Word Surfing - Cards & Surfboards
as designed by Will McCulloch - May 16th 2004.
http://www.wordsurfing.co.uk
Basic Resources
| Word Surfing Cards | |||
| i) | Sets of vocabulary/language development cards - that can also be used as ordinary playing cards | ||
| ii) | Cards are available for 5 levels | ||
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| iii) | Each set has 54 cards - 52 playing cards plus two jokers. | ||
| Vocabulary Surfboards | |||
| i) | A4 pads of pages for recording , developing and checking knowledge of unknown words. | ||
| ii) | A motivating method of assessing real language improvement. | ||
Concept
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Examples of the Word Surfing Cards for the different levels appear below by date and by day together with a Word Surfboard.
The examples given are only for General English… but the concept can be adapted - and is equally suitable for
| i) | specialised areas such as Business , Tourism, Banking etc. |
| ii) | all other languages |
| iii) | younger learners |
These examples are then followed by Explanatory Notes.
Example of Word Surfing Card (by date) - Beginner
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Further word lists and sample questions for various levels:
Lower Intermediate |
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| 1 had 2 younger 3 threw 4 seldom 5 get dressed 6 curtains 7 shower 8 few 9 beach 10 generous | 11 grass 12 cross 13 ticket 14 loaf 15 spoke 16 was watching 17 bag 18 low 19 smile 20 scarf | 21 didn't 22 hit 23 abroad 24 take off 25 haven't got 26 nephew 27 wives 28 advantage 29 accountant 30 history 31 bed and breakfast | Where do you go if you have toothache? | |
| What are you going to do this weekend? | ||||
| Where do people usually get married? | ||||
| What did you do last night? | ||||
Intermediate |
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| 1 divorced 2 spare time 3 had lunch 4 match 5 circle 6 tick 7 entertaining 8 awful 9 engaged 10 hardly ever | 11 timetable 12 veil 13 complain 14 irritating 15 reliable 16 hilarious 17 crowded 18 afford 19 wrap up 20 kidnap | 21 hijack 22 been raining 23 unique 24 torch 25 as good as 26 related 27 would have 28 supposed to 29 high heels 30 cruel 31 has been delayed | When did you last get a present? | |
| What came first - the chicken or the egg? | ||||
| What is the opposite of 'shallow'? | ||||
| What have you been doing today? | ||||
Upper Intermediate |
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| 1 nod 2 wink 3 if only 4 knit 5 get a move on 6 cell 7 paw 8 glance at 9 ward 10 hedge | 11 stroke 12 snore 13 dizzy 14 blackmail 15 suspect 16 should have 17 on average 18 spade 19 fed up 20 plead | 21 take off 22 witness to 23 were shut 24 don't mind 25 given the sack 26 could have 27 insomnia 28 gloomy 29 earthquake 30 clap 31 could have been mistaken | How do you feel if you are 'over the moon'? | |
| What sort of friend is a 'fair weather friend'? | ||||
| How do you make a cup of tea? | ||||
| Do you prefer ironing or dusting? | ||||
Advanced |
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Word Surfing - Cards (by days of the week)
The same card concept can also be repeated using other suitable variables such as days of the week. The example below gives
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Example - Beginner |
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| Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. | table - chair - sit doesn't - isn't - don't married - single - church train - bus - ticket brother - sister - parents reads - is playing - are sleeping job - office - secretary | What are you wearing? | ||||
| When is your birthday? | ||||||
| What time is it, please? | ||||||
| What is your teacher's name? | ||||||
Lower Intermediate |
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| Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat. Sun. | has - have - had always - seldom - never bread - loaf - knife put on - take off - wear nephew - aunt - niece lawyer - is postman - fireman beach - sand - sunny | Where do you go if you have toothache? | ||||
| What are you going to do this weekend? | ||||||
| Where do people usually get married? | ||||||
| What did you do last night? | ||||||
Intermediate |
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Upper Intermediate |
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Advanced |
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Word Surfboards
| Words | Sentences |
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Date: .......... Level surfed: .......... |
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| Date: ........... check. ................................................................................. |
| Date: ........... check. ................................................................................. |
| Date: ........... check. ................................................................................. |
Explanatory notes
| 1. Using Wordsurfing cards and boards for independent study | |||||||
| a) | Choose the appropriate pack of WS vocabulary cards, shuffle … and place in a pile. | ||||||
| b) | Take the top card and test your knowledge of the word(s) next to the day number of the current month (today is May 16th so the start would be at word test number 16 ).
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| c) | Count how many cards you were able to set aside before coming across an unknown word. These cards represent the number of "Waves" that you have successfully "surfed". | ||||||
| d) | Enter the number of successful surfs into score box 1 towards the bottom of the Word Surfboard (see previous page )… and enter the unknown word into the "Words" column on the left hand-side of the Word Surfboard. | ||||||
| e) | Shuffle the cards again - and repeat the above process until you have come across and recorded 10 unknown words with10 surf scores in the relevant boxes. Completing the whole pack to score a perfect 54 in one "surf" shows that you are probably ready to move on to the next level of cards. Three consecutive scores of over 50 shows that you are ready. | ||||||
| f) | Now that the Word Surfboard page has 10 unknown words in the left-hand column, these can then be investigated in a good dictionary with example sentences. | ||||||
| g) | Selected example sentences can then be entered under the "sentences" column. The example sentences may also be found with help from a teacher, native speaker or any other source. | ||||||
| h) | Testing takes place at later dates by simply covering the explanatory sentences - and checking your knowledge of the previously unknown words. Any words still unknown at this stage are noted at the bottom of the page for further investigation, practice and testing. | ||||||
| i) | Development of these words and any other personally selected vocabulary items can then also be made in the WS Book - the organised vocabulary notebook which is described in detail at http://www.wordsurfing.co.uk. | ||||||
| 2. Using Wordsurfing cards and boards in the classroom. | |
| The process of randomly selecting appropriate words for development and testing can be used with the help of a teacher in the classroom (or outside with the help of a native speaker). For example, the teacher can shuffle the cards and then read out the selected word(s) according to date - as described above in 1(b). Learners can then attempt to prove their knowledge of the selected word(s) through conversational practice and/or writing sentences. These activities will help them to become more familiar with L2 - and move away from reliance on translations. | |
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The formality of such an activity can, of course, vary according to what is seen to be most appropriate to the individual needs of the learners involved. In some cases the teacher may want to mark hand-written tests in order to identify grammatical weaknesses that require further explanation and practice. In other cases the exercise may simply be used more to encourage confidence-boosting conversation with and among the students.
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| 3. Features | |
| WS cards (to be made available as complete sets or as individual packs) | |
| - | provide virtually countless testing possibilities which are generated by combining (i) card shuffling with (ii) word tests based on an initial date selection. This makes sure that using the cards remains flexible and fun by always providing different tests. |
| - | help to make the process of developing vital vocabulary skills into a motivating game with progress being reflected by a series of "surf" scores. |
| - | encourage good learning habits (regular use of dictionaries/other resources , avoidance of L1 whenever possible or practical - and repeated exposure to new words/phrases through revision involving conversational/writing practice) |
| - | promote investigation of other graded resources outside the classroom - and more conversation within the classroom. They deliberately don't contain translations in order to encourage as much active L2 learning as possible in both these situations. |
| - | can be used for more informal conversation practice with native speakers. |
| - | can also be used as normal playing cards. |
| - | are attractive, high quality and durable. |
| - | fit very easily into a pocket or small bag.
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| WS boards (available separately in A4 blocks) | |
| - | store important words together with grammatically correct example sentences. |
| - | reflect the level of vocabulary knowledge at the time of initial testing. |
| - | help learners to create an individual long-term vocabulary development strategy. |
| - | encourage learners to test their expanding knowledge on a regular basis. |
| - | demonstrate on-going improvement in a motivating manner. |
| 4. Rationale | |||||||||||
The reasoning behind the development of "Wordsurfing Cards and Surfboards" is basically the same as that behind the WS Book, WS AID (a CD-Rom idea for an Audio Image Dictionary) - and all the other learning opportunities that are presented at the Word Surfing website.
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| Learners who are naturally eager to improve their vocabulary may well be initially attracted to WS Vocabulary Cards by the idea of a fun and flexible game. However, the value of any such resource will depend on it's ability to encourage the use of other appropriate resources that can help real vocabulary (language) development start to take place. | |||||||||||
| WS Vocabulary Cards therefore aim not only to provide tests of vocabulary (and grammar) knowledge , but also to be a motivational catalyst that creates curiosity - and causes the regular use of complementary resources in all language skill areas. They encourage repeat exposures within a game situation - and natural familiarity through "learning by doing". | |||||||||||
| Learners are helped to move away from the habit of learning by translation as soon as possible - and avoid many of the fossilised errors that seem to be associated to that habit. | |||||||||||