Building a wide vocabulary is essential for ESL learners to communicate more fluently and expressively. As online English teachers, we have various tools and strategies to make vocabulary learning both effective and enjoyable for students.

Here are seven tips and activities to help your ESL students enhance their vocabulary in the online classroom.

1) Introduce Vocabulary in Context

When you teach new words, present them within relevant contexts. Instead of giving students isolated vocabulary lists, incorporate the new words into short stories, dialogues, or descriptions related to a theme they’re studying.

Activity: Try a “Story Builder” activity where students are given a list of key vocabulary and they take turns adding a sentence to the story, using a new vocabulary from the list.

2) Use Visual Aids and Flashcards

Visual cues can help students make associations and recall vocabulary more easily. Create digital flashcards with images, definitions, and example sentences to reinforce learning.

Activity: Play a matching game where students have to match an image or definition with a new word.

3) Incorporate Word Maps or Mind Maps

Show the connections between words by connecting words that are related. This can help students understand language nuances and improve memory retention. Encourage your students to organize vocabulary into related groups.

Activity: Have students create Word Webs. Start with a central word (e.g. “travel”) and add branches for synonyms, antonyms, and related phrases (like “adventure,” “journey,” “voyage,” “trip.”)

4) Practice with Games

Games are a great way to make vocabulary acquisition enjoyable. There are many online tools for engaging students through word games, which also improve recall and application. If you Google “online ESL games,” you’ll find many resources.

Activity: Try “Vocabulary Bingo.” Prepare Bingo cards filled with vocabulary words you’re teaching. As you read out definitions or give clues, students can cross out the words on their card. The first to get a bingo wins. Other popular games include “Word Scramble” or “Hangman,” both of which can be done online with a shared whiteboard.

5) Encourage Descriptive Storytelling

Storytelling encourages students to use new vocabulary actively, which reinforces learning. Focus on descriptive words by helping them paint a vivid picture.

Activity: Present a basic sentence and ask students to rewrite it using more descriptive vocabulary they’ve learned. For example, you may say: “The night was scary,” and the student may rewrite it as, “The pitch-black night was filled with eerie whispers and rustling leaves.” This activity pushes them to use adjectives and adverbs more creatively.

6) Assign Vocabulary Journals

A vocabulary journal allows students to track new words, jot down definitions, write sample sentences, and add personal associations to each word.

Activity: Encourage students to keep an online “Word Diary” using Google Docs. Each week, they can add words they encounter, note their meanings, and create sentences using them. Review these Word Diaries periodically to give feedback and suggest additional usage.

7) Conduct Weekly Vocabulary Challenges

Introducing a little competition can boost motivation. Set weekly vocabulary challenges for students to enhance word retention and usage outside of class.

Activity: Introduce a “Word of the Day” and encourage students to use it in as many sentences throughout the class as possible.

Do you have any other activity ideas for helping your ESL students expand their English vocabulary? Share them in the comments below!