Vocabulary Games

Here is the link to a vocabulary game where you can practise:

countries and nationalities: https://elt.oup.com/student/englishforlife/elem/a_games/e4l_game_10?cc=us&selLanguage=en
household objects and rooms in a house: https://elt.oup.com/student/englishforlife/elem/a_games/e4l_game_13?cc=us&selLanguage=en
days and months: https://elt.oup.com/student/englishforlife/elem/a_games/e4l_game_12?cc=us&selLanguage=en
members of your family: https://elt.oup.com/student/englishforlife/elem/a_games/e4l_game_11?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Here is a list of useful vocabulary: https://elt.oup.com/elt/students/englishforlife/pdf/e4l_elem_455wordlist.pdf?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Activities on Quizlet

Quizlet is a free website where you can practise your English.

You can make cards with English words and translate them into your own language. There are many different types of cards you can make, and when you make the cards, this will help you learn. Here is a link to some cards I have made:

http://quizlet.com/TeacherRyan

The cards can help you practise vocabulary and grammar.

Vocabulary: Family

Here are some games to practise vocabulary about family and people:

1.https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit02/2b_1?cc=us&selLanguage=en
2. https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit02/2b_2?cc=us&selLanguage=en
3. https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit02/2c_1?cc=us&selLanguage=en
4. https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit02/2c_3?cc=us&selLanguage=en

Vocabulary: Weather

The weather is a very important topic of conversation in this country!

Vocabulary: Food games

Here are some games you can play to learn vocabulary for food. Some of these are good for pronunciation too. Which games do you like?

1. https://elt.oup.com/student/i-spy/games/food?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
2. http://www.angles365.com/classroom/fitxers/1r2n/vegetables01.swf
3. http://www.angles365.com/classroom/fitxers/1r2n/food/fruitmemory.swf
4. http://www.angles365.com/classroom/fitxers/3r/food/vegetables2.swf
5. http://gamestolearnenglish.com/likes/
6. http://gamestolearnenglish.com/food/

Vocabulary: Holidays

There are lots of exercises about holidays here: http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/holidays-and-travel.html You can practise vocabulary, grammar, reading and listening.

Here is a short reading test: http://www.esolcourses.com/uk-english/elementary-course/travel-and-holidays/travel-and-holidays-reading.html

There are many more exercises on their homepage:
1. Elementary http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/elementary.html
2. Lower Intermediate http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topicsmenu/pre-intermediate.html

Vocabulary: Transport and Holidays

Let's practise some vocabulary to talk about transport and holidays!

Vocabulary: Nationalities

Here are some links to practise vocabulary for nationalities:

(image: http://englishinaction1-stlisieux.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/unit-3-countries-nationalities-languages.html)

1. https://elt.oup.com/student/englishfile/elementary/b_vocabulary/bank02/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en
2. https://elt.oup.com/student/result/engelem/b_vocabulary/unit03/?cc=gb&selLanguage=en

Vocabulary Games: Describing people

There are lots of games on different websites to help you learn vocabulary. Here are some online games you can try to help you learn some adjectives you can use to describe people. The website is called www.manythings.org

Important Vocabulary

It's important to remember that you cannot learn lots of new words. You need to learn the most common words and be able to spell them correctly.

Here is a quiz of the 100 most common words in English: http://quizicon.com/100-Most-Common-English-Words-Quiz.html How many can you guess?

There are different lists of the most common words, but they are all very similar. They say that half of all written English uses the same 100 words. The top 300 words are used in 65% of all written English. Here are some word lists:

http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/common-words-100.htm
http://www.duboislc.net/EducationWatch/First100Words.html
http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm

Try and learn these common words and spell them correctly. They are the most important words to learn.

Vocabulary and Dictionaries

It's a very good idea to buy a dictionary to help you build your vocabulary. Many students use translators, but the context of the word (for example, the other words in the sentence) can change the meaning. It is much better to use an English dictionary: it will give you a sentence so you can see how the word is used; it will tell you what kind of word it is (noun, adjective etc); and will also give you the pronunciation of the word.

Here is a link to the FREE Cambridge Online Dictionary: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/essential-british-english/
Try and use the dictionary when you see a new word and add the link to your mobile phone. The more you practise with the dictionary, the more useful it will be.

You can read some more about dictionaries here: http://www.kapmanchester.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/its-really-important-that-you-use-good.html

Vocabulary Game: Free Rice

The Free Rice website tests your vocabulary through multiple choice questions. There are sixty levels. When you have answered the first few questions, the website will try and judge your level. Level 60 is really hard! I found it almost impossible!!

Here's the good part: if you get the question right, the company will donate 10 grains of rice to charities which help feed the poor. So the more questions you answer correctly, the more rice they donate!

Here's the link: http://freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1509

A News Website: Reading, Listening, Vocabulary

Here is a news website which might help you:

You can read and listen to the same news article at three different levels. Read level 1 first and listen to the recording. If this is too easy, read level 2 and listen to the recording.

Then you need to read more texts at the same level. The texts use the same group of words, so the more you read at the same level, the more words you will be able to remember.

Most of the recordings use an American accent, but you may still find them useful.

If you like the website, tell the owners! I'm sure they will appreciate it.

http://www.newsinlevels.com/

Vocabulary Game

Here is a nice little vocabulary game from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flash/wordmaster/

Choose your level: start with Easy. You need to complete ten sentences. Type a letter. If it is correct, it will appear in the word. When you complete the word, you can read the definition and listen to the sentence.

Vocabulary: Crime

There are eight words connected to crime in the wordsearch. The words can be found forwards, backwards, up, down, left, right and diagonally. Can you find all eight words?

The solution is after the jump:

Study skills: using a dictionary

It's really important that you use a good English dictionary to help you to improve your vocabulary. Many students use an electronic translator to translate English words into their own language. However, if you do this, you are only learning half  the language.

A good English-only dictionary will tell you many things more than a translation. A dictionary will:

• tell you what kind of word it is (noun, adjective, verb etc)
• show you what is the plural spelling/ the past tense/ countable or uncountable
• show you how common the word is. The most common words are often in a  different colour
• give you the definition of the word and will give you an example sentence. It's very important for you to see how the word is used in a sentence
• tell you some synonyms of the word (other words that mean the same or similar). You can also find synonyms in a thesaurus
• use pictures to help you understand the word

Recommended books

Students often ask the question, "which grammar book should I buy?" "What is a good book for IELTS?" "How can I improve my vocabulary?" Here are some book suggestions.

Vocabulary: Ramadan

Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims, but how much do you know about it?

Click on the link below and complete the text using the words at the bottom:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/worksheets/pdf/islam_ramadan_whatisramadan.pdf

If you need any help, ask a Muslim student.

You will also find the answers in this text:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/ramadan.shtml

Remember to practise reading a text aloud. What words do you find difficult to pronounce? Can you describe the article to a friend? What do you remember about Ramadan?

You can find some more reading and vocabulary activities about Ramadan here:

http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/ramadan.html

Vocabulary: Clothes and items of clothing

Think about these questions:

What's the difference between formal clothes and casual clothes?

Man wearing a dinner jacket

What kind of clothes would you wear to a job interview?
What sort of clothes would you wear to a wedding?
When you go shopping, how many items do you usually buy?
Do you browse, or do you know what you want before you go shopping?
When would you wear evening dress?
Look at the picture. What's this man wearing: formal clothes, casual clothes or evening dress?
How would you describe the man?
smart    scruffy    sophisticated    trendy    fashionable
well-dressed    good-dressed     messy     
     (one of these words is rubbish: which one?)
What different patterns do you prefer: Stripes, checks or spots?
Do you like pictures and patterns on your clothes, or do you prefer plain clothes?
Do you like light or dark clothes?
Do you prefer dark or bright colours?
What size are you? Do you prefer loose-fitting clothes or tight-fitting clothes? Skinny jeans are very popular and tight-fitting.

Vocabulary: Making suggestions

Ryan: Aziz! How was your holiday?
Aziz: It was great thanks. I had a wonderful time.
Ryan: You've even brought the sun back to Manchester with you! Good work.
Aziz: Yeah, it's glorious outside, isn't it? Bright and sunny. So, what shall we do today?
Ryan: Well, we could go for a walk along the canal to Old Trafford.
Aziz:  Nah, it's too hot to walk.
Ryan: What about going to the John Rylands Library? It'll be cool in there because it's made of stone.
Aziz:  Errmm... No, I'm not in the mood for that either.
Ryan: How about running through the fountain in Piccadilly Gardens?
Aziz:  Now you're just being silly!
Ryan: Why don't we just buy an ice-cream and sit and watch the world go by?
Aziz:  That's a bit boring, don't you think?
Ryan:  Right, that's it! I give up! You don't want to do anything I've suggested. Why don't you think of something?
Aziz: To be honest, I'm not sure I can be bothered to do anything. It's boiling.
Ryan: Ok, then. Brilliant. Let's do nothing and just wait for the rain.

When Ryan says "Ok, then. Brilliant", do you think he is happy or angry and frustrated? What's his intonation like: is he serious or sarcastic?
What different phrases did Ryan and Aziz use to make suggestions? Answers after the jump: