View Content #17762

– Andrew D. Cohen and Susan Weaver, 2006

Format: Individual, interactive

Target Audience: This activity is designed to be used with students in a second/foreign language classroom with facilitation by the teacher and/or second/foreign language teachers, researchers, and administrators in a workshop/course.

Purpose: To perform an individual learning task and to give participants a chance to discuss strategies for learning foreign language vocabulary (based on the participants' own learning experiences). The participants are asked to learn or reinforce their knowledge of ten target-language words and to share their insights about strategies for learning new vocabulary with the rest of class. After this discussion, the technique used for the activity is described and discussed.

Time: 30 minutes

Materials: A list of ten words and their definitions in a target language.

Directions:

1. Explain to participants that they are to learn or reinforce their knowledge of the ten words using any strategy or technique that they choose. They can work individually or with a partner. Ask them to pay attention to how they are learning the words and their meanings, that is, the strategies that they use. Their grasp of the words will be checked by having them take a quiz where they either write the definition when the word is read aloud or write the word when its definition is read.
2. Hand out the list of the vocabulary words. Give the participants 4-5 minutes to learn or refresh their knowledge of the ten words individually or in pairs. (Note: If they question the authenticity of this kind of exercise, explain that students frequently learn vocabulary through definitions or translations – often using the list of words at the end of each chapter in a language textbook, despite teachers' efforts to encourage students to learn words in context. The disadvantages of learning words out of context can also be discussed.)
3. A variation on this task would be to change the response format when given the vocabulary words so that they have to write meaningful sentences rather than just a word or phrase. An alternative format for the task would be to present the word in a sentence that provides at least one or more contextual clues and have them figure out the meaning of the words.
4. Read aloud the "Vocabulary Test," having the participants either write down the word or its definition, as appropriate. When finished, they can self-correct their tests.
5. Have them form groups of 3-4 to discuss their relative success with learning the words and to describe the strategies that they used to learn the new words (for 4-5 minutes).

From Cohen, A. D. & Weaver, S. J. (2006). Styles and strategies-based instruction: A teachers' guide. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, University of Minnesota.

For more strategy activities, see: Paige, R. M., Cohen, A. D., Kappler, B., Chi, J. C., & Lassegard, J. P. (2006). Maximizing study abroad: A students' guide to strategies for language and culture learning and use. 2^nd ed. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition.