Every academic institution realizes that direct instruction is an important component in developing students’ vocabulary. There are a host of online resources available for teachers to increase the effectiveness of imparting instruction on vocabulary development in a visual and interactive way.
Visual Instruction on Vocabulary Development
Visuwords is an online graphical dictionary that uses Princeton University’s open source database, WordNet. You can search words and find their meanings plus associated words in a diagrammatic manner. When you enter a word in the search bar, a network of nodes, comprising meaning, adjectives, and other connections, gets formed.
Wordle is an online Google App tool for creating word clouds from the text entered by a student. Wordle analyses the text and presents it in a visual manner, laying more emphasis on the words that occur more frequently in the provided text. Wordle allows students to modify the fonts, layout and color theme as they like.
Technical Instruction on Practicing Vocabulary
Easy access to online resources has allowed educators to take imparting instruction on vocabulary to the next level. WordSteps is a tool that provides vocabulary enrichment in eleven different languages. It offers to create a vocabulary list and generate a series of activities to practice the words. Vocabulix offers online vocabulary lessons in Spanish and German. The resource’s social networking option allows students to practice using the language in a real, social setting.
Vocab Sushi is the ideal tool for students looking to prepare for exams like SAT or GRE, in a fun and interactive manner. It is also apt for anyone wanting to enhance their vocabulary and communicate better. Conceived by an SAT tutor, Vocab Sushi provides learning by enabling deeper understanding of words rather than by memorizing them.
The easy availability of technological resources has made imparting instruction on vocabulary more interesting for educators, and learning more effective and fun for students, resulting in better quality education with the aid of technology.