This chapter looks at teaching and learning activities. It looks at the jobs that teaching activities need to perform, how teachers can communicate the meanings of words to learners and a wide range of activities for vocabulary teaching and learning.

Learning from teaching and learning activities

This section looks at the psychological conditions that need to occur in order for vocabulary learning to take place. It is organised around four questions that teachers should ask about any teaching or learning activity.

1. What is the learning goal of the activity?

2. What psychological conditions does the activity use to help reach the learning goal?

3. What are the observable signs that learning might occur?

4. What are the design features of the activity which set up the conditions for learning?

The section ends with a detailed look at repetition and vocabulary learning.

Let us first look at a vocabulary teaching technique to see how these questions might be used.

The ‘What is it?’ technique (Nation, 1978a) is a useful way of learning new vocabulary, in particular becoming familiar with the spoken form of the word and linking it to its meaning. The teacher gradually communicates the meaning of a word by using it in context. When the learners think they know what the word means, they raise their hands. After enough hands are raised, the teacher asks a learner for a translation or explanation of the meaning.