Assignment Types

At ZenGengo we’ve created 9 assignment types to challenge and engage language learners across all four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Audio Recording

What is it?

The Audio Recording assignment enables learners to record a spoken response to a question or prompt selected by the teacher. It can be used for spontaneous or planned responses and is a great tool for helping learners to reflect on their spoken output. Audio Recording assignments can be manually graded by the teacher or auto graded by ZenGengo.

ZenGengo Audio Recording assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Audio Recording assignment is ideal for any type of speaking task, but some of the more common uses include:

Giving a self-introduction or short presentation
Describing a picture or short scene from a video
Practicing pronunciation or oral reading
Sharing book or movie review

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Multi Choice

What is it?

The Multi Choice assignment enables teachers to create tests and quizzes to check the learners’ understanding of a text, audio or video, or other resource. Media prompts can be uploaded or recorded directly in the work area, saving teachers time and giving students access to authentic materials. ZenGengo's Text-to-Speech function turns written multiple choice questions into a challenging listening task.

ZenGengo Multi Choice assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Multi Choice assignment is suitable for any type of test or quiz. Some of the more common uses include:

Placement tests to determine language level
Comprehension checks following an extended reading or listening task
Achievement tests at the end of a unit of study
As part of an active learning strategy to keep learners engaged

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Speaking Drill

What is it?

The Speaking Drill assignment uses AI-powered speech recognition to match the learner’s speech to a series of phrases or sentences provided by the teacher. With instant feedback, learners are able to see which words they have spoken correctly, and which they have not. Learners can listen to a model pronunciation before attempting to speak themselves. The teacher may choose whether or not to show the words to the students during the task.

ZenGengo Speaking Drill assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Speaking Drill assignment is generally used for oral reading or pronunciation practice. Some examples include:

Teaching the connection between sounds and how they are represented
General pronunciation practice
General reading practice
Improving pronunciation of particular phonemes

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Text Gap Fill

What is it?

The Text Gap Fill assignment makes it simple for teachers to quickly create cloze activities from any piece of text. It’s as easy as cutting and pasting an appropriate passage then choosing which words to remove. By selecting the Text-to-Speech checkbox, ordinary gap fills are transformed into listening activities, which are ideal for language learners. To avoid the issue of scrolling on small devices, longer texts may be broken into individual gap fill questions.

ZenGengo Text Gap Fill assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Text Gap Fill assignment is suitable for tests or quizzes or for formative activities. Some examples include:

Reinforcing grammar points (e.g., irregular verbs, tenses, etc.)
Listening practice
Practicing pronunciation or oral reading
Comprehension checks following a video or reading

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Text-to-Test

What is it?

The Text To Test assignment is the fastest way for teachers to create reading, vocabulary and grammar tasks for their students. With just a short piece of text, teachers can make an entire lesson’s worth of activities. Write or cut and paste an appropriate passage, then choose which words and sentences to use in the activity. Text-to-Speech provides a model reading with colored highlighting of the current sentence. Text may also be hidden to create challenging listening activities.

ZenGengo Vocab Test assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Text To Test assignment is great for supporting the development of literacy skills. Some examples include:

Model readings to assist with decoding and pronunciation
Repeated reading practice
Teaching new words in context
Word order and sentence structure practice

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Video Gap Fill

What is it?

Please note that, as of October 14th, 2024, the Video Gap Fill assignment type has been discontinued. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this may cause. This decision was made due to changes in Google's policies regarding the programmatic access to YouTube video captions. We recommend using the Text Gap Fill assignment type with a YouTube video media prompt as an alternative for creating similar activities.
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The Video Gap Fill assignment makes it simple for teachers to quickly create cloze activities from any subtitled or closed captioned video hosted on Youtube. It’s as easy as pasting the video URL into the activity and choosing which lines to display and which words to remove. There’s no need to search for shorter videos as only the portions you choose will be displayed to students during the activity.

ZenGengo Video Gap Fill assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Video Gap Fill assignment is suitable for low stakes quizzes or for formative activities. Some examples include:

Listening practice
Spelling practice
Presenting authentic materials
Exposing learners to different accents and idiomatic expressions

Video Recording

What is it?

The Video Recording assignment enables learners to record a video response to a question or prompt selected by the teacher. It can be used for spontaneous or planned responses and is a great tool for helping learners to reflect on their spoken output. Video Recording assignments can be manually graded by the teacher or auto graded by ZenGengo. Audio, video and text feedback are also available.

ZenGengo Video Recording assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Video Recording assignment is ideal for any type of speaking task, but some of the more common uses include:

Giving a self-introduction or short presentation
Responding to a question from the teacher
Practicing pronunciation
Sharing thoughts and opinions about a lesson

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Vocab Test

What is it?

The Vocab test assignment enables teachers to assess word knowledge through a variety of question formats: Match, Type, Dictate and Speak. For Match questions, students must pair a word with the correct definition. For Type questions, students input the correct spelling of the defined word. For Dictate questions, students listen to the pronunciation of a word and provide the correct spelling. For Speak questions, students must speak the correct word for the definition provided.

ZenGengo Text-to-Test assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Vocab Test assignment is ideal for ensuring that students have a robust understanding of important words and phrases. Some examples include:

Previewing words for upcoming lessons
Reviewing key words and phrases prior to testing
Assessing word knowledge across different modalities
Low stakes end-of-unit testing

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Written Report

What is it?

The Written Report assignment enables teachers to collect and grade written work from their students. Submissions can be timed, which makes the Written Report assignment suitable for testing situations. To help prevent cheating, teachers have the option of disabling copy and paste within the text input area. Written Report assignments can be manually graded by the teacher or auto graded by ZenGengo. Audio, video and text feedback are also available.

ZenGengo Written Report assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

The Written Report assignment is ideal for any type of writing task. Some examples include:

Writing a short story or poem
Responding to a question or prompt from the teacher
Sharing thoughts and opinions about a book or film
Sharing book or movie review

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Content Page

What is it?

Content pages are not strictly speaking an assignment type. Rather they are a way for teachers to provide additional resources to students before, after, or during their assignments and lessons. Using Content Pages, teachers can gather materials, such as: media (e.g., images or video), instructions, examples, reviews, summaries or anything else that may be required by the students.

ZenGengo Content Page assignment on smartphone and desktop

When to use it

Content Pages are ideal for introducing new material or providing supplemental resources the students may require to successfully complete their assignments. Some examples include:

A set of instructions or examples
A video, audio or text that will the subject of subsequent assignments
An audio or video message from the teacher explaining the assignments
Preview or warm-up material

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