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An Introduction to Teaching Vocabulary

Explore vocabulary teaching strategies and develop your ability to teach vocabulary with this course for teachers and educators.

42,581 enrolled on this course

photo of young children sitting in a library
  • Duration

    4 weeks
  • Weekly study

    2 hours

Boost your vocabulary teaching skills

On this course you will understand the fundamentals of teaching vocabulary. You will explore key research related to vocabulary teaching and learn vocabulary teaching strategies that you can apply in your own context.

You will develop as a teaching professional as you learn from not only experts in teaching vocabulary but also from your teaching peers. You should leave the course confident in your ability to help your student develop their vocabulary.

We understand that in the current climate you may not be able to undertake some of the activities that involve working with children. However, we are confident that the content of this course is still relevant and will support you to plan for future work.

What topics will you cover?

This course covers vocabulary teaching that will have an impact on pupils’ speaking, reading and writing.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Explore some of the research focused on vocabulary teaching and the word gap
  • Identify effective strategies for teaching vocabulary and apply them in your own context
  • Discuss and reflect on the outcomes of the work you undertake in your context
  • Reflect on the role and importance of metacognition in vocabulary teaching

Who is the course for?

This course is for educators involved in teaching vocabulary. This includes teachers of all levels, school leaders, subject leaders for English, literacy coordinators, teaching assistants, librarians, early years practitioners, and those currently in teacher training.

What software or tools do you need?

You will need to be able to access Google docs.

Who will you learn with?

I work for Babcock Education nationally as the Lead English Adviser and KS2 Moderation Manager. Our English Advisory team is nationally recognised and we extensively publish resources for teachers.

I work for Babcock Education as an English Adviser, Reading Recovery TL & KS1 Moderator supporting teachers/TAs to develop their practice, including their work with children struggling with literacy.

I am an adviser with the Babcock Education English team, supporting schools and teachers with all aspects of primary (and KS3) English, and have co-written some of our popular publications.

I work as an English Adviser for Babcock LDP. My work involves supporting schools locally and nationally, leading training events across the UK and writing publications for primary English teaching.

Who developed the course?

Babcock Education

Babcock Education, the largest integrated service provider for education improvement and specialist intervention services in the UK.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn

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