The ideas in this section illustrate the points made in the module so far. They illustrate a variety of exercise types and word knowledge, which can be used with different levels of proficiency. The activities included here were originally published by Prentice Hall in Taylor, L. Vocabulary in Action (1992), now out of print.

1. Key words
2. Sneaky spelling practice
3. Tools of the trade
4. Hearing and visualizing
5. Pigeonholing words
6. Anticipation
7. Kelly's eye view
8. Photofits
9. Say it with feeling
10. Word hopscotch
11. Clozings

1. Key Words

In this activity…
Learners make visual, auditory, or other associations to help them remember word meanings.

Preparation
Make a few flash cards of your own of examples like the one given in the teaching material for this activity.

In class

1. Ask your learners how they remember the English for some of the words in their language. Do they 'see' the written word on the page? Do they 'hear' the word as spoken on a tape they have heard? Do they 'feel' the sensation of the word, eg 'sun' makes them feel warm?
2. Show your learners the flash cards you have made and ask them to volunteer their own examples: two Japanese students of mine associated each new adjective they met in their studies with one of their teachers.

2. Sneaky spelling practice

In this activity…
Learners engage in acquisition-based spelling.
In order to practise spelling, learners need to write and rewrite the target word correctly. For those who are easily bored by such mechanical tasks, here are a few ways of focusing on spelling without seeming to:

Variation 1: Kim's game

Preparation
Assemble a tray of small objects whose spelling you wish to review.

In class
Show the learners your tray of objects, then cover over the tray and ask learners to write down as many of the object as they can remember. The winner is the one with the most correctly named - and spelled - items.

Variation 2: Incomplete pictures

Preparation
Draw or cut out a set of incomplete pictures, ie having a feature missing, such as a chimney missing from a house roof.

In class
Show your pictures to the class and invite learners to write down what is missing. This can be done individually, or as a team game, with the winner having the most correctly spelled items.

Variation 3: Dictionary quiz

Preparation
Choose a letter page from the class dictionary and make a quiz based on it, eg for 'f' words, 'something healthy, juicy and sweet to eat' could be a clue for the word 'fruit'.

In class
Give out copies of your quiz either to individuals or groups. You could give a small prize to the first to complete the quiz successfully.

Variation 4: Labelling a diagram

Preparation
Prepare a text with accompanying diagram for completion but provide a twist in the procedure, eg learners have a problem to solve before they can find out the label names, only some of the names from the text have to be labelled on the diagram or learners must provide their own labels.

In class
Present your chosen text and diagram to individuals, pairs or groups. After a suitable time spent on the task, bring the class together for feedback and pooling of answers.

Variation 5: List-writing competitions

Preparation
None.

In class
Ask your learners to write down the first five things they would take with them to a desert island / camping trip / seaside holiday, etc. When everyone has five words, ask one learner to read out a word from their list and to score a point if it is spelled correctly. Everyone else who has written that word (correctly) scores a point too. Four more learners then read out one of their words, which is scored in the same way. Add up the marks awarded and declare the winner.

3. Tools of the trade

In this activity…
Learners engage in a communicative game involving the vocabulary for review.

Preparation
You will need a set of object picture cards, such as the one given as sample material for this activity. You will need a set of word cards, equal in number to the picture cards, on which you have written names of occupations. Sample word cards are given. Make enough copies of these two card sets so that groups of four can play the game simultaneously.

In class

1. Explain to the class the rules of the game, demonstrating with one group while the others watch: the dealer deals all the occupation cards equally among the players. The picture cards are placed face-downwards in the centre of the table. The first player picks up a picture card and tries to match it to an occupation card in her/his hand for which the picture object would be useful. She may not have an appropriate occupation card in her hand, but she can try to make out a plausible case, eg if she has 'mechanic' and picks up a picture of a needle, she might say, 'A mechanic always carries a needle for removing awkward pieces of debris from places between the engine parts'. Other players decide if the reason given for matching the two cards is a good one, in which case the player can keep the pair of cards. The turn passes to the next player, and so on, the winner being the player with the most pairs when all cards have been played.
2. Divide your learners into groups of four, and give each group a set of the two types of card you have made. All groups then play the game simultaneously, while you give help where needed.

Sample teaching material
Word cards:

Picture cards:

4. Hearing and visualizing

In this activity…
Learners share their personal responses to works of art or treasured possessions.

Preparation
This activity will need to span two sessions, because your learners will need to bring in objects from home for the second part. Choose a set of 'emotive words' for review, or use the sample material for this activity. Assemble objects of your own to illustrate what your learners will be required to bring, and relate them to relevant 'emotive words'. You could choose a painting, a cassette tape recording, or a treasured possession.

In class

1. Explain to your learners that art and music often inspire strong emotional responses. Show one of your chosen objects and ask for learners' reactions.
2. Show your set of 'emotive words' and see whether any of the reactions from Step 1 tally with words from that list. Invite learners to read the words on the list silently - do any well-known art works come to mind?
3. Show your remaining objects and ask for reactions before revealing your own feelings about each item. Explain your reasons for feeling as you do.
4. Set the task for the follow-up session: learners must bring from home a photo, picture, sculpture, cassette, etc to illustrate one of the words from the 'emotive words' list. This can be done as a free choice activity, or you can assign specific vocabulary items to specific learners.
5. Next session, have a 'show and tell' time in which learners share how they feel about what they have brought. This is less threatening if they tell each other in pairs first, without teacher intervention, and then report back to the whole class on what their partner said.

5. Pigeonholing words

In this activity…
Learners classify words under headings of their own choosing, or make lexical sets by grouping words together under a given headword.

Variation 1

Preparation
Use the sample teaching material for this activity, or use your own similar word sets. The categories can be clear-cut for lower levels, or deliberately fuzzy for higher levels, as with the examples given here. Make word cards from your word sets so that learners can move words around in order to group and regroup them as they undertake the task of categorizing.

In class

1. Divide the learners into groups and hand out the wordcards which you have prepared. Tell them that they must sort these wordcards into categories. Do not tell them what these categories should be, but ask them to provide titles of their own for each chosen category.
2. When all groups have had time to complete the task, bring the whole class together to hear their conclusions and their reasons for classifying the words as they did.

Variation 2

Preparation
Make copies of the wordlist for this activity, or devise your own.

In class

1. Write up on the board the following headings: THEATRE, BALLET, CONCERT, EXHIBITION. Distribute the wordlist to the learners, either as individuals, or to groups of three learners. Their task is to connect each word on the list with one of the headwords.
2. When everyone has had time to make a reasonable attempt at the task, bring the whole class together to pool ideas.

6. Anticipation

In this activity…
Learners predict which vocabulary items will occur in a given text.

Preparation
Use a text which you are about to work on with the class. You will also need one large sheet of paper and several marker pens per group of learners. A visual appropriate to the theme of the text will also be useful. A sample text is given.

In class

1. Tell your learners that they are about to work with a text. Give them the title, show the accompanying visual if you have one, and give a few details which will help learners predict content. Tell learners the length of the text too. Invite them to predict up to twenty vocabulary items which they think will occur in the text: they must be 'content' words, not 'grammatical' words. For the sample text given in the material for this activity, you could say, 'I'm going to give you a reading passage about a girl's experiences at her new school. It's a mixed secondary school, and the text is called "The First Year". It's about 120 words long.'
2. Invite the learners to work in groups to write their predicted words - give out one sheet of paper and marker pens for each group.
3. When every group has at least ten words, ask them to display their lists for the rest of the class to read. If possible, put them around the walls, so that they remain visible while you hand out copies of the text.
4. Invite your learners to read through the text quickly to see if any of the words they have listed do in fact appear.
5. Work on the text in your normal way.

7. Kelly's eye view

In this activity…
Learners compare and contrast items of vocabulary according to their own criteria.
This is an application of Kelly's Repertory Grid technique which is designed to fix in memory vocabulary already met.

Preparation
Use the teaching material from this activity, or make your own list of about fifteen words for review. Transcribe each word on to a piece of card - this makes one card set. Duplicate this card set so that you have one set per group of learners. If possible, make the vocabulary list from words the students themselves have chosen to record, rather than the words you have 'taught'.

In class
Demonstrate the first four steps of the procedure with one group first, before giving out card sets to other groups:

1. Appoint a group secretary for each group and give her/him a sheet of paper and a pen.
2. The secretary shuffles the pack of cards and places it face-down in the centre of the table.
3. The secretary turns up three cards places them alongside each other. The first player must group them as two and one: two cards which are similar in some way, and one which is somehow different. She/he must also give reasons for her/his choice. For the sample material given, one student linked 'prohibit' with 'stand up' because he saw them as commanding him to do something, but 'transplant' was different.
4. The secretary records the classification and reasons given under three headings, 'Same', 'Different', 'Reasons', thus:
   
   

   Same 'prohibit' 'stand up'

   Different 'transplant'

   Reasons Both command me to do something

   
   The turn passes to the next player, who classifies the next three words in the same way, and so on until all words are used up.
5. When all groups have finished, bring the class together for discussion and feedback on the classifications made and why.

Variation
The above procedure has been applied to an unstructured vocabulary list, but you could use vocabulary linked thematically, eg parts of the body - 'eyes', 'teeth', 'head' - 'eyes' and 'teeth' are similar because they are parts of a whole, but 'head' is not.

8. Photofits

In this activity…
Learners use photos as the basis for a narrative or for work on direct speech.

Preparation
Assemble a set of photographs which can be used to tell a story. A class outing would be ideal. Sample photos are given as material for this activity.

In class

1. Divide the class into groups and distribute copies of the chosen photos. Post the originals on a large piece of paper on the class wall, with a title, and with ample space beneath each photo for a commentary. Ask your learners to work in their groups to devise a narrative for the pictures. They can work on the whole photo set, or on individual photos, depending on level and time available.
2. When the groups have finished, discuss what they have written and decide together on the narrative which best fits each photo. Invite the learners to write up the chosen narrative in the spaces beneath the original photos.

Variations

1. Instead of photos, cartoon strips can be used as the basis for student-generated narrative.
2. Instead of a photo set, single photos from newspapers can be used, their accompanying report read, and speech bubbles created, using the information from the report.
3. The suggested photos can be used, but instead of making a narrative, learners write bubbles for the photos to create a spoken commentary. This procedure is more appropriate for advanced learners, since the visual information has to be interpreted: the writer must take on the role of the person(s) in the photo(s).

Sample teaching materials

Written captions:

1. We sat on a log but it was not high enough.
2. So we were going to climb a tree, but it was difficult.

	'Get off! This is my log.'
'Come on, quickly!'

9. Say it with feeling

In this activity…
Learners discuss possible contexts for given pairs of utterances and construct dialogues of formal, neutral and informal language.

Preparation
Make copies of the jumbled list given as sample material for this activity, or use your own similar phrases of spoken English.

In class

1. Distribute copies of the jumbled list of phrases and invite your learners to make pairs of utterances with similar meaning. Each pair will consist of one formal / impersonal phrase matched with an informal / personal one. Learners can do this in groups, pairs or individually. Check with the key afterwards.
2. Invite your learners to rank the phrases according to the amount of emotion expressed. Ask a few learners to read aloud the one they thought had the most emotion. Did that emotion come across to their audience?
3. Working with the whole class, ask your learners to volunteer a context for one or two of the utterances - who could have said it? To whom? In what situation? Sample suggestions are given in the teaching material for this activity.
4. Discuss with the whole class which utterances are formal and which informal. Are there some from which it is impossible to tell how the speaker feels?
5. Divide the learners into pairs and assign to each pair one of the given utterances. Ask them to work together to construct a short dialogue based on their phrase. Samples are given in the material for this activity.

Sample teaching material
Jumbled list of phrases:

1. He passed away last Tuesday.
2. Put a sock in it.
3. What the hell are you doing here?
4. I should get a bigger one if I were you.
5. It was absolutely bucketing down.
6. Don't move!
7. I advise you to try the next size up.
8. You are requested to remain seated.
9. There has been torrential rain.
10. Could I ask you to make a little less noise?
11. He kicked the bucket on Tuesday.
12. Fancy meeting you here after all this time!

Suggested contexts

1. Landlady to lodger who has been staying with her for only a few days. The lodger is playing loud music at night:
   Landlady: Could I ask you to make a little less noise? I really need to sleep now. I have to get up early in the morning for work.
   Lodger: Oh, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't realize the time! I've been working on this essay for tomorrow's lesson. I'll turn off the music straight away.
   Landlady: Thanks. I'll see you in the morning. Good night.
   
   
2. One student to another in the neighbouring room. One wants to study and his neighbour's loud music is distracting him:
   A: Put a sock in it, will you? I'm trying to work.
   B: Oh sorry, Jim. I've just bought this new CD and it's really good. I'll turn it down.
   C: Ta, mate. See you.
   
   
3. Air hostess to passengers beginning their flight:
   Air Hostess: You are requested to remain seated and to refrain from smoking whenever the red light is showing…
   
   
4. Bank robber to bank employees:
   Bank Robber: Don't move! Keep your heads down, and you won't get hurt.
   Employee: Aaagh!
   Bank Robber: I said don't move!… Now where's the safe?

10. Word hopscotch

In this activity…
Learners play a story-telling game based on words taken at random.

Preparation
You will need to work with words transcribed onto game boards, as in the sample teaching material for this activity. Nouns are simplest to work with for younger or lower-level learners. You will also need dice and counters.

In class

Variation 1

1. Divide the class into groups and distribute one game board per group, with two dice and a counter for each student.
2. Each learner in the group makes a dice throw. She/he can choose to use one or two dice. She/he makes the appropriate move, corresponding to the number thrown, and notes down the word she/he lands on.
3. As a group effort, learners construct a piece of writing to include the words they have landed on collectively. They check their work with the teacher.
4. Learners read out their stories to the other groups.

Variation 2
The procedure is the same except that the game board is made up of nonsense words. Learners follow Steps 1-3 as before, and the nonsense words can mean anything they choose. They then swap their stories with another group and write down what they think the nonsense words in the text are supposed to mean. In a whole-class discussion, learners read aloud the texts they have worked on to the other groups and say how they arrived at their conclusions about the meanings of the nonsense words.

Further variation
Learners tell their stories, rather than write them. This is more difficult, and is more appropriate for advanced learners.

Sample teaching material

Game board for Word hopscotch, Variation 1:

Game board for Word hopscotch, Variation 2:

11. Clozings

In this activity…
Learners work on gapped or altered texts, towards reconstituting the original. The following activities are based on the cloze principle of creating gaps in a text, which learners then reconstitute. Sample texts are given in the teaching material.

Variation 1: Part deletion
Instead of deleting whole words, delete parts of words. In this way, endings such as -ly, -ing, -ed, or beginnings such as dis-, un-, give learners valuable clues as to how the word is functioning within the given context. Alternatively, you can block out the top half or bottom half of the word, leaving clues to letter shape and sequence.

Variation 2: C-type
Instead of leaving the whole word blank, delete the second half of the word only, and indicate each letter deleted by a dash.

Variation 3: Wuggling
Instead of deleting words, substitute nonsense words which retain appropriate endings, thus providing grammatical clues.

Variation 4: Substitution
Instead of deleting words, underline ten to fifteen items which you think will be unknown, and provide a jumbled list of synonyms for learners to substitute.

Variation 5: Suggestopedic*
Present the text in its entirety first, then take it in again and give out another text identical to the first except for a few items, for which you have substituted erroneous items. Learners try to replace these with the originals.
*Suggestopedia is an approach to teaching which was devised by Georgi Lozanov, whose work is mentioned in the Reference section.

Variation 6: Learner version
Students create their own deletions from a given text and swap texts with other learners.

Sample teaching material

1. Part deletion
Most (1)      -ous people are (2) re-     -ed for one thing. Henry Ford made the (3)      -or car cheap enough for the (4)      -ry family to buy. John Logie Baird (5) in-     -ed the first (6) tele- set. But what made Edison's (7)      -ation ? The phonograph? Electric light. The early cinema? (8) Im-      telephones? There is so much to choose from. There are hundreds of (9)      -ents in Edison's name; he kept on (10)      -ing for more than (11)      -ty years.

2. C-type
He looked up at me. And I had a terr---- surprise. The man was Prof----- Wexford. But he was only ju-Prof----- Wexford. He had changed. It was a terr---- change. I hadn't seen him for th--- years. That was when he sto---- work - ret---- from the unive-----.

3. Wuggling
Last Saturday, I went wuggling in Sheffield. I wanted to buy some wuggles for my family for Christmas. First, I went to a clothes shop and bought a wuggle for my father. I chose a furry one with flaps to keep his ears warm. Next, I went to choose some wugglery for my sister. I found a beautiful locket of silver with a matching chain. I do hope my family will be wuggly when they see what I have bought.

4. Substitution
The aircraft of the RAF are always well serviced. The men who look after them are called fitters and mechanics. The crew of an aircraft use a lot of electronic equipment. Some of it keeps them in contact with men and equipment on the ground. Warning lights let the crew know if any parts of the aircraft are not working properly. Skilled men check all of this equipment. Air crews have to wear special clothes when they are flying. Fighter pilots sit in seats that can be catapulted out of the aircraft if it is going to crash. All aircrews have parachutes and these must be checked to make sure that they work properly if needed…

Match words underlined with one of the following synonyms:

5. Suggestopedic
"Don't speak to me like that!" he barked.

Sam threw up his hands: "Hey! Aren't you being a bit unfair? There's no need to be umbrageous¹ just because I told you to change your clothes. You want to get this job, don't you?"

"Well of course I do," Harry snapped, more subdued now.

"Well then, you slubberdegullion² , don't you think it's worth wearing a decent suit for the interview?"

Harry manducated³ his rump steak for a moment or two and then said, simply: "I don't have a decent suit. I don't have a suit at all, as a matter of fact.".

Key:
¹ huffy
² chump
³ chewed