4 Activities for Teaching Circumlocution
Give your students tools to speak using the language they already know!
“Necessito el…. el…. “ silence. Shrug and head shake. My student gave up in frustration; she didn’t know the word for the thing she needed, and she didn’t have any ideas on how to move forward. So, she quit trying. Another one bites the dust!
I’ve had moments like this with students more times than I can count. Lack of vocabulary is probably the single most frustrating issue for novice language learners, and unfortunately, many students’ tendency is to give up.
Somehow, I figured out how to circumlocute as a student… but I can’t remember a single lesson I’ve ever had on this skill, nor have I seen it included in any curriculum. Even so, circumlocution is actually a set of strategies students can learn, practice, and improve in.
At some point in my career, I realized that - like any skill - if I want kids to be able to circumlocute, I need to teach it and give them time to practice it! As a teacher, I can give students a tremendous gift by teaching them how to handle the frustrating but ubiquitous experience of struggling to find vocabulary.
“Lack of vocabulary is probably the single most frustrating issue for novice language learners”
Here are some ideas for helping your world language students improve in their ability to circumlocute.
Explicitly teach vocabulary for circumlocution.
Have students learn and practice sentence starters to help with circumlocution. Some examples would be:
You use it for _____
It’s a kind of _____ (category word like clothing, meat, building, job, etc…)
It’s like _____
It’s the opposite of _____
Use these phrases regularly to write or speak about concrete vocabulary in your class. For example, if you’re doing clothing words, have kids write out descriptions like “It’s a kind of clothing. You wear it in the winter. It’s warm. It’s like a sock, but for your hand.” This type of assignment helps students incorporate both the strategies and the phrasing they need for successful circumlocution into their active language.
Play “Taboo”
One partner verbally describes a vocabulary word, and the other partner must guess the word. Use this game frequently with current vocabulary, or with vocabulary from previous units as a review. It’s a great speaking exercise and provides practice with the circumlocution vocabulary above.
Replace generic words in sentences.
Give students a target language sentence that lacks description. Have them work to list as many words as they can think of to replace the vague word.
“This exercise helps students consider multiple ways to express their ideas. This sort of linguistic flexibility is closely tied to circumlocution.”
Example: I like school because of the nice things.
This sentence is grammatically correct, but it lacks precision. Ask students to consider:
What words could we use to replace ‘things”? (learning, students, people, assignments, classes, teachers, atmosphere, technology, facilities, activities…)
What words could replace ‘nice’? (interesting, challenging, funny, kind, easy, engaging, stimulating, smart, advanced, diverse, fun….)
This exercise serves as a vocabulary builder, and it also helps students consider multiple ways to express their ideas. This sort of linguistic flexibility is closely tied to circumlocution.
Conversation Templates
Click for a free sample Conversation Template
Conversation templates give students a framework for a conversation, while providing enough flexibility for them to choose their own wording. The conversation is guided, but students still need to listen and respond to one another. This approach provides scaffolding for students to practice circumlocution and to build interpersonal communication skills.
Here’s a free sample Conversation Template
Click here to access my collection of leveled Conversation Templates, organized by topic, on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store
Click to read more about teaching interpersonal speaking.
How do you teach circumlocution? Share in the comments!
