3 Unit 3 Words You Should Know
“Words! Words! Words! I’m so sick of words! I get words all day through; First from him, now from you!”- Eliza Doolittle
Teacher to teacher:
English language learners must build their vocabulary, so, they all agree with Ms. Doolittle.
For linguists, there is an impressive scientific way: the Corpus of Contemporary American English, COCA. [https://www.wordfrequency.info]
Through the power of data processing, we now know that these 5,000/10,000/50,000 words are the most frequently used in English.
Hooray!
However, I don’t think that Level 1 students should immediately start with words like “describe,” “guess,” or “choice.”
Instead, I recommend teaching “survival” English words:
prepositions of time: at, on, from and prepositions of place: at, on, in, next to, behind, in front of, over, under, across from, above
Pronouns SUB OBJ POSS ADJ POSS PN
Cardinal number vocabulary and practice
More cardinal numbers 21 to 1 million
Change dates from full format to US date format practice [Future 1, L4]
Household Chores Vocabulary List PDF
Family Vocabulary Fill in spelling practice PDF
Example of student generated flash cards with drugstore vocabulary.
Do you have time for more? Check the vocabulary lists taught in the assigned textbook, buy a picture dictionary, and supplement everything with synonyms and slang.
