Depending on the level of beginner, you can teach mind mapping vocabulary words and concepts in two ways. In one method, you place a picture in the center of a diagram and arrange related words around it. For example, a house as the center can be mapped out to words like lawn, fence or garage. For advanced beginners, you could place "house" in the center and expect mapped words to teach the concept of synonyms. The map points would then represent synonyms such as apartment or condo.
Teaching students the prefixes and suffixes of words is a strategy for building vocabulary. If they are taught one prefix, for example "ex," then full vocabulary words such as exhale, excite, exit and express can be bunched and definitions made easier to retain. Adding suffixes to the word list can dramatically increase your students' vocabulary and word comprehension. For example, excite can become excitable, two similar words that have different meanings.
Increase their vocabulary by having students work on contextual exercises. For example, leave the unknown vocabulary word out and show images that suggest a contextual connection. For example, show images of a leash, a bowl and a doghouse. All of these could lead to the vocabulary word of dog. The process by which your students decide this not only increases their vocabulary but also raises their skills of deduction.
A very traditional method of burning vocabulary words into memory is repetition. There are several useful methods to employ with your students. One method is to have them work independently and write the words multiple times on a sheet of paper, helping them memorize the words. If you want to create connection with images and words, you can use flash cards that have an image on one side and the word spelled out on the other. Showing flash cards to students and asking them to say and define the word is also a good method.