Receptive

skills activity stages

Pre-text/comprehension activities:

Pre-teach required lexis
This stage is typically found at the beginning of a lesson, the activation of topic related
lexis/vocabulary, the lexical set, e.g. sport, health Just teach these words, they are needed to
answer the questions you ask. (Short list of word/phrases required here.)

Activation of schemata
Activating learner knowledge and experience of the topic/issue, 2 3 questions for pair work
speaking. (2 3 spoken, usually pair work questions required here, to activate prior
knowledge and experience of the general topic.)

Type 1 comprehension / lower order thinking skills (LOTS)

Predictive skills
Learners predict the content of the text from the title and/or accompanying picture, usually
just one question. (one question only required here)

Skimming for gist (one question only required here)
Skimming through a text to ascertain the general idea, usually only one question.

Scanning for specific information
Learners scan through a text for specific information, e.g. the score in a sports match, the goal
scorers, the actors/director in a film, relevant times in a schedule. Use the same words from
the text in the question. (3+ questions required here)

Type 2 comprehension / higher order thinking skills (HOTS)

Reading for detailed (implicit) information, reading between the lines, meaning matching,
change the words that are used in the text to make these questions. (3+ questions required
here)

Lexis-in-context
Guessing the meaning of difficult vocabulary from the context, usually a synonyms/antonyms
or gapped sentence matching activity. (words/phrases from the text must be highlighted in
text)
These words cannot be in the pre-teaching list!

Discourse function (linking words/phrases) (words/phrases from the text must be
highlighted in text)
Signpost words/phrases in a text to alert the reader/listener to what follows, usually a change
of some sort, see worksheet reference. Same activities as Lexis in context.
Phrases to signal examples, contrast, additional information, logical consequence, etc..

Post-text/comprehension activities:

Personalisation / discussion task
Here the learners move on from comprehension of the text to a personal response to the
content, the learners bring their own opinions to bear on the topic and ideas in the text. Small
group discussion. (3+ spoken group work only not pair work - questions required here, to
elicit personal responses to the text)