Have you ever taught a student who can’t seem to remember any of the vocab you teach them? It’s frustrating. The words go in one ear and straight out the other. No matter how many times you practice, nothing sticks.
EFL/ESL students forget vocabulary when they get overloaded with information, uninterested in the topic, unfamiliar with the spelling/pronunciation, or don’t have opportunities to repeat the word at optimal intervals. Linguistic interference from their native language can also affect recall.
These causes are common. Fortunately, it isn’t too hard to identify which of them are at play with each particular student and there are clear steps to solving the problem.
Vocab recall creates fluency
For me, vocabulary is the most important aspect of learning English. It’s not just knowing a large quantity of words, but being able to use them with confidence and precision.
So many classes around the world have basic written vocab tests every week or every term which some students seem to prosper at, while others can’t remember anything despite spending hours studying.
What’s going on? Why are some students unable to remember vocabulary? Part of it is related to the way the brain processes words – students who are more confident with written letters and spelling often do better in the aforementioned written vocab tests. But not all of it is down to the student. Sometimes it’s the way the vocab is presented.
While each student is unique, here are five things that generally impede a student’s ability to remember words.
1. Overload of information
Trying to learn too much in a short space of time overloads the brain. Imagine I present you with a list of 50 words in Swahili and told you to memorise them for a test tomorrow – what’s your reaction? Probably stress. This is an exaggerated example, but sometimes long lists of vocabulary are too much for our poor minds to handle.
SOLUTION: Spread the vocab over a longer period of time, perhaps daily, with a spaced repetition algorithm.
2. Lack of interest in the words
When the brain is deciding whether to create strong neural connections to a piece of information, it will take into account the value of the information. Is it important? Will it be useful to me in the future? Should I dedicate finite mental resources to remembering this? If the answer is no to these questions, the memory will be weak.
Arbitrary lists of vocabulary forced onto the student by a teacher will not create enough perceived value in the brain to form strong memories. For me, this is the most crucial part of vocabulary learning, as I explain in my article on the Best Method to Improve EFL/ESL Students’ Vocabulary.
SOLUTION: Make vocabulary relevant, interesting and useful. Avoid textbook lists and focus on the students’ interests, or introduce new vocabulary through an engaging activity.
Try out some of the games I enjoy using – read my list 9 High Energy EFL/ESL Games for Boosting Vocabulary for the best ones!
3. Spelling and pronunciation impedes recall
English is a messy language. When it comes to the relationship between letters in the word and its pronunciation, our great language is all over the place. Just have a student try to pronounce though, through, thought, and tough.
To be confident using a word, it’s important to know both the spelling and pronunciation, even if it’s only going to be used either as a spoken or written word. Saying a word out loud while reading the written form is a powerful technique. If a student can’t say make the word with their mouth, or can’t picture it written down, they’ll struggle to remember it.
SOLUTION: Make sure the students say words aloud. Don’t just give them lists of words which they don’t know how to pronounce. When they read them out loud, you can work on the pronunciation and even come up with some mnemonics or audio hooks. When giving vocabulary in a speaking activity, write it down for them to see.
4. Students don’t repeat the words at appropriate intervals
Repetition is key. But plain old repetition isn’t good enough. Depending on who you ask, you have to repeat a word between 5 and 40 times to truly learn it. Does that mean you can just repeat it 40 times in one sitting and be done with it?
Obviously not. Yet so often students study vocab for an exam, then never repeat it again. Most of us have been through this. You study all you need to know for the test, but a month later you can’t recall any of the information.
SOLUTION: This is where spaced repetition comes in. With the help of an app like Anki, you can space the repetitions of vocabulary according to an algorithm for optimal learning. I’ve had so much success with this technique both in learning Spanish myself and teaching English to my students.
Using a spaced repetition app also helps with overload. Since you do a small amount on a daily basis, there’s never too much to learn at one time, and you don’t have to cram before a test.
To learn more about spaced repetition, check out my explanation: Supercharge EFL/ESL Vocab With Spaced Repetition (Anki)
5. Linguistic interference causes repeated errors
This problem varies between languages. It refers to the effects of a student’s mother tongue on their ability to learn English. It includes grammatical and pronunciation issues, too, but in learning vocabulary, it comes in the form of “false friends”.
A false friend is a word which is similar in the native language, but has a different meaning. My favourite example is “constipado” in Spanish, which means you have a blocked nose, but in English, constipated refers to a different part of the body!
This interference results in repeated errors and can take quite a long time to dislodge. Fortunately, it only applies to certain words.
SOLUTION: Don’t stress too much. It takes time and patience to overcome this, and I find some gentle humour can make the difference. Inform the student what their words really mean and let them see the funny side (note: don’t mock them or make them feel bad!)
Everyone forgets
From reading this article, you’ve almost certainly got the impression that I don’t think dry lists of vocabulary are any good. And hopefully now you see why.
That’s not to say applying these solutions will make your students remember every single word you teach them – that’s not possible. Always expect students to forget some words. It’s natural. There are some words which just won’t stick, no matter how hard you try. This article is about making sure the majority of words don’t slip away.
For all the information you could ever possibly want on teaching EFL/ESL vocab, take a look at all my articles on the topic.
BIG OVERALL GUIDE: Best Method to Improve EFL/ESL Students’ Vocabulary: 9 Steps
Why EFL/ESL Students Forget Vocab: Causes and Solutions
How to Elicit Vocabulary in EFL/ESL: 7 Effective Activities
What Vocab Should You Teach in EFL/ESL: Organic acquisition
How to Use Images for Deep Vocab Memorisation in EFL/ESL
How to Use Gestures to Embed Vocab in EFL/ESL + 2 Games
How to Test EFL/ESL Vocabulary: Best assessment methods
Sounds and Audio Hooks for Lasting Memorisation in EFL/ESL
How to Teach Vocab in EFL/ESL with Memorable Moments
Supercharge EFL/ESL Vocab With Spaced Repetition (Anki)
How to Make Vocab Last Forever: Reinforcing connections
9 High Energy EFL/ESL Games for Boosting Vocabulary
