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
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.
