LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: ★★★☆☆
This method is more likely the second stage of Sentence Restructuring. We break the sentences into different parts as drill bits and write them on different color coded cards.
How does it work?
For example, red cards are introductory phrases like “I wonder”, “Can you tell me”; green cards are direct questions such as “why are you here”, “do you like roses”. Then, randomly distribute the cards to make sure all students have one card in hand; the ones holding red cards will be grouped with those that are given green cards. After that, the one with a red card and the one with a green card, as partners, will be required to come up with an embedded question with the words written on their cards. And after this step, they need to ask someone else in the class the question they have formed, expecting an answer in return as well. What is special about this exercise is that if two students are being grouped together with cards that write funny things, it adds some entertainment to the lessons.
By using embedded question drill with color coded cards, it has an advantage of categorizing certain parts of the sentences in different colors and makes it easier to be distinguished. Apart from that, it also engages the whole class in the activity; it catches their attention so they would not feel boring during the lesson so it effectively helps them learn by working together as a team. As a result, both people in the same group can reflect on each other’s answers, as well as one’s own answer before coming to consensus in submitting the correct answer to ask the class.
What makes it a better approach?
For learning, one of the most effective ways is to self-assess and to peer-assess (Terence & Abul, 2013). This refers to evaluating oneself’s output of learning, as well as to evaluate the output of learning of one’s peers. The process of evaluation or assessment allows one to identify his mistakes, reflect on it, and to learn the right from wrong instantly. This is because one’s mind is set on learning during the self-reflection period, and he allows his attention to focus on the answer he is trying to find out at that specific period of time, which creates space in his mind for opening to new knowledge. For L2 learners, embedded questions are usually new to them because in their first language, such thing might not even exist. Therefore, it is important for them to be open to new information and the right way of utilizing it. This game does not only allow students to interact with one another in an interesting way, it also sets them for learning a new grammatical structure they have not yet come across before by evaluating oneself and others to look for a correct answer.
Teaching Embedded Questions 