vocabulary notebook assignment

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Expand your english with a vocabulary notebook – video.

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In this lesson you can learn what a vocabulary notebook is, why it’s helpful for learning vocabulary more quickly and how to use it to expand your English vocabulary quickly and effectively.

Quiz 1: expand your english with a vocabulary notebook (elementary to intermediate level).

This quiz tests how well you know the process of recording new vocabulary, as shown in the lesson.

You are going to see the notes for three words and answer questions about the notes. There is one word for level A1 (elementary), one for A2 (pre-intermediate) and one for B1 (intermediate).

Learners of any level can answer these questions with the help of a dictionary .  

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1 . Question

Look at these notes for the meaning of a word.

What’s the word?

2 . Question

The word is ‘ adult ’. Now look at the notes for the form of the word.

True or false: ‘adult’ is an uncountable noun, so you can’t make it plural.

3 . Question

Now look at the notes about pronunciation.

The notes show that ‘adult’ is pronounced differently in American and British English. In which version is the first syllable stressed?

• British English
• American English

4 . Question

Now look at this example of a collocation (common word combination).

Which is correct?

• “Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times.”
• “Children must be accommodated by an adult at all times.”

5 . Question

Look at these notes for the meaning of another word.

6 . Question

The word is ‘ headache ’. Now look at the notes for the form of the word.

True or false: ‘headache’ is a countable noun, so you need to use an article before it, e.g. ‘a’.

7 . Question

Which two things are true ?

• The last letter (e) is silent.
• The letters ‘ch’ are pronounced like the ‘k’ in ‘kind’.
• The ‘d’ in the middle is silent.

8 . Question

Some adjectives are correct collocations with ‘headache’ but some aren’t. Look at these notes.

Which two collocations are correct?

• a slight headache
• a little headache
• a bad headache
• a strong headache

9 . Question

10 . Question

The word is ‘ knock ’. There are many meanings in different contexts, but the definitions in the last question are the most common. Now look at the notes for the form of the word.

True or false: the verb ‘knock’ always needs an object after it.

11 . Question

Which two words have the same silent letter as ‘knock’?

12 . Question

Lots of prepositions are possible after ‘knock’ – it depends on the meaning! Look at these notes.

Which sentence includes a correct preposition?

• “I knocked on the window but he didn’t hear.”
• “I knocked off the window but he didn’t hear.”
• “I knocked over the window but he didn’t hear.”

QUIZ 2: Expand Your English with a Vocabulary Notebook (Upper Intermediate to Advanced Level)

Now try this quiz about two more words, this time one for B2 (upper intermediate) level and one for C1 (advanced).  

0 of 8 Questions completed

0 of 8 Questions answered correctly

Look at these notes about the meaning of a word.

• sensational

The word is ‘sensitive’. Now look at the notes for the form.

Which sentence below is not correct?

• “Our neighbours are always playing loud music. I wish they were more sensitive to the fact other people live nearby!"
• “My wife’s put on weight since giving birth, but don’t mention it! She’s rather sensitive to it.”

If you say ‘sensitive’ carefully, the middle syllable is the neutral schwa sound, /ə/. What happens to this sound in fast speech?

• The vowel disappears.
• The vowel changes to a more prominent sound.
• The vowel gets longer.

You can also write notes about related words that are created by adding a suffix or prefix. Look at these examples.

Match the words with the definitions.

Sort elements

• sensitivity
• sensitively
• hypersensitive

Now look at these notes about two meanings of one more word.

You will find out what word it is in the next question, so guess now if you would like to!

Even if you can’t think of it, what do you know about the word from the two definitions?

• It can be a verb or a noun.
• It can be a verb or an adjective.
• It can be a noun or an adjective.
• It can be a verb or an adverb.

Did you work out the word? It’s ‘ insult ‘. Now look at the notes for the form.

Write the correct form of ‘insult’ in each gap below.

“I’ve never been so in all my life.”

“The protestors hurled at the president throughout.”

This is an example of a pronunciation pattern, which is true for many two-syllable words that can be a verb or a noun.

Which two things are true for ‘insult’ and many other two-syllable words?

• Two-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the second syllable.
• Two-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the first syllable.
• Two-syllable verbs are usually stressed on the first syllable.
• Two-syllable nouns are usually stressed on the second syllable.

Look at this example of a sentence that contains an idiom with the word ‘insult’.

What does the idiom “add insult to injury” mean?

• Create a bad situation and then make it worse.
• Charge too much money for a bad job.
• Upset someone as well as physically hurting them.

1. Why Should You Use a Vocabulary Notebook?

So, what is a vocabulary notebook?

A vocabulary notebook is a small book where you record new words. The best vocabulary notebook is small enough to put in your pocket so you can carry it everywhere, like this.

Remembering new vocabulary is something that many language students find difficult.

To really know a word means that you are able not just to recognise the word, but use it correctly.

But how can you go from recognising and understanding a word to using it well in your English speaking or writing?

You need to form a long-term memory of the word or phrase you’re trying to remember.

When you learn a new word in class or during self-study, it’s in your short-term memory. You are able to recognise and even use the word during your studies and maybe even for a short time afterwards, but then you may forget it.

You need to move the word into your long-term memory. The only way to do this is to see, hear and use the words many times.

So then, why is a vocabulary notebook helpful for expanding your vocabulary more quickly?

A vocabulary notebook is an excellent tool to help you move new words from your short-term to your long-term memory.

You can use it to record and review vocabulary, enabling you to see, hear and use the words many times, which will help you to remember them.

Record and review equals remember.

But how do you use a vocabulary notebook?

There are lots of different ways to use your vocabulary notebook, but two steps are important: record and review.

2. How to Record the Meaning of New Vocabulary

Let’s look at recording vocabulary.

When you learn new vocabulary, record it instantly. That means write it down at that moment.

The physical act of writing the word down can help you to remember it later.

So, whether you’re in class, studying at home, or out and about, the best thing to do is record the word when you learn it. Don’t wait until later!

There are four easy steps. The first step is recording words clearly and correctly.

This may sound obvious, but many students find they are unable to read their own notes, or they record and then learn words with incorrect spelling . So, always check how the words are spelt.

So what else do you need to record?

The second step is to record the meaning of the vocabulary.

There are a number of ways to do this, depending on the word or phrase you want to learn.

Let’s use our example, soup . Do you think writing pea or chicken will help you to remember the meaning of this word?

It’s true that pea and chicken are examples of soup, but writing down the meaning like this might not help you to remember what soup means.

However, I’m quite sure most countries have soup, so a translation is a quick and clear way to show the meaning of soup .

I speak Turkish, so I’ll use that. In Turkish the translation for soup is çorba .

Many students also find that drawing pictures helps them to remember words. Put the picture on the right-hand page, for meaning.

For simple words, like soup , recording the translation in your language is okay.

However, many words don’t have a direct translation. For this reason, it’s usually best to record the meaning in English.

But, use your own words; don’t just copy the meaning from a dictionary!

This will make it easier for you to understand and remember the meaning.

Let’s do an example. Do you know the word tasty ?

It describes food that has a strong taste or flavour.

We can also say that this is a positive adjective, a little similar to delicious , so we can write a positive symbol next to the meaning.

With adjectives, it is also a good idea to record the opposite.

We can use this sign for opposite: ≠

The opposite of tasty is tasteless . It describes food that has no flavour.

This is a negative adjective, so we can write the negative symbol next to the meaning.

Using a vocabulary notebook is a learning process and should be personal to you, so experiment with different ways of recording meaning. But, however you decide to record the meaning, make sure it will be clear to you when you come back to it.

So, there are four steps to recording vocabulary. Firstly, write the word clearly and correctly.

Secondly, record the meaning.

What’s next?

3. How to Record the Form of New Vocabulary

Ask yourself or your teacher: is the word a noun? A verb? An adjective? An idiom?

Remember that phrases can be nouns or verbs, too, so this is true for both words and phrases.

If it’s a noun, is it countable or uncountable ? Make a note so that you understand how to use it. You can record the form in brackets next to the word.

Here, soup is a noun, so you can put an n. after it. It can be countable or uncountable; you can show this by writing C/U.

You can put adj. to show that tasty and tasteless are adjectives.

It’s helpful to use abbreviations to record form. Here are some examples.

(n.) is for noun (v.) is for verb (C) means the noun is countable (U) means the noun is uncountable

(adj.) means adjective (adv.) means adverb (mwv) is for multi-word verb (ID) is for idiom

Abbreviations help you record the form quickly and to use less space in your notebook.

There’s one more thing you should record.

4. How to Record the Pronunciation of New Vocabulary

You’re learning English. That means you know how confusing and irregular English pronunciation can be.

That’s why you should record some details about the pronunciation of the word.

For example, you could write the transcription in phonetics, mark the stressed syllable , mark silent letters or syllables, and highlight any difficult or irregular sounds.

For example, students sometimes confuse the pronunciation of soup with soap . So, the vowel sound here is important.

This is the symbol for the ‘oo’ sound: /ʊː/ You don’t have to use these phonetic symbols , but they can help you to remember the correct pronunciation.

Vowel sounds are a good place to start. You can write /ʊː/ under the letters that make that sound, ‘oo’.

The word tasty has more than one syllable, so you should record the stress in the word.

You can do this by underlining the vowel where the stress is.

In tasty , the stress is on ‘a’. Some students may also find it helpful here to record the vowel sound. The vowel sound is /eɪ/.

In speech, the second ‘t’ in tasteless can be silent. You can show this by writing a small cross under the letter.

So now we have the basic information we need to record.

We’ve written the word clearly and correctly. We’ve checked the spelling, and we’ve also recorded the meaning, form and pronunciation of the words.

You may notice that I have used different colours.

It’s helpful to use colour in your notes and to be consistent. This means always using the same colour for the same thing.

You could use different colours for different parts of speech, as I have done here: my nouns are black and adjectives are red.

You could use different colours for verbs and adverbs too. This helps you understand and remember the form of a word quickly.

Also, using a different colour for your pronunciation notes helps them stand out. I always use green.

Finally, you might want to add more information to your notes later. So, leave some space.

What else might you want to add? You’ll see some ideas later!

5. Remember your Vocabulary by Reviewing and Developing Your Notes

So now you know how to record new vocabulary in your vocabulary notebook.

But that’s not enough: you also need to remember the vocabulary.

Learn more with this Oxford Online English lesson: How to Learn English Vocabulary (and remember it) .

When you’re learning English, you can forget around 80% of new vocabulary if you don’t review it.

Reviewing vocabulary means seeing it again and using it. You don’t have to spend a long time each time you review. The most important thing is that you review it many times, over time.

Carrying a vocabulary notebook with you everywhere helps you to do this.

Let’s make a review plan. Imagine that you saw some new vocabulary earlier today. You recorded the words and phrases you want to learn in your notebook.

How should you review the vocabulary?

Research shows that most students forget 80% of what they have learned within 24 hours of a lesson.

So, after your lesson, a short time after you have written down some new vocabulary, take five minutes to look at it again.

The very best time to do this is 10 minutes after, when you still remember most of the lesson. Maybe you are waiting for the bus or having a coffee; you can take your notebook out and review the new vocabulary quickly.

Read through what you have written. Remember the meaning, the form and the pronunciation. Say the vocabulary in your head: “Soup is çorba .”

Then, test yourself. You can cover the meaning side of your notebook, look at the new words and see if you can remember the meaning.

Then you can cover the words (on the left) and see if you can remember how to say them from looking at the meaning side of your notebook: “ Çorba is soup.”

Focus on the pronunciation.

Then uncover the left side and check the word and the pronunciation.

Later that day, when you have a bit more time, you can sit down and add some information to your notes.

Firstly, you should add collocations if you can find them.

Collocations are examples of words which can be used together.

A good dictionary will give you collocations. Use an English learner’s dictionary, such as Cambridge, Oxford or Macmillan to find the vocabulary.

What about collocations with soup ? We often use words for different types of soup. For example:

• Chicken soup
• Potato soup
• Tomato soup

We can also use things like:

• A bowl of soup
• A tin of soup

Write the collocations in the space you left under the vocabulary. These will help you to remember the vocabulary in the way that it’s actually used.

Another good tip is to write sentences using your new words.

The best way to do this to help you remember your new vocabulary is to personalise them. This means write a sentence so that it means something to you. For example,

• My Mum loves tomato soup, but I hate it.

So at the end of day 1, you’ve found some new vocabulary, recorded the meaning, the form and the pronunciation.

You’ve reviewed it by looking at it again as soon as possible after you first saw it.

Then you’ve reviewed it again, by looking up the word in a dictionary and adding collocations and a personalised sentence.

Congratulations! You now have enough information in your notebook to start using it to really expand your vocabulary.

Thanks very much for watching!

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Vocabulicious

A blog for teachers to learn best practices on how to teach vocabulary to their students.

Digital and Interactive Vocabulary Notebooks

No matter what vocabulary guru you follow, there is always a common theme between their suggestions for word learning best practices. Keeping students’ word learning organized in interactive vocabulary notebooks is a simple way to put these suggestions into action right way!

First, explicitly teach each new vocabulary word with direct instruction. Next, offer students MANY opportunities to practice this word in relevant and meaningful ways. Last, incorporate organization into your vocabulary teaching. Organization assists memory and memory equals more words permanently added to a students repertoire.

These gurus always make it sound so easy. But, if you’ve ever tried to implement any type of vocabulary teaching routine in your classroom, you know firsthand this is HARD work!

In this blog post, I share an easy way to offer students multiple opportunities to practice each new vocabulary word. Plus, ways they can stay organized and make connections along the way. Plus, it’s completely paperless and a simple way to keep a whole class set of “notebooks” organized!

What is an Interactive Vocabulary Notebook?

An interactive notebook used for vocabulary is a student-centered, personalized notebook. It is used for exploring word meaning, making connections and writing about words.

It helps students stay organized and keep a record of all of the words they’ve learned this year. Plus, it holds them accountable because they really build these notebooks from the ground up!

Typically, you provide students with an outline or graphic organizer for note taking. They tape this into their notebook before completing the activity of the day.

These activities can be a mix of notes, graphic organizers, pictures, writing or even store things like word cards!

📝 You can learn more about simple, spiral-bound Interactive Vocabulary Notebooks in my blog post: How Word Learning Notebooks are Guaranteed to Improve Students’ Vocabul ary .

Why use a Digital Interactive Vocabulary Notebook?

⭐️ The best advice that was ever given to me when it comes to vocabulary instruction is to keep it SIMPLE and find what works and do more of it. 

In other words, find 3-5 vocabulary activities, graphic organizers or games that provide students with meaningful practice. Then, put these on autopilot for the rest of the year. I like to call this the “rinse and repeat” method!

I am a huge fan of spiral-bound vocabulary notebooks. However, a downfall is the prep it takes to set up ~25 notebooks each month. Plus, the amount of paper you have to print and then glue into each notebook is the opposite of environmentally friendly and efficient. Even with a good little team of helpers, it takes a lot of work to plan ahead and set up each notebook for future word learning.

💻 A digital interactive vocabulary notebook takes all of the printing and gluing out of the equation.

It provides students with a place to take notes digitally by offering them an outline on the screen.

Implementing a notebook like this in your classroom helps students stay organized and remember…organization assists memory! 

Digital notebooks are typically created in a tool such as Google Slides or OneNote. Then, sent out via your school’s learning management system.

Plus, they can never run out of pages because they can add more at the click of a button! 

👀 Keep reading for more ideas on what activities/slides to include!

Digital Vocabulary Notebook Ideas

Adding a digital component to your vocabulary teaching routine takes the guess work out of your planning! Once setup, sent to students and directions explained, these vocabulary notebooks can run on autopilot all year long.

Using a combination of the same activities each week provides opportunities for students to process each new definition, provide an example sentence, synonyms, antonyms and a picture representation!

Here are a few ways you can fit in some interactive notebook work time throughout the school day:

📚 Keeping track of words learned during independent reading

❤️ Literacy Centers as independent work or have students collaborate on a word learning activity

🔔 Bell Work first thing in the morning to kick off the day with a new vocab word

🔁 Station Rotation for a quick dose of word learning!

✏️ Extension of writing block when asking students to write long and strong about the words they’re learning

📓 Incorporate it into word study time by taking a quick break from spelling and focus on a new vocabulary word of the week!

3 Ways to Implement Digital Vocabulary Interactive Notebooks

1. practice words learned in class.

Direct and explicit instruction is always the bet way to introduce a new word to the whole class. Once you’ve done this, research shows that students need MANY opportunities to practice this word in relevant and meaningful ways.

One way to offer these practice opportunities is by having students explore word meaning while completing a variety of tasks themed around the same one focus word.

➡️ Graphic organizers such as a Word Web/Map , 3 Truths & a Lie and List-Group-Label are just a few of the ways to support students to dig deeper and extend their knowledge about each word.

✏️ Incorporate writing into word learning time by asking students to write long and strong using the focus word, create a comic strip themed themed around the word or make a personal connection.

2. Keep Track of Challenging Words from Independent Reading

Use word learning notebooks all year long to help students keep a personal word wall and track all of the words they’ve learned.

An easy way to do this is to incorporate these notebooks into independent reading time! Teach students to pause while reading and record new challenging words they come across.

✏️ Digital notebooks like this can even be used as a student portfolio piece! Track word learning growth and writing progress from the beginning of the year until now.

3. Encourage Collaboration & Conversation

Although, personal notebooks and journaling activities are great for independent work, a HUGE part of making sure the words you’re teaching actually stick is to get kids TALKING about these words.

➡️ Use activities such as Think-Pair-Share , 3 Truths & a Lie or Shades of Meaning to encourage collaboration in your classroom.

Schedule a few minutes each day (maybe during Morning Meeting!) to spark conversations about new words learned. Challenge students to use words in context. Plus, have them explain how they can make connections to other words they already know.

Digital Vocabulary Notebook Template

Ready to implement? All you need is a digital template !

Whether you are building one in Google Slides or OneNote, a tip would be to build the entire template FIRST before sending it out to students. This way, once it’s built you can “rinse & repeat” the same slides all year long.

Create slides/pages for:

• Collecting new words learned
• Taking guided notes on graphic organizers
• Prompts that ask students to write long and strong
• Activities that encourage collaboration with peers

Vocabulary Notebook Example

Creating your own vocabulary notebook template is pretty easy, but even easy things take time!

⭐️ Since your teacher time is precious, I’ve created a Digital and Interactive Vocabulary Notebook template that you requires no prep an can be easily customized for your classroom!

It includes 13 digital graphic organizer templates that students can use to digging deeper into word meaning.

Just plug in your own vocabulary words into the Google Slides, make a copy and SEND!

➡️ Loving these interactive vocabulary notebooks? I’m here to help you skip the growing pains of revamping your vocabulary curriculum with simple, easy to implement activities you can teach in just 10 minutes a day!

❤️ Remember, the more opportunities students are given to practice each new word the more it is that these words will STICK! Use digital notebooks like this one to guide students to make connections and write long and strong using new focus vocabulary each week.

I invite you to share any other ideas themed around digital vocabulary notebooks in the comments below!

I look forward to continuing to share low investment, high return ways to spice up your vocabulary lessons. Until next time, make today meaningful, friends 💕 .

More Digital Notebook related articles, here:

• How to Get Benefits of Interactive Notebooks in Digital Formats by Edutopia
• Examples, Tips and Templates for Interactive Digital Notebooks by TCEA
• How Word Learning Notebooks are Guaranteed to Improve Students’ Vocabulary by Vocabulicious

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• Pingback: Strategies to Help Students Make Word Meaning in the Upper Grades | Annotated ELA

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Your guide to your first vocabulary notebook

When you meet new words, you have to make an effort to remember them. Whether you heard it first in the news or at the back of a milk carton, you have to try to record it, write it down somewhere. But how do you retain the words you learn? Is it possible to remember all the words you have met over time? 

Expanding your vocabulary is a ‘must’ to succeed in any English exam, but to do this requires an enormous amount of time and practise. To do this easier, you have to treat vocabulary-building systematically. 

Read our guide on how to make your first vocabulary notebook.

1. AN ACTUAL NOTEBOOK

If you like the idea of taking down notes with pen and paper, a dedicated notebook is a good option since it keeps everything in one place. A notebook with alphabetical or color-coded tabs can do the trick, as long as you have a system to organise your entries to make sure it’s easily searchable: is it by date and time, or do you put nouns ahead of the verbs?

2. NOTECARDS

Notecards are portable vocabulary notebooks: you can easily put them in your pockets! Dedicate each notecard to a single word and definition, shuffle a deck or two every day and memorise each word during commutes. You can easily jot down new words when you see one with blank notecards in hand. However, that can also be a disadvantage since you can easily lose them, so make sure you store them in one place.

3. STICKY NOTES 

Just like notecards, sticky notes can be used as portable vocabulary notebooks.  These work as reminders to stick to any kind of surface, may it be on your desk or your own vocabulary notebook. 

4. A VIRTUAL NOTEBOOK

If you want to access your vocabulary notebook anywhere you are, go digital. You can create a blog dedicated to daily new words, or download a note-taking app for your notes and scribbles. You can even draw a sketch or take a picture of the page or website where you found the new word!

If you’re indifferent to using both paper and digital apps, you can even combine these methods and see what works for you. Make sure that your vocabulary notebook matches your learning strategies: are you a visual learner who learns best through sketches and photos? Do you find it easier to remember the things you write down on paper? 

Remember: There is no single recipe to do this. We encourage you to do the methods you think will fit your learning strategy best. Try to make it a habit to write down words every day! 

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Expand Your Word Bank: 19 Strategies for Students to Improve Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a collection of words in a person’s lexical repertoire. The term vocabulary comes from the Latin word “vocabulum,” which means “a word, a name.” 

Vocabulary is a critical component of language and communication, aiding in transmitting thoughts, ideas, emotions, and information.

It can be vocal, written, or signed and is divided into two categories: active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. 

Active vocabulary consists of words you use frequently, and passive vocabulary refers to words you recognize but do not use frequently.

That said, as a critical skill, if you dont have enough of it in your lexical repertoire, you will find it challenging to read and understand texts.

Any student who wants to excel in their academic success or beyond an educational setting must develop this skill. 

So, how do you improve your vocabulary? What strategies can you implement to make learning new words easy?

Many unique strategies, thankfully, are available to help you learn new words quickly. 

This post will teach you 19 word learning strategies to improve your vocabulary immediately.

1. Foster word consciousness

Word consciousness refers to the habit of finding new words, figuring out their meaning, looking for multiple meanings, and adding them to your linguistic repertoire. 

Fostering this habit in students will help them develop their vocabularies swiftly. By becoming word-conscious, you build awareness and interest in words. 

Some tactics to help foster this habit include engaging your student in word games and activities that make learning fun. 

Word puzzles, crosswords, word searches, and vocabulary board games are practical tools for developing word consciousness.

Other exciting tactics you can implement include researching word origins or histories. 

As Graves, M.F. puts it, “If we can get students interested in playing with words and language, then we are at least halfway to the goal of creating the sort of word-conscious students who will make words a lifetime interest.”

2. Introduce each new word one at a time

Introducing one new word one at a time is an effective strategy for helping students develop new vocabulary.

If you are an instructor teaching vocabulary to students, here’s how you can do it with them:

• Start by saying the word aloud clearly, then have your student repeat the word after you. This process helps students to become familiar with the pronunciation. 
• Next, add visual support by displaying the words and their meaning for students to see on visual aid tools like a word wall, flip chart, or vocabulary graphic organizer.

Adding pictures related to the word can be helpful, too. This visual representation helps reinforce the connection between the word and its meaning in your student’s minds.

For those learning English but English is not their first language, utilizing cognates can be helpful. 

Cognates are words from different languages with similar meanings, spellings, and pronunciations in English and the student’s native language. 

Some examples of English cognates in Spanish are family and familia, center and centro, class, and clase.

By using cognates, you can help English language learners (ELLs) make connections and understand new words more easily.

3. Understand the true meaning of words

To truly expand your vocabulary, it’s essential to go beyond memorization and delve into the deeper meanings of words. You can unlock a wealth of knowledge and accelerate your vocabulary growth by exploring their etymology, root words, prefixes, and suffixes. 

Because at least half of English words are derived from Greek and Latin roots, familiarity with them has significant benefits.

For example, once you realize that the prefix “ortho” implies “straight” or “right,” you begin to discover connections between seemingly unrelated words like orthodontist (a specialist who straightens teeth) and orthography (the accurate or straight style of writing).

Understanding the logic of words is always beneficial to learning and recalling. 

Consider the terms “breakfast” and “rainbow,” which respectively imply “interrupt the night’s fast and bow or arc caused by rain.” 

Other examples include “automobile,” which is a combination of two parts, “auto” and “mobile.” 

Auto comes from the Greek word autós, meaning “self,” mobile is derived from the Latin phrase mobilis, which means “movable.” So, an “automobile” is a “self-moving” vehicle.

While these meanings may be trivial to native English speakers, having such insights about words, foreign or otherwise, empowers you to unlock the definition of a wide range of unknown words you encounter for the first time, expanding your language skills.

4. Use digital tools for independent practice

An exciting strategy you can implement to improve your vocabulary fast is using tools that make learning new words easier. 

Some tools include:

• Flocabulary : This comprehensive program contains hip-hop-style films to assist students in learning new terminology.
• Freerice : This website features a vocabulary game with five difficulty levels, with levels one and two suitable for kids in grades three and up.
• Vocabador : This tool is more like a game that is especially useful for students preparing for the SAT or GRE. The app allows you to study all 400+ vocabulary words and compete with others in a challenge using virtual flashcards broken down into three difficulty levels.

You may also like: 19 Fastest Learning Strategies to Expand Your Vocabulary

5. Get a vocabulary notebook

Maintaining a vocabulary notebook is a simple but effective strategy that encourages you to expand your vocabulary knowledge and improve your English language proficiency.

All you need to do is record new words and their meaning. You can also find the word synonyms and give example sentences that include the new word in your vocabulary notebook.

If you teach vocabulary, you can make this strategy more exciting by asking your students to draw pictures or sketch charts that show how they used a word in a few sentences. 

This allows them to practice the word a few times and reinforce its definition.

An added benefit of keeping a vocabulary notebook is that it reminds you how much you have progressed in your word knowledge within a period.

6. Develop a reading habit 

Developing a reading habit is essential if you want to learn new words. You encounter new words to add to your vocabulary development bank by reading frequently . 

New words discovered from a newspaper, novel, or any other reading material can be more helpful as it provides context that reading through a long list of new words lacks. 

Not only do you gain exposure to unfamiliar words, but you also see how they’re used.

Furthermore, a reading habit helps you improve your comprehension and critical thinking skills. 

To develop this habit, start by reading one new book a week or reading newspapers or magazines every morning. Select a frequency and pace that works for you, and develop a consistent reading routine. 

As you master this habit, reading becomes an enjoyable and lifelong pursuit, contributing to your overall language proficiency. 

A bonus of committing to this habit is that you become an intelligent, well-rounded person.

Do you find it impossible to read one book per week? Reading one book per week is achievable. If you need help reading fast, we have a speed reading tool that can help you improve your reading speed and vocabulary almost immediately. Try our speed reading tool today!

7. Apply the target words

Once you learn a new word, applying the target words is an excellent strategy that helps reinforce the new words in your mind. 

You can challenge yourself by applying the target word to your own experience, allowing you to understand the meaning of each word at a personal level.

8. Use multiple exposures in multiple contexts to enhance your vocabulary learning process

Exposing yourself to a word’s meaning in multiple contexts is an effective strategy that will help you improve your vocabulary. 

You may have seen a particular word multiple times in more than one place. 

However, this does not mean you know the word, its meaning, or how it is used in writing and speaking. 

But if you encounter the word’s meaning multiple times or in various contexts, the term is more likely to stick.

If you don’t have explicit vocabulary instruction that exposes you to a target word meaning in multiple contexts, then you must be deliberate when implementing this strategy.

9. Word talks

Word talks is a strategy similar to the book talks strategy, where students deliver a brief presentation about a book they recommend for independent reading to their peers.

In the case of word talks, you will present important words to your peers based on your independent reading and media use. 

Word talks are suitable for general academic words and can be combined with the fifth strategy discussed in this piece.

If you are an instructor teaching word meanings to students, you can schedule word talks on specific days or rotate them to make the talks more memorable.

This word-talk strategy is effective because it involves the students teaching their peers. And students tend to explain words in a way that “clicks” with their peers just because it’s said in a kid-friendly way.

You may wonder what types of terms you should share during word talks. You can request that your students provide a rationale for each word chosen or simply allow them to share any term they think is intriguing.

You may also like: 15 Vocabulary Exercises to Refine Your Linguistic Abilities .

10. Make use of anchored word learning

Anchored word learning is a structured approach to robust vocabulary instruction that leverages the power of read-aloud to expose students to new words within meaningful contexts. 

It promotes vocabulary acquisition and retention by introducing carefully selected words during engaging and immersive reading experiences.

Implementing this strategy is best with instructors and student settings, but you can also do this with your friends. 

Follow the steps below to implement this strategy with your students:

Select a read-aloud

Choose captivating texts for read-aloud sessions. These can include picture books, trade books, novels, nonfiction texts, or content-area materials suitable for the student’s age and grade level.

Identify three to five target words

Before the read-aloud, carefully select three to five significant words that will expand students’ vocabulary and are likely to appear in diverse contexts. Focus on words that have academic relevance or are critical to the content being taught.

Mark the text

Mark the chosen vocabulary word in the text using sticky notes, highlighter, or annotations if the text is in print form.

Read aloud fluently

Start by reading the entire text aloud without interruptions. During this initial reading, the goal is to let students experience the text fluently and grasp the story or concepts.

Word discussion 

After the initial reading, return to the marked vocabulary words. Reread the sentences or paragraphs in which these words appear.

Oral practice

Have students repeat each targeted word aloud. If applicable, spell the word and call attention to any interesting spelling features.

Provide definitions 

Offer clear, student-friendly definitions for each word. Repeat these definitions to ensure understanding.

Provide examples

Go beyond the text’s context and provide additional examples of how each word can be used. Encourage students to share their own examples to personalize their understanding.

Word wall display

If desired, post the selected words on an academic word wall. Organize a dedicated section of the word wall specifically for words introduced during read-aloud sessions.

11. Semantic Mapping

Semantic mapping is maps or webs of words that help students visually connect the relationship between a word or phrase and a set of related terms or concepts. This helps them learn more words.

For example, pick a word you intend to explain, draw a map or web on the board, and put this word in the center of the map. 

Then, ask students to add related words or phrases similar in meaning to the new term. 

Let’s say the new word is “farm,” write that on a chalkboard. Then, have your students take turns writing words such as cow, barn, horse, hay, and farmer.

12. Become friends with the dictionary

A dictionary is an invaluable tool for enhancing your vocabulary. It provides precise definitions, spellings, alternate meanings, and additional information about words. 

A thesaurus is equally valuable for discovering word connections, including synonyms and antonyms. 

Consider stocking your bookcase with an excellent dictionary and thesaurus. 

Here are some suggestions:

• Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
• The New Oxford American Dictionary
• The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus

In addition, there are numerous free online dictionaries with useful supplementary features. Even if you already have a decent print dictionary, having a helpful online dictionary at your disposal is essential:

Here are some to consider:

• OneLook : Features a reverse lookup capability (find the term by its definition) and functions as a “meta-dictionary,” displaying definitions from other large online dictionaries.
• Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary : A well-known and respected name in the dictionary world.
• Ninjawords : Looks up words in the free online Wiktionary. What makes this site unique is that you can check many words simultaneously. Furthermore, the results pages can be bookmarked, making them excellent personal reference pages.
• Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus : This tool can help when implementing a semantic mapping strategy by providing you with related terms rendered in a visual map format.

13. Learn a little Latin

Although Latin may no longer be as popular, learning it is one of the independent word-learning strategies that can dramatically improve your English vocabulary. 

As we mentioned, at least half of English words are derived from Greek and Latin roots. 

Whether you are a student or an instructor teaching and learning vocabulary, being quite adept at Latin can help you figure out the meaning of a wide variety of words you don’t yet know without having to use a dictionary.

14. Practice using new words in conversation 

Learning new words is just the beginning; the true mastery of vocabulary comes from using these words actively in your daily life. This is especially helpful while teaching children. 

Research shows that the more turns a kid takes in conversation with an adult, the more they develop their vocabulary and verbal acuity.

Using the new words learned in conversation and keeping the conversation going is helpful for both elementary and advanced students learning vocabulary. 

By using these newly learned words in your writing, reading, and speaking engagement, you encode them into your long-term memory.

15. Engage in active vocabulary exercise

Taking it a step beyond using new words in conversation is engaging in word play activities that enable you to practice the words you learn while learning new vocabulary words.

Some helpful exercises you may do are discussed below:

Vocabulary games

There are numerous online games available to help you enhance your vocabulary. These games can be a fun and exciting method to learn new words and practice terms you already know.

Many online dictionaries, like Dictionary.com, provide free vocabulary games, and a quick Google search for vocabulary games yields many more results.

Vocabulary test

Vocabulary tests allow you to assess your vocabulary knowledge and earn a score after completing the test. The test tells you what your current vocabulary level is. 

These tests not only improve your prior knowledge by introducing you to new terms but also allow you to track your progress to see if and how much your vocabulary is developing.

A wide variety of vocabulary tests, including vocabulary games, can also be found with a quick Google search.

Vocabulary quiz

Similar to vocabulary test, quizzes, which are usually shorter, helps you test your current vocabulary level. But unlike vocabulary tests, quizzes do not comprehensively analyze your vocabulary level once completed.

Nonetheless, vocabulary quizzes are an excellent opportunity to practice your vocabulary and track your progress.

Vocabulary worksheets

Vocabulary worksheets are excellent resources that help students practice the difference between words, expanding their vocabulary and reinforcing their understanding of words . 

They typically include exercises on word recognition, word usage, synonyms, antonyms, compound words, multiple-meaning words, and prefixes/suffixes.

They will focus on each aspect of the words, including their length and meaning. Vocabulary worksheets are available in a variety of formats.

Some worksheets can be completed online, while others can be printed and finished by hand, and each assignment’s specific goal and directions vary.

You can find a format you prefer and start practicing to improve your vocabulary abilities.

Related reading: How Can I Learn New Vocabulary Daily? (Explained!) .

16. Take a writing class

Taking a writing class is a fantastic strategy to help you develop a good vocabulary. These classes provide explicit instruction, guidance, and opportunities to practice and refine your writing abilities.

You will discover new words that enrich your vocabulary through assignments and tests that often require using diverse vocabulary to express ideas given in such classes.

This helps your academic life and benefits you when you graduate into your professional field.

As you participate in a writing class, take notes on any new words you learn throughout the course.

You may also like: 12 Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary and Writing Skills.

17. Use context clues

When you stumble upon an unfamiliar word, research by Nagy and Scott showed that using contextual analysis to infer word meanings by looking closely at surrounding text is helpful. 

During reading comprehension, you will often encounter several words, and some may be unfamiliar to you. 

Some experts believe that even a tiny improvement in the ability to utilize context clues has the potential to produce substantial, long-term vocabulary development.

18. Sketch the words

Creating visual sketches is another vital vocabulary learning strategy that effectively enhances word retention and understanding. 

When you come across a new word, make a quick sketch that connects the word and its meaning to something personally meaningful to you. 

Apply the target word to a new, familiar context.

Your sketch does not have to be beautiful. The important thing is that it makes sense and helps you connect with the word’s meanings.

19. Use visuals and situations

Learning new words can be fun and easy when you combine visuals, such as graphics and photos, with auditory learning to cover a range of learning styles. 

Flashcard tools like Vocabulary Cartoons help students connect words they don’t yet have committed to their vocabulary to fun cartoons through memory techniques.

This vocabulary program works well from the elementary grades through to high school.

You can display flashcards in places accessible to you and run through them as much as you can daily. Ensure you continuously change the words each week to learn new words and phrases.

If you are an instructor, fantastic use of visual and situations strategy is to turn your students into word detectives. This exciting activity gets kids to read books while searching for keywords. 

The process involves handing your student a list of keywords to find in the book. Once they find the keywords used in sentences, please encourage them to use those words in spoken and written sentences.

You can also encourage them to create drawings or patterns to express their understanding of the words. Students can form their own connections to new words through illustrations, patterns, and other examples.      

Takeaway: Boost your vocabulary with 19 proven strategies for students

A strong vocabulary will enhance confidence and aid your academic or professional life. But, learning and recalling new words can be challenging.

Thankfully, there are strategies you can implement that will help you improve your vocabulary. 

If you have been having challenges learning new words, implementing the techniques discussed in this piece, including fostering word consciousness, understanding the true meaning of words, semantic mapping, and many others, will help make your lexical prowess more sophisticated. 

Understand that there is no one ultimate strategy. Implementing a mix of the abovementioned strategies will be the most beneficial technique.

Learning new words can be exciting and challenging, but you need sound techniques to commit them to your long-term memory. 

You don’t want to discover new lexicons and forget their meaning, especially if you want to score high on your SAT or GRE.

Iris reading has a maximizing memory course that will make learning new information, including vocabulary, a breeze. 

This course lets you quickly remember what you read and enables you to memorize critical information. Take the Maximizing Memory course today!

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Free Vocabulary Notebook Template for Studying Vocabulary

One way for students to improve their vocabulary studies is to use a vocabulary notebook. I’ve create a free template you can use to create an interactive notebook; to download it: Get the free template .

Incorporating a vocabulary notebook into a language classroom is a great way to encourage students to focus on learning words:

• It gives them a way to collect all their words in one place
• See How do I remember words
• This Vocab Victor template features a way for students to quiz themselves by groups of ten words
• Over time, notebooks will show them their vocabulary progress (and can also be used for review)
• Research shows that students remember things better when they write out their notes by hand
• The notebook centers vocabulary as worthy of time and attention

Here is a video showing how to set up and use the template:

Setting up the template

This template works with a standard 70-page, college-ruled, spiral-bound notebook. It is designed to teach 100 words:

• 50 sheets with words (one word on each side)
• 10 sheets with quizes
• 9 sheets for the index

To set up the template, print page 1 on white paper.

Cut it out and tape it to the front of your notebook. Fill it out with your name, the date, you class information, etc. If you are keeping more than one notebook you can number them.

Print out page 3 on colored paper. Each rectangle is used to quiz a word. Cut out three sides, and fold the fourth.

Number the first 10 pages in your notebook. Be sure to use both sides of the paper! This will let you learn 100 words in the notebook. Don’t number the 11th page. Instead, tape the quiz page here. (You can number and add quiz sheets now to all the pages, or do it as you go along.)

Print out page 4 on white paper. Cut out one of the tab strips; If you are a teacher, I put multiple strips on each sheet to save paper.

Cut out each tab. Tape it to the notebook, starting with XYZ on the last sheet in the notebook, then UVW on the second-to-last sheet, and so forth.

Finally, print out page 5 on white paper. <img src = “/img/Page5.png” width = “50%” alt=“Page 5 - Back cover” title “Tape Page 5 to the back cover!"/>

Trim it and tape it to the back cover. These are some word puzzles for you to do.

Using the notebook

You can either use the notebook to learn word lists that your teacher gives you, or add your own words as you find them in reading, talking to people, watching TV, etc.

The instructions on the inside cover provide a template for each page.

• In the middle of the page, draw a circle. Write the word in the circle.
• Now draw lines, following the template, to divide the page into four sections.
• In the upper right, write down where you learned the word. Then, write down a sentence using the word.
• In the upper left, write down the meaning of the word. You can look up the definition in a dictionary, but it’s better to use your own words so that you are sure to understand it.
• In the bottom right, write down associations for the word. These can be synonyms, similar types of things, opposites, or even the translation for the word in your language.
• In the bottom left, draw an image to help you remember the word. This can be a picture of what the word is, or any picture that will give you an association.
• Go to the quiz page. On one of the rectangles, open the flap and write down the meaning (or translation) for the word on the sheet under the flap. Now close the flap and write the word on the outside. This gives you a way to review your words so you are sure you understand them
• Now go to the Index page for the first letter in the word, I. Enter the word and the page number. As your notebook fills up, you will be able to look up your words and find them easily.

That’s it! If you find this notebook helpful, please share the link to this page on social media! If you have feedback, please contact me and let me know !

Download Vocab Victor now!

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StoryLearning

Learn A Language Through Stories

Is a Vocabulary Notebook Worth It? How to Get the Most From Your Language Learning Time

Do you have an old vocabulary notebook lying around the house? Maybe you have more than one.

And how many of the words that you've written inside those language notebooks have you ever managed to learn?

For me the answers are:

• A lot, and…
• Not very many  (Unfortunately, in that order.)

So was all that frantic scribbling worthwhile?

Or should I not have bothered with it at all?

Is a vocabulary notebook worth keeping?

Well, I think the answer is clearly Yes.

But perhaps not for the reasons you think.

When you're writing words and phrases in your foreign language notebook, you're probably thinking to yourself: “This is gold! I'll come back and learn this later!”

But given that you hardly ever do, that cannot be the actual benefit of keeping a word notebook.

(This is why the 10 Rules of StoryLearning are so crucial to follow!)

For me, it's the process of writing down what I've just heard that's beneficial – not the fact that I've got it written and recorded.

When you write something down, you have to put some degree of thought into what you've just heard.

By hearing a new word and writing it down, you've “primed” your brain to learn that word at some point in the future.

Now, I don't know about you, but I pretty much know that if I write something down in my notebook, I won't ever learn it .

I probably won't even go back and look at it.

I'm just not that kind of learner.

Basically, although you may feel like you're being a good student by diligently writing down everything from your lesson in your vocabulary notebook… that is not the same things as learning it.

The reality is that you haven't even started yet.

How to get it learnt

The challenge for you as a language learner is to have a reliable system you can use to filter through everything you write down in a vocabulary journal, and then know what you can do to actually learn it.

But, the basic problem with a vocabulary notebook is that you end up with far too much stuff in it! Even the best notebooks for language learning end up disorganised and hard to manage.

That's one of the reasons my StoryLearning courses (find a free trial here ) are based on stories… you get natural repetition from the stories, instead of having to write everything down in a language notebook.

Anyway…

When I was looking back through an old language learning notebook recently, I realised that of all the words and phrases I'd taken the trouble of learning, I hardly ever  used most of them in conversation.

However, there was a small number of words that I realised had become insanely useful for me and that I use all the time!

As a busy person, trying to learn a new language, there was an important lesson in this, and it follows the 80/20 rule.

You don't need to learn all the words in your notebooks for language learning.

Quite the opposite.

While it would of course be nice to learn everything , the smart thing to do is to identify the small number of words in amongst everything else that you think you've got a realistic chance of actually wanting to use in conversation.

And then spend all your time and energy learning them!

It's a classic application of the Pareto principle – a small number of things will give you the majority of your gains.

You might learn less vocabulary overall, but what you do learn will be extremely useful, and will have the biggest impact on your ability to speak your target language .

How to organise a foreign language notebook

How do you choose which vocabulary to learn? This gets easier the more you do it.

You want to choose vocabulary that is “generative”. In other words, choose words that help you express yourself better and that you can use in a variety of situations.

Here are some language notebook ideas for high-value vocabulary:

• Common verbs (to choose, to explain)
• Common adjectives (interesting, busy)
• Adverbs that help you express yourself (regularly, unfortunately)
• Discourse markers (Right, OK)
• Anything directly related to your life or work that you need to explain often

If you're unsure, the best thing it simply to think to yourself: “Is this a word that I find myself wanting to say regularly in my conversations?”

Once you've chosen what to learn, you can simply use your method of choice to go away and learn it!

Personally, I use the StoryLearning method , but you may have another.

The point is, with most of your vocabulary eliminated and only a small amount left to learn, the task doesn't seem half as daunting any more, and is infinitely more manageable.

Even if you hate studying, it's much easier to do it when you know that there isn't much to do.

And the fact that the vocabulary you have chosen to learn is massively valuable , should provide that motivational boost you need to get off the sofa and do the work! 🙂

But what about the rest of the words?

The biggest objection to this approach is always the fact that you're discarding a lot of potential learning material in your notebook for language learning.

I would simply point out this…

• None of it is “lost” – it's still in your notebook and you can go back to it any time
• Remember that you'll almost certainly never learn everything in your vocabulary notebook… even if you try
• You need to prioritise learning that small amount of vocabulary that you've identified as being super-useful… whether you learn the rest of the stuff or not
• It's smarter to focus on what you can gain than what you might lose
• Make sure you understand the principle of Loss Aversion

Whether you agree with this approach or not, the important thing is to be aware of the way you do things, and look for ways to do it better.

For me, it's all about using the least energy to learn the most language possible!

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Using a Word Journal to Create a Personal Dictionary

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Learning new vocabulary words is important for all readers, and an important part of the learning process is finding the definitions. This lesson teaches students how to track unfamiliar words as they read, link these words to their background knowledge, create new sentences for their words, and finally develop a project that displays their new vocabulary. This lesson could be adapted for ELL students or students in grades 3 to 5.

From Theory to Practice

• Vocabulary instruction, whether it is focused on narrative or informational text, is most effective when it relates new words or derivations of words to existing vocabulary and background knowledge.
• Active processing, which associates experiences and concepts with words, contributes significantly to vocabulary growth, comprehension, and continuous learning.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

Materials and Technology

• Access to a computer with the Internet and PowerPoint
• Overhead projector
• Pens or pencils
• Single-subject notebook
• PowerPoint Instruction Sheet
• Word Journal handout

Preparation

Begin this lesson with a class discussion of how your students typically learn new words. Are there any "tricks" that they use to learn new words while reading a story? Introduce them to a new way of learning vocabulary by organizing unfamiliar words in a word journal to create a personal dictionary. All students should have a notebook for their word journal. A single-subject notebook works best for this activity, but students may use whatever kind of notebook they have available. Students will need a working knowledge of PowerPoint to complete the final project.

Student Objectives

Students will

• Record words they are unfamiliar with in a word journal notebook
• Determine the meaning of words through context, dictionary use, or class discussion
• Create a PowerPoint presentation that explains a select number of words from their journal

Instruction & Activities

• This lesson can easily be extended as a dictionary lesson in which students get more detailed information about dictionary entries.
• This lesson can be extended to teach students about synonyms, antonyms, and analogies.

Student Assessment / Reflections

The main assessment is the daily word journal entries, which can be checked and graded at any time. Students are expected to have at least 27–30 words in their journals after a nine-week period. The final PowerPoint presentation can also be used as an assessment. Students are expected to select 15 words that they will use in a future writing project. Each slide is worth five points (one for the slide itself, one for content, one for the definition, and one for the sentence).

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After dividing students into small groups, students play a variation of the game Balderdash to celebrate the publication of Webster's dictionary.

Students play a variation of the game Balderdash to practice vocabulary.

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Your guide to your first vocabulary notebook - Part 1

When you meet new words, you have to make an effort to remember them. Whether you hear them first on the news or on the back of a milk carton, you have to try to record them and write them down somewhere. But how do you retain the words you learn? Is it possible to remember all the words you have ever seen? 

Expanding your vocabulary is a ‘must’ to succeed in any English exam, but to do this requires an enormous amount of time and practice. To do this more easily, you have to treat vocabulary-building systematically. 

Read our guide on how to make your first vocabulary notebook.

1. AN ACTUAL NOTEBOOK

If you like the idea of taking down notes with a pen and paper, a dedicated notebook is a good option since it keeps everything in one place. A notebook with alphabetical or color-coded tabs can do the trick, as long as you have a system to organise your entries to make sure it’s easily searchable: do you group words according to topic or by situations you might use them in?

2. NOTECARDS

Notecards are portable vocabulary notebooks: you can easily put them in your pockets! Dedicate each notecard to a single word and definition, shuffle a deck or two every day and memorise each word during commutes. You can easily jot down new words when you see them with blank notecards in hand. However, that can also be a disadvantage since you can easily lose them, so make sure you store them in one place.

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How to create an English Vocabulary Notebook to help increase our vocabulary?

How to create an english vocabulary notebook to help increase our vocabulary.

Creating a vocabulary notebook while learning English helps increase our vocabulary. During the process of learning each language, we are faced with a set of new words. As we know, in English, in order to master the four skills including speaking , listening , reading , and writing , we must have a high level of lexical knowledge. Remembering the spelling, meaning, and pronunciation of words is one of the concerns that all language learners face. One of our suggested solutions is for each language learner to have an English vocabulary notebook for learning vocabulary.

You can have this notebook with you. Use it when you travel long distances, memorize new words and review them.

6 Features of English Vocabulary Notebook

To prepare an English vocabulary notebook, we offer some suggestions to you:

First Point: Include a schedule and contacts

First, the vocabulary notebook should include a schedule for weekly programs and a page for essential contacts of English students (classmates) and faculties.

Second Point: Organize the properties of each English vocabulary

The second thing to keep in mind is to include four columns for each word. In the first column, the word, in the next column, the correct pronunciation of the word, in the third column, the definition of the word and in the last column a sentence example of the word, which will be discussed in the third point, should be placed. Learning English vocabulary without their pronunciations is nonsense. If you did so, you would have learnt them either with a wrong pronunciation or by memorizing the visual image of them, and you would not be able to make good use of your word bank in speaking.

Third Point: Write a carefully selected example

The third point is to carefully select and write an example for each English vocabulary. Reading that example must remind you the meaning of that word with no need to look at its definition.

Fourth Point: Include collocations of each vocabulary

The fourth point is to note the word with related words. Do not write any English vocabulary individually into the notebook. Your input words should be in the form of a phrase. If you do not know which words to associate with a new word, you can use collocation dictionaries or collocation books . Learning vocabulary in this way, in addition to reducing excessive and unusual pauses and helping to increase fluency, makes English learning easier and faster.

Fifth Point: Get help form your English vocabulary bank

As a fifth point, use your previous knowledge to learn new words and connect the new words to what you know. Knowledge can act as a bridge in your brain and make it easier to memorize new words.

Sixth Point: Devote part of the notebook to Grammar and Language Tips

The sixth point is that your English vocabulary notebook should be large enough to be divided into two parts, including essential language tips and vocabulary notes. If you learn new grammar tips or unfamiliar words, you can enter them in the relevant section. Read it whenever you have free time. This will increase your lexical knowledge and speed up your learning. As a result, the quality of your vocabulary learning will increase, and it will last longer in your long-term memory.

More information …

For more information, you can refer to the article “ 10 ways to increase the vocabulary of English “. I hope you can learn a lot of vocabulary in the shortest amount of time with this guide. It is worth noting that the ready-made notebooks with the columns mentioned above are available in various sizes and colors in the market. You too can save time and make the most of your time by getting these ready-made notebooks. There is also a simple example of this notebook in the download section for you.

An example of a vocabulary notebook is available in PDF format for download and use by those interested in English.

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The Vocabulary Notebook App. Done Right.

• Capture and organize the new words and phrases you constantly discover scattered around in multiple sources.
• Review vocabulary in context and supercharge your ability to memorize and achieve native-like fluency.
• Indispensable tool for language learners, translators, interpreters, linguists, and terminologists.

3 Steps to Native-Like Fluency

Immerse yourself in content you love by reading or watching movies and video in the foreign language.

Make your learning active: Do not read simply to comprehend and move on. Take the time to carefully analyze the vocabulary used. Identify unfamiliar words and multiword chunks. When you come across a great wording for expressing an idea, concept, or term, record it in LingoNote.

Learners often combine words following their mother tongue’s lexical patterns, which results in embarrassing nonsense. That’s why you should focus on finding out how things are actually said in the foreign language.

Many of the expressions you discover can’t be found in dictionaries.

Capture and organize the new words and phrases in LingoNote in a way that makes sense to you. Curate your own learning space and make new vocabulary meaningful and personally relevant.

The deeper the mental processing used when tackling a new word, the more likely that you will master it. Recording translations, definitions, synonyms and antonyms, collocations, and example sentences requires more elaborate thought. It will better enhance learning than shallower mental activities such as rote repetition.

Making an effort to diligently fill each vocabulary note is a crucial step in the learning process itself. Often that involves looking up and distilling information from multiple resources: various dictionaries (bilingual, monolingual, specialized, thesauri, collocations), language forums, glossaries, terminology databases, class notes, etc.

LingoNote’s powerful tagging feature allows you to dynamically group and re-organize vocabulary by topic, context, or situation. By assigning tags to your notes you can conceptually connect related words and phrases.

Review your words and phrases using LingoNote’s flexible modules: dynamic flashcards, targeted search, filters, tags.

LingoNote will hold your gradual and growing understanding of each word or phrase you record. Once you add a new word, you will continue to update your knowledge – polishing, revising, and fine-tuning your expanding and more nuanced understanding. Bits and pieces will continually be added to your existing knowledge about words as you are exposed to them in a variety of new contexts and situations. To learn effectively you should integrate new knowledge into what you already know.

You need multiple opportunities to interact and engage with words over a period of time in order to progress from merely understanding the words to using them well in speaking or writing. With targeted review in LingoNote, all recorded vocabulary will start to come naturally to you and you will begin to use it with the ease of a native speaker.

Knowing words is knowledge. You have to turn that knowledge into a skill.

Vocabulary Notebook App for Language Learners

Learning vocabulary, whether individual words or word combinations, is the most demanding and time-consuming aspect of foreign language study. In fact, it’s a never-ending process and remains a lifelong effort.

There is no single resource that covers everything that needs to be learned. Language learners now use a massive number of sources to discover and learn new vocabulary: bilingual dictionaries, monolingual dictionaries, thesauri, specialized dictionaries, books, news articles, language forums.

However, the ubiquity of vocabulary information can be both a blessing and a curse. Learners come across vocabulary they want to learn at a much faster pace than their brain can process and memorize.

Memorization is a complex process and requires a conscious effort. Our brain does not have the ability to instantly memorize everything we have glanced over while reading in a foreign language. We quickly forget if we don’t focus on actually remembering it.

There is a lack of suitable tools for managing and organizing the ever-increasing information that learners accumulate over time.

Thankfully, now there is LingoNote, a vocabulary notebook app that solves the vocabulary chaos problem for any learner, at any level of language study. LingoNote enables learners and translators to record, store, and organize new vocabulary. All vocabulary information is organized in a unique user interface with powerful and intuitive input and editing functions.

LingoNote is a one-stop repository where you capture new words and phrases as you encounter them while reading, conversing, or watching movies and video. This facilitates subsequent review and memorization as well as instant retrieval when needed.

Unlike generic flashcard apps, LingoNote functions in a way that helps achieve native-like fluency, and not just mindless memorization.

One of the strengths of LingoNote lies in the way it simplifies and enhances existing facets of several separate tools and brings them together in one powerful and seamless app.

Terminology Management Tool for Translators and Interpreters

LingoNote is the perfect companion for translators and interpreters too. These professionals need to manage and organize a vast amount of specialized vocabulary in a wide array of topics. Having instant access to this data is crucial.

With its robust and powerful tagging, color coding, and advanced search functions, LingoNote can quickly pull up the right words and expressions and keep them at your fingertips, allowing you to come up with the most suitable translation.

• Organize new vocabulary in a way that makes sense to you.
• Intuitive input and editing functions.
• For each word or phrase you record, you can add translation, synonyms, antonyms, examples, notes, etc.

• Add one or more tags to each word or phrase you record.
• Organize vocabulary by topic, situation, and context.

Search and Filters

• Search and filter by keyword, tags, date range, and many other criteria.
• Instantly find what you need.

Multilingual Translations

• When needed, LingoNote makes possible the parallel recording of meanings and translations in more than one language.

Dynamic Flashcards

• Dynamically generate flashcards on the fly.

Complement any Method

• LingoNote can be used in conjunction with any existing language learning method, without the need to choose one or the other.

Content Agnostic

• LingoNote is not limited to what learning content you can use. You are free to use any resource you like.

Terminology Management

• For translators, interpreters, and terminologists – you can directly see and edit your entries. Unlike other tools, your terms are not buried in some internal database.

Copyright 2022 © LingoNote. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2020 © LingoNote. All Rights Reserved.

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How to Organize Your Foreign Language Notebook

When you hear “the notebook,” what do you think of?

A shirtless Ryan Gosling?

Well, we’re here to forever change the meaning of “the notebook.” 

A foreign language notebook is your own personalized repository of all the most valuable knowledge you gain on your road to fluency, so why not fall in love with the best notebook of all?

Here are 9 tips to make it happen!

1. Find the right notebook for you

2. write down your language learning goals, 3. divide your notebook into logical sections, 4. leave enough space for each section, 5. always do a test page, 6. add lots of color coding, 7. make your notebook visually appealing, 8. use sticky tabs to organize, 9. keep a list of creative writing ideas, why use a foreign language notebook, resources to help you organize your notebook, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The beauty of keeping a foreign language notebook is how customizable it is!

You can choose what kind of notebook you want to use and then set it up however you’d like. Your language notebook can be as simple or complex as you desire, with a strict design and lists or a loose structure.

Planning is an important part of choosing the right notebook. Your first consideration should be how big or small you’d like your notebook to be.

You can use a plain lined notebook , a classic composition notebook or you could simply repurpose an old binder and fill it with notebook paper.

Or, if you just want to give this a try without too much effort, you can find language worksheets and house them in a notebook for an easy, low-maintenance start.

See the Resources section below for more notebook options and examples of successful language notebooks.

Once you have your notebook, I recommend writing down your goals as soon as possible. These can simply be a page, or your goals can have a whole section in your notebook (see the next step for more info!).

Think about what you want to achieve. Ask yourself questions like:

• How many sentences do I want to be able to write?
• What kind of writing do I want to do?
• What new words do I want to learn to use?
• Which grammar concepts do I need to master?

Ideally, you’ll set up a series of goals, each one getting bigger or harder as you go along. Writing them down will help you track your progress and success.

For example, every couple of weeks, challenge yourself to write for a longer period of time without using a dictionary. This helps you learn to be imaginative with the language and see where your weaknesses are.

Of course, you can also create a system to reward yourself when you reach a goal, too.

Writing down your goals in your notebook means it’ll be very clear when you achieve them, so why not plan to recognize your progress?

A reward could be something as simple as  fun stickers or new stationery. Maybe you’re keeping a list of foreign movies to check out, so now would be a great time to watch one.

Completing a goal and moving on to the next one means you’re moving forward with using your target language. Let it motivate you to keep going!

This is an important component of a successful notebook. Having designated sections will make it easier to navigate and cut down on wasted time and space.

Some possible sections you might want to include are:

• Language goals: Helpful for remembering what you want to work on and tracking progress.
• Grammar: Provides a clear reference for important rules and concepts.
• Vocabulary: Track new words and reinforce old ones; don’t forget to include example sentences!
• Idioms and phrases: Especially useful for note-taking during listening practice sessions.
• Writing practice: Dedicated space for using your vocabulary and grammar.

Of course, sections can vary based on personal preference.

Take some time to brainstorm what you plan to work on, what reference materials you want handy and what would be fun to include—a list of books, songs and podcasts you want to look into, for instance.

If you’re really unsure, I recommend three equal sections for your first foreign language notebook: vocabulary, grammar and writing. Those will cover the most important basics without being overwhelming.

Once you know your sections, you’ll need to decide how many pages each one needs. Consider this carefully—you don’t want to cram too much information onto one page or (gasp!) have to start a new notebook from scratch.

The trick is to consider your page layouts ahead of time because the amount of space you need depends mostly on your organization.

For instance, if you plan to organize your vocabulary words thematically (i.e., medical vocabulary, business words, etc.), you’ll likely need a page or more for each major theme. Verb conjugation charts take up even more room.

You might even choose to separate sections like grammar and vocabulary into entirely separate notebooks to allow yourself as much space as possible to spread out!

You also want to ensure that you have room to:

• Include helpful details.  Do you like copying a lot of example sentences? Do you want in-depth grammar instructions? Leave space for these.
• Add more information later.  There’s always the chance of learning something new about a vocab word or grammar rule. Try to keep your margins clear for this purpose.

It may seem like an unnecessary step, but a test page can save you headaches down the road.

Testing your layout will save you the trouble of redoing the journal or ripping out the page if you realize your scheme doesn’t work.

Test pages are particularly useful for very visual pages, like thematic vocabulary pages—especially if you intend to have several similarly-formatted pages throughout your notebook.

First, consider what you want on the page. You might be including vocabulary words and drawings, verb conjugation charts or something else that takes up a lot of room.

Now, try blocking off the space that you would reserve for each component. Even better, try drawing out the layout on a separate paper of the same size. Look over it carefully and consider points like:

• Does it work well?
• Is it logical and easy to read?
• What could be improved?
• Does the spacing need to change?
• Are the colors and decorations ideal?

Doing this will make it much easier to see what does and doesn’t work before you commit to a language notebook full of pages you don’t quite love.

Color coding your foreign language notebook is more than just pretty—it can also communicate key information at a glance.

Whether you use colored pens, highlighters, sticky notes or some combination, good color coding will make your notebook easier to use and more enjoyable to study from.

You can color code parts of speech, or use different colors for words in your native language and your target language. Color coding by gender works for languages like French or Spanish, while coding by tone works for Mandarin Chinese.

Not only will this help visually organize your notes, but it’s also thought that color coding helps you retain and recall information !

Regardless of what scheme you choose to use, it’s helpful to jot down your color coding key at the beginning of your notebook so you can refer back to it if necessary.

Beyond color coding, truly committing to making your foreign language notebook visually appealing will help you out even more.

You can use things like headings, diagrams, stickers, borders, boxes and more to help you organize your information and present it clearly.

For instance, use drawings to represent the meanings of vocabulary terms. As you draw, think about the word to help reinforce it. Besides making your notebook more interesting to look at, it also helps you associate the word with its actual meaning rather than the English translation.

In this video , language learner Bia shows off her clean, color-coded journal pages. For another take, check out the notebook of Abigail from Polyglot Progress . Both are full of great ideas and inspiration!

Sticky tabs are any organization junkie’s best friend.

They protrude from a page so you can easily find any section. You can put them at the top, side or bottom of the page depending on your preference and design aesthetic. You can label them if you desire, or leave them blank.

Using sticky tabs will make it easy to flip between sections, which is important when you want to add information or refer back to something.

Your notebook will feel infinitely more useful and you’ll save time thumbing through pages. Plus, sticky tabs look super professional and polished, so that’s satisfying in and of itself.

That writing section of your notebook seems like a great idea at first, but there will probably come a time where you find you’re struggling to come up with what to write.

Of course, you can write whatever you want, but it’s a good idea to keep it varied. It’s like using different equipment at the gym—working different muscles makes you stronger overall.

So, writing creatively makes your language skills stronger in general. Here are some ideas to jump-start your practice:

• Write a letter or email to a friend.
• Write a diary entry.
• Review a book, movie, show, recipe or restaurant.
• Plan a dinner menu.
• Write a magazine article.
• Create a make-believe travel journal.
• Write a dialogue using new vocabulary or grammar.

You can find even more ideas in this post .

You can also use any native language content you consume to inspire your writing practice.

For instance, if you’re using the language learning program FluentU , you can learn vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation from authentic videos. This multimedia experience can provide plenty of content to write about.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

Try FluentU for FREE!

And no matter what you write about, don’t forget to go back and review. This will help you figure out what else you need to improve on, and eventually, it will show you just how far you’ve come.

One key reason to use a foreign language notebook is that writing things down makes them easier to remember. As PBS’s NOVA Next reports , taking notes with pen and paper helps improve students’ conceptual understanding of that material.

For language learners, the benefits of using a foreign language notebook to aid memory are obvious. It could improve your retention of vocabulary words and help you better understand grammar rules. That’s a lot of awesome packed in one little notebook!

Second, maintaining your own reference resource is often more useful than relying on outside materials. After all, it’s customized to you, so it should be easy for you to use. Plus, you can return to your notebook down the road if you forget the language at some point.

Additionally, using a foreign language notebook is a good way to track your progress  and help keep you motivated. Nothing’s better than seeing how far you’ve come! That way, you never feel like you’ve reached a  language learning plateau —you have evidence to prove you’re moving forward!

Setting goals is also helpful because it keeps you continuing along at a good rate. One study out of Harvard indicates that goal setting can increase both motivation and achievement. You can set your goals in your language notebook so that you’re always accountable to yourself.

Finally, you can use your foreign language notebook to target specific errors you need to correct. Errors in language learning can build, but your personalized notebook can be used to target these errors. For instance, if you’re struggling with a particular verb conjugation, you can dedicate several pages to explaining it and listing conjugation charts.

Starting a language notebook from scratch can be daunting. Luckily, there are resources out there that can help.

There are specially-formatted notebooks available for purchase that can take some of the guesswork out of your layout. There are also great videos of how some language learners created and organized their own personal notebooks to help you get started.

Our hope is that these will be an inspiration to you as you start your journey. Take a look at:

• Language Learning Notebook : Don’t have an artistic eye? Try out this notebook. It’s organized with spaces for vocabulary, useful phrases, resource lists, study trackers and more.
• Lindie Botes – Language notebook flip through : In this video, language learner Lindie flips through her beginning Vietnamese journal to show you her set-up and what her notes look like.
• Jazmine Layah – how to take notes : Here, Jazmine gives viewers a quick look at her super-aesthetic Japanese notebook and provides a rundown of how she takes such pretty notes.

Even once your notebook is full, it still isn’t over. There’s always another notebook to fill with fun language learning!

If you dig the idea of learning on your own time from the comfort of your smart device with real-life authentic language content, you'll love using FluentU .

With FluentU, you'll learn real languages—as they're spoken by native speakers. FluentU has a wide variety of videos as you can see here:

FluentU App Browse Screen.

FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.

Didn't catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.

Interactive, dual-language subtitles.

You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU's "learn mode." Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU Has Quizzes for Every Video

And FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You get a truly personalized experience.

Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)

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Out of this World Literacy

Literacy Resources from Jen Bengel

August 28, 2018

Inside Vocabulary Notebooks

Let me show you the inside of a vocabulary notebook.

Why Vocabulary Notebooks Rock!

• Keep all the learning in one spot throughout the year.
• Keep a collection of words, like a personal word wall.
• Perfect to use as a reference for other subjects like writing.
• Awesome for reflecting on new learning and retaining new words.
• A place to go deeper with vocabulary words, make connections to other words, bring them into your own life.

What You Need:

• One spiral notebook for every student.
• Extra durable post-it tabs (3 per student)
• A fine marker to write with

The Tabs in a Notebook: **use front and back pages of the notebook

• My Words (35 pages)
• Connections (65 pages)
• In My Life (40 pages)

I hope you can enjoy vocabulary notebooks with your students as much as I love them!

Happy teaching! Jen

Follow me on Facebook Join me on Instagram  {@jenbengel5} See what's new on Pinterest To see more literacy support visit jenbengel.com

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Free Printable Vocabulary Journals for Students

Published: August 16, 2021

Contributor: Jeannette Tuionetoa

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Vocabulary journals make a great opportunity for your students to increase their word knowledge. Use these free printable vocabulary journals to help you jump-start a fun and focused vocabulary instruction for kids. Be sure to grab our free instant download at the bottom of this post. 

What is a vocabulary journal?

When I was in public school, we received a list of the vocabulary words just like we received spelling words. That is how we learned new words and what a word means.

Today we have various tools to help our students increase their word bank without it being tedious or boring. Even for young learners, vocabulary terms can be introduced at the beginning of the week and reviewed at the end of the week.

A vocabulary journal is an intentional way for kids to have a place to keep track of the words that they are learning. They also can reference all the vocabulary words they have learned in the past. This is the kid-friendly version of course.

How to start a vocabulary journal

There are a few templates below that I have gathered for you to begin a vocabulary journal in your homeschool. You can either add the pages to a file folder, a notebook with prongs, or a spiral-bound notebook to keep the journal together.

Whatever form your students choose to keep the journal together, what really makes the vocabulary journal are the words, exercises, and activities in them.

How to use a vocabulary journal?

My kids have used vocabulary journals in various ways. I see some sources saying one thing and others saying another about how to use the journals, but we do both.

You can either assign vocabulary words to your kids, preferably in correspondence to the things they are learning n other homeschool subjects. Their new words can also be random, as well. Using this method,  important terms can be introduced as you see the need.

The other really effective way to use vocabulary journals is for students to find difficult words in their own reading, then write them into the journals. From there, students explore the meaning of the word, context words in the context of the text, and use it in varying activities. This way, kids can get used to using it for memory. Through this method, you can review student vocabulary they research ed on their very own.

Activities to Create a Vocabulary Journal

• Kids can draw a picture of the word (younger students)
• They can write a sentence of the word using their creative thinking skills. (The sentence can be silly but MUST depict its meaning.)
• Make a list of synonyms and antonyms
• Prompt your students to write a kid-friendly definition of the vocabulary words.
• Add printable games and activities using vocabulary words.

Explore these resources below to help your students make purposeful and fun vocabulary journals to use with all vocabulary terms.

Free Vocabulary Journal Printables

Vocabulary Journal Printable – If your homeschool students are struggling to increase their vocabulary or find it challenging then this journal will help. Vocabulary journals can include a variety of activities to help.

Free Vocabulary Words Journal – Grab this vocabulary journal for your student’s vocab words. The journal will help students to enhance their reading skills, writing, and speaking skills.

Children’s Vocabulary Notebook – This notebooking journal for vocabulary words will help your students put their vocabulary notebook pages in alphabetical order. Add some A to Z dividers to help create the vocabulary notebook.

Vocabulary Journal for Students – This free vocabulary journal has spaces for synonyms, antonyms, and an image or picture. This journal printable is two pages to fit in any 3-ring binder.

Colorful Vocabulary Journal – Introduce new words to your students with this fun and vocabulary journal of all different colors. This free resource comes with a cover page and 3 multi-colored pages with two vocabulary terms on each page.

Printable Vocabulary Pages for Journals

Bible ABC Vocabulary Pages – Grab this long list of ABC Bible Vocabulary words to help build your family’s spiritual and Biblical vocabulary. Next to every new vocabulary word is a scripture reference. This vocabulary freebie resource will go great in your homeschool vocabulary journals. Hwoever, it also is a great scripture resource fo ryour students.

Vocabulary Notebook Pages – These vocab notebook pages are essential, graphic organizers to use alongside any vocabulary words or vocabulary roots unit. These vocabulary notebooking pages will work with any vocabulary program.

Wow, Wow! Vocabulary Word Sheet – Download a copy of this vocabulary sheet activity to add to your child’s vocab journal. Kids can use these sheets to independently apply the words they have learned from lists or reading assignments.

Interactive Vocabulary Notebook Templates – Check out these creative interactive vocab notebooks and vocab journal templates. Your students can even use their own words found in reading texts to use in the interactive free printables for their journals. Interactive notebooks help kids get engaged with their lessons and learning process.

Vocabuqlary Word Organizer Download for Journals – Your vocabulary instruction can be more meaningful with this graphic organizer freebie. Exploring different ways to explore vocabulary is key to help your kids enhance their word bank.

Vocabulary Journal Pages – Build on your student’s past vocabulary with new and robust word knowledge. These free vocabulary journal printables also explore antonyms and synonyms of each word.

Activities for Vocabulary Lessons 

Vocabulary Journals and Vocabulary Games for Kids – We can’t really forget to use some fun activities alongside our vocabulary lessons. Kids will really enjoy vocabulary journals AND games for learning. From eye spy to charades, games make learning vocabulary is super fun.

Roll and Review Vocabulary Activity – If your students need some light and stress-less practice for their vocabulary words then you will enjoy this activity. Provide your word list of vocabulary and your kids can use them to complete all the activities.

15 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities (Online Ideas Included) – There is no doubt that vocabulary is super important. The richer a vocabulary the better the communication skills. These vocabulary activities are purposeful and fun. They even include super useful vocabulary cards, vocabulary worksheets, vocabulary prompts,  to help kids study and review the words they have learned.

Vocabulary Game Templates – Add some fun games to your student’s vocabulary notebook. The games include printable Vocabulary Bingo ,  I Have/Who Has?, Uh Oh – What’s Missing?, and more.

Editable Fun Vocabulary Game – This vocabulary game helps your students master new vocabulary words in a fun and great way. The game can be used for review, learning, and studying.

I always tell my kids that knowledge is something that can’t ever be taken away from them (of course salvation can’t be taken away either). Vocabulary is something we will be building on for the rest of our lives. There isn’t one person who knows every word in existence. That is a level playing field for kids to build upon.

Our vocabulary resources:

Search our site for weather vocabulary , government vocabulary , bird terms and so much more. 

Free Vocabulary Journal Pack

This free instant download from WriteBonnieRose includes six vocabulary journal templates for recording and learning about new vocabulary words. Templates vary from superhero- and horse-themed pages for younger kids to pages designed for older students. 

Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!

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The 10 Best Notebooks For Language Learning

Practice makes perfect.

Learning a new language isn’t easy. It took me four years of high school French to be semi-comfortable ordering a croissant in a Parisian cafe. But, keeping a notebook while you’re learning a foreign language can help with vocabulary, grammar, verb conjugations, and more. It can also serve as a reference to track your progress, set goals, and would have helped with my AP French exam. The best notebooks for language learning are formatted to suit your needs and have enough pages for you to organize your studies.

What To Consider When Buying A Notebook For Language Learning

Types of notebooks.

First, consider which language you’re learning. For those tackling a character-based language, like Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, there are notebooks to help you practice your characters in specially formatted boxes. And for learning on the go , color-coded note cards can be a portable option for drilling vocabulary and verb tenses.

Next, when shopping for a language-learning notebook , think about how you’d like it formatted. A blank journal lets you format and section it yourself, while a bullet journal kit with stencils and stickers offers flexibility with a little more support. But if you’d prefer more structure, there are vocabulary notebooks with blank columns or pre-made templates for definitions, pronunciations, and sentences. There are also guided journals that can offer daily assignments or writing exercises, and even reusable notebooks that save on paper while digitally scanning and storing your notes.

Organization

You’ll want to make sure your notebook has enough space for organizing your notes or has the option to create sections for different areas of study — such as grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and more. Below I’ve noted each notebook’s dimensions and amount of pages to give you a sense of the book’s size and proportions.

Whether you’re brushing up on Japanese characters or drilling your Spanish vocabulary, these are the best notebooks for language learning on Amazon according to thousands of shoppers.

1. A Vocabulary Notebook With Alphabetized Dividers

• Features 520-word capacity
• Includes movable, alphabetized dividers
• The paper helps prevent bleedthrough

This vocabulary notebook includes a template for you to input a word’s definition, synonym, antonym, sentence use, and case, in any language you’re learning. The whole book has space for 520 words, with four words per page, and the paper has a weight of 100 grams per square meter (GSM) to prevent ghosting and bleeding from your pens or markers. Best of all, there are colored dividers that you can reposition and place wherever you’d like. For a notebook, it does come with a high price tag but can be helpful in learning new vocabulary, as one reviewer noted.

One reviewer wrote: “Perfect for vocabulary lists in foreign languages.”

Size: ‎9.84 x 0.79 x 7.87 inches | Pages: 130

2. A Dotted Bullet Journal Kit That You Can Format For Any Language

• Over 6,500 reviews and an overall 4.7-star rating
• Available in 12 colors
• Features an index and page numbers
• Includes stickers, markers, stencils, and washi tape
• Reviewers report the pages could be thicker

If you’re looking for a little more freedom in your language learning notebook, this dotted bullet journal kit might be the solution. It features 224 blank pages that you can customize and format however you’d like, and an index and page numbers to keep you organized. Section your own vocabulary, grammar, and notes pages with the 15 color pens, five pieces of reusable stencils, six sticker sheets, six roller washi tape sets, and one black pen that’s included. There’s also a ribbon bookmark, sewn-bound pages, and a loop for your pen, and it’s available in 12 bright colors.

One reviewer wrote: “Tons of fun creative options, makes organizing really fun. Good page count, lots of room to spread ideas out on each page.”

Size: 5.7 x 0.66 x 8.2 inches | Pages: 224

3. A Notebook With Blank Columns For Vocabulary

• Space for 3,000 words and their translations
• Three columns for vocabulary
• The binding constricts some writing space, according to reviewers

This vocabulary notebook is incredibly helpful when you’re learning words in a different language. It features three columns where you can write your vocabulary, plus meaning, pronunciation, putting it in a sentence, or even using it for words in more than one language. With 100 double-sided pages, there’s room for 3,000 words. And the top and bottom margins are designed with a little extra room for notes, categories, or grammar. The notebook is lightweight and reviewers report it’s easy to throw in your bag if you’re traveling. Just note, some users add that the side binding constricts the pages at the middle of the book and can make writing a little tricky in that area.

One reviewer wrote: “I bought this for my language learning, I'm using one book for vocab column 1 for Spanish, column 2 for Chinese and Column 3 for English. [...] It has plenty of space to write in and large top and bottom margin space for notes or extra writing if you want. This is so fabulous I immediately ordered 4 more right after I received them. Soft durable smooth suede feel cover, very good quality paper, can fold cover and pages behind book and reclose and no stress or damage, very good binding, very well made and sturdy enough to write on without a support and pages take ink well. Fantastic if you are learning more than one language!!”

Size: ‎8.5 x 0.23 x 11.69 inches | Pages: 100

4. A Reusable Notebook With 50,000+ 5-Star Reviews

• Over 70,000 reviews and an overall 4.5-star rating
• Available in 18 colors
• Reusable pages
• Features a built-in scanning system to upload notes
• Offers seven different page styles
• Includes a microfiber cloth and erasable pen
• Ink dries slowly, according to reviewers

If you like writing by hand but still want the convenience of digital notes, this reusable notebook is for you. It has 36 dot grid pages that you can write on with the Pilot Frixion pen (included) and when you’re done writing or drawing, those notes can be stored to Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Slack, iCloud, email, or more. Plus, each page can be wiped clean, ready to be used again and again. Not only that, there are seven different kinds of page styles for planning, list-making, goal-setting, note-taking, sketching, and ideation. And if you’re looking for a particular note from a language lesson, the AI technology allows you to use the notebook’s smart title search to easily find what you’re looking for.

One reviewer wrote: “I'm no longer in school but have been teaching myself Japanese and Korean in my spare time. This notebook has been great for note taking; I get the writing practice but also have the notes on my phone anytime I want to look something up. The cover and pages have nice textures and the pen is smooth and easy to write with. It's also very satisfying to clean off!”

Size: ‎6 x 0.5 x 8.8 inches | Pages: 36 (reusable)

5. A Notebook For Practicing Japanese Kanji Writing

• Over 1,000 reviews and an overall 4.8-star rating
• Has over 100 pages for practicing kanji characters and kana scripts
• Includes squares divided into quadrants for precise practice
• No example words

For those learning Japanese, this Genkouyoushi notebook is a solid pick. The notebook doesn’t feature any examples or instructions, just 120 double-sided pages for you to practice your language learning. Each page is designed with squares that are divided into four areas to guide the positioning of each character, and you can fit one character in each square. Reviewers love the space to write kanji and found the sewn pages sturdy and durable to work with.

One reviewer wrote: “Love this product. It’s nice and big, and is filled with huge double-sided pages. Each has many vertical rows with boxes divided into quadrants, one kanji per box, perfect for practicing those kanji with lots of strokes. Every student of Japanese needs one of these.”

Size: 8.5 x 0.28 x 11 inches | Pages: 120

6. A Notebook For Practicing Korean Characters

• Features 100+ pages for Hangul practice
• Gaps between rows for notes and corrections
• No Hangul example words

When you’re learning to write another language, practice makes perfect, which makes this Korean writing notebook so useful. It features 120 double-sided pages with 18 squares per row and 15 squares per column for Hangul practice. Plus, there are gaps between the squares for notes and corrections. The notebook doesn’t come with any instructions or examples, just plenty of space to work on your characters.

One reviewer wrote: “Love it. It’s really nice for when you’re working on “staying in the square” when you’re first learning Korean.”

Size: ‎8.5 x 0.28 x 11 inches | Pages: 120

7. A Guided Journal For Learning Spanish

• Includes 6 months of daily journaling exercises
• Space to manage your goals and track progress
• Features a resource section with cognates, frequent Spanish words, verbs, irregular verbs, and conjugations
• May be hard to commit to every day, according to a reviewer

If you’re looking for a little more direction in your language learning notebook, this Spanish journal is a great option. It includes six months of guided daily exercises, 26 weekly reviews, and plenty of space to document your wins, manage goals, and track your progress. The journal also features a resource section with frequent Spanish words, verbs, irregular verbs, conjugations, and more. One reviewer found it hard to commit time every day to the exercises, but others report that it served as a useful supplement to their Spanish studies.

One reviewer wrote: “I have been "studying" Spanish for several years now on my own. I have all the "Tools", books, videos, podcasts, etc. [...] BUT, this one is different! Not only do I now have a set way to and plan/guide for my study practice, but also some basic resources in the Journal itself. I am so psyched! I just know that I can now fill in some of the gaps in my self-study that need filling!”

Size: ‎8 x 1.18 x 10 inches | Pages: 520

8. A Notebook For Practicing Chinese Characters

• Features more than 100 pages for practicing Chinese characters
• Paper isn’t suitable for fountain pens, according to reviewers

This notebook is another great resource for practicing your handwriting in another language. It features 120 double-sided pages, each with squares divided into four areas for precise practice of your characters. One user even found it helpful in writing Arabic. The pages aren’t suitable for fountain pens, according to reviewers, but one shopper reports, “The paper doesn't look or feel cheap, and the printed squares are all very neat,” and many others add that the notebook’s size is perfect.

One reviewer wrote: “This notebook is well made and the pages are 2-sided. The pages are thick where the user can apply a highlighter and it doesn't go through the other side. Also, the notebook is not designed to tear out the pages. The squares on each page are relatively small, so if you tend to write big, attempt to buy a notebook with larger squares.”

9. A 4-Pack Of Portable Vocabulary Notepads For Any Language

• Includes four notepads and a sticker pack
• Each page has space for eight vocabulary words
• Portable size
• Cute design
• The binder rings are large, according to a reviewer, which you may find bulky

For learning any language on the go, take a look at this four-pack of vocabulary notepads . Each book features 180 pages and each page has space for eight vocabulary words. At just 5.4 by 3.14 inches, they’re small, portable, and come with a sticker pack for decorating. Plus, they’re designed with a cute Korean cartoon on the cover of each.

One reviewer wrote: “These are the cutest little pocket vocab memo books [...] I'm so happy with my purchase!”

Size: ‎5.4 x 3.14 inches each | Pages: 180 for each notebook

10. A Guided Notebook For Practicing Japanese Characters

• Includes guided writing exercises and kanji, katakana, and hiragana alphabet charts
• Over 100 blank practice pages
• Features a basic character writing guide
• Designed for beginners; more experienced students may not need the charts and writing guides

If you’re learning your Japanese characters but would like a little more guidance than the Genkouyoushi notebook above, this practice book is for you. There are over 100 double-spread pages with squares on the right for practicing and lined pages on the left for note-taking, leaving one reviewer to report, “The pages are smooth and enjoyable to write on.” Plus, there’s a 10-page reference section with hiragana and katakana charts, character writing guides, and more.

One reviewer wrote: “Book includes stroke order, verb forms, and vocabulary with plenty of pages to practice writing. Paper feels like the same quality of normal printer paper, so I mostly just use gel pens and pencils on it. Works great for what I need.”

Size: 8.4 x 0.4 x 10.9 inches | Pages: 128

Also Nice: A Set Of 300 Color-Coded Notecards

• Over 2,500 reviews and an overall 4.7-star rating
• Includes six different colors
• Binder rings keep cards organized
• Reviewers report that some of the rings are hard to open and close

Although it’s not technically a notebook, this six-pack of notecards could be useful when learning another language. There are 50 cards for each color, and with six colors you can have a coded system or just use the different hues for some variety. Each card has a hole in the top and connects via binder rings, making it easy to keep cards together, organize them, and flip through to drill vocabulary or verb conjugations. Some reviewers report that the rings are hard to open, but others like that the rings feel secure when closed.

One reviewer wrote: “I'm learning Russian and these make perfect flash cards for learning a language. I bought some Avery Self-Adhesive Laminating Sheets and decided to laminate them, so that I could write with permanent marker and be able to erase it easily with rubbing alcohol. (Because when you learn a new language, you will literally go through thousands of flashcards). So now I have permanent flash cards that I can use over and over again, and are also resistant to liquids and much more durable.”

Sizes: ‎2.2 x 3.5 inches (featured), 3 x 5 inches | Amount: 300 index cards (50 of each color; also available in white)

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Free printable Mother's Day questionnaire 💐!

36 Meaningful Vocabulary Activities for Every Grade

These activities are the definition of fun!

Learning new words is like adding to your writing toolbox. The more tools available, the more interesting and engaging your writing becomes. Check out these fun and engaging vocabulary activities for kids in grades K-12, and supply your students with the tools they need to build their wordsmith skills.

1. Write vocabulary stories

Using vocabulary words in writing shows mastery. Challenge your students to use all of their vocabulary words in an original short story. Allow students to pair up and share their stories with a partner.

Learn more: Vocab Short Story 

2. Put your students in the hot seat

Divide your class into two teams. Choose one student from one team to go to the front of the room and sit in a chair facing the class with their back to the board. This person is “on the spot.” Place a word on the board so everyone can see it except the person in the chair. One at a time, team members give the person a clue about the mystery word. If the word is guessed before two minutes are up, the team gets a point and play turns to the other team.

Learn more: On the Spot at Upper Elementary Snapshots

3. Match up words and definitions

Download these vocabulary words and matching definitions. Distribute one card to each student (either a word or a definition). Allow students to circulate in the room and find their “match.” Switch cards and repeat.

Learn more: Dictionary Sort

4. Sketch up word maps

Creating word maps from vocabulary words encourages students to find the relationships between the vocabulary word and other words. Have them include words, pictures, examples, real-world connections, definitions, descriptive words, etc.

Learn more: Word Map

5. Create Post-it stations

Post vocabulary words around the room, then have students circulate and write an original sentence using that word on a sticky note. Follow along and make sure students use the words correctly.

Learn more: Post-it Stations

6. Play a game of Pop!

Kids draw cards out of the bag and attempt to correctly spell them. But be careful, you don’t want to draw the Pop! card.

Learn more: Pop!

7. Take a gallery walk

Hang six to eight large sheets of chart paper in various places around the room. On each sheet, write one vocabulary word. Have students work in small groups, rotating between stations. At each station, ask students to come up with a different, original way to use each word. Continue the activity until all students have visited every station.

Learn more: Gallery Walk at TeachWriting.org

8. Play a round of Pictionary

This fun activity requires students to draw a picture for each word to create their own visual dictionary. When students create their own visual representations, they develop an association with the word that they will be able to tap into when needed.

Learn more: Pictionary

9. Make a word map

Word maps help deepen understanding of a vocab word by relating it to other words and concepts students already know.

10. Use the Frayer model

Frayer models are a popular way to learn new words and concepts. Kids define the word in their own terms, then list facts and characteristics, examples, and non-examples.

Learn more: Frayer Model

11. Draw vocabulary Sketchnotes

Kids and teachers love Sketchnotes ! Rather than writing out definitions, have students draw a sketch that sums up each word instead. It’s a lot more fun and gives kids an image for visual association to help them remember the meanings.

Learn more: Sketchnotes

12. Bump words along

Group vocab words together with a few other words with similar meanings and one that’s an antonym. Students identify the antonym and “bump” it to the next box, filling in the next group of words. They continue until the worksheet is full.

Learn more: Bumper Words

13. Post a graffiti wall

Think of a vocabulary graffiti wall like a collaborative word wall. In the classroom, post the words on the wall and have kids add sticky notes to illustrate the term (they can use words or pictures). Online, try a tool like Padlet or Google Slides.

Learn more: Graffiti Wall

14. Match words to describe character

This is a terrific way to practice vocab words pulled from books you’re reading. Ask students to use various words to describe the different characters in the book and their feelings, thoughts, and actions.

Learn more: Vocabulary Activities

15. Fill in words from A to Z

This vocabulary game is fun and challenging, and it can be played by kids of any age. Choose a word, then challenge kids to come up with related words for as many letters as possible. These could be synonyms, antonyms, examples, and more. Trickier letters are worth more points!

Learn more: A to Z

16. Try Flip for vocabulary activities

Are you on the Flip (formerly Flipgrid) bandwagon yet? It’s perfect for vocabulary activities! Have kids record a quick video for each word, using their creativity to make it fun and meaningful.

Learn more: Pop-Up Pods

17. Battle it out in Vocabulary Jeopardy

Good vocabulary activities encourage more than just memorization of definitions. That’s why we like this Jeopardy game idea. It explores synonyms and antonyms and how words are used in real sentences.

Learn more: Not So Wimpy Teacher

18. Use RAFTs to write vocabulary stories

Writing a story using vocab words is a perennial favorite, but the RAFT method gives it a new twist. Students are assigned a Role (the point of view from which they’ll tell the story), an Audience, a Format, and a Topic. For instance, they might be an astronaut (Role) writing a postcard (Format) to their friends back home (Audience) about what they’ve seen on Mars (Topic). RAFTs are especially great for kids who claim they don’t know what to write about.

Learn more: RAFTs

19. Discover the power of words

Vocabulary words take on greater meaning when students incorporate them into their daily lives. Challenge kids to use their vocab words in conversation and writing outside the language arts classroom. Use the free printable worksheet here to help them keep track of how often they use them.

Learn more: Downloadable Vocabulary Activities

20. Create graphic organizers

Colorful organizers like these are terrific vocabulary activities. Want to go digital? Have kids make a slideshow, one slide per word. They can include the same information, but instead of drawing a picture, have them find one online that illustrates the concept.

Learn more: Graphic Organizers at Upper Elementary Snapshots

21. Focus on a Word of the Week

Give really important terms the attention they deserve. Choose a new vocab word each week, then explore it in depth day by day.

Learn more: Word of the Week

22. Join the Million Dollar Word Club

Post a list of target vocab words. If a student uses one of the words in class (outside of vocabulary activities), they become a member of the Million Dollar Word Club! You can have them sign their name on a wall in the classroom or award a badge online. You could even develop this into a reward system for homework passes or extra credit.

Learn more: Million Dollar Words

23. Explore shades of meaning

This is a cool idea for exploring synonyms and the slight differences that make words unique. Ask for paint sample strips at your local hardware store, or buy a clip art set .

Learn more: Shades of Meaning

24. Personify a word with social media

This is one of those vocabulary activities kids will want to do over and over again! Assign each student a word and have them create a faux Facebook, Instagram, or other social media page for it. They can draw them freehand or complete a template like these from Teachers Pay Teachers . Post the images to a shared Google slideshow so other students can use them for review.

Learn more: Social Media Vocabulary

25. Create vocabulary cards

Have students draw a diagonal line across an index card. On the top half, have them write the vocabulary word and definition. On the bottom half, have them draw a picture of the word and use it in a sentence. Cards can be joined together in a strip for easy review.

Learn more: Index Card Vocabulary

26. Play vocabulary word Taboo

In this game, the goal is for one student to get their partner to guess the word by describing or giving examples of it. The trick? There’s a list of additional words they’re not allowed to use! Let other students see the card in advance to help keep the players honest. (Flash it on a whiteboard and have the guesser face away.)

Learn more: Don’t Say It! Vocabulary Game

27. Roll a die for vocabulary activities

Choose a vocab word, then have a student roll a die ( these virtual dice are handy ) to see which activity they get to complete.

Learn more: Roll a Word

28. Write an acrostic

Write an acrostic poem for each vocab term, using the letters to determine the first word in each line. This can get really challenging when words are longer!

Learn more: Acrostic Poem

29. Play vocabulary board games

Everyone knows that playing games is the best way to learn. Try some of these fabulous board games with your students and watch their vocabularies grow.

Learn more: 11 Vocab Games To Make the Learning Stick

30. Become a Word Collector

This is one of those picture books that grown-up kids will enjoy as much as little ones. Use it to remind your kids that they don’t need a vocabulary list to learn new words—new words are all around them. Encourage them to keep a word list or journal of their own to record new words they want to explore and use more often.

Buy it: The Word Collector

31. Play Vocabulary Headbanz

Make or buy headbands with a notch on the front designed to hold a card. Create cards with vocabulary words on them. To play, each student gets a card but can’t see it. Other students will describe the word, trying to get the one wearing the headband to guess the correct word.

Learn more: Vocab Headbanz

32. Go Fish!

A fun and lively way to practice vocabulary words. Create a deck of vocabulary words with two of each word. Explain the rules of Go Fish to students and let them loose!

Learn more: Go Fish Vocab Game

33. String three-letter words

Using wooden letter beads and pipe cleaners, students will form three-letter words that match vocabulary cards.

Learn more: Three-Letter Busy Bag

34. Play vocabulary charades

Everybody loves an exciting round of charades. Break your students into groups, provide them with a stack vocabulary cards, and watch them learn!

Learn more: Word Charades

35. Make words

Use plastic letters, magnet letters, or letter blocks to make words. Play it mentally with older kids, or with paper and pencil. Simply give your children some letters and challenge them to make words from those letters.

Learn more: Make a Word

36. Do a dictionary dig

Send your students on a scavenger hunt … in the dictionary! Exposing kids to the thousands of words in our language is both inspiring and fun. Download the free task cards below.

Learn more: Dictionary Dig

Reading poetry also helps students expand their vocabulary. Check out these must-share poems for elementary school and middle and high school .

Plus, get all the latest teaching tips and ideas when you sign up for our free newsletters .

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EDLC 634 Teaching Science in the Elementary School

• Course Description

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the  Academic Course Catalog .

Course Guide

View this course’s outcomes, policies, schedule, and more.*

Requires a student login to access.

*The information contained in our Course Guides is provided as a sample. Specific course curriculum and requirements for each course are provided by individual instructors each semester. Students should not use Course Guides to find and complete assignments, class prerequisites, or order books.

This course is designed to help elementary grade teachers improve the skills necessary to effectively teach science in a God-centered manner.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings, journal articles, and presentations.

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Syllabus and Student Expectations , the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

The candidate will complete 4 Discussions throughout the course. The candidate will create a thread of at least 400 words in response to the provided prompt. In addition, the candidate will provide 3 replies of at least 200 words each. (CLO: A, D, E)

Science Article Review Assignments (2)

The candidate will complete two Science Article Review papers throughout this course. The candidate must choose two different journals relating to education and prepare a 2-3 page review in current APA format. (CLO: D).

Science Experiment Project: Proposal Assignment

The candidate will complete the first few steps of the Science Experiment including the problem/question, prior knowledge/research, prediction/hypothesis, variables, and plan/procedure. (CLO: C)

Integrated Lesson Plan: Vital Information and Implementation Assignment

Using a provided template, the candidate will prepare the fundamental information of the Integrated Lesson Plan as well as analyze and organize its concepts and instructional methods. (CLO: B)

Vocabulary Notebook Assignment

The candidate will complete a vocabulary notebook. The candidate will use the Word template provided to compile a notebook of vocabulary words related to science instruction. (CLO: F)

Science Experiment Project: Final Assignment

The candidate will complete the experiment by submitting data collection, data analysis, and inference/conclusion in addition to the completed Science Experiment Proposal. The complete Science Experiment will be a total of 5–7 pages and must include a title page and a reference page. (CLO: C).

Integrated Lesson Plan: Student Supports, Materials, and Resources Assignment

Building on the Integrated Lesson Plan: Vital Information and Implementation Assignment, the candidate will outline what materials and resources will be used in the Integrated Lesson Plan as well as the support method(s) and references.  (CLO: B)

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