Dynamic Communicative Language Teaching

Lesson Plan Ideas That Will Keep Your Students

Talking
Before we explore our sample lesson plan, we will take a look at some of the
different types of activities you can incorporate into your own CLT lessons.
Typical Communicative Language Teaching Activities
Information Gap Activities
The substitute teacher mentioned above used an information gap activityto get the
students talking. The person with the problem had to gather information to find
out why people could not help them. This is a common type of activity to get
students talking, because that is the point of communication—to exchange
information.

The task does not have to be free form, nor does it have to be structured exactly
like the substitute teacher’s activity above. Essentially, to create one of these
activities, you just need to give students an objective that can only be completed by
communicating with one another.

Classic versions of this activity involve giving pairs of students texts or pictures
that are each missing different details, so they can work together to fill in all the—
you guessed it—information gaps.

“Spot the difference” activities with pictures are also a common information gap
activity, particularly with beginner students. For more advanced students, you can
create an information scavenger hunt, with a list of questions that Group A needs
to solve by talking with Group B. Here are some example scavenger hunt questions
to get you started:
 “What are some locations that Group B students have traveled to?”
 “How many Group B students have pets?”
 “What are some things that Group B students have in common?
Games, Games, Games
Games are another activity that are fantastic for getting students talking. As you
likely already realize, there are tons of games out there either designed specifically
for the classroom or that can be adapted to your curriculum. Here are some
factors to keep in mind when choosing a game that will promote communication in
your classroom:
 Required input: Does this game require input from multiple people (think team
word games like Taboo), or just one person at a time? Typically the former works
best for traditional classrooms, but there are some cases where the latter might be
helpful, like if you are working with a small class of adult students.
 And of course, remember that the latter type of game can often be adapted as a
team game.

 Communication prompts: This one is actually pretty common sense. You want
games that prompt open-ended communication, not yes or no answers. If there is a
game that involves both (such as 20 Questions) just make sure you are the one
doing the yes/no-ing.
 Adaptability: Especially if you are working with younger students, it is important
to choose games that are adaptable to a wide range of experiences and learning
styles. For example, trivia games (unless they are very basic) typically will not
work well because students can only participate if they have the right base of
knowledge to draw from.

Icebreaker games are often more effective because communication hinges simply
on students’ own experiences and ideas.

Nonsense Paragraphs
One of the difficulties of communicative language teaching is that, by de-
prioritizing grammar rules, it can be difficult to teach the nuances of grammar.
This can be especially problematic for students who will eventually need to be able
to write correctly in the target language. Nonsense paragraphs can help overcome
this roadblock.

Whereas the above activities encourage target language communication, this

activity reverse engineers communication, so to speak. Students are given a
paragraph made up largely of nonsense words—their task is to identify what parts
of speech those nonsense words represent.

This type of activity is flexible but works better for early-intermediate students
and up, who already have a base knowledge in target language vocabulary and
grammar. I have even seen it used in English classes for native English speaking
students. You may find it useful to highlight the nonsense words so your students
can concentrate on the task at hand.

You can certainly make up your own nonsense text, but a popular one among
educators that is already written for you is Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky.” Here is
the famous poem in English, and there are delightful translations into dozens of
languages available here.

Provide students with the nonsense paragraphs and then split them into pairs or
groups. Ask them to identify all the words that represent objects, all the verbs that
represent some kind of action and all the descriptor words. After they have done
this, you can ask them to re-write the nonsense paragraph, replacing the nonsense
words with real target language words, and see how often they are able to use the
right parts of speech.
 Ultimately, the idea is to use communication as a vehicle for teaching grammar
constructions, rather than teaching grammar rules in isolation.

Sample Communicative Language Teaching Lesson Plan

Interviews are versatile and effective for getting ESL students to communicate
with one another. This lesson culminates in English interviews that students will
conduct in pairs.

The lesson plan below is designed for a beginner classroom that is learning how to
form questions in the target language. However, this lesson can be adapted to
serve as a vehicle for a wide range of other topics and objectives.

For example: Working with adult students new to the country? Focus specifically
on job interview questions. Working with advanced French literature students?
Have them formulate/answer questions that demonstrate their knowledge of a
book your class just finished. Working with intermediate students? Require that
they the use, say, the subjunctive a certain number of times in their interviews.

Topic

Asking/answering questions

Objective
 Students can formulate questions in the target language.
 Students can understand basic question constructions in the target language and
respond appropriately.
Procedure
1. Lesson Introduction

Write a basic question on the board, and then pose the question to two or more
students. When a student answers with correct grammar, indicate as such and
write the response on the board. Repeat with a range of question-answer
constructions. Here are some sample questions/answers to get you started:

 “What time is it?” “It is 8 a.m.”

 “How old are you?” “I am 14.”
 “What is the weather like today?” “It is sunny.”

Next, say that you can tell the class your birthday if someone will ask it. When a
student is able to correctly formulate the question “When is your birthday?” write
it on the board. Continue prompting questions about yourself (“What is your
middle name?” “Where were you born?” etc.) from students like this a few more
times.

Now it is time to present the interview task to students. Explain that they just had a
successful interview with you, and next they are going to interview one another.
Ask students to take out a piece of paper and divide them into pairs.

2. Activity: Interviews

Student pairs will now take turns asking each other interview questions about
their lives. They can borrow some questions from the lesson introduction, but they
should also come up with several of their own. Depending on your class size and
the time you have available, you can rotate students to new interview partners at
regular intervals.

While conducting their interviews, students should write down the answers that
they learn from their interviewees. They do not necessarily have to write down
their own questions at this stage, since they will be coming up with those largely
on the fly.

Throughout the interview activity, walk around your classroom and listen to how
your students are doing. If you hear a question or response delivered incorrectly,
step in and ask the student if they would like to try rephrasing or if the other
student can identify the mistake.

3. Interview Notes

After the interview activity, leave some time for students to complete their notes
on the interviews. They should take out a new piece of paper and use their notes to
reconstruct the questions that they had asked, and the responses they received.
(They should write all answers correctly to the best of their ability, rather than
transcribing exactly what their interviewee said.)

These completed notes should then be handed in for assessment.

You want to make sure your students know good grammar, but it is also important
to realize that they need to use what they learn in context if they are going to speak
outside of the classroom. Give this ability to your students and you will have
smooth sailing throughout the duration of the course.