ABSTRACT

Careful observation of the methods of world (or foreign) language classes shows that there is a distinctive instructional approach to language development that contrasts sharply with how language is developed in other subjects. There are three distinctive types of vocabulary with corresponding instructional approaches. When examining the three different types of words, this chapter sets up an expanded toolkit employing contemporary digital applications to assist teachers and learners in expanding their vocabulary possibilities. The traditional approach to improving student performance with vocabulary development is based on asking students to "look up words", write down the definitions, and then use them in a sentence. Employing new visual and auditory digital tools can assist learners to independently engage in expanding their facility. A particularly powerful digital application that can assist students in cultivating a love of words is Visual Thesaurus, developed by Think Map.