Word Association Activity

This word association activity is an ideal way to help students activate prior knowledge that they might have about a topic. Or, you can use it at the end of a unit to show students how much they have learned!

The key to having a happy ESL classroom is to mix things up in your classes. After all, nobody likes doing the same thing over and over again. Try out some new activities today…here’s a simple vocabulary one you can start with.

Word Association ESL Vocabulary Activity

Skills: Reading/writing/speaking

Age: 7+ (must be able to read + write)

Materials Required: Workbook or butcher paper and pens

Word Association is an ESL vocabulary activity that can be used to introduce a new topic, lesson, theme, etc. You have to write a single relevant word in the middle of the board or paper and have students take turns adding as many words or images related to that word as possible.

For example…the centre word could be “school.” Some of the other branches could be subjects (Math, English, History, Gym, etc) while another branch could be school supplies (pen, paper, ruler, etc.) Finally, you might have one about recess or break time (play games, tag, climb, jump, swing set). And keep going with more associations from there.

The subject or topic can be whatever you’re teaching that day. Another topic it works well for is body parts. Check out some more parts of the body activities here.

For large classes, have students work in groups with separate pieces of paper taped to the wall or the top of the table/ grouped desks. After a given amount of time (3-5 minutes, or when you see no one is adding anything new), discuss their answers.

It’s also a nice activity for teaching English online so give it a try today!

Teaching Tips for This ESL Vocabulary Activity

For large classes, butcher paper works best, so more students can write at one time. If that isn’t possible, have 5-6 board markers available.

If using butcher paper, prepare in advance, including taping to the wall, unless students will be working at their desks. Finally, if students will be working at their desks, write the word on each table’s page in advance, but don’t hand them out until you have given your instructions.

This activity is often quite a fun way to start off a holiday themed class. For even more ideas, check out: ESL Christmas Activities and Games.

Procedure for Word Association Game

1. Write a single word relevant to your new topic, lesson, or theme on the white board or butcher paper.

2. Have students take turns adding as many words or images related to that word as possible. My rule is that each student has to add at least one word, no matter how small.

3. After 3-5 minutes (or less, if no one is adding anything new), discuss their answers.

4. For larger classes, put students into groups of 4-6 and let them work together on this. You can choose the most well-organized one to show as an example to the rest of the class. And these papers can act as resources for the rest of the class.

Follow-Up to this Word Association Activity

You may wish to spend quite a bit of time teaching your students how to do mind-mapping, or brainstorming the first time they do it. This is because it can be a very useful skill that they can take with them to all of their classes. It’s often a great first step before doing almost any kind of writing task or project.

Remember to teach your students that they’re not to edit their ideas at this point. Just to write down anything that comes to mind. And that they should also be doing this very quickly.

Word Association Game Examples

If you want to see this fun vocabulary activity in action, check out this short video below:

Word Associations Worksheets

Do you want to give your students some extra practice with this kind of thing? The good news is that there are a ton of great word association exercises online that you can just print off and use in your classes. If that’s not some ESL teaching gold then I’m not sure what it! Here are some of the best options:

ISL Collective

ESL Printables

ESL Galaxy

Did you Like Word Associations?

Do you love this English vocabulary Activity? Then you’re going to love this book over on Amazon: 39 ESL Warm-Ups for Kids. There are almost 40 top-quality ESL warm-ups and icebreakers to help you get your classes started off in style. Help ease your students into using English and get them ready for the main part of the lesson ahead.

English warm-up activities and games are the perfect way to review ESL Vocabulary from previous classes. Do it the tricky way—without students even realizing what you’re doing!

The authors of the book have decades of experience teaching kids, teenagers, university students and adults. Learn from their experience about how to help your students actually learn English.

39 ESL Warm-Ups is available in both print and digital formats. The (cheaper!) digital copy can be ready on any device by downloading the free Kindle reading app. It’s super easy to have fun, engaging ESL warm-ups at your fingertips anywhere you might plan your lessons.

You can check out the book for yourself over on Amazon:

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Learn more about Student-Centered Language Teaching

Word association activities usually draw on student’s prior knowledge, making this an excellent example of student-centred language teaching. Check out this short video for even more details about this style of language teaching:

Word Association ESL Vocabulary Activity

Do you like this activity, or do you have some other favourite word association games? Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2021-10-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API