lists, monitor your progress…

Check it out!

How to study your own vocabulary online

That’s it! I hope you guys have liked this tip to learn vocabulary online!

See you soon!

Bye bye!

Hey Boys & Girls,

We are creating a new series on learning new vocabulary words when learning a new language. We did a survey at http://EXLsite.com/vsw and discovered that vocabulary students face 3 main problems.

The main problem that language students like you face…is that they forget the new vocabulary words very fast.So in this video…you will discover why you forget new words…and just how fast you forget.

So, watch the video to discover the formula

Watch Vocabulary Secrets Revealed #1 On Youtube

We also show you how to learn new words…so that you never forget them again. We’ll be releasing a whole new series soon on this topic revealing a powerful system to systematically review words so that you never forget them again. And we will also reveal 2 FREE software programs that automate the whole process for you.

So stay tuned.

Communication skills, whether they be written, verbal or non-verbal, are of vital importance to any teacher. If a teacher cannot communicate effectively with his or her learners, it is reasonable to assume that their learners will struggle in class. If a man asks his son go to the newsagent and buy him a paper, it will be hoped that the boy – assuming he is capable and willing – will fulfil the request. It may be that the man will need to check that the boy understands what is required of him before he sets out, but the man will be confident of a positive outcome. If the man has the intention that he wants his son to go to the newsagent and buy him a paper, but cannot communicate his request to the boy, the boy will not go, and the request will remain unfulfilled. In his book ‘Teaching Today’ Geoffrey Petty argues that ‘teaching is a two-way process’¹and concludes that it is necessary in the classroom for the learner to be able to ask questions about the tasks that they are set, and just as necessary for the teacher to receive feedback as to whether and how far the learner understands the task and steps towards completion that they must make, or have just made. He says, ‘If teaching were a one-way process, we would learn perfectly satisfactorily from books and videos, and teachers would be just an unnecessary irritation.’¹

As a teacher of English to learners of other languages and nationalities it is of utmost importance to me that I know how far my learners understand what I am saying to them day in and day out, and how far they understand the tasks that they have been set. My learners come from a variety of backgrounds. I have Urdu speakers, Kurdish speakers, Farsi speakers and one learner who speaks only Czech. To be able to do my job I do not need to speak any of their languages. My processes would be exactly the same if my learners spoke Dutch, French, Spanish or Finnish. My priority is to teach them English, and for English to be the language that is most heard in the classroom. I speak only English to them; partly because I do not speak any of their languages, but largely because my understanding of my job as an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) teacher means that it is my responsibility to communicate effectively to all my learners, in English – the target language. Some teachers and schools would have, for example, an Urdu speaker teaching an Urdu speaker to speak English. My feeling is that the aural environment must consist of mainly English being spoken. Again, if my learners cannot understand me as I speak English to them, I will not be doing my job properly. It is my job to communicate in English with them.

My learners are all low level, ranging from Pre-Entry Level to Entry Level 2. It goes without saying that I speak in a different way to them than I do with my English friends on the ‘phone! Firstly my speech is slower than normal, and more precise. I do not have a regional accent but I place emphasis on pronouncing words ‘correctly’ (in terms of Received Pronunciation). For example, where I would probably say ‘I dunno’ to my friends, I will always say ‘I don’t know’ with my learners; and where I might say to an English learner: ‘I have to say that I really think that what you have achieved here, what you’ve done with this piece of work is excellent. Brilliant – a real triumph!’ I would tone it right down for my low-level English learners and probably say, ‘Good! Excellent! Well done!’ For some of my learners they would have to learn from me that these are words of praise. But after repeated use all day they soon come to understand. As well of these there are other simple words and phrases that I repeat and repeat, for example: ‘Why are you late?’, ‘No good’, ‘Do you understand?’, ‘What do you want to say?’ and so on. It is necessary then to have a much pared down vocabulary, but to also speak to learners without patronising them, and remember at all times that they are a) not stupid, and b) not children. The learner’s IQ is not called into question at any time. They may be in a low-level class and therefore seem at a disadvantage socially, but it is important to remember that they have all kinds of other abilities and strengths as well.

Apart from the words I use, the gestures and mannerisms that I use are also quite exaggerated. One of the cardinal sins of our classroom is answering a mobile phone in class, and all the learners know that they must switch off their phones. When a phone does ring either I or the teacher that I team-teach with will make a big issue of it by pretending that it is for us. We say, ‘Is it for me? Who is it? Everyone look – there’s a phone call for us!’ We will act excited; our faces reflecting this, along with our body language. The aim of this is to encourage all learners to turn off their phones, and to point out that it is unacceptable for learners to answer their phones in lesson times. We don’t do this to be mean, rather to uphold part of the democratically agreed rules of the classroom – we all agree that it is rude to take and make calls in the classroom during lesson times. Even the lowest-level learner can see by our gestures how important we feel this issue is. Similarly, when a learner achieves something, and I can see by checking their understanding that they do understand and have a small breakthrough I will exaggerate my facial gestures a little and give more praise than may be justified, as a way of telling that student that they are doing well and making progress. Sometimes learners will get despondent and claim that they don’t understand everything that is going on. They will show me their work and I will say that, despite the mistakes that they have made, ‘It’s OK for this level.’ Every learner understands the word ‘OK’, and every learner understands praise when it is delivered in the right (non-patronising) tone of voice, and with the appropriate accompanying body language and gestures. I sometimes have to point out in this way that a small battle with the language overcome is just as important as making a giant step in learning, because all the small steps will undoubtedly in good time amount to the giant step.

It is important for me as the teacher to ensure that I don’t allow my own personal moods and preoccupations to follow me into the classroom. This is of course easier said than done sometimes, but it is something that I try to be aware of – to make the learners the priority in the time that I spend with them. Just as important is to take into account the attention spans of the various learners. It is received wisdom that the average attention span among Western adults is twenty minutes. I’m not sure how that equates to my learners who have come from diverse cultural backgrounds, but I try to account for this by varying the activity types within my lessons, varying the learning focus, and varying the assessment process, while always keeping my eye on the progression activity, i.e. what’s coming up next, and how it relates to what we are doing now. For example, a fifteen minute discussion about ‘What would be your ideal job?’ could move into a ten minute vocabulary and spelling session on different occupation titles, before moving into a more structured written exercise, done individually, which could then be checked in pairs, before coming to group feedback at the end. This could then lead to looking at a Jobs Vacant section in a newspaper, and so on.

Ensuring the effective communication skills and techniques of my learners is a big part of my job, because the students are assessed on their abilities to communicate in English, either by written evidence or oral evidence. One example of this is the Entry Level Oral test paper that we use, where students have to record evidence of their speaking ability, which is then put forward for assessment by the ESOL coordinator. Part of my role is to coach all the students prior to the taping, and to ensure that they all know what they are saying and what it all means. It is not enough just to repeat the words and sentences parrot fashion. I check understanding of context and meaning by doing various supporting activities based around the material in the test paper. In terms of checking understanding it is not enough that a learner says ‘Yes’ or nods when I ask ‘Do you understand’. It has got easier with experience to tell when a learner is just saying what they think you want to hear. Some learners clearly cannot understand and may not be put forward for the assessment.

Assessment of the seven OCN ESOL units is done largely by marking learners’ work – giving a tick or a cross in red ink. There are two units where they are assessed by recorded material on a tape. It would be better for the learners and their assessors if they could be recorded doing the oral work on videotape, because then they would have their non-verbal communication as well, as further supporting evidence of their understanding. It is also possible to encourage learners to communicate and to practise the English language that they are learning by making yourself available to them informally at break times and after lessons. By developing good working relationships with individual students it is possible to see their communication skills – particularly their verbal skills – come on in leaps and bounds. A good accelerator to learning any language is to practise what you have learnt, rather than keep it all locked up in your head and in your folder. Language is a living thing, and my learners are fortunate to be able to go anywhere in Derby and practise their English language skills! Not all will be confident enough to be able to do this, but by encouraging friendly chat (in English) and adopting an open-door policy with my learners I’m able to encourage them to use what they have learnt outside of the classroom.

One way to encourage learners to have confidence in speaking English is to maintain good discipline within the classroom. If one learner is dominating every day, through bad behaviour or showing off, it will dissuade others from taking part. The lazy learners will get the impression that ‘The lesson does not need me to take part’, and the more timid learners will gain justification for their lack of involvement. The class code of conduct and standards of behaviour for learners are discussed with learners at induction and their monthly reviews. My aim as the teacher is to foster a safe and supportive environment where students can feel safe and supported enough to take risks with their language, without the fear of being made to look foolish. If the wayward students repeatedly hi-jack the lesson, all the will to participate that is inside the quieter learners will fade away. The responsibility for me as the teacher is to abide by the rules that have been set, and enforce the rules when required, making decisions within the framework of the agreed-upon safe and supportive environment. For example, I cannot justifiably give a verbal warning for bad language to a learner, and explain to them that this will not be tolerated, if I myself use such abusive language; or I cannot stress the importance of punctuality effectively if I am late for every lesson. Similarly, being unprepared for class sets a poor example to learners, and can for some of them undermine their willingness to participate.

The learning process is reviewed with learners every month at a formal review, where progress on the previous month’s objectives is analysed, and problems or questions can be raised on both sides. However, as stated before, learners are able to come and talk to any of the teaching staff at our centre at any time, since we operate an open-door policy, and we particularly encourage English learners to talk to us because we know this is helping them to practise their English language skills. At the end of the six month course students are asked to complete an Exit Questionnaire from which we collate feedback. However, the feedback that is most vital to us is what we get minute by minute in the classroom, with regard to the learners’ levels of understanding.

Always check your work. When you think you’ve finished, check it again. Use a dictionary to help you find spellings that you are not sure of.

Go to class regularly. Do your homework and hand it in on time. If your teacher doesn’t give you any homework, ask for some. Ask for extra work to do at the weekend. If your teacher doesn’t mark it, ask them to give you feedback. If you don’t understand something in class, ask your teacher. Discuss English work with your friends at break-time and after class. Practise talking in English. Talk about it with your family. See if you can help your family to improve their English. Encourage them to go to a class.

In written work – answer the question! To answer the question you must read the question! What does the question ask you to do? Make sure you do what it asks. If it says ‘use a key’ then use a key! If it says ‘circle the correct letter – a, b, c or d’ then circle the correct letter. If it says, ‘write about your family’, write about your family.

Spend time deliberately learning vocabulary sets. You are always going to need to know the meanings and correct spellings of days, months, numbers, clothes, food, family members, your name and address, and so on. Practise at home. Make things much easier for yourself in class by learning these words in your free time.

Plan written compositions before you start. Use a flow chart to help you think of about four or five ideas to write about or sketch out your ideas by writing notes on a rough piece of paper. Think: what do you want to say in this piece of writing? Start with a short introduction, then write a paragraph for each idea. Your final paragraph should draw the ideas together into a conclusion. Each paragraph should contain about four or five short sentences.

Spend time deliberately learning basic verb tables – both regular and irregular – especially the four key irregular verbs: ‘to be’, ‘to go’, ‘to have’ and ‘to do’. Learn different tenses: present/past simple, present/past continuous and present/past perfect. Learn the past participles of key irregular verbs, for example have/had, do/done. Make sure you can use many common verbs like ‘eat’, ‘read’, ‘sleep’ and ‘go’ to talk about your daily activities in both the present and past tenses.

Read English language books and magazines. Read signs and notices. Write down any words or phrases that you don’t understand and look them up. Keep a vocabulary notebook where you write down new words and phrases. Check it regularly.

Watch English-language TV. Use subtitles so that you can match the words to the voices. Record programmes and play them back, pausing the action if it’s going too quickly for you. Use the internet to find information in English. Use free online translation services to translate text into your language. Visit websites that have games and resources for learning English. Print out materials and test yourself at home. Recommend good websites that you find to your teachers and classmates.

Use it or lose it! If you want to remember what you have learnt, make sure you use it every day. Practise speaking and listening, reading and writing every day. If possible, join a club or society or do a sporting or voluntary activity where you will meet native English speakers. Use your initiative!

Don’t give up! If it feels like you’re not learning anything, persevere. You are doing fine.

Learning a new language is a fun and exciting process. And if you want to develop your skills rapidly…you must focus on learning new vocabulary words as soon as possible. But just learning language vocabulary randomly isn’t enough to guarantee your success. So, make sure to implement these seven steps to increase your vocabulary.

Step #1: Develop The Right Mindset

The very first thing you need to do is develop the right mindset to increase your vocabulary and learn a new language. This is very important. Before you even begin, you need to believe in yourself. If you don’t you are going to end up sabotaging your success.

You’ve probably heard the old saying “If You Think You Can…You Are Right”. And the opposite is also true. “If you think you can’t…You Are Also Right.”

But the fact is…you can learn a new language. The fact that you already learned your mother-tongue proves that you have all the skills and abilities that you need to learn a second, a third, and as many other languages as you want.

Step #2: Set Clear, Concrete Goals

The next thing you need to do is set clear, concrete goals.  You need to understand why you are learning the language. You need to write down your ultimate objective…in other words what you are setting out to accomplish.

And by writing it down on paper, you are declaring to yourself how much language vocabulary you are going to learn and in how much time. So, you need to set a timeframe. Otherwise it is just a wish, something that you are thinking about, but it’s not a goal until you define a timeframe to accomplish it in.

Step #3: Create An Action Plan

Then you need create an action plan to achieve you ultimate objection…your final goal. So write down what you need to do to make that happen. There are several ways to develop plans.

There is one very useful technique called a ‘Backward Plan’ where you will start with the last thing you want to accomplish. Then you will list out each of things you need to do before that in reverse order for that to happen.

So, write down each action that you will need to take one-by-one on a piece of paper. Then you can choose your milestones. From this list, you will choose your short, mid, and long-term goals.

Step #4: Learn ‘Learning Strategies’

Now that you know what your goals are, you can learn some ‘learning strategies’ like the Association & Visualization Method where you basically substitute words for each sound of the word that you are learning. Then you create vivid mental images so that you can associate the images together as in the ‘Keyword Method’.

There are several methods like the link method and the peg method, but the keyword method of learning is very useful and effect for mastering new vocabulary words.

Step #5: Implement Tactics

After that, you can implement learning tactics to make sure you reach your goals. You can observe other language students to find out what they are doing. Then test & try different the different vocabulary learning ideas to see how they work.

This way you can find what works best for you. There are lots of ways to learn a new language. I’ve counted over 90 ways to learn and practice your language skills. And there are probably even more than that.

Obviously you won’t be able to apply them all, but test them and see which work best for you to help you reach your vocabulary goals. Then begin to apply them on a consistent basis.

Step #6: Develop A Routine

It is important to develop a consistent routine to create positive habits. If you only do something once or twice, it won’t make much difference in your vocabulary learning.

But if you do it over and over, it will become a powerful force that can change your life and bring about the language learning results you desire almost automatically without even thinking about it.

So, begin to set aside specific times to study the language and increase your vocabulary. It can be in the morning, at lunchtime, at night…or whenever it’s best for you. But begin to set aside that time you need to study and implement these strategies and tactics to reach your goals.

Also, make sure that you review your goals often. Each day remind yourself of what it is that you are trying to accomplish and why. Then create a list of the things you need to do or study in the language to bring you closer to your vocabulary goals.

Step #7: Celebrate Your Victories

When you reach your goal, make sure to celebrate your victories. Throw yourself a party. Pat yourself on the back. Get excited about your language learning accomplishments.

Then go ahead and review what you did as well as evaluate your progress. That way you can set new goals & targets to take your skills to the next level.