Activities For The Language Classroom
Activities For The Language Classroom
Activities For The Language Classroom
People learn in different ways. Some people learn a language best by seeing it written down. Others learn by hearing it spoken. Some people like to experiment with new language, whereas others like to be sure they can produce new language correctly before they try using it. Because of this, teachers should use a variety of different techniques. That is why we have written this book. Activities for the Language Classroom contains over 100 activities to help your students become better English users. We have organised these activities into two main sections:
Skills-focused Activities, which looks at ways to improve students reading, listening, writing
and speaking. There are sub-sections with activities you can do before and after these tasks. set, grammar structure or pronunciation point. All these activities can be used to teach a variety of topics or structures. The activities we have selected for this book were chosen because: they all have clear language learning outcomes they have been used successfully by teachers who work with Myanmar students they dont have complicated instructions they dont use materials that are difcult to nd. You can do all these activities without electricity, a computer or a photocopier. All you need is a board, pens and paper. Some listening activities require a cassette or CD player and cassette or CD, but with most you can read the text aloud yourself. There is also an Appendix at the back, where we have sections on: how to vary and adapt these activities teaching techniques, such as giving instructions, eliciting and correcting mistakes specialist language used throughout the book, and what it means We have created a few software applications to accompany some of the activities in this book. Look out for the software logo. All our software can be downloaded free of charge from our website:
http://educasia.org
Contents
Skills-focused Activities
Pre-task Activities
1. Introduce the Topic 2. Pre-teach Vocabulary 3. Prediction
1 2 2 5 6 7 8 12 15 16 19 20 21 26 27 32 33 36 37 37 45 45 52 52 55 56 60
Reading Activities
4. Presenting a Reading Text 5. Reading Practice Activities
Listening Activities
6. Presenting a Listening Text 7. Listening Practice Activities
Writing Activities
8. Writing Activities - from Controlled to Free
Speaking Activities
9. Speaking Activities - from Controlled to Free
Post-task Activities
10. Post-task Activities
Language-focused Activities
Focus on Vocabulary Focus on Grammar
12. Grammar Practice Activities 11. Vocabulary Practice Activities
Focus on Pronunciation
13. Pronunciation Practice Activities
Skills-focused Activities
Activities, Reading Activities, Listening Activities, Writing Activities, Speaking Activities and Post-task Activities.
A common model for planning skills- focused lessons is: 1. Do some pre-task activities 2. Do the task, and some practice activities 3. Do some post-task activities. Here are two example lesson outlines: There are six sub-sections here: Pre-task
A.
B.
persuasive speech
B1. Look at a UK election speech on TV B2. In groups, students decide on policies B3. Students write their speeches B4. Students practise their speeches B5. Students deliver their speeches. The
points in text A6. Students discuss whether they have had similar experiences to writer
audience gives each speaker marks for language, content and style B6. Students decide who has won the class election, and discuss why
A1, A2, B1 and B2 are Pre-task Activities. They are preparing students for the main task by focusing on language or content that will make the task easier. A3 and A4 are Reading Activities. In A3, students are presented with a reading text. A4 helps them to understand the language and meaning of the text. B3 is a Writing Activity. B4 and B5 are Speaking Activities. A5, A6, and B6 are Post-task Activities. These get students to use the language, skills or content from the task in a meaningful context.
Information Boxes
All activities have an information box which tells you the aims of the activity, whether it is practical to do it in your class, and how much preparation is needed.
The main learning objective of the activity. The physical conditions you need in your class. This includes things like people needing to move around, people needing to hear each other clearly, people needing a copy of the same thing, and any materials necessary to do the activity. What the teacher needs to do before the activity.
Purpose: students use new vocabulary in a meaningful context Practicalities: Students work in pairs. Each pair needs a picture Preparation: get pictures about the topic, or draw them on board
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Pre-task Activities
Before you read Before you listen Before you write Before you speak
1.1 Brainstorm
a. Tell students the topic. b. Elicit what they know or think about the topic. Write all their ideas on the board, even if they are factually incorrect. This could be:
- a list of items, e.g. animals or emotions
Purpose: activate students prior knowledge and ideas about the topic Practicalities: class discussion with board
- a list of facts about a situation, e.g. everything they know about ASEAN or global warming - opinions, e.g. arguments for and against free university education
Purpose: activate students prior knowledge and ideas about the topic Practicalities: students work in groups of 3-8
c. Get groups to read out their lists. The group with the longest list is the winner. Write all their items or ideas on the board to make a class list.
bits of food old batteries small water bottles
plastic bags
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Purpose: activate students prior knowledge, ideas and opinions about the topic Practicalities: class discussion
One night, I was walking home along the river. Suddenly I heard a voice, but I... - Write a sentence stating an opinion about the topic. Elicit students opinions.
Same here. I dont think ghosts exist. My grandmothers ghost speaks to me a lot.
1.4 Mind-map
a. Write a key word on the board. b. Elicit other words from the students. Connect them to the key word. computers email You-tube World Wide Web music chat log on
Purpose: activate students prior knowledge, ideas and vocabulary related to the topic Practicalities: class discussion with board internet cafe Google Connect dial-up wireless
the internet
Search
Purpose: activate students prior knowledge, ideas and vocabulary Practicalities: all students need to see the same picture Preparation: get a picture about the topic, or draw one on the board. It can be very basic
A ball When we play football and other games On a field sports
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Purpose: activate students prior knowledge and ideas on the topic Practicalities: students need to move around the classroom Preparation: write questions related to the topic on small pieces of paper
What is the best way to cure malaria? How can we prevent the spread of malaria?
You can use the same questions more than once - for a large class, write 7 or 8 questions and make several copies of each. b. Give a question to each student. Students walk around the room and nd a partner. c. In pairs, students ask and answer each others questions. d. They then exchange questions, and go and nd another partner. Continue asking and swapping for about 5 minutes. 1.
Who was your favourite teacher in middle school? My maths teacher. She got me interested in maths. What do you find difficult about teaching?
2.
U Gyi, the science teacher in 6th standard. Why do you want to learn to teach?
3.
With more experienced students, tell them the topic and get them to write their own questions.
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2. Pre-teach Vocabulary
These activities look at the key vocabulary students will need: - to understand a reading or listening text - to perform a writing or speaking task If you pre-teach key vocabulary, students can concentrate on the skill goal of the task more easily - the reading, listening, writing or speaking - without having to spend a lot of time nding out what each unfamiliar word means.
Purpose: students are exposed to key words and meanings Practicalities: students work from the board or worksheets Preparation: prepare matching exercises
Purpose: students remember and share the meaning of key words Practicalities: class discussion Preparation: nd or draw some pictures if necessary
What is this like?
Mime with arm movements. Ask: What am I doing? Mime unlocking a door, point to the key. Ask: Whats this? Mime smelling old food and make a facial expression.
- Show or draw a picture: Global Warming Draw a picture of the Earth with ames around it. Love Draw a heart Often Draw a line. Mark never at one end and always at the other. Mark points along it: usually, hardly ever, etc. - Give a description of the word. - Give a translation of the word.
giant big large
Allow the students time to think. If they dont know the word, tell it to them and write it on the board.
Purpose: check that students understand meanings of new words Practicalities: class discussion with board
Does it have speakers? (No) Can you store music on it? (Yes)
It is a good idea to concept-check all new vocabulary, even if you have already elicited it. Page 5
3. Prediction
These activities generate interest in the task. They get students to guess the content or language of a text, or the language and content involved in producing one. They are more commonly used before reading or listening tasks.
Purpose: students infer content of a text from the title Practicalities: class discussion with board
After they read or listen to the text, check which predictions were correct.
Purpose: students infer content of a text from key words Practicalities: class discussion with board rural drought debt difficulties
- farmers are having problems - harvest fails and crops are bad - many farmers have to borrow money because they cant grow enough
Many farmers have borrowed money because they cant grow enough
After they read or listen to the text, check which predictions were correct.
Purpose: students infer content of a text from pictures Practicalities: class discussion with board Preparation: get pictures related to the text
After they read or listen to the text, check which predictions were correct.
Purpose: students identify prior knowledge and areas of interest Practicalities: students work individually, in pairs or groups or as a class
Things I Want to Know Does he support the war in Iraq? How long was he in prison?
After they read or listen to the text, check whether their information is correct, and whether they found information about things they wanted to know. Page 6
Reading Activities
Presenting a Reading Text Reading Practice The following sections look at activities practising the receptive and productive skills needed to understand and use a language. The rst of these looks at Reading
Activities.
receptive
reading
listening
input
productive
writing
speaking
output
graphic
oral/aural
In the language classroom, there are two types of reading activities. One is reading for language study. This type of reading uses written text as examples of a target language structure or vocabulary in context. These types of activities are covered in the Language-focused Activities section of the book. This section looks at the other type of classroom reading - reading for skills development. The aim of these reading tasks might be: - to help students improve a reading technique (e.g. reading for gist, reading to nd specic information, scanning) - to help students understand content - the information and ideas in the reading text. This is often the case when you are teaching English for Specic Purposes (e.g. English for Academic Study, English for Medicine, English for Tour Guides) or teaching another subject, like social sciences or health, in English. This is divided into two sub-sections, Presenting a Reading Text, which looks at different ways to approach students rst reading of a text, and Reading Practice Activities which comprises a range of controlled practice activities designed to help students understand the ideas and language from the text. Your choice of text is important. If there is a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary or structures (more than about 10% unfamiliar) students will have difculty focusing on the skills or content. Authentic texts (real-life English) is normally too difcult for students below intermediate level. Page 7
Purpose: students read to identify the main ideas Practicalities: students work from board. They can work individually, or in pairs or groups. Preparation: prepare questions
Purpose: students read for gist and decide sequence Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: cut up copies of a text one per student, pair or group
The ight attendant smiled. Welcome aboard, sir. Would you like a newspaper? I see. thank you very much. Carl smiled back at the ight attendant.
Purpose: students read for gist and identify the main idea Practicalities: best with a non-ction text; an article, essay or opinion text, rather than a story. Students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a multiple choice question about the main idea
Purpose: students read for gist and identify key information Practicalities: students work from board. They can work individually, or in pairs or groups. Preparation: prepare paragraph summaries
Purpose: students read for gist and identify main topics Practicalities: all students need to see the same pictures Preparation: nd or draw pictures related to the text
b. Set a time limit. Students scan the text and put the pictures in the correct order.
Last night I was walking past the shop when I saw a large dog. The dog barked loudly at me, so I started walking quickly. It started running after me so I started to run. Luckily, it was chasing a cat in front of me.
Students could then re-tell the story, using the pictures as prompts.
Purpose: students read for gist and rephrase the main point Practicalities: students work from board or worksheets Preparation: make copies of the text, or write the text on the board, without the title Practicalities: students need to move around the room and form groups.
c. Each pair joins with another pair, and in a group of four, agree on a title. d. Each four joins with another four, and in a group of eight, decide on a title. e. As a class, decide on a title.
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Purpose: students read for detail and identify key words Practicalities: students work from board or worksheets Preparation: prepare a text with key words missing
This activity is useful after one of the pre-teaching vocabulary activities in Section 2.
Purpose: students read a paragraph from memory Practicalities: students work from the board. This can get noisy Preparation: write the paragraph on the board
Ko Ko needs to get to school by 8.30 and now its 8.00. Hes brushed his teeth but he hasnt got dressed yet. Hes done his homework - he did it last night- but he hasnt packed his bag. His little brother is still asleep. He hasnt woken him up yet.
Purpose: students read for detail, and make questions to nd missing information Practicalities: students work in pairs Preparation: prepare and copy two versions of a text
b. Students work in pairs. Give Partner A of each pair Text A, and Partner B Text B. c. Students ask and answer questions to complete their text.
Text A: Ko Annan was SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations. He comes from Ghana, Africa. His name, Ko, means ______________. What does Kofi mean? Text B: Ko Annan was SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations. He comes from _______, in Africa. His name, Ko, means born on a Friday. Where is Kofi Annan from?
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Purpose: students read for gist and rephrase information based on contextual needs Practicalities: students plan in groups and present to the class Preparation: split a longer text into sections - one per group
With some difcult texts, you could let groups explain in their rst language.
Purpose: students read for details from mutiple texts Practicalities: students move around the class reading texts, which are on the walls Preparation: put 3-6 texts on the wall and prepare a few questions about each text
question
a. Where did the cow live? b. How many eggs do emus lay? c. What is the capital of Fiji? d. Why was the calf angry?
text
a.
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c.
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d.
Purpose: students read for gist and identify parts of texts Practicalities: students work from worksheets Preparation: prepare worksheets with two or more texts mixed together in the correct order
c. If you like, have students write out each complete text. Page 11
Purpose: students check their understanding of details in the text Practicalities: students work from board or worksheets
(if this information is in the text) Is not a comprehension question. Do these open-ended type of questions later in the lesson. This is very easy. This involves more thinking.
- or yes/no questions. With yes/no questions, it is better to also ask for more information, e.g.
Was Thida afraid of the shark? Was Thida afraid of the shark? Why or Why not?
Purpose: students check their understanding of details in the text Practicalities: students work from board or worksheets Preparation: prepare true and false statements False. He was the leader of China.
Purpose: students form questions and answers based on the text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
b. They ask each other their questions and check their answers. This can be done individually, but is better in pairs or groups. You can make it into a group competition by getting groups to think of 3 questions each, and each group has to answer all the other groups questions. The winner is the group with the most correct answers.
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5.4 Summarise
a. Students write brief summaries of the text, in their own words. b. After they have written their summaries, check that they have included the main point(s) of the text.
Purpose: students read for details and restate the important information Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
Purpose: students present the same information in different ways Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
A High School for Smallsway March 2010 Smallsway is a pretty little town 10km from Bigville. Smallsway is small - it has one main street with a shop, a clinic and a primary school.
- a map
Unfortunately, there is no high school there, so the students have to catch a bus to Bigville high school. The parents want a high school, as there are more and more school-age children. Last year 25 students graduated from the primary school. In 2005 there were 14 graduates, and in 2000 there were just 6. The rst year the school opened, in 1995, only one student graduated. Last October, a group of parents held a meeting to discuss how they can get a high school. They have arranged to meet the District Education Committee next month.
1 6 14 25
25 students graduate October - parents April - planned meeting with District Education school opens 6 students graduate meeting Committee 1 student graduates 14 students graduate 1995 2000 2005 2010
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Purpose: students categorise information from a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
insects
other
human bear
eagle
crocodile snake
mosquito
shark
How long?
We need to help Iraqis defend their country We had to remove Saddam Hussein
the war has killed too many civilians The US had no right to invade another country Purpose: students order information from a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
- least to most (e.g. slowest to fastest, least liked to most liked, lowest marks to highest marks)
Purpose: students read for detail and identify how to get information Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare questions and answers about the text
A Cowboy Called Lucky
A long time ago a baby boy was born in the wild west. His parents were poor, but they worked hard on their small farm.
Who was Lucky? What was Luckys job? What is the story about?
2. Students identify the correct questions they would ask to get the answers. Page 14
Listening Activities
Presenting a Listening Text Listening Practice This section looks at activities for presenting listening texts and practising listening skills.
receptive
reading
listening
input
productive
writing
speaking
output
graphic
oral/aural
Listening, like reading, is a receptive skill. Many of the reading presentation and practice activities can be used as listening activities too - we have listed these at the beginning of each sub-section. For example:
4.3 Identify the Main Idea - Write the choices for main idea on the board, then play
or read out the listening text. Students choose the best main idea.
5.5 Information Transfer - Students listen to the text and put information into a
different format: draw a picture, map, or graph, ll in a chart or form, etc. Similarly to the Reading Activities section, this is divided into two sub-sections: Presenting
a Listening Text, which has different ways students can rst hear a text, and Listening Practice Activities, which has a range of controlled practice activities designed to help
students understand the ideas and language from the text.
4.1 Focus Questions 4.3 Identify the Main Idea 4.4 Match the Summaries 6.1 Listen for Context
Play the conversation. Students identify:
- where the conversation is taking place - how many people are speaking
Purpose: students listen for gist to establish the context of a conversation Practicalities: all students need to hear the conversation clearly Preparation: cut up copies of a text one per student, pair or group
Purpose: students listen for gist to put a text in order Practicalities: all students need to hear the text clearly Preparation: cut up copies of a text one per student, pair or group
This works well with conversations, where you can cut up what each speaker says.
6.3 Dictation
a. Read or play the text at normal speed. b. Read or play the text again. Pause after every clause or sentence so students can write what you are saying.
Purpose: students listen, write and check their writing for accuracy Practicalities: all students need to hear the text clearly
c. Read with pauses again. Repeat this for a third time if necessary. Allow students a few minutes to check and correct their writing. d. Give students a copy of the original text. Students check their writing and mark it for accuracy - spelling, nal consonants, prepositions, etc. Page 16
6.4 Dictogloss
a. Read or play the text at normal speed.
b. Read or play the text again. Pause after every paragraph so students can record the important information. They should not write word for word - they should use their own words. c. Read with pauses again. Repeat this a third time if necessary.
Purpose: students listen, write and check their writing for accuracy Practicalities: all students need to hear the text clearly
d. Show students the original text. Individually or in pairs, they compare this to their versions. Discuss as a class different ways students have expressed the same meanings.
Purpose: students listen for detail and identify wrong information Practicalities: all students need to hear the text clearly Preparation: prepare a reading text with some incorrect statements
To make it easier, write the words on the board so students can choose between them This activity is useful after one of the pre-teaching vocabulary activities in Section 2.
Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She was born in Kenya in 1940. She taught biology at university, and joined the National Council of Women of Kenya. In 1976 she founded the Green Belt movement. This movement encouraged poor women in Africa to plant 30 million trees. Wangari Maathai received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1904. She was born in the UK in 1940. She taught history at university, and joined the International Council of Women of Kenya. In 1976 she founded the Green Tree movement. This movement encouraged poor women in America to plant 30 thousand trees.
Purpose: students listen for detail and add key words Practicalities: all students need to hear the text clearly Preparation: delete key words from a text
To make it easier, write the words on the board so students can choose between them This activity is useful after one of the pre-teaching vocabulary activities in Section 2. flooded drought populated disease disaster drowned
Bangladesh, one of the most ping countries in the world, suffers from frequent natural ping , such as floods, cyclones, ping , landslides and earthquakes. In 1998 almost 70% of the country was ping , and 30 million people had to leave their homes. During this time more than a thousand people ping or died from ping .
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Purpose: in pairs, students dictate a text to each other Practicalities: students work in pairs. This can get noisy Preparation: split a text into two parts and make copies for each pair
c. Pairs compare their texts to see if they have read and recorded it accurately. You can split the text into rst half and second half, or chunk by chunk:
A.___________________________________
__________________________________ so she didnt have enough time to plan it properly. ________________________ _____________________________________ ____ There wasnt enough room, so many of them had to stand outside in the corridor, ___________________________ _____________________________________ _________ but nobody brought any extra plates so people had to wait a long time to eat.
B. My sisters wedding was a disaster. She decided to get married suddenly, ___________________________________ ________ Nevertheless, about 50 of her friends and relatives came to her apartment. ___________________________ _____________________________________ _______ and the neighbours were very annoyed. My parents had organised the food, ________________________________ ______________________________________ ________.
c. The rst team member runs to the text, memorises the rst part of it, runs back to the writer, and dictates what they remember. The writer writes it down.
Purpose: students accurately communicate and reproduce the language and content of a text Practicalities: a noisy activity that requires a large classroom where students can move around Preparation: prepare at least one copy of the text for every 2-4 teams
d. When the writer has nished writing what the rst runner dictates, the second runner runs to the text, memorises the next part, runs back to the writer and dictates. e. Continue until you reach a time limit (e.g. 10 minutes) or until a team nishes the whole text. f. Teams swap papers and mark another teams paper. The simplest way to mark is to give one point for every correctly-spelled word in the right place. If you like, deduct points for errors such as incorrect punctuation.
In 1940, during World War Two, the French gave up control of Vietnam to Japan. Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese independence leader, saw a chance to free his country. He created the League for the Independence of Vietnam, also called the Vietminh. The Vietminh began ghting the Japanese and successfully resisted the invasion. On September 2 1945, Ho Chi Minh gave a speech that announced his nations freedom.
...saw a chance to free his country. He created the League for the Independence of Vietnam...
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5.1 Comprehension Questions 5.2 True or False? 5.3 Summarise 5.4 Text Quiz 7.1 Rewrite the Text
After students have listened to a text a few times, they rewrite it. To make this easier:
- write some of the key words or phrases on the board
5.5 Information Transfer 5.6 Classify the information 5.7 Order the Information
Purpose: students focus on the main points of a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
- if it is a dialogue, provide one speakers text and have students write the other speakers text.
Purpose: students focus on the details of a text Practicalities: students need to move around the room Preparation: cut half-sentences from the text, one for each student
If you use the whole text, you can follow this by getting the class to put their sentences in order.
Purpose: students focus on the details of a text Practicalities: students work in pairs or groups, depending on the number of people in the conversation Preparation: prepare copies of the audioscript for students to read
Writing Activities
This section has activities for improving students writing skills. receptive
reading
listening
input
productive
writing
speaking
output
graphic
oral/aural
Writing is a productive skill. Writing tasks range from producing accurate letters of the alphabet to organising arguments into a persuasive essay. There are many different activities designed for particular genres (styles) of writing, but we have only included activities that can be used at all levels for many different types of writing. The section is ordered by levels of control. Highly controlled activities aim to produce an accurate written text where most of the language students need is provided already. Less controlled activities provide students with some of the language needed, but encourage them to use a lot of their own ideas. At the end of the chapter there are free writing activities, where the students choose the content and language themselves. Here are some examples of writing tasks at different levels of control:
copying from the board putting words or sentences into the correct order gap-lling where you choose the words or phrases rewriting in your own words writing your own ideas choosing the language yourself
controlled
free
When students are less familiar with the language, they need higher control activities. When they are more familiar with the language, they can move on to the free activities. Free activities are more typical of authentic (real-life) language needs.
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5.6 Classify the Information 6.3 Dictation 6.4 Dictogloss 8.1 Mixed Sentences
a. Create several sentences related to the topic or structure and mix up the word order in each sentence b. Students put the mixed sentences in order to form meaningful and accurate sentences.
6.7 Pair Dictation 7.1 Rewrite the Text 11.15 Write Yourself In
Purpose: students order words in a sentence Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare sentences with the words mixed up
You can also make higher level students order each sentence into a paragraph or text.
Purpose: students write and identify mistakes Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
b. Students swap sentences with a partner, who identies and corrects the mistake.
Purpose: students complete a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a text with some phrases or sentences removed
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Purpose: students add punctuation to a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a text with punctuation missing
With low level students, just remove basic punctuation (e.g. capitalisation, commas and full stops). With higher level students, remove more complex punctuation, such as dashes, colons and semi-colons.
Purpose: students add adverbs to a text to make it more interesting Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a text without adverbs
c. Students rewrite the text, adding adverbs to make it more expressive and interesting. To make this easier, write some suggested adverbs on the board.
She got tired of waiting. Where is he? she sighed, and walked over to the window.
Eventually, she got tired of waiting. Where is he? she sighed sadly, and walked slowly over to the window.
Purpose: students add a relevant beginning or ending to a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a text with the beginning and ending removed
On the 25th of January, I bought a Telexon external hard drive from your showroom. I was told that this had 500GB of space. However, when I set it up, I discovered it only had 100GB of space. I particularly need the larger drive, as I have a lot of les to store. I also consider that 110,000K is too much to pay for a 100GB drive.
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Purpose: students rewrite a text from a different point of view Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a model text for students to adapt
I was born in Bago in Central Myanmar in 1989. My parents worked in their stationery shop. My father worked in the shop front serving the customers and my mother looked after the accounts. We lived in a small new apartment in the centre of the city.
- rewrite it from a different point of view, e.g. rst person to third person
Purpose: students write and recognise a description Practicalities: students need to move around the room reading descriptions and looking at pictures Preparation: get pictures - enough for each student or pair of students
d. Collect the descriptions, mix them up, and give them out to each student or pair. Make sure nobody has their own description. e. Students go around the room and match their description with its picture.
1.
2.
3.
This activity can be used as general writing practice, or you can choose pictures related to a topic students have been studying.
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Purpose: students present the same information in different ways Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a graph, picture, map or chart
The Intermediate Class at the Worldwide English Academy meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Classes run from 5 to 8 pm. On Mondays, they start with General English. At 6.00 they have Academic Reading and Writing, followed by Public Speaking at 7. . .
Tues
- a table
- a graph
Purpose: students write the same information using different language Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
- lower level students can rewrite sentences. Allow them to use the same function words (prepositions, conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, pronouns, articles) - higher level students can rewrite paragraphs or longer texts. To make it harder, you can tell them they are not allowed to re-use certain function words, e.g. conjunctions or modal verbs
Purpose: students write a text using key words and phrases Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
Purpose: students sort information into different parts of a text Practicalities: students work alone Preparation: prepare a list of information that belongs in different paragraphs of an essay or article
- nice beaches - cheap guest houses - beautiful forests - comfortable hotels - convenient buses - fast trains
b. Each group has a sheet of paper with the title on the top. c. The rst group member starts the story by writing two sentences. They then fold the paper so only the second sentence can be seen. d. The next group member reads the sentence, and writes two sentences to follow this. They then fold the paper so only their second sentence can be seen. e. Continue this. After all students have had 1, 2 or 3 turns, get the next student to write a conclusion to the story. f. Groups read their stories to the class. 1. My Favourite Place I love to visit the zoo.
There are a lot of interesting animals there.
2.
3.
Purpose: students improve their written uency Practicalities: students work alone
b. Students write as much as they can about the topic. Encourage them not to worry about grammar or spelling, but to write as much as they can. c. After they stop, students count their words. The student with the most words is the winner. (Anything not connected to the topic doesnt count.)
Purpose: students do research, decide which information is important and write an essay Practicalities: students work in groups. They need sources: reference books, the internet, magazines and newspapers, and/or experts they can talk to
d. Each group member writes an essay using the groups research. Page 25
Speaking Activities
This section has activities to improve students speaking skills. receptive
reading
listening
input
productive
writing
speaking
output
graphic
oral/aural
Speaking, like writing, is a productive skill. In this section, we look at meaning-focused speaking activities, which require students to practise spoken language with real life-like outcomes. Pronunciation Practice Activities - producing the sounds, stress and intonation of a language - are in Section 13. No skill is taught in isolation. Except for repeating or reading aloud, speaking also involves (someone) listening, and many activities involve students taking turns speaking and listening - a conversation. Similarly, writing tasks usually have someone reading: input + output = interaction.
We have ordered this section, as with the writing section, by levels of control. The earlier activities are highly controlled, aiming for accurate speaking using a limited range of structures and language. The later ones are freer, with less planning or rehearsal beforehand, like most speaking is in real life. Here are some examples of speaking tasks at different levels of control:
reading aloud from the board singing a song you know quite well roleplay with some of the language provided making a formal, rehearsed presentation having an open discussion on a topic of your choice
controlled
free
When students are less familiar with the language, they need higher control activities. When they are more familiar with the language, they can move on to the freer activities. Free activities are more typical of authentic (real-life) language needs. Page 26
4.8 Disappearing Paragraph 4.10 Teach Each Other 6.7 Pair Dictation 9.1 Whispers
a. Put students in groups of 6-10. Each group stands in a line. Show the rst member of each group the sentence.
8.1 Rewrite the Text 8.3 Text from Key Words 8.10 Information Transfer
Purpose: students communicate messages clearly Practicalities: students work in groups Preparation: Prepare sentences for groups to communicate
b. The rst group member whispers the sentence into the ear of the second group member.
c. The second group member whispers the message into the ear of the third group member. The message gets passed through the whole group. d. When the last group member hears the message, they write it on the board. Is it the same as the original message? So that students dont get bored, and they get more practice, you can have several sentences going through the group at the same time.
Good students do their homework regularly and read a lot of books. Good students do their own work effectively and need a lot of books. Some stupid food roast pork left act and need pots and cooks.
Purpose: students ask for, give and rephrase information Practicalities: students work as a class and in pairs
Mi Mi doesnt like people hunting endangered animals, but she thinks its OK if they need to feed their families.
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Purpose: students summarise a text without written preparation Practicalities: this is best done with higher level students Preparation: prepare a text for students to summarise
Purpose: students improve their spoken uency Practicalities: students work in groups of 3-8 Preparation: prepare one picture per group, related to a topic or structure students have been studying
Another variation is Behind the Picture, where students take turns describing the background to the picture, rather than what they can actually see.
The old woman has just bought a new motorbike. He is worried that she will have an accident.
The young man is her grandson. She always drives too fast.
9.5 3-2-1
a. Students prepare a 3 minute talk on a topic they have been studying. Give them a few minutes to make notes - they shouldnt write it down word for word.
Purpose: students gradually summarise their talks Practicalities: students need to work in pairs, and change partners. This can get noisy
b. Students work in pairs. Partner A talks for three minutes while partner B listens. Then Partner B talks while Partner A listens. c. Students change partners. This time they each give their talk for two minutes. d. Students change partners again, and each give their talk for one minute. You can change the length of time to suit the level of the class. With low level students, have them talk for 90 seconds - 60 seconds - 30 seconds or less. With more advanced students, have them talk for 4, 3 and 2 minutes.
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Purpose: students prepare and deliver a speech, and practise active listening Practicalities: students need to hear the speaker
b. The class listens. After the speech is over, the class list the mistakes.
You cant get there by boat. It doesnt cost that much! It takes about 15 hours from Yangon.
9.7 Presentations
a. Individually or in pairs or groups, students prepare a presentation. They decide what they are going to present: what they will talk about, and how they will say it. b. They decide what supporting resources they will use in their presentation:
- posters, pictures or photographs - computer slides
Purpose: students prepare and deliver a formal presentation Practicalities: the class needs to be able to watch and listen to each presentation. This may take quite a long time
c. If necessary, students prepare notes to assist them in delivering their presentations. They should not write out their entire presentations word for word. d. Students deliver their presentations to the class. This works best if you give students a strict time limit for their presentation - neither too short nor too long. Also, if you do it in groups, make sure every student speaks. You might like to get the class to make notes of the key points of each students presentation.
Purpose: students describe pictures and match them with descriptions Practicalities: students need to be able to hear each other across the room Preparation: get a picture for each student
d. In turn, students describe their pictures. The student with the picture identies it. Page 29
9.9 Debate
a. Choose, or have students choose, an issue where there are two opposing opinions, e.g.
- students should have to wear uniforms (versus students should not have to wear uniforms)
Purpose: students think of, deliver and oppose arguments Practicalities: this may take an entire lesson, or more than one lesson, for students to prepare
- smoking should be illegal (versus smoking should not be illegal) - modernisation is more important than tradition (versus tradition is more important than modernisation)
b. Divide the class into two groups. Half the class will argue the afrmative (for the main idea) and the other half will argue the negative (against the main idea). c. Divide the afrmatives and negatives into groups of three. Each group of three spends some time preparing their argument - they need to list all the main ideas and examples supporting their argument. They also decide who will speak rst, second and last. d. The rst member of the afrmative team speaks for two minutes. After this, give the teams a minute or two to discuss ways to argue against the points made. e. The rst member of the negative team speaks for two minutes. They also include their arguments against the points made by the afrmative team. After this, give the teams a minute or two to discuss ways to argue against the points made. e. Repeat this for the second, and then the third, members of both teams. f. Have the class vote for the winning team - the team which makes the best argument.
I disagree with her point about uniforms making students look tidy. Many students wear their uniforms badly, or dont repair them, the same as any other clothing. In addition, poor families might have difficulty paying money for new, clean uniforms. If they can wear other clothes, it is easier to...
There are many other ways to do debates - a different number of people per side, allowing a longer or shorter time to discuss or speak, etc. Look at www.idebate.org for ideas.
Purpose: students give a prepared speech on a topic of their choice Practicalities: students need to hear the speaker Preparation: make a timetable of students to do this, so students know in advance when it is their turn
This works best if two students give their talk at the start of each class. Page 30
Purpose: students talk freely about familiar topics Practicalities: set up two long tables where students can move around the seats (see diagram below) Preparation: prepare 8-15 cards per group
You can use the Prompt Cards available at http://educasia.org for this. b. Set up tables so that students can sit facing each other in pairs, with the prompt cards between each pair of students. c. Each pair takes turns to talk for 30 seconds (or 45 seconds, or one minute) about the topic on the card. d. Students move clockwise to the next seat, and repeat the activity. You can also do this as a mingle (students talk in pairs, swap cards and nd another partner)
Purpose: students take turns to tell a part of a story Practicalities: class discussion
b. The rst student gives the next sentence in the story, e.g.
His family had all left him, but he had about twenty cats.
c. The second student continues the story. Students take turns saying a sentence of the story. With a large class, do this in groups.
Purpose: students make a short speech on an unprepared topic Practicalities: this is a good activity to have two or three students do at the start of every lesson Preparation: prepare a list of topics for students to select from
Post-task Activities
After you Read After you Listen After you Write After you Speak In this section, there are activities students can do to respond to or follow up on what was read, heard, written or spoken. They allow freer practice, and encourage students to use prior knowledge and skills as well as newly-learned information. These might involve: - giving opinions (students give their views on the topic) - exploring (students nd out more about some part of the topic that interests them) - analysis (students look deeper into some part of the topic) - assessment (students give feedback on other students work) - reection and evaluation (students think back over the process of completing the task) Some advantages of including post-task activities in your lesson: - deepening students understanding of the target language and content - helping them to remember target language and content - providing opportunities to use target language and content - transferring recently learned language structures into other relevant contexts - generally encouraging greater interest in the topics you are teaching Many post-task activities can either be done in the classroom or set as homework.
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1.4 Mind-map 4.6 Choose the Title 4.10 Teach Each Other 5.3 Text Quiz 8.15 Group Research Essay 9.7 Presentations 10.1 Who Wrote it?
9.9 Debate 9.10 Show and Tell 9.11 Prompt Cards 9.13 Impromptu Speeches 11.9 Race to the Board 12.14 Interviews and Surveys
Purpose: students identify the author of a piece of writing Practicalities: students need to move around the room. They should know each other quite well Preparation: stick students essays on the walls
a. After students have written a paragraph or an essay, stick them on the wall. Make sure they dont have students names on them. b. Students go around the room identifying who wrote each piece of writing.
Another variation is to give texts out, one to each student, and have them go around asking and answering questions to identify the writer.
d asjfbqf dgre we qey i 78 rg yj ee d sa w rfr e r 1qw d FGD G J J dge r lk .,mnbhj,, rer po jsdbdf w y sd fhdaswrth w tehth h htr k sef wef t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[f t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhj h i h4 fh ytjf t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adstjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjk w pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjf t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[ rgerg jhk897 b doanw k g ds ujk m lfmr,
a.
d asjfbqf dgre we qey i 78 rg yj ee d sa w rfr e r 1qw d FGD G J J dge r lk .,mnbhj,, rer po jsdbdf w y sd fhdaswrth w tehth h htr k sef wef t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[f t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhj h i h4 fh ytjf t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[f t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjk w pt hrtjwtyj jtyj y yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[ rgerg jhk897 b do
b.
d asjfbqf dgre we qey i 78 rg yj ee d sa w rfr e r 1qw d FGD G J J dge r lk .,mnbhj,, rer po jsdbdf w y sd fhdaswrth w tehth h htr k sef wef t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[f t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhj h i h4 fh ytjf t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[f t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkiodjfskifgjwksjfdskdjf iuy adsflk k[wept[pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjk w pt hrtjwtyj jtyj yuk ykr lkp oi hre rhjf t 7i fdw er yyt rt yul lkio iuy adsflk k[wept[ rgerg jhk897 b doanw k g ds ujk m lfmr,
c.
Do you think people should be punished if they drop rubbish at important cultural places?
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Purpose: students evaluate each others written or spoken output Practicalities: the class needs to have seen or heard everyones work
b. After students read or listen to others work, they evaluate it according to the criteria. There are different ways to do this:
- ll out a table or chart with scores or comments
name comments score
Good introduction. Some parts confusing, especially paragraph 2. Confident writer, with very few spelling and grammar mistakes, but most arguments weak. Clever use of language. Well argued. Handwriting very difficult to read sometimes.
- vote on whose is best
7 6 8.5 3
Win Win Than Most of her writing was not on the topic.
- write notes to give to the writer or speaker afterwards
Purpose: students reect on the task Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
- Students produce a written report (individually, or in pairs or groups) - Students brainstorm the various steps involved in completing the task and all the things they learned - Have an informal group or class discussion
Purpose: students decide what happens next in a story or event Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
Purpose: students think of closed questions about the topic Practicalities: students work in groups of 3-6
b. Each group takes turns asking other groups a question. The other groups discuss, decide and write the correct answer. c. After all groups have asked all their questions, go through the answers. The winner is the group with the most correct answers. Page 34
10.6 Roleplay
a. Give students a situation to act out. Put students in groups with enough people in each group to play all the roles needed. c. Groups perform their roleplay to the class.
Purpose: students act out a situation Practicalities: you need space for students to prepare and perform
b. Groups spend some time deciding who will play what role and what will happen. To make the roleplay more interesting, bring costumes and props to class. For example, for a roleplay about a princess who ghts a dragon, you could bring (or students could make) a crown, a dragon mask and a wooden or plastic gun or sword. Props can be very simple.
Purpose: students give their opinions about a topic Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
- a letter to the editor of a newspaper or website, if the topic is relevant to current events
10.8 Poster
After students have studied a topic, they design a poster to inform others about it. This poster could include:
- a main message or title as heading - a cartoon or cartoons - pictures, either drawn/painted by the students or cut from magazines - a summary of important information about the topic
Purpose: students design a poster about the topic Practicalities: students need materials to make a poster - large sheets of paper, drawing materials, magazines to cut up Preparation: get poster materials
Purpose: students extend their knowledge of a topic Practicalities: students need access to research materials - newspapers and magazines, reference books, the internet or people to talk to
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Language-focused Activities
There are three sub-sections here:
Focus on Pronunciation.
You can use these activities when students need practice on specic language points. These can be used at any stage to practice or review vocabulary, grammar or pronunciation points, or as part of a skills-focused lesson. Below are some examples of ways you can integrate these activities into a lesson. They are based on the same lesson plans as the Skills-focused Activities introduction.
A.
B.
persuasive speech
B1. Look at a UK election speech on TV B2. Look at some of the key vocabulary
points in text A6. Students do a controlled practice activity about the past simple tense A7. Students do a less controlled practice activity about the past simple tense A8. Students do a pronuniciation activity on past simple (ed) word endings) A9. Students discuss whether they have had similar experiences to the writer
used in the speech, and do a controlled vocabulary practice activity B3. Do a free vocabulary practice activity B4. In groups, students decide on policies B5. Students write their speeches B6. Students practise their speeches B7. Students deliver their speeches. The audience gives each speaker marks for langauge, content and style B8. Students decide who has won the class election, and discuss why B9. Do a pronunciation activity looking at sentence stress
We have added some language-focused activities to these lessons. A6 and A7 are Grammar
Practice Activities. They take the key structures used in the text - the past simple tense - and
give students controlled to free practice, so students can better understand and use this structure. B2 and B3 are Vocabulary Practice Activities. They look at the vocabulary students have encountered in the Pre-task Activity (watching an example speech). They provide controlled and free practice with this vocabulary, so students can use it in the main task (making a persuasive speech). A8 and B9 are Pronunciation
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Focus on Vocabulary
11. Vocabulary Practice Activities
Use these activities when students need to focus on understanding and using words and phrases. This section is ordered by levels of control - controlled practice activities are near the beginning of the chapter, free practice activities at the end. However, many activities can be adapted to make them more controlled or freer - see Appendix 1. Some of the activities in other sections, especially Section 2: Pre-teach Vocabulary, can be used to practise vocabulary:
1.4 Mind-map 2.1 Match the Vocabulary 2.2 Elicit the Word 4.8 Disappearing Paragraph 5.6 Classify the Information 8.1 Rewrite the Text
8.8 Write and Match the Description 8.11 Text from Key Words 9.11 Prompt Cards 12.9 Noughts and Crosses 12.11 Who am I? Mingle 12.13 Speaking Stick
11.1 Hangman
a. Think of a word you want students to remember. Write a dash for each letter on the board.
Purpose: students recognise and spell vocabulary items Practicalities: students work from the board
3 4 2 8 10 1 5 6 9 7 11
b. Students guess which letters are in the word. A student calls out a letter. If that letter is in the word, write it in the word - if it is in the word twice, write it in twice. If it is not in the word, draw the rst part of the hanged man on the board, and write it on the board. c. Students continue to try to guess which letters are in the word. The game nishes when:
- the hangman drawing is complete (students lose) - or someone guesses the word (students win)
repeat
c
__ __ __ __ __ __
u
sweet
wi d n
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11.2 Bingo
a. Choose about 30-50 words to write on Bingo boards, and decide on what words students will match them with.
- The simplest version is matching the written word to the spoken word: Write the words on the Bingo board, then read them out
Purpose: students recognise and match vocabulary items Practicalities: students need to be able to hear you clearly Preparation: prepare bingo boards and a list of words they match with
- Matching words to synonyms or antonyms: Write the words on the Bingo board, then read out similar or opposite words - Matching verbs with their base forms: Write past simple or past participle forms of verbs on the Bingo board, then read out base forms - Matching adjectives to comparative or superlative forms, matching different parts of word families, matching numbers to simple equations, matching words with pictures...
b. Prepare enough bingo boards so that everyone in the class has one. Write 16 of the words in 4x4 grids. Make enough so there is a slightly different one for each student. These examples are for matching adjectives with antonyms.
mean lazy bad honest sad ugly stupid selfish clever small careful vain tired early shy quiet shy cold stupid vain ugly rich late boring big tired careful clever bad nice young short
You can use the Bingo software available at http://educasia.org to make boards. c. Call out the matches for the words, one by one. If the student has the word on their board, they cross it off. old
mean lazy bad honest sad clever small careful vain tired shy quiet beautiful loud unselfish ugly stupid selfish early
d. The rst student to cross off a row vertically calls out BINGO!
, horizontally
or diagonally
e. Continue playing. The rst student to cross off all the words on their card calls out BINGO! You could get the winning students to call out the words for the next game. To make this more challenging, use a 5x5 grid.
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Purpose: students practise understanding and use of action verbs, body parts and imperatives Practicalities: students need to stand up and move their bodies. They all need to see Thingy leading the game. This can get noisy
c. Continue giving instructions using Thingy says. Students imitate and obey. If they do the wrong action, they leave the game. d. Give an instruction without saying Thingy Says, e.g. Shake your arms. Any students who obey leave the game. e. Continue giving instructions, sometimes not saying Thingy says. Any time students do the wrong action, or obey an instruction that doesnt have Thingy says, they leave the game. Continue until only one student is left. That student is the winner. You could have students take turns to be Thingy.
Thingy says touch your knees Wave your hands
or
badly
Purpose: students recognise and communicate recently learned vocabulary Practicalities: students work in groups. This can get noisy Preparation: prepare cards with word, sentence or picture prompts
You can use the Vocabulary Picture Cards available at http://educasia.org for this. b. Students work in groups. Give each student a card. In turns, students have to act out the word, phrase or sentence on the card without talking to the other group members. c. When the team guesses the word, phrase or sentence correctly they get a point. The next group member then acts out their word. The winner is the team with the most points.
looking for something? no, its an animal a dog
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Purpose: students recognise and match vocabulary items Practicalities: students work in groups around tables or on the oor Preparation: prepare sets of cards for group to match
- Matching words to synonyms, antonyms, denitions or examples - Matching two parts of a phrasal verb or compound noun - Matching words which rhyme with each other, or words that have the same consonant sound
b. Students work in groups. Give each group a set of cards. They put the cards face-down (so they cant see the word) on the table, spread out so all are visible. c. In turns, group members turn over two cards. If they match, they keep the cards and have another turn. If they dont match, it is the next group members turn. Dont change the position of the cards between turns.
d. The winner is the group member with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game.
11.6 Memory
a. Get about 20 objects, pictures of objects or a picture of a scene using target language. You can
use the Vocabulary Picture Cards available at http://educasia.org for this.
b. Students look at the things or picture/s for 2 minutes. You might like to go through the names of the items with them while they are looking at them. c. Take the things or pictures away, or cover them.
Purpose: students remember items or facts Practicalities: students all have to see items clearly Preparation: collect items or pictures/a picture of items
d. Give students about 5 minutes to remember all the items and write them down.
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Purpose: students remember form and meaning of new vocabulary Practicalities: each student needs at least 10 small pieces of cardboard
b. Give each student 10 or more small pieces of cardboard. They write the word or phrase on one side of the cardboard. c. On the other side, they write:
- a translation - or a denition or synonym - or an example sentence using the word - or they can draw a picture. You can use the Vocabulary Picture Cards available at http://educasia.org for this.
Hmmm... multi-lingual. I think lingual is language... multi is many. Ah, I know many languages!
multi-lingual
d. Students put the cards in their pockets or bags. At any time - when they are sitting at home, on the bus, waiting for someone - they can get them out and test themselves.
11.8 Gap-fill
a. Prepare a text (or sentences, or questions) with key vocabulary items missing. This can be:
- closed (only one answer is possible) - or open (many answers are possible)
Purpose: students identify needed vocabulary items Practicalities: students work from the board or worksheets Preparation: write text with missing vocabulary items
b. Students identify words to complete the text. Lek Tho is a medium sized _____ on the river. It has quite a _____ population, but theres a lot to _____ there. Theres a cinema, a sports stadium, a _____ and a lot of restaurants and teashops. Theres _____ teachers training college too, _____ a lot of students _____ there. The teachers college _____ a large library. Everyone is allowed to go there to _____ books. You can make this easier by providing the answers, in mixed order with the text. Another variation is to make each gap a multiple choice exercise.
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Purpose: students identify and form recently learned items Practicalities: students need to work in teams, and run to the board. This can get noisy Preparation: prepare questions about recently learned vocabulary
A long, yellow fruit
1 lll 2
banana
llll 3 ll
ba
c. Continue until all team members have had a turn, or until you have nished your questions. The winner is the team with the most points. You can do this with grammar structures, e.g. past participles. You say a verb, and teams race to write the correct past participle form. You can also do this to test knowledge of a topic, by asking questions about that topic.
11.10 Describe it
a. Put students into two (or more) teams. One team member is the describer. Give each teams describer - secretly - a word to describe. b. The describers try to communicate the word to their team without saying the word. They can:
- give a denition - mime - give examples - give opposite meanings
dacoit
Purpose: students describe and identify vocabulary items Practicalities: Students work in teams. All team members must be able to see the describing team member. This can get noisy
steal, rob burglar usually with guns Its a phrasal verb GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY NOW!
c. The rst group to guess the correct word gets a point. d. Team members take turns being the describer. The winner is the team with the most points at the end of the game.
hijacking
hold up
For higher level students, you can also use phrases. Page 42
Purpose: students dene, identify and communicate target vocabulary Practicalities: students work in pairs Preparation: design two half jigsaw crosswords
1
m a
l
4
a
3
m o u
4
a n
3
f e v e r
k e
n e y
10 12
e
6
s t o
k l e
10 12
h
7
t h
e
11
m
8
h e
t e a
h e a
a c h
t o e
s o
11
f l l
o n e
13 14
13
r e
d o
14
b. Give each student one half-crossword. Students write clues for each of their words: examples, denitions or synonyms. c. Students tell their partner the clues needed to complete their crosswords.
Number 2 down is the part of your body that joins your feet to your legs.
Purpose: students brainstorm vocabulary items Practicalities: students work in groups of 3-5
b. Choose a letter of the alphabet (or elicit one from the students) and write it on the board, for example C. In their groups, students think of a word in each category beginning with that letter, e.g. cat / carrot / Canada / computer c. When a group has found a word for each category, they shout Stop! and say their words. They win a point if all their words are correct. d. Continue the game with other letters. The group with the most points wins.
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Purpose: students communicate a description Practicalities: students work in pairs Preparation: get or draw pictures of scenes with features students have been studying
- Directions or places in a town - a map, a picture of a street - Foods, quantities, containers - a kitchen scene, things on shelves - People, clothes, actions - a person, a scene of people doing things
Theres a tall man wearing trousers, a T-shirt and a hat.
b. Students work in pairs. Give Partner A of each pair a picture. They hold it so that Partner B cant see it. c. Partner A describes their picture to Partner B. Partner B draws it. d. After they have nished, they compare the original picture and the dictated drawing. How similar are they? e. Give Partner B a picture, which they dictate to Partner A.
Purpose: students brainstorm items in categories Practicalities: class discussion with board
b. One by one, students name something that goes into the category. If a student says something that has already been said or cant think of anything to say, they are out of the game. c. Keep going round the class until only one student is left. That student is the winner. In a large class, do this in groups.
Purpose: students use target vocabulary items Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups
My cousin has an important job in a bank. Tomorrow, I have an important meeting at the bank.
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Focus on Grammar
12. Grammar Practice Activities
Use these activities when students need to focus on understanding and using grammar structures. This section is ordered by levels or control - controlled practice activities are near the beginning of the chapter, free practice activities at the end. However, many activities can be adapted to make them more controlled or freer - see Appendix 1. Some of the activities in other sections can be used to practise grammar:
1.6 Swap Questions 5.8 Whats the Question? 8.2 Sentences with Mistakes 8.3 Add Phrases or Sentences 8.4 Add Punctuation 8.5 Add Adverbs 12.1 Substitution Drill
a. Write a sentence using the target structure on the board, e.g. present simple tense: I like bananas
8.7 Change the Text 9.11 Prompt Cards 11.5 Memory Match 11.8 Gap-fill 11.9 Race to the Board 13.4 Word Endings
Purpose: students form target structures Practicalities: Students work from the board. This can get noisy
b. Students say the sentence. Write a substitution for one of the words in the sentence, e.g.: I like bananas beef beef beef eat eat eat dont dont My mother beef
I like beef.
c. Students say the sentence. Keep changing words, and students keep saying the new sentences.
I eat beef. I dont eat beef. My mother doesnt eat beef
Purpose: students order words in sentences Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare some sentences with the words in mixed order
Purpose: students identify matching questions and answers Practicalities: students need to move around the room Preparation: prepare pieces of paper with questions, and others with the matching answer
c. Once they nd their match, they come to you to check. If they are correct, they sit down. If wrong, they go back and continue trying to nd their match. You can allow students to read each others questions and answers, or make them memorise their questions/answers and say them to each other.
Where do you go after English class? 24, but sometimes more. Where do you go after English class? Usually to the library.
- These can be closed (only one solution is possible): Yes, I like eating mangos. The only - or only likely - question is Do you like eating mangos?
Purpose: students form questions that match provided answers Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare some answers
- or more open (many solutions are possible): One hundred and twenty-three. The question should start with How many, but there are a lot of possible questions.
b. Students write questions that match the answers. If you use open-solution answers, you can make this into a competition to see which student or group can think of the most interesting question.
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Purpose: students form accurate sentences using target structures Practicalities: students work from the board
c. Elicit another word, or two or three word chunk, to make the sentence longer. e.g. eaten He had eaten He had eaten fruit He had eaten lots of fruit He had eaten lots of fruit for dinner He had eaten lots of fruit for his dinner He hadnt eaten lots of fruit for his dinner He hadnt eaten lots of fruit for his dinner, and was hungry c. If the sentence is grammatically incorrect, wait for the students to realise. If they dont, silently rub out the wrong words and allow them to continue. With large classes, do this in groups.
Purpose: students ask and answer questions using target structures Practicalities: students need to move around the room talking to each other. This can be noisy Preparation: prepare a list of things for students to ask about
b. Students go around the room asking questions until they nd someone on this list. They write that persons name.
Do you usually walk to class? No, I take the bus. Do you eat pork? No, never.
c. If they cant nd anyone, they write nobody. Continue for about ve minutes, or until some students have completed their questions. This activity is useful to do at the end of a unit, to practise all the different structures learned. It is also useful for a new class, to help them get to know each other. In this situation, have them ask general small-talk questions, e.g. Find someone who is a university student, nd someone who likes playing football, nd someone who can play the guitar. Page 47
Purpose: students practise using target structures Practicalities: students move around the class talking Preparation: prepare small cards with word or picture prompt
go to a teashop
You can do this using the Vocabulary Picture Cards software at http://educasia.org. b. Give a card to each student. Students walk around the room asking and answering questions using the structure and the prompt.
Would you like to go to the teashop? Yes, I would.
or No, I wouldnt.
c. After students have asked and answered the questions, they swap cards, and nd another person to exchange information. You can use this activity with most structures. Some examples:
- Can you...? cards with action words, or pictures of actions - Is/are there...? cards with items in a classroom or town, or pictures of these - What would you do if...? cards with problems, or pictures of difcult situations
When students are familar with this activity, get them to make their own cards.
Purpose: students practise using target structures Practicalities: students work in pairs
Ive never been to China. Ive lived here for 20 years. Ive won a lot of competitions for painting and poetry.
You can also use this as a post-task activity when teaching a topic, e.g. Climate Change:
- Climate change is caused by carbon dioxide. - Climate change started in 1900. - Cutting down trees causes climate change.
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Purpose: students practise using target function words Practicalities: this might be difcult for classes of over 20 students
b. Divide the class into two teams - one team is Xs, the other is Os. The rst team chooses one of the words. They have one minute to make a correct sentence using the word. c. Give their sentence to the other team to check. If correct, they get to write an X or O in that square. d. The next team then chooses a square, and writes a correct sentence using the word in it. e. Teams try to get three squares in a row vertically horizontally or diagonally . ,
some
a lot of
lots
You can also use this activity with antonyms (teams give the opposite word to the one in the square), synonyms (teams a word with the same meaning as the one in the square) or questions (write answers in the squares, teams give an appropriate question).
12.10 Consequences
a. Start by saying a two-clause sentence, practicing a structure students have been studying, e.g. rst conditional:
If I win the lottery, Ill buy a new house.
Purpose: students form sentences using target structures Practicalities: students need to be able to hear each other
b. The rst student makes a sentence using the second clause, e.g.
If I buy a new house, Ill get a swimming pool.
c. In turn, students continue making new sentences from the nal clauses of the previous ones:
If I get a swimming pool, all my friends will visit me. If all my friends visit me, Ill have to provide food and drinks for them.
You can use any two-clause sentence structure, e.g. Because Kyaw Kyaw was late to work because his car broke down. His car broke down because he didnt look after it, He didnt look after it because he had no money, etc. I rang you while you were having a shower. I was having a shower while my father cooked dinner. My father cooked dinner while the TV was on, etc.
While -
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Purpose: students ask questions to identify a person or object Practicalities: students move around the room talking to each other
b. Students nd a partner and ask them yes/no questions to try to identify themselves, e.g.
When was I born? Where am I from? Am I real or fictional?
c. If they get a yes answer, they can ask that student another question. If they get a no answer, they go and nd another student. d. Stop the game when several students have identied themselves.
Yes, you are. Yes, you are. Yes, you do. Am I alive? Am I female?
Angelina Jolie
You can also do this as a What am I? activity where students write an animal or thing, and have to guess what they are.
Purpose: students use and respond to target structures or vocabulary Practicalities: students sit in a circle on single chairs. This can get noisy
b. The student in the centre calls out a statement based on the topic or structure they have been studying.
- Present perfect, e.g. Everyone whos been to Bagan; Everyone whos never won a competition - Possession, e.g. Everyone whos got a watch; Everyone whos got three brothers - Likes and dislikes, e.g. Everyone who hates cleaning the house; Everyone who likes shpaste - Getting to know people, e.g. Everyone who lives nearby; Everyone who is a teacher
Everyone whos wearing a watch.
c. All the students who qualify get up and change chairs with each other. The student in the centre grabs one of the chairs. d. The student who fails to get a chair continues with another statement.
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Purpose: students practise asking and answering questions Practicalities: students stand in a circle if possible, but this is not necessary Preparation: get some sticks, or other objects you can pass around
- questions practising a structure, e.g. How much/many: How many children have you got? How much did it rain last week?
b. That student tries to answer the question. When they answer correctly, give them the stick. Then that student asks the same question of the student next to them. c. The stick gets passed around the circle from student to student, along with the question, until it returns to you. In the meantime, start passing around more sticks, with different questions. A similar game can be played with a ball. The rst student asks a question, then throws the ball to another student. That student answers the question, then asks a question (the same or different, depending on the rules you prefer) and throws the ball to a third student, and so on.
Purpose: students interview each other and present the results Practicalities: students talk in pairs
b. Students interview each other and record the answers to each others questions. c. Students explain their partners answers to the class (or to a group, if you have a big class).
Min Mins favourite band is Iron Cross. His favourite food is ice-cream. His favourite actor is Kyaw Hein, although he also really likes Judi Dench. He doesnt like travelling on boats because he gets sick. He likes cooking and...
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Focus on Pronunciation
13. Pronunciation Practice Activities
Use these activities when students need to focus on pronouncing sounds, words, sentences and dialogues. There are activities here targeting word and sentence stress, intonation and individual vowel and consonant sounds. Some of the activities in other sections can be used to practise pronunciation:
4.8 Disappearing Paragraph 9.1 Whispers 10.6 Roleplay 11.2 Bingo 11.5 Memory Match 13.1 Stress Columns
11.7 Vocabulary Cards 11.12 Alphabet Categories 12.1 Substitution Drill 12.5 Expanding Sentences 12.9 Noughts and Crosses
Purpose: students identify word stress patterns Practicalities: students work from the board
a. Write a list of target words on the board and draw a stress pattern chart.
food
water
shampoo
telephone
computer
magazine
b. Students decide which pattern each word follows, and put it into the correct column. You can also do this to classify words into syllables: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 syllable words.
Purpose: students perform dialogues using different intonation Practicalities: students work in pairs Preparation: prepare a simple dialogue using familiar structures
c. Next time, they say them as if they are very depressed. Try other emotions: indifference, anger, thoughtfulness, curiosity, etc.
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Purpose: students use sentence stress to change the focus of questions Practicalities: students work in pairs
b. Students think of how many ways they can change the stress to get different answers, e.g.
Are YOU going to the shops with Ma Ma tomorrow? Are you going to THE SHOPS with Ma Ma tomorrow? Are you going to the shops with MA MA tomorrow? Are you going to the shops with Ma Ma TOMORROW?
No, IM not going, but Naw Moo is. No, were going to the CINEMA. No, Im going with SU SU. No, were going NEXT TUESDAY.
c. Students ask and answer the questions, either within their pairs or with other students. Make sure the answers also correctly stress the changed information.
Purpose: students identify target sounds in sentences Practicalities: students have to hear you clearly Preparation: prepare a list of pairs of sentences
b. Students stand up. Read the sentences in mixed order. If students hear the target structure, they put their hands on their heads. If they hear a different structure, they put their hands on their waists. c. The students who are incorrect sit down. Continue until there is only one student left, or until you have run out of sentences. You can use this for minimal pairs as well: read one word with the target sound, and one word which the same except for the target sound, e.g. to test for / you can say bird and bad; to test for / I / you can say bit and beat. You can also get students, rather than you, to read the sentences to the class or in groups.
The vegetables are in the basket.
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Purpose: students identify target sounds in a text Practicalities: students work individually, or in pairs or groups Preparation: prepare a text with examples of the target sound
Decide whether to tell students how many examples there are. (The example above has 17 schwa sounds.) b. Students identify the examples, and practise repeating the text/sentences with correct pronunciation of target sounds. e e basket f b nan s, large cart n f delic s oranges Ive got mirr . I got th m t th sup rmarket yest day aft noon. e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e nd beautiful
fruit, choose, blue, two, queue book, put, good, push aunt, half, laugh, part run, front, does, ood, suck
Purpose: students form and identify vowel sounds Practicalities: students move around the class. This can get noisy Preparation: prepare pieces of paper with familiar one syllable words on them
b. Give each student a word. Students go around the room saying their word. c. When they nd other students with the same vowel sound, they get into a group with them. Continue until everyone has found their group.
blue laugh book front two queue should
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B. Make it a competition
This can motivate students. It works better if you give a prize to the student or group that wins or performs the best.
Roleplay activities (e.g. 10.6: Roleplay) can be made more controlled by:
- giving the students a script they have to act out (high control) - giving the students key phrases they must include (medium control)
Activities where students order mixed items (e.g. 4.12: Separate the Text and 6.2 Order the Listening Text) can be made freer by:
- not providing all the items to be ordered: students have to think of some themselves - providing only key words, so students have to make sentences and put them in order
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One of you is A (point to letter A on the handouts) One of you is B (point to letter B on the handouts) Dont show your paper to anyone (mime hiding the paper) Some things in picture A are different from picture B Describe your picture You have ten minutes
Demonstrate an activity wherever possible. Here is a demonstration of 11.13: Picture Dictation: 1. Ask one student to come out in front of the class and sit opposite you. 2. Give a picture to the student and keep one yourself. Let the class see that youre keeping the pictures secret from each other. 3. Pretend to be Student A and do one complete example with Student B so that the whole class can hear: Teacher: Student B: Teacher: Student B: Teacher:
Draw a tall tree on the left side.
(draws)
OK, what do I draw? Draw a car. Theres a bird on the car.
Students watch this so they know what to do. Hand out materials after you have given instructions to the class, if possible. Then you have their full attention, as they are not distracted by materials in front on them. Ask instruction checking questions after you give instructions, to check they understand them.
What do you do first? and after that? We get into pairs
The rst time you do an activity it might be difcult, as it is unfamiliar to students. The next time, and after that, students will understand what they have to do, so it will be easier. Page 56
Vary the way you put students into groups. Sometimes its easier for them to work with the people they are sitting with. Sometimes its better to count them off - Group 1, Group 2, Group 3, 1, 2, 3... Sometimes you might want to get creative, e.g. People wearing white shirts are in Team A. People not wearing white shirts are in Team B.
Group A
Group B
Groups might be sitting around a big table (or on the oor). If you have xed desks, you can make groups by having front rows turn around.
this row turns around to face the row behind
this row turns around to face the row behind Group C Group D
Mingle activities (where students have to move around the classroom talking to each other, such as 1.6: Swap Questions) are best if you can push the chairs and tables to the side of the room. Page 57
D. Eliciting
Whenever possible, get the students to provide the ideas, words or answers rather than providing them yourself. You can prompt them by giving them clues.
Wh... Wh... Where do koalas live?
E. Correcting Mistakes
There are a number of ways to treat mistakes. Different strategies are suitable for different situations. Here are some ideas:
2. Ignoring mistakes
Sometimes it is OK to do nothing and simply ignore the mistake, especially in uency-focused activities. For example, if you are having a debate or discussion, the purpose is for students to express ideas and opinions and get used to using English. So long as the meaning is clear, it does not matter so much if there are language errors.
I think global warming not most big problem. Many people in these days still poor so we should not focus environment.
It is unlikely the students will learn incorrect usage because someone has made a mistake that went uncorrected. Just try to ensure they get enough exposure to correct language through reading and listening texts and teacher and student talk in the class.
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4. Self-correction
Students might realise that they have made a mistake and correct it themselves straight away. Letting students self-correct, instead of interrupting immediately, can help them feel more condent about their own learning, and encourages them to solve problems for themselves.
I really like get a lot of homework. no, getting. I like getting a lot of homework.
So whenever possible, if you hear a mistake, pause rst and see if the student can x the problem without your help.
5. Teacher prompting
If the student does not immediately self-correct, you can signal silently that they have made a mistake, and let them try to correct themselves. You can make up different signals for different types of mistake, e.g.
- push your arms together to show a word is too long - hold up one nger to show that one word is missing - touch your ear to indicate a pronunciation problem
I liking a lot of homework.
6. Peer correction
If the student cannot correct themselves even after you prompt them, you can ask other students to help. Some students and teachers are not comfortable with this, but it has many advantages: - students feel more in control of their learning, and less reliant on the teacher - you can nd out if the rest of the class is struggling with the same language point - you can nd out if the other students are paying attention! Of course, if nobody else can help, you can then correct the mistake yourself.
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Appendix 3: Glossary
This is a list of English language teaching terms used in this book. It only lists the meaning that is relevant to teaching. Many words, such as drill, negotiation and rank also have other, more commonly used meanings, not listed here. Accuracy (n - opposite of uency): Without mistakes. An accuracy-focused activity emphasises correct usage, spelling, or pronunciation. Adapt (v): When you adapt teaching materials, you change them so they are more relevant for your class. Authentic (adj): Real-life. An authentic text is a text from real life (a newspaper, taped conversation, etc.), not one made for teaching purposes. Brainstorm (n, v): A technique where students think of words or ideas connected to a topic. Competitive (adj): In a competitive activity, students try to do better than other students. Comprehension (n): Comprehension activities test students understanding of the form or meaning of language. They are usually highly controlled. Content (n): The information in a text. If an activity focuses on the content, the objective is to be able to understand and/or use the information and ideas, rather than the language in it. Context (n): The wider situation; background information. Dictation (n): An activity where someone reads a text aloud, and others listen and write it down. Drill (n, v): An activity where students repeat examples of a structure, sometimes with small variations. Elicit (v):To get students to give answers or suggestions, rather than the teacher providing them. Emphasise (v): When you emphasise a point or a word, you pay special attention to it. Evaluate (v): To look at something carefully and then give an opinion. Expert Speaker (n): A person who can speak a language accurately and uently. Exposure (n): Students need exposure to words and structures; they need to see or hear them often, in different contexts. Exposure is a type of input. Feedback (n): Comments, corrections and suggestions. You give students feedback so they can improve their work. Fluency (n - opposite of accuracy): A uencyfocused activity emphasises faster and more condent use of language.
Free (adj - opposite of controlled): A free Controlled (adj - opposite of free): A activity is where students decide what controlled activity is one where the language and structures they need. Free students are provided with the language and activities have many possible correct structures they will use. Controlled activities outcomes, and they focus on uency. usually have one correct answer, or a limited Form 1. (n - opposite of meaning): In a number of correct answers. They focus on form-focused activity, students look at how accuracy. language is organised. Dialogue (n): A conversation. 2. (v) To make. Accuracy-focused writing activities often involve forming correct sentences. Page 60
Function (n): Language functions are used in particular situations, e.g. requesting, asking the time, ordering. Gap-ll (n, adj): Gap-ll activities have parts missing, and students have to think of an appropriate word or phrase to ll them. Gist (n - opposite of detail): When you read or listen for gist, you are interested in the main idea rather than the details. Input (n - opposite of output): Reading and listening material that provides exposure to how the language is used. Interaction (n): Communication. Input + output = interaction.
Productive (adj - opposite of receptive): Productive knowledge is knowledge you can use, as well as understand. Rank (n, v): A ranking activity is one where students order items according to a given criteria, e.g. most to least useful. Receptive (n - opposite of productive): Receptive knowledge is knowledge you can understand. Recycle (v): When language is recycled, students get exposed to words and structures again and again throughout the course. Restate (v): To rephrase; to repeat information using different wording.
L1 (n): First language; native language; mother Roleplay (n): An activity where students act in tongue. L2 is a non-native language. a role of a character, or pretend they are in a different situation. Meaning (n - opposite of form): In a meaningStructure (n): The structure of a language is focused activity, students look at what the way it is organised; its rules, including language is saying, rather than how to form grammar. it correctly. Mingle (n): Mingle activities involve students moving around the room interacting with other students in turn. Mime (n, v): Showing the meaning of a word or phrase without speaking, using only body movement. Negotiation (n): The process of discussing language to decide on form and meaning. Outcome (n): The goal of an activity, or the benets you want the students to get from it. Output (n - opposite of input): Speaking and writing. Student output involves students producing the language. Predict (v): Prediction activities involve students guessing what will come next. Presentation (n): (1) Giving an example of the language in context, so students can see its form and meaning. (2) An activity where students give a formal talk and/or display to an audience. Student-centred (adj - opposite of teachercentred): Putting the needs and interests of the students rst; actively involving the students in the learning process. Summary (n): If you summarise a text, you outline only the most important points. Target (adj, n): A target structure, vocabulary item or skill is one you are focusing on. Task (n): A classroom activity that focuses on communicating meaning. Teacher-centred (adj - opposite of studentcentred): When the teacher takes the central, active role in class, and students are passive. Text (n): A piece of writing or speaking that students read, listen to or produce. Usage (n): The way language is used in context. Vary (v): When you vary an activity, you adapt it to make it different, such as easier, more relevant, or more uency focused.
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