How to teach vocabulary immediately is about what to do at the exact moment an unfamiliar or misused word interrupts understanding. A learner is reading and stops at scarce. A student writes powerful evidence. A child asks what enormous means. A class meets variable in a Science explanation. In each case, the teacher needs a just-in-time response that restores meaning quickly without allowing the entire lesson to disappear into a vocabulary detour.
People searching for immediate vocabulary teaching, how to teach a new word immediately, instant vocabulary instruction or what to do when a student does not know a word usually need a first-response system. The goal is not to complete the learner’s lifelong knowledge of the word in sixty seconds. It is to establish an accurate first representation, protect the main task, check that the learner can access the meaning, and mark the word for a later return if it deserves deeper learning.
This guide is deliberately different from How to Teach Vocabulary Fast and How to Teach Vocabulary Quickly. “Immediately” means at the point of need. The operating sequence is notice → decide → clarify → connect → check → continue → return. It is a vocabulary rescue protocol designed for real classrooms, tutoring, home learning, reading, writing and conversation.
The 90-Second Immediate Vocabulary Protocol
- Notice: identify whether the unfamiliar word actually blocks the task.
- Decide: teach now, gloss quickly, infer from context, or postpone.
- Clarify: give the shortest accurate meaning required here.
- Connect: use the current sentence, object, action or situation.
- Check: ask the learner to show understanding without copying.
- Continue: return to the main task before momentum is lost.
- Return: revisit high-value or fragile words later.
The key is triage. Not every unknown word deserves an immediate deep dive. Immediate teaching is effective when it solves the current comprehension or expression problem and leaves a clear route for later depth.
1. Decide Whether the Word Blocks Meaning
Ask what happens if the learner skips the word. If the sentence or task still makes sense and the word has low future value, a quick gloss may be enough. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If the word carries the central concept, command or relationship, teach it now. Immediate instruction should be driven by consequence, not novelty. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
2. Use the Current Context Before Inventing a New One
The sentence, picture, demonstration or conversation that triggered the problem is valuable because attention is already focused there. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Point to the evidence in that context and explain how it constrains meaning. A new invented example can come after the learner understands the original one. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
3. Give the Relevant Sense, Not the Whole Dictionary
Polysemous words can have many meanings, but the learner needs the sense operating in the current task first. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If issue means “problem” here, teach that sense now. Mention other senses later only if they are useful or likely to cause confusion. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
4. Use a Learner-Friendly Meaning
Translate dictionary language into an accurate explanation the learner can hold in working memory. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
For reluctant, “not willing or not eager to do something” is enough for the first rescue. Precision can deepen after comprehension is restored. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
5. Say the Word and Show the Word
A learner may know the written form but not recognise it in speech, or hear it without connecting the spelling. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Say the word naturally, point to its written form when available and allow one brief repetition. Immediate teaching should stabilise form as well as meaning. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
6. Use One High-Information Example
Choose an example in which the important feature is obvious rather than merely inserting the target into a bland sentence. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
For fragile, a thin glass ornament that can break easily shows the concept more clearly than “The object was fragile.” Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
7. Use One Non-Example When the Boundary Is Risky
A fast contrast prevents the learner from making the category too broad. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
A steel spoon is not fragile in the same way as a glass ornament. A person rushing eagerly into a room is not reluctant. One contrast can save later correction. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
8. Ask the Learner to Paraphrase
After explanation, ask the learner to say the meaning in simpler words rather than repeat the teacher verbatim. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
A good paraphrase reveals whether the concept is understood. A vague answer reveals that the rescue needs one more example before the main task resumes. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
9. Use a Pointing or Choice Check for Younger Learners
Not every learner needs to answer with a definition. A child can show understanding by selecting, pointing or acting. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Ask “Which one is enormous?” or “Show me under.” Immediate vocabulary assessment can be developmentally appropriate without becoming shallow. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
10. Use Meaning-to-Word Retrieval for Productive Needs
If the learner will need the word in speaking or writing, reverse the direction after the first explanation. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Give the meaning or scenario and ask for the target. Recognition alone can hide a productive vocabulary gap. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
11. Teach the Phrase If the Error Is a Phrase Error
Some vocabulary failures are collocation failures rather than meaning failures. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If a student writes “powerful evidence,” teach strong evidence immediately and have the learner reproduce the corrected phrase. Do not reteach the whole concept of evidence. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
12. Teach the Grammar Pattern If That Is What Broke
Words often carry prepositions or complement patterns that cannot be guessed safely. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
If the learner writes “prevent him to go,” rescue the pattern prevent someone from doing something. Immediate correction should target the layer that failed. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
13. Use Morphology When It Solves the Problem Fast
A prefix, suffix or root can provide a high-leverage clue when the learner encounters an unfamiliar derivative. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Connect predict, prediction and predictable if the relationship clarifies meaning. Skip morphology when it would become a detour. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
14. Protect Reading Flow
During reading, too many interruptions can damage comprehension of the whole text. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Preteach essential words when possible, gloss minor words quickly and reserve deeper discussion for the highest-value targets. The word lesson should serve reading, not replace it. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
15. Protect Writing Flow
When a learner is drafting, distinguish between an error that blocks meaning and one that can wait for revision. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Mark low-priority vocabulary issues for later. Repair high-impact misuse immediately if it changes the intended message or is likely to be repeated. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
16. Use Immediate Vocabulary During Oral Discussion
Conversation creates live opportunities to supply words the learner is reaching for. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
If a student says “the thing that makes it happen,” offer cause or factor, then let the student continue. The word becomes attached to an intention the learner already had. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
17. Use Immediate Vocabulary in Science
Technical terms often arrive at the same moment as a new concept, so word and concept should be connected together. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
When evaporation appears during an experiment, connect the term to the visible change and the explanation. Do not isolate the word from the process it names. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
18. Use Immediate Vocabulary in Mathematics
General English and mathematical meanings can diverge, creating hidden comprehension problems. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
When product, difference or factor appears, anchor the specialised meaning to the operation being performed and compare it briefly with everyday use if necessary. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
19. Use Immediate Vocabulary in Humanities
Academic reasoning words often determine what a question asks the learner to do. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If the prompt says evaluate, infer, significance or perspective, clarify the action immediately before the student begins the task. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
20. Use Immediate Vocabulary for Examination Questions
A misunderstood command word can invalidate an otherwise strong answer. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Teach the command at the point of error, connect it to the expected response and then have the learner redo the question. The correction becomes procedural as well as lexical. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
21. Use Immediate Vocabulary at Home
Parents can answer spontaneous word questions with short meanings and examples rather than launching an unplanned lecture. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If the child asks what ancient means during a story, explain it in the story, continue reading, and revisit the word afterward if interest remains. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
22. Use Immediate Vocabulary With Multilingual Learners
A known first-language concept can sometimes establish meaning faster than a long English-only explanation. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Use translation strategically when it is accurate, then continue with English context, pronunciation and phrase use. The other language is a bridge, not a barrier. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
23. Do Not Demand a Dictionary Search Every Time
Independent reference skills matter, but forcing every unknown word into a dictionary interruption can destroy momentum. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Model triage. Sometimes the learner infers, sometimes the teacher glosses, sometimes a dictionary is worth opening. Choosing the tool is itself a vocabulary skill. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
24. Use Dictionaries to Verify After an Inference
Context may narrow a meaning without identifying it precisely. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Let the learner infer, state the evidence and then verify important words. Immediate teaching becomes a reasoning process rather than a guessing game. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
25. Mark High-Value Words for Later Depth
A sixty-second rescue can restore comprehension but may not establish collocation, nuance, morphology or transfer. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Use a small mark, note or digital tag so important words enter a later review cycle. Immediate teaching should have an exit route into durable learning. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
26. Use a Cue Ladder When Retrieval Fails
Do not reveal the answer instantly if the learner nearly knows it. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Give a semantic cue, context, first sound or phrase frame. The smallest effective cue strengthens retrieval while still allowing the main task to continue. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
27. Distinguish Not Knowing From Not Retrieving
A learner may understand a word when shown it yet fail to produce it under pressure. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If recognition is intact, do not waste time re-explaining the meaning. Practise retrieval instead. Accurate diagnosis makes immediate teaching efficient. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
28. Distinguish Meaning Errors From Nuance Errors
A learner may choose a broadly related word whose tone, strength or implication is wrong. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Compare the target with one close neighbour and identify the decisive feature. The repair can be brief because the conceptual territory is already partly known. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
29. Use Sentence Repair as an Immediate Intervention
A faulty sentence provides the context, the error and the opportunity for correction in one place. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Ask why the word does not fit, replace it, and have the learner read or rewrite the corrected sentence. The repair becomes a retrieval event. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
30. Use the Word Again Before the Moment Ends
After clarification, find one more natural use within the same activity. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
If scarce was taught in a passage, ask whether another resource in the text is scarce. A second meaningful encounter strengthens the initial representation without creating a separate lesson. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
31. Do Not Overcorrect Pronunciation
If the form is understandable, keep the focus on communication unless pronunciation blocks recognition or meaning. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Model the adult form naturally. Repeated forced correction can consume the moment and shift attention away from the word’s function. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
32. Do Not Turn Every Unknown Word Into a Test
Learners need language input as well as questions. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Sometimes simply supply the word and keep the conversation moving. Testing every encounter can make reading and talk feel like continuous examination. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
33. Use Immediate Vocabulary to Preserve Curiosity
A spontaneous “What does that mean?” is valuable because attention is self-generated. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Answer clearly, connect the word to the current experience and invite one quick example. Curiosity provides the motivation; the teacher should not smother it with excessive explanation. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
34. Use Immediate Vocabulary to Repair Overgeneralisation
Young learners and beginners may apply a new label too broadly. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Acknowledge the attempt, provide the correct label and contrast the categories. “That is a cat, not a dog. Cats say meow; dogs bark.” The correction refines meaning without punishing communication. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
35. Use Immediate Vocabulary to Repair Under-Specific Language
Learners often rely on broad words such as thing, nice, bad, good, went or got. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Offer a more precise word when the situation makes the distinction obvious. Then let the learner continue. Precision develops fastest when it solves a communicative need. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
36. Use a 30-Second Return at the End of the Task
Before leaving the lesson, retrieve one or two rescued words without the original sentence visible. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
Ask for a meaning, phrase or example. This tiny delayed check shows which words need to enter a stronger review cycle. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
37. Create a Tomorrow List, Not a Today Pile
Immediate encounters can generate too many potential targets for deep teaching. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
Keep only the highest-value or most fragile words for tomorrow. Low-value words can remain as light exposure. The system stays sustainable because it does not convert every encounter into homework. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
38. Measure Success by Restored Function
The first success criterion is whether the learner can continue reading, writing, solving or speaking with the word understood well enough for the task. The immediate teaching move should be small enough to fit inside the activity that produced the word. Give the learner just enough information to recover meaning without replacing the whole reading, conversation or task with a separate lecture.
The second criterion is whether high-value words survive a later check. Immediate teaching serves both present function and future learning without confusing them. Then remove the support briefly. Ask for a quick choice, paraphrase, gesture, phrase or example. That tiny performance tells you whether the word has become available to the learner or is still only something the teacher has explained.
39. Know When Immediate Teaching Is Not Enough
Some words carry complex concepts, multiple senses or disciplinary meaning that require a full lesson. Immediate vocabulary teaching is strongest when the new word is attached to the event that made it necessary. The context is still active, so the teacher can use it as evidence rather than reconstructing the situation later.
If the learner lacks the underlying concept, pause the main task only as much as necessary, then schedule deliberate instruction. A short rescue should not pretend to replace conceptual teaching. The final step is to create one future return. A word rescued in the moment is not automatically mastered. A later retrieval turns a successful first encounter into the beginning of durable vocabulary.
40. A Worked Immediate Rescue: “Scarce”
A student reads, “Clean water became scarce after the wells dried.” First ask whether the sentence can be understood without the word. It cannot fully. Give the brief meaning: “scarce means not enough is available.” Point back to the dried wells. Ask, “If water is scarce, is there plenty or not enough?” After the student answers, continue the passage. Near the end, ask, “What word meant not enough was available?” This complete rescue can take under a minute while still containing context, checking and retrieval.
41. A Worked Immediate Repair: “Strong Evidence”
A student writes, “The writer gives powerful evidence.” The meaning of evidence is already secure; the problem is collocation and style. Say, “In this context, we normally say strong evidence.” Ask the learner to read the corrected phrase and then use it in a new clause: “The experiment provides strong evidence that…” The repair is narrow because the error is narrow. Immediate vocabulary teaching should not reteach what is already known.
42. Evidence-Informed Foundations
The immediate system still relies on principles found in broader vocabulary guidance: explicit attention to important words, meaningful context, multiple encounters and active use. The Institute of Education Sciences practice guide discusses explicit and varied vocabulary instruction, while the National Reading Panel report reviews evidence on vocabulary instruction and repeated exposure. Immediate teaching is the first-contact layer within that larger architecture.
43. Frequently Asked Questions
Should I stop every time a learner meets an unknown word?
No. Decide whether the word blocks comprehension, has high future value or is central to the task. Many low-priority words can be glossed, inferred or left for later.
How long should an immediate vocabulary explanation take?
As long as necessary to restore accurate meaning and function, but no longer. Many words can be rescued in under ninety seconds; complex concepts may require a later full lesson.
Should the learner always repeat the definition?
No. Use a performance appropriate to the goal: paraphrase, choose an example, point, act, supply the word from meaning, repair a sentence or continue the task correctly.
What should I do if the learner forgets immediately?
Clarify the meaning again with a stronger example or contrast, then ask for retrieval after a brief interval. Immediate forgetting suggests the first representation was weak or the cue was not sufficient.
Is translation allowed?
Yes, when it establishes a known concept efficiently and accurately. Follow it with English form, context and phrase use so the word is not stored only as a translation pair.
44. The Immediate Vocabulary Operating System
Notice the need. Give the smallest accurate help. Check understanding. Continue the real task. Return to what matters.
Immediate vocabulary teaching succeeds when it protects both comprehension and momentum. The teacher neither ignores a blocking word nor allows every unfamiliar word to hijack the lesson. Instead, the response is proportional to importance. Meaning is restored, the learner performs a quick check, the main task continues, and high-value words are scheduled for later depth.
Use How to Teach Vocabulary Fast for short planned lessons, How to Teach Vocabulary Correctly for the full instructional standard, and Vocabulary Mastery for long-term retention and transfer.