Effective Vocabulary Building in the Classroom Environment from B1 Onwards

Vocabulary is an essential and pivotal element of language competence. Learners at A1/A2-level acquire their first words and phrases quickly. Textbooks facilitating language learning confront them with topics of everyday life, and they build up their vocabulary step by step. But from a certain level onward (B1/B2-level) it becomes much more difficult for trainers to select topics which provide learners with a good chance to sensibly improve their vocabulary. Additionally, groups of learners from this level onward tend to be more and more heterogeneous with regar d to their acquired vocabulary and their needs. The paper presents a method for vocabulary building which combines the aspects of curiosity, intrinsic motivation, application and memorization and successfully increases vocabulary.