Task c) The definitions students write hereexplicitly show their level of comprehension of the word. Most students who were unfamiliar with the word were unable to come to a definition until directed to look at word parts in Task d). A small group drew a connection to 'explode' at this stage. This indicates that students need to be explicitly directed to look at word parts to find meaning.

Task d) This assesses students' ability to find meaning by identifying rootwordsand word parts. Most students connected explode to implode, e.g., explode and implode both end with 'plode'. Ex and im might be opposites, and: If explode is to burst, implode means to shrivel/curl up. Both these studentsarrived at the above definitions through focussing on word parts after being unable to arrive at a definition in Task c). One student who had never seen or heard the word wrote, It's the opposite of explode because it ends with plode as well and it has an im at the front which means not, I think as in impossible. (See the VAT section below for more on prefixes).    

At this point students read the story Playing with Words, in which the word 'implode' is used in conjunction with 'explode'.  The pairing of these two words confirms a relationship between them and provides students with the opportunity to make an educated guess at the meaning of 'implode'.

Task e) i). This task assesses two skills: firstly, basic word recognition in identifying the word 'implode' in the story; and secondly, the ability to identify the surrounding text which carries meaning. Most trial students found the word 'implode' in the story and copied the word in a brief and appropriately meaning-giving context into e) i), e.g., with the preceding sentence in the text:

"Sometimes I think that asking me why I write is like asking someone why they breathe. I'd explode or implode if I didn't".

The full paragraph explains the reason for the narrator's overpowering need to write while the single sentence clearly signals what 'implode' means, so in this case any text sample from the full paragraph to the single sentence is acceptable. About half of the students copied other text from the story about the narrator's desire to write, such as: "I saw Alistair Campbell reading his poetry on television. That reminded me that I'd always wanted to write − and I started writing that very evening." While this and other examples illustrate the narrator's passion for writing and give weight to his claim that he would explode or implode if he didn't write, for the sake of simplicity and focus students should be restricted to the one example where the word 'implode' is used. The extra examples students gave appear to be a result of confusion as to what the task required, including the misunderstanding that the whole table had to be filled. A small group put the text sample in the wrong column.

Task e) ii). Using context is an important part of working out the meaning of a new word. Context is also important in learning to extend knowledge of a word. Students are asked to write about the meaning of 'implode' suggested by the text they chose in e) i). Most trial students successfully completed the task by concentrating on what the text suggested about the meaning of 'implode' by drawing a connection to explode. Though some definitions were not correct, e.g., Implode must mean something that explodes inside something, they demonstrate that the student was working towards the correct definition. This process should be encouraged. The most common response was: Implode is the opposite of explode. The remaining trial students mostly paraphrased the text they copied or commented about the story in general rather than focussing on the meaning of 'implode', e.g., This means that writing is an important part of his life so when it is gone he will implode so that means he will die. Summaries of the narrative generally do not tell us anything about the meaning of 'implode'. The misunderstanding about what is required in this task is probably due to the table format and the novel aspect of focussing on word meaning in the context of a story rather than on character or narrative. It is reasonable to predict that more vocabulary work of this kind will reduce task confusion.

Task f) A small group of trial students defined 'implode' in emotional terms in task c), e.g., Stressing out, or Get angry or Lose control, which is a fair reading of 'implode' as a metaphor in the story (we don't literally expect the narrator to explode either).  Although the new word is introduced in a metaphorical context, most students linked it to 'explode' in task f). Only a small group of students wrote definitions in more detail than a kind of explosion or opposite of an explosion, such as, Collapsing on itself, or Sucking in rather than blowing out. The lack of precise definitions is probably due to the fact that the word is unusual, coming from astronomy to describe events in space we have no direct experience of. Mainstream use of 'implode' is generally metaphorical. It is used to describe market collapses, for example.

Task g) This assesses the students' ability to generate use of the word in a new way (novel usage is considered to be the highest stage of word knowledge). Most students used 'implode' as a substitute for explode, e.g., The fuel tank imploded. A small group applied the word in an astronomical context, e.g.,I will implode on the moon because there is no air or adopted the science fiction genre, e.g.,"Sir, the ship is going to implode!"  A small group used the word in a similar context as occurred in the story, e.g., I will implode if you make me stop something I love doing. This is metaphoricaland sophisticated usage of the word, but almost all these students also defined the word in the emotional terms of the metaphor in c) and f), e.g., Lose control, which indicates they may not have a firm grasp on the word's literal meaning. This is understandable as the word has been introduced in a metaphorical context.

Task h) A starting point for a class discussion or a way forward might be to look at the literal and figurative meanings of 'implode' in the story. Students will understand that the metaphor explode means to become violently angry; they could think about the word implode as a metaphor to mean becoming very withdrawn and damaged inside.