Student Learning Activities Teacher Activities
benefit of using crossword puzzles in the classroom is that they are associated with recreation, and can be less intimidating for students as review tools.
Students who might normally balk at practice tests, flashcards, or review sessions with the teacher find puzzle solving to be much less threatening and more like
game play. Puzzle solving is a much more active type of learning, and will engage students with the material more than passive types of review techniques
do. Crossword puzzles also have the advantage of appealing to different learning styles. Visual learners often have strong puzzle-solving skills, and feel great
satisfaction when they complete one. Auditory learners enjoy step-by-step reasoning, so they also benefit from the sequential steps of completing a
crossword. Even kinesthetic learners enjoy the multi-task strategies required to solve a crossword. Finally, crossword puzzles have the benefit of being
customizable to study content. Puzzle creation software and websites are abundant, and easy to use, so teachers can create curriculum-specific crosswords
with little trouble. Whether you are studying Abraham Lincoln, geometry terms, or the water cycle, a crossword puzzle with subject-specific vocabulary can be
created with ease and in a short amount of time. Crossword puzzles have endured as a favorite national pastime because they are appealing to all ages, they can be
completed in a rather brief period of time, and solving them provides a sense of accomplishment. For all these reasons, crosswords make a terrific educational
tool, and teachers and homeschoolers will probably continue to use them for many years to come. Kerry Jones: 2007.
a. Online Crossword Puzzles in Vocabulary Course Crosswords displayed on ELTGallery were designed by the lecturer, B.B
Dwijatmoko. The puzzles belonged to one of the learners‘ assignments in the
web-based vocabulary course. Table 2.12 provides a brief overview of online crossword puzzles.
Table 2.12 A Brief Overview of Online Crossword Puzzles Online Crossword Puzzles
Number of the puzzles 14 puzzles unit 1-14 for a semester
5 different sets for each unit weekly assignment 1 puzzle for a week
Number of words per puzzle 50-60 words
Type of words Indonesian-English
Media online
Source of materials The First Three Thousand Word List
Achievement complete or incomplete
The learners were required to solve a crossword puzzle consisting of fifty to sixty words and submit it each week. They gained the score whenever they
could complete and submit each puzzle, and the scores were calculated at the end of the semester. They were allowed to use any facilities such as e-dictionary or
printed dictionary. The overview of the course was displayed on the home page on www.eltgallery.com
presented in figure 2.4 as follows:
Figure 2.4 The Home Page of ELTGallery
In order to set a situation in which the learners were conditioned to collaborate with some other peers, around five learners received the same set of
vocabulary lists used to complete the puzzle. Hence, they could cooperate with their peers to solve the puzzle. In doing so, they could not only get the correct
answers but also enrich their vocabulary strategies in that they could also learn the other strategies applied by other peers. As a result, they could enhance their
vocabulary learning. The display of online crossword puzzle is presented in figure 2.5 as follows:
Figure 2.5 An Online Crossword Puzzle in ELTGallery