Teaching Strategies
Interactive Cloze
A cloze passage is one where some words have been deleted and the students are asked to fill in the gaps. This is a task teachers regularly use to test knowledge of content or specialist words. However, if the specialist word is left in the sentence and, instead, a word that contributes to the meaning is left out, this activity can be a powerful way to help students use context clues to decide which word will fill the gap. This then becomes a language activity rather than a testing device, involving discussion of words and contexts. It also provides students practice in reading key words and using them orally.
The Benefits of Interactive Cloze Activities
- Teaches the skill of using context clues in working out unknown words.
- Emphasises active reading for meaning, not word by word reading.
- Gives students practice in predicting and understanding language structures in expository text.
- Makes students more aware of the reading process - the predicting and confirming process and the use of background knowledge.
- Gives students experience in using clues to the sentence and paragraph structure such as signal words and connectives.
- Encourages students to notice and use information presented on a page such as headings, sub-headings and graphics.
- Discussion following the exercise gives students opportunities to use words orally in context, discuss concepts and actively process information.
- Gives the teacher valuable information on individual student's ability to handle language.
How To Prepare a Cloze
- Select carefully the words to delete, making sure there are clues in the text for each missing word. A good way to check is to draw an arrow between the selected word and the clue.
- Delete a mixture of words, not just 'content' or specialist words; not only nouns; choose at least one which signals the sentence or paragraph structure such as because, secondly, subsequently.
- Try to delete some words for which there are several alternatives. This will promote discussion.
How To Use the Cloze
- Give each student a copy of the prepared text and explain how to fill the gaps.
- Students work on their own to write one word in each gap.
- In pairs or small mixed groups students discuss their responses and decide which alternatives are better.
- Facilitate a class discussion, using students' responses. Possible alternatives are discussed and useful strategies pointed out such as using context to work out an unknown word or using headings and graphics.
- Emphasis is placed on words which make sense and are appropriate rather than the 'correct' words.
(Thanks to Ruth Penton)
Sample Texts:
See also: English Education Models - Interactive Cloze Activity: Overview.
