Making vocabulary review communicative: My experience with partner Half a Crossword

Abstract

Remembering words that have been introduced in class can be a challenge for students. Some students may go home and study on their own or have some tricks to memorize new vocabulary from class, but this is often individual and not communicative. To introduce a communicative way to review vocabulary may help students form new connections to the words they have learned or give a chance for students to review who do not have the time, motivation, or study skills to do so on their own outside of the classroom. In this presentation, I will share my experience with the communicative vocabulary review activity of Half a Crossword in my adult ESL classes. I have used this activity with a range of levels from A2- C1 level, a wide range of ages, and in General English courses as well as English for Academic Purposes courses. The presentation will focus on how to set up the activity and its positive aspects as well as issues that can arise. My aim is for those attending the session to leave feeling capable of running a communicative vocabulary activity with their students