To us EL teachers, vocabulary pre-teaching is our daily bread, but I received a question from one of the content area teachers that made me think…what comes naturally to us, does not necessarily make immediate sense to our colleagues.

I recently saw a post from a science teacher tasked with teaching English Newcomers and suggested a list of ideas, one being pre-teaching vocabulary. But, how do you pre-teach vocabulary in a mainstream classroom? Today’s episode addresses this question and more.

Why is pre-teaching vocabulary good for all learners?

There are 3 tiers of words we talk about in EL instruction: Tier 1, or everyday, words, Tier 2, or frequently used words that show up across content areas, and Tier 3, or subject specific words. Pre-teaching, particularly tier 2 words, is important for access to the academics and equity. All students are building their vocabulary and ability to communicate their ideas and building confidence in demonstrating their content knowledge.

What you will hear in this episode:

• What vocabulary pre-teaching is
• The reasons why it is so important to pre-teach vocabulary in the mainstream classroom
• The steps that can be taken to pre-teach vocabulary
• How pre-teaching vocabulary will benefit all students not just the language learners

Resources

As mentioned in the episode, I am linking some useful resources!

• The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join. 
• 25 Authentic Speaking Activities for Your ESL Classroom
• Simply Ieva ESL Teachers Pay Teachers Store
• Teachable Platform - Courses and Workshops
• Follow me on Instagram 
• Join the Simply Ieva Facebook Group 

You may also be interested in:

• Sample vocabulary slide - Google Slides
• Episode 14 - Vocabulary for ESL Students

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