This fun and useful exercise really works well as a filler or after you've taught a number of lessons and want to check your students have learned the vocabulary taught - either the emerged lexis if you're a dogme teacher, or with items from textbook exercises.
If you're teaching a group of regular students who are coming back after a long break, this activity works as a nice warmer-upper.
If you're teaching a group of regular students who are coming back after a long break, this activity works as a nice warmer-upper.
SET UP
Ask your students to write down 5 - 7 words that they've recently learned.
Instruct them that they shouldn't write the explanations or translations on this paper/ phones/ laptops - however they should know these - so as they write, do allow them to use (e)dictionaries.
If you've been working with a textbook, you can also get different students to go through different units. If you're working dogme, then get them to go through their notes. If you've been working online, get them to browse through their blogs/flashcards/google.docs.
Set up the classroom's chairs like this:
PROCESS
Give students around 5 minutes to tell each other the meaning of the words they wrote down. After this time (using a buzzer or bell), get your students to switch pairs/mini-groups.
Continue doing this until each student has talked to a maximum number of other students.
Feedback
Once you have your students back in the room/ back to the original classroom set up, ask each to tell you the most interesting word(s) they learned and to also create a sentence using this word.
Variations
On a nice day, it's really fun to do this activity outside/ in another area of your school/ courtyard or on rainy days in the hallway and obviously they can also do it while standing up!
Useful links related to this posting:
What does it mean to know a word?
What do you do with emergent language?
Complicated Vocabulary, Make Cartoons!
Powerpointing me
Best,
Karenne
Have you ever done this activity, how well did it work? Have you got another variant or perhaps an extra suggestion to add - please don't hesitate to let us know your ideas on how to expand this. If you like, don't hesitate to print this exercise out/email it and share it with colleagues- see the buttons below.
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