Could you be more specific?

One of the most surefire ways to create vivid writing is to be highly specific. Don't say loud to describe a sound that is actually piercing or blaring. Don't say slow when what you mean is sluggish or creeping.

Finding just the right word when you need it can be a challenge for anyone, but for students who speak a language other than English at home, the pool of descriptive words from which to draw may not be nearly as deep as it could be. That's why it's so essential to provide enriching vocabulary in the classroom -- which actually benefits all students.

I recently ordered a set of word wall posters from the Teach Me Writing curriculum. (While my preference is to find free online resources whenever possible, I gladly paid for these and found them well worth the money.) The posters -- 43 in all -- offer alternatives to commonly used words of all kinds, including general verbs, adjectives that describe emotions, and so-called "over-used words." In all, they offer 263 enriching vocabulary words that can be posted in class.

Among the vivid verbs to replace look, move and take were glance, trudge and snatch. To describe precisely how things sound, look, smell, taste and touch, we have words like rustle, hazy, reek, tangy and crisp. I'm planning to rotate the posters on a word wall and have students copy the words in their binders to create personal dictionaries. These can later be used when they're stumped for just the right word in just the right spot.

Of course, you don't need posters to help expand your students' vocabulary. Try this lesson from About.com's ESL page. Create a worksheet with two columns. In the first, write a list of about 10 basic words such as walk, move, hold and drink. In the second, write a longer list that includes more specific words such as stagger, writhe, clutch and gulp. Have students match all of the specific words from the second column to the general ones listed in column one. I'm planning to use this with the help of a thesaurus.