Linguistic Gap Fill

Supplementary phrases and sentences are removed from a familiar text and listed separately. Students reconstruct the text by fitting them back — focusing attention on cohesion and grammar.

Procedure

1. Take a text students have already processed for meaning.
2. Remove supplementary phrases or sentences (e.g., relative clauses, adverbials, appositives) and number the gaps.
3. List the removed items below the text in random order.
4. Students work individually, then compare in pairs.
5. One group reads their completed version; others listen and compare.
6. Teacher reads or displays the original for checking.

Follow-up: Memory Challenge

After checking, pairs put the text away and retell or rewrite the story from memory. They exchange and compare versions.

Tips

• Removes linguistic rather than factual elements — focuses on how language fits together.
• Good for drawing attention to relative clauses, time/place phrases, and modifiers.
• Best used after students have already worked with the text for comprehension.