ANSWER: The activity we have to suggest, appropriate for B1+ learners, begins with in-class dictionary work.  To conduct the group activity titled Moving With Meaning:  A Kinesthetic Way To Teach Adjectives,  you will need to have either an English-English Dictionary on hand or access to an online dictionary for each group of learners.   Also, you will need to select sets of 3 to 5 synonyms; select one set for each group of learners and an additional set to use as an example.

Sample sets of synonyms: 

Set 1 - beautiful, gorgeous, good-looking, attractive, pretty;  

Set 2- excellent, great, outstanding, well-done, good, fine;  

Set 3- impertinent, insolent, disrespectful, sassy, audacious;  

Set 4 - warm, unbearable, stifling, insufferable, hot;  

Set 5 - urgent, pressing, important, top priority.

Preparation:  Write or print out one set of synonym word cards for each group of learners.  The number of learners within each group will depend on the number of synonyms you have selected.  Three to five synonyms are sufficient.  You can prepare enough sets of synonyms so that all learners will be working within their groups  at the same time.

 Instructions: 

1. Tell the learners that their task will be to place their word cards on a continuum, i.e. they will decide in which order to arrange the word cards in relation to each other, according to the words' meanings. For example, the 5  learners given Set 1 may decide to stick their word cards on the board or to create a linear or graphic formation by each group member, one standing in relation to the other to illustrate the continuum; Learner 1 would hold or post the word card ' gorgeous ', Learner 2, next to Learner 1, - 'beautiful', Learner 3 -'pretty' Learner 4 - 'good-looking' and Learner 5 - 'attractive'.

2. As a group,  they will agree upon the graded order of their words and copy out example sentences from the dictionary which illustrate the shades of meaning and appropriate use, e.g.  The bride looked gorgeous walking down the aisle.

3.  Once the time limit is up (approximately 12 minutes), each group will share their continuum and examples with the other groups in class, taking turns in front of the class.   Before the group work begins, demonstrate to all, using one of the word sets you have prepared.  

Procedure:

I.  Learners, in  groups, are given their sets of cards with one selected synonym written on each card in large printed letters.   The words selected here are adjectives; to start, elicit from the groups of learners which nouns could collocate with the adjectives they have, e.g. pretty baby, good-looking young man,....

II.  Encourage the learners to spend their first 3-4' for a dictionary search for their words.  On the back of their word card, learners copy dictionary's examples for each of their synonyms.  The learners within one group will negotiate who stands where, as their group task is to stand in a line or place their word cards on the board according to the 'degree of intensity' of the synonyms, each holding or posting his/her card; the decision on the position of each member of the group is a 'group decision'; hence, the learners will have to arrive at an agreement.

III. Report back:  Taking turns, the members of each group stand in the group's decided order in front of the class. Each member of the group reads out the copied example sentence on the back of the card. Discussion on choices made can ensue, as each group presents.

Rationale: Creating in-class activities which require dictionary searches is a sure way to enhance learners' learning-to-learn and autonomous research skills.  This vocabulary-sensitizing activity, which provides learners the opportunity to distinguish shades of meaning,  can help them practise writing more precisely.

Extension:  Learners can work in pairs to write two original sentences, using their two words and describing a person or an event from their life.  Their sentences can be shared and/or copied into their Vocabulary Notebooks.

Also, this activity can be designed around other parts of speech and for less proficient levels, e.g. for A2 learners, verbs of movement:  fly, climb, walk, crawl; one end of the continuum can be the ground and the other the sky.

Suzanne Antonaros - Lilika Couri

January 2016