ISP Activities (Dr - scuolabernacchiabrigida.edu.it -per-la-classe.docx · Web viewAlways remember...

ISP Activities (Dr. Michael Fennell [email protected])

TIP: Always remember ‘The goldfish bowl technique’ where the teacher or a good student demonstrates the activity before asking the class to complete / perform it. This saves time as the teacher does not find him/herself having to use up valuable monitoring time in giving the instructions over and over again to those students / groups who were unable to follow the spoken instructions. This is helpful not only with special needs students but with all students / learners (school, college, university, graduates and professionals)

GETTING TO KNOW YOU ACTIVITIES

‘WH’ QUESTIONS

The teacher elicits from the students the Wh questions (When, Why, Who, What, Whose, Which, Where, How). The teacher or a good student writes these on the board. Another student asks each question three times of the teacher who each time gives a different piece of information. The class then recalls what the teacher said. Students then in pairs do the same but with their own different Wh questions. Repeat switching partners as many times as you feel suitable.

Variation: after a switch of partners have each recall what was learnt about the first partner.

Variation: A asks a Wh question. B answers. A follows up on this and develops a conversation around it.

NOTE: This can be done with the students standing in rows: The end students moving up to the front of the row and all students moving down one to form new pairs and repeating the procedure. This is a good exercise for students getting to know the teacher and each other to build trust and a sense of ease of working / learning together.

MYSELF FROM A to Z (Getting to Know You – Speaking)

Tell the students they are going to talk about an aspect of their lives connected with 6 / 8 randomly chosen letters of the alphabet. The aspects they come up with may be trivial, personal or humorous. Start by giving by giving personal example. Then in 2 rows with students facing each other and moving down one each time to make new partners, the students give their aspect and this leads to a conversation being developed.

Example:

1. churches

2. dogs

3. lecturer

Maidstone 4-10 August 2016

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mailto:[email protected]


4. olives

5. Spanish 6. Tennis

Variation: Dictate and drill the following gambit with which to start the conversations: “I’m curious to know …..”

CHART DICTATION

Teacher dictates the following: “Take a blank page and turn it horizontally. In the middle of the page draw a circle. Above the circle draw a rectangle. In the bottom right corner draw an oval. In the top left corner draw a square. Below the circle draw a horizontal wavy line. To the right of the wavy line draw a triangle. Next to the rectangle in the top right hand corner draw a star. “ The teacher asks the students to check in pairs while one comes up and draws the shapes on the board to check the correct completion of the task. Then the teacher dictates information to put with each shape. For example: In the star write the name of your favourite pop star. In the circle write your full name. Below the wavy line write what you don’t like. Above the wavy line write what you like…etc….

The teacher then calls a student to the front and demonstrates asking about the chart.

“What is your full name? Ahmed what did you write in the star? What did you put above the wavy line? What don’t you like etc.”

Students then do this in pairs – A asking and B answering before swapping and B asks and A answers. Then swap partners and repeat or report back on what was learnt about the original partner.

Variation: Have the students write their own questions on a piece of paper or card. Collect them in and then use these as the content material for the completing the chart.

Variation: Divide the board into eight sections. Have the subject teachers come up and draw in one of the sections something they use when teaching their subject. They then write the English words/labels for the drawings. Eg. A Biology teacher might draw a molecule on the board and then label it. Once the drawings are complete use these to complete the chart dictation. E.g. In the top left-hand corner draw a microscope. When all then drawings have been completed then give the questions for the students to fill in their answers. E.g. “Under the microscope write one thing the students can see in their classroom.”


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GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES

PERSONAL / PROFESSIONAL

The teacher dictates to the students the instructions to draw a chart. “Take a completely blank piece of paper. Turn it vertically. Draw a large rectangle that fits just inside the page / almost fills the entire page. Divide the rectangle into three columns, the first column is thin and the remaining two of equal width. Draw three equal rows. In the top of the second column, first row write the word PERSONAL in block capital letters. In the top of the third column, first row write the word PROFESSIONAL in block capital letters. In the first row, first column write the word past in small letters. In the first column, second row write the word present in small letters. In the third row, first column write the word future in small letters.

NOTE: To make it more difficult the teacher can mix up the instructions so students can’t predict what is coming next. When there is only one or two empty books left, get a student to put their finger on that box and tell the others where is finger is (elicit the final instruction and write….?)

The teacher then has one student come up and draw the chart on the board while the others check what they have drawn with their neighbour. This allows class correction / confirmation to show that everyone has completed the exercise as required. Here dictation and students helping each other replaces giving out handouts and adds an extra dimension to the activity using language in a more authentic way. The chart and the categories can also be simplified according to the level and interests of the students such as using School / Home

The teacher then fills in three of the six boxes (covering all three tenses) with information about his or her life. S/he then initiates a conversation; reading out the statements to a student or students who then has / have to ask further questions to obtain more information about that statement and develop a conversation.

Students write notes in each of the boxes. They then take it in turns to read out the notes as statements to their partners who ask them further questions about the statement, thereby generating a conversation practising the past, present, future tenses and aspects.

NOTE: To make the activity even more authentic. The teacher starts the conversation by saying: “Guess what!” S/he elicits the response: “What?” S/he then continues with the statement: “I used to live in Vilnius.” The teacher then has the students use “Guess what” “What!”

Variation: The activity can be extended by having the students get into groups of threes or fours and taking it in turns to share with the new group members the information that they learnt about their first partner.


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PRONOUNS (a visualisation activity)

The teacher asks the students to write I and Me in the centre of a blank page. The teacher then dictates a set of pronouns (I, one, we, He, somebody, them, etc) and asks the students to place the pronouns in relation to the I and ME. Once this is done they show their paper to their partner(s) and explain the positioning of the pronouns.

The teacher then asks the students to close their eyes and then dictates a list of pronouns and pronoun phrases For example: He, Them and me, She and it, Him and Her, We, mine etc.The students have to picture the person (s) for the pronouns and watch them drift across their mental screens. The teacher leaves 10 seconds between each.

The students then open their eyes and write down three or four of the pronouns or pronoun phrases they heard and with their partner to write a poem of six lines which incorporates the pronouns.

The students then recite the poems to the class using intonation, variation in tone and volume for instance.

VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The teacher dictates the following definitions to the students who write them in their notebooks. The teacher can vary the speed and emphasis of his / her dictation which stretches the students’ listening skills as well as adding an element of fun to dictation. To make the dictation more student centred, the teacher may, instead of repeating the definition, asks one of the students to do repeat it. The definitions and number of synonyms can be varied according to the level of the class.

NOTE: These are suggested adjectives, in doing the activity you might well have written down ones which were equally applicable.

Someone who …..

1. keeps losing things (careless, forgetful, absent-minded)2. always drops/breaks things (careless)3. thinks bad things will happen (pessimistic, negative)4. goes to a lot of parties (outgoing, sociable, gregarious)5. keeps himself to himself (introverted, unsociable, withdrawn, closed)6. never smiles (moody, grumpy, bad-tempered, miserable)7. makes you yawn (boring, uninteresting, dull)8. likes making things (creative, artistic)9. keeps things tidy (neat, organised, efficient)10. never thinks about others’ feelings (uncaring, insensitive, selfish)


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11. always arrives late for meetings, etc. (unpunctual, unreliable)12. makes you laugh all the time (funny, humourous, silly)13. thinks good things will happen (optimistic, positive)14. hurts people or animals (cruel, sadistic, mean)15. doesn’t like talking about her achievements (modest, unassuming)16. is easy to get on with (friendly, affable, easygoing)17. talks about himself a lot (conceited, arrogant, big-headed)18. never changes her mind even when she knows she is wrong (stubborn, obstinate)19. never gives presents or buys drinks (mean, tight-fisted)20. always cries at weddings, in the cinema, etc. (emotional, sentimental)

The students in groups try and write the adjective(s) for each of the definitions. After class feedback (correction and confirmation) the teacher drills the words so that the students have the opportunity to practise pronouncing them. Students then work in pairs.

Student A gives a definition and student B supplies the adjective(s). Student B then gives a definition and student A supplies the adjectives. So the students alternate. Then have the students form new pairs and repeat the exercise. Repeat three times. On the fourth change Student A describes a friend, family member or someone they know and Student B gives the adjective(s). Student B then describes a friend, family member or someone they know and Student A gives the adjective(s). The students alternate before being moved on for a fifth time with a new partner. This final time, have the students describe themselves with their partners guessing their partners personal characteristics.

The teacher can have the pupils stand in rows facing their partner and then have students at one end of the rows to move to the other end and ‘push’ all the students in their respective rows down one thus setting up new pairs. This could also be done in circles with an inner circle facing the outer circle. After each turn, the inner circle moves round one person clockwise or anticlockwise to form new pairs.

NOTE: This activity illustrates the importance of giving students the opportunity to practise the new vocabulary in authentic situations after a period of guided practice.

CLASSROOM OBJECTS

The teacher chooses objects from the class which the students will not know such as: air vent, chandelier, thermostat, spot lights, skirting board, extension lead etc. S/he then points to them, saying their name and writing the words on the board. S/he then drills the words with the students. After which the teacher says the word and points to the object with the students copying him/her.

Example: Teacher (pointing to the plant pot): “plant pot” Students (pointing to the plant pot): “plant pot”

The teacher does it again but this time the students have to point to and say any of the other objects but not the one the teacher says and points to.


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Example: Teacher: “chandelier” (pointing to it)

St A (points to the whiteboard) “whiteboard”St B (points to the window sill) “windowsill”St C (points to the double plug socket) “double plug socket”

Variations: The teacher asks the students to go stand next to or near an object in the classroom for which they do not know the name. The teacher elicits the name of the objects from the other students or if necessary provides the word and then writes it on the board. These words are the ones used in the activity. This makes the activity even more student centred. Also, having one or more of the better students act as teachers encourages student responsibility for learning.

MODERN WORDS

Activity 1:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11827287/The-top-ten-most-unexpected-words-added-to-the-online-Oxford-dictionary.html

The teacher writes the words on the board. Students then have to describe pictures to the class before displaying them. Then in pairs they work to match the pictures with the words. The teacher after each correct match gives the definition.

Activity 2: The teacher hands out one word and its definition to each pair. Each pair then writes a dialogue which puts the word in context. The pairs take it in turns to write the word and elicit from the students possible meanings. They then read out their dialogue with the word used in context and then the students guess or confirm the correct definition which is then shown to the students.

Note: The words and definitions are written on separate cue cards.

Collins English Dictionary has chosen binge-watch as its 2015 Word of the Year.

Meaning "to watch a large number of television programmes (especially all the shows from one series) in succession", it reflects a marked change in viewing habits, due to subscription services like Netflix. Lexicographers noticed that its usage was up 200% on 2014. Other entries include dadbod, ghosting and clean eating. Helen Newstead, Head of Language Content at Collins, said: "The rise in usage of 'binge-watch' is clearly linked to the biggest sea change in our viewing habits since the advent of the video recorder nearly 40 years ago."It's not uncommon for viewers to binge-watch a whole season of programmes such as House of Cards or Breaking Bad in just a couple of evenings - something that, in the past,


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would have taken months - then discuss their binge-watching on social media."Those partaking in binge-watching run the risk of dadbod, one of ten in the word of the year list. Referring to an untoned and slightly plump male physique, dadbod is not without its admirers, with actors like Seth Rogen and Leonardo DiCaprio fitting the purported brief."Once again, the list of Collins' Words of the Year offers a fascinating snapshot of the ever-changing English language," said Newstead. Those words that remain popular could be included in the next print edition of the Collins English Dictionary, due in 2018.

Collins' Words of the Year, plus definitions

binge-watch (verb): to watch a large number of television programmes (especially all the shows from one series) in succession

clean eating (noun): following a diet that contains only natural foods, and is low in sugar, salt, and fat

contactless (adjective): referring to payments, smart cards, etc that utilize RFID (radio-frequency identity) technology and do not require a PIN or signature from the customer

Corbynomics (noun): the economic policies advocated by the UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

dadbod (noun): an untoned and slightly plump male physique, especially one considered attractive

ghosting (noun): ending a relationship by ignoring all communication from the other person

manspreading (noun): the act or an instance of a male passenger in a bus or train splaying his legs in a way that denies space to the passenger sitting next to him

shaming (noun): attempting to embarrass a person or group by drawing attention to their perceived offence, especially on social media

swipe (verb): to move a finger across a touchscreen on a mobile phone in order to approve (swipe right) or dismiss (swipe left) an image

transgender (adjective): of or relating to a person whose gender identity does not fully correspond to the sex assigned to them at birth

POSITIVE QUALITIES (a visualization activity)

The teacher elicits or provides a list of positive qualities either nouns or adjectives. For example:

Generous, patience, wisdom, flexibility, reliability, beauty, serenity, open-minded etc.

The students in pairs then take on a new identity using one of these words. The students mingle and stop and then turning to their nearest colleague introduce themselves using their new names and starting a conversation.

For example:


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A: Good afternoon, I am Miss Reliable and you are?

B: Good afternoon, I am Miss humble. Tell me why are you called Miss Reliable? / That is an unusual name.

A: I am Miss Reliable because I am never late and if I say I will do something then I will ……

VERBS AND ADJECTIVES (Vocabulary – Verbs and Adjectives)

In small groups or pairs, students ask about the things that

Scares you, annoys you, offends you, depresses you, amuses you, shocks you, bores you, relaxes you, impresses you, embarrasses you, surprises you, confuses you, interests you, stymies you, placates you, frustrates you, delights you, uplifts you, deflates you

NOTE: Teacher needs to make sure the students know the meaning of the words.Variation 1: The teacher prepares cards with the words written on them. S/he distributes them amongst the class. Students mingle (as above) and then define their word to a partner who then has to guess the word. A question is asked using that word which the other has to answer.

Student C: The opposite of down.Student F: UpStudent C: Yes. Another word for raise.Student F: lift.Student C: Yes, uplifted which means to make you feel good. So what in your school / work / life makes you feel uplifted?Student F: When I ........Student F then defines his/her word (student C guesses) and asks a question with it (student C answers)Mingle...mingle....... mingle......

Variation 2: The teacher prepares sets of cards with the words written on them, one set for each pair or group. These are then placed face down. The students take turns to pick up a card, turn it over and ask a question of their partner or another member of the group using the word. That person then answers and a conversation is developed around the response.

For Example: Student A picks up a card, turns it over, silently reads the word (e.g. annoys) and then asks a question to his/her partner or another member of the group: “Is there anything that annoys you?”

BODY VERBS (Vocabulary – Parts of the Body)


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Students work in two groups A and B. (If the class is large, you can subdivide the groups.) The teacher then writes the group’s verbs on the board. For each of their verbs, the students make a note of which part of the body does it and why people do it. They don’t write the verb, e.g.

smack –

hand. People sometimes do this to children when they are naughty.

Group A: yawn, sneeze, nod, smack, nudge, scratch, sigh, reach, wink, stamp, wave, caress, tickleGroup B: pout, kick, shrug, slap, frown, point, hitch-hike, stretch, kneel, weep, rub, twitch,

Students work with a partner from the other group. They read out their sentences in random order and see if their partner can guess the verb.

Variation 1: Practise in circles – outside circle gives definition x 5 and inside circle gives its use. Then swap. Inside circle gives the definitions x5 and the outside circle gives its use. Two good students write the list of verbs on the board for class confirmation of comprehension.

Variation 3: Four sets of words are written on four separate different cards. These cards are given to four groups of students who then look up/clarify the meaning of their words. The cards are stuck on the board. Each group takes it in turns to describe the meaning of their words with the other groups having to guess what the words are. The group describing the words then gives an example sentence using the new words in a context sentence. Once all the words have been presented. In pairs students practise the words as above.

BODY IDIOMS (Vocabulary – Parts of the Body)

The teacher asks: What does the idiomatic expression “Get off my back!” mean? Teacher elicits the meaning. In groups or as a class, students give the English translation of idioms in their own mother tongue which also use parts of the body. While they are doing this, the teacher writes up the word list and the gap fill sentences on the board.)

Students have to fill the gaps with one of the given words. Some of the words can be used more than once. The class then discusses what the sentences mean.

Stomach, hair, headless, cheeky, guts, eye, face, hand, legged, eyes, nosy, tooth, elbow


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1. Will you give me a ___________________? I need some help with this door.

2. The thieves snatched her bag and ___________________ it down Oxford Street.

3. Let’s ___________________ the facts and be realistic about our options.

4. I can’t ___________________ the sight of the blood!

5. She gave him the ___________________ because he was making ___________________ at other girls.

6. You ___________________ little devil! It’s rude to talk to adults like that.

7. I don’t believe in capital punishment: an ___________________ for an ___________________ , a ___________________ for a ___________________ - it doesn’t make sense.

8. A – Have you got a boyfriend? B – Don’t be so ___________________ . It’s none of your business.

9. He’s got a lot of ___________________taking on the robbers like that. He’s very brave.

10. It was a ___________________- raising bus journey along winding mountain roads.

11. It was hectic at work. I was running around like a ___________________ chicken.

Variation: Students think of a recent time when one of these idioms would have been appropriate for them. They tell the rest of the group/class about it.

WORD FAMILIES (a visualization activity)

The teacher dictates a list of words all relating to a particular family or field. For example:

Mother-in-law, surrogate mother, motherly, mother me, expectant mother, mother country, mother tongue, Mother Russia, Great grandmother, grandmother, etc.

The students then discuss the meaning of the words. Teacher elicits or provides the meaning for those not known.

The teacher then asks the students to close their eyes and the teacher reads out a selection of these words leaving five to 10 seconds in between. Students have to imagine the feelings that are conjured up with the words.


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Students open their eyes and then write down those words they remember and discuss with their partner what came to mind with each of them.

SPIRAL (Description of places)

Teacher draws a large snail on the board: “What am I drawing?” “A snail.” “Yes, and if I take away its head what is it?” elicit “It’s a spiral.” Starting at the centre of the spiral and moving outwards write the following words on the drawing: home / street / neighbourhood / town or city / region, province or county / country.

Variation: revise vocabulary for each of the above. Students stand in circles and throw a rubber ball (or rolled up paper) to each other randomly around the circle. As they throw it they have to give a word related to the topic of home. After a minute or so the teacher shouts out Street and the students have to give words related to street and so on and so forth. Note students should try to avoid repetitions.

In pairs students then discuss each of the topics - the people, what’s going on, descriptions of each. Teacher monitors. Feedback: Something that surprised you / that you didn’t know before / something you have in common. As a variation, they could turn to another partner and give an oral précis of what their first partner said.

SPOKEN ACTIVITIES

YESTERDAY /WEEKEND

The teacher writes out four or five questions on cards or on the board. The cards/questions are distributed amongst the students in groups. Alternatively, the teacher could dictate all the questions and allocate the questions to the students. Students A are given the first question, students B the second, students C the third and so on. The teacher elicits what is a cocktail party – small talk, mingling with many different people and drinking cocktails. The students, on the command of the teacher then mingle (the teacher sings mingle, mingle, mingle, mingle ....at varying speeds. When s/he stops the students turn to greet the nearest classmate and ask his/her assigned question. A conversation then develops from this question. The partner then asks his/her assigned question and establishes a conversation. The teacher after a couple of minutes starts once again to sing “mingle, mingle, mingle”. Students then mingle and until the teacher stops singing. They turn to the nearest person and repeat the procedure.

Sample questions: “Did everything go to plan yesterday?”“Did yesterday go as you had expected?”“How did you get on yesterday?”“Tell me, did you realize all that you needed to yesterday?”“Tell me, was yesterday a success?”“Did yesterday live up to your expectations?”


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Variation 1: The list of questions could be dictated and then students chose the question(s) they want to ask.

Variation 2: The teacher / good student elicits questions from the students relating to yesterday and writes them on the board. The students ( in pairs) then ask and answer these questions. New pairs are then formed and the students report back what they learnt about their first partner – practicing reported speech.

NOTE: This works well in multi-level classes. It is also useful for revising previous lessons and or holiday/weekend activities.

GAMBIT

In pairs students think of words beginning with the following letters and then have a conversation about that word. St A: G...greenhouse. I love gardening and I have two green houses in my garden.St B: What is a greenhouse?St A: It is a glass house where you can grow young plants or flowers.St B: OK. What kind of plants or flowers do you grow?St A: Well...........

Students continue for a minute or two. Then the teacher gives the second letter – a – and the same procedure is followed. After all the letters have been given, the teacher elicits what the letters were, and asks what is the word: G - a – m – b – i – t What is a gambit?A gambit is a word or phrase which helps us to express what we are trying to say. For example, we use gambits to introduce a topic of conversation, to link what we have to say to what someone has just said. If we never use gambits in our conversation, other people will think we are very direct, abrupt, and even rude – they will get a wrong picture of us as people.If you have just heard that your teacher is going to get married, you could walk into the class and announce the fact, but you will have more effect if you start. Are you sitting down? You won’t believe this but our teacher is getting married.Gambits will make your English sound more natural, more confident, and will make you easier to talk to. Above all, you will not be misunderstood.

Variation: The teacher writes the letters (mixed up) on the board in columns. In each column students give words related to their subject beginning with that particular letter. For instance: m – mathematics, molecules, mean, and motorcycle. The teacher then calls out a letter and student A chooses a word from the respective column. For example: M: A: motor….I have never ridden a motorcycle because I think it is too dangerous….

SEEING THE GOOD SIDE


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Are you an optimist or a pessimist? This is an optimist’s game. The class divides into two teams. Take turns to make complaints, starting with the ideas below. The other side must try to say something positive.For example:Team 1: Everything is so expensive nowadays, isn’t it?Team 2: Yes, but on the other hand, wages are much higher than they used to be.Each team takes it in turn to make statements and to answer. The answers must be introduced by one of the phrases form the list. Each team had 10 seconds to answer. Play two or three rounds with each round lasting 5 minutes.

1. It’s been raining new every day this month.2. The coffee is really strong.3. English is very difficult.4. Grammar is really boring.5. I hate learning to spell English words.6. I’ve put on 5 kilos over the holiday period.7. Mercedes Benz is a very expensive make of car.8. You can’t park anywhere round here.9. It can be very wet and miserable in England during the summer.10. I can’t understand the Scottish accent.11. To save money you have to be very mean.12. The Spanish are more often than not late to meetings.13. Joan can’t dance. She’s awful, isn’t she!14. Children have too much money these days.15. Schools are far too liberal.16. Teachers aren’t strict enough.17. I hate starting school at 7.30 in the morning.18. It is wrong that people get paid for giving blood.

Language to use: On the other hand, But then again, Look at it this way, Anyway, Even so, OK, but ..., But in the long run, Very true, but...To make up for it....

NOTES: Prepare cards with the ideas written on the. Hold them up at the front of the class. Students stand in rows, moving up one after each statement. Students A give the statement / complaint. Student B replies and then a conversation develops.As have complaints 1-9 and Bs have complaints 10 – 18.

Variation: students move their chairs so they are facing each other. The teacher then goes to the board and shows one of the statements written on the cards to the students facing him/her. Those students are the pessimists and start the conversation using the statement.

The teacher then moves to the back of the class and shows the next statement to those students who are facing him/her and they start the conversation with the pessimistic statement. Continue in this way until 6 or 8 statements have been played out.


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PRONUNCIATION

SOUND /E:/

The class has to guess the words from five presentations (acting, drawing, giving, defining or describing) which are given by five class mates. For example: heard, early, bird, terminal, and universal. Once the words have been guessed the teacher asks what they have in common: The sound / e: /.

All the students then stand up and follow the teacher’s instructions: Inhale, exhale (x3). This is repeated with the students saying the / e: / when they exhale. This is repeated three times. Then the students, as they exhale, say the sound /e: / as if they are very frightened. This is done three times. After this when exhaling the students say the sound /e: / in a way that suggests they are very bored. Again this is done three times. The last set of choral repetition involves the students saying the sound as if they are very excited – again three times.

NOTE: This Total Physical Response activity can be used with any sound or emotion.

CONTRASTING SOUNDS: th/f , a/e, t/d

The teacher drills the above set of sounds: th, th, th, th, f, f, f, f, th/f, th/f, th/f, th/f, f/th, f/th, f/th.

The teacher tells the class to clap if they hear the sound th, and stamp if they hear the sound f. S/he then reads out the words at random and the students perform the correct action. A possible list of words might be as follows:

Thumb/front, three/free, through/few, throw/from

This process is repeated for the other sounds:

a/e sad/said, sat/ set, fat/fell, tall/tellt/d tick/dig, top/dog, town/down, tie/die

As an extension the teacher divides the class into sections and for each section allocates a ‘teacher’. The teachers are given the list of words written on a piece of card and they take the role of the teacher. They call out the words at random and the pupils (their class) have to stamp or clap according to the sound that they hear.

STORY TELLING

EIGHT SQUARE STORY


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The teacher divides the board into eight squares. Eight students are then called to come up and draw a picture in one of the squares. They have 30 seconds each to do this task. Then in pairs they construct a story which incorporates all the pictures (once only). They then come up and tell their story in front of the class, pointing out each of the pictures as they are mentioned.

VISUALISATION

Zoltan Dornyer in his 2014 book: Vision: Motivating, Learner, Motivating Teachers wrote:“Imagining ourselves as teachers operating in new ways can have transformational consequences for our everyday practice.” He argues that this is best achieved by raising awareness of visualization and motivation. He defines visualization as “simply getting the student to close their eyes and imagine their own pictures which become the stimulus for speaking or writing.

THE RED APPLE

This is a good way of introducing visualization.

The teacher asks the students: “Can you see a red apple? It is in your hand.” Now close your eyes. “How big is it? How heavy is it? How does it feel? What is the sound when you take a bite of it? How does it taste? Now open your eyes and with your partner describe your apple?” The teacher then asks the students how they felt doing the exercise with their eyes closed. Elicit feedback eg: much more detailed description, use of the senses, more authentic, richer use of language.

(See Word Families, Pronouns and Positive Qualities as example activities using visualization).

GAMES

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW …..? (Question forms and transformation)

The teacher selects two students who know each other well or relatively well. Student A goes out of the class. Student B sits in front of the class. The rest of the class ask questions to Student B about Student A. The teacher or a good student writes the class questions and answers on the board. When 10 questions have been asked and answered, have student B come in. Student B now sits where Student A was and Student A sits apart and behind. The


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class then ask the questions to B. The teacher or good student writes the changes to the questions on the board eg: Has she visited England before? becomes Have you visited England before?, and gives a tick for each correct answer. The number of correct answers out of 10 determines just how well the students know each other. This practises question forms and question transformation: e.g.: What is his favourite colour? “Blue.” What is your favourite colour? “Black.”

BLACK MAGIC

The teacher chooses a student. They go out of the class and the teacher explains the trick. The object chosen by the class is the object directly after the colour black – the object prior to the one chosen, is black. The teacher goes back in to the class and the class chooses an object. The student from outside is called back in. The teacher says that she is going to read his mind. He then points to objects around the classroom always asking “Is it this? Is it this?” The student says no until when the teacher points to the object following an object which is black she says “Yes.” This is repeated several times with the class trying to guess the trick. Clues can be given by the teacher. When a student thinks they know the trick then he or she goes out of the class and then is brought back in to be the mind reader and to see if he or she has discovered the trick.

LISTENING

TELLING YOUR OWN STORY

The teacher tells a story or can read out a text from the students’ text books. The teacher stops every now and then to elicit possible guesses to what comes next or to answer questions as to what comes next. For example:

T: A few years ago I was studying... What was I studying?Sts: Geography, History, EnglishT: I was studying English at university. The university was in the North of England the city of a famous football club. What is the name of the university? Sts: Manchester, Liverpool, T: Liverpool university and I was staying in the student .....Sts: accommodation, dormitoriesT: the student halls of residences. One evening I was (and so it continues)

ALI (Using the above technique)

Once upon a time there was a [What was there?] boy called {What was he called?]Ali. He was the son of a poor fisherman. One day he was walking along when he saw a sick old man lying in the road. He stopped to help the old man and he took him to hospital. The old man


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wanted to thank Ali and asked him who he was. Ali replied: I am “Mustapha, the teacher’s son.” One week later the old man died and left all his money to Mustapha the teacher’s son. So Ali did not receive any of the money.

What is the moral of the story?

MISCELLANEOUS

SOMETHING SURPRISING (Personal Narrative)

The teacher calls out “mingle, mingle, mingle, mingle, mingle” and the students walk round mingling, moving in and around each other. When the teacher stops the students stop moving and turn to the nearest partner. They then tell their partner something surprising they learnt that day, morning, week and a conversation is started.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT

The teacher dictates and drills (forwards and backwards) questions which the students then ask each other using them to initiate a conversation. The questions are as follows:

What have you learnt about yourself in these English Workshops?What differences, if any, will your colleagues notice about you when you return?


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