Full Answer
What are cloze activities and why use them?
Why Use Cloze Activities? The object of cloze reading passages is to have students predict the words that go into the blanks. Cloze activities work best when key words are removed from the passage.
What is a cloze passage?
The name ‘cloze passage’ comes from the German word for ‘closure’ and is taken from a psychological theory to do with pattern-based learning called 'Gestalt Theory'. The basic idea of the law of closure is that humans see things by viewing the whole rather than focusing on the parts that are missing.
Why is the cloze procedure used in reading assessment?
The cloze procedure is commonly used in reading assessment because it requires students to use different reading comprehension skills to fill in the blank.
How can I Turn A cloze activity into a silly activity?
Of course, you can also turn a cloze activity into a silly activity by having students fill in the blanks with random words, and then share their silly rewrites with one another. This is also a way to improve speaking skills.
What does cloze activity mean?
cloze activity | NCpedia. noun. Definition: Activity in which words are removed from a passage for a learner to fill in as an exercise in reading comprehension. The missing words may or may not be provided in a word bank.
What is the purpose of cloze exercise?
What is a cloze exercise useful for? Taking a cloze exercise tests a child's vocabulary, spelling and language skills all at the same time. It encourages children to think carefully about word choice so that they can pick out the word that best fits the blank space.
What is the meaning of cloze passage?
A CLOZE PASSAGE is a contextual analysis strategy that helps students learn to predict and verify word meaning of unfamiliar words or familiar words that have new/unusual meanings by searching for clues in nearby words, sentences, and paragraphs of a text. It is used before reading a text.
Who invented cloze procedure?
Wilson TaylorCloze procedure was invented by Wilson Taylor in the 1950s, and has become an accepted means of assessing both the readability of a variety of written materials and the reading ability of a variety of subjects.
Why are cloze passages beneficial?
Cloze Reading Passages This makes the learning more authentic. It also helps students find and make connections between key vocabulary within in the story and how their meaning enhances the story. Finally, students can exchange their cloze reading passages with other classmates.
Are cloze exercises effective?
The Benefits Of Cloze Tests For Learning A Language One particular study by Nation and Webb of twelve different exercises for vocabulary learning found that cloze exercises were the second most effective way for students to retain vocabulary.
Is cloze a real word?
pertaining to or being a procedure used to measure comprehension or text difficulty, in which a person is called upon to supply elements that have been systematically deleted from a text. a cloze procedure or test.
What is an example of a cloze activity?
Cloze words involve letters being removed from particular words in a passage of text. Your child then needs to fill these in correctly. For example: 'Recycling is important because it helps to avoid unn------ry waste and protects the en------ent. '
Is cloze read or close?
Reviewers felt that Close meets the needs of their business better than Cloze. When comparing quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Close is the preferred option. For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Close over Cloze.
What are the disadvantages of cloze test?
(a) It is difficult to determine where a certain word is appropriate to the text or not. So, it takes a long time to check the answers. (b) The cloze procedure cannot be depended upon automatically to produce reliable and useful tests.
How do you describe cloze test in detail?
A cloze test (also cloze deletion test or occlusion test) is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of language with certain items, words, or signs removed (cloze text), where the participant is asked to replace the missing language item.
How do you teach cloze test?
Tips to Do Well in Cloze Test in EnglishRead Thoroughly: ... The Type of Word to Fill In. ... Analyse the words: ... Link the Sentences Together. ... Stay aware of the general terms: ... Maintain the tone: ... Eliminate the wrong ones: ... Build up Your Language Skills.More items...•
Does cloze reading help fluency?
Using cloze passages can increase a student's understanding of language structure, ability to understand and apply context cues, vocabulary, and subject fluency.
How do you use cloze activity?
A cloze exercise is a type of reading comprehension activity. It has a passage of text with missing words - children need to fill in the blank spaces using words from a list or word bank. The words are usually removed at regular intervals, such as every five words.
What is a cloze test?
A cloze test (also cloze deletion test or occlusion test) is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of language with certain items, words, or signs removed (cloze text), where the participant is asked to replace the missing language item.
Where does the word "cloze" come from?
The word cloze is derived from closure in Gestalt theory. The exercise was first described by W. L. Taylor in 1953. Cloze Words may be deleted from the text in question either mechanically (every nth word) or selectively, depending on exactly what aspect it is intended to test for.
Why do teachers use cloze deletion tests?
Cloze deletion tests may be used with the spacing effect to improve long-term retention of vocabulary, facts, etc. Question-and-answer pairs are often employed like this in apps such as Anki .
What is the assessment of a cloze test?
Assessment. The definition of success in a given cloze test varies, depending on the broader goals behind the exercise. Assessment may depend on whether the exercise is objective (i.e. students are given a list of words to use in a cloze) or subjective (i.e. students are to fill in a cloze with words that would make a given sentence grammatically ...
What words should be in the blanks on a cloze test?
Students would then be required to fill in the blanks with words that would best complete the passage. Context in language and content terms is essential in most, if not all, cloze tests. The first blank is preceded by "the"; therefore, a noun, an adjective or an adverb must follow. However, a conjunction follows the blank; the sentence would not be grammatically correct if anything other than a noun were in the blank. The words "milk and eggs" are important for deciding which noun to put in the blank; "supermarket" is a possible answer; depending on the student, however, the first blank could be store, supermarket, shop, shops, market, or grocer while umbrella, brolly or raincoat could fit the second.
What is a cloze/gapfill item?
Recent research using eye-tracking has posited that cloze/gapfill items where a selection of words are given as options may be testing different kinds of reading skills depending on the language abilities of the participants taking the test.
Which is more effective, clozed recall or free recall?
Glover, 1989 compared different forms of recall and their effectiveness after time passed for forgetting to occur. Glover referred to cloze tests as cued recall , which was found to be less effective than free recall testing (generic cue was given to pupil, the pupil was expected to recall all they knew), but more effective than recognition tests.
How does Cloze help learners?
Another way that the personalization and individualization of cloze tests benefit learners is that they can be applied to a variety of grammatical or thematic environments. Grammatical elements such as adjectives, nouns, verbs, or function words like articles and prepositions may be targeted as areas of focus. Clozemaster’s Grammar Challenge feature, cloze tests grouped by grammatical elements available for a number of languages, is particularly well suited to this task. Thematic clusters like emotions, items in a doctor’s office, shopping and buying, or other subject areas can also be targeted. In addition to vocabulary, cloze exercises can also be tailored to focus on higher-level language learning such as subject-verb agreement, gender/number agreement, case, or tense consistency.
What is a cloze test?
A cloze test is a way of testing comprehension by removing words (usually every 5th word or so) from a passage or sentence and then asking the reader/learner to supply the missing elements. For this reason, it is also sometimes referred to as a gap-fill exercise.
Why are cloze tests beneficial for learners?
Cloze exercises are beneficial for learners in many ways, but three most important are that (1) they have real-world application , (2) they provide learners with natural-like settings, and that (3) they can be flexibly and personally tailored to meet learning needs. The effectiveness of close deletion tests can and has been studied by applied linguistic researchers in a number of ways; a number of studies will be considered alongside these benefits.
What is cloze in language acquisition?
This natural input is a crucial component of what language acquisitionists sometimes refer to as “the richness of the base”. The mixture of ‘what you know you know’ with the missing items gives learners a chance to strengthen their contextual learning. In other words, practicing and internalizing how individual words work together at the sentence- and paragraph-level improves overall knowledge of the language as a whole. In speaking, mastery of vocabulary is demonstrated when a learner can use a word in original utterances in various contexts. The same concept can be applied to cloze deletion; if you can get the ‘blank’ right, you probably also know every word in the sentence. Another benefit of this method is that each instance provides learners with a reproducible frame for future application.
How to improve Cloze tests?
In their paper on how to improve cloze tests, Brown, Yashiro, and Ogane (1999) propose that using passages with applicable content at the correct level was more important to promoting individual success than applying the same tests universally to every participant. Ideally, cloze exercises should draw their data from a large body of natural text that is produced and vetted by native speakers. For example, the sentences used by the Clozemaster language learning tool come from the Tatoeba corpus, an ever-growing dataset of passages in many language combinations. The sentences are supplied primarily by native speakers and range in complexity from very simple to very complicated. Fig. 2 below shows an appropriate beginner-level sentence from the Tatoeba corpus. Fig. 3 shows a higher-level sentence. By relying on mostly native-speaker data, Clozemaster provides users with natural language use in a variety of natural settings. Some examples will even incorporate ‘idiom-like’ uses, such as the non-English equivalents of the common phrasal opener ‘Why on Earth ]?’ Similar types of idiomatic expressions must be ‘purchased’ through a points-award system in Duolingo. In classroom interaction, a native-speaking teacher could provide this type of content, but this depends on the flexibility of the instructor.
Why do cloze tests have a large cognitive component?
Because cloze tests contain a large cognitive and reasoning component, learners who use indirect learning methods may perform better on these tasks. In the early days of computer-assisted learning, Brown, Yamashiro, and Ogane (1999) proposed three improvements that might be made to cloze tests.
How to use closure in Gestalt?
In language learning, the closure aspect in Gestalt theory is applied by assuming that the brain views language as a whole, complete unit. The learner will naturally supply the missing elements based on their past experiences. The most common method of creating a cloze test is to apply the deletion to an entire paragraph of structurally correct and naturally occurring text. Learning focus can be applied nouns, verbs, function words, or a mixture of all types. Importantly, test designers can either allow learners to supply their own word (s) for the missing element, or give them a short list to choose from.
How to use Cloze?
Cloze activities can be used in a variety of ways, for instance: 1 as a note taking strategy during teacher presentations or lectures, 2 to reinforce and break up reading, especially if using self paced materials, 3 for recall of key points and terminology at the end of a session or for general revision of a unit of work, 4 to promote student discussion and peer learning if used with pairs or small groups of students.
What are the benefits of cloze?
They: allow students to make their own meaning from a piece of text or theory, engage students in active learning and so appeal to those who prefer to ‘learn by doing’ or writing, rather than just reading, highlight key terminology and concepts for students.
What are Cloze Activities?
Cloze actvities are activities where students fill in the blanks in a short reading passage. To test their comprehension and understanding of a text, students must fill in the missing words. Cloze activities can be created using virtually any text, including poems, songs, and non-fiction pieces. Some cloze activities only have a few blanks, while more difficult cloze activities may have many blanks. In fact, a teacher can create multiple cloze activities from the same text. For example, a teacher may remove 5-6 words from the text on one worksheet, and then give students the same text with 10-12 words removed.
How to make a cloze activity?
To create a cloze activity, first you must start with a passage. The passage should only be 1-2 paragraphs in length. You may choose a piece of fiction or nonfiction, a song, or a poem. The piece that you choose should fit the reading level of your students. A passage that is too low will be too easy for students to complete while a passage ...
How to turn a cloze activity into a silly activity?
Of course, you can also turn a cloze activity into a silly activity by having students fill in the blanks with random words, and then share their silly rewrites with one another. This is also a way to improve speaking skills.
How does cloze work?
Cloze activities work best when key words are removed from the passage. For example, a science teacher may remove all of the vocabulary words related to a particular unit from the passage and have students fill them in. Reading teachers may remove articles from the passage and have students determine which article should go in each blank.
What are the types of words to remove in cloze activities?
A few types of words to consider removing in cloze activities: sight words. words to complete idioms or cliches. subject-specific vocabulary words. words that represent a particular part of speech. words that play a key role in a song or story.
Why do we use clozes in reading?
Whether you're testing reading comprehension, helping students learn new vocabulary words, or improving listening skills, cloze activities may help. These fill-in-the-blank passages work for students at multiple levels. The reading level of the passage and the difficulty of the vocabulary words you choose help determine the difficulty of the activity.
How to memorize a passage?
If you want students to memorize a passage, such as Bible verse or quote, you can give them a copy of it with key words removed. Start with removing a couple words and have students fill them in. Then remove more words and have students fill them in. Finally, have students write the passage or quote from memory.
Using These Cloze Passage Exercises with Answers
Looking for ready-made interactive reading tasks that your class can get stuck into? Try one of these cloze passage exercises with answers! They’ve been tailored to Year 3 and Year 4 Australian students, and feature texts on a range of different subjects. There’s clear cross-curriculum potential in using passages like these.
What Cloze Passages Can I Choose From?
As mentioned above, these cloze passage exercises with answers cover a whole range of topics - from History to Geography; from life in Australia to life before humans. Here are just a few examples, that might spark a new interest from those in your class:
Why Is It Called A Cloze Activity?
The name ‘cloze passage’ comes from the German word for ‘closure’ and is taken from a psychological theory to do with pattern-based learning called ' Gestalt Theory'. The basic idea of the law of closure is that humans see things by viewing the whole rather than focusing on the parts that are missing.
Overview
A cloze test (also cloze deletion test or occlusion test) is an exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of language with certain items, words, or signs removed (cloze text), where the participant is asked to replace the missing language item. Cloze tests require the ability to understand the context and vocabulary in order to identify the correct language or part of speech that belon…
Examples
A language teacher may give the following passage to students:
Today, I went to the ___________ and bought some milk and eggs. I knew it was going to rain, but I forgot to take my ________, and ended up getting wet on the way.
Students would then be required to fill in the blanks with words that would best complete the passage. The context in language and content terms is essential in most, if not all, cloze tests. T…
Assessment
The definition of success in a given cloze test varies, depending on the broader goals behind the exercise. Assessment may depend on whether the exercise is objective (i.e. students are given a list of words to use in a cloze) or subjective (i.e. students are to fill in a cloze with words that would make a given sentence grammatically correct).
I saw a man lay his jacket on a puddle for a woman crossing the street. I thought that was very _…
Implementation
In addition to the usage in testing, cloze deletion can be used in learning, particularly language learning, but also learning facts. This may be done manually – for example, by covering sections of a text with paper, or highlighting sections of text with a highlighter, then covering the line with a colored ruler in the complementary color (say, a red ruler for a green highlighter) so the highlighted text disappears; this is popular in Japan, for instance . Cloze deletion can also be us…
Comparison to other testing methodologies
Glover, 1989 compared different forms of recall and their effectiveness after time passed for forgetting to occur. Glover referred to cloze tests as cued recall, which was found to be less effective than free recall testing (generic cue was given to pupil, the pupil was expected to recall all they knew), but more effective than recognition tests.
Natural language processing
Cloze test is often used as an evaluation task in natural language processing (NLP) to assess the performance of the trained language models. The tasks have a few different variants, like predicting the answer for the blank with and without providing the right options, predicting the ending sentence of a story or passage, etc.
See also
• Communicative competence
• English language learning and teaching
• Form letter
• Mad Libs
• Sentence completion tests
More Information
• Hanzeli, Victor E. (May 1977). "The Effectiveness of Cloze Tests in Measuring the Competence of Students of French in an Academic Setting". The French Review. 50 (6): 865–874. JSTOR 389444.
• McCray, Gareth; Brunfaut, Tineke (November 2016). "Investigating the Construct Measured by Banked Gap-fill Items: Evidence from Eye-tracking". Language Testing. 35: 51–73. doi:10.1177/0265532216677105.