Index of online articles and materials
First
published in Current Issues 7, November
1995.
In
this version (March 2002) I have incorporated the footnotes and made some
changes in phrasing.
The
adjective quiz
©
1995-2002 Costas Gabrielatos
introduction
This
is a flexible activity consisting of a core element (see primary aim) and
alternative additional options (see secondary aims), which is presented in an
elaborate lesson-plan format. You can choose which options to include, and to
what extent you will exploit each one, according to your learners' level and
age, and the time available. You may also choose to concentrate more on the
exam-prep aspect, particularly when you use the activity for vocabulary
revision before the exam.
Aims
Primary
Vocabulary: To provide learners with opportunities to
a. clarify
the meaning of adjectives they have been taught
b. learn
more adjectives in a memorable way
c. use
those adjectives in a realistic and meaningful way.
Secondary
Speaking: Practice in expressing
opinions, (dis)agreeing, compromising in a realistic context.
Vocabulary: Practice in
expressions used in giving opinions, (dis)agreeing, compromising.
Exam
preparation:
To raise awareness of the pitfalls built into multiple choice questions.
Dictionary use: Practice in using a
dictionary.
learners
Level: Pre-intermediate to advanced. The
activity is particularly suited to learners preparing for the language exams.
Age: Teenagers to adults.
Organisation & preparation
Learners
are in 2-4 competing teams, according to the number in the class and their
ability to work in small or large groups. Each time the game is played one team
becomes the quiz-master and the other
teams are the contestants. Teams take
it in turns to become quizmaster and contestants.
During
the activity learners will need a list of adjectives (e.g. adjectives used to describe
a film or book: fast-moving, funny,
violent, repetitive). For more advanced learners elicit/provide ways of
modifying the adjectives (e.g. for films: rather
slow, fairly tight, not exactly fast-moving etc.). You can also
provide learners with some expressions for giving opinions, (dis)agreeing etc.
You
don't need to give learners a comprehensive list of all the relevant
expressions. Too many expressions can confuse or discourage them, as they may
feel that they have to learn all of them. What is more, learning/using such
expressions is only a secondary aim of this activity. It would be better to
introduce them gradually, selecting a few expressions each time you do the
activity.
The
activity can be used either in a lesson dealing with a particular group of
adjectives, or during a vocabulary revision lesson. Adjectives can be grouped
according to what they can describe (e.g. actor, politician, TV series, music
record). For low levels I would suggest
you limit adjectives to one category (e.g. appearance).
procedure
Before
giving learners the list of adjectives tell them what the topic is and spend
about 5 minutes eliciting relevant adjectives. This is also a good opportunity
to teach new vocabulary. If you have prepared a handout with adjectives, give
it to learners and ask them to add more. Otherwise, write the adjectives on the
board so learners can refer to them during the activity.
Each group is asked to devise a number of quiz questions.
The actual number will depend on the size of the class and the time available.
Each quiz question has the following format:
· A
number of adjectives belonging to the same group (e.g. describing a book, film,
TV series, personality). These work as the multiple-choice (MC) 'question'. I
think 3-5 items are enough.
· A
number of choices, which are the actual personalities, films etc., out of which
students have to decide on the one that the adjectives best describe. I'd suggest
3-5 options, according to learner level and the time available. More options
will need more time to formulate and will potentially generate more discussion.
For example, in the
category of TV series one possible
quiz question is:
|
Action-packed,
tongue-in-cheek, romantic, modern A Hercules B Lois
& Clark C X
Files D Stargate |
Contestants
select the option they think is best described by all the adjectives on the list. They write their answer on a paper
slip and give it to the quizmasters. Contestants are awarded a point for each
correct answer. You can manipulate the scoring system to make the quiz more
interesting or challenging. For example, the quizmasters may get one point each
time a contestant gives a wrong answer.
After
a number of rounds the final score is calculated and the winner is announced.
In case of a tie, teams can play another round, or you can be quizmaster and
present your own quiz item (which means that you need to have prepared one).
It
is a good idea to present the winning team with a prize of some sort. Before
answering, contestants can ask the quizmasters to clarify what they mean by
particular adjectives; this means that quizmasters need to be clear themselves
about the meaning of the adjectives they use. In case the quizmasters are
unable to clarify the meaning of an adjective, I would suggest you allow
quizmasters to use a dictionary rather than provide the explanation yourself.
This way the learners learn to operate independently, and at the same time get
practice in using dictionaries.
Of
course, contestants can also challenge
the answer which the quizmasters regard as correct, or challenge the design of
the quiz item itself. For example, contestants can argue that two MC options
are equally well described by the adjectives on the list, or that the MC option
regarded as correct by the quizmasters is not described well by the adjectives.
|
Procedure at a glance Learners
and/or teacher decide on topic č Teacher elicits/teaches vocabulary č č
Learners prepare quiz questions č
Quizmasters ask, and contestants answer, the quiz question č č
Learners resolve any challenges č Points are awarded č Learners change roles č č
New round starts ... |
A note on multiple-choice questions
As
you probably have imagined, it is quite tricky to come up with a really
challenging MC question without some adjectives on the list and/or some MC
options being open to challenge. But this is an advantage rather than a
drawback: vague and/or badly designed MC options or adjective lists are
desirable as they will almost certainly generate arguments and involve learners
in meaningful communication using the target language.
Remember that the main point of the activity is not for
learners to find the correct answers,
but to think about the meaning of adjectives and use them in
a realistic and meaningful way.
This
is also an excellent opportunity for exam training. You can exploit tricky MC
options to raise awareness of their nature of distracters and the techniques
used to make them ‘appealing’. You can work together with learners and help
them produce tricky distracters. In this way learners will have 'inside
information' on their design, and be better prepared to tackle MC questions.
RATIONALE
Grouping
lexis according to their meaning or context of use enables learners to make
helpful associations and aids memory (see Gairns
& Redman, 1986). Also, having to think about the meaning of adjectives
within a clear context learners take an important step towards a thorough
understanding of them. McCarthy (1990: 36) claims that “arguably, learners do
not get any real grasp of a word anyway until they have performed some sort of
mental contextualisation upon it.”
Learners will have to think
about the meaning of the adjectives...
· when
(as quizmasters) they are asked to clarify what they mean by a particular
adjective.
· when
they decide on the correct MC option.
· when (as contestants) they decide whether to challenge
the quizmasters’ choice of adjectives.
Working
with lexical meaning is the one side of the coin; the other is using lexis in a
meaningful and purposeful way. Contextualised use “can
evoke in the learner the vital feeling of ‘need’ for a word to fit a
meaning that has been activated in the mind” (McCarthy 1990: 109).
Learners will have to use
adjectives ...
· when
they decide on which adjectives to provide as clues for the MC options. This
involves the learners' personality as there are no 'correct' adjectives; it all
depends on the learners' feelings towards the 'object' to be described.
· when
they give reasons to support their challenge (by explaining why they think some
adjectives are wrong and what they think are the 'correct' adjectives).
The
‘vocabulary’ part of this activity may seem to be fairly controlled as learners
are asked to use words from a list. Nevertheless, the activity as a whole
simulates real life conditions as learners will have to use the adjectives not
in a right/wrong exercise framework, but in order to exchange opinions and/or
argue about the qualities/attributes of a particular film, book, etc.
Possible PROBLEMS and solutions
Some
learners may not be familiar with certain films, personalities, books etc. used
as MC options. The solution is for the teacher to have already compiled a list
of films, personalities, books etc. which learners are familiar with.
Quizmasters will only be allowed to use items from this list.
Learners at pre-intermediate level, or weak intermediate
learners may have problems expressing themselves orally. In such a case, you
can choose to focus mainly on written language. That is, ask learners to decide
on the correct MC alternative, as well as to write the adjective lists and
design the MC options. You can exploit the ‘speaking’ aspect (i.e. challenging
and defending choices) with higher levels.
Learners
may remain silent, respond with just a few words, or use their mother tongue.
Unfortunately, there seem to be no short-cuts here; the solution is long-term.
Learners need to be gradually familiarised with interacting naturally in
English. Use of group/pair work and speaking skills development with particular
focus on communication strategies will help achieve this goal. For a framework of
procedures and materials see Gabrielatos (1993), for more activities see
Dornyei & Thurrell (1992) and Nolasco & Arthur (1987).
references
Dorney, Z. & S. Thurrell.
1992. Conversation and Dialogues in
Action. Prentice Hall.
Gairns, R. & S. Redman.
1986. Working with words. Cambridge University Press.
McCarthy, M. 1990. Vocabulary. Oxford University Press.
Nolasco, R. & L. Arthur.
1987. Conversation. Oxford University
Press.