A Journey Through Online
Language Learning
Activities > Vocabulary
Traditionally, online vocabulary exercises have been mainly self-correcting, and have generally taken the form of gap-fill (example from Lagelands) or multiple choice (example) exercises. Whilst these exercises certainly have their value – they do require the student to consider the context in which the word is used – there are many more possibilities, examples of which will be shown and discussed below.
‘Drag and drop’ exercises: matching (example from Lagelands).
In this particular exercise, students are asked to match questions and logical answers. ‘Drag and drop’ can also be used as an alternative to gap-fill – students drag the right word into the appropriate gap instead of typing it in. This may be particularly useful at lower levels, to avoid the frustration of getting the word wrong due to a simple typo.
Multiple choice + gap-fill: ‘odd one out’ + explanation (example from Lagelands)
This exercise combines multiple choice - where the student has to select the word which does not fit in, with a gap-fill + model answer part – where the student has to explain why this particular word is the ‘odd one out’. The latter part of the exercise is particularly important, as it requires students to demonstrate actual understanding.
Model answers: deriving the meaning of a word from the context (example from Hogelands)
As mentioned above, both gap-fill and multiple choice exercises can be used to ask students to consider the context in which the word occurs. However, this is a fairly implicit way of training this particular skill, and it is generally considered useful to train this skill more explicitly. The exercise above is a good example of how this can be done. Model answers (in the form of a key) are used, as the answers to some of the questions are not 100% predictable in terms of their exact wording. The content of the answers, however, is deemed sufficiently predictable for the exercise not to require actual tutor feedback.
Vocabulary exercises using authentic material: deriving the meaning of words from the context and/or using existing knowledge (below: example from Lagelands)
Authentic material is an excellent way of exposing students to vocabulary in context. In the above exercise, students are sent to an authentic website and have to answer a number of questions about its contents – in effect, they have to retrieve specific information from the site. In order to do this, they will have to draw on the context in which certain key words are presented, as well as their existing knowledge of languages other than the one being learnt, as this exercise is based in the second chapter of a beginners’ course! This clearly demonstrates that the use of authentic material need not be limited to higher levels – particularly where there are clear similarities between the student’s mother tongue and the foreign language, it can be a very useful way of highlighting these similarities. Experience has shown that students find this type of exercise very motivating, and a real ‘confidence boost’.
‘Active’ vocabulary exercises: using the words (example from Hogelands)
All the exercises above have been concerned with the student building up an understanding of the meaning of certainly vocabulary, not with its active application. The idea is of course that students will do this through speaking and writing exercises, but it may also be useful to dedicate some specific vocabulary exercises to this. In the exercise above, the students are asked to provide a definition or synonym of a number of words, and then to use each word in a sentence. The exercise is then sent to the tutor for correction. Another way of encouraging students to actively practise their vocabulary is by asking them to keep a vocabulary notebook, either on paper or electronically.
Things to consider
- Using self-correcting exercises is fine, but try to use them creatively. Also, if possible, don’t make them the only way of practising vocabulary.
- Useful alternatives to self-correcting exercises are exercises with model answers. These exercises allow for both more in-depth questions and more creative / individual answers, without the need for further tutor feedback.
- Use authentic materials to expose students to vocabulary in context. This may also help to highlight similarities between the student’s mother tongue and the foreign language being learnt.
In addition to exercises which aim to develop the student’s understanding of vocabulary, also try to include some which encourage active use of that vocabulary.
Examples
- Vocabulary exercises in Lagelands, Hogelands and Business Dutch
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