📚 How Many New Words Are Enough?
How many new words should we teach at once? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?
Honestly, I often include more than just 10 in my materials – but that doesn’t mean you have to teach them all at once. The key is: Words need time. A baby doesn’t get to choose how many words it hears a day – it just hears them over and over.
Research suggests that a child needs to hear and use a word around 14 times before it sticks.
✅ Why 6–10 flashcards per session are still ideal:
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Limited attention span: Too many new words at once can be overwhelming.
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Time for repetition: Children shouldn’t just see new words – they should use them: show, move, hide, sing, play.
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Flexible use: With just 6–10 cards, you can already do a lot –
from memory games and movement activities to hide-and-seek, songs, and storytelling.
💡 My materials usually include a wider range of vocabulary, so you can pick and choose what suits your group. Some words are repeated across games, songs, or craft ideas – which means they’re practiced more deeply, without feeling repetitive.
📝 For older kids, I often bring the words back in written homework – giving them a chance to repeat and anchor vocabulary through spelling practice, short writing tasks, or mini-dialogues.
📦 Repetition happens naturally – if you plan for it
It’s not just about “learning” the words once – it’s about encountering them again and again, in different ways.
In my lessons, I plan intentional repetition, but make it feel natural:
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A song today,
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a movement game tomorrow,
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a story next week – with the same words popping up again.
🌀 Spiral learning – not a straight line
Vocabulary doesn’t need to be "finished" after one session. I like to spiral back to important words again and again – each time in a new context. This way, children build confidence and fluency without getting bored.
🎨 Depth over quantity
It’s not about how many words children are exposed to – it’s about how well they get to know them.
I’d rather teach 8 words really well, giving plenty of time to use them creatively, than rush through 20 without depth.
I do show more words, yes, but only once, then we focus on one or two key words at a time to really embed them.
💬 Active vocabulary vs. passive vocabulary
Not every word needs to be spoken by the child immediately. Some words are fine as “passive vocabulary” at first – they can understand it, point to it, react to it. Over time, with repeated exposure, passive words often become active.
🔁 Words come back – on purpose
I make sure that key vocabulary returns again and again throughout the year – not just in review lessons, but in new games, new songs, and new stories. This gives learners a feeling of familiarity and success. Additionally, they get the "double trouble" games to practice words at home.
