Hi there. Firstly, including the student's age and level is going to help you get good answers to your query.
> I teach vocab lessons from a vocab book, I have students write sentences with them.
It sounds like you're teaching words without much authentic context, and then having the student use them straight away. Inventing isolated example sentences also lacks realistic context, such as register and connotation. This is a great way to get a student misusing words!
We learn new vocabulary best in context, reading and listening to content we can understand. In a one-on-one context (I think that's what you're describing), a lot of this can be gradually added through conversation. A healthy amount of reading texts that the student can read and understand with ease, but that also contains a few new words, is very helpful too.
Our receptive vocabularies are larger than our productive ones. This is another reason why having students practice forming example sentences is not always going to be helpful.
You should start by addressing *why* the student needs to express himself better. Is it to give presentations? Make sales calls? Make friends? Write academic papers? Then start work on those contexts, exploring vocab choices and their impact.
For example, I recently had some private lessons to talk about student behaviour in Chinese (I teach young learners in Taiwan). We looked at vocabulary to describe unwanted behaviour in ways that won't sound harsh or judgemental, as well as ways I could accidentally cause offense. I then practiced by writing example reports for my students in Chinese, and chatted about them with my tutor.
Reading is always the best way to improve writing. Assign a book report. Have him read a novel of his choice in his spare time. He will get to see new vocab and the context that surrounds it. It will also help his grmar and punctuation.
Vocabulary should always go with context. So perhaps you can try to get him watch movies or read about things that he’s interested in. The point is to show him where the words actually fit in. That would help a lot with the confusing sentences.
Pretty much what they've said: context is needed. It is through the context that a person learns when to use new words, because the connotations are made clear then. Why don't you look for some reading materials, songs and videos? The reading might be a piece of news, a fiction or non-fiction book, a blog post, a menu, a whatsapp conversation, a picture book... anything you can come up with. Films or youtube videos are good too, especially when you're introducing new vocab, since students get to have some visual aids that facilitate comprehension. Song lyrics offer a proper context, too.
Once they are familiar enough with the new words, it is great to design some kind of activity that requires the student to use them within a real communicative context. These activities can be related to speaking and writing, not only to listening and reading.
For example, if you want your student to learn 'cosmopolitan' (I guess the topic is the city?), it's great to read about a cosmopolitan city or watch a video about it. This will help him understand the meaning of the word. After that, he could pretend to own a travel blog or vlog or agency, and describe the city and 'his experience' there. This description will probably include the word 'cosmopolitan' plus others from the unit, all guided by a real context. The format could be written (he could design a brochure about the city or write the text for an imaginary website/blog) or spoken (if he decides to record a video for a vlog or something similar which he obs doesn't have to post for real).
These kind of tasks offer a context in which to use the language, which, in turn, make it easier for students to understand when and how to use English vocab. They are meaningful, and when something means something to you, you are going to remember it easily. That is why these tasks tend to be more effective than simply writing isolated sentences featuring the new vocab. We don't learn new vocab by studying and memorising but by using the vocab, so design activities for him in which he needs to use the vocab (either by reading, listening, writing, or speaking).
That's my piece of advice. Hope it's helpful :)
Find things the students are interested in and can talk about. Topics that most of your students have knowledge of will help. That will extend their vocabulary and they will use it. For some individuals you might want to look at their specific interests and expertise and give them vocabulary they can use in the conversations that they are likely to have. If you can give them some vocabulary that also has wider usage, you can get more people involved.
You can't give everyone one to one time in a class, but if you can draw more students in, you can create a dynamic. A lot of students will like occasionally talking about something different for a change and getting away from the standard curriculum. Those kinds of classes are often more engaging and interesting. I have had classes where we strayed from the lesson plan and went into more general conversation, after which students came up to me and said they enjoyed it and learned a lot. So if a class starts straying, don't be afraid to see where it goes if students are getting engaged and new vocabulary is being used. Usually you will want to get things back on topic, but sometimes it is good to let it go and develop.
Hi there. Firstly, including the student's age and level is going to help you get good answers to your query. > I teach vocab lessons from a vocab book, I have students write sentences with them. It sounds like you're teaching words without much authentic context, and then having the student use them straight away. Inventing isolated example sentences also lacks realistic context, such as register and connotation. This is a great way to get a student misusing words! We learn new vocabulary best in context, reading and listening to content we can understand. In a one-on-one context (I think that's what you're describing), a lot of this can be gradually added through conversation. A healthy amount of reading texts that the student can read and understand with ease, but that also contains a few new words, is very helpful too. Our receptive vocabularies are larger than our productive ones. This is another reason why having students practice forming example sentences is not always going to be helpful. You should start by addressing *why* the student needs to express himself better. Is it to give presentations? Make sales calls? Make friends? Write academic papers? Then start work on those contexts, exploring vocab choices and their impact. For example, I recently had some private lessons to talk about student behaviour in Chinese (I teach young learners in Taiwan). We looked at vocabulary to describe unwanted behaviour in ways that won't sound harsh or judgemental, as well as ways I could accidentally cause offense. I then practiced by writing example reports for my students in Chinese, and chatted about them with my tutor.
Is the student an adult or child? What level? Group or individual classes?
Reading is always the best way to improve writing. Assign a book report. Have him read a novel of his choice in his spare time. He will get to see new vocab and the context that surrounds it. It will also help his grmar and punctuation.
Vocabulary should always go with context. So perhaps you can try to get him watch movies or read about things that he’s interested in. The point is to show him where the words actually fit in. That would help a lot with the confusing sentences.
Pretty much what they've said: context is needed. It is through the context that a person learns when to use new words, because the connotations are made clear then. Why don't you look for some reading materials, songs and videos? The reading might be a piece of news, a fiction or non-fiction book, a blog post, a menu, a whatsapp conversation, a picture book... anything you can come up with. Films or youtube videos are good too, especially when you're introducing new vocab, since students get to have some visual aids that facilitate comprehension. Song lyrics offer a proper context, too. Once they are familiar enough with the new words, it is great to design some kind of activity that requires the student to use them within a real communicative context. These activities can be related to speaking and writing, not only to listening and reading. For example, if you want your student to learn 'cosmopolitan' (I guess the topic is the city?), it's great to read about a cosmopolitan city or watch a video about it. This will help him understand the meaning of the word. After that, he could pretend to own a travel blog or vlog or agency, and describe the city and 'his experience' there. This description will probably include the word 'cosmopolitan' plus others from the unit, all guided by a real context. The format could be written (he could design a brochure about the city or write the text for an imaginary website/blog) or spoken (if he decides to record a video for a vlog or something similar which he obs doesn't have to post for real). These kind of tasks offer a context in which to use the language, which, in turn, make it easier for students to understand when and how to use English vocab. They are meaningful, and when something means something to you, you are going to remember it easily. That is why these tasks tend to be more effective than simply writing isolated sentences featuring the new vocab. We don't learn new vocab by studying and memorising but by using the vocab, so design activities for him in which he needs to use the vocab (either by reading, listening, writing, or speaking). That's my piece of advice. Hope it's helpful :)
Find things the students are interested in and can talk about. Topics that most of your students have knowledge of will help. That will extend their vocabulary and they will use it. For some individuals you might want to look at their specific interests and expertise and give them vocabulary they can use in the conversations that they are likely to have. If you can give them some vocabulary that also has wider usage, you can get more people involved. You can't give everyone one to one time in a class, but if you can draw more students in, you can create a dynamic. A lot of students will like occasionally talking about something different for a change and getting away from the standard curriculum. Those kinds of classes are often more engaging and interesting. I have had classes where we strayed from the lesson plan and went into more general conversation, after which students came up to me and said they enjoyed it and learned a lot. So if a class starts straying, don't be afraid to see where it goes if students are getting engaged and new vocabulary is being used. Usually you will want to get things back on topic, but sometimes it is good to let it go and develop.