Eliciting from meaning and form in a crossword
Words are often elicited from meaning and form in a "crossword" activity. Exploratory task 2.4
Read the sentences. Then give the names of the jobs and write them in the form of the lexical grid to cross correctly with the word “policeman” (the word "policeman" has been written for you going "down" in the crossword:
1. He/she works in reception at hotel (from here on the words are written across).
2. He/she looks after people who are ill.
3. He/she works with electrical things.
4. He/she looks after people’s teeth.
He acts in the theatre.
6. He/she cuts hair.
7. He/she plays music.
8. He/she plays football.
She works in business.
| 1. | P | |||||||||||||||
| 2. | O | |||||||||||||||
| 3. | L | |||||||||||||||
| 4. | I | |||||||||||||||
| 5. | C | |||||||||||||||
| 6. | E | |||||||||||||||
| 7. | M | |||||||||||||||
| 8. | A | |||||||||||||||
| 9. | N |
Eliciting from meaning and formcan be organised with a number of tasks. Exploratory task 2.5
Guess the words ending in "ick": not well, sound of a watch, locking sound, piece of wood, not thin, baked block of clay, a blow with a foot, select, fast, pass the tongue over
Eliciting from imageis done in the activity such as "Pictionary". the learners are asked to create mental images of new words. Then the learners draw images that represent selected words on the blackboard. Other learners identify the words encoded by images. Imagined picture can be either drawn or described in words.
Exploratory task 2.6Imagine and describe to your partner the items given below. Do not name them! Let your partner guess from description what you have imagined.
| Items | Descriptions | Guess |
| 1. A cloud | ||
| 2. Niagara fall | ||
| 3. A glass of Champaign | ||
| 4. Nightmare | ||
| 5. Water spring |
Eliciting from context can be done in a number of tasks.
Exploratory task 2.7.Fill in the words denoting injuries:
| Injury | Reason |
| · I … my hand · I … my ankle · I … my arm · I have got … · I … my finger · I've got a … · I've … a joint | Was working with a knife I ran for a bus Fell off the bike Slipped on the ice Boiled milk Had a fight Played football |
Exploratory task 2.8
Eliciting from context can take the form of the lexical cloze.In this task the learners are to choose the correct word A or B in order to fill each space in the gapped version of the text. It is important to have a general understanding of the text before the learners start the task. When you come to the gap in the text you are to think about the general meaning they can expect. The correct answer must have the correct meaning and must combine correctly with other words in the sentence. The first answer can be given. Do the following activity of the “lexical cloze”. Work in pairs or in small groups and reflect on the difficulties you might experience in choosing the right word.
| Correctly chosen words | Wrongly chosen words | Difference in meaning between A and B |
Text.Police are conducting an enquiry into a 1… at Buckingham Palace. No details have been 2…. The items were personal 3… of the Princess Royal. The Queen was absolutely 4… at the incident. This police investigation is the latest in a series of security 5… in the Palace. Last July an intruder scaled a 12ft fence and attempted to enter the palace. He was arrested and released without 6…. Earlier an escaped psychiatric patient evaded security to get into the grounds of the palace while the Queen was 7…. Recently a police officer was 8… by Scotland Yard in connection with bribery and 9… charges (Adapted from BBC News Internet Page. October 3 1999)
| A | B | |
| Theft Leaked Possessions Furious Alarms Charge Absent Caught Conspiracy | Burglary Released Belongings Angry Alerts Accusations Away Arrested Plot |
A frequent lexical activity is lexical mind map.A mind map is the result of lexical associations with a key word.
Exploratory task 2.9.Produce a mind map with the key word “food with a taste”. Possible list of tastes is “spicy, bitter, salty, sweet, sour, creamy, crunchy, greasy”. One word has been written for you
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Lemon Food with a taste
 |  |
Lexical items can be practised by placing words in a table.
Exploratory task 2.10.Give the food that has the test as shown in the table:
| Spicy | Bitter | Salty | Sweet | Sour | Creamy | Crunchy | Greasy |
(from O’Connell, S. 1999. Focus on First Certificate. Longman. P. 166).
Exploratory task 2.11
Words can make up a situational set, i.e. the words that are necessary for a certain speech situation. Make up a vocabulary list (words and phrases) necessary to take part in a debate on “alternative medicine”. Continue the list if necessary