Concept Questions

Your query is not clear.

Is the "teacher" trying to get the "students" to guess a target word or vice versa ? Your example does not make sense because "hitch-hike" is used by one of the parties.

Here is the task that I have been given in full, which I hope explains what I am to do. To answer your question fresco, it is the teacher who is trying to test the students as to whether they understand the concept of the word hitch-hike, in other words, fully understand its meaning. Have to say I thought the idea of a concept question was not to use the target word, but TEFL have here in the example 'TEACHER: "Why do people hitch-hike?"??? Confusing stuff :-)

Here is the task:

Presenting a vocabulary item through any of the above ways does not necessarily mean that students have grasped the concept. Take the word "watch", for example. Simply pointing to the object on your wrist might give students the idea that any time-keeping device is called a watch, without differentiating between clock, alarm clock, etc.

For example, to effectively present the word 'hitch-hike':
Mime the action.
Ask: "What am I doing?
Say: "I'm hitch-hiking."
Check understanding by asking concept check questions.

TEACHER: "Do you know the driver?" STUDENT(S): NO
TEACHER: "Does it cost anything?" STUDENT(S): NO
TEACHER: "Why do people hitch-hike?" STUDENT(S): TO SAVE MONEY
TEACHER: "Is it safe?" etc.

Mini-task
Think of some concept questions for the following:

'To scream'

'Jealous'

One I've already done is 'cross-roads':
TEACHER: "Do two roads meet together with one ending"? STUDENT(S): NO
TEACHER: "Do both roads meet and continue"? STUDENT(S): YES
TEACHER: "Do four roads meet together?" STUDENT(S): NO
TEACHER: "How many roads meet together at a Cross-road?" STUDENT(S): TWO

Not sure if thats correct or not??

So the idea is to delineate the concept within a semantic web.

Why not start with the dictionary definition and build your questions from it.

"Scream"...From Google:

sharp piercing cry; "her screaming attracted the neighbors"
shout: utter a sudden loud cry; "she cried with pain when the doctor inserted the needle"; "I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me"
screech: a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry; "he ducked at the screechings of shells"; "he heard the scream of the brakes"
yell: utter or declare in a very loud voice; "You don't have to yell--I can hear you just fine"
belly laugh: a joke that seems extremely funny
make a loud, piercing sound; "Fighter planes are screaming through the skies"


What level is screaming loud or soft?...loud
Which is louder shouting or screaming?..screaming.
When do people scream ?.....pain/anger/laughter/ high emotion or excitement.
What machines scream ? ....those with a loud high pitched noise.
Is screaming pleasant for the listener ?.....no


In general all questions except YES-NO can take the form
WHATor WHICH/WHY/HOW/WHERE/WHEN/WHO/ TO or FOR WHOM.

Hope that helps.

Thank you kindly for your assistance fresco, you have been most helpful.

For scream I have the following:

TEACHER: "Is this a noise?" YES
TEACHER: "Is this quiet or loud" STUDENTS: LOUD
TEACHER: "When do people scream?" STUDENT(S): PAIN, ANGER, LAUGHTER, EXCITEMENT

For jealousy I have the following:

TEACHER: "Are you happy for others?" STUDENT(S): NO
TEACHER: "Are you upset?" STUDENT(S): YES
TEACHER: "Are you happy for other people's success?" NO
TEACHER: "Do you feel bad about yourself?" STUDENTS: YES

Its difficult not to use language more complex than the word you are testing, but thats the trick I guess - to keep it as simple as possible as the class you are teaching may be young.