Developing EFL Vocabulary through Speaking and Listening Activities

Vocabulary is an important aspect of language and communication skills. Teaching new vocabulary words in a foreign language classroom can be a challenge for many teachers. This is because a complete knowledge of a word needs far more than simply recognizing the word or being able to give its meaning; it includes learning its: form (spoken and written form, word-parts), meaning (form and meaning, concepts and referents, associations) and use (grammatical functions, collocations and constraints on use). Since the aim of English language school program is to learn English for communicative purposes, this article, based on current research on foreign language vocabulary teaching and learning, appeals to the use of some very important strategies and techniques for effective vocabulary teaching while building listening and speaking skills: dividing text vocabulary into active and passive ones, effectively organizing and focusing repetition, using the target foreign language in different phases of the lesson and selecting effective teaching and learning activities. These strategies provide good opportunities for learners to extend the knowledge of their actual vocabulary and acquire new words of the target language in a classroom based setting.