A key part of being a language teacher is knowing how to help students learn vocabulary both well and reasonably quickly. There are some facts about this that everyone knows: for instance, that people tend not to learn a new bit of vocabulary after encountering it just once. So, review is vitally important. What else can be said? Researchers into the matter of how vocabulary is learned and stored in memory agree about the following:

1. a If you meet vocabulary in novel or emotionally coloured settings, you are more likely to notice it, pay attention to it and remember it than you otherwise might. So, we teachers should avoid always presenting and reviewing vocabulary in the same few ways.

2. b You best remember vocabulary that you have not just read, but also heard; and not just heard and read, but also spoken and written. So, it is wise to adopt an integrated skills approach.

3. c You are particularly likely to remember vocabulary you need in order to perform a task, especially a task which is interesting or seems intrinsically useful. Thus, the adolescent learner is especially likely to benefit from teaching which includes learning games, work with songs and plenty of communicative activities, especially centring on topics of interest to the students in the class.

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