Vocabulary Learning Through Word Cards, Collaborative Activities, and Assessment Techniques

When reading about a specialized subject, a significant proportion of the text consists of specialized vocabulary. When the SDGs Service List was created in 2023, it joined a small number of specialized vocabulary lists that learners need to know when reading about a particular subject area. Research has shown that repetition is crucial for vocabulary learning, with the number of occurrences a learner needs to encounter a particular word to have a chance of successfully learn it ranging from six to 20. Unfortunately, most EFL materials fail to adequately recycle vocabulary items, often resulting in students lacking the necessary encounters to acquire them. This paper first demonstrates strategies to overcome this gap in vocabulary recycling through the use of electronic or paper-based word cards. It introduces the 600-word SDGs Service List and shows how electronic study sets can be used to help students study specialized vocabulary. It then builds on the work of Sheridan and Markslag (2017) and presents a new word card activity using paper-based word cards that effectively reinforces the learning of new vocabulary and prepares students for vocabulary tests. Finally, it introduces two assessment techniques that teachers can use to evaluate students’ knowledge of new vocabulary items. These methods can be easily implemented in most classrooms.