How to behave? / What to say?

Students are introduced to some social situations and are to decide how to behave and what language to use according to whom they are speaking to and the situation itself.

e.g.

1. Someone offers you a ticket to the concert. Refuse politely.

S: Thank you very much. That is very kind of you. Unfortunately, I cannot go. I am going to the cinema tonight.

2. You want your friend to help you spell the word photograph, but at the moment she’s reading. Interrupt her.

3. You are not sure how to pronounce the word naughty. Interrupt the teacher, who is talking to another student.

4. Your brother tells you he’s failed the exam. What do you say? Etc.

Making people do what you want.

Variation 1.

Students are asked to act out a telephone conversation as if they have just returned home from school.

Student A   Imagine that you are watching your favourite film and at the most exciting moment your friend calls you. Let him/her know that you are busy but try to be as polite as you can.

Student B   Imagine that you are expecting guests and cooking a cake but you are not sure about the ingredients and procedure. You know that your friend can help you. Ring her/him up and try to find out about it by all means.

Invitation.

Teacher gives out the role cards at random and asks students to find out someone to spend the evening with them.

e.g.

 

(taken from Classroom Dynamics by J. Hadfield)

Completing

Completing the story.

Class is divided into groups of four or five. Each group is given the opening of a story. Using it as a starting point, the groups work out a short story.

 

Possible openings.

1. One dollar and eight-seven cents. Mila lost everything: her job, her love, her family, her friends. It happened so unexpectedly that she still didn’t believe it herself. And yet nothing could be changed. And the next day would be Christmas…

2. It was not early. Miss Natalie lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling on which there were funny ornaments of different people and even short stories about them. She wondered who had painted all this. Her room smelted of flowers from the garden and the sun shone so brightly through the window. She was in this room for the first time in her life…

Expanding / Extending

Extending brief notes.

At post-listening stage students add to the text the missing information (from one sentence to long pieces of prose).

e.g. Listen to the story of Mary's life. With your partner retell her life story. Use these notes to help you.

Typescript:

Marsha: I'm 15 years old. I was born in Australia. My parents moved to Britain when I was five years old. We lived in Glasgow – that was great – then in London. I went to the Macintosh school in Glasgow, and now I'm at Fairfield Secondary School in South London. I'm studying for my GCSE exams. I'm no good at English or French but I'm brilliant at maths. I like pop music, disco dancing, scuba diving and walking in the mountains. Oh, and I'm on the school basketball team. There, how was that?

Tim: Brilliant! I couldn't write it all... but maybe we can meet again.

Marsha: Uh-oh, Mum's getting impatient. Must go... See you.

(taken from Double Take-1. Listening and Speaking by J.Collie)

Table-filling

Timetable.

Students fill in the timetable of their typical weekday. The table can be used later as the basis of written description of their daily routine.

e.g.

		8:00	8:15	8:30	11:00		17:00
Monday	get up					have lunch		go to bed
Tuesday							watch TV

True / False Statements

Interactional true/false.

After listening to a dialogue students work in pairs. They should distribute the roles and, in their roles, agree or disagree with the given statements.

e.g.

Statements:

1. Musicals are more interesting then classical plays.

2. Serious plays are not very popular.

3. Matinee performances are more convenient.

Script:

Mrs. Miller:	Do you like musicals, Monica? I adore them!
Monica:	I prefer classical plays. But why?
Mrs. Miller:	Well, there is a new one at the Prince of Wales. It's had very good reviews.
Monica:	It sounds quite good but I think I'd rather see something more serious. But nowadays serious play are not a success.
Mrs. Miller:	How about one by Agatha Christie? It must be good.
Monica:	Ah! That sounds better. Is it a matinee performance?
Mrs. Miller:	No, they have no matinees on Tuesdays.
Monica:	What a pity!
Mrs. Miller:	But I'm always busy in the afternoon.

 

Ranking

Ranking qualities.

Students are to rank the qualities (e.g. the ones a good teacher should possess) in the order of importance.

e.g.

○	keeps in contact with the parents of his or her pupils and lets them participate in the life of the school (in a primary or secondary school)
○	is able to maintain discipline and order
○	lets the students share his or her own life with all its ups and downs
○	works hard to maintain up-to-date in his or her subject
○	openly admits when he or she has made a mistake or doesn't know something
○	is interested is his or her students, asks them about their homes and tries to help where possible
○	makes the students work hard and sets high standards
○	is friendly and helpful to his or her colleagues
○	uses a lot of different materials, equipment and teaching methods and attempts to make his or her lessons interesting
○	helps the students become independent and organize their own learning

(taken from Keep Talking by F. Klippel)

Rating

How often?

Students work in pairs. They ask each other the questions and fill in the chart for their partners.

e.g.

How often do you:	very often	often	sometimes	rarely	never
cry laugh quarrel forget things get angry do silly things make mistakes tell jokes do morning exercises complement somebody	______________________________________________________________________

 

When they have finished they can be asked to write 3-5 sentences about their partners. The information can be collected and placed on the wall-poster.

e.g.

Ana never forgets things!

Felix never cries! Etc.

(taken from Classroom Dynamics by J. Hadfield)