Page 246 - English - Teaching Academic Esl Writing

232 CHAPTER 9
ginning with easier ones and progressing to the more complex. The num- ber of sentences in each set should range between 5 and 10.
The fist step is to find new adjectives and adverbs in the sentences and re- member their meanings in the sentences/contexts (this task can be assigned ashomework).The second step involves the same sentenceswithlexicalitems omitted, when learners need to recall the meanings of the new words and complete the sentences. For additional flexibility or challenge, learners may be able to complete the sentence with lexical substitutes or list the new lexical item and additional substitute items. When the work is completed, students can discuss new words and substitutes in small groups or as a whole class.
This exercise can be used for learning any type of vocabulary items, not just adjectives and adverbs.
Step 1.Readthe sentences/texts, identify the newwords,and doyourbest to remember them. Some vocabulary items are repeated in different sen- tences.
1. When faced with the need to identify an odor (smell), people are surprisingly i2m.Tprheeceisxeparnimdenintcthonastirsetesnutl.tedinaratherlowidentificationof20recognizable
smellsrequiredparticipants tonoteasmany unfamiliar odorsasthey could.
3. Even with correctionsfrom the experimenters, theprobability that the same vaguely familiar smell would be recognized remained low. [Psychology]
4. Perhaps the most dramatic change in the U.S. economy over the past six de- cadeshasbeentheincreasingimportanceofinternational tradeand finance.
5. Technological progress has also led togrowth in trade in raw materials (such assteel)andperishablegoods(suchasfood) bymakingtransporting goods less costly.
6. Goods produced by modern technology are often light and easy to transport because they have low weight and relatively compact size.
7. Clearly, international trade policies of a particular country also affect fi- nancialandpolitical decisionsmadebyitsgovernmentand often leadtoim- portantchangesinthemarketplace.[Macroeconomics](Adapted from
Mankiw, 2001)
Step 2. Students receive sheets of paper with approximately half of the origi- nal sentences. However, the sentences on the sheets can include various combi- nations (e.g., Sentences 1, 3, 5, and 7, or 2, 4, and 6). Some of the lexical items in each sentence are omitted, and students have to complete the sentences with the original lexical items or their substitutes. When students complete the work on their first sheet with, for example, Sentences 1, 3, 5, and 7, they receive the second sheet with the other set of sentences (e.g., 2, 4, and 6).
Occasionally these can be collected and graded to evaluate students' progress. Forpair or group work,when all sheets are completed, both sheets
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