This is a partner-pair speaking activity for English beginners that provides fun, repeated practice of a variety of work related vocabulary. This includes the clothing, objects, and tools typically associated with different jobs, as well as the actually names of the jobs themselves.
This activity is ideal for upper-beginner and lower-intermediate level learners who need to expand their vocabulary range and improve their quick recall of common household objects and employment related vocabulary words.
The two partners in each partner-pair work together, taking turns being the Participant 1 and Participant 2. For each round, Participant 1 begins by drawing 1 card from the Secret Card Deck.
Then, Participant 2 asks questions (using the provided Core Vocabulary Words and Sentences / Sentence Patterns) and systematically crosses off possibilities one or more Deduction Panels until only one option remains.
Minimum Prerequisites: Students can participate fully in this Deduction Challenge with the Set A Materials after memorizing:
Full Prerequisites: Students can participate fully in this Deduction Challenge with all of the activity’s available materials after memorizing/learning:
Materials Available: Currently, the following materials are ready for use:
Deduction Challenges are an excellent example of information-gap activities, which serve as communication practice exercises in both Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT). These challenges provide language learners with repeated practice of important sentence patterns and topic-specific vocabulary.
Additionally, since successful completion of the Deduction Challenge task described below relies on accurately communicating information, the activity offers students an excellent opportunity to self-assess their communication accuracy and initiate error-correction themselves.
This is far more efficient and effective than students only knowing that they are making an error if an instructor points it out. It also empowers learners to seek out solutions to mistakes themselves, rather than primarily being passive receivers of teaching and error-correction.
1. Gaining basic mastery in using the following sentence patterns to successfully collect information in English:
“Does the monkey have (a/some) _______________?”
“Is the monkey wearing (a) _______________?”
“Is the monkey a _______________?”
2. Gaining basic mastery in using the following phrases to answer questions accurately:
“Yes, the monkey does.”
“No, the money doesn’t.”
“Yes, the monkey is.”
“No, the monkey isn’t.
“Yes, the monkey is a _______________?
“No, the monkey isn’t a _______________?
3. Learning to use singular/uncountable/plural articles (a/some) correctly.
On-Going Self-Assessment:
During each round of play, Participant 2 attempts to determine which monkey/career on a Deduction Panel matches the monkey/career on Participant 1’s Secret Card, based only on Participant 1’s answers.
The 2 members of a partner-pair will be able to self-assess their own performance after Participant 2 asks “Is the monkey a _______________ (career)?” while pointing to a single monkey on their Deduction Panel.
Participant 1 can then show the Secret Card and the 2 partners can check if their verbal communication was successful. If they failed to successful communicate, they can figure out which mistake they made and then reattempt the Deduction Challenge with a new Secret Card.
Graduation:
Learners will have achieved the Learning Goals listed above when they can consistently complete the Deduction Challenge correctly with any randomly selected Secret Card, while using the target Sentences / Sentence Patterns and Core Vocabulary Words confidently and without hesitation.
1. Introduce the Core Vocabulary Words and encourage the students to learn them.
2. Demonstrate the Deduction Challenge activity, including correct use of the Core Vocabulary Words and Sentence Patterns.
3. Explain the correct use of a, some, or no article at all for singular, uncountable, and plural nouns, using examples from the objects shown on various Career Monkey Cards.
4. Allow the students to practice the Deduction Challenge repeatedly.
5. The instructor’s role is to monitor the students’ practice to ensure correct use of the activity’s Sentence Patterns, as well as correct use of the articles a/some.
6. When students fully achieve the activity’s Learning Goals, the instructor can then graduate the student(s) to a new learning opportunity/activity that further builds on the newly achieved learning.
Notes:
If Cheat Sheets are not utilized, students should be required to demonstrate sufficient memorization of the Core Vocabulary Words before they are approved to participate in the Deduction Challenge activity.
For classes with only 1 student, the instructor will also need to be the student’s practice partner.
1: Career Monkey Cards
Each of these cards feature a different career, depicted by a monkey with the clothing/equipment associated with that career. For this partner-pair activity, these cards serve as Secret Cards.
There are 3 different sets of 18 cards, which are labelled Set A, Set B, and Set C.
Each partner-pair participating in this activity will need 1 Secret Card at time, to be held by Participant 1.
One set of these cards is suitable for a group of up to 18 activity participants. If there are more than 18 participants, then additional cards will need to be added to the secret card deck.
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For each round of this Deduction Challenge, Participant 1 holds onto a single Secret Card and does not show it to Participant 2 until Participant 2 has narrowed down the choices on their Deduction Panel to just one.
2: Career Monkeys Deduction Panels
Deduction Panels feature all of the images from all of the cards in a set on a single-sided “panel.” If laminated, the images on Deduction Panels can be systematically crossed off with an erasable whiteboard marker. After completing a round of the Deduction Challenge, participants can simple wipe the marker marks off of the laminated surface and immediately be ready to repeat the activity.
The following Deduction Panels are available:
Each partner-pair participating in this activity will need their own Deduction Panel, for use by Participant 2.
Set B (2/2) of the Career Monkey Cards
Set C (1/2) of the Career Monkey Cards
Career Monkeys Deduction Panel C
The Sentences & Sentence Patterns Used in this activity include everything needed to successfully complete this Deduction Challenge. While sentences can indeed be composed that would allow for the activity to be completed more efficiently, the provided sentences & sentence patterns below are specifically chosen to maximize learners’ use of the activity’s Core Vocabulary Words.
If the answerer was permitted to simply verbally list the objects and clothing shown on their Secret Card, this Deduction Challenge could be completed with a single question and answer. However, by limiting Participant 1’s responses to yes/no answers, Participant 2 must compose more questions than would otherwise be necessary.
Standard Sentences & Sentence Patterns |
Does the monkey have (a/some) _______________? |
Yes, the monkey does. |
No, the monkey doesn’t. |
Is the monkey wearing (a) _______________? Yes |
Yes, the monkey is. Yes |
No, the monkey isn’t. Yes |
Is the monkey a _______________? (career’s name) Yes |
Yes, the monkey is a _______________? (career’s name) Yes |
No, the monkey isn’t _______________? (career’s name) Yes |
The Core Vocabulary Words listed below are all words that students should learn BEFORE attempting the Deduction Challenge described on this page. Students will only need to learn the words listed for a specific set of materials to play to complete the Deduction Challenge with those materials, as well as monkey, which is a necessary word all sets.
For example, to attempt the Deduction Challenge with the Set B materials, the students will only need to know the 60 words listed for Materials Set B, in addition to the word monkey.
Core Vocabulary Words To Pre-Learn | |
Materials Set A (18 Cards) | Careers: baker, cashier, cook, criminal, dentist, doctor, English teacher, firefighter, librarian, mailman, nurse, paramedic, pirate, police officer, security guard, soldier, teller (bank), veterinarian |
Objects: bag, bread, book(s), box, cash register, computer, desk, drill, exam/homework, flag, flashlight, food, gun, glasses, gloves, hammer, handcuffs, hat, helmet, honey, hook, hose, keys, knife, ladder, letter/mail, map, mask, money, name tag, oil, pen, prescription, rabbit, radio, scissors, stethoscope, syringe/needle, thermometer, whistle, x-ray | |
Materials Set B (18 Cards) | Careers: artist, astronaut, astronomer, beekeeper, business person, conductor (train), flight attendant, hairdresser, lifeguard, magician, meteorologist, painter, pilot, pharmacist, photographer, reporter, waiter/server, writer |
Objects: bag, book(s), brush, camera, cape, chart, chemicals, comb, computer, desk, drink, food, glasses, glue, hairdryer, hat, handcuffs, helmet, honey, hook, keys, ladder, map, mask, medicine, microscope, notebook, paint, paintbrush, pen, pencil, prescription, scissors, telescope, thermometer, tray, uniform, wand, whistle, windsock | |
Materials Set C (18 Cards) | Careers: acrobat, builder, carpenter, cleaner, clown, electrician, engineer, farmer, garbage man, juggler, mechanic, plumber, repairman, salesperson, technician, watchmaker, wildlife ranger, zookeeper |
Objects: bag, ball(s), brick, broom, cello, cloth, computer, drill, flashlight, flowers, flute, food, gas, glasses, gloves, guitar, hammer, hat, hay, helmet, hoop, keys, ladder, magnet, measuring tape, motor, name tag, oil, price tag, pipe, radio, ruler, saw, screwdriver, shovel, spring, tape, vacuum cleaner, watch, wire, wrench | |
All Sets | monkey |
Notes:
*There is also the option to provide learners with a Cheat Sheet listing all of the Core Vocabulary Words next to their images. This will allow them practice using all of the vocabulary words without needing to first memorize them. The process of learning the words can be scaffolded by first allowing students to use the Cheat Sheet, and then (once they have some familiarity) encouraging them to flip the Cheat Sheet face-down and only use it after first attempting to recall a needed vocabulary word from memory.
The following words will be used to the play this game (with every available set of cards). However, these words don’t need to be pre-taught. These words can and should be learned WHILE playing the game. The instructor’s demonstration of how to play the game will provide an opportunity to show how all of these words are used as part of useful communication sentences.
Vocabulary Best Learned in Context | |
Used With All Material Sets | a, does, doesn’t, have, is, isn’t, no, some, the, wearing, yes |
Most of the words included on this list are hard (or virtually impossible) to depict visually on a flashcard. Demonstrating them while introducing this Deduction Challenge and then having learners use them while participating in the activity is an optimal strategy for helping learners understand the words’ meaning (based on context/function).
1. Singular / Uncountable / Plural Article Use
The objects that the different monkeys have in their possession may be singular nouns, uncountable nouns, or plural nouns.
For example, box and bag are singular nouns bread and money, are uncountable nouns, and books and glasses are plural nouns.
This activity is an opportunity for participants to get practice trying to use the articles a/some (or no article at all for plural nouns) correctly while forming sentences.
Notes:
This Grammar Point requires consistent observation from an instructor, as learners cannot be expected to recognize and self-correct their own mistakes.
