Boosting vocabulary learning

Context: This study was conducted in a public secondary school in Puebla, Mexico, with a class of 38 students aged 13-14. The students had low English proficiency and limited resources for learning English outside school. Vocabulary acquisition was identified as a major challenge, affecting students' ability to perform classroom tasks and maintain motivation. Aims: The project aimed to address students' difficulties in learning and retaining vocabulary by exploring their preferences, improving teaching methods, and promoting vocabulary consolidation through various strategies. Methods: Data collection involved student questionnaires, peer observations, and a teacher's reflective journal. Ana also consulted a colleague to understand shared challenges and best practices. Strategies implemented included the use of visual aids, games, and worksheets to support vocabulary teaching, practice, and consolidation. Findings: Students reported vocabulary learning as difficult due to pronunciation challenges and differences from Spanish. Many struggled to retain vocabulary between lessons, citing insufficient practice. Visual aids and games like bingo and tic-tac-toe were particularly effective in making learning engaging and memorable. Worksheets initially met resistance but later supported meaningful practice as students became more familiar with the vocabulary. Implications: The study highlights the importance of varied and engaging methods for teaching vocabulary, including visual aids and games to motivate students and reinforce learning. Other educators might explore incorporating such strategies, tailoring activities to student preferences, and gradually building confidence in more structured tasks like worksheets.

Keywords (free text)

english as a foreign language, vocabulary learning, visual aids, learning games, secondary education, student engagement, exploratory action research

Permanent link to cite this item

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14069/788

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Champion Teachers Mexico I: Stories of Exploratory Action Research