TASK FILE Chapter 6
How to leach Vocabulary Task File
How to put words to work
A Exploiting coursebook material Pages 93-101
Here is a vocabulary activity from a beginners' course (Mohamed S and
Acklam R, The Beginners' Choice, Longman), consisting of two stages.
Devise at least three further stages which would require learners to put the
words to work' - both receptively and productively.
1. Creative Exploration:
Objective: Encourage creativity and deep understanding of vocabulary words.
Description:
Provides students with a list of key vocabulary words from the chapter.
Ask them to choose at least five words and create a short story or scenario
that incorporates them in a coherent way.
Encourage them to use different forms of expression, such as drawings,
written narratives, or short skits.
At the end, each student will share their creation with the class, providing an
opportunity for responsive and productive practice.
2. Vocabulary in Action:
Objective: Actively integrate vocabulary words into practical situations.
Description:
Assign each student a specific vocabulary word.
Ask them to design and present a short scene or dialogue in which they use
the word appropriately.
The other students must identify the keyword and its context.
This activity not only reinforces receptive comprehension, but also improves
oral production and practical application of vocabulary.
3. Creation of Teaching Materials:
Objective: Develop teaching and autonomous learning skills.
Description:
Divide students into small groups and assign each a set of vocabulary
words.
Each group should create a teaching resource, such as flashcards,
crossword puzzles, or mini-lessons, to teach those words to the rest of the
class.
After creation, groups will share their materials and teach the vocabulary to
their peers.
This not only reinforces productive learning but also develops teaching and
collaboration skills.
2 Look at the picture below and number the parts of the body.
1- hand 9-arm
2- hair 10-shoulders
3- eyes 11-fingers
4- face 12-stomach
5- nose 13-back
6-mouth 14-legs
7- head 15-foot
8- ear 16-toe
17-knees
B Cognitive and affective depth
Pages 93-101
Research suggests that tasks with depth have a greater learning pay-off
tivan tasks that lack depth. Rate the following tasks according to the amount
of depth - either affective (emotional) depth or cognitive (intellectual) depth.
For example: cognitively demanding vs cognitively undemanding, affectively
engaging vs affectively unengaging. Place the number of each task on this
grid:
All eight tasks relate to the following set of words:
doing housework going for a walk going to the movies
watching TV swimming going shopping
babysitting working out going for a drive
going for a drink gardening redecorating
eating out surfing the net
reading
1 Put the words in alphabetical order.
2 Listen and repeat the words.
3 Prepare questions using at least six of these words, and ask your
classmates. Report their answers to the class.
4 Rank these words in the order of personal preference.
5 Categorise these words into three groups. Then identify the odd one out in
each group.
6 Make true and false sentences about yourself using eight of these words,
beginning I really like... or I don't like... very much. Can your partner guess
which are true and which are false?
7 Look these words up in the dictionary and check you know their meaning.
8 Translate these words into your language.
Cognitive and Affective Depth Rating for Tasks Related to Words:
Put the words in alphabetical order.
Cognitive Explanation: This task involves a basic cognitive process of
organizing information alphabetically. It's undemanding as it doesn't require
critical thinking or analysis.
Affective Explanation: This task is emotionally neutral; it doesn't engage
students on an emotional level.
Listen and repeat the words.
Cognitive Explanation: This task is cognitively undemanding as it mainly
involves repetition, a basic cognitive process.
Affective Explanation: Similar to Task 1, it lacks emotional engagement.
Prepare questions using at least six of these words and ask your classmates.
Report their answers to the class.
Cognitive Explanation: Creating questions requires a higher cognitive load
as it involves comprehension, analysis, and application of the words. It's
cognitively demanding.
Affective Explanation: Engaging with classmates and reporting answers
adds an emotional and social dimension, making it affectively engaging.
Rank these words in the order of personal preference.
Cognitive Explanation: Ranking involves personal evaluation, making it
undemanding cognitively.
Affective Explanation: Personal preference is inherently linked to emotions,
making it affectively engaging.
Categorize these words into three groups. Then identify the odd one out in
each group.
Cognitive Explanation: Categorization and identifying the odd one out
require cognitive processes like classification and analysis. It's cognitively
demanding.
Affective Explanation: Discussing why a word is the odd one out involves
personal opinions and preferences, adding an emotional element, and
making it affectively engaging.
Make true and false sentences about yourself using eight of these words,
beginning 'I really like...' or 'I don't like... very much.' Can your partner guess
which are true and which are false?
Cognitive Explanation: Generating true/false sentences requires creativity
and understanding, making it cognitively demanding.
Affective Explanation: It engages partners in a guessing game, adding an
emotional and interactive component, making it affectively engaging.
Look these words up in the dictionary and check you know their meaning.
Cognitive Explanation: Dictionary use involves a basic cognitive process of
comprehension. It's cognitively demanding.
Affective Explanation: While it's not inherently emotional, it can be engaging
if students find discovering word meanings interesting.
Translate these words into your language.
Cognitive Explanation: Translation involves understanding and applying
linguistic knowledge, making it cognitively demanding.
Affective Explanation: Similar to Task 7, it may engage students more if they
enjoy language-related activities.
Playing music:
Cognitive Explanation: Playing music might engage cognitive processes
related to appreciation and analysis of music.
Affective Explanation: It's likely to be emotionally engaging, depending on
individual musical preferences.
Explanation:
Tasks that involve more complex cognitive processes, such as analysis, synthesis,
or critical thinking, are considered cognitively demanding. These tasks often
require a deeper level of intellectual engagement.
Tasks that evoke emotional responses, interest, or personal connection are
considered affectively engaging. These tasks tap into the emotional aspect of
learning.
Tasks that are straightforward and do not require much mental effort are
considered cognitively undemanding.
Tasks that do not evoke emotional responses or personal interest are considered
affectively unengaging.
