How to Teach Vocabulary to Adult ESL Students (Free PDF)

Most adult students don't have a vocabulary problem in class. They understand the new words, they do the exercise, and they even use the words in the speaking task. Then they come back a week later, and half of the list is gone.

That isn't a memory problem. A word met once is simply a word met once. Adults keep new words when they meet them several times, spread over several days, and have to pull them out of memory each time. So the best way to teach vocabulary is not one clever activity. It is a cycle: present the words, practice them, then recycle them on a schedule.

This post walks through that cycle in eight activities that work with any word list, from a beginner's daily routine to B2 phrasal verbs. Seven of them have a page in the free Vocabulary Recycling Kit.

The activities at a glance

#	Activity	Step	Printable
1	Word Cards	Present	Page 1
2	Concept-check questions	Present	No printing
3	Fold-Over Check	Present	Page 2
4	Gap Swap	Practice	Page 3
5	Question Builder	Practice	Page 4
6	Spaced Review Tracker	Recycle	Page 5
7	Six warm-ups	Recycle	Page 6
8	Use It This Week	Recycle	Page 7

The recycling cycle, page by page

Step 1 · PresentIn the lessonp.1 Word Cardsp.2 Fold-Over CheckStep 2 · PracticeSame lesson or nextp.3 Gap Swapp.4 Question BuilderStep 3 · RecycleDay 2, day 7, day 30p.5 Review Trackerp.6 Six Warm-Upsp.7 Use It This Week

Free · printable PDFVocabulary Recycling KitSeven pages that follow a word list from the lesson where it is new to the day students use it for real. Every page is a template, so it works with any list of 12 to 14 words, from a beginner's daily routine to B2 phrasal verbs. Students fill them in alone or in pairs, and one sample word on each page shows them what to write.7 pagesAny word listA1 to C1Alone or in pairsDownload the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

Going deeper on one part of the cycle

Organizing the words: word maps and graphic organizers are in Best Ways to Teach Vocabulary: Word Maps and More.
Words that go together: chunks and collocations are in Teaching Vocabulary with a Lexical Approach.
Games for review: eight games for online classes are in ESL vocabulary games for adults online.
Ready-made topic lists: 40 words each for Christmas and Halloween, in five short topics.

Before you start: choose 12 to 14 words

A list of 30 words feels generous, but it isn't. Students skim all 30 and keep three. Twelve to fourteen new items is a lesson's worth for most adult groups, and it is the size every page of the kit is built for.

Then split the list in two. Active words are the ones students need to say and write. For an office worker, that could be deadline and colleague. Passive words they only need to recognize when they read or hear them, like notice period. Every student understands far more words than they use, and that's normal. The point is that you decide which group each word belongs to, so practice time goes to the active ones.

Word lists of the right size

Each worksheet teaches 12 or 13 words with its own exercises. Teach the sheet, then take its words through the recycling steps below.

Words to Describe AutumnA2B1FreeWorksheetOpen the free worksheet →Phrasal Verbs for SchoolB1B2FreeWorksheetOpen the free worksheet →Jobs and Occupations VocabularyA1A2ProWorksheetSee the Pro lesson →Beyond Happy and SadB1B2ProWorksheetSee the Pro lesson →

Step 1: Present the words in context

A word taught on its own is a word without a home. When students meet it first in a text, a video or a story, they get its meaning, its grammar and its company in one go. Then take the word out and look at three things: its meaning (what it is), its form (how you spell it, how you say it and where the stress falls) and its use (when people say it, and in what situations).

In Road Trip, an A2-B1 lesson, students watch a road trip vlog first and pick up the travel phrases from it. In the free B1-B2 lesson Freckles, Curls, and More, they read about four characters before they meet words like rosy cheeks and cleft chin. If your students like to see how the new words connect, a word map fits here too, and our word maps post has the formats.

1of 8Any level10 minAloneFree printable · page 1

Word Cards

How it works

After the presentation, students make one card per word. On the left: the word and its strong syllable in capitals. On the right: the meaning in their own words or their language, a true example sentence and a memory trick.
They tick whether they need to use the word or only know it, which is your active and passive split.
They cut the cards out and fold them, so the word is on one side and the meaning on the other.

ExampleWordcommuteStresscomMUTEMemory trickon the train my phone is on mute

Why it works

Writing the card is the first review. Students have to put the meaning into their own words, which they can't do without understanding it, and an example sentence about their own life is easier to remember than one from a book. The memory trick is the old mnemonic idea, and silly ones work best. The cards come back in activities 6 and 7, so nothing is wasted.

One to one: Make the cards together in the last ten minutes. The student writes, and you only check the stress.

page 1Free printable · page 1Twelve fold-over cards with a filled-in sample: word, stress, meaning, a true sentence and a memory trick. For a longer list, print the page twice.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

2of 8Any level5 minWhole classNo printing

Concept-check questions

How it works

Don't ask Do you understand? Every adult says yes.
Instead, ask two or three short questions that only a student who understands the word can answer.
The answers are yes, no or one word, so you hear a problem straight away.

ExampleDo you commute if you work from home?No.Is it the trip to the supermarket?No, to work.Can a commute be by bike?Yes.

Why it works

A wrong answer tells you exactly which part of the meaning is missing, before students practice the wrong idea. It takes about a minute per word, and you only need it for the active words.

One to one: Ask the student to write one concept-check question for you about a word from the list. Writing a good one is harder than answering one.

No printing

You ask the questions out loud while you present the words. Write two or three per active word in your lesson notes before class.

3of 8Any level10 minAlone or pairsFree printable · page 2

Fold-Over Check

How it works

Straight after the lesson, students fill in three columns for every word: A the word, B the meaning, C a sentence from the lesson with a gap.
They fold column A back, read B and C, and say the word. If they are right, they tick Try 1.
Then they fold B back, read each word and explain it out loud. On two other days they test themselves again for Try 2 and Try 3.

ExampleAcommuteBtravel to work and backCMy ______ is only ten minutes.

Why it works

Covering the answer turns reading into recall. Reading a word list feels like studying, but words stay when students have to pull them out of memory. Testing in both directions matters too: knowing what commute means is easier than finding commute when you need it.

One to one: Do the test live: you read column B, and the student says the word.

page 2Free printable · page 2A 14-row fold-over table with columns for the word, the meaning and a gapped example, and tick boxes for three tries.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

Step 2: Practice, from controlled to free

Practice should move in one direction: from exercises where the answer is fixed to tasks where students choose what to say. Controlled work comes first, so the form is right. Freer work comes next, so the word becomes theirs. The free A1-A2 lesson Hobbies follows this order: a gap-fill first, then students build their own sentences and talk about their free time.

4of 8A2-C115 minPairsFree printable · page 3

Gap Swap

How it works

Each student writes seven true sentences about their life. Each sentence uses one new word, but they write a gap instead and put the word in the fold-back Answer column.
They fold the answers back and swap sheets. The partner writes the missing word and guesses: is the sentence true or false?
They open the fold, check, and ask about the sentence that surprised them most.

ExampleSentenceI ________ to work by train, about forty minutes each way.Partner's wordtravelAnswercommute

Why it works

Students write the context themselves, so they need both the meaning and the grammar to build it. The partner needs the same knowledge to fill the gap, and the true-or-false guess makes them read for meaning, not only for the missing word. Near misses like travel for commute are useful, because they show the difference between two close words.

One to one: The student writes the sentences for homework. You fill them in live and get one wrong on purpose, so the student has to explain why.

page 3Free printable · page 3A gap-sentence table for seven sentences, with a column for the partner's guess, a true-or-false box and a fold-back answer strip.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

5of 8A2-C120 minPairsFree printable · page 4

Question Builder

How it works

Students turn six new words into real questions for their partner, with the help of eight question starters.
They ask their questions, write short notes on the answers and ask one follow-up question each time.
They finish by writing three sentences about their partner, each with a new word.

ExampleWordcommuteQuestionHow long is your commute, and what do you do on the way?Follow-upWhich podcast?

Why it works

A question is the most natural place for a new word in a conversation, and every answer is another meeting with it. The sentences about a partner add one more, now in the third person. For a class that enjoys this format, Speed Dating, an A1-A2 lesson, is built on quick question-and-answer rounds.

One to one: You answer the student's questions, then ask them back, so every word comes up twice.

page 4Free printable · page 4Eight question starters, a table for six questions with notes and follow-ups, and lines for three sentences about your partner.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

Step 3: Recycle the words on a schedule

In the 1880s, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus measured how fast he forgot lists he had learned. Most of it went in the first day or two, and then the forgetting slowed down. Memory research since then keeps confirming the useful part: a word you review just as it starts to fade stays longer each time. That is spaced review, and it is the step most courses skip.

You don't need software for it. You need four dates, five minutes on each of them, and a student who knows the plan.

6of 8Any level5 min a dayAloneFree printable · page 5

Spaced Review Tracker

How it works

On day 1, students write their words, today's date and the dates for day 2, day 7 and day 30.
On each review day, they cover the meanings on their cards or on page 2, say what each word means and then say a sentence with it.
They tick R if they remembered the meaning and U if they used the word. A word that is still tricky on day 7 gets a new card and a new memory trick.

ExampleReview daysDay 1 · Day 2 · Day 7 · Day 30Two ticksR remembered · U used

Why it works

Students see the schedule, so the review stops depending on you. The two ticks show the gap between knowing a word and using it: a row full of R and no U is a passive word, which is fine if you planned it that way. Every esl.laboratory plan also includes a Quizlet set for each lesson, which makes the day 2 review a five-minute job on a phone.

One to one: Start each lesson by checking the tracker together: which words are due today?

page 5Free printable · page 5A tracker for 14 words with R and U boxes for days 1, 2, 7 and 30, and a short explanation of why those days work.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

7of 8Any level3 minAlone or pairsFree printable · page 6

Six warm-ups

How it works

Start each lesson with one warm-up, using the words from two or three lessons ago rather than last week's.
Play a different one each time: Brain Dump, Meaning First, Odd One Out, Finish My Sentence, Rank Them or Three-Card Story.
Meaning First and Three-Card Story use the word cards from activity 1.

ExampleBrain Dumptwo minutes, every word you rememberOdd One Outsalary, colleague, deadline, commute

Why it works

Three minutes at the start of the lesson is a review nobody has to plan. Older words get caught just as they fade, and the variety keeps the review from feeling like a test. When you want a longer review, our vocabulary games post has eight games for online classes, from Connections to Shades of Meaning.

One to one: Play every warm-up against the student. In Brain Dump, you both write, and the student checks your list too.

page 6Free printable · page 6Six cut-out warm-up cards, each with the steps, the time, alone or in pairs, and a worked example.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

8of 8A2-C15 min, then all weekAloneFree printable · page 7

Use It This Week

How it works

Students choose three words they really want to use and write where they will use them: a work email, a message to a friend, a chat with a colleague.
During the week, they use each word and note the day and what happened.
They also note one word from the list that they heard or read outside class, then bring the card to the next lesson and tell the class.

ExampleWorddeadlineWherein a work emailWhat happenedmy manager used it in the reply

Why it works

Using a word for real, outside class, is the last step of the cycle, and the one that changes how students feel about their English. Reporting back is one more review, and the spotted word trains students to notice the list in the wild. It also works with phrases: In the Wrong, an A2-B1 lesson, teaches phrases for a sincere apology, and real chances to apologize come up every week.

One to one: Open the next lesson with the card. It is the best warm-up you will get.

page 7Free printable · page 7Two mission cards, one for this week and one for next: three words, where you will use them, what happened, and a word spotted outside class.Download the free PDFUS Letter: PDF

Vocabulary Recycling KitAll seven pages in one free PDF: cards, checks, practice sheets, the review tracker, warm-ups and the weekly mission.Download the free PDF

Five mistakes that make new words disappear

The mistake	The fix	In this post
Thirty new words in one lesson	Twelve to fourteen, split into active and passive	Before you start
A list with no context	Meet the words in a text or a video first	Step 1
Translation only	Meaning, form and use, then concept-check questions	Activities 1 and 2
Teaching a word once	Four review days: 1, 2, 7 and 30	Activity 6
Words students recognize but never say	The U tick and a weekly mission	Activities 6 and 8

Lessons to use with the cycle

Level	Lesson	Use it for
A1-A2	Daily Routine Vocabulary (free worksheet)	16 phrases: run them as two lists of 8
A1-A2	Hobbies (free)	Step 2: from a gap-fill to students' own sentences
A1-A2	Do You Have A Pet?	Activity 4: true sentences about pets
A1-A2	Speed Dating	Activity 5: question rounds
A1-A2	Jobs and Occupations Vocabulary (worksheet)	A 13-word list
A2-B1	Road Trip	Step 1: phrases from a vlog
A2-B1	In The Wrong	Activity 8: apology phrases to use this week
A2-B1	Words to Describe Autumn (free worksheet)	A 12-word list
B1-B2	Freckles, Curls, and More (free)	Step 1: words met in a text
B1-B2	Phrasal Verbs for School (free worksheet)	A 12-word list
B1-B2	Beyond Happy and Sad (worksheet)	A 12-word list