RIDEing Vocabulary: Using Etienne Wenger's Community of Practice Theory to Master Word Use

Students' success in vocabulary learning is best gauged by authentic use of the targeted vocabulary in conversation and writing tasks. A vocabulary teaching approach that emphasizes meaningful repetition, relationship building, and concrete experiences encourages language development. This article explores a multi-age, multi-grade learning environment in an international school setting in Oman in the Middle East, where students' word study gradually departed from vocabulary identified as necessary according to age- and grade-level based materials and moved instead to focus on vocabulary that students needed to more appropriately describe their unique experiences in their community of practice (CoP).