How to Help ESL Students Remember Vocabulary Between Lessons
A small change for your next class: Bring back a few familiar words, give students time to recall them, and use them in a short conversation.
You finish a lesson, and your students seem comfortable with the new vocabulary. They recognize the pictures, answer your questions, and even use a few words without help.
Then the next class starts.
You show the same picture and get a very polite blank stare.
Before you question your entire teaching career, take a breath. Being able to repeat a word during a lesson and remembering it next week are two different things.
After years of teaching ESL abroad in English centers and online, I’m much more interested in what students can use than how many vocabulary slides we finish. Getting through the material is easy enough. Helping it stick takes a little more thought.
Fortunately, that doesn’t have to mean more worksheets or another hour of planning.
Give old vocabulary a place in the next lesson
It’s easy to treat vocabulary as something we finish.
We teach food, complete the food activities, and move on to clothes. Meanwhile, “carrot” quietly disappears.
Build a few familiar words into the next class, even when the topic changes. If you’re teaching colors, bring back food:
“What color is a banana?”
“Can you name something green that you eat?”
If students already know clothes and you’re introducing weather, ask what they wear when it’s cold.
The point is to give familiar language another useful job. The British Council also recommends revisiting language through different activities and contexts, rather than simply repeating the original exercise. Read its guidance on recycling and reviewing.
Let students try before you supply the answer
When a student hesitates, it’s tempting to help immediately.
“What’s this? It’s a jacket. Jacket. Can you say jacket?”
They probably can. But now you’ve done the remembering for them.
Show the picture and give them a little thinking time. If they need help, offer a clue: “You wear it when it’s cold.” You could also give the first sound or two choices.
If they still don’t know, tell them, practice it briefly, and return to it later. There’s no prize for making a student stare at a jacket until everyone feels uncomfortable.
Pay attention to the amount of help they need. An answer after a clue is useful progress, but it’s different from an independent answer.
Move beyond naming the picture
Naming pictures is a reasonable starting point. I just wouldn’t stop there.
Take the word “kitchen.” Once the meaning is clear, use questions that fit the student’s language level:
- “Is this a kitchen or a bedroom?”
- “What can you see in the kitchen?”
- “What do you do in the kitchen?”
With students who have the language for it, try: “Would you rather cook dinner or wash the dishes? Why?”
Now the word belongs to a conversation.
Keep the surrounding language manageable. If you’re reviewing one familiar word inside a question full of unfamiliar grammar, you may end up testing the question more than the vocabulary.
Try this five-minute vocabulary review
You don’t need a new game every lesson. A familiar routine with different words can work well.
Choose four or five words your students have already learned. For this example, use kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room.
Minute 1: Recall
Show the room pictures without labels. Let students try to name them. In a group, give everyone thinking time before taking answers so the quickest student doesn’t do all the work.
Minute 2: Listen and choose
Give a clue: “You sleep here.” Students point to or name the room. Keep the clues within their language level.
Minutes 3–4: Use the words
Ask a familiar question such as “Where do you sleep?” Then change roles and let students ask you. In class, use pairs after demonstrating. Online, take turns with the same pictures on screen.
Minute 5: Check again
Return to a word that needed help earlier. Change the picture order and see whether the student can answer with less support.
That last step matters. It tells you what to bring back next time.
These are review activities you can add to your own lessons; they don’t require a particular worksheet or program.
Bring words back across several classes
A big review at the end of a unit is useful, but I wouldn’t make that the only time old language returns.
Try revisiting a few words near the end of the lesson, again in the next class, and later in a different activity. Adjust the timing to what your students remember.
For example, a student might first name a jacket, later choose clothes for cold weather, and eventually describe what someone is wearing.
You’re keeping the vocabulary familiar while changing what the student does with it.
Don’t worry about finding a perfect review schedule. Start by making review a regular part of your planning.
Keep notes you’ll actually use
You don’t need a complicated tracking system for every word.
A short note is enough:
“Kitchen—independent. Bedroom—needed first sound. Review bathroom.”
That gives you a starting point for the next class. It’s more useful than “Finished pages 8–12,” which tells you where you stopped but very little about what stuck.
For larger classes, note a few words that caused trouble across the group, then check individual students as you circulate.
And if the same words keep causing problems, look at how they were taught. Students may need a clearer example, more help with pronunciation, or a smaller amount of new language at once.
Start small in your next class
Pick five words from a recent lesson. Give students a chance to remember them, help where needed, and use them in a short exchange.
Then bring the tricky ones back.
You don’t have to turn every review into a game show. A few useful questions and a clear idea of what needs more practice can take you a long way.
ESL vocabulary teaching FAQ
Why do ESL students forget vocabulary after a lesson?
Recognizing a word with a picture or repeating it after the teacher is different from recalling it independently. Students may need more opportunities to retrieve the word and use it across several lessons. Forgetting a word doesn’t automatically mean they weren’t paying attention.
How many new vocabulary words should I teach in one ESL lesson?
There isn’t one number that fits every class. Consider students’ age, level, lesson length, and how much practice each word needs. For a beginner lesson, try a small set you can model and use meaningfully, then adjust based on what students can remember and say. The four or five words in the routine above are review words, not a fixed target for new learning.
How often should I review ESL vocabulary?
Give familiar words a brief return near the end of the lesson, in the next class, and again in later lessons. Revisit words sooner when students need substantial help. This is a practical starting routine; adjust it to your class rather than treating it as a fixed schedule.
How can I review vocabulary in an online ESL lesson?
Share a few pictures without labels, give a short clue, and let the student name or choose the matching picture. Then use the words in questions and switch roles. You can do this with your existing lesson slides and a conversation; an extra app isn’t necessary.
How do I know whether a student has learned a word?
Check more than repetition. Can the student understand the word, recall it without a model, and use it appropriately in a familiar sentence or exchange? Try again in a later lesson with a different picture or question. Note what they can do independently and where they still need support.
Try it with a free lesson
Choose a lesson for your students’ level and try the five-minute routine with vocabulary they’ve already studied. No signup is required to explore the free lessons.
If the materials fit the way you teach, explore membership options for access to more lessons and teaching resources.
Happy teaching,
Shane