Ace Your Certify Teacher Exam 2025 – Ignite Your Teaching Dreams!

The primary goal of using synonyms in vocabulary teaching is to leverage student background knowledge to help them learn new words. By introducing synonyms—words that have similar meanings—educators can connect new vocabulary to concepts or terms that students already understand. This contextual approach facilitates deeper comprehension and retention, as students can relate new words to their existing knowledge bases.

Utilizing synonyms allows students to expand their vocabulary in a meaningful way, as they see how different words can express similar ideas. This strategy is effective because it affirms the students' prior knowledge and encourages active engagement with the language, making the learning process more relevant and relatable.

In contrast, teaching students to develop independence in defining words focuses more on their ability to decipher meanings on their own rather than on connections with previous understanding. Dictionary definitions can sometimes be too abstract or technical for learners, especially young students, which might not support true comprehension. Encouraging vocabulary self-selection is important, but it tends to center on student choice rather than making explicit connections between new and known words, which is the key focus of using synonyms.