Quizlet: Vehicle for Comprehensible Input

How many of you out there love Quizlet? I know I do. 

It has been a "go to" resource for me for years. Much as expected, my primary use of the platform has been to create traditional, but digital, flashcards for my students to support their language learning outside of the classroom, but I have been playing around with it a lot to see how I can push its limits and use it in other ways beyond flashcards in my Spanish classes.

Today, I hope to share some ideas you might try for how to use Quizlet as a tool for delivering and  comprehensible input.

Here We Go!

Quizlet as a Pre-Reading / Pre-Listening Strategy
Many world language teachers and/or programs are starting to use TL novels and authentic resources as the anchor resources for units and learning experiences. We know, though, that in order for target language use to be worthwhile, it has to be comprehensible. How can we "frontload" or at least expose our students to key vocabulary so they can make meaning without translating it for them? Quizlet can help us do that with a variety of its modes of use. This works best for terms that can be typed in the target language and represented by images.

SIDE NOTE - How to Make Image Based Quizlet Sets:
 1. Type the target language term in first.
​2. Then in the definition slot search for an image to represent that term.
3. Leave the text part of the definition blank.

Here are some ideas for how to use Quizlet as a tool for comprehensible input:
(See the gallery images below to see what this looks like in real life.)

• Quizlet LEARN Mode is a great way to have students look at new vocabulary terms and considering what they mean. Learn Mode will present one image to them and provide them four options of possible terms. There is no time limit, but it does keep track of how many correct/incorrect guesses they make. Then, it has them revisit the terms they answered incorrectly. I love that this creates natural repetitions of CI in that way.
• Quizlet MATCHING Mode is similar to Learn Mode, but with several terms on the screen with only those images. A little like the game Memory, students can consider the terms and drag and drop them onto the images they think represent those terms. What I love about this is as a CI tool is that the pair won't disappear unless their guess is accurate, so if you have similar terms or similar images, they will have to look a little harder to make meaning based on the images provided. What details did they miss the first time they tried to form the pair? That will be something they have to consider to finally choose the correct group. 
• Quizlet TEST Mode with Matching Questions is a good way to have students process the initial input they received during the LEARN and MATCHING activities they might have previously done on Quizlet. Also, what a great way to informally assess whether or not they understood the input you provided in class that day. You (teacher) can generate the "test", print it, and have students complete it as an exit ticket. This is especially good with very small sets of vocabulary OR you could use the same set for an entire unit, but only add terms a little at a time.
• Quizlet TEST Mode with Multiple Choice Questions is another test option. Like Test mode with Matching questions, this is a great informal assessment tool that you can print out, but this can also be a great way to present new vocabulary to students to make predictions about what they think the right vocabulary phrase is, then have them check their answers to find out. This idea works best if students are working on their own digital devices. So, it could be a presentation idea, informal assessment, activation of prior learning from the previous day or even a vocabulary check that you record in the grade book.
• Quizlet LIVE can also be a fun and interesting way to present key vocabulary to students prior to diving into target language teaching. What I think is most interesting about it is that they are playing and competing about new things, but they don't really realize the content is new. This is especially true when we make sure to embed cognates AND completely new terms in one set because the familiarity of the cognates will force their brains to work harder to make meaning of the less obvious terms through process of elimination. I highly recommend following a Quizlet Live session like this with a Quizlet Test to "debrief" what they saw in the game. Otherwise, playing it as a way to present new vocabulary can seem disconnected even if you as the teacher know it isn't.
• Quizlet Flashcards mode can be a great platform for playing Password, Taboo or Heads Up if you select the option to view or answer with both the term and the definition at the same time using your projector, have one student face away from your screen and have the other student give the clues. You set a timer and have them do as many as they can in a time limit. You will show both so that the image can remind students what the term is in case they forget.
• Quizlet Taboo - Select to print a picture based set of flashcards out. When cutting, cut the photo and term together as a strip. Do not cut and separate them. Now, have students draw a slip, but keep the term a secret from their peers. They should then use circumlocution in the target language to describe that term to their group. The first peer to guess correctly, wins the card.
• Quizlet Flashcard Stories / Conversations - Using the strips you created for Taboo, instruct students to draw 1 to any number of slips, then have them either respond to a speaking or writing prompt using those terms in the performance, or ask them to integrate those terms into questions during a conversation in the target language.

Quizlet as a Target Language to Target Language CI Tool
Another way you can use Quizlet is via circumlocution. I like to use this method for second semester level 1 and up.

Basically, when creating a new set of terms, I type the term in the term slot (duh) and a target language, circumlocuted definition in the definition slot. Once that's done there are so many options. Here are some ideas:

1. Flashcards + Whiteboards - Present the TL definition. Students answer on their whiteboard. You reveal the answer to them.
2. Flashcard Manipulatives - Select to print a small set of flashcards, then using your paper cutter, cut the terms and definitions apart. Now, you have a target language manipulative you can use to have students process new vocabulary in context. Their job will be to match terms to target language definitions.
3. Quizlet Live is great with target language definitions because it presents the definition as the question and a variety of terms as the answer choices. This is another great repetition of CI that doesn't feel repetitious. This could be used with character descriptions from stories and novels as well!
4. Test Mode and Target Language Definitions are a perfect match for a formal quiz that you can generate quickly and have students answer. I would opt to have the definitions appear on the print out, but students have to supply the term as their answer. This is also great for character descriptions or plot line events from stories or novels.

In closing...
I hope you  can see the potential for Quizlet beyond the obvious. How do you use Quizlet in unique ways in your lessons? I can't wait to hear!

​Happy Coaching!