Teaching Methods

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Teaching Methods for the High School Foreign
Language Teacher
Mr. Patrick Wallace Griffin High School
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Vocabulary
What is the best way to teach Vocabulary?
Over and over again the research clearly shows
that in order for students to learn vocabulary
they need multiple encounters with the word.
Therefore, the most important ingredient in
teaching and learning vocabulary is the number of
times the learner has to retrieve the word.
When does a student know a word?
Knowing a word is like a light switch and a
dimmer switch. Knowing a word involves knowing
meaning but also its pronunciation, spelling,
part of speech, definitions and usages.
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Tent Cards Multiple Uses Take a vocabulary
set. As a class activity, you could have your
students create them. Use in drills for
practicing vocabulary, Use in Games for creating
sentences with them, or related words to them,
Use in time sensitive Games. Question Answer
Good for sentence construction of questions and
Answers. Questions and Answers you want to
practice are given on one sheet to students.
Students are placed in pairs. Students are given
time to practice with one student giving the
questions and the other answering. Have a
competition to see which team can do it the
fastest. Memory Games An old favorite, kids can
create their own set per pair and play each
other. Bingo Games Another old favorite, many
are available through different companiesor you
can create your own. Riddles Hand out a vocab
list to students, assign one word to each student
which they keep secret. They must devise a
riddle or description to describe their word (in
the language).
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Word Repetition Pick a word from a vocab list.
One student leaves the room. Hide the noun
Map with another student. When student comes
in he must find the student with the object.
Other students chant the word louder when he/she
is close, quieter when farther away Flyswatter
Vocab list is put on overhead or on powerpoint.
Two students come to the board / screen, each
student is given a flyswatter. Teacher says the
word and the first student to hit the correct
word with the flyswatter wins Word Association
Focus on small number of words. Write word on
the board / paper. Associate words that have
something to do with the given word. Better for
higher levels Nonsense Sentences Use vocab
words in a nonsensical way. The funnier the
better and the more memorable. Jeopardy Games
Another old favorite. Consider using powerpoint
jeopardy or Who wants to be a millionaire? Write
it Two students go to the board. A word is
said by the teacher. Students must either
correctly spell the word / use it in a correct
sentence that makes sense / or write its meaning
or all of the above.
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Fill in the Grid Flash a grid with the vocab
words written in it. Then cover it up and have
students recreate it as best as possible. Make a
list. List all the uses of any given object, and
all the situations in which you could see that
given thing, similar to word association. Make me
smile Two students set facing each other. The
object is to say the vocab words in a way to make
the person across from you laugh. Each takes
turns saying a word. First one to smileloses A
picture Associate words with pictures. Have
students say the word when you point or indicate
the picture. Word Relay Give each student a
word and a definition or sentence with word.
Line them up / or just have them stand beside
desk. Start with first student go through line
with each student saying their wordsif a student
forgets, they have to start over.peer pressure
is not always bad Battleship Hand out paper
with two grids, tell students to hide certain
vocab words in grid. Play like battleship
game.good for practicing numbers and letters.
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Hangman A classic, still good from time to
time Pictionary Another classic, divide class
into teams Whats my name? Students are given
vocab words for their name. One student says the
name (vocab word) of a student and then that
student must immediately name another. He who
hesitates loses. Charades Another old favorite,
works really good with verbs Inspiration Using
inspiration softwareGive students a broad vocab
theme and have them create their own vocab using
the software inspiration. Also known as webbing.
Also sometimes called mind maps, you dont need
inspiration to do this. Passwords Each day give
a password for points. Those that know it write
it down and turn in. Matching, Crosswords, Word
searches These you can create
onlinewww.puzzlemaker.com Throw them away Give
students a list of Vocab. They cut the vocab
into strips and study them. They throw them away
when they feel they know them.
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Go Fish Students create cards with vocab on
them. They play a game of Go fish. I use this
with past participles. Vocab Report Using
powerpoint software. Students must find a
picture on the internet to match with vocab word
/ upper levels must create a sentence and perhaps
even a story tying the entire vocab
together. Internet Sites There are many of them
out there that are already set up for you to send
your students to. Why should you have to do the
work. Cup game Students go outside. Use a
plastic or styrafoam cup. Students stand in
circle and try to keep cup from hitting the
ground, each time they hit it they must say a
word. Jumble. Each student writes down the
vocabulary set without spacing as one enormous
word. Change papers. Race to see who divides each
word correctly with a spacing line. When all the
students have finished, exchange the papers back
and correct Gap Fill Students fill in gaps in a
story with a vocab word that fits and makes
sense. Sort it Give students several
catagories, then read a vocab list. Have
students place the word in the appropriate
category.
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Overlay Meanings Use vocab that you can relate
to each other. City and Occupations, Body parts
and verbs, Classroom objects and verbs Whats in
the bag? Students collect objects that have to
do with a vocab word in a paper sack. They
introduce the items in German, students have to
guess the vocab word Insight Words Represent
the characteristic of a word by the way you write
it. Sing it Using a Rhyme or Rhythm, or even a
songcombine the words you want them to know.
You can also use acronyms. (prepositions,
conjugations) Describe it Divide class into
teams. One member from each team sits in chair
facing away from the board. Another member of
each team stands in front of the chair.(with the
other student in it). Teacher writes word on the
board. Students have to describe the word using
actions , sounds or target language. Student in
the chair to correctly guess the word
wins. Antonyms / Synonyms Just like what you
would imagine. Good way to expand beyond the
initial word. Analogies Good, even at low levels
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Vocabulary Word Maps A vocabulary word map is a
visual organizer that helps students engage with
and think about new terms or concepts in several
ways. The new term goes in the middle of the map.
Students fill in the rest of the map with a
definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture to
help illustrate the new concept.
Find your Partner You prepare two sets of
cards, one with the word and part of speech, the
other with the definition.   Students mill about
the room until they think they've found their
partner.  Partners now return to their seats,
where they must write two original sentences
using their vocabulary word.  They then write
these sentences on the board.  With the class,
you go through the sentences on the board.
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Idioms Gather a list of idioms that use or play
with the vocabulary words your focusing on. Have
students read these expressions aloud. Spell it
Have a spelling bee with your words. Give prizes
for those that win. Either surprise them with it
or schedule it. Translate it Not all
translations are bad. Sometimes these can be
useful for students to learn vocabulary. Provide
translations in which the words are used
meaningfully. All learners translate at some
point in their foreign language
learning. Vocabulary Note Book Have your
students keep a separate notebook just for
vocabulary. Be the clock Have students come
in pairs to the front of the room. Teacher says
a time and the first student to correctly show
the time wins.
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Mystery Word To introduce vocabulary, give each
student a word along with its definition.
Students must design at least three clues for
what the word is. (Part of speech, a Sentence in
which you would use it, etc) Give some time for
students to come up with clues, then go around
the roomHave other students guess the
word. Dictionary Hunt Have students look up
selected words in the FL dictionary. Have them
note the gender, and part of speech. List
related words that they find. This helps
students develop the skills to find out what they
need to know using a bilingual dictionary.
Consider giving them half the words in English
and half in the target language. Word Walls
Post the target vocabulary on a board in your
room at the start of each unit. Review with
students daily. Cognates False Cognates Many
of our words in English originate from other
languages and vice verse. Researchers who study
first and second language acquisition have found
that students benefit from cognate awareness.
This is especially useful during first year.
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Graphic Organizers
Spider Diagram
Flowchart
Venn Diagram
Cascading Diagram
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Openers Sponge Activities
Kino A great little opener. Write the titles
for 10 films on the board in the target language.
Have students try to write what they were
originally in English. The students who get the
most right receive a prize. Correct the Sentence
I write a series of sentences with errors in
them on the board. Students must find the errors
and correct them. Word storm Write a list of
letters (generally about 10) on the board, have
students brainstorm as many words as they can
make from the letters in the target
language. Identify the people Write a list of
names of famous people in the target culture on
the board, students try to tell why they are
famous. I generally do this after I have
discussed some famous personalities in the
culture. Identify the states and Capitals My
students sometimes dont know anything about the
geography of europe. I put a trace map on the
overhead with numbers for each of the countries.
Students must label the countries and their
capitols if they know them.
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Gender Identification Game Students are divided
into groups and each group is given a der, die or
das card (in the case of German). Teacher then
writes a word on the board, Teacher counts to
four, when time is up all groups raise their
cards at the same time. Groups that have the
right answer get a point. It is helpful to go
over some tips for telling the gender of a noun
beforehand. Write the plural After I have
reviewed plurals in German, I put about 10 words
on the board, and ask students to write the
plural for them. The students with the most
correct answers get a prize. Spell it! To work
on students ability to pronounce and spell
correctly. I may do a little phonetics work at
the beginning of class. I may focus on one set
of sounds (such as dipthongs) or important
consonant sequences. I say 10 words and have the
students try to spell them from what they
hear. Identify I write a paragraph on the board
and I underline certain words, students must tell
me the part of speech of the underlined word and
what case it is in, or if it is a subordinating
or coordinating conjunction, if a verb, what
tense is it in? Jump Rope When discussing
numbers one day, I have students come forward and
while they jump rope the class counts in German.
I give a prize to the person that jumps the most.
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Riddles Write a set of riddles on the board in
the target language and see who can come up with
the answer. History or Geography questions
Write a set of questions about the history or the
geography of the target country. Have students
answer themor give them a day and tell them to
have the answers tomorrow for a prize or extra
points Describe it I pick an object and place
it at the front of the room. Students are given
a few minutes to write a description of the
object in the target language. We generally vote
on the best description. Storyboards I put a
set of storyboards on the overhead / powerpoint.
Students must write a story for the pictures.
Mad Libs I provide students with a list of
words that are needed (parts of speech) student
write these down, then I reveal a mad lib and
have them take turns reading it , all the while
putting the words they wrote into the story
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Music!
Songs Have students listen to songs in the
foreign language. Provide copies of the text for
the songs. Go over with the students. Listen to
the song. Discuss what is being said. You may
want to give your students a targeted list of
vocabulary and grammar topics that are a part of
the song. Folksongs Every language has a set
of folk songs. Songs that, although they may not
be modern, are an integral part of that countries
culture. If you play an instrumentgreat, if not
many of these are available on Cd or
Cassette. Cloze Procedure Selected key words
are removed from the text of the song and are
placed in a word list that precedes the song
lyrics. Students fill in the missing words as
they listen to the song Reordering Particular
phrases of the song are listed in an incorrect
order. Students must number the phrases in the
order that they appear in the song. An
alternative activity is to write the song phrases
on sentence strips. Students must then organize
the strips in the proper order. Spot the
mistakes Change some of the words in the lyrics
and as students listen they have to spot and
correct the mistakes.
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Chants Rhymes I cant tell you how often I
have used a chant or Rhyme to get a point across
or to help students remember an important point
of Grammar. Songs teach phonetics You could
select songs that focus on a particular phonetic
sound. Songs and Traditional Dances Many
songs are tied to traditional or culturally
authentic dances. You may have to find a larger
area for some of these. Songs for Tasks This is
especially good for elementary learners. I had a
song for telling the date, the time, and the
weather, etc.. Music for thought Often when I
would give an assignment in class the students
would ask me to turn on some music while they
worked. Of course, it depends on the type of
work the students are doing, but I have found
this to be a really nice way to fill in the
silence with a piece of culture. The students
enjoy it and so many of them, listen to music and
do homework anyway. At least, I can control the
music and the volume. Songs can also act as
audio cues for tasks or even time limits.
(Sometimes, Ill say that they have until the end
of the song to complete a task)
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Music Videos this is always a hit with my
students. They are so interested in the music
video scene in Germany. Be careful to select the
right videos. Videos often try to tell a story
set to the music. We listen to the song, then
the song with the video. We examine the text and
discuss what we saw. Radio Plays These are
great ways for students to improve their
listening skills and grow their vocabulary at the
same time. I use Keine Panik Ein Bisschen
Panik among others. Lip syncing Talent Show
Play students a selection of songs. Divide
students into groups and have them decide which
song the want to lip Sync to. Give them time to
practice and then on a specific dayhave them
perform. (This works best with an especially
outgoing class) Create Songbooks Create a set
of songbooks for different levels. Use them
throughout the year.
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Adjectives
Wanted Poster Students pair off and are given
drawing paper. Students then are asked to sketch
their partner using a pencil. Then, using a
template, students are asked to describe the
persons physical characteristics. Describing
mystery object Students bring an object to
school in a paper bag. (Or you can assign each
an object to bring related to the vocab).
Students then write a paragraph describing the
object and the other students try to guess what
it is from the description. Music and Adjectives
Have students listen to selected music and
choose adjectives from list to describe
it. Locating adjective endings in a story I
give the students a short story and they
underline the adjective endings and tell me what
case they are in and why.
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Drama!
Skits an old favorite, I have more success with
upper levels. Especially good for Restaurant
settings, buying and selling, or interviewing
each other. Advertisements Have students design
a product and then create an advertisement about
it in German. Again, I use mostly with upper
levels. Puppet shows Have students perform
popular Fairy tales in the foreign language. I
give them the words, they create the puppets and
then perform the play. (I use Brementown
Musicians, Little Red Ridinghood, etc) Vocab Skit
Challenge Give students a list of vocabulary
words and tell them to create a skit in which
they use these words. The skit must make sense
and the words must be used. Mimes Give students
a situation and have them try to relay their
situation without using words. This is a good
activity to highlight the importance of
vocabulary, but also places students in the role
of a foreigner, who may need to get his/her
message across non-verbally.
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Student Newscast Have students in groups put on
a newscast in the target language. As a prelude,
I generally watch a newscast with my students
first, assign some to do the weather, some to
interview and some to be interviewed, I include a
celebrity interview. Can also include a medical
and sports report. This can potentially be a lot
of fun. Students must prepare well. Sometimes,
I even tape them so that we can watch them as a
class. (You may allow them to work on this
outside of class) Memorize Poetry / Oral
Statements have students memorize a paragraph
from an important piece of poetry in the target
language. Students dont always enjoy it, but
some of them never forget it and learn a great
deal from it. Wer bin ich? Act out the role of
a famous person from your target culture.
(Prepare kids by first discussing the famous
people that came from that culture.) I generally
prepare students by telling them the day before
that a famous person from the culture will be
coming to visit usI ask them what questions they
may ask this person) I also say that a prize
will be given to the students who can determine
who I am. Simon Says An oldy but still a crowd
pleaser.
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Technology! We are not in Kansas any more!
In todays world, Foreign language teachers are
being challenged to find innovative and creative
ways to incorporate technology into the
classroom. The students in our classrooms live
in the age of Playstation 2 and I pods. They are
familiar with streaming video and many of them
are very proficient with computers. The vast
majority of instructors want to use computers to
enhance learning without necessarily spending all
their waking hours writing code and teaching
students computer skills rather than course
content.
How can I use Technology?
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Technology
Power point Presentations These are great from
time to time when you are introducing a new
grammar point and you want to start off with a
10-15 minute explanation of your topic. Ive
used these to explain the dative accusative
cases in German. There are some great resources
on the web for these if you cant create them
yourself Power point Biographies Have students
do a power point on famous people associated with
your language Power point on themselves in the
target language Give students a template and
have them create a power point presentation on
themselves using a guide given to them by the
teacher. Power point Review Games Jeopardy /
Who wants to be a millionaire? There are some
great review games that can be created using
Power point software. Internet Scavenger Hunts
Some of these are available on the internet or
you can create your own. Have students hunt down
information on your target country. Great way to
improve their research skills.
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Correct the online translator Give students a
sheet that has some sayings to be translated into
the target language. Teacher gives students the
site of an online translator and students use it
to translate the 1st saying.Teacher and students
talk about what is wrong with the translation,
move on to next saying. A great way for students
to realize how bad or good these translators can
be. Visit Sites in the target language that
have to do with vocabulary you are studying
When we did food in 1st year. I took them to
websites for famous German restaurants and
supermarketsand of course McDonalds and Burger
King. Power points on Vocabulary I did a unit
on transportation and to start it off, I created
a virtual visit to a German city. I included
maps of U-bahns, S- bahns, the different trains,
what a Bahnhof looks like and has in it. The
entwerter machine, Kiosk that give tickets. It
was much easier to talk about after the students
had seen a picture of it. Have students design a
trip to the target country Give them a budget
and a list of minimum requirements then have
students use the internet to book flights / make
arrangements at hotels and rent vehicles. They
can arrange train travel to different places. Be
clear about your expectations and what you expect
them to obtain as proof. (a list of websites
they used). They even have to use currency
converters and look at foreign exchange rates.
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Internet Pen Pals Have your students start an
email pen pal exchange. We have come a long way
since snail mail Internet Recipes You could do
this per class, or as a club. Have students
research recipes in the target culture. Collect
these recipes and have students prepare some of
them to bring in to taste. Access to literature
in the target language A great many poems,
fairy tales and other literature is available to
your students online. Some come complete with
worksheets to help students examine the
literature. Create Travel Brochures / Menus
Have students use microsoft publisher to create
their own Travel brochures or menus. Be clear
about your requirements.
Warnings Make sure all students have signed
waivers to use the internet / and
monitor them. Limit the size of presentations
to fit on Floppies. Repeatedly ask students
to copy their work to two different places.
Check on student work at the end of every lab day
/ give them a progress report on the
project.
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Interdisciplinary
Conversions There are many different kinds.
Weight, Temperature, Foreign Exchange rates,
measurements. I have students measure their
height and convert to meters, their weight and
convert to grams. Etc Math in the target
language Have students work with numbers,
arrangement of the decimal point, additions and
subtractions, fractions, divisions. Just about
anything you can do in math, can be done in the
target language. History Review historical
documents in the target language, Consider a week
survey on the history of the target country. I
find that most students only know about Germany
during the WWII era. Much has happened both
before and after. Occupations in Foreign
language consider spending a period talking
about the occupations that may involve the use of
a Foreign language. My kids didnt know that
some people make a living designing video games
in other languages.the boys were Psyched!!!
Consider taking them to Monsterjobs.com and
typing in keyword German (or whatever), show them
what is out there.
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Outside Reading I have my German one students
read a book called The Wave as outside reading.
I give them a week and I generally use at least
one class period to discuss the book and have the
students write a response to it. You may find a
book, that helps to increase students
understanding of a culture or of a specific event
in a culture that is of great importance.
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Art Ideas
Drawing a House plan Students draw a diagram
labeling the items and rooms in their house.
(They could design a dream home, or their own
house.) Show them some sample plans before they
start. Upper level students can write a paragraph
describing the house and the rooms in it. (Good
practice with adjective endings. Fashion Catalog
Have students create a catalog with pictures
drawn or cut out of different pieces of clothing.
Have them include prices using symbol for Euro.
Upper levels can write a description for each
piece of clothing. Creating a Menu A good
exercise when working with food vocab. Many
teachers already do this. It can also be
adjusted to fit different grade levels. Creating
a Monster / Describing an animal. Have students
draw or obtain a picture of a monster or animal.
They must then write a description of the animal
in the target language. Drawing a City plan
Have students draw a city plan (Stadtplann) and
then have them label the places in the city. For
upper levels, have them tell Directions to
various places in their city using the target
language.
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Wappen (coat of arms) I generally do this about
three weeks into 1st semester of German One.
Students create their own Coat of arms. I give
them a guide of what they must include on their
shield. Students are required to present to the
class. This is a nice way to get students to tell
a little about themselves. I have also done
something like this but using T-shirts and fabric
paint. Making a Map A great way to use
landscape vocabulary. Have students draw a map,
complete with a key identifying geographical
features. Designing a Car I recently did car
vocab with my 2nd year students. First I copied
a picture of a VW Bug and had them label the
parts in German. The next day I asked them to
design their own car (labelling the parts) and
then writing a description of it beneath it.
(Normally about two paragraphs) Basteln Every
once in a while I like to do some oragami (paper
folding) with my class. (I did more of this in
elementary school). It is a good way to give
instructions in the target language as well as
talk about shapes and colors.
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Last things
Incentives Dont forget to reward your students
for good work. Consider a weekly student award,
or simply publicly recognizing students when the
exceed expectations. Peer Evaluations When I do
writing assignments, I assign each student a peer
evaluator who are supposed to review the work
prior to it being submitted. The peer evaluator
signs off on the writing and they share each
others grade.
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Helpful Websites
www.puzzlemaker.com (great place to make
crosswords and word searches) http//www.enchanted
learning.com/geography/abc/g.shtml (Great maps
and other resources for class) http//www.gamequar
ium.com/spanishvocab.html (good site for spanish
teachers) http//webgerman.com/Animated/ (some
decent powerpoints for German) http//www.uni.edu/
becker/teacher3.html (some good links from
here)