ELT365 · Day 154 — Pre-teaching Vocabulary: When It Helps

Idea — Pre-teach only blocking vocabulary — words whose absence will stop learners completing the task. Pre-teaching everything removes the challenge; pre-teaching nothing leaves learners lost.

Example — Text contains: deforestation, habitat, biodiversity. Pre-teach all three before a gist task — learners just need to know the topic is about forests.

Try — Pick a listening for this week. List every unknown word. Cross off any that won’t block task completion. Pre-teach only what’s left.

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