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RESOURCE BCDKS FOR TEACHERS seies edinr ALAN MALEY CtlNUERSATI(lN Rob Nolasco & Lois Arthur Oxford University Press

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Page 1: Conversation PDF

RESOURCEBCDKS FORTEACHERS

seies edinr

ALAN MALEY

CtlNUERSATI(lNRob Nolasco &

Lois Arthur

Oxford University Press

Page 2: Conversation PDF

Oxford Uoiveniry PressWalton Stre€t, Oxford OX2 6DP

Ozlotd New Yoth.*hett Au.hlind Banghoh BombatCahu\o Ca?e Torun Dar es Salaan DelhiFbence Hong Kong Istanbul Karo.hiKuala Lmpu Madrat Madid Mehoumellenco City Nd;robi Pais SinsaporcTaipei Tohyo Toftnro

and associated companies inB&lin lbadan

Oxford and Oxlod Engh, are trade mark of Oxford Univenity press.

ISBN 0 19 437096 I

e Oxford Universiry Press 1987

Fi.st published 1987Eighd impression 1995

.{ll rights reserved- No pan of this publication may be reproduced,saored in a retrieval system, or Eansmitted, in any form or by anymeans, elecEonic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,'*ithout the prior q,Titten permission of Oxford Universiry Press,with the sole exception of photocopying carried our under rh€conditions described below.

This book is sold subjed ro rhe condirion rhar ir shall not, by way oftrade or othenrise, b€ lent. re-sold. hired our. or otherwise circulated\r'iihout fie publisher's pior consenr in any form of birding or coverother than that in which ir is published and withour a similar condirionmcluding thrs condruon beLng irnposed on the suhrequent purchaser

Photocopying

The Publisher Sranrs permission for the phoaocopying of rhosepages marked 'photocopiable' according to rhe followingconditions. Individual purchasers may male copies for iheirom use or for use by ciasses rhey leach. Schoot purchasenmay make copies for use by rhet StaII and srudenrs, bur rlispemission does oot extend to eddirionai schools or branches.

ID no circurrsEnces may any pan of this bbok lte photocopied

S€t by Katerprint Tlpesetting Services, Oxford

Printed in Hong Kong

I

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Acknowledgements

The publishers would like to thank the following for theirpermission to use copyright material:Nathaniel Altman and Thorsons Publishing Group Limited for anexract from The Palmistry WorhDoo& (1984); Charles Handy andBBC Publications for an extract from Taking Sneh - Being FifA intlp Eightbs (1983); Donald Norfolk and Michael Joseph Ltd. for anextrect from Fareuell to Fatiguc (1985); Oxford Universiry Press foran extract from the English Languge TeachingJoutul,Yol. 4012(April 1986); Gordon Wells and Cambridge Univenity Press for anextract from Leaning Thraryh Inuracrioa (1981).

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I

t1

l Contents

The authors and series editor

Foreword

Introduction

I Towards a classroom aPProach l5

2 ControlledactivitiesActioity

I Chain names

2 Name bingo

Find someonewho . .

Guess who?

5 Sounds English

Look and speak

Listen and speak

8 Listen and record

Shadow reading

\7ho do youthink. . .?

Do you come hereoften?

Lezel

Beginner toAdvanced

Beginner toElementary

Elementaryand above

Elementary toIntermediate

Beginner toAdvanced

Beginner toIntermediateBeginner toElementary

Elemenfarvand above

Beginner toAdvanced

Upperintermediate toAdvanced

Elementaryand above

Desciption

Introducing students toeach other.Introducing students toeach other (largerclasses).

Students find out moreabout each other.

Students ask questionsin order to establish a

person's identity.Getting students'tongues around Englishsounds.

To help students repeata dialogue.

Giving students simpleoral practice tlroughdialogue repetition.

To make a recordingafter listening to a tapedmodel.

Building up students'confidence-

How different languageis used for the samefunction.To cue a dialogue so thatstudents have to listen towhat the other speaker says.

zt

24

24

25

26

27

28

29

29

30

3l

32

l0

Approx time(minutes)

5-t0

l0-15

I5-20

l5-20

l0-15

I5-20

l5-20

rt20

10-15

2c_25

l0-15

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12 The phone game Elementary 10-15 Controlled practice of 34and above telephone conversadons.

13 Who said it? Intermediate 15-20 Inrerpredng and 35and above attributing urterances.

14 Split exchanges Elemenrary l0-I5 Focusing on exchange 36and above structure.

15 Anyone for tennis? Elementary to 5-10 Practice with gaing ro to 39Lower express the future.intermediate

16 Is thatright? Elementary 10-15 Recognizing gambits. 40and above

l7 Dialogue fill-in Inrermediare 10-15 Practice in producing 4land above more than minimal

responses.l8 The besr years of Elementary I0-15 Practice in the simple 42

my life and above past forms.19 Experiences Elementary 15-20 practice in the present 42

and above perfect tense.20 Pet hates Elementary 10-15 Practice in forrns such as 43

and above I loae,I hate, etc.2l Theolddays Intermediare 15-20 Practice in uedro. 44

and above

22 Ifonly... Intermediate lO-15 Practice in hypothetical 44and above zuould.

23 Je ne regrette rien Intermediate 15-20 Practice in hypotherical 15and above ztould.

24 Cheat Intermediate 10-15 Pracdce in hyporhetical 46and above u:ould.

25 Could I ask you a Elementary 15-20 Practice ir quesdon 47few questions, and above forms.please?

3 Awareness activities 5l26 Encouraging noises Elementary 15-20 Expressions which 52- and above encourage the other

speaker to condnue-27 Keep talking Elementary 10-15 rVays in which fiIlers 53

and above can contribute to anrmpression offluency.

28 Encouragement Intermediate 10-15 Expressions which 54and above encourage lhe speaker to

say more.29 Repetition Upper 15-20 Different uses to which 55

intermediate to repetition can be put inAdvanced tlre spoken language.

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57

58

60

60

6l

62

63

64

67

68

69

70

70

l0

38

39

30 As I was saying

3l Gestures

32 Follow me

33 Sound off

34 Sound only

35 \7hat's next?

35 A smiling face?

37 The message is

Upperintermediate toAdvanced

Intermediateand above

Elementaryand above

Elementaryand above

Elementaryand above

Elementaryand above

Intermediateand above

Intermediateand above

Elementary toIntermediateIntermediateand above

Intermediateand above

Upperintermediateand above

Intermediate toAdvanced

Upperintermediate toAdvanced

Upperintermediate toAdvanced

Types of interruptionand how to deal withtlem.Using gestures asreinforcement of what isbeing said. (video task)

Repetition of certainwords and phrases, andbody language. (videotask)

Extra-lingui stic clues tohelp students understandand interpret what is beingsaid. (video task)

Developing a feel forvoice quality. (videotask)

Practice in followingextended conversation.(video task)

To raise sensitivity instudents to bodylanguage.

Recognizing thefunction ofgestures inEnglish.

Stress practice in thecontext of a dri.ll.Shifting stress in a

prompted dialogue,altering meaning.

Making students awareof sentence stress.

How intonation canalter meaning.

Ways in which therneaning of an utterancecan be altered bychanging the intonation.Ways in which nativespeakers try to be pol.itein social encounters.

Social behaviour in thetarget language.

I want a blue onel

I haven't got any ice!

20_25

l0

t5-20

20 (max.)

l5 (max.)

20-25

t5-20

l0-15

5-10

15-20

20-25

15-20

25-30

2U25

40 Take that!

4l .This

is a question?

42 Same words -different message

43 True or false?

,14 Similariries anddifferences

73

75

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45 Culture shock! Intermediateand above

Problems peopleencounter when tieyhave to live in a newcountry.

25-30

fI

'

:!III

IJ'tIilI

4

46

84

86

47

48

Fluency activities

I hated Maths - didyou?

Habits

Famiiy life

Emotions

50 A coma kit

How much energydo you have?

Emotional match

53 Exchange

Have you heardof . . .?

55 It's all in your hands

56 The best

57 Eureka!

58 Time

Time capsule

A just punishment

5l Future shock

Elementaryand above

Intermediateand above

Intermediateand above

Intermediate toUppetintermediate

Intermediateand above

Intermediateand above

Elementaryand above

EIementaryand above

Elementaryand above

Introducing students tofluency activities.

Sharing opinions.

Sharing opinions.

Telling each other aboutemotions.

Talking about likes anddislikes.

Getting students toexplore their life style.

Talking about fears.

Finding out about eachotier by askingquestions.

Cross-cultural exchangein mixed nationalitygroups.

Talking about personalcharacteristics, andpalmistry.Introducing students toranking activities.

Promoting discussionabout inventions.

Justifying andexplaining preferences.

Things students value intheir daily lives.

Considering the extentto which punishmentsfit the crime.

Discussing priorities forthe future.

79

83

88

90

9l

92

93

5l

52

25-30

30-35

2r30

30-35

20 (max.)

30-40

20_25

20 (min.)

35-40

Uppe.intermediate toAdvanced

Elementary toLowerintermediate

20-25

Intermediate 30-35and above

Intermediate to 30-35AdvancedIntermediate to 25-35Advanced

Uppet 30-35intermediate toAdvanced

Intermediate to 30-35Advanced

35-40

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I

II

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96

'97

97

99

100

l0l l

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62 The bridge Upper 30-35 Deciding on individual 102inrermediate to responsibility for aAdvanced tragedy.

63 From what I Elementary 2C_25 Discussing the results of 104remember and above a simple memory

experiment.64 A dream classroom Elementary 30-35 Carrying out a design l(X

and above task together-65 Plan your time Intermediate 30-35 Considering ways in 105

and above which students can learnEnglish outside theclassroom.

56 My ideal phrase- Elementary 35-40 Working together to 106book and above produce and evaluate

phrase-books.

67 Building a model Intermediare 25-30 Evaluating how 107and above effectively students are

able to perform a giventask.

68 I'll give you . . . Elementary 2135 Students buy and sell 108and above (2 lessons) things.

69 Airport Upper 30-35 A conflict situation in 109intermediate to which students have toAdvanced decide what to do.

70 Attitudes to gifts and Intermediate 25-30 A cross-cultural I I Igiving and above discussion about gifts

and giving.7l Ifho's the boss? Intermediate 35-40 Discussing the role of 112

and above secretaries at work.72 Gifts Elementary 2540 Talking about gifts. I 14

and above

73 Love story Intermediate 4045 Using a well-known I 15

and above story as a stimulus forstudents to producetheir own.

5 Feedback

Task I

Task 2

Task 3

Task 4

Elementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

t17

Students look closely at 125the language they use.

Encouraging 126expressrons.

Fillers and hesitation 127devices.

Strategies we use to 128keep a conversation going.

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Task

Task

Task 7

Task 8

Task 9

Task l0

Task ll

Task 12

Elementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

Elemenmry toAdvancedElementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

Elementary toAdvanced

Upperintermediateand above

Intermediateand above

t29

130

5

6

Story-telling devices.

How we make andrespond to suggestions inorder to encourage peopleto be constructive.Ways in which we seekand give opinions.

Ways of introducingpolite disagreement.

Giving a talk.

How we usecomrnunicationstrategies to carry onspeaking.Students consider how I4lthey behave in meedngs.

Patternsofinteraction 143within a group.

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131

133

t34

r35

Bibliography 145

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The authors andseries editor

Rob Nolasco has been involved in English as a foreign languagesince 1970. He was pan ofthe senior management ofTheBritish Council managed ESP proiect at King AbdulazizUniversity, Jeddah (1978-80). Between 1981 and 1983 he was a

Project Director with the Overseas Development Administrationin Angola, and wi*r The Cenre for British Teachers Ltd. inMorocco (1933-85). He has also taught EFL to secondary andadult srudents, at all levels, in the UK, Turkey, France, andSpain. He is currently working as an EFL author and consultanr.His books for students include *rree OUP courses: lZOlZ./(Window on the WorlQ, Ameican IVOIV!' and Streetwise.

Lois Arthur started her career with the Centre for BritishTeachers Ltd. in West Germany. In 1979 she took up the post ofSenior Tutor at The Bell School of I-anguages at Cambridge.Between 1983 and 1985 she was the Deputy Project Directorwith The Centre for British Teachers Ltd. in Morocco. She is

currently Director of UK Schools and Young I-eamers for TheBell Language Schools.

Alan Maley worked for The British Council from 1962 to 1988'serving as English l-anguage Offrcer in Yugoslavia, Ghana, Italy'.France, and China, and as Regronal Representadve in SouthIndia (Madras). From 1988-1993 he was Director-General ofthe Bell Educational Trust, Cambndge. He is currenrly SeniorFellow in the Depanment of English I-anguage and Literature ofthe National University of Singapore. Among his publicationsate: Quartet (wirh Frangoise Grellet and !(rim Velsing)' Be1'ozd

ll'ords, Sounds Interesting, Sounds Intriguing, Words' Vaiations on o

Theme, Literature (in this series), and Drama Techniques inLanguage Learning (all with Alan Dufi, The Mind's Eye (withFrangoise Grellet and AIan Duff), Leaming to Listen and Poem

into Poem (wirh Sandra Moulding), and Shon and Sweer. He is

also Series Editor for the Oxford Supplementary Skills series.

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ForewordThe distinction between accuracy and fluency is now a familiar one.Almost as familiar is the further distinction between fluency andappropriacy. To be accurate is not necessarily to be fluent. And tobe fluent is not necessarily ro be appropriate in a given set ofcircumstances.

In this book the authors make a further distinction: betweenspeaking skills and conversation skills. They conrend thal there areskills specific to conversation which make it easier for people to talkto each other informally, and that these do not overlap a hundredper cent with the skills involved in fluent speaking. Being able tospeak reasonably correct and even fluent English is one thing.Being able to engage in on-going, interactive, mentally satisfyingconversation is anorher. This is not to deny that speaking skills arenecessary for conversation; simply that they are not alone sufficientfor successful conversation to take place.

It is these specific conversational skills which the book sets out tocover. In order to do so, the authors first examine in theintroduction what ir is that native speakers do when they 'makeconversation'. They then use this inforrnation as the basis for thetasks and activities in the remainder of the book.

Two obvious, but nevertheless frequently neglected facts aboutconversations, are that they involve at leasr rwo people, and that thepardcipants in a conversadon cannot talk simultaneously all rhetime. Unless they agree to share the speaking time, listen, react,and attend to each other, the conversation dies.

This is in contrast to a view of speaking, which is often handled as ifit were the only factor ofimportance. Absorption in speaking,without attending to the other, can only lead to surreal parallelmonologues, such as we encounter in Pinter. The mutual,interdependenr, interactive nature ofconversation is given specialemphasis in tle sections on Az.ucreness actioities and Feedbachactizities. A series of tasks is developed here to sharpen thestudents' awareness and observation both of themselves and ofothers. The rmportance given to equipping the students with toolsto evaluate dreir own performance tboth in dre conversations and intieir own learning) is especially welcome.

Conaersation is rnique in its insistence on the need to teachconversational skills. The imponance ir gives to developing asensitivity to fellow participants in conversarions is likewise highlyoriginal. Above all it offers a rich and varied selection ofactivitiesand msks to draw upon.

It will be welcomed by all teachers interested in developing furtherthe teaching of this important aspect of oral expression.

Alan Maley

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Introduction

Foreign language teachers often tend to assume that conversation inthe language classroom involves nothing more than putting intopractice the grammar and vocabulary skills taught elsewhere in thecourse. So, the 'conversation class'may turn out to includeeverything from mechanical drills to task-based problem-solvingactivities. It is true that both tlese types of activity may, to someextent at least, help students develop the skill of taking part inconversation. But, if we want to teach conversation well, we need toknow something about what native speakers do when they haveconversations. This information can then help us to developappropriate materials and techniques for teaching purposes. In thissection therefore, we shall be looking at the characteristics ofnative-speaker conversation in order to provide a rationale for thepractical exercises which follow in the remainder of the book.

What is conversation?People sometimes use the term 'conversation' to mean any spokenencounter or interaction. In this book however, 'conversation'refers to a dme when two or more people have the right to talk orlisten without having to follow a fixed schedule, such as an agenda.In conversation everyone can have something to say and anyone canspeak at any time. In everyday l-ife we sometimes refer toconversation as 'chat' and the focus of the book is on this type ofspoken interaction, rather than on more formal, plamed occasionsfor speaking, such as meetings.

The functions of conversation

The purposes of conversation incllrde t}te exchange of information;the creation and maintenalce of social relationships such asfriendship; the negotiation of starus and social roles, as well asdeciding on and carrying out joint actions. Conversation thereforehas many functions, although its prirnary purpose i-n our ownlanguage is probably social.

The units of conversation

The basic unit of conversation is an exchange. An exchange consistsof two moves (an initiating move and a response). Each move can

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also be called a turn, and a turn can be taken without using words,e.g. by a nod of the head. So for this dialogue the move andexchange structure can be illustrated in the following way:

A Jane.B Yes?A Could I borrow your bike, please?B Sure, it's in the garage.A Thanks very much.

A

B

<l--€xchange 1 Exchange 2 ------------>

{-- €xchange 3 ,---------------

Figurc 1 Az illustration of moue and exchaflge structure

We can give a function to each move, e.g. request, acknowledge.This may not be easy, and to do so we need to take account offactors such as who the speakers are, where and when theconversation occurs, as well as the position of the move in thestream of speech.

Notice that an exchange, or a series ofexchanges, are nolnecessarily tie same thing as a conversation. The following is anexample of al exchange:

A Hi!B HiI

The second example conlains lwo exchanges, but it is not a

conversation because the two speakers wanr to finish their businessas q'.'ickly as Possible'A How much are the oranges?B Eighteen pence each, madam.A I'll have two, please.B That's thirty-six pence!

Conversation is open-ended and has the potential to develop in anyway. It is possible that the second example could contain a

conversation if the speakers decided to ralk about the price oforanges. They may do riis in order to get a discount, or to develop a

social relationship, and the potential is always there in real life.Unfonunately, many students never have the confidence or

Tum 1

lsolicit: calrj'Jan€.'

Turn 3

Isolic : reguestl'Could I bonow

your bike, please?'

Tum 5

[Acknowledge:thankl

'Thanks verymrrch.'

Iu.r' 2lcivet availabld

'Yes?'

Tum 4

lciue: conpvr'Sure, it's in the

garage.'

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INTRODUCTION

opportunity to go beyond simple exchanges like dre one above, andone of the main objectives of this book is to introduce exerciseswhich allow students to develop tle ability to initiate and sustainconversadon.

What do native speakers do inconversation?

Conversation is such a natural part ofour lives that many people arenot conscious ofwhat happens within it. However, conversadonfollows certain rules which can be described. For example, whenwe look at norma.l conversation we notice that:

- usually only one person speaks at a rimel- the speakers changel- the length of any contriburion variesl- there are techniques for allowing the other pany or panies to

speak;- nei*rer the content nor the amount ofwhat we say is specified in

advance.

Conversation analysis seeks to explain how this occurs, and the aimofthe secdons which follow is to make the readers sensitive to themain issues from a teaching point of view.

The co-operative principleNormal conversations proceed so smoothly because we co-op€ratein them. Grice (1975) has described four maxims or principleswhich develop co-operative behaviour. These are:

The maxim of qualityMake your contribution one that is true. Specifcally:a. Do not say what you believe to be false.b. Do not say anything for which you lack adequate evidence.

The.maxim of quantityMake your contribution just as informative as required and nomore.The maxim of relationMake your conribution relevant and timely.The maxim of mannerAvoid obscurity and ambiguity.Readers will realize that these maxims are often broken and, whenthis happens, native speakers work harder to get at the underlyingmeamng, e.g.

A How did you fnd the play?B The lighting was good.

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By choosing not to be as informative as required, B is probablysuggesting the plav is not worth commenting on. A lot of thematerial written for teaching English as a foreign language isdeliberatel-v free of such ambiguity. This means that students haveproblems later in conversational situations where the ma-.'<ims are

not observed. Systematic listening practice using authenticdiscourse may be one solution.

These maxims may also be observed differently in differentcultures, so we need to tell students ifthel'are saying too much ortoo little without realizing it.

The making of meaningWhen we speak we make promises, give advice or praise, issuethreats, etc. Some linguists refer to individual moves as speech acts'Each of the following are examples ofspeech acts and we can try toallocate a specific function to each example:

- Tum left at the next slreet. (Instruction?)- Inoest in Crescent Ltfe. (Advice?)

- Keep off the grass. (Order?)

However, we need to know the context of the example to give it a

function pith anv certaintl', and it is eas-v to think ofsiruarions inwhich the examples above might have a different function from theone sho*'n. In conversadons the relationship betu'een the speakerand the listener will have an important effect on how the listenerunderstands the particular speech act. For example, the wav inwhich we hear and respond to a statement such as 1'oe lost myztallet, may well depend on whether we think the person is trying toobtain money under false pretences or not! There is no room toenter into a full discussion ofdiscourse analysis, but rhe followingissues are particularly relevant to the teaching of conversadon.

Most speech acts have more than one function, e.g. when we say toa waitress, The music is rather lozl, rve are simultaneousll' reportingthat we cannot hear ourselves speak, and also complain.ing andasking the waitress to do something about it. Any approach thatleads students to equate one particular language form with onepanicular language function, will lead to misunderstandings inconversation because an imponant requirement for success is beingable to interpret intended speech acts correctly. There is also a needto help students begin to become sensitive to why a speaker chose a

panicular speech act, e.g. by setting a listening usk which asksstudents to comment on tlte purpose of what they hear - is it meantas a challenge, a defence? etc.

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2hB

3AB

INTRODT](:TION

AdjacencyThe two moves in an exchange are related to each other through theuse ofadjacency pairs. These are utterances produced by twosuccessive speakers in which the second utterance can be identifiedas being related to the first. Some examples ofadiacency pairs are:I A Hello! (Greeting-Greetrng)

B HiIDinner's ready ! (Call-Answer)Coming.Is this yours? (Question-Answer)No.

In some cases we can predict the second part of a pair from t}re first.As in example l, a greeting is normally followed by a greeting. Inotler cases there are a variely ofoptions. For example, a complaintmight be followed by an apology or a justification. Teachers need tothink about ways of developing appropriate second pans toadjacency pairs from the srarr. For example, many drills requirestudents to reply to yes/no questions with 'yes' or 'no', plus arepetition of the verb. We therefore get exchanges like:A Are these cakes fresh?B Yes, they are.

What students do not often get are opportunities to practise otheroptions, such as:

A Are these cakes fresh?B I bought them this morning. Help yourself.

Even worse is the tendency to encourage students to produceisolated sentences containing a target sfucture, e.g. If I hadf10,000 I'd buy a car. Unless we get away from quesaion-answer-quesdon-answer sequences and the production of sentences withouteither stimulus or response, students will always appear to be flatand unresponsive in conversation because a minimal answer doesnothing to drive the conversation forward. !7e shall look at howthis might be done through conuolled activities in Chapter 2.

Turn takingAs native speakers we find it relatively easy and natural to knowwho is to speak, when, and for how long. But rhis skill is norautomatically transferred to a foreign language. Many studentshave great difficulty in getring into a conversarion, knowing whento give up their turn to others, and in bringing a conversation to aclose- In order for conversation to work smoothly, all participantshave to be alert to signals that a speaker is about to finish his or herturn, and be able to come in witl a contribution which 6ts the

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direction in which the conversation is moving. We need to rrainstudents to sense when someone is about to finish. Fallingintonadon is ofien a signal for rhis.

It would also be useful for students to realize that quesrions like,Did. anyone watch the football last nigit? funcdon as a generalinvitation to someone Io develop a conversation. Foreigners alsosometimes lose their turn because they hesirate in order to find rheright word. Teaching our students expressions \ke,lVait, there'smare, or That's not a/1, as well as fillers and hesitat.ion devices suchzs Enn . . .,Well . . .,so jou can gucss u:hat happercd . . ., erc. willhelp them to keep going. Finally, ir is well worth looking ar wal s inwhich we initiate and build on what otlers have said such as ?n&cr'slihe what happened to me . . . and Dil I tell3tou about when . . .?, sothat students can make appropriate contributions. Some relevantact.ivities can be found in Chapters 3 and 5.

Openings and closingsThe devices used for opening and closing differenl conversadonsare very similar. Many conversadons start with adjacency pairsdesigned to attract attendon, such as:

I A Have you got a light?B Sure.

2 A Gosh it's hot in here today.B I'm used to it.

Openings such as these allow further talk once the other pcrson'sattention has been obtained. Many foreign students use opcningsthat make them sound too direct and intrusive, for example, byasking a very direct question. Closing too presents a problem whenthe sudden introduction of a 6nal move like, Goodbye makes theforeigner sound rude. Native speakers wi.ll tend to negotiate the endofa conversation so that nobody is left talking, and you will hearexpressions like:

- OKthen...- Right. . .

- \Vell, Inppose...- Erm, I'm afraid . . .

- I'oe got to go ttou;-

- I'll let you get bach to your writing.- So I'll see you next weeh.

It is worth pointing these out. Nadve speakers sometimes try to cuta conversadon short by only producing a minimal response or evensaying nothing at all, but neither strategy is recommended forstudents of English.

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INTRODUCTION

r oprcs

Different cultures talk about different things in their everydaylives. Nadve speakers are very aware of what they should andshould not talk about with specific categories ofpeople in dteir ownlanguage, but the rules may be different in a foreign language. Bothteachers and students need to develop a sense of'taboo' subiects ifthey are to avoid offence.

Male and female differences inconversauon

Current research reveals interesting sex differences in conversationamong native speakers. Women, for example, are more Iikely toshow an interest in personal details than men. They are also betterlsteners and more likely to help the person they are speaking todevelop a topic, by asking information questions and makingencouraging remarks and gestures. However, men are morereluctant to disclose personal information. They prefer it whenthere is a purpose for the conversation and they would rather talkabout outside topics, e.g. games, hobbies, politics, cars, etc. t}tanthemselves. This may influence our choice of topic.

Simplification in informal speech

There are many foreign students who pronounce the ildividualsounds and words of English beautifu.lly but who still sound veryforeign. The reason is that in English the sound quality of a word,particulady the vowels and certain consonants, changes dependingon whether the word is said in isolation or as pan ofa continuousstream of words. Some of this is a result of simplification ofinformal speech. One important reason for simplification is thatEnglish is a stress-dmed language. rJ hen we speak, all the stressed

syllables in our sentences tend te come at roughly similar intervalsof time. This means that the following sentences (taken fromBroughton et al 1978), when spoken by the same speaker in normalcircumstances, would take the same amount of time to say, even

though they contain different numbers ofwords or syllables.

I lboughtadog.2 lt's a dogl bought.3 But it's a dog thatl bought.

They are the same length when spoken because they contain thesame number of suessed syllables ( dog and bought)- This means thatthe unstressed syllables have to be squeezed il and the vowels,which are in unstressed syllables, very often become the neutral or

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t2 INTRODUCTION

weak vowel, or'schwa'which is represented by the symbol [:].This is the rnost common sound in spoken English and the use ofweak forms means a native speaker will tend to say:

- Itwas him. /rt waz hrm/ not /rt woz hrm,/

- Giae it to me. /grv rt te mi/ not /grv rt tu: mi/Elision, which is the 'missing out' of a consonant or vowel, or both,is also very common. A native speaker would tend to say:

/'fs :s'0ri:/ not /'f: : st'Ori :/ for'first three'.For foreigners (panicularly those whose native language issyllabus-timed, e.g. French), the tendency is to give each pan ofa word the same value and this can have a wearying effect on thenative speaker listener, who will, as a result, be less likely to remainsympathetic and interested. It is therefore worth pointing out weakforms from the start for recognition and production.

Stress and intonationGood conversationalists use stress and intonation to keepconversations going. A fall on words like 'OK' or 'So', often servesto show tttal we are about to change the subject. A rise on 'really'isa way ofshowing interest. All ofthese are important signals and it isworth pointing these out to students when they occur so thar theystart iistening for them. A wide voice range is also more likely tokeep a listener interested than a monotone. This can be difficult forstudents whose native language has a narrow voice range, and forrhese students addirional sensidviry training may be needed.Students also need to realize that the wrong intonation can Iead tomisunderstanding. For example, researchers found that Pakistaniladies who were serving in the canteen of Heathrow often got a

hostile reacdon by pronouncing the word 'gravy' r.r.'ith a fallingintonation, rather tlan the rise wh.ich would be polite in BritishEnglish.

Gesture and body language

Vh.ile it is uue that speakers of English do not use as much gestureas people in some other cultures, e.g. Italians, they do use theirhands to emphasize a point. The positioning ofthe body also has aneffect on the listener. Sitting on the edge ofa seat may be seen as

being aggressive. Slumping in it is a sign of boredom, and evenwhere we do not mean it this may be how it comes across. In somecultures people also smnd very close to tiose they are talking to andmany Americans report discomfort when faced with Middle-Easterners who tend to value proximity and touch. Body languageis a complicated area but it is worth observing your students andgiving them feedback on how they appear to others.

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INTRODUCTION

SummaryTeachers need Io be aware of the characterisdcs of nadve-speakerperformance in conversation if they are to teach conversationeffectively. They also need to consider which of the funcdons ofconversation are most relevant to the students. These will varyaccording to Ievel and needs, but most general purpose studentswould want to use English to

- give and receive informarion;- collaborate in doing something;

- share personal experiences and opinions wirh a view to buildingsocial relationships.

Students will not be able ro do rhese things by ralking cloztconversalion, and the stress in this book is lea rning by doing ldtro:ughactivities which give students practice in a pattern of interactionthat is as close as possible to what competent nadve speakers do inreal life. This is the purpose of the F lumcy actiztities in Chapter 4.However we recognize that students need guidance and support inthe early stages and this is the rationale behind rhe Controlledactiz;ities in Chapter 2. We also believe that the performance of thestudents can be improved by increasing their sensitivity to the waythat conversation works, and the tasks in Chapter 3 are mostlyaimed at developing awareness. The other vital ingredient isfeedback. Studenrs need to be able to assess *Ieir progress so that itis possible to identify areas for further practice, and this issue isrreated in Chapter 5.

Finally, the key to the smooth operation of task-based fluency workis the effecrive managemenr of the materials, of rhe students, and ofthe classroom environment. The crv from rnan,'- students'I justwant conversation Iessons" or'I iust want to practise ralking; Iknow the grammar', suggesrs that conversation lessons are

somehow easier to prepare and teach, are inferior in sutus to 'thegrammar lesson', and so on. Yet many teachers will know to therrcost how often the conversation lesson just does not quite work. InChapter I we look at how the activities in the book can be used andput together to provide a coherent and purposeful approach. Aboveall we hope that users of the book will find the approach suggestedpracdcal, useful, and interesting enough to develop ideas alongsimilar lines.

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l5

I Towards a classroomapproach

IntroductionThe purpose of this chapter is to give a briefaccount ofhow theactivities which can be found in chapters 2 to 5 can be combined toprovide a coherent approach to the teaching ofconvenation.Ahhough many students say that their main purpose in learningEnglish is to be able to speak it, many students will not talk readilyin class, and the'discussion lesson' in which rhe teacher does mostof the talking is still too prevalent. Ifyou 6nd that this is happenirgconsistently then you should pause and ask yourself the followingquestions:

I Do I make an effon to prepare students for the discussion orfluency activity?Preparation is a vital ingredient for success. Students need to beorientated to the topic, and an instruction like'Let's talk abouteuthanasia' rarely works. Some of the fluency tasks in Chapter 4have pre-tasks built in but some students may need moreorientation to a topic than others for cultural or linguisdc reasons.Some simple techniques which can be used to prepare students for a

particular topic include:

- The use of audio visual ards to atouse inleresl.

- A general orientation to the topic by means of a shon text,questionnaire, series of statemenls for discussion andmodification, a video extract, etc. The only rule is that the pre-task should never be too long.

- Exercises to build up the vocabulary ne€ded for a task. This caninclude matching words to pictures, putting words from a listinro different categories, learning words from lists, etc.

2 Do students klow what is expected of them?

Students may need to be orientated to the task itselfso that theyknow what is expected of them. For example, the insuuction to'discuss' a topic may be meaningless to many students who do notcome from a culture where such discussion is a norma.l part of theeducational process. In some cases students may need training, andthis is discussed briefly later in this chapter. The general rule is toformulate tasks in terms srudents can understand ald make sure

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TO!O{/ARDS A CLASSROOM APPRoACH

that the instructions are clear. In giving instructions we shouldalways:

- Think through instrucdons from the point of view of the studenr.- Stage the instructions carefully and make sure the students

understand at each stage. Do this by asking for a demonstrationor for an answer to a question which proves understanding. A'yes/no' answer to Do you understand.) is not pardcularlyrevealing. If the task is very complex it might be advisable to setup a rehearsal before asking students to start.

- Make sure that instructions are given clearly. Insist on silenceand make sure you can be seen. Use demonstration and gestureswhere possible.

3 Have I made an effort to find out which topics will modvatestudents to speak?

Students are sometimes not motivated to talk because thev lackinvolvement in the topic. However, even where students admitinterest, they may be reluclant or unwilling to talk about it inEnglish because they lack the linguisdc resources to give a subjectthe treatment it deserves. This would certainly be true ofissues like'euthanasia'. As teachers we should also remember that it is notalways natural to enter into prolonged discussion on controversialtopics. More often than not we limit ourselves to strong opinionrather than extended and reasoned argument. As native speakerswe tend to talk about things which are within our experience, andtasks built around the following sorts of areas usually generate a lotof discussion when they are used with adult students:

family life moneysport personal experienceschange dreamsholidays foodpleasures healthAlways check by asking students whar rhey thought about the topicat the end of the lesson.

4 Is there any fol.low-up to the discussion?

Adult students will always be reluctant to take part in a discussion ifthey feel it has no educational value. A clear explanarion oftherationale of the tasks, as well as the use of feedback tasks or reportback sessions (see Chapter 5), are important ways ofcounteractingthis. In short a successful conversation programme involves a lotmore lhan a vague commitment to mlk about something. Thequestions we have looked at refer to central management issues. Wecan now see how the tasks in this book can be put together to form aprogramme.

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TO'JflARDS A CLASSROOM APPROACH

Classes of activityThere are four basic types ofacdvities in this book:

- ControLled activities to give students confidence and support.(Chapter 2)

- Awareness activities to increase sensitivity in students to whatthey are aiming at. (Chapter 3)

- Fluency activities to give students the practice they need to zse

English for communication. lChapter 4)

- Feedback tasks to allow students to reflect on their ownperformance so that they become aware ofareas in which theyhave to improve. (Chapter 5)

In most conversation programmes we would expect a mixture of allof these activities from the start, geared to the needs of thestudents. When we think abour the mix, the followingconsiderations apply:I It may be necessary to introduce fluency activities gradually.Students who are used to highly controlled patterns of interaction,where it is the teacher who initiates all the language exchanges andjudges whether they are coffect or not, may find that fluencyactivities pose a considerable dreat because they are nor used to thefreedom involved. In these cases we would need to introducestudents gradually to freer act.ivities as the timetable (on the nextpage) from an ani cle in English Language Teaching J ouaalindicates.

Obviously students will varv in rerms of their prior learningexperience, so it is always worth seeing what they are used tobecause rhey may need a period of adjustment to new ways ofworking. Remember too thar we are talking about a continuousprocess. Students who are used to pair and group work may need tobe introduced to project work, for instance. Having said this, ifstudents are con-fident and not tireatened there is no reason whyfluency-type activities should nor be used from the earliest suges.

2 It is also unlil<ely that any one lesson will consist entirely of onetype of activity. It is always best to aim for variety of msk type.

3 Different types of activities u'ill be used in different proportionsaccording to the level. For example, advanced students will needrelatively few controlled activities and the narrow focus of thesetasks would be replaced by awareness tasks. For beginners thesituation is reversed and while it is always worth poindng outfeatures such as hesitation devices, full-blown awareness taskswould be the exception rather than tie rule, and tlere would tendto be a higher proportion of controlled activities.

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TOWARDS A CLASSR(X)M APPROACH

Tablc I: A t.n-Lot,k plan for introductng stud.nlr to and karmng lh.n in th, uu oJ pair and grout u'orkl

Wee k Aim Means

To extend responsibility for initiat-ing short responses to the learner.

Teacher-controlled open and adla-cent pair work on quesrion-and-answer excrctsfs.

Consolidarion plus introduction ofdialogue exchange in pairs.

Dialogue reading: learner rakcs onepart. Move from Teacher reading Aand learners B through open andadjacent pairs to whole class uork rn

closed pairs.

Consolidation plus introduction oflcarners to the habit of choosing thecontent of communicarion in oralwork.

Longer read dialogues, follor'ed bvthe introductron of cued draloques

Consolidation plus introductionthe idea of working togctherEnglish.

ofin

Introduce discourse chains toprompt recall of known diaioeues;get learners to work on comprehen-sion exercises in Enelish.

f5f lb introduce the idca of guided roleplay, as well as simple problemsolving.

Introduce role cards on the basis offamilrar materral: a short perrod rnclosed pairs; work on problems ofgrammar.

Consolidation plus introduction of'information-gap' exercises.

Longer quidcd role plavs; practice rnmoving qLrickly into pair rn'ork exer-cises; inlormation sap in \ahich halfthe class sees the picture: teachercontrols questions and ans* ers.

Consolidation and extension. Inlormation gap similar to (6), butdone in closed pairs;jigsaw reading.

Consolidation and extension. Inrroduce free role-play activities rnpairs, then threes and fours: smallgroup essav preparation for the finalstage of guided composition lesson.

Consolidation and extension. Introducc ranking activities.

l0 Consolidation and extcnsion. Group preparation of ideas andstructure for essay.

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To\vARDS A CLASSROOM APPROACH

Achieving a balanced programme

The amount of time available for conversation work will obviouslydepend on the intensity of the programme as well as its emphasis.As the amount ofcontact time available varies considerably, the armis to give general advice which will need to be interpreted locally. Ifa group meets for one and a halfhours a week, then it is conceivablethat conversational competence would be its sole objective. In thissituation it is recommended tlat students get a balance ofthe fourdifferenr rypes ofactivities mendoned in the previous secdon eachtime tiey meet the teacher. Obviously the proportion of time spenton activities will vary according to the level of the students, theirprior knowledge, etc. but an intermediate group might do thefollowing within the dme available. The 'Dialogue frll-in' activity(Chapter 2 page 4l) would be completed as a preparation for one ofthe activities which involve t}te sharing of personal information,e.g. 'Emotional match'(Chapter 4 page 90). This might in turn befollowed by an abbreviated version ofa Feedback task (Chapter 5

pages 12617) . Clearly the range of options is infinite , and theawareness/controlled activiry does not have to be related to thefluency activity for that week. This allows for recycling andbuilding. It would however always be wise to point our the aim ofthe activities at all stages.

Students who are following a full time lalguage programme canobviously spend a lot more time on conversational work, but thekrnd of mix outlined above applies just as well, a.lthough it may bepossible to spend a little more rime on each acrivity. In their casepreparation and remedial work can and should be a pan oftheteaching of grammar and a lot of the work on areas such as

conversational gambits, pronunciation, rhythm, stress andintonation, can be integrated inro *re wider programme. On thewhole the aim should be for 'little and often' rather than longsessions devoted entirely to one particu.lar area.

Persuading the learnerAs we have said, student-resistance is a problem teachersencounter. The most likely cause is unfamiliariry with the way inwhich a programme is organized. The solution is to tell them zr.rlry.

In our experience, appeals to common sense work far better thanself-justificatory argument or discussion, and ir is imponant to finda way of presenting a clear and simple rationale of the approachfrom the outset. This may simply be a quick outline of the nature ofthe different types of activities used and their relationship to eachother- It may also be appropriate to poim out the way in which theactivides serve to meet the students' obiectives. In this waystudents will perceive that the programme has purpose anddirection.

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20 TO!fARDS A CLASSROOA{ APPROAC}I

Students may also need information on iotr.' to go about theactivities. This information may take the form of:

- A staged and gradual introduction for students from verytraditional backgrounds.

- A demonstration or discussion of what is expected of them. Manystudents, for example, may not be familiar with the role of anobserver and may need to be shown what to do.

- Advice or discussion on how to make the most of theopportunities available when working in a student-centredcontext. For example, some students do not give peer groupwork the same starus as sessions in which the teacher ii up iront.They may therefore miss opportunities ro get down new wordsand expressions because they feel these can only corne from tleteacher.

- Instrucdons on how to get srarted quickly, how to use theequrpment, etc.

Some students may never have been asked to work independentlyof the teacher in a classroom setting before. To help thij situationsome useful pre-course work could include orientation talks bymore advanced students from a similar socio-cultural background,as well as a discussion of films or photographs of students tikingpart in group work, prolects, etc. Analysing ftozl acdvities wereperformed should also be an object ofdiscussion in general coursefeedback sessions, as this would provide useful infoimarion on howt}te students perceive the course.

A sense ofprogressThe emphasis on recording and feedback tasks of the sort outlinedin Chapter 5 is importanr in ensuring that students develop a sensetlat they are making progress. Often students do nor realize justhow much more confident and fluent they are becoming. Onereason may be that as they improve, the listener makes fewerconcessions and, as conversation is a two way process, students donot feel they are making progress because lhey may understand lessand llerefore not be in a position to respond. This is particularlyt.rue for students studying in an environment where English isspoken. A sense ofnot improving may also arise because studentsmay rarely get the opportunity to take a leading role inconversation, and it is well worth trying to programme sessions inwhich advanced or upper intermediate students have Io susrain aconversation with those at a lower level, in order to give them tlreexperience of being the driving force in a conversadon. Getdngstudents to compare tieir current efforts with recordings made intlte earliest stages of the course is another way of boostingconfidence-

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{I{{{),

TO\X'ARDS A CLASSROOM APPROACII

In many cases students will have exrernal objectives such as the oralexaminations run bv organizations such as ARELS, the RSA, andThe University of Cambridge Local Examinarions Syndicate. It istherefore useful to show the extent to which students are makingprogress towards their examination objective by including anelement ofexam practice in the programme. There are a variety ofways in which this can be set up but the following represenrs apossible approach.

- Make the students fully aware of what a satisfactory performancein the examination involves. For example, a film ofa FirstCertificate interview might be used in conjunction with a versionof the activities on pages 54/5 and 12617, to show srudenrs howinrerviewers tend to use a sign al llke, Hm: interesting, toencourage students to say more.

- An idendfication of areas which are critical for a goodperformance in the exam might then be followed by controlledpractice of exam-type tasks.

- Students should also be given practice in exam conditions.Feedback from these tasks is pardcularly valuable in that itfosters self-evaluadon and improvement.

There is no room to give assessment ofconversation the treatment itdeserves. There may be a need to give students a grade for the workthev do in the conversation lessons and, as continuous assessment isparticularlv suited to assessing conversational performance, there isa need to keep good records. Whe*rer the results are expressed interms of letter grades or numbers mav be a matter of preference orrhe dictates of the system. There is however an interest in beingable to describe the students' per{ormance in behavioural terms andteachers are encouraged to look at rhe scales developed by TheBritish Council, or the Foreign Service Institute to see if rhe scalescan be adapted to their purposes. Testing Communtcati-lePerformance b,v Brendan Carroll ( 1982), is a summary of the earlywork done by The Brirish Council's Testing Service, and morerecent informadon may be available from the English LanguageTesting Service, The British Council, l0 Spring Gardens, LondonS'iYIA 2BN.

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2 Controlled activities

IntroductionAlthough conversational competence can only come from fluencyacdvities or natural language interacrion outside the classroom,there is an argument for the use ofcontrolled activities which helpstudents develop confidence as well as the ability to panicipate inand maintain simple, commonly encountered conversadons.

Many students have to overcome a psychological barrier before theyare prepared to speak in the foreign language. Some students findspeaking in the classroom situation a threat because tiere is alwaysan audience, and consequently prefer ttre anonymity of one-to-oneencounters outside. Others on the other hand who quite happilycontribute in the sheltered environment of t}re classroom,experience considerable problems irr building up the courage ro usethe language outside class. A few prefer not to speak at all, and areconsequently denied opportunities for practice. Within theclassroom a major source of threat is the individual's perception ofhimself or herself and the otier students. Threat reduction ispossible by building up personal security through the use of'getdng ro know you' activities which promore trust, as well as'articulation' activities which give students the opportunity to useEnglish sounds in a safe and undemanding environment.

The other main group ofactivities i.n this chapter aim to helpstudents develop their ability to take part in sustained conversarionthrough acuvities which give controlled practice in the buildingblocks ofconversation using dialogue building techniques such ascloze dialogues, by paying attention to exchange suucture, and t}reshort responses known as gambits, as well as through granmarpractice.

Getting-to-know-you activitiesStudenrs are a lot happier to speak or make mistakes if there is apositive atmosphere oftrust within a group. This is unlikely todevelop quickly unless the group begins by getting to know eachother's names. Activities which serve to promote exchange ofpersonal information also promote trust and confidence. Thefollowing selection ofactivities are designed to do this.

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LEVEL

CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

1 Chain namesAny level (including beginners)

5-10 minutes

To introduce students ro each other.

None.

I Ask the studenrs to sit in a semi-circle, and nominate one studentto introduce himself or herself.2 The person next to him or her must then repeat his or her name,and then introduce himself or herself.3 Ask your students to repeat this procedure around the semi-circle, each one repeadng the name ofthe person before them, andthen saying their own name. For example:A I'm Rob.B Rob, I'm Paula-C Rob, Paula, I'm Francisco.D Rob, Paula, Francisco, I'm Dieter.More advanced students might tackle the following:A I'm Francisco, I'm from Bilbao.B He's Francisco. He's from Bilbao. I'm Bianca, and I'm from

Rome.C He's Francisco. He's from Bilbao. She's Bianca. She's from

Rome. I'm Pierre, and I'm from Toulouse.

I Twelve represents a maximum number for ihis activity.2 You should always take a turn ro show you arc learning loo.

2 Name bingoBeginner to Elementary

l0-15 minutes

To introduce students to each other (particularly suitable for largeclasses).

Prepare a blank seating plan of the class, and make enoughphotocopies for dre whole class.

I Stan by practising name learning in the usual way , e.g. Hello, mytwme's Carla, what's your namc?

2 Then tell the students that they must remember as many names

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

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nt

CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

as possible during the next pracdce phase.

3 Continue the practice, making sure you ask every student at leastonce.

4 Give out a blank seating plan of the class to each student and askthem to complete it with as many names as they can remember (thisshould take four to five minutes, and cheating is not serious as longas it is not disrupdve).5 The obiect of the next stage is for one student in the class ro nameall the others with the aid ofhis or her plan, and using, //r'sname's. . .,Hnname's. .. Ask a student who feels he or she hasmost or all of the names to staft. As soon as he or she makes amistake he or she has to sit down and either you nominate anotherstudent or someone volunteers.5 Tell the students that they may add names to their plans duringthis phase.

7 The winner is the student who gets tluough the whole classwithout a mistake. As the game progresses more and more studentsshould feel able to name everyone. The game can continue as longas the students are motivated. They can also try to name everyonewithout the help ofthe plan.

8 Take a turn in the middle yourself to motivate the more rericentstudents.

I Many of the suggestions for name learning games involve smallgroup interacdon and cannot be used in a secondary schoolenvironment with fixed desks, etc. 'Name bingo'can be used withlarge classes, but it can also be used wit! smaller classes if studentsare asked to work from memory after the initial stages.

2 For furrher examples see Grazrna r in Attion by Mario Rinvolucriand Chrisdne Frank, (1983), andTeaching Techniques forCammunicatizte Engljsl by Jane Revell, (1979).

3 Find someone whoElementary and above

15-20 minutes

To enable students to fnd out more about each other.

Prepare task sheets for the students to complete, like the one overthe page. Go through your students' application forms, in.itialinterview notes, etc. to get an interesting piece of information abouteach of your students to incorporate into the task sheets.

25

BEMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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PROCEDURE

CONTROI-I -F]I) ACTIVITIES

Find someone in the classwho:

N arne

1 plays the piano

2 is training to be a doctor

J was born in Australia

etc.

I Give out a task sheet to each student and give them about l0minutes to try and complete it. Encourage them to mill around.2 rVhen the buzz begins to subside call the students together andgo through the rask sheers by asking quesrio ns bke, Who plays thepiano? Vho usas born in Australia? etc. Allow any of rhe srudents roanswer.

An activity l.ike'Find someone who'is best used verv earlv on in thecourse. Consequently students may be reluctant to move iround ifthey are not used to doing this. Encourage them if necessary. Thereare a number of published versions of this activity, but rhese are notsensitive to individuals in the group, and therefore do notnecessarilv perform the inrroductory funcrion as well. Althoughthis acdvity is linguistically very simple, it has been usedsuccessfully at all levels.

AcknowledgementWe first encountered a version of this acrivitv at a workshop run by'Gertrude Moskowitz at TESOL. Detroit.

4 Guess who?Elementary to Intermediate

l5-20 minutes

Students are given statements ofpersonal information abour otherstudents and they have to ask questions in order to establish theperson's idendty.

Have available enough small pieces ofpaper for rhe whole class.

I Give each of your srudents a piece of paper and ask rhem to writefour facts about themselves. These can be anything they choose,e.g. I was born in February, I m:n a bicycle, I like Beethoxm, etc. aslong as the statement is lrue.

REMABKS

LEVEL {{{{{{(

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEOURE

Id

.{A

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REMAFKS

CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

2 Tell the students to fold their pieces ofpaper and pass themanonymously to the front of the class.

3 Collect them together and then redistribute them so that eachstudent has personal information about another student.4 Once the students have had a chance ro look at the personalinformation, tell them that they will have to find our whoseinformation thev have by turmng the sutements into questions,and t}ten asking other students those questions. You can exercisecontrol over the activitv in a vatiety of ways:

- By deciding on the form ofquestion which is allowable, i.e. openquestions to the class, such as Wfto zlas Dom in February? orquestions to individuals, such as Were 2ou bom in F ebruary?

- By deciding whether to nom.inate students to speak, or to allowthem free choice.

- By deciding whether or not to allow the students to move abour.5 Once you have decided on the rules for rhe acdvity you can ser irin motion. The activity ends when everybody has found out whosepersonal informadon they have.

If the initial statemenrs were collected il the previous lesson, orcopied out two or three times, you could distribute more than oneset of information Io each student. This would be needed ro make amingling activity more successful.

Articulation activities\7hen students come to speak il a foreign language *rey often findthemselves inhibited b1' the prospect of having to make what tothem are strange and even comic sounds. In severe cases studentscan become so tongue-tied that *rey refuse to speak at all. One wayof alleviating this problem is to give students the opponunity toexperiment with sounds, as well as talk in a secure environmentfrom the start. Often this involves allowing them to experimentindividually or in a relaxed group situarion.

5 Sounds EnglishAny level

l(Ll5 minutes

An imitation exercise to get srudents used to getting their tonguesround English sounds.

Make a list of items for practice. These could include individualsounds such as the vowels (a-e-i-o-u), as well as short utterancessuch as lfllrari, You're where?, A big black booh, erc.

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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!8

PROCEDURE

I]ONTROLLED ACTIVIl'IES

I Explain to the students that they are going to have some fun so as!o'sound English'. (Explain the rationale ifnecessary.)2 All ofthis has to be conducted with a light touch and vou shouldbe seen to be making a fool of yourself, too.

3 You should practice the vowels anJ short utterances, stretchingrhem to their limits ofacceptability in English, because the essentialthing to do is to exaggerate. Students who do not usually go quire asfar as they need to will be trying to imitate you and 'sound English'.4 I alk around the class correcdng the students and give rhem achance to rehearse in pairs, ifnecessary.

Making a joke ofa real problem releases tension and prepares thestudents Io exaggerate suf6ciently to sound English. This is nothowever, an acdvit]- to try with a class who have not had a chance toget to know each orher a little. It is also not suitable for largeclasses.

Acknowledgement'We learnt this activity from Tim Johns.

6 Look and speak

Beginner to Intermediate

l5-?0 minutes

1-o help students repeat a dialogue thev have been studying in anatural wa,u...

None.

I Divide your students into groups of three with one person actingas a prompter at any stage ofthe activity.2 Ifthe dialogue is a short one you can give the participants a fewminutes to try and learn it by heart.

3 After that ask two ofthe students to close their books and try torepeat the dialogue as best they can. The prompter's role is to helpthem.

4 If the dialogue is longer t ell rhe student who is to stan to take inas much ofa line as possiblc, and then making eye contact with theother 'speaker', ask him or her to deliver the Iine.

5 Continue this with each of the 'speakers' mking a line of dialogueuntil the reading is complete.6 Ask the students to go through a dialogue three times exchangingroles each time. This technique gives a simple practice without thedisastrous effect ofa reading.

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

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AcknowledgementThis activity comes from an idea by G Tunnell in Moden EnglishTeacherYoI II Number I, 1983.

7 Listen and speak

Beginner to Elementary

Itr-20 minutes

To give students the chance to get simple oral practice by repeatinga dialogue they hear for the first time.

None by the teacher. Self-directed.

I Divide the students into groups of three and ask them to sitaround a cassette/tape recorder.

2 Ask them to select a piece of listening material from a coursebookthey are using. Ideally they should not have gone through thedialogue in class, but weaker students may prefer this.3 Ask one student to act as the prompter who is allowed to consultthe tapescript, if necessary.

4 The other two students take a part each and try to repeat whatthev hear on t}re tape. Tell them that they should stan b,v doing thison a line-byJine basis and try to progress through Io repeating thewhole dialogue. Having got the form, they should concentrate onrhl thm. intonation and pronunciation.

This technique was used with some success with beginners inAngola. There was no language laboratory available but the moresocial nature of the task seemed to appeal, and the quality ofrepetition was higher than that encountered in a lab. Students alsoderive great benefit from using their ears rather than their eyes, andthe prompter stops them from cheating.

8 Listen and record

Elementary and above

15-20 minutes

For students to make a recording after listening carefuily to a tapedmodel.

Selecl a natural model for students to imitate.

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TIME

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PREPARATION

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Ask the srudents ro lisren to dle tape and to repear any of rheutterances thel'have heard, until they are ready to be'recorded. lheacdvity rs self-directed, but you should be avaiiable forconsultation. The finished producr can be a subject of feedback andevaluation.

The acunty is self-regularory. This is important ifsrudenrs are norto be threatened bv having to repeat somelhing rhev feel uncerrainabout. This activiry also fosrers the notion ofriheaising what weare about ro say, something many people do in ,t

"i. o*.'n trngr"g.,

anyway.

9 Shadow readingAny level

10-15 minutes, depending on the lengdr of the passage.

To build up students' confidence.

Prepare a suitable master tape of dialogue or text being read aloud,lor use in a language laboratorv.

I Ask your students to fisten to the master track once or twice.2 Once they are readv the oblecdve is to maintain the samerhythm. inronation. srress and pronuncration a5 the original b).repeatng a'iri the master rrack.3 Make sure the students work with the same tape until they areready to record rheir ou'n version, or rhe]- can asi you to l.isten rothem.

The advantage ofthis use ofa language laboratory is that it is a safeand undemanding environment where students can work privatelyat their own pace.

Dialogue buildingThe use ofcues or prompts to build up dialogues has become afavoured technique in recent years. Tire cueJo. p.o-p,a r..ua ,odetermrne tie conrent ofwhar is said, and dialogue buildingactivities can.range from being highly controlleJ to uery fre"e.Dialogue building is not a substitute for fluency work, 6ut usedsparingly it allows the possibility ofgiving weaier stuients a chanceto say something. It can also allow teacheis to focus on appropriacyso that-stud-ents get a chance to widen their repertoir.. fi.r. r..examples of just a few of the types of activitiej availab.le.

REMARKS

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10 Who do you think . . .?Upper intermediate to Advanced

20-25 minutes

To highlight how the same interactional work can be carried outusing different language.

Prepare some instructions for your students (A and B) on a tasksheet or on separate cards (see below), and make enoughphotocopies for halfthe class. Make photocopies of the flow chartover the page.

I Divide your students into pairs. Explain how a discourse chainworks. (A discourse chain is used to prompt a dialogue. Individualresponses can vary but they should serve the same function withinthe frame ofthe given conversation.) Make sure your studentsunderstand this before giving out the task sheets.

2 Set the task in context and ask the students to take a role each.

3 Ideally students should make a recording which can be played tothe rest ofthe class. Iftape recorders are not available, some ofthepairs could perform the dialogue. Get the class to listen critically toeach version so as to focus on the appropriacv of the differentchoices.

4 You can substitute 'language school'in the task sheet for anyorganization or field of activit-v vour students are familiar r,l'ith.

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TASK SHEET Read this introduction:A and B are colleagues in a language school and they meet in thecorridor. A has heard a srong rumour that the Director, PeterWest, who is retiring, is going to be replaced by John Stevens. JohnStevens was until recently the Director ofa rival organization, andA wants to discuss this. B has been given this informationconfideadally and wants to avoid the subject.

Now go on with the task:

Decide on which role each ofyou is going to take. Now readthrough the following model and try to understand your part .in theconversation. You have five minutes to prepare what you might say.'When you are ready start recording. Review the tape when youhave finished and try to correct any expressions which soundinappropriate. Try again as many dmes as you want, but be readyto play your final tape to the whole class.

Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

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11 Do you come here often?Elementary and above

10-15 minutes

To provide controlled practice where srudents have to listen verycarefully to what the other speaker says.

Prepare a set ofcue cards for each of the students (see examplesopposite).

I Divide your students into pairs- Give each student one part of aconversation on a card. Each part has a series ofoptions.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDUHE

Acknowledge A's greeting.State how busy you are.

Mention Peter West'sretirement.

Confirm and state when.

Ask a general question as towho might replace PeterWest. Make a non-committal

answer-

Speculate on type ofperson needed. lndicate a non-committal

agreement.

Ask B's opinion aboutJohn Stevens doing thejob. Acknowledge the possibility,

but suggest another person.

Counter the suggestion of Bby indicating that the otherperson has gone abroad. Express surprise and

terminate conversation.

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2 Ask the students to listen very carefully to what their parrner saysin order to give an appropriate response chosen from the options ontheir card.3 Encourage them to go through the opdons once or twice beforeswopping cards. End this part of the lesson by getting some of thepairs to demonstrate.

You are by the swimming pool of an exclusive club. You start theconversation:

A Do you come here often?8...Now choose the best reply in response to B.

A Strange, I've never seen you here before.Are those the people you're with?Oh, just curious. It's always nice to see a new face.

8...A I7ell perhaps we'll see each other again.

Oh, how fascinating. I'm an artist.No, but I'd love to meet him.

8...

You are by the swimming pool of an exclusive club. Choose the bestreply to A.A...B \0[hy do you ask?

Yes, I'm a member.No, I'm here with friends.

A...B No, thev're inside. Do you know Sir Charles Stutton?

V'ell, I'm afraid I must go. Mv friends are waiting.I don't have time to come too often. I'm a model.

A...B \Well, come on in and join us. I'm sure Sir Charles would be

delighted to meet you. What's your name?That's funny, my husband's an artist, tql..Here he isnow. Hello, John!I doubt ir.Goodbye.

If cue cards are used it is important that the conversation practisedshould stretch the students and be a little beyond their normalcompetence. The focus should also be on performance and studentsshould be encouraged to make every attempt to get the intonationright. For this reason it might be useful to have readings of thedialogues available on tape. If possible, students should also beencouraged to record their conversadons.

A useftrl variant for more advanced students would be cards wherestudents have the option ofgiving the same message in a number ofdifferent registers.

cuE CARD 4

CUE CARD B

FEMARKS

VARIATION

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12 ThephonegameElementary and above

l0-15 minutes

To give students controlled pracrice of telephone conversadons.

None.

I \Yrite the following on the blackboard and ask your students toread it carefully:Your girlfriend has left you an urgenr message ro ring Cambridge312.133. This is not a number she normally uses. Heiname is LauraHiggins. Your name is John Roberts.2_.Explain that John Roberts is going to try ro ger through to LauraHiggins. Take all the other roles vourself.3 During the activity you can nominate anv one ofthe students tobe John Roberrs ar any poinr. Vhen a srudinr is nominated hetakes over the conversation. The actrvity might proceed as follows:Teacher Cambridge 312433 (points to student A).A Please give me Ms Higgins.Teacher rVho? (points ro student B).B I wonder if I mighr speak to Ms Higgins? (Teacher

indicates that rhere is a problem.)B ireformulates) I wonder if I could speak to r\{s Higgins,

please?Teacher Certainll', hold the Iine. please.

As students ga.in confidence all kinds of problems can be built inincluding wrong numbers. more than one Ms Higgins. ananswering machine, etc. Each time communication breaks downthe teacher recycles all the exchanges up to the point of breakdownindicating inappropriate inronarion, srress, vocabulary, word order,etc. by gesture and then the student tries again.

AcknowledgementA version of this activiry was presented by Celia Roberts at aseminar in the Unrversity of Lancasrer.

Exchanges

As the exchange is the basic unit ofconversation there is a case forwork which.focuses on the exchange from the start. The followingactivities are controlled in rhat the choice of vocabularv andstructures can be very restricred although the level of iesponserequired in fact draws on rhe srudents' full undersranding of thelanguage.

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C()N1'RoLI-ED ACTI\'I'TIFS

13 Who said it?Intermediate and above

l5-20 minutes

To get students to interpret and attribute utterances.

TIME

AIM

PREPABATION Make photocopies ofthe following task sheet and the picture onpage 36 for your class.

TASKSHEET Task IVork in pairs. Look at the picture and decide who mrght be sayingthe following:a. I told you not Io wear a suit.b. . . . , and the doctor says I'm pregnant.c. Are you a friend of Jim's?d. I thought Esmerelda looked tenible this evening. Didn't you?e. How do you stand it? Have you complained?f. And then he told me I was going to be promoted.g. So I said'Don't speak to me like rhar again . . .'

Task 2Now decide what the other speaker might say as a response to thestaiements above. Compare vour answers with the rest of the class.

Photocopiable O Oxford Universty Press

PROCEDURE I Introduce rhe srudenrs ro rhe idea of rhe task b1r asking them roguess who might be saying what in a visual, e. g. i photograph ofsomeone hiring a car.

2 Divide the students into pairs and give out copies ofrhe tasksheet and picture. Students should need about ten minures tocomplete the task:

3 Run a feedback session in which the pairs get a chance toexchange answers. Ask the students to practise the exchanges theyhave written. Concentrate on the rhythm and intonation.

An optional extension ofthis activity would be to get students to tryto develop a short dialogue (five or slr lines) from one of theexchanges.

REMARKS

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l6 CONTROLLEI) ACTIVITIES

Photocopiable O Oxford [Jniversity Press

14 Split exchangesElementary and above

l0-15 minutes

To get students to focus on exchange structure.

LEVEL

AIM

PREPARATION Vrite one part of an exchange for each student in the class. Hereare some examples. These would be enough for twenty students:

- What are you doing?Why do you ask?

- Vhat's up?I've lost my contact lens.

- What was the film like?The photography was OK.

- I can't find my notes.Don't worry they'll turn up somewhere.

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- The problem with teenagers today is they don't respecr age.Oh, listen to you taikl

- Jack's leaving on the tenth.As far as I know.

- How's he feeling?No idea.

- I'm meeting someone on the flight from Delhi.Oh, I think it's just come in.

- Dinner's ready.Coming.

- Gosh it's hot in here today.I'm used to it.

I Give each student half an exchange on a sheer of paper. Givethem a minute to memorize what is written on the sheet before theclass circulates freely.

2 Ask each person to say aloud only the words they have been givenand then listen to what is said by the others ro see ifanyone mighthave the other part of their exchange. Tell the studenrs rhey have rospeak to everyone.

3 After about five minutes ask those students who think they havefound a partner to move to one side of the room. Those withoutparmers call out their halfofthe exchange to the whole group andinvariably two or three people will have parts of exchanges which gotogether.

This can be used at any level b,v- varying rhe difficult-v of theexchanges.

AcknowledgementAIan Maley and Alan Duff , Drama Technrques in Lunguage Teaching(CUP 1978, new edition 1982).

GambitsIn.the early stages of conversadonal development students car: bctaughr to take the part of the person who responds to whatsomebody else has said, by producing an appropriate response or'gambit'. This can be done by teaching rhem to use a variety ofshort responses that contribute to the maintenance ofconversation.A list of what we might teach is as follows:I Language to indicate the speaker's agreement with what has beensaid:

- Yes, it is.

- Yes, thal s ight.- Of course , it is .

- Quite, absolutely true.

- Yes, I dolYes, he zt;aslYes, they were, etc-

REMARKS

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CoNTROLLED ACTIVITIES

2 Language which indicates polite disagreement:

- Well, not real\.- Not quite, no.

- Perhaps not quite as badlgoodldfficuh as that.

- Em, I don't knou.

Note: The co-operative nature ofconversation is such thatdisagreement tends to be expressed i-n a roundabout wa-v.

3 Language to indicate possible doubt:

- I'm not quite sure.

- Really?

- Is that ight?- Is that so?

- Are 1ou sure?

4 Language to provide positive and negative feedback:

- Great!

- That's nice.

- Very nice ind.eed (good, clear, preuy), etc.

- Really nice.

- * S ounds loz.tely !

- Not oay nice.

- Not at all nice/clear, erc.

- Very nasty indeed (disagreeable, bad, noisy), etc.

- *Sound: azt:ful.

5 Language to encourage confirmation and more informa on:

- Is thitt ight?- Real\?- '' !,i o hidding ?

- You're not!* Denotes items which are particularly informal.(See Teaching the Spohen Language by Brown and Yulc, 1983. )

The following strategies also encourage more information:

- Using a pronoun and an auxiliary verb that refer to the subjectand verb ofthe preceding statement or phrase, e.g.

A I like your car.B You do?C Yes, I wouldn't mind buying it off you when you get

a new onel

- Using a short question that repeats a key word or a phrase fromthe preceding statement:

A Is it cold?B Not too bad, but it's raining.A Raining?B I'm afraid so. It's not too hea!ry though.

One way of getting students used to the function of short responsesis to build them into drills. Srudents enloy the challenge ofgetting

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the stress and intonation ofthe shorr response right, and adding a

short response as the second or rhird part makes drills morecomplete and natural. Although such practice is semi-mechanical itis possible to add a measure of personal response. Students can alsobe encouraged to look out for these short responses in conversadonsthey hear.

15 Anyone for tennis?Elementary to Lower intermediate

Drill for 5-10 minutes

I To enable students to practise goizg Io to express t}te future.2 To get students to provide an appropriate response to the answerto the previous question.

A Vhat are you going to do this weekend?B I'm going to play tennis.A Oh, that's nice. I love tennis.

l9

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

TABGETEXCHANGE

PREPARATION

. . -;,.!*;ir_ 9F;a'! ?Sundoy

Prepare dre picture cues below.

?weehend

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I A's response to B is determined by A's artitude to the activitv inquestion, and the first stage of this activity is ro pre-reach the formand intonation ofpossible responses. These couid include:- Oh, thaf s ntce.

- Rather you thdn me, I hate rcnnis.- Great, I looe tennis.

- Luchy you, I'd lo?e to play tenn$, eLc.

2 .Provide a language model ro the class yourselfand then promprA's first question and B's reply by showing the cues ro no;inatedstudents. The cards should have prompts for the questions writtenon one side, and picture promprs for the responses on the other.3 Make rhe drill snappy and insist on appropriare inronarion.

Encourage student A to express his or her own true feelings aboutthe acdvity.

16 ls that right?Elementary and above

l0-15 minutes

To help students to recognize gambits.

Find a short cassette or video recording of two or three peoplechaning naturallv. Idendfy examples ofshort responsei being usedand put them in random order on a task sheet, blickboard o.bHT.along the follorvrng lines. You can add disrracrors if vou wish. Thetask rheer mighr look like this:

REMABKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET Read -the

following list ofexpressions. Listen to rhe tape. Tick (,/)any-ofthe expressions you hear. You may hear some eipressionsmoie than once:

Is that right)Reclly . . .?

Hmx interesting !Er.. - hum.

Fine.I see.

That s great!

Oh, dear.

lY hat a shame!

Oh, no!You're johing !

Photocopiable @ O\tord ljnrversrty press

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(]0N,I'ROI, I - F:I) ACTIVI l'I F]S

I Give a task sheet to each student and ask them to tick offexamples they hear on the tape.

2 When they have done this, choose two or thrce examples to focuson and see if the students can recall the utrerances which precede orfollow them on the tape.

17 Dialogue fill-inIntermediate and above

lG-15 minutes

To give students practice in producing more than minimalresponses.

Choose a dialogue in which one partner, (B), provides only a

minimal response. For example:

A Hello, where are you from?B From Singapore.A Vhy did you come to London?B To study.A Oh, what are you studying?B Accountancy.A How long are you planning to stay?B Two years.A When did you arrive?, etc-

I Read the dialogue to the students after setting the scene:A is a British student who meets an attracdve foreign student (B).

2 Ask your students why A is hkely to lose interest in B? \Vhat iswrong with the conversation?

3 Once the students understand that B can help the conversationdevelop by adding a second part to the response, ask lhem to workin pairs to do the following:

- add questions or commentsto B's answersl

- write in A's replies.

4 You should encourage your students to practise what they addverbally to see if it sounds natural. A selection ofdialogues can beperformed in a feedback session.

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Meaningful grammar practice

The ability to operate the slructures and tenses of English is animponant part of being able to produce language. As we are

interested in developing conversation it is possible to concenlrateour practice of grammar on forms which are commonly employedin conversation, and to make such practice meaningful by buildingin some element of personalization, individual investment, andinformation exchange into the task. The range of these activities isvery wide, and the ideas which follow are meant to give an idea ofwhat might be possible.

18 The best years of my life

Elementary and above

l0-15 minutes

To give students practice in the simple past forms.

None.

I Ask the students ro list five particularly personal significant dateson a piece ofpaper.2 When they have done this divide them into pairs and ask them toexchange information using thc tbllowing basic model which youshould inroduce before the-v s .rrt:

A I remember 1976. It was the year I had my accident. Do youremember it?

B Yes, it was the year I . . .iNo, not really.

3 Go through a few examples with the whole class.

AcknowledgementMario Rinvolucri and Christine Frank, Grammar in Action( 1983).

19 ExperiencesElementary and above

l5-20 minutes

To give students pracdce in the present perfect tense.

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None.

Students studying in the UK or USI Ask the srudents to list six new things they have done or seensince they have arrived.2 Once they have done this, ask rhem to mingle to see if anyoneelse has seen or done the same things by asking questions such as:

- I went to the Town of London for the first time lastweeh- Haoe youeur been?

- Hazse you seen anv punhs?. etc.3 Once the noise subsides, get feedback by asking if anyone hasdone or seen anything which nobody else has had experience of. Ifthis is really the case, follow-up work could involve the studenrs intelling the others about it.

A mixed nationality classI Ask the students to list five things/places/foods, etc. which arerepresentative of their country. The class can then mingle and askeach other questions like:

- . H azse you ean tried ' cous cous' ?

- Haae you eaer been to Manakesh?- H aae you ez.ter heard of the Karyouine Mosque? , etc.2 Organize group or whole class feedback in the form of a report onthe other students' state ofknowledge about their counrry. Givethem an opportunity to exchange information.

These activities are most suited to small multinational classes.Teachers working in monolingual classes could consider invitin-native-speaker informants or allowing the students to interviewthem about their experiences.

20 Pet hatesElementary and above

1.0-15 minutes

To give students practice in forms , stch as I looe, I can't stand,I hate, etc -

Assemble on a cassette as rich and as varied a selection of music aspossible.

PROCEqq.BE)

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REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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I Pre-teach or revise a number ofutterances for expressing likesand dislikes. (These will vary according ro the level of the ilass.)2 After the revision, ask the students to reacr to each extract ofmusic in turn, using the language forms above.

The advantage of using music is that it assaults the senses anddemands a varied response.

Acknow!edgementThe idea of using music was learnt from a presentation of theClmbndge Enghsh Course by Michael Swan and Carherine Walter,(cuP 1984).

21 The old dayslntermediate and above

l5-20 minutes

To give students practice in using med lo.

Acquire old postcards, photographs, or prints of the town rhestudents are living in, and combine them with recent photographsof the same site.

I Revise used lo.

2 Divide the class into small groups and use the visual marerial inorder to discuss how rhings used to be. Ask each group ro identifyfive to ten major changes.

3 Ask the groups to repon back in turn.

A local industrial archaeology society is usually an excellent sourceof such material.

22 llonly...fntermediate and above

l0-15 minutes

To give students practice in hypothetical zpould.

Identify an area in which your students are able to list a number ofcomplaints or recommendations quickly witlout much reflection.

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CoNTROLLED ACTI\.ITIES 45

(Students in the UK would probably respond to institutional foodor landladies.)

PROCEDURE I Introduce the area for discussion and ask the students to list fivecomplaints in the form ofa statement using zlorld, e.g.

- I wish she would . . .

- If only thqt would . . .

2 Go quickly round the class and ask the students for their ideas.

3 Write up new complaints as they occur and idenrify the mostconmon ones.

REMABKS Keep rhe tone light. Most students approach this in aspint of fun,but sometimes serious problems can emerge, so follow them up ifnecessary.

23 Je ne regrette rien

LEVEL Intermediate and above

l5-20 minutes

To give students practice in hypoth eti,cal zaould.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION None.

PROCEDURE I Put the following list on the board or an OHT:

- Your school.

- Your job or occuqatiofl.

- Your fiends.- Your habits, e-g- nnohing, exercise, eating, etc.

- Your hobbies, e.g. playing thc piaro, stamp colbcting, etc.

- Your ikills, e.g- languages, carpent y, etc,

2 Ask the students to write a personal entry for each heading, i.e.the name of their school, iob, etc. They should then decide whichof these they would or would not change ifthey were to live tleirlives again.3 Once they have done this, encourage ihem to share theirthoughts in small groups of three or four.

4 Ask the students to take it in turns to tell r}te others in the groupwhar they would change if they had their life again. The others canask questions and cornment.

5 'J7ind up the activity by seeing if there are any areas that most ofthe class would want to change-

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REMARKS The title ofthe activity comes from an Edith Piafsong. There is anEnglish version called 'No regrets'. It rrould make a livell andstimulating start to this activity.

LEVEL

24 Cheal

Intermediate and above

l0-15 minutes

To give students practice in hypothetical would.

TIME

AIM

PFEPARATION Make photocopies of the following task sheet for your class.

TASKSHEET Cheating\07ork individually and read the following:You are invigilating the English paper in a public exam. You havebeen told chearing is very common and during the exam vou nolicea blatant case ofcheating. Candidates who are caught cheating inany sublect fail all the orhers. The other examiners in the room aretrying not to notice the problem.

Decide *'hether vou would:I Report this to rhe senior examiner in the room and ler him deal

with ir.2 Ignore the problem Iike the others.

3 Approach the candidate and tell him to stop.

4 Confiscate the paper and report the student.

5 Read the rules on cheating to all dle candidates again.

Choose someone else in the room and decide what he or she woulddo in the same situation. Ask the person to see ifyour decision wasright.

Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

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I Inuoduce the task and give out a task sheet to each student.2 Ask them to read the task sheet individually and then work inpairs or small groups. Ask them ro try to predict how the odlermembers of the group would react or respond ro rhe problem.3 lVhen they have done this give them a chance ro check if rheywere right.4 End the session by discussing the advantages and disadvantagesof each option.

This type ofacrivity works best with students who know each olherwell. It is an example of'role reversal', and the same technique canbe applied to any problem or questionnaire.

25 Could I ask you a few questions,please?

Elernentary and above

l5-20 minutes

To give students practice in question forms through the use ofinterview forms.

Make photocopies of the model inrerview forms on pages 48/49 forthe class. Alternatively, studenrs can write their own.

I Discuss and go through the questions the students might askbefore letting them try the forms out on other members of the class.

2 Divide the students into small groups and give out the interviewforms.3 Make sure that the students are not in the position of having toanswer questions they have just asked, by dividing the group orusing inore.than one form.4 Give students a chance to repon back.

With mixed nationality groups it should be possible tosystematically exploit cross-cultural issues, as in the examples here.It is also worth considering interviewing people outside theclassroom setting.

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPAFATION

PBOCEDURE

REMARKS

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CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

MODELFORMS FriendsInterview a student from a different country. Ask these questionsabout the person and the country he or she comes from.

Do you have friends of differentnationalities or religions?

Are you typical?

Are you typical?Do friends go out in groups?

Yes c NoDYes D Non

Yes tr NonYes n Nor

Do you have friends ofthe opposite sex? Yes n No n

Are these groups mixed (male and female)? Yes I No oDoes a mixed couple usually go out alone orwith other couples?

Do you like going out in groups?

Do friends automatically become pan of thefamily? Yes D No ITick any of these which are zot acceptablefrom friends:

- borrowing money;

- visiting late at night;

- arriving late for appointments;

- not bringing a gift when they comefor dinner.

Photocopiable @ Oxlord Universrty Press

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Yes. Non

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CONTROLLED ACTIVITIES

MarriageInterview a student from a differenr country. Ask these questionsabout the person and the country he or she comes from.

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Are you married?Vhen do people usually marry in yourcountry?

Do you have to pay to get a bride?

Do men and women choose their ownspouses?

Vhen you are married do you usually Iivewith your family?How many children do couples usuallyhave?

\7here do people usually get married?

Is it easy to ger married in your country?Is it easy to get divorced?

Photocopiablg O Oxlord University Press

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Yes c

Yes I

Yes n

Nor

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Noc

Noo

In a churchIn a templeIn a registryofficeOther(?)

Yes O

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Dn

NocNor

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3 Awareness activities

IntroductionStudents need to become aware ofwhat native speakers do inconversarion if they are themselves to achieve conversationalcompetence in the target language.Such awareness can sometimesbe acquired unconsciously as the resu.lt ofprolonged exposure tothe target language, but for many students the process could befacilitated and shortened by the use ofactivities which promote thefollowing:

- the ability to 'sound' English by drawing attention to criticalelements which can usefully be imitated, e.g. weak forms;

- development of the ability to interpret whar is being said, and sofacilitate interaction in the target language;

- a feeling for what is appropriate in conversarion, and the effect itis having on the listener, in order to minimize problems ininteraction;

- awareness ofstrategies used to further conversation so that thesemay be consciously adopted if desired;

- awareness of the target culture.

The activities which follow are based on the principle of discoveryIearning whereby observation and exploration form a base forimitation. It is, however, important for teachers using the activit.iesto keep the overall aims in view and to avoid turning the exercisesinto a mini-course in applied linguistics. Provided the language ofthe task is simple and does not hinder the student from perceivingand becoming sensitive ro how rhe language is being used,awareness activities can be used from the earliest stages of learning.\[ith a little thought many ofthe activities which follow could beadapted for use with any class at any level. People who are in theearly stages of language learning are often quite willing to makesimple observations, to initate and to experiment,.while moreadvanced students will enjoy identifying, discussing, and imitatingmore subtle aspects of the language which they have previouslybeen unable to capture. It is for these reasons that the regularinclusion of awareness activities from the start can prove bothrewarding and productive.

When awareness activities are introduced for the fust time it is agood idea for the teacher to give a simple explanation as to tleirpurpose, and ifnecessary the initial activities could be done on asample of the mother tongue so that the students become more

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LEVEL

AWARENESS ACTIVTTIES

familiar with the rype of fearure they are lookine for. Thev mavconsequenrly be more symparhetic rowards ideidfying similaiteatures in rhe rarger Ianguage.

Observation tasks

Observation tasks are used to encourage students to becomesensitive to particular features of conversation. Observarion shouldalways be directed through the use oftask sheets and these can beused to focus on:- audio recordings of people talking;- video recordings of people talking;- conversadons as they occur in real time.

The first group of observation tasks presented (pages 52 to 5g) canbe-used with any data, bur as observation in real time is extremelydifficult it is better to avoid this unless lhe task is very clearly andsimply defined. The simplest observation Iasks requiie the observerto mark the presence (or absence) ofa particular feature. Theexamples on pages 52 to 54 show how these tasks might be laidout. More sophisticated rasks may require students to idendfvfurther examples of expressions used to carry out a pardculaifunction (pages 5415), or look at the interactional function ofparticular utterances (pages 55/6), and it is hoped rhat readers willuse llese examples to devise rheir own. A series ofideas for video-based tasks are also given on pages 58 to 62. These have theadvantage of allowing students to focus on non-verba.l behavioursuch as gesture and body language, which may support certainlinguistic fearures in conversation. However, video material ofanything which resembles genuine, natural, everyday conversationis very rare, and it is important that the samples conrain the featuresofconversation to be highlighted, unless the specific aim is ro focuson their absence. There is therefore a need for careful preparationin u.sing any of these rasks.

26 Encouraging noisesElementary and above

l5-20 minutes

To make students sensitive to expressions which encourage theother speaker to continue.

TIME

AIM

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AlgARENESS ACTIVITIES

Select an audio or video tape that contains examples of this type ofexpression. Make photocopies of the following task sheet for theclass. Add other items or distractors if necessary.

5l

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET Listen to the extract ofpeople talking. Make a tick (.,) next to eachof the expressions in tlte Iist whenever you hear one of the speakersusrng rt.

Really ?

Is that ight?Thal s nice.

Hua interesting.

Uh huh.

These expressions are often used to encourage the other speaker tosay more. Is this true of the speakers you have been watching orlistening to? Listen again and check your observations with apartner and with your teacher.

Does he?

Is it?Yes.

I see.

Mmmm.

PROCEDURE

Photocopiable O Oxford Unive.sity Press

I Introduce the task so that the students get some idea of what theyare looking for.2 Give out a copy ofthe task sheet to each student.

3 Play the tape two or three times before focusing on the specificexpressions in context.

It is easy to find examples of such expressions in llaze YolHeard . . .? by Mary Underwood (OUP, 1979).

27 KeeptalkingElementary and above

I (Ll5 minutes

To make students sensitive to the way in which fillers canconribute to an impression offluency.

Select a suitable audio or video tape and make photocopies of thefollowing task sheet for the class.

REMARKS

LEVEL

AIM

PREPARATION

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AV ARENESS ACTIVITIES

TASK SHEET Listen to the extract. Somebody is talking about something thar hashappened to them. Which of the following expressions does thespeaker use in order to gain time to think ofthe next bit of thestory, but also to keep talking, so that the listener knows that thespeaker has not yer finished speaking:

Er,erm. -.Well, . . .

so, . . .

Aryrusay, . . .

So you see, . - -

You hnou . . .

Knout uhat I mean?

Which one does the speaker use most often? Compare yourobservations with a partner and then with your teacher.

And then

PROCEDUBE

Photocofiablg O Oxlord University Press

I Introduce the task and give out a copy of the task sheet to eachstudent.2 Play the tape two or three times, and if necessary, focus on theinappropriate use ofcertain fillers, for example, You hnou.

Any native speaker who is asked to tell a story or anecdore willproduce a share of examples similar to those in the list. Anotherrich source is Wfrat a Story! by Mary Underwood (OUP, 1976).

28 EncouragementIntermediate and above

l0-15 minutes

To'make students sensitive to expressions which encourage a

speakei to say more.

Select a suitable audio or video tape and make photocopies ofthefollowing task sheet for the class.

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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AlOqARENESS ACTIVITIES

TASK SHEET Questions that repeat a key word from what the other person has

iust said are used by native speakers to encourage the person to say

more about the topic. For examPle:

A I usually go bowling.B Bmtling?orA Vhat is the weather like in Portugal?B Not so bad until it rains.A Rairu?B Yes, I'm afraid so, but it doesn't last long.

Now do the following:a. Listen to the extract and note down any examples of the same

type of strategy. Discuss what you have written down with a

partner.b. Listen to the conversation again. !7hat would have happened if

the answer to the key word questions had been simply 'yes' or'no' in each case?

c. Do you think that someone who simply answers'yes' or'no'sounds friendly, and interested in continuing the conversation?

d. Doyoz ask questions lke this in conversation?e. How do you respond to keyword questions?

Discuss your answers with a partner.

PROCEDURE

Photocopiabl€ @ Oxfo.d University Press

I Introduce the task in order to make sure that the students knowwhat they are looking for.

2 Play the tape twice and give rlte studenm a chance to discuss lheiranswers in pairs or srnall groups before making any general pointswith the whole class.

29 RepetitionUpper intermediate to Advanced

l5-20 minutes

To help students become aware of tlte different uses to whichrepetition can be put in tle spoken language.

Select suitable audio or video data and make photocopies of thefollowing task sheet for the class.

LEVEL

PREPABATION

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56 AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

TASK SHEET Listen to the extract and find examples of speakers repeatingsometh.ing which has been said earlier in the conversation. Whenyou have done this, consider the use ofthe repetition in each case.Discuss your ideas with a partner and use the following checklist tohelp you decide.

I The speaker repeats part ofa question in order to be able toanswer it.Example from rhe extract:2 The speaker uses rep€tition in order to give himself or herselftime to plan what he or she is about to say next.Example from the extract:3 The speaker uses repetition to make sure that the listener isfollowing.Example from the exract:4 The speaker uses repetition to show agreement with what theother speaker has iust said.Example from the extract:5 The speaker uses repetition in order to encourage the orherspeaker to say more.Example from the extract:6 Other (please specify).Example from the extract:

Note: The extract you are Iistening to may not conlain examples ofall the uses listed above. It is up to vou to decide whether to reducethe list or to add to it according to what you hear.

PBOCEDURE

Photocopiabl€ O Oxford University Press

I Go through the task sheet with the students and introduce a fewdifferent examples so that they get the idea of the task.2 Give students a chance to listen to the data as many times as theyne&1.

3 Focus on some of the examples they identlfy.

Pzge 98 of Teaching the Spohen Language by Brown and Yule,(1983), contains a discussion ofthis.

REMARKS

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LEVEL

AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

30 As lwas saying . . .

Upper intermediate to Advanced

20-25 minutes

To focus the students' attention on types ofinterruption and how todeal with them.

Make enough photocopies of the following usk sheets for eachgroup of three students, i.e. each member ofthe group has adifferent task.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET A Spend a few minutes thinking of something interesting, exciting,funny, etc. which has happened to you or to someone you kno.r.You can choose any subject you wish. lfhen you are ready starttelling the story to your partner.

TASK SHEET B Your partner is about to tell you a story. After about thirty secondstake any opportunity to interrupt him or her, e.g. because youdon't understand, or you wish to make a comment, etc. Thefollowing expressions might prove useful:

- Sorry, but . . .

- Excuse me, .

- Er, I'd just lihe to commmt on that . . -

- Er, may I intemtpl a moment - - -

TASK SHEET C Your task is to observe what happens between t}te other two in yourgroup- One is going to tell the orher a story. The other, the listener,has been asked to interrupt as ofren as possible. As they speak try tonote down:a. How the interruptions are mideb. What the storyteller's reaction is to the interruptions. Does he or

she get angry? How does he or she deal with them? What doeshe or she say to try to get back to the story? Don't worry if youcan't note down every example, just do as much as you can.

When the task is over discuss your observations with the othermembers of your group, and then be prepared to repon whathappened to the resr o[ t]re class.

Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press

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58

PROCEOURE

AVARENESS ACTIVITTES

I Divide the students into groups ofthree and give each student atask sheet. Make sure they do not look ar each other's tasks.2 Explain that one student in each group will act as an observer,noting down what happens between the other two.3 rVhen the task has been completed in the groups and they haveheld their own feedback sessions, chair a plenary session and ask forgroup reports. Introduce additional verbal srraregies for dealingwith interruptions. for example:

- lVherewasl. . .?

- As I was saying . . -

- Yes, well an5ntay . - .

- To retum to uthat I u,as satting . . .

- I'm sure that's true, but . . .

- *May I continue?

- * If you don't mind. I'd. lihe tocontinue -

- * Is that all?

The fact that the asterisked items are very strong and could beconsidered impolite should be noted.4 Centre rhe discussion on how to interrupt politely, as well as oncircumstances when it is permissible to be less polite.5 Follow this up later with an interruption drill where you askstudents to repeat bits of their story. Inrerrupt rhem politely orrudely. They have to counter the interruption appropriately. Inparticular, the intonation should be rhoroughly practised here.

Observation tasks based on videoThe main advantage of using video is that, in addition ro thelanguage used, the students can also focus on the para-linguisr.icfeatures which are often so crucial in getrrng meaning across. Somegestures and facial expressions are common to many languagebackgrounds, but orhers are not and it is these which the studentscan usefully learn to imitate and incorporate into their repertoire.

31 Gestures

Intermediate and above

l0 minutes

To focus on the use ofgestures as a reinforcement of what is beingsaid.

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LEVEL

TIME

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.{V'ARENESS ACTIvITIES 59

Select a video of a narive speaker politician or public speaker. Makephotocopies of the following task sheet for the class.

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET Look at the video ofsomeone giving a talk. Are there any pointswhere the speaker does the following?I Raises or lowers his eyebrows.2 Nods or shakes his head.

3 Uses his hands.

4 Raises or lowers his shoulders.5 Stands up sraighter.6 Visibly takes a deep breath.

Yes -Yes cYes IYes IYes oYes n

NoNoNoNoNoNo

oC

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When he did the things you have noted, do you rhink he was:

- about to say something important;- trying to emphasize whar he was sayingl- trying to attract attention;- trying to involve people in what he was saying;- trying to do something else (please specify).

PROCEDURE

Photocopiable O Oxford University press

I The sort of video chosen should conrain numerous examples ofthe speaker using the type ofgestures mentioned in the task sheer roreinforce what he is saying.2 Play the tape through once or twice and see if the students canspot the gestures. Check the answers and run a discussion tohighlight poinrs such as the way in which many speakers markimponant slress patterns with a movement of their body or hand.3 Explain to your sludents that with good speakers such movementis very 6nely co-ordinated with what they are saying ar any point,and does not distract from the message (e.g. a speaker who ismarking important points with a clear up and down movemenr ofone hand is less dishacting than someone who is randomly wavinghis or her hands about).

This exercise contr.ibures ro an overall sensitivitv in studenrs of howthey should behave when speaking in public, and help them torestrict their hand movements in conversation if necessary. It alsoassists wit}r the understanding and interpretation of what'is beingsaid, as attendon to such clues should alert the studenrs thar whar isto follow is important.

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REMARKS

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LEVEL

AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

32 Follow meElementary and above

l5-20 minutes

To get studenrs to imitate the production of certain words andphrases, and the body language that accompanies them.

Find a short video recording in which one or more of the speakersare particularly expressive, (not more than rwo minutes).

I Play the tape through once without stopping. Then play itthrough again, this time stopping after each utterance. Ask thestudents to imitate the way the utterance was said, as well as theaccompanying body language.

2 Vork slowly towatds getting the students to reproduce a shortsection of the film and acting it out for the class, or in small groups.3 Other studenrs in the grpup can evaluate each performanceagainst what was on the tape and award marks. The students whoreproduce the language, intonation, and gestures most accuratelywtn.

33 SoundoffElementary and above

l0 minutes

To help students use exrra-lingu.isric clues to help rhem inunderstanding and interpreting whar is being said.

Select a suitable video tape, (maximum of rwo minu!es).

I Play.the tape through once with the sound turned off.2 Ask the studenls to predicr as much as they c3n abour the verbalcontent of the extract from the visual images alone. This coutdinvolve guessing who the characters are, what they are talkingabout, what their atdtudes are, etc.

3 You should encourage your students to give reasons for theiranswers on the basis of the setting, facial expressions, use ofgesture, style of clothing, etc.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

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LEVEL

AVARENESS ACTIVITIES 6I

4 Play the video through with the sound so that your students cancheck that their predictions were correct.

34 Sound onlyElementary and above

Up to 20 minutes

To help students develop a feel for voice quality.

In many situations such as talking on the telephone, nativespeakers can be helped in their response to unknown speakersbecause they have a sense ofthe type ofperson they are talking tofrom clues in the speaker's voice. For example, the speaker maysound authoritative, educated, hesitant, uncooperative, etc.Therefore it is essential that you select a video which has a numberof distincdve voices on it.

I Play the video exract with the picture covered or the monitorturned round.2 Ask the students to build up a mental picture ofwho is talking.The following prompts may help:

- Youngi old?

- Male/female?

- Fat/thin?- Well educated/poorly educated?

- Strong/weak?

- Confident/nervous?

- Co-operative/uncooperative?(Vaiations on a Theme by Maley & Duff ( 1978), offers a series ofambiguous dialogues where students are asked to speculate onfeatures like these.) More advanced students could listen for cluesas to the speaker's character, e.g. the extent to which personalpronouns are used, the manner in which the speaker listens to andresponds to questions, etc.

3 This smge of the activity could be the basis of pair or small groupdiscussion. After five to ten rninutes ask the pairs or groups toreport back to the rest of the class before playing the exkact againwith the picture, so that the students can check their hypotheses.

4 A further discussion can then take place on the reasons for tleirobservations and for these being right or wrong.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

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AV'ARENESS ACTIVITIES

35 What's next?

Elementary and above

Up to 15 minutes

To give students pracdce in following extended conversation, andin identifying vital cues which will help rhem to panicipate.

Select a video of two or three people holding some form ofconversation. Authentic conversatron is difficult to find on video,but extracts of drama productions wil.l serve iust as well and areperhaps easier for lower level sludents to handle.

I Allocate each ofthe students the role ofone ofthe speakers onthe tape.

2 Start the tape and at appropriate points in the interaction stop thetape and ask questions such as:

- Do you think he has fnished ztshat he has to sa1t, or u.sill he continue?

Hout do you know?

- lVho do you think will speak next? Why?

3 Vhen the next speaker has been established a student taking thatrole should try to predict what will be said.

4 The tape can then be played to check the students' predictions.The reasons for being right or wrong can then form the basis ofadiscussion.

Predictive listening is an important part of being able to take part ina conversation. Many students turn off quite early on inconversations, especially where a number ofpeople are involved.They are therefore unable to take a turn even when one is openlyoffered, and stand no chance at all of taking a turn ar an appropriarepause, or in response to a provocative comment. This activity canhelp students sustain interest in a conversation for longer and beginto idpntify the cues which enable them to take an active part.

Sensitivity to gesture and facialexpressron

It is also possible to focus on the use of gesture and facial expresstonwithout the use of video.

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPAFATION

PBOCEDURE

REMARKS

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LEVEL

AV'ARENESS ACTI\'ITIES

36 A smiling face?Intermediate and above

20-25 minutes

To raise sensitivity in studenrs ro body language.

None-

I Divide the class into pairs. Each member of the pair shouldproduce a sequence of three cartoon faces, e.g.

2 Ask each pair to swop their canoons and try to supply 'speechbubbles' for the faces in front of them. The final version can beexchanged with other pairs and the fours can discuss to what extenlthel- feel the words supplied are at variance with the facialexpressions.

3 Ask rhe srudents ro repeat the rask, but this time the verbalmessage mzsl be ar variance with rhe facial expression.

4 This time the students should form groups of six or eight fordiscussion and should explore the possible non-verbal signals thatthey would use to convey the message intended in each cartoon.They should consider facial expression, body position, handmovements, etc,5 Finally, ask each group to prepare a shon sketch in which amessage is conveyed non-verballv or where tlere is a contradictionbetween what is said in words and what the non-verbal signals say.

It is not uncommon for the face to contradict what is being said rnwords- For example, people sometimes convey to someone in thesame room that they do not really mean what they are saying tosomeone else on the telephone. Similarly, the face can portray thatthere is litrle or no sincerity or enthusiasm behind what is beingsaid.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDUBE

REMARKS

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64 AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

37 The message is ...Intermediate and above

l5-20 minutes

To enable students to recognize the function ofgestures

PREPAFATION Make photocopies of the following illustrations for your class.

Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press

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AWARENESS ACTIVTTIES

I Give each student a copy of the handout, and ask them to work inpairs to identify what each of the gestures iilustrated might mean.

2 When rhey have exhausted the potenrial of this task, organize a

feedback session in which the students get the opportunity todiscover the various interpretations that have been allocated to thegestures throughout the class. (This will be especially interest.ing ina multilingual class.)

The following questions might help structure the session:

- ll(/hat do you thinh that each of these gestures means?

- Do you knmt of any othm wt mentirmed hae? What do they mean?

- \V hich ones would or could you use in England? H aoe you seen

anyone using them?

Considerable variation on the interpretation of these gestures can beexpected in a mixed nationality group, and this activiry cangenerate a lot ofdiscussion. However, it might be unwise to use itwiti immature students, as gestures which may be imocuous inone country may be an insult in another. For example, number 8,which is widely used to mean 'Vait' or 'Slowly' in the Arab World,can be insulting in Italy. The gestures which would be understoodby speakers of English are:

Number l, the 'thumbs up' sign means 'everything is all right' andis similar in meaning to number 3, which is more widely used in theUSA. Number 4, the 'thumbs down' sign, would be understood as

a rejection or refusal. Number 6 means 'good luck' and 'let's hopefor the best', and there is a verbal equivalent which is, 'Keep yourfingers crossedl'. Number 9, stroking the chin, indicates that theperson is thinking carefully about a problem. Number l0 means, 'Ido not know.' It often accompanies the expression, 'Search me!'.Finally, number 12 indicares that a person is regarded as crazv. It isnormally only used when mlking privately about a third person, butis more likely to be used as a joke.

The gestures which are not common to speakers of English are:

Numbers 2 and 5 are sometimes used to indicate that there issomething strange or suspicious surrounding the topic ofconversation. Number 7 suglests some sort of conspiratorialbehaviour used between people who know each otler well. (Allof the above signs may be known in some parts of Britain, but theyare not widely used.) Number ll is the gesture for'Hello!'as usedby ltalians. Some English speakers might confuse this with thewave that sometimes accompanies, 'Goodbye!'.

REMARKS

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AW.{RENESS ACTIVITIES

Sensitivity to the sound sysremHow often do you notice, focus on, and/or correcr the following inwhat your students say ?

- Phonetic confusion, e.g. pin vs. 6in.- Problems with consonant clusrers, e.g. str or nch.- Interference from the written form, e.g. ha/f.- Failure to use the weak form. e.g. . w3: not ,*: .

- Incorrect word stress, e.g. ind.erstand rather than undersrand.- Incorrect intonation.If the answer to most of these questions is 'Not very often', it ispossible that you are neglecting an importanr area of teaching andyou might like to look at the general introductions to pronunciationteaching in the following: Teaching Practice Handbook, Gower andValters (1983), A Training Course for TEFL, Hubbard et ol(1983), English Pronunciatbn lllustrated, lohn Tim (1,965), Treetn Three?, Ann Baker (1982), Sfttp or Shcep?, Ann Baker (1977).

If students are to 'sound English', not so much in the sense of aperfect accent, but in ihe sense of making themselves easilycomprehensible, there is a need to work on tieir pronunciadon,stress, rhv*rm, and intonation from the start. This is essential ifstudents are to participate effectively in a conversation, and bereadily understood, so that the listener is not having to re-interpretwhat is being said and compensate for inappropriate stress andintonadon. For this reason we feel that work towards the burldingup ofreceptive and productive phonological competence should beincorporated into the normal teaching of srructures, dialogues,texts, etc. from the earliesr stages of learning, through theidentification, highlighting and practice of significant examples ofrhythm, stress, intonation and pronunciarion (includingcontractions and weak forms), as and when it is appropriate.

Most students do listening comprehension work, so the followingadditional tasks can be used with little adjustment. They can beapplied to unscripted or semi-scripted material:-. r$(rite out the full forms ofwords such as Decazse, until, er.c.

Explain that these words appear on the tape, but ask the studentsto tell you what they actually hear. This will encourage them lobecome sensitive to reduced forms.

- Focus on contracted verb forms such as.I'd,.ICs, etc. and showhow tiese would be expanded in the written form.

- Give more advanced students a short extract ofan authendcrecording and ask them to agree on a transcript ofexactly whattley hear.

- Give t}te class a transcript of the recording they have beenworking on. Ask them to listen to the recording and mark thetranscript wirh '(+)' to indicate a pause, '(+ + )' to indicare alonger pause, and so on. The reasons for panicularly long andsignificant pauses could then be discussed. These mighr include:time to think of what to say next (this is very common bur nore

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AIM

AV'ARENESS ACTIVITIFS

how speakers do not lose rheir turn by letting their voice drop);short pauses at critical points ro indicate meaning, e.g. I'm afraidI don't hnow (no pause) versus /'m a/rc id (+ +) I don't knozu(significant pause); and pausing ro indicate a new piece ofinformation, as well as the imporlance of what is to follow, e.g.It's (+'S fae o'clock.

Specific tasks on stress and intonationLengthy but infrequent attendon ro sttess and intonation is lesseffective than short tasks that are built into the overall teachingprogramme and used little and often as introductory 'warming up'activities, end of lesson relaxers, or simply as and when the needarises in response to errors. The following selection gives some ideaofwhat might be possible.

38 lwant a blue one!Elementary to Intermediate

lG.-15 minutes

To give students stress pracdce in the context of a drill.

Prepare twenty-seven litrle cards with a picture on each to cover allthe possible permutations of the following colours, fabrics, anditems of clothing. The items can be increased andr'or varied ifrequired:red woollen dress

blue cotton shirtblack nylon sweater

The cards should look like this:

I Set up a shop situation. Show students the cards to indicate whatthey can buy, and write a substitution table on the board like this:

I'd like a red woollen dress,

blue cotton sweater,black nylon shirt,

please.

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

mm

woollenffi

cotfonm

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AV'ARENESS ACTIVITIES

2 Take the role of rhe shop assistant, and ask the studenrs to taketurns Io ask for someth.ing in the shop. Vhenever a srudent asks forsomething you should hand over a picture making an error in eirherIhe colour, the fabric, or the item ofclothing. The student then hasIo correct the error using appropriate stress and intonation. Thedialogue should go like this:Student I'd like a red cotton dress, please.Teacher Here you are.Student No. I asked for a red cotton dress not a ,/ue one.or

Student I'd like a black woollen shirt, please.Teacher Here you are.Student No. I said a black woollen slirl, not a black woollen sAjn.3 Iflhen they have got the hang of the exercise divide the cerds outamong pairs of students so that they can practise on their own.

This activity could be used with other objects and adiectives.

39 I haven't got any ice!Intermediate and above

a-I0 minutes

To show students how shifting the srress in a prompted dialoguealters the meaning.

Invent a model senlence and some prompts (see examples below).Rehearse acceptable responses privately before rhe lesson srans.

Model I haven't got any ice.Prompts lce and lemon, please!

Everyone's got some ice.- Please give me some icel

Not even a litrle bit of ice?

I Put a model sentence on the board.2 Explain to the students that they should use this model sentenceto reply to all the prompts given by you. The appropriacy of thereply is determined by where the students place the stress in themodel sentence.

AcknowledgementWe are indebted to Beverly Sedley for the ideas used in the last twotasks.

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

EXAMPLE

PROCEDURE

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A!,I(IARENESS ACTIVTTIES

40 Takethat!Intermediate and above

15-20 minutes

To highlight and make students aware of sentence stress.

Prepare some short model dialogues illustrating srong emodon,and provide one small cushion for each pair or small group.

I Divide your students into pairs or small groups. Give each pair orgroup a short dialogue which illustrates an emodon such as hateanger, frustration, surprise, happiness, etc.

2 Ask the students to perform the dialogue as realistically as

possible. When they get to the words carrying maximum stress theyshould throw the cushion at their panner(s), or in the air to expressthe emotion. As tley do this the extra articulation that is requiredto speak and throw the cushion translates itself into the markedstress appropriate to the situation.

3 Swop the dialogues after a while. Here are some possibledialogues. The main stress is marked in each:

Anger FrustrationA Where wereyor.r last night? A Please stop that narie.B I was oul. B Iwon'tbelong.A Oh ! Vho zuiti ? A k' s antqting me .

B Vithlocn. B Jusr hang oz.A Oh, Iialeyou. A Isaidsropit!

HappinessA I've got thejo}!B Oh, that's zt:onderful.

This activity is particularly useful with students whose modrertongue is a syllable-stressed language and who consequently tend tospeak English monotonously and with little voice movement. It canalso help very shy and reserved students to overcome some oftheirinhibitions about speakiag in a foreign language. Extrovertedclasses too will beneft from and enioy being given theoppomrnity to express strong emotions in a foreigrr language, andwill quickly discover how flat their responses tend to be normally.Nevertheless, it is wise to warm students up with other dramatechniques, such as those 'n Dranw Techniques in LanguageLearning by Maley and Dutr (1978), before using this one.

AcknowledgementVe first heard of this activity from Elayne Phillips.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

REMARKS

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AV'ARENESS ACTIvITIES

41 This is a question?

Upper intermediate and above

20-25 minutes

To make students sensitive to how intonation can alter meaning.

Prepare a set of simple utterances, such as:

Peter bought the house ysterday.The school is only six miles from the cenlre, etc.

I Divide the class into small groups. Give each group three or loursimple utterances, and ask them to work out as manv different waysof saying them as possible. The meaning should be slightll'different in each case.

2 Ask one member of each group to speak the different versions ofthe sentence that the group has agreed upon.

3 After a discussion with the class, write up the different meaningsofthe versions given, on the board. Make sure that all the versionsare in fact acceptable, and encourage the different groups rochallenge one another.

4 By the end of the session the use of intonation to distinguishbetween statements, questions, commands, and exclamations, etc.should be clearlv established.

42 Same words - different messageStage I can be used with intermediate students. The other sragesare more appropriate to advanced groups.

l5--20 minutes for each stage.

To faniiliarize the students with the ways in which the meaning ofan utterance can be altered by changing the intonarion.

Prepare a dialogue along the lines of the following example:

A Where were you last night?B \|fhy?A Well, I rang at ten o'clock and you weren't in.B No. I went to the cinema.A Oh really? Vho with?B Just an old friend from university.A Oh.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PFOCEOURE

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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AWARENESS ACTTVITIES

Stage II Read out or record two versions of the dialogue you haveprepared, or the one given above.

2 In one recording or reading the dialogue is between two casual

friends. In the other it is beween a iealous boyfriend and hisgirlfriend. Ask your students to try to determine which is which bylistening to the differences in intonation, stress, etc.

3 Now ask the students, in turn, to identify the differences in stress

and intonation by imirating the utterances which differ gready

between the two dialogues.

4 Vhen they do this ask the other members of the group to offersuggestions for improving the intonation and suess, whereappropriate.

Stage 2

I Divide your students into small groups. Ask each group to decideon a reading for a given dialogue. The dialogue should not be

punctuated and ideally should consist of very short utterances, forexample:

A Come inB Got itA But yesB From himA Yes he had it2 Ask each group to prepare and then perform its version and ifpossible record it.3 Play the different versions to the class so that they can decide onan interpretation for each one, i.e. relationship of speakers, mood,atritude, aims, and intentions, etc. Any differences between the

interpretation and what the group intended should be brought upfor discussion.

Stage 3

I Still in their groups, ask the srudents to produce their owndialogues along the lines ofthe one in stage 2. Each dialogue shouldnot be punctuated and the unerances should be fairly shon.

' 2 Ask Each group to'swogi their dialogue with another group. Eachgroup should decide on an interpretation of tlre dialogue it has

received and work out a performance of it for the rest of t}re class.

Again any difficuldes the class has in interpreting rhe dialogue, orany differences between the writers' intentions and theinterpretation given should be discussed.

It would not be appropriite to use all three stages of this activity inone session. Moriover, stages 2 and 3 can be omitted altogether ifthey are considered too difficult for the group. It is important thatthe students taking part in this activity already have some

REMARKS

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72 AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

awareness of the significance of intonation in English, even if rheystill find difficulty in identifying or imitating pariicular fearures.The activity will be more successful ifa tape recorder is ava.rlablefor recording the different versions of the dialogues so thar repearedlistening is possible. This encourages arrenrion ro detail and

-

correctness, and provides material which can be worked on at thefeedback stage.

Cross-cultural awarenessThe extent to which we should expect students to ,become English'by developing an English accent, adopting English values,absorbing English culture, etc. during the process of their languagelearning is a political issue, and the extent to which cross-cuftural-training should form a part of rhe language learning progranmewill probably be dependent on the studenrs' objectives and rheteacher's knowledge and motivation. For example, a studenr who islearning the language in order to settle in an English-speakingcountry is likely to be more interested in learning the social rules ofcommunicating in English than the student who is learning Englishfor a specific iob purpose where he or she is unlikely to wanr to domore than read manuals. Similarly, a native-speaker teacher isprobably in a betrer position to help the first student, although thisis not always the case. However, if we accept the fact that languageis embedded in culture, then some element of cross-culturaluaining is inevitable and the inclusion of some cross-cultural workin the teaching ofconversadon would seem ro offer rhe followingadvantages:

- Cross-cultural issues can be generative ofdiscussion in their ownright.

- Knowledge of why people in the culture of the target languagcbehave in certain ways should make native speakers moreapproachable and easier to interprer.

- A sensirivity to the ways social norms operate in other languagessh-ould make the learning ofcertain areas of language such aspoliteness formulae, easier.

- If students become aware of issues such as social taboos, t.hey areless likely to cause offence by breaking them. By the same tokenthey may well find themselves generaring more inpur) becausethey begin to fall into rhe category of foreigner that nativespeakers find easy Io talk to.

The content of a cross-cultural programme will vary considerablyaccording to the circumstances, and the exercises which followserve to illustrate some ofthe techniques which can be adapted foruse with different content.

ll

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43 True or false?

Upper intermediate to Advanced. (However, if the stalements are

simple enough this activity could be used with any level.)

25-30 minutes

To familiarize students with ways in which native speakers try to bepolite in social encounters.

Make photocopies ofthe following task sheet for your class, or ifyou prefer, make it into an OHT.

?l

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET True or false?

I It is considered impolite if you do not say 'please' when youbump into somebody accidentally in a corridor, or a crowded place.

2 In England people do not automatically shake hands when theymeet for the first time.

3 When you answer the telephone in England you should always

start by giving your name.

4 When you go into a shop in England you should always address

the shopkeeper as 'sir' or 'madam'.

5 Ifyou want to attract the attention ofsomeone you do not knowyou should use '5ir' $ ith a rising intonation.6 When you want to attract a waiter in a restaurant in England you

should snap your fingers and say 'waiter'in a loud voice.

7 When you enrer a railway compartment or a room which is full ofstrangers in England, you should greet each ofthe people present.

You will be considered impolite if you do not.

8 When you greet someone in England it shows your concern if youask afier their health.

9 Requests should usually be followed by 'please', except in publicsituations such as a pub or caf€ where ir is sufficient to state yourorder clearly, e.g. 'A beer'.

l0 When you are on the phone it is normal to signal that you are

about to end a conversation by using expressions such as 'Look,I've got to go', or'I'll let you get back to what you're doing'.

ll In England it is polite to ask a person's age or salary as a way ofgetting to know them.

Photocopiable O Oxlord University Press

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I Divide your students into pairs. Give a task sheet to each pair andask them to decide whether they think the statements are true orfalse. If they think a statement is false rhey should try to work ourwhat should be said or done in the particular situation.2 After the students have had a chance to discuss all the starementsin pairs, organize and chair a feedback session. Some of the pointswhich may emerge include:

- Statements 2 and l0 are basically true. In 2 discussion may centrearound why the English appear standoffish when meetingsomeone for the fust time. They tend to observe a very reservedgreetings procedure in comparison with many other cuhures,which may emphasize kissing, prolonged handshakes, etc.Discussion of l0 should bring out the fact that many non-nadvespeakers of English often seem very impolite because of rheirtendency to bring conversations to a sudden halt. The need for'pre-closings' should emerge.

- Statements I and 5 serve to draw attendon to the correct use of'Excuse me', 'I'm sorry', and 'That's all right'. Studens at thislevel wi.ll probably be aware of the expressions but may not useappropriate intonation or choose the right expression for theright situation. (See Practical English Usageby M)chael Swan,(1e80).)

- Statement 3 provides an opportunity to revise telephoneanswering procedures. In a private home the person answeringthe phone would probably simply say 'Hello' or give rhe number.

- Statement 4, and to some extent 5, emphasize the problemcaused by t}te fact that English has no neutral or formal rerm ofaddress. In 4 an ordinary greeting such as 'Good morning',would be all that was necessary; 'sir' or'madam'would bereserved for a client. For atuacting an unknown person'sattention a loud but polite'Excuse me'is probably rhe mostlikely. Generally speaking, attracting a waiter (staremenr 6) isbest done discreetly witl the use of a hand signal and possibly aquiet and polite 'Waiter' if he is not too far away. Fingersnapping and shouting are considered rude, and would normallyqn.ly be used in the event of very bad service and total inattentionIiom an underworked waiter.

- While people sometimes address a general greeting (statement 7).to a group ofstrangers it would be considered intrusive to greetpeople individually. Eye conract and a smile to acknowledge rhemajoriry of people in the group is sufficienr. Vhen entering arailway compartment it is common practice to ask 'Is this seattaken?'even when it obvious.ly is nor. This serves as a way ofacknowledging the presence of the other people in thecompartment (or similar area).

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REMARKS

- Questions which ask specifically about health are also consideredintrusive (statement 8) excepr wirh close friends and relatives,and generally the formulaic 'How are you?' is sufficient. Adetailed and specific response to this question is not normallyrequired or expected.

- Statement 9 draws attention to the fact rhat requests shouldalways be mitigated by the use ofpoliteness formulae such as'please','would you mind?', etc. and that when these are absenrthe native speaker to whom rhe request is addressed willprobably be offended and tend to respond in an uncooperativemanner.

- Finally, statement I I would be considered extremely rude, and a

more general approach to getdng ro know someone should beused such as 'Vhere do you work?' and'How long have youworked there?'.

I Not everyone will agree as to which habits are 'typical'.2 The same activity can be used with lower level students usingsimpler statements.

44 Similarities and differencesUpper intermediate to Advanced (depending on the wording ofthe msk).

20-25 minutes

To make students sensidve to social behaviour in the targetlanguage.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the class, or makeit into an OHT.

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

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16 AWARENESS ACTIVITIES

TASK SHEET Think about situations in your country when you wanr to do each ofthe following. Consider the questions in each section and makenotes in your group on what people normally do. Add any otherinformation which you think might be ofinterest ro orher studenrswho do not know your culture very well.

What do you usually do when you:

I Greet someone?

a. !7hat do people typically say? Try to translate it into English.b. Do people shake hands, kiss, etc?c. Is lhere an order to what people do? Do they shake hands

before, during, or after the greeting? Which cheek do they kiss6rst ?

2 Compliment someone?

a. In your country would you expect someone to compl.iment you:

- when you buy a nevr' car;- when you've just been to the hairdressersl- when you are wearing something new or special;

- when you do something well;- when they visit your home for the first time;- when you've just made them a meal.

b. !7hat do people say in each ofthe above situations?c. Are there any gestures that you use when you compliment

someone?d. \X'ould you compliment a stranger? \X'ho? When? V'here?

3 Apologize to someone?

a. In which of these situations would people expect you roapologize in vour country?

- when you arrive after the appointed time ofa meeting, dinner,etc;

- when you telephone someone after 10.00 p.m.;- when you have forgotten something you were expected to

bring;-:when you walk into someone accidentally;- when you offer someene a drink or a meal;- when you break something which does not belong to you.

b. $7hat would you actually say in each case?

4 Criticize someone?

a. lVhen is it appropriate to criticize someone in your country?b. What would you criticize people for? For example, their dress,

their work, thei-r attirudes, etc.c. Vould you be direct in your criticism or very indirect?

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I Ask the students to work individually or in small groups. In amultinational group students should work in their national groups.

2 u hen the task has been completed each group should report itsfindings to the resr of the class.

3 In the discussion which follows draw our, and focus on, themajor differences between cultures and elicit whar is known aboutconventions in English for each of the situations. Ifyou are a non-native speaker, it might be useful to invite a native speakerinformant to the lesson to add authendciry and interest to t}lelesson.

Each one of the tasks above can take some time to complete if theyare to be done properly. It would therefore be a mistake to askstudents to cover more than one area per lesson.

45 Culture shock!Intermediate and above

25-30 minutes

For students to discuss the problems people encounter when theyhave to live in a new country for a period of time.

Make photocopies of the task sheet over the page for your class.

I Introduce the topic and give out a task sheel to each student.

2 Divide the students into small groups after they have had thechance to complete the task sheer individually.3 Chair a feedback session to see what generalizations emerge.Remain as neutral as possible throughout.4 Ifsrudents have not had experience of living in a foreign country,you can ask them to imagine how strangers might feel. Smallgroups of students could also interview foreign informants-

If srudents going to an English-speaking country to study Englishrealize that set ing-in problems occur anywhere, and areencouraged to put them in perspecr.ive, learning should bepromoted.

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

REMARKS

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TASK SHEET

I Differences in the weather

2 Being away from the family

3 Differences in the food

4 Differences in the way peoplemake friends

5 Transportationproblems

5 Getting used ro new ways oflearning

7 Adlusting to new ways ofdoing things, e.g. shopping

E Diff culties in communicatingone's ideas

9 Different living conditions

l0 Different social customs

ll Gening newspapers and -

magazines from home

12 Meeting people from the samecountry

Knowing what to do ineveryday situations

Other (please specify)

Here are some difhculties people encounter whenliving in a new country. Please indicate wirh a dck(, ) how important each one has been or would befor you.

!

l3

I4

Of verygreatimportance

Ofgreatimportance

Of someimportance

Of noimponance

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4 Fluency activities

IntroductionIn the introduction to this book it was argued that an authenticresponse needs to be generated if students are to be trained inbecoming good conversationalists in a foreign language. It can beargued too, that the conversational needs ofthe average foreignstudent fall within a limited range of purposes, the most importantof which are:

- the maintenance and development of social reladonships ;

- information exchange;

- co-operative problem-solving in English;- expressing ideas and opinions.

The aim of this chapter is to present tasks which help promote suchbehaviour.

If students are to achieve conversational competence the practicetasks they are given rnast:

- provide the experience of using English in real time, (i.e. peopledo not wait for the right or the appropriate answer in real life,, as

is often the case in the classroom).

- offer them the chance to express their own attitudes, emotionsand ideas, etc. (i.e. so that they are motivated to use thelanguage).

- provide the opportunity of using the language for a specificpurpose, (i.e. there is a genuine need to achieve somethingthrough using the language and therefore mistakes matter).

It is also important that the tasks are culturally appropriate andperceived as relevant by the students. Therefore, although the taskswhich follow can be used with linle modifrcation or preparation,teachers are encouraged to view this collection as a store from whichthey can select task types to be modfied tosuit the specific needs oftheir own students.

Introducing fl uency activities

The successful introduction offluency activities to a class which hasnot encountered them before, usually requires an element of learnertrai[ing. This is because a great many foreign students are used toan approach to language teaching (and to education in general),where it is assumed that:I It is the teacher who initiates language exchanges.

2 The student's task is to respond to t}te teacher.

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3 The teacher judges whether or not the studenr's performance isacceptable and provides immediate feedback.

Fluency activities, however, place rhe burden on the student andemphasize that:I It is the studenr who initiates and determines whar he or shewants to say (albeit wirhin a framework or ser ofguidelines).2 Feedback can be delayed because the teacher is expected to keepa low profile throughout the activity in order to allow the student tobecome involved in using the language beyond the level ofindividual isolated sentences.

Consequently it is no surprise that student insecurity, caused bysuddenly being expected to produce more rhan the isolared, andoften predictable, sentence, provokes apparent disinterest, lack ofparticipation and, in some cases, even downrighr hostiLity. Evenwhere students take part in and enioy the activities they may accusethe teacher ofnot teaching, because what they have been doing isunconventional. This sets up an unnecessary tension betweenteacher and student. There is insufficient space here for acomprehensive discussion oflearner uaining, but it is hoped thatthe following guidelines will allow teachers to formulate tleir ownapproach.

Basically, learner training needs to cover the 'how'and rhe 'why'ofwhat the students are being asked to do. The'why' refers to therat.ionale behind the activiries, and this mal be panicularlyimportant where adolescent and adult students are concerned.Fortunately, leaming b1 doing rs intuitively satisfying, so studentscan often be painlessly weaned away from more traditionalapproaches and practices by the teacher's simply pointing out theways in which these activities are helping to promote the objecdveoforal competence by forcing them to lrse the English rhey have intheir heads. This needs to be coupled, however, wirh a balancebetween over-correction oferrors and no correction oferrors at all,so that the students may develop their confidence in using thelanguage without feeling that the teacher is no longer interestedwhohe; mistakes are made or not. \flhen doubts about fluencyexercises arise, a constant appeal to the students' common-senseoften works better than self-iustification or an 'issue-raising'discussion about the language learning process, as manll studentsfeel inadequate in such discussions, and therefore resentful,because they do not have equivalent specialist knowledge andlinguistic expertise.

The 'how' refers to the fact that students may nor know exactlywhat is expected of them during the activity, or how they mightmake best use ofwhat they are doing. It is therefore vital that, inthe early stages of inrroducing fluency activities, the studentsperceive elements in common with what they have been used to,for example, tlte conuol procedures for setting up the activity,checking that instructions have been understood, knowing when to

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start, etc. In this way the range of acdvities which the students areable ro take part in can gradually be extended. But this process maytake hours or even weeks depending on the students' previousexperience and expectations. It is therefore important for theteacher to remain patient, remembering that methods of learningare habits, and that habits can be difficult to change.

Littlewood in Corzmunicatioe Language Tearhing (1981), suggestsIhat there is a continuum ofclassroom activities to promoiccommunicative competence.

Figwe2 Continutm ofactiuities to protnote cofimunicatiue competence

Chapter 2 exemplified some of the more controlled activities andthese can be used to help farniliarize students wirh working togetherin pairs and groups in a relativelv secure environment, before theyare exposed to the added burden of creating their own contributionsto the activity. Studenrs will varf in terms oftheir previous learningexperiences, and some ma! require verv Iitde prepararion beforethey can work independently and creatively. This may beparticularly true of children who are learning a foreign language forthe first time as they are very willing to take risks and improvise.Adults rnay mke considerably longer to adjust.

Using fluency activities withmonolingual classes

In monolingual classes teachers may find that students will readilyrevert to using the mother tongue in the execution offluencyactivities. Indeed they may refuse to use the target language at all ifnot under scrutiny by the teacher. Some of the reasons for thisproblem include:

- social unease at using a foreign language with their peers;

- perceiving the task as being difficult to complete in any language;

Control Performing memorized dialogues

Contextualized drills

Cued dialogues

Discourse chains

Role play

ImprovisationCreativiry

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- becoming so involved in the task thar there is a genuine need touse the quickesr and easiest way of communicating about tiesolution, i.e. the motler tongue. This is known ajaffectiveinvolvement.

Nevenheless, fluency acdvities can be used successfullv withmonolingual classes and the following advice may help with rheirintroduction.I Give the students a recsoz for using English in the completion of atask. ln part this means explaining the rationale of t}te exircise, andfor the rest it is a case of making the task purposeful. Th.is meansthat the students must perceive a reason for doing the task otherthen the teacher simply telling them to do it.2 Start by asking the studenrs to work in English for very shortperiods at a time and for relatively easy lasks. k is imporiant not tobe too ambitious in the early stages. When students atcept thisform of activit), the length and diffculty of the tasks may graduallybe increased. The activiry should never appear threatening orstressful to the studeots.3 Praise students who make the effort to use English and who donot easily revert to the mother tongue.4 Make it clear to students rhat for this pardcular type of exerciseerrors are not so important. Keeping going in English is important,and although they should try to be accurate when th.y ca.r,iheteacher will not be listening for every little mistake. prove this bypraising those who string several sentences together, even whentltere are a number of errors-5 Prove to students that rhey can use English, by asking them todiscuss and talk about their experiences ofdoing the task. Thismight include idenrificarion ofwhat they found easy and difficult toexpress in English.6 Ask students to discuss and reflect upon what they used themother rongue for during the exercise. Prove that with a litt.le morethought and effort rhey could have found a way ofsaying ir inEnglish.

An tnq_ua.lified 'English only' rule could be counrerproductive ifthe students end up feel.ing frustrated if ihey cannoi help each otherto clarify points and get over minor diffculties in the initructions,etc. In fact, in the early stages of fluency activilies, it is oftenreassuring for students if the task has an element oflexical ortextual input, as well as an opportunity for feedback in the morhertongue, so that they perceive a link wirh more familiar, tradirionalactivities. Maintaining this link through an elemenr of formality in

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LEVEL

the treatment of a text providing inpur, or in rhe presentation ofagroup report after each task, will prevenr the students from feelingthat the activity has been a wasle of time. As rhe students becomemore confident in their use ofEnglish, and as parucipating in freerand more crealive activities becomes more of a habit, the formalelemenl can be reduced and even discarded.

Sharing

This section presents some activities which are designed to gerstudents to share their private store ofexperience and their personalopinions with one anotler. A great deal of motivating languagepractice can be generated by asking students to talk aboutthemselves, providing they have a framework in which to do so.The framework, especially in rhe early stages, should limit theexchanges to quite simple factual information which is notthreatening or embarrassing to reveal, but which is nevertheless ofinteresl to others. Such exchanges constitule a natural informationgap activity in which all students are able to participate, withoutrecourse to specialized knowledge, or the ability to thinkthemselves into an imagined situation, or role. It is ofren theperceived lack ofknowledge, and the blank mind when asked toinvent that causes students to clam up and say nothing in rheforeign language classroom. By contrast, being asked to talk aboutsimple, practical, everyday experiences such as rhose which appearin the following exercises, can free the tongue of the mosr inhibiredand reluctant student.

46 I hated Maths - did you?

Elementary and above

25-30 minutes

To inlroduce students to fluency activities.

Prepare a task sheet along the following lines, and makephotocopies for your class.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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TASK SHEET Look at this list ofsubjects we study in school:

EnglishGeography

Mathematics

Physics

ArtPhysical EducarionLiteratureChemistry Biology

History

Vork individually for five minutes. Choose one of the subjects youparticularly liked, and list three reasons for Iiking rhis subjecr.Choose one of the subjects you particularly disliked, and list threereasons for disliking this subject.

Now go round the class and find out ifanyone liked or disliked thesame subjects as you. Find out the reasons people gave for liking ordisliking a subject and make a list under the headings below:

Reasons for liking a subiect Reasons for disliking a subiect

PBOCEDURE

Photocopiabl€ O Oxlord University Press

I \7arm vour students up for the task b.v gerting rhem to list thesubjects they did in school. This will check thar rhev know rhenames ofthe subiects in English.

2 Give each student a task sheet and explain rhev have a maximumof fifteen minutes to get round the class. rJ(hen rhey have finished,run a feedback session for the whole class and ask quesrions suchAS:

- Vho likedidisliked the same subjects?

- Vhat were dre most common reasons for liking/dislikrngparticular subjects?

Get qhe students to expand and comment on lhe reasons given.

The list of subjects needs to be made sensitive to the educationalsystem the sludents have come from. Change the verbs to thepresent tense if the activity is to be used with adolescents.

47 HabitsIntermediate and above

30-35 minutes

To get students to share opinions.

BEMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

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FLUENCY ACTIVITIES

Prepare a task sheet along rhe following lines, and makephorocopies for your class.

TASK SHEET Task ISome ofour habits can be very annoying to other people. (Forexample, there was a case where a woman got a divorce because herhusband ate spaghetti in bed!) Quite often it is small things thatannoy people most.

Vork in a group offour and look at this list ofhabits. Do any ofthem annoy you? Which ones? Vhy? Tell the group about it.People who:

- bite their nails;

- lose their keys all the time;- leave things lying around a room;- smoke during a meal;

- play nervously with small objects, such as paperclips or elasticbands;

- play music very loud;- use a personal stereo in crowded public places;

- never keep appointments on timei- talk all the time;- crack their finger iointsi- tap their fingers or their feet while you are ralking to them.

Tell the others in your group about any other habits thal youparticularly dislike. Was there any agreement in your group?Choose one person in your group to tell the rest of the class aboutthe habits that your group dislike most.

Task 2Do you thinkroz have any bad habits? Make a list and tell thegroup about them. Have they noticed them before? Tell each otherabout habits you want to change or have tried to change.

Task 3' . Usually we accept habits dven when they drive us mad. Butsometimes, esp€cially if we know the person very well, we maydecide to talk to them to try and stop them from doing the thingthat annoys us. Have you ever tried to stop someone from doingsomething that annoys you? Tell the group about it. \rhat did youdo? u(/as it successful? Do you think it is a good thing to rry tochange other people's habits?

Photocopiable O Ox{ord University Press

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I Orienmte your students to the task by asking for examples ofhabits.

2 Divide the students inro small groups and give out rhe rask sheet.3 Allow the groups up ro twenty minutes to run through the tasks.4 End the session by gerting the groups to tell each other abouttheir discussion.

48 Family lifeIntermediate and above

25-30 minutes

To get students to share opinions.

Prepare a task sheet along the following lines, and makephotocopies for your class.

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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TASK SHEET 'Work in groups of three or four . Decide which of the followingstatements you agree with and which sutements you disagree with.Discuss tlese with the other members of your group. Try to modifyany smtements you disagree with so that rhey represent theopinions of your group. Be ready to report your discussion ro theteacher.

I Childqen should only leave home afrer they are married.2 Old people should be encouraged to stay in old people's homesrather than wirh rhe family.3 People should not have more rhen two children.4 Children should always obey their parents.5 You should always ask your parents for permission to marry.6 Children should pay their parenrs renr when rhey get a job.

7 You should always be ready to help a member of the family.8 The members of a family should livd in the same area s-o that it iseasy for them to visit each other.9 Family life is less impormnt in the modern world than iI was inthe past. 9l

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Photocorri.ble @ Oxford University press

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I Give out a task sheet to each student.

2 Divide the students into small groups and ask them to discuss thetask sheet.

3 After about twenty minutes run a feedback session in whichstudents report on the extent to which there was agreement ordisagreement in the groups, and how they modified the statements.

Teachers should not use an activity like this wirh a group thar is

either intolerant or recently formed, because the opinions expressedmay be intensely personal. The technique of statement modificationcan be used with any social issue likely to be of interest to studentsand the propositions can be adapted to take account of specificissues that may affect some groups more than others, e.g. arrangedmarriages.

49 EmotionsIntermediate to Upper intermediate

30-35 minutes

To get students to tell each other about their emotions.

Prepare a task sheet along the following lines, and makephotocopies for your class. Ifpossible, have some dictionariesavailable.

BEMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET How many of the following words do you know the meaning of ?

ioy grief terrorfear sadness worryexcitement shame reliefhate triumph loveaffection passion. pityThey are all used to describe emotions. Work out what they meanwith the help of a partner. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.

Now think ofas many events from the first eight years ofyour lifeas you can. Divide these into pleasant memories, unpleasantmemories, or neuual ones. Can you remember the emotions youfelt at the dme? Use some of *re words liom the above list todescribe the experiences. Tell your partner about a pleasant eventand an unpleasant event from your childhood.

Photocopiable O Oxford Unjversjty Press

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I Introduce the discussion by getting rhe students to identifv theemotions feh by people in news pholographs, e.g. the ior.ofsomeone winning at ti7imbledon, the sorrow of an earthquakevlctlm, etc.

2 Give out rhe task sheet and monitor the vocabulary learning task.If possible, make dictionaries available.3 Give the students up to fifreen rninutes to complete the rest of thetask.

4 End the activity by giving the pairs a chance ro share theirdiscussion in groups offour to six students.

50 A coma kitIntermediate and above

Up to 20 minutes

To get students talking about likes and dislikes.

None.

I Start by establishing the meaning of the word corna. When vouhave done rhis explain that some hospitals are now using comi kitsto help patients come our of a coma. Each kit consists oifamilia,and pleasing sounds, tasres and smells.2 Ask each studenl to write dorvn what thev would want in theircoma kit. e.g. a Liverpool loorball fan migtrr find comforr rn rhesong'You'll never walk alone', a bird lover might want the sound ofa nightingale, etc.

3 Ask them to show their piece of paper to another studenr and tellthem to explain to each orher the contents of their kit.4 The students should be encouraged to move on to anotherpartner periodically and the acdvity can continue as long as there issufficient interest.5 Round off the session by seeing if anyone found another studentwith a similar kir to rheir own.

51 How much energy do you have?Intermediate and above

30-40 minutes

To get a small group ofstudents ro explore rheir life style.

Make photocopies of rhe following task sheer for 1,our class.

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

PBOCEDURE

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

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TASK SHEET Task IWork individually to complete the following questionnaire:

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ffiN ilAffiilEnEt 00r0a ilAyt? .**ffi'L Do you wake up te€ling tired?

2. Are you too exhausted to qo oul in the ev€ning?

3. Do you fall asleep in a chair watching TV or reading a book?

4. Oo you smoke, drink cofie€, oreat somsthing sweet to give you an en€igy boost?

5. Do ev€ryday activiti€s such as shopping, housewo*, d-i-y, horne rnaintenance,make your arms and leos tired?

6. Does tiredness afiecl your ability to think and @nc€nhate?

7. Do€s latigue make you injtable wilh yourfamily and f.iends?

8. Do you long to have mo€ energy?

9. Do your muscles ache at the end ot a normal working day?

10. Do you find that your contemporari€s hav€ moro stamina lllan yo(r for certaintasks?

SCOring: 2 ponts rq slsy sdd@ q .€v'1 ponl ld ovdy Sqn€litcO oo'nl tor ev€ry Freqwtly

Enetgyt rzting: o Hii ffily 17-20a Mod€.rr. dEgry 13-i6a A6.Os dEgy 9-1?a ado' aFag. sEgt s-3a €I@pltraly rd ffily o-a

!(hen you have finished form a group wtth other studenc who havea similar energy rating. Your reacher will help you.

Task 2Select one member ofthe group to act as secretary. Can you thinkofany reasons why your energy raiing should be similar? Stan bytelling each other how you answered the questions. Did you givesimilar answers? When you have done this see if tiere are anysimilarities or differences berween you as to:

- the number of hours you sleep every night;- how active you are at work or school;

- the amount ofexercise you take;- the amount you eat and drink;- your hobbies and pasdmes;

- your age.

Would you like to have a higher energy rating? How would youachieve it? Vhen you have finished ask the secretary to report onhow you ttrink people can raise their energy rating. See if the othergroups agree or disagree.

Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press

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LEVEL

PREPARATION

FLUENCY ACTIVITIES

I Arouse interest in the discussion by getting students to thinkabout health, fitness, etc. Advertisements for health food, etc.might be appropriate.

2 Give out the task sheet and give the students five or ten minutesto answer the questions individually. You may need to go throughsome of them.3 Collect the scores from tlem and form groups of students withsimilar energy ratings.

4 Give the groups at least twenty minutes to complete Task 2.

5 Run a short feedback session where you ask the students to telleach other how to become more energetic.

52 EmotionalmatchElementary and above

20-25 minutes

To get students to talk about fears.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for your class.

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TASK SHEET Answer the following questions by putting a rick (, ) in theappropriate box:

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Are you afraid of insects?

Are you afraid of the dark?

Are you afraid of death?

Are you afraid of flying?

Are you afraid of strange dogs?

Are you afraid of ghosts?

Do you become very nervous when you takeexams?' Yes I Noo

Yes :Yes IYes ;Yes :lYes nYes r

No:NofNoiNorNotrNo!

Join a group offive or six students and compare your answers Io thequestions. Is there anything you are all afraid of') Is there anylhingnobody is afraid oP Find out why people are afraid and help them ifyou can.

PROCEDURE

Phgtocofriable @ Oxford University Press

I Tell the students that they are going to do a quiz to see what theyare afraid of.

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TIME

2 Give out the task sheet and allow them about five minutes tocomplete the task on their own. Elementary students may need helpwith the vocabulary, and visuals may help.

3 Set up the group work and give the students about ten minutes todiscuss their answers. Make sure they try to make helpfulsuggestions.

4 Get feedback from each of ttre groups .

53 ExchangeElementary and above

From 20 minutes upwards

To encourage students to find out about each otier by askingquestions.

None.

I Ask your students to take a large sheet of paper and write downthe following:a. three dishes

- your favourite dish;- a dish you hate;

- the most unusual dish you have ever tried.

b. three books- the first book you can remernber reading;

- the name of the last book You read;

- the name of a book you will always remember.

c. three places

- your favourite holiday Place;- a place you really want to visit;

- a place you want to forget.

d. three hobbies- something you enjoY doing;

- a hobby you want to start doing;

- a hobby you would never want to start.

2 lfhen they have done this, ask each student to find a partner he

or she does not know well and exchange sheets. They should ask

each other questions about hny of the information that is of interestto them. Suggest a few questions such as these if necessary:

- Why tlo you lihe . . .?

-Whatis...?- Tellme about. . .

They need not go through the whole sheet.

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

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92 FLUENCY ACTIVITIFS

3 After about five minutes ask the students to change partners.4 End the session by asking the students if tley have found outanything interesting about the others in the group.

REMARKS The technique can ofcourse be adapred ro any material bur irshould be used sparingly. Once or twice a year is enough.

LEVEL

TIME

AIM

54 Have you heard of . . .?Elementary and above

35-40 minutes

To encourage cross-cultural exchange in mixed nationality groups. l

PREPARATION Make photocopies of the following rask sheer for your class.

TASK SHEET Think of three dishes and three famous places that represenr acountry that you know, but which you think the others will norknow about. Now in four groups, labelled A, B, C, and D, sharethe lists ofdishes and places you have made and decide which onesyou think are rhe five mosr unusual dishes and places. Vhen thegroup has agreed, write the new list on a piece ofpaper. Group Ashould exchange its list with group B. Group C should exchange itslist with group D.

Stay in your original group and look at tie list from the othergroup. Try and work out where you think the places are ald wherethe dishes come from. Tell each other as much as vou can abouteach one. If you really k-now nothing about rhese, invent ananswer!

After about twenry minutes you should work with the group thatgave y_ou its list and tell each other your solutions. !(/hich group got

. more answers correct?

Photocopiabte @ Oxford University press

PROCEDURE I Explain the narure of the task before giving out the task sheer.2 Set up four groups (A, B, C, and D) as soon as the srudents havewritten their personal lists. Give the groups ten minutes to agree ona list of five unusual dishes and places.

3 Ask groups A and B to exchange lists, and groups C and D toexchange lists.

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4 Give them up to twenty minutes to disiuss the lists and work outtheir solution.5 Get the groups who have exchanged lists, e.g' A and B, ro meetto see who got the most answers right.

55 lt's all in your hands

Upper intermediate to Advanced

35-40 minutes

To get students to talk about personal characterisdcs, and discusspalmistry.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet, and also theillustradons and texts on pages 94/95.

TIME

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET rJ7ork with a partner you know reasonably well. Which of thefollowing best describes the personality of your panner:

- energetic and self-confident;

- steady and systematic;

- sentimental and impulsive;- creative with a strong imagination.

Tell your panner what you chose. Does he or she agree? Now lookat your partner's hands and compare them to the illustrations yourteacher will give you. rWhich hand does your panner's handresemble? Is it a mixture of two or more of the hands illustrated?rJUhich ones?

Now ask the teacher for the texts that accompany the illustrations.Make sure you understand all the adlecdves that are used todescribe people's personalities. If necessary use a dictionary to helpyou. Do any of the texts describe you or your partner? Do you havehands that match any ofthe descriptions? Do you think looking atpeople's hands is a clue to their personal.ity?

Be ready to discuss the last question with the other members ofyour class.

PROCEDUBE

Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press

I Prepare for the discussion by finding out who believes inpalmistry.2 Ask each of your students to find a partner to work with who theyknow reasonably well.

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3 Give out copies ofthe task sheet and ask the students to readthrough it together.

4 Be prepared ro hand out the illusrrations to each pair, and thenthe texts, when they are ready for them.

5 When all the pairs have completed the task, bring the whole classtogether and run a feedback session. See ifany of the doubters havechanged their minds.

The psychic hand

The square handThe- square hand is the hand of the organizer and planner. Ownersoftliis hand love order, merhod and stability. They have a steady,systematic approach to life and they are not emotional by nature.People with square hands do not adapr easily to new circumstances.They are very careful with money. They make excellent engineers,doctors, and bureaucrats.

The spatulate handSpatulate hands are characterized by the 'fanning out' of the finger-tips in the form ofa spatula. The best word to describe this form ofhand is 'action'. People with spatulate hands are energetic,innovative, and self-confident. They are very practical and realistic-They are generally extroverts and very exciting to be with.Business, banking and construclion are popular career areas forthose with spatulate hands.

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The square hand The spanrlate hand

The conic hand

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The conic handThe conic hand narrows slightlr.ar rhe fingcrrips. The skin textureis usuallr' fine and this shou.s sensirivirr and a love of beaurv.People wirh conic hands are ruled Uf, ;p"f r.."Ji-p;i;",They are sentimental, intuirive and romintic. For rhiminconsistencv.is a big problem and rhev change frequently. Thevare very creative. Ifthe hand is firm rhe crearive enirgiesire usedfor intellectual pursuits such as art or music. If the ha"nd is soft. theperson is very fond ofrich food, monev and comforr.

The psychic handThe hand has long, graceful fingers with pointed tips. Like theconic hand the owners are very sensitive and they hive an interestin beautr,. People wirh psychic hands are motivaied by their deepesrfeelings. They are very creative and have a strong imagination butthe-v do ncir find it easy to deal u.irh the practical problims in lifeand need strong friends.

Very few hands conform entirelv to one of these types, and themixed hand which contains aspects of two or more'of ihem is in factthe most common.

Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

Ranking activitiesIn ranking activities students are required to pur the items from agiven Iist inro an order ofimporrance or preference. Thisrearranging phase is usuallv followed bv a period of discussionwhen srudenrs expla.in or defend rheir choice. fhe marerial forranking activities can be taken from a large variety of sources andadapted to rhe needs ofparticular groups ofstudents. For example,students in a developing countrl'might 6nd it motivating to rani<development projects or even professions in order of priJrity fortheir country. \,)7e could however in a more light-heaited exerciseask students ro determine which ofa lisr ofprofessions would makethe best husband or wife. These examples probe studenr arritudes,but there are ranking activiries rhat rely more on common sense andgeneral knowledge. One of the best known of rhese activities is the'NASA survival game'in which srudenrs have to choose rhe mosressential items to survive a 300 km trip on the moon. Variants onthis one include desert or Arcric survival and usually even the mostreluctant students can be drawn into the discussion. A standardprocedure for ranking activities is as follows:I Familiarize rhe srudents wirh rhe task through oral presentadon.Thrs should includearousing their interest as iell as going throughdiffi cult vocabulary if necessary.

95

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2 The students then work on their own and wrirc dou n theirsolutions within a given time Iimit.3 These lists are then compared in small groups or in the wholeclass. A pyramid discussion, in which groups ofincreasing size(two, then four, eight, etc.) discuss and agree on Iists at each stage,is a popular variant.Students need to realizc that the most important stage is thediscussion, which naturally practises the language for agreeing,comparing, contradicting, disagreeing, and giving reasons- Thefirst of the activities prescnted is designed to introduce students towhat is expected of them.

56 The best

Elementary to Lower intermediate

20-25 minutes

To introduce students to ranking activities.

None.

I Choose an area that your students are likell to be interested in,e.g. the cinemas in a particular town. Explain that thev will rankthe cinemas in thcir town from the best to the worst.

2 Decide on rhe criteria for distinguishing between good and badcinemas. These can bc elicired from the class, although somevocabular-"- will have to be supplied. Put a list of the criteria on theboard, e. g. comfortable seats, good sound, etc.

3 Now make a Iist of the cinemas vou \!'ant to evaluate, Tell thestudenrs thev should then rank the cinemas individuallv beforediscussing their choice in groups or pairs. Elicit a few models toindicate that it is importanr to justify the decisions with sentenceshke, Cinema X is the best because .

4 Finally ask representatives to report to the class.

Although cinemas may seem an unlikely topic this activity workedvery well when it was used in a particular context overseas. Theimportant thing is to choose something that all the students knowsomething about. A variant which also worked well overseas was togive students a list of cars which were not manufactured in theircountry. 'Iheir task was to choose one that would bc manufacturedIocally, and the same procedure as the one above was then followed.

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57 Eureka!Intermediate and above

30-35 minutes

To promote discussion about invendons.

Put the following list of inventions in random order on a handout orOHT. Do not include the datesl

Gunpowder 1000

Atomic bomb 1945

!flheel 3000 B.C.Screw 200 B.C.Paper 105

Printing 1440

Microscope I608

Telephone 1876

Motor car 1885

Aeroplane 190-1

I Ask the students to work in pairs to decide on the approximatedate for each ofthese inventions. lfhen they have done this askthem to put the ilventions in the order of their appearance, withthe earliest inventions first. Allow them to check the answers with!'ou.2 Now ask each pair to choose from rhe list three inventions thathave had the most positive effect on civilization, as well as the threetlat had the most negative effect. They should discuss their choicewith another pair and agree on a joint list.3 Finally, chair a feedback session in which each group presents itslist. See if the class can come to a consensus.

Students are likely to have different interpretations of the words'positive'and 'negativer. This is worth exploiring, so allow them tosettle the argument themselves.

58 Time

Intermediate to Advanced

30-35 minutes

To get students to justify and explain their preferences.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for your class.

TIME

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEDURE

heurnrs

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

AIM

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TASK SHEET Read the questions and answers below carefully. Number each ofthe answers l,2,3,4, or 5. Give I to the answer rhat applies to youmost, 2 to rhe next, etc. Give 5 to the answer that applies least.

What would you do if you were given a year off work on full pay?

n Study for a further qualification in your field.

! Go on a trip round the world.

! Go and spend a long period of rime in one or two counrries youhave always wanted to visit.

! Stay at home and use the free time to do things to your house.

D Use the time to earn extra money by doing another job.

How could you make better use ofyour dme?

! By planning better.

I By getdng things done faster.

D By wasting less time tlan you do at present.

! By finding more things to do.

I By relaxing more and not worrying about things.

\Which of these would be your favourite time of year?

! A hor sunny day in the middle of summer.

n A cold clear day in winter.

n A frosty autumn morning with the leaves beginning to fall.

I A spring day with gentle rain.

! A sudden fall of snow in the winter.

\ hich ofthese is your favourite time ofthe day for working?

n'-Early in the morning.' ! The middle of ihe day.

! The middle of the afternoon.

! The evening.

! Late at night.

Photocopiable @ Oxford University Press

PROCEDURE I Give each student a copy of the task sheer and ask him or her tofill it in according to the instructions.

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2 When they have finished ask them to share the results with a

neighbour or a small group. Encourage the students to find out asmuch as they can about why the others completed the task in aparticular way. They should aim to encourage each other to saymore, rather than to argue.

3 End the session by checking on the degree of agreement withinthe different groups.

This technique can of course be adapted for use wirh questionsabout any topic.

Value clarification tasks

Value clarification tasks are an extension of ranking activities andthey serve to make people more aware of their attitudes andfeelings. Value clarificadon techniques aim to get students ro makeexplicit the reasons behind their judgement on a social issue, choiceofa particular set ofobjects, etc. They follow a similar pattern toranking activities in that a period ofindividual work is followed bygroup or class discussion. These tasks can be very threatening andthey should not be introduced before a group has managed to get toknow each odrer well, and have achieved a posirive workingrelationship. The subject matter may also be unacceptable tostudents from some cultures, and teachers are encouraged to adaptthese tasks ifissues. such as sexual assault, are taboo-

59 Time capsuleIntermediate to Advanced

25-35 minutes

To encourage students to make explicit rhe things they value intheir daily lives.

None.

I Explain to your sludents that they have ro bury five objects in atime capsule which will represent everyday life today when ir isopened in two hundred years time.2 As soon as the students grasp the concept, ask each ofthem toprepare a list offive objects. There is no limitation as to size,weight, etc.3 Divide the students into pairs, then fours, and then eights. Ateach stage they should reach a consensus about what should beincluded in the list offive objects.

REMARKS

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

PBOCEDURE

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4 End the session by getting each group to report the details oftheir five obiects to rhe rest of rhe class.

This is an activity thar can be adapted to groups rvith specialinterests. For example, students of literature could be lsked tochoose three or five works to represent the literature of theircountry. The more personal the topic the more discussion irgenerates.

60 A just punishment

Upper Intermediate to Advanced

30-35 minutes

To get students to consider the extenr to which punishmenrs fit thecrlme.

Make photocopies of the following sample Ietter for your class, orfind other articles or letters in magazines which are more suited toyour particular students.

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SAMPLE LETTER A victim's verdictThe man who sexuall_v assauhed me has been sentenced to sixmonths' imprisonme nt but will probably only serve four. .N{v'senrence' began on the night of rhe attack. I'm scared of walkinganywhere alone. Mv parenrs are frantic with worrv if I,m lare. Ihave not been sleeping well, am prone to bursting into tears. andthink constantly about the attack. Could I have done anl.th.ing toward him ofP r,X/hy didn't I scream earlier? \Vas it mv fault, even?These are questions I ask myself endlessly. I will probablv serve myself-imposed sentence for the resr ofmy life. At present I am 16yeqrs of age. I feel sickened by what I regard as a gross miscarriageof justice - even the maximum sentence for such an assault is onlytwo years. It's extremely hard for anyone who has nor experiencedan assault of this kind to comprehend rhe feeling ofdevastation felrbv the victim.

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Photocopiabld O Oxford University Press

I Give out a copy of the letter to each student and ask them to readthe text quietly on their own. Make dictionaries available if thevrequire them.

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FLUENCY ACTI\'ITIFS

2 Vhen they have finished, ask rhem to write a word or sentenccona piece ofpaper, that summarizes their reaction to rhe letrer.Collect all the pieces of paper and mix them up.3 A.sk each stu.dent ro. rake a piece of paper and form a small group.Each student should then read what is on rhe piece ofpaper tieycollected so thar the group can discuss the different reictions.4 Ask each group to decide on the best way of punishing men whorape or sexually alrack women. One member ofeach group shouldbe ready to report their conclusions to rhe class.

This is not an acrivity to be used with an immature group. Sexualassault might be taboo in some cultures, but a similar teihnique canstill be used with other contenr. For example, get students to reactto 'The American Dream' rexr from SpeaAing (Elemenmry) in theOxford Supplementary Skills series (1987).

61 FutureshockIntermediate to Advanced

30-35 minutes

To encourage students to discuss priorities for the future.

Prepare the following statements as a handout and makephotocopies, or write them on the blackboard or OHT.

LEVEL

TIME

PREPARATION

STATEMENTS By the year 2250 you will be able ro:

- decide on the racial characterisrics, IQ, sex, height, erc. ofyourbaby;

- get specialisr knowledge about any subjecr you want by diallingfor the appropriate computer program;

- do all your shopping without stepping out ofyour home;.- ach.ieve your ideal weight by taking an individual programme of

diet pills and liquid food;- prolong your life for up to 6fty years if you go to special clinics

for a period of two weeks a year after the age offoity;- fly across the world in two hours in a low orbit spacecraftl- decide not to work at all;- get robots to do all the routine jobs in your home;- take holidays in space;

- live in small communities rarher rhan big cities, which willbecome more and more dangerous.

Photocopiable O Oxtord Universily press

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PROCEDUBE I Set the scene by asking the students if they have considered whatthe world will be like in the year 2250.

2 After you get a few suggestions, explain that they are going tolook at some of the predictions the futurologists have made for theyear 2250. They should rank the developments by placing them indecreasing order ofdesirability, i.e. the developments thev mostwant to see happen should come first.3 Vhen the students have completed their individual task, askthem Io share their answers with a smail group ofthree or four.4 Vhen everyone has given their views, the group should decide onthree developments they think the world would be better without-5 End the session by asking a member of each group ro report tothe resr of the class. See if the groups agree or disagree.

62 The bridge

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LEVEL Upper intermediate to Advanced

30-35 minutes

A values task in which students decide on individual responsibility

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AIMfor a tragedy.

PREPARATION Make photocopies ofthe text opposite for your class, or 6ld onemore suited to your particular students.

PROCEDURE I Give a copy of the text to each student and ask them to readit carefully.2 Vhen rhey have finished, ask them to form groups of four or fiveand work together to complete the task.

3 Ask rhe studenls to write down the decreasing order ofresponsibility, and at the end run a pyramid discussion or afeedback session with the whole class.

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SAMPLE TEXT A young married woman, who was very lonely because her husbandspent most of his time working, decided to take a lover. Herhusband was on a business trip so she agreed to spend a nighr in herlover's house on the opposite bank of the river to where she lived.To get back to her house before her husband returned, she left atdawn the next morning and in order to reach home, she had Io crossa bridge. Unfortunately there was a maniac on the bridge whothreatened her, and refused to let her cross. She ran to a stranger toask for help, but he refused to help her unless she gave him somemoney. She did not have any, and explained this to him, but thestranger refused to do anything unless he was paid in advance. Thewoman decided to go to her lover for money, but he refused andasked her to stay with him. She did not want to, so she went to see a

childhood friend who lived near her lover. Her friend was a

bachelor and had always declared his love for her, but she had neveraccepted him. She decided to tell him the whole story, and askedhim for help. He refused to help her because he was disappointed inthe way she had behaved. The woman went back ro the bridge, andwhen the stranger still refused to help her, she decided to try tocross on her own. The maniac killed her.

Vhich of these people has most responsibility for her death: thewoman, her husband, her lover, the stranger, her childhood friend,or the maniac?

Photocopiable O Oxford Universdy Press

AcknowledgementThrs activity is similar to a task in Challenge to liinA by ChristineFrank, Mario Rinvolucri, and Marge Berer, (OUP 1982).

Product orientated tasks

These tasks are characterized by the fact that students have to workcollaboradvely to carry out a set of instructions within a given time.The execution of the task involves students in the creative use oflanguage. A subsequent follow-up stage, in which discussion canfocus on the way in which the task was carried out, forms the basisfor further practice.

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63 From what lrememberElementary and above

20-25 minutes

For students to carry out and discuss the results of a simplememory experiment.

Decide on a coin you want the students to draw from memory.Make sure you have examples of the coin available for reference.

I Divide your students into groups offive or six, and ask them totry to draw from memory exactly what is shown on each side ofacoin they use frequently, for example, a fifty pence piece, if theyare in England. The groups should all draw the same coin.2 When all the students have finished, ask them to look at anexample ofthe coin, and do the following:

- Find as many features ofthe coin as possible, e.g. identification,such as a head, the value, the date, etc.

- Find out who included the most features in his or her drawing.- Find out who got the most features in the right place.

- Be ready to tell the other groups about their mistakes. rVere theysimilar or quite different?

3 Tell your studenrs that when this experiment was conducted inthe United States, the people doing it could, on average, rememberonlv three oul of the eight features on the coin used. Often thesewere put in the wrong place.

4 Ask if the results in your students' groups were better or worsethen those in the United States. Vhy? Ask them ifthey can suggestany reasons. Are they surprised at the results? Why? V hy not?

64 A dream classroomElementary and above

30-35 minutes

To get students to carry out a design task together.

Collect as many photographs as possible of early versionsoftypewriters, etc. as introductory marerial. Make photocopies ofthe following task sheet, or write the information on the blackboardor on an OHT.

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TASK SHEET Think of rhings that have changed in your lifetime. Can youremember anything from your childhood which vou think is muchbetter today? Tell each other about rhe changes ind why you thinkit is better now. Now look at rhis staremenr:

Apart from the introduction of some aud.io-aisual aids, classroomshaxe hardly changed at all in the tuentieth century.

Do you agree or disagree? \0flhy?

Now work logether and design a classroom for lhe twenly-firstcentury. Vhat would your classroom look like? Whar would itcontain? How would it funcrion?Choose one member ofyour group to presenr your ideas to theclass. When you have heard all the reports vote for rhe bestclassroom.

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Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

I Start by establishing that the twenrierh cenrurv has seenconsiderable changes. One way to do this might be ro show yourstudents photographs ofearly cars, erc. Once this has beenestablished divide your students into small groups.2 Give out copies of the rask sheet and ask drem ro carry out rhetask.

3 Encourage vour students to make interesdng presentadons.

65 Plan your timeIntermediate and above

30-35 minutes

For students to consider ways in which they can learn Englishoutside tie classroom.

Make photocopies of the task sheet over the page for your class.

I Arouse student interest in the planning task.2 Set up the inirial pair work and give the students five to renminutes to discuss, add to or modify the list of suggestions.3 Vhen the initial discussion is over you should facilitate thesetting up ofgroups. Allow the groups a maximum of twentvminutes to complete $e planning task.4 Chair the reporr back session in which each group presents irssuggesdons.. Make OHTs or posters available to heipthe groupspresent their ideas.

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TASK SHEET Here is a Iisr of techniques which people use to help them learnEnglish outside the classroom:

- memorizing a list of words;- reading a grammar book;- doing grammar exercises;- reading a book or a magazine in English;- re-copying things from their class norebook;- correcting misukes made in written work;- preparing the next unit ofthe coursebook.Work with a parrner and add any orhers ofyour own. Tell eachother whichones in the list you find helpfui, ifany, then rell theclass about the new ones you have added.Arrange yourselves into groups and take a time period from thislist:

- thirty minutes per day for six days a week;- one hour a day for 6ve days a week;- two hours per day for four days a week.In your group plan a programme ro show how you could make useofthe time to do extra work on your English. 0se the ideas from theearlier list, as well as any oth"..'you .rnlhirrk of. Choose oneperson to present your plan to the rest of the class.

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If students agree to experimenr with a srudy plan, some time shouldbe allotted in class for them to discuss how ihey are gerdng on.

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66 My idealphrase-bookElementary and above

31-40 minutes

To get students to work together to produce and evaluate phrase_books.

Collect together examples from phrase-books, including samples inthe studenls' mother tongue, if possible.

I .Start the lesson by dividing your students into small groups, andasking drem the following questions:

- Do any of you use phrase-boohs?

- Haae you used them before?

- lYhat do thqt usually contain?- Do you fnd them useful? lYhy? Why not?

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2 Ask for a short report after a few minutes. During the feedbacksession suggest that the students' use of phrase-books might dependon the one they choose, and read them a few examples fromnineteenth centurv phrase-books:

- My postill.ion has been struck by lighrning.- Where can we water our camels?

- My tailor is rich, etc.

3 Include some local examples if you can, and ask the students todiscuss the examples.

4 Now ask the students to do one of the following tasks:

a. Decide on the headings for a phrase-book which the class wouldfind particularly useful. Form small groups. Each group shouldthen choose a section and write ten phrases for it.

b. Write part of a phrase-book to help people in your countryunderstand English-speakrng tourists.

5 Get the groups to reporl to the class when they have 6nished.

Very specific variants ofthe task can be devised, e.g. a group goingon an excursion could draw up ten useful phrases. The imporrantt}ting is to ensure that students find out whether their phrases areappropriate or not in the feedback session.

67 Building a model

Intermediate and above

25-30 minutes

For students to evaluate how effectively they are able to perform a

given task.

Construct a model from LEGO pieces. Provide enough LEGOpieces for four groups of studenls to construct the same model.(Provide extra pieces ifyou wSnt to make the task more difficult.).

I Divide the class into working groups offour. Give each group a

collecdon of LEGO pieces and explain rhat they are to be used tobuild a model which is the same as the one in t}te next room.

2 Each group has to appoint an observer who can go and look at themodel and report back to the group, so that they can build an exactcopy ofthe model. The student who is the obsen'er can go back andforth as many times as he or she wishes but should not'build'at all.The rask has to be completed in fifieen minutes and none oftheother members of the group must see the model.

3 When they have finished, each group should work with theobserver so as to prepare a report of the steps they took in

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completing the task. They should also consider ways in rvhich theymight have done the task better. The report and therecommendations should be presenred ro the class for a generaldiscussion.

It is very easy to do the task quickly if someone lays out the pieces

while the observer draws a plan, etc. However the time constraint,as well as the interpersonal relations in the group, sometimes meanthat a group wiii argue over procedural matters such as who shouldbe ihe observer, rather than getting on with the task. Do notintervene, except to clarify instructions.

Obviously this task would work better with multilingual groups.

AcknowledgementThis has been adapted from a task we learnt from The Centre forBritish Teachers Ltd.

Role plays

Role plays can range from highly directed and controlled activities,in which all the content is supplied to the students, ro full-scalesimulations in which participants determine what they will say onthe basis of background information and the role they are given.(See Ro/e P/a-v by Gillian Porter Ladousse from the Resource Books

for Teachers series (OUP, 1987). ) The aim of this section is topresent a few examples of role-play-rype activities in which thestudents themselves have to use all their linguistic and non-linguisdc resources in order to achieve their obiectives in a loosely

deflned social situation.

68 I'llgive you . . .

Elementary and above

5-10 minutes for one lesson, 20-25 minutes for the nexr.

To set up a situation in which students buy and sell things.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the two groups,and give the students prior warning before the class.

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TASK SHEET Instructions for sellersSellen should come to the lesson with five objects they wish to sell.These can be real things or pictures from magazines. None of theobjects should be worth more rhan f50 or its equivalenr. Imaginehow much you paid for the objects and give your teacher a list oftheprices. During the space of twenty minutes you should aim to selleach ob ject for as much as you can get. Keep a note of each saleand, when the sale is over, tell the teacher how much money youhave collected. Have you made a profir? The seller who makes themost profit is the winner.

Instmctions for buyersIn this lesson the sellers will show you objects, or pictures of objectsthey wish to sell. You have a budger ofll00 or its equivalent, andyour aim is to buy as many objects as possible in about twentyminutes. You may need to bargain with the sellers to achieve youraim. When you have finished 'shopping', find out who was the bestbuyer and who was the best seller.

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Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

I Set the task up by showing your students some examples ofantiques. These can be photographs or actual obiecrs. See if thestudents can guess the value of the objects.

2 After a briefdiscussion explain that the class will be split into twogroups for a subsequent lesson. One group will be the'buyers'andthe other the 'sellers'.3 Give them a copy ofthe instructions on the task sheel and agreeon a time for the 'sale', which will take approximately twentyminutes.

69 AirportUpper interrrediate to Advanced

3G.-35 minutes

To set up a conflict situation in which students have to decide whatto do.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the differentgroups.

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TASK SHEET Instructions for the ground staffYou are in charge ofa flight ro Australia. The flight is due to closein twenty minutes. It is fully booked and none ofthe passengers atthe desk have seats a.lthough they all have confirmed uckets. youexpect there will be three seats available in about fifteen minures,but you are not sure of this, and you do not wanr to tell rhepassengers in case there are none left. Until then you cannot acceptluggage or give anyone a boarding card. Your aim is to calm thepassengers down and get as many of them to accept f 150compensation in order ro take another flight as soon as possible.The next available flighr is in six hours'time, and you r-hink rheremight be seats but you cannot check because the computer is notworking. At the end offifteen minutes you and your colleagueshave_ to decide on which three passengers you will take. Find a wayof telling the other passengers.

Instructions for passengersYou are booked on a flight to Australia. Decide on a role, e.g. a manor woman going to visit his or her relatives, a scientist speaking at aconference, etc. Approach the desk. Do not change your role.1ryyour best to ger on the flight by talking to the staff and,/or the otherpassengers.

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Photocodable @ Oxford University Press

I Set the task up with a briefgeneral discussion about air travel.Find out if any of the class have ever been seriously delaved oroverbooked. Ask rhem To recount whar happened, how ihedifferent types ofpassengers reacted, etc.2 Now divide the class into passengers and ground staff. Thereshould be one member ofthe airline stafffor every three or fourpassengers. Once the students have been divided up, give eachgroup jts instructions.3 Monitor the role play.4 Follow up the task with an evaluation of how rhe various conflicrswere handled or resolved.

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Discussion tasks

It can be very difficult to get students to talk unless their interest orimagination is sdmulated. One common reason for failure is thatstudents are expected to discuss complicated issues without muchprior preparation or thought. One way to start students off is to givethem some input. This can take a variety of forms, includ:ng soundtape, pictures, diagrams, a series ofstalements, texts, elc. Themain consideration is that the input should not be so long orlinguistically complicated that students focus on understanding it tothe exclusion ofany discussion.

70 Attitudes to gifts and givingIntermediate and above

21-30 minutes

To set up a cross-cultural discussion about gifts and giving.

Make photocopies ofthe usk sheet over the page for the class.

I Orientate the students to the discussion.

2 Divide your students into groups offour. Give each group a tasksheet, and allow them twenty minutes to complete rhe task.

3 When they have finished ask them to report on their discussion tothe rest of the class.

British people would find some of these odd and atrach much lessimportance to the etiquette of giving than many other races. Oftenthe British will play down gifts, calling them,'Just a littlesomething . . .', and this can cause offence, as will the fairly normalpractice of admiring other people's things. We believe that thepracdces on the list are observed to some extent by the followingpeople:

l, 5, and 7 rhe Arabs: '

3, 6, 9, and l0 the Chinese;2 and 4 the Germans;8, 9, and l0 the British and otler Europeans.

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TASK SHEET Look at rhe statements below abour giving and receiving gifts indifferent parts ofthe world, and decide which ofthe pracrices vou:

- agree with;- disagree with;- find strange;

- would like to have in your countrv;- think m.ight be British.I Only the right hand should be used for giving and receiving.2 rVhen giving anyone flowers alwavs give an odd number.3 When someone does anything special for you (even when it ispart of their lob) you should give them a presenr in rerurn.4 Always take a gift for the hostess when you are invired tosomeone's house for an evening or for a meal.5 Ifyour guest admires anything in your house you should give itto him or her.5 Vhen it is their birthday older people are expected to give gifts ofmoney in little red envelopes.

7 You should say how good the presenr is as you hand it over. Thisshows how much you rhink of rhe person receiving rhe gifr.8 When a couple plan to get married they make a list of the giftsthey would like to receive as wedding presents.

9 lfhen you give a purse as a gift you should alwavs pur somemoney in ir.l0 If irou give someone a knife, the receiver should pay you a smallsum of monev.

Now tell each other about any rules for giving and receiving gifts invour countrv.

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Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

71 Who's the boss?Intermediate and above

35-40 minutes

To discuss the role of secretaries at work.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the class.

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TASK SHEET Do you think good secretaries are indispensable to their bossesor not?

Now read the following extract about a senior executive whodecides to work on his own.

HARD LINES: HOW THE BOSSWENTTO PIECESWITH-OUT A SECRETARY'The business wos there to be had, he found. lt was the offce side of thingswhich bewildered him. For the frst time in twenty-seven years he had nosecretary to type hb leuers, answer his telephone, book hi tickets, keep hbdiaty, jog his memory, be polite to visitors and organise his papers. The roomhe called his study was awash v,ith papers. His diary was always in the otherpocket. The phone rang and no-one answered; he got an answering machinearu1 forgot to turn it on. He misplaced leuers and missed vital appoinments.Typing was a disaster but hk handwriting wos trorse and when the VATinspector called he was almost prosecuted for evasion because no accountshad been kept at all.'

lVork in pairs and discuss the follou'ing questions:

- Do you think the story is exaggerated?

- Do you think it is true that the majority ofbosses cannot functionwithout their secretaries?

- Who make better secretaries, women or men? Or is the sex notimportant?

Now join another pair. Exchange vour opinions about the previousand the following questions:

- Do you think more women should become bosses? \Whv?

\(/hy not?

- Do you think more men should be rrained as secretaries? Vhv?Vhy not?

- Do you think it is right that secretaries are ofien paid much lessthan their bosses? Vhy? Vhy not?

After exchanging your views, make three concrete proposals forimproving the situation of secretaries in your counlry. Report rhescto the rest of the class and see if they agree or disagree.

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Photocopiable O Oxford Unive6ity Press

I Orientate the students to the discussion, e.g. by asking about thesituation of secretaries in their country or company.2 Set up the pair work and give the students the task sheet. lfnecessary, help with the vocabulary ofthe text. When rhe studentshave read the lext and have discussed the initial questions, youshould set up the groups.

3 Give the groups up to fifteen minures ro complere rhe discussiontask. Make sure they know rhey have ro report ro the rest oftheclass.i

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4 Chair a discussion in which rhe different groups get a chance topresent their ideas. Remain neutral and avoid being drawn into thediscussion. Guide the class to a consensus ifat all possible.

72 GiftsElementary and above

25-40 minutes

To encourage students to talk about gifts.

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PREPARATION Collect rogerher copies ofselected exracts from mail ordercatalogues showing some unusual gifts such as a reversible watch, aheated cushion, etc. Make photocopies of the following rask sheerfor the class.

TASK SHEET Choose a gift for yourself from the sheet your teacher has given you.Do not tell anyone what you have chosen. Now find a partner andchoose a present for him or her. Exchange gifts and then comparewhat you chose for each other with what you chose for yourselves.Tell each other wh1' you chose rhe two gifts.

Join another pair and find out what rhey chose from the lisr. Telleach other whar you think of the gifts on the list. \\'hat sort ofpeople buy rhem? Can vou think of someone in rhe class to giveeach gift to? Give reasons for your choice. Come together as aclass and compare vour choices.

Finallv, think ofa gifi thar you have received rhar vou particularlyliked and one that you disliked. In a group of four tell each otherabout the gifts and whar you did with them.

Phoiocopiable O Oxford University press

PROCEDURE I Prepare for the task witha briefdiscussion about recent gifts,e.g. bv showing students something you have just received.2 Give out the illustrations ofthe gifts and the task sheets, and givethe students a few minutes to choose gifts for themselves and rheirpartners.

3 Give the pairs a few minutes to exchange gifts before joininganorher pa.ir. Allow the groups of four up to ten minutes to selectgifts for the class. I

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4 Give the students a chance to distribute their gifts in a plenarysession.

5 Ask the students to return to their group work in order rocomplete the rest of the task.

73 Love storyIntermediate and above

40-45 minutes

To use the plot of a well-known srory as a stimulus for srudents roproduce their own version.

Make photocopies of the task sheet over the page for your class.

I The task is in rwo parts. In rhe first part ask your students toreconstruct what thev remember of the plot of a well-known film,e.g. Loz;e Story. (Despite its age ir is still being shown in manyforeign countries.) If your students find it impossible to rememberthe story then read them a summary ofthe plot, which you will findbelow, before they go on to the main task.

2 Now go on to the second pan of the task. Give each group ofstudents a task sheet and ask them to complere it.3 Be available to give help and advice if rhe srudents need it. Noteany errors you had not previouslv anticipated for correcdon later.

Jenny Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw) is studying music ar Radcliffe, awomen's college in Cambridge, trlassachussets. She meers OliverBarrett (Ryan O'Neal) in the librar.v. She is very rude to him but heasks her to go out with him. She goes to an ice-hockey match to seehim play and they fall in love, even though she says t}te wrongthings. Oliver meets Jenny's farher who is a pastry cook who cameto America from Italy. He likes Oliver but he does not get on withOliver's father, who is very rich. Jenny and Olil'er decide to getmarried. After their marriage Oliver's farher refuses ro support himin law school, and when Jenny graduates she has to work to allowOliver to stay in college- Oliver graduates and gets a good iob, butone day Jenny feels ill and she is taken to hospiral. She dies. In thebook the story ends with Oliver crying in his father's arms for thefirst time. In the film, Oliver's father comes to the hospital, butOliver has nothing to say to him and they part.

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TASK SHEET Vork in small groups. You are a team of people who have beenasked to write the story for a new film aimed at rhe same audiencethat made Loz'e Story a big hir when it appeared. The cast has notyet been named but the film company has a contract with four starswho usuaily appear as:

- a pretty young woman looking for the right man.- an aggressive, but very handsome man, who has a bad

reputation with everyone except for the women who love him.- a devoted admirer who has everything a young woman should

want, i.e. good looks, a little money, a good job, etc. but does notalways get the girl because he is boring.

- an old lady who tries to have influence over everything andeverybody.

Your story must include all of them in imporrant roles. You havemoney in the budget for one more 'star' in additton to these four.Some of the typical ingredients for such a story include:

- a chance meeting;- an inheritance;- a serious illness;- an accident.

but you can choose your own.

Each member ofyour group should present his or her ideas for thestory. One ofyou should acr as the secretary! and you should try toinclude all the group's ideas in a final story. Aim to have a 150 wordsummary of your group story by the end of the meeting.Choose one studenl Io present your story to the rest of the class.Vote for the story that you think will make the most money.

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5 Feedback

IntroductionThere are different ways of improving performance in languagelearning, but consistent and reliable feedback is a vital ingredient.Feedback can take different forms. For example, we can look at ourown performance critically and rry to improve through trial anderror, or we can ask someone to help by analysing the performanceand suggesting ways in which it can be improved. The latter is thebasis ofmuch sports coaching, and the principle can be applied tolanguage teaching, and in particular the improvement ofconversational competence. Unfortunately, however, thedevelopment and use offeedback techniques in the teaching ofconversation is still a relatively neglected area. This may be becauseit is so complex. In conversation a variety of factors, including thespeaker's accent, control of grammar and vocabulary, as well asoverall fluency, all contribute to any impression of rheperformance. Consequently evaluation of the success or failure ofconversational performance is not easy. In assessing oralcompetence we can, for example, say categorically that someone hasfailed to communicate effectively if they Iack the linguisticresources to say anyfiing ar all. In cases where the student hasapparendy got his or her message across we may still be left withquestions such as:

Did the grammatical errors hinder cornmunicadon or not? Ifnot,

- Srtl;l#:i:t: rhe student's accenr, lack of fluency, erc. have onthe listener? Would orher listeners be more or less symparhetic?

- S::"i':H::'iarion srrucrured as efficienrty or appropriately as

i '- possible? Does ir matter?

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the one the studenr intended? How

' To allow this complexity to cause us to abandon any attempt at asystemadc approach to feedback in the teaching ofconversation,would be to abdicate responsibility, and the purpose of rhis chapteris to offer some practical suggestions in this area.

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!flhat are feedback tasks?

The objective of feedback is to give students the information theyneed to improve on their performance. Areas for feedback in aprograrnme aiming at the developmenr of conversarional skillsinclude:

- grammar;

- appropriacy ofvocabulary and expressions;

- fluency;- pronunciation;- non-linguistic factors affecting communication.

Feedback tasks aim to help rhe srudents look critically at their ownperformance in rhese areas with the help ofobservarion sheers.Feedback tasks are similar to the awareness acrivities in Chapter 3,in that they too seek to raise the students' awareness of significantareas which affect conversational performance. They arenonetheless different, in that feedback tasks always use thesludents'own performance as the starting point.

Preparing the groundFeedback needs to be staged and selective if it is to avoid swampingand demoralizing rhe students. To achieve this teaehers need todecide on the areas of conversational performance most relevantand important to their particular students. For example, a group ofFrench waiters who are Iearning English might not be interested inlosing an accent that is a major professional asset. Once the decisionis made, it is a question offocusing on the chosen areas in turn untilstudents reach the required performance level. To assist thisprocess, teachers need to be continually aware of studentperformance and progress at any given point in lhe course. One wayofdoing this might be to keep a record card for each student. Thiscan summarize how lhe students' performance in areas such asgrammar, appropriacy, fluency, etc. combine in the performance ofa particular task. An example ofhow such a card might look isgiven below.

talk, etc . )

Approprlacy ol over!1.I

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On this card teachers can rccord their impressions, as well asexamples of specific strengths and weaknesses, so as to be able todirect the students to appropriare sources of help. A less rime-consuming alternative would be to put these headings on a largesheet ofpaper and record general impressions ofstudentperformance.

Using tape recordersThe use oftape recorders can play an important part in providingdiagnostic information, and the recording of studenrs duringconversation lessons makes it much easier for the reacher to idenrifyareas of weakness which can form the basis of subsequent lessonsfocusing on accuracy, the presentation ofnew language, etc.Other advantages of the use of rape recordings of students at workinclude:

- the opportunity for students to hear again their own performanceand that of other students;

- the opportunity to look oblectively at how students develop overa period of time. If you can obtain a recording of students at thebeginning ofthe course this can be used as a basis for comparisonat different stages of the course ro illustrate progress. This can beimportant for confidence and morale when motivation begins tosag. since most people improve far more than they themselvesrealize.

If tape recorders are available it is worrh encouraging students torecord as much as they like so rhar they become unaware of thepresence of the machine, but it is best to select only verv shortextracts to work on. These should usually be fiom the middle ofalong recording. It is, on rhe *'hole, berter to find exracrs whereseverai students are contriburing unless the aim is ro focus on a longturn.

The feedback tasks presented in th.is chapter were devised for usewith tape recorders, but it is possible to adapt them for use inteaching situations where tape recorders are not freely available.(See pages i 21125 t

Training students to use feedback tasks

Students expect and require feedback. However, most students willequate feedback with the on-the-spot correction of errorcharacteristic ofcontrolled work. Consequently many students stillfeel rhat fluencv activides are a waste of time because the teacher isnot available to provide instant correction. It is very easy for themto lose confidence in themselves and the reacher if they feelconsistently unsure that whar they are doing is appropriate. Thefact that correction is undesirable during fluency work does not

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r20 FEEDBACK

always convince students, so feedback tasks can go a long wavtowards meeting a fundamental concern. However, it is importantthat students get a clear idea of how and whv feedback tasks are tobe used. Some learner training is therefore required.

The way in which the feedback tasks operare can bc described tostudents with the help of rhe following diagram:

Options1 Look through the

feedback task beforedoing the main task.

j.J

't.i.l

;,:5'

2 Redo the same orsimilar task and dothe feedback taskagain.

Many students will be unfamiliar with feedback tasks, so rhere is avalue in taking the whole class through a task rogether before theywork on their own. One ofthe initial tasks such as the one onpages I2516, can be used wirh a piece of pre-recorded native or non-native speaker data, so that students develop a feel for how suchtasks work. Give the students the feedback rask to look at beforeplaying the recording and try ro elicit as many of the relevant pointsas possible, so that srudenrs know how the task operates.

The exrent to which we can tell students why they are doing specificfeedback tasks will depend on their level. However rhe generalprinciple behind such tasks is readily accepred, even by elementarystudents. ft is probably best to avoid jargon. Mosr studenrs will becontent with the explanarion rhat rhese tasks will help them speakEnglish like a narive ifthey pay attendon ro rheir own performanceand try to develop rhe appropriare verbal and non-verbalbehaviour.

Stag€ IYou do a conversationaltask and record it.

Stag€ 2

You study a leedbacktask which tells youabout an area that is

important in orderto dothe task well.

Stage 3

You use the feedbacktask observalion sheetto guide your listening topart ol the tape yourecorded, so that youfind areas to improve in.

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4 I:EIJDBACK lll

Stages in setting up feedback tasks

I Decide on the arca to bc evaluated: rhis is a decision thar is bestleft to rhe teacher iniriallr'. In rime students mal'ask for feedbackon areas that thev perceivc as weaknesses, and these should beincorporated ifpossible. Some tasks such as ranking activities, willnarurally involve the language for agreeing, conrradicting. givingreasons, disagreeing. etc. and each of these Ianguage areas can bethe obiect of different feedback tasks. The important thing is tomake sure thal the area to be looked at in the feedback tasks wouldtend to occur naturally. It is best to base a decision abour whichtask to use on the students' strengths and weaknesses.

2 Set up conditions for thc lesson: feedback is an important activityand it is therefore important to plan beforehand how feedback is tooccur. Most of the feedback tasks in this section should reallyinvolve one tape recorder between every lhree or four students,although short talks or stories can be recorded in a languageIaborarory ifone is available. Ideally there should never be toomany students in one room as the noise from groups which are tooclose to each orher has a disastrous effect on the qualitv ofrecordings and it is better if some students can move to anotherlocation. Cassette recorders with a sensitive in-built microphonewhich can run off a battery or the mains offer the greatestflexibility. The problem with external microphones is rhat theytend to provide a distraction and get knocked about. Built-inmicrophones will rvork quite well. as long as students sit in a tightcircle.

3 Prepare students for the recording: make one student responsiblefor the equipment in each group. This improves securit,'- andminimises disruption. Assuming that studenrs knorv whar feedbacktasks are there are two possible approaches-

a. The first is simpll'to tell students to record themselves ar aparticular point of the task thev are abour to do. The obiective ofthe recording then only becomes apparent when the feedbacktask is given out later.

b. The alternative is to tell students what is being focused on fromthe start. This could include discussing a tape or video model ofthe target performance andior going through the feedback taskfirst.

Some students react very positively to the second approach, butothers become very self-conscious and refuse to say anything, sothat the exercise becomes self-defeating. Modelling works bestwhen students are involved with planned discourse such as shorttalks. It is probably best to see which approach suirs particulargroups better.

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The teacher's responsibility duringthe recordingThe teacher should be available as a resource person during rherecording session but should otherwise not interfere. It is wisehowever to monitor groups in order to see how thev are getting onand, in cases where the teacher intends to go rhrough the rape ofapanicuiar group, it is well worth making a few notes on the namesof the participants, memorable phrases, etc. as these will help in thesubsequent processing of the tape. Teachers may have to helpstudents 6nd a suitable part of the tape for exploitation.

Using the feedback tasks in the bookThe following is the procedure you might use.

I Give out copies of the task sheets.

2 Take the students through the task sheet so that thev knorv whatto do. It is also very important that they know what they are lookingfor. Ways in which you might make this clear include:

- playing a short extract from one of the tapes the students will beworking on;

- giving students a number of examples on the blackboard orOHP.

3 .\{akc sure that the students are seated around rhe cassetterecorder so that thev can all hear. Idealll, srudents should listen totheir orr n tape but form largcr groups if this is impossibie.4 Help the students find an appropriare secdon of the recordrng. Insome cases ]"ou might have to iisten to the tape befbre the lesson.

5 r\lonitor the students as lhev carry our rhe feedback task and beready to help if they require it.6 Get the students to report on their work. (See the nexr secrion.)

Studenrs usually find that feedback tasks are dilficuit at rhe srarr- trut the benefits are enormous if they persevere. As they get used to

using feedback usks there will be less need to take rhem rhrougheach one.

Feedback on feedbackA short period of time should always be buih inro feedback lessonsso that students have the opportunity to give a quick report on whatthey have discovered while Iistening ro rhe recordings. The session

j

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FEI]I)BA(:K

should be brisk and efficient and should concentrate on points thestudents feel are interesting or puzzling. The collection of recordedtapcs, and in some cases completed tasks, can be used to monitorprogrcss, as well as provide diagnostic information. In some cases

the tcacher may want to give students individual feedback on therapc rvhich was made. In doing this it is important to ask thestudents to formulate their own judgements. This is essentially a

proccss whereby the teacher trics to elicit what the sludcnts pickedup from l.istening to the lape by asking them to describe their ownperformance. Once students are clear as to what happened, they arein a better position to see what they need to do in order to improve.

\Working without tape recorders

In teaching situadons where tape recording is impossible orimpractical, feedback tasks can still be carried out, although theprocess is less efficient. As alwa"vs the first step is to decide on thearea to be evaluated. Ifobservation sheets are used to focus on anactivity in'real time', (i.e. as it occurs), it is particularly importantto be clear about the feedback goals, so that observadon is highlyfocused.

As soon as a decision is taken to look at a particular area. e.g.encouragement iFeedback task -1 . the following options areavailable:

I You can sit in with a particular group and use the task to monitorth!'group discussion 1'ourself. It rvould be impractical Io cover allthe areas in the task, so 1ou rnight limit 1-ourself to looking lbr thepresence or absence of the questions we use to encourage people tospeak. A feedback session can be planned for later. This could befor the group itself, or rhe class as a whole, ifgeneral points emerge.

2 You can use the students as observers. One student could be

appointed to be the observer for each group. In this case you wouldhave to prepare an observer's sheet along the lines of the followingexample:

Observer's task sheetPlease read this handout carefulll'before you begin observing. Ifyou have any problems, please ask. Do not allow any member ofvour group to read this handout.

You are going to observe the members ofyour group taking parr ina discussion. Towards the end ofthe period ofobservation, place a

tick (, ) in the appropriate box (oter the page) to record yourgenera I impression of the discussion.

123

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FEEDBACK

a. The pardcipants usedexpressions like t hat's tnte,exdctly, elc. to indicateapproval of what others said.

b. They encouraged the others toconrinue by using dft ,a,mmmmretc.

c. They smiled and nodded.

d. They helped each other findthe right words.

e. They sounded encouraging.

Try to note down specific examples for a. and d, At the end ofthegroup discussion ask the group for their own impression for each

category. Lead a discussion in which the group agrees on ways inwhich the,v can be more encouraging. rVhen you have finishedpresent your ideas to the class.

It is ver;- important that the observer's sheet indicates verv clearll-*'hat students must do before, during, and after their period ofobservation. You could have more than one obsen'er per group ifyou wanted to look at more than one area ofperformance (e. g.

encouraging quesdons, as well as paralinguistic support). In thiscase assign the two areas to different students.

3 It is also possible to give a group ofstudents a simpler version ofone of the feedback tasks in this book after they have finished anactivity. They can lhen use what they remember of the task to carryit out.

The main problem ofconducting feedback without using a taperecorder is the stress that this puts on rhe observer. It is alsoimportant that the observer is suppordve. The role of observershould be to report and describe rather than evaluate. Discussion ofthe area chosen for feedback is generally sufficient for moststudents to formulate their own judgements. As rhe teacher, youmay wish to make suggestions for improvement. If you do this,make sure that these suggestions are concrete and express them interms of specific linguist.ic and paralinguisric behaviour (nod andsmile more), rather than general advice (be nicel). Try to thinkthrough what you might say in advance, as studenrs will expectsome comment.

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Feedback tasks

The tasks which follow fall into one or both ofthe followingcategories.

Category IIn these the srudenrs are asked to note the presence or absence ofparticular features on the basis of examples given.

Category 2Students are asked to note down what was said or done to achieve aparticular interactional aim. The notes can then be used to comparetheir own performance with what a native speaker or high levelnon-native speaker might do in a similar communicative setting.Generally speaking, the first group of tasks are easier and shouldtherefore be used first.

The tasks in this chapter focus on some of rhe most importantfeatures ofnative slraker conversation. Readers are encouraged towrire their own feedback tasks on the basis of the examplesprovided if they wish to focus on any specialized areas which are notcovered. Ihe tasks can also be adapred for use with differenr levelsby altering the length ofthe task as well as the complexity oftheinstructions.

Feedbacktask 1

Elementary to Advanced (adapt ro the needs ofa particular level).

For students to look closell, at the language they use.

Suitable for use with any task.

LEVEL

AIM

USE

PREPARATION Make photocopies ofrhe following task sheet for the class...

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FI]EI)I]A(]KrF

TASKSHEET I Choose a two minute extract ofthe recording you have just madeand listen to it in your groups.

2 Choose one of these areas each and make a note of anv errors thatwere made in:

- the verb tenses used;

- the nouns used;- the adjectives used.rVhen you do this, listen for pronunciadon errors, as well asproblems of meaning or grammatical form, (e.g. she zualh instead ofshe walks).

3 Discuss your notes with the other members of the group. Vorkout a correct way ofsaying rhe same rhing. Ask the reacher for helpif none of vou knows the answer-

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PROCEOURE See notes on page 122 before dividing the students into groups ofthree or lbur-

REMAFKS A variation ofthis type of task can be used throughout a course. Itis important that students realize rhat there are different types oferrors, and teachers should provide a few illustrations at the start.In cases where a task would be expected to throw up certain tenseforms or vocabulary items, the srudents could be direcred to Iistenfor examples ofthese. It would also be useful ro have referencematerial, such as Practical English Ltsage bv N{ichael Swan ( 19801,so that students can be encouraged to solve their own problems.

LEVEL

Feridback task 2

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs of a particular Ievel).

To focus on encouraging expressrons.

Suitable with tasks in which students share personal information.

AIM

USE

PREPABATION Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the cla:s.

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FEEDBACK

. TASK SHEET I Select about tu'o minutes from rhe recording of your discussionwith your group or partner.2 Listen to your recording and see if you can find examples of thefollowing:a. Expressions like:

Real\,?Is that ight?T hat's nicel interestingl unusual, etc.

;'d;!:l*'liff i:#i:r:'"i{;'#:;?;';,1'i,n",,heo,herpersonhassaid- For example:A I usually go windsurfing.B lYindsurfng ?A Yes, Igo...orA rWhat's the weather like in Morocco?B Nor too bad, but it often rains.A Rains!B Oh yes,I'm afraid so, but. . .

These expressions encourage the cther person to say more. Tryintroducing these into your conversation.

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PROCEOURE Follow dre procedure on page 122 before allowing vour students tolistcn to drejr own tape ilpiirs or small groups.

REMARKS It is worth pracrising rhe inronation (usually a rise) so rhat studentssound interested whin they use these exprissions. Nodding andsmiling will also help them ro look interested. All these strategieswill generate a lot of useful input for students.

LEVEL

Feedbacktask 3Elementary to Advanced (adapr to the needs ofa pardcular level).

To focus on fillers and hesitation devices.

Suitable with any task that produces examples ofconnected speech,e.g. the telling ofan anecdote.

AIM

usE

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FEEDBACK

PREPARATION Make photocopies of the lbllowing task sheet for the class.

TASK SHEET I Vork with a partner. -Nlake a recording of each of you telling a

short story.

2 Listen to the tape once. Do you think rhe sror-v sounded naturalor not? Why? Whv not?

3 Now listen to the extract again. Can vou notice the following:

a. Noises such as erm, mmm, and, en.b. Phrases such as zlell, sothen,anpay,Ohand,etc.c. Phrases that involve the Iistener in the story, such as you see, you

knou, do you see what I mean?, etc.

All ofthese help to make you sound more natural, and nativespeakers use them all the time. See if you notice some of them nexttime you hear a native speaker talking.

Discuss what you have noticed with your partner and decidc howand where the recordings you made could be improved. Finally,listen to the two stories again and tell each other what you liked bestabout the other person's story.

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PROCEDURE Follow the procedure on page 122 before asking the students tolisten to their ou'n tape in pairs. Set up smali groups ifthere areinsufficient machines.

LEVEL

Feedbacktask 4

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs ofa particular Ievel).

To f-ocus on the strategies we use to keep a conversation going-

Suitable wirh usks where students have to exchange personalinformation or chat.

PREPARATION Make phorocopies ofthe following task sheet for the class.

AIM

usE

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FEE t)8.{CK

TASK SHEET I trlake a recording of your group discussion.

2 Choose a lwo or three minute section ofyour cassette where mostpeople in the group had somerhing ro say. Listen in particular forany examples ofquestions people asked to encourage the speakersto say more about themselves, e.g.

- So what did you do then?

- And did that worh?

- Do you thinh you'd do it again?

- V('hen did it all happen?

- V(hy did you decide to . -.?- Hn: did it happen?

Write down examples of any questions you hear and discuss themin your group, and then answer tie following:a. Were they grammatically correcr?b. Were they suitable? (i.e. not roo personal).c. Did they help the conversadon go forward?d. How could you improve the quesrions?

3 Now listen for places in the conversation where rhere was a breakor a silence, (e.g. where nobody knew what to say next). Discussthese breaks in your group- Vere they natural and acceptable? Ifnot, how could you make the conversation develop more easily? Aquestion? Showing interest? Asking anorher person's opinion?Discuss how you would improve rhe conversation.

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PROCEDURE Set up small groups after you have been through the procedure onpage 122. Check rhar rhe groups are working on an appropriatesection of the tape.

Feedbacktask 5

LEVEL Elementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs ofa particular level).

To focus on story telling devices.

Suitable with tasks in which students rell a storv.

AIM

USE

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PREPARATION

FEEDBA(]K

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the class.

TASK SHEET I Work in small groups and listen to one ofthe stories you havejust recorded with the following queslions in mind:a. Did the story start with an expression to get the listener's

attention?b. Did the story-teller talk at the same speed all the time? Did the

story-teller's voice go faster or slower at any point? Vhen? rVere

these changes connected to the meaning of the story?c. Did the story-teller use his or her voice to make the story more

exciting or dramatic? How?d. Vere certain words slressed more than others to hold the

listener's attention? Which ones?e. Vas the ending of the story clear? How did you know it was the

end?

2 Now listen to the story again. Which parts did you enioy? !/hichparts could you improve? Discuss how you could make the storymore interesring. Use the questions in the 6rst pan ofthe task tohelp you make suggestions. Ifyou have time, make a secondrecording.

PROCEDURE

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Follow the procedure on page 122. Note thar the students willprobably need some input on story telling devices in English, and itma1'be worrh listening to a well told storl r'r'irh the help of thequesrions for the first part of the task, Ideally this should be inEnglish, but a story in the students'orvn language would help makethe point. Teach formulae such as Onre upon a time, as appropriate.

Feedbacktask 6

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to rhe needs of a particular level).

To focus on how we make and respond to suggestions in order toencourage people to be constructive.

Suitable u'ith any task where students have to work collaboratively.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for the class.

LEVEL

AIM

USE

PBEPARATION

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IJEEDB-\(]K

TASK SHEET I Make a recording of your group as ir works to complete the mskyour teacher has set you.

2 Choose a four or five minute section ofvour cassette when mostpeople had something to sa-v.

3 Listen for the ways in which people made suggestions. Were anyofthe following used?

- Why don't ue . . .?

- Wecould...-Iknout...- Hou about . . .?

Vrite down any others that you hear. Discuss in your groupwhether the suggesdons were grammatically correct and if theycould be improved.4 Listen to rhe tape again and note how people responded to thesuggesdons. Did they use any of the following expressions?

- Yes, thafs a good idea.

- Yes, and then we could. . . .

- That's a nice idea, but I don't thinh . . .

- Do you think i would usorh?

Vrite down anv others that you hear.

5 Decide in your group:

a. Do the responses build on whar the person has said?b. Do they encourage other people ro spcak?c. Do they stop the conversalion?

Ifthey stop the conversation, decide how they could be improved.When we work together to produce something. it is imponant thatwe show we are Iistening carefulll, to others and that we uy torespond positively to what thev sav, even if we then change theidea.

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PROCEDUBE Take your studenrs through the procedure on page 122. Make surerhey are listening to an appropriate section oflheir tape.

LEVEL

Feedbacktask 7

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs ofa particular level).

To focus on the ways in which we seek and give opin.ions.

Suitable with any task in which students are likely to give theiropinions freely. Ranking or value clarification rasks usuallygenerate lots of examples.

USE

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PREPARATION

F!I] DBACK

Make photocopies of rhe following task sheet for the class.

TASK SHEET I Make a recording of your group taking part in a discussion.

2 Choose a short section ofyour recorded discussion whereeveryone in your group had something to sav. Listen in particularfor the ways in which people introduced their own opinions. Forexample, can you hear any examples of the following:

- Ithinh...- V/ell, in my opinion . . .

- Ibeline...- As far as I'm concemed .

- lYell, inmy country . - .

Write down all the other example s you hear-

3 Discuss in your groups:a. rWhether the expressions used to give opinions were

grammatically correcl or not. Ask your teacher for help ifnecessary.

b. Do you think rhat the expressions are used too often in yourdiscussion? Are people listening to each other enough? Or dothey sound as though they are only interested in their ownopinions? Discuss possible improvements.

4 Listen to the tape again. Are there any examples ofasking forother people's opinions? Can you hear any examples of thefollowing:

- Vhat do you thtnh, X ?

- Do you agree?

- ln hat's gour z'iez:?

- Is i lthe that in ltour country'?

Expressions like these involve the other speakers in the discussionand help to make it more fluent and interesring. When you havemade a list of examples from your recording, go on to do thefollowing:a. Discuss wirh the group whether they were grammaticallv correct

and how you might improve any that were wrong.b. Decide where more examples of asking for other people's

opinions could have been included.

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PROCEDURE

Phoiocopiable O Cxford University Press

Follow the procedure on page 122. Make sure your students arelistening to an appropriate section of the tape.

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LEVEL

FEEDBACK

Feedbacktask IElementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs ofa particular level).

To focus on ways of introducing polite disagreement.

Suitable with any task where disagreemenr is likely.

Make photocopies of the following usk sheet for your class.

AIM

USE

PREPARATION

TASK SHEET I Make a recording ofyour group discussion.

2 Choose a two or three minute section in the middle of yourdiscussion where most people in the group had something to say.Listen in particular to the point where one speaker takes over fromanother. Note down what they say to show that they were listeningcarefully to the previous person, before adding their own opinion.For example, do they use expressions like:

- That's an interesting ideat point-

- Yes,I think that's ight.- Do you really think so?

3 Listen for points where the change from one person to anothersounds sharp or impolite, and discuss with your group how it couldbe improved.

4 Listen to your cassette again and note down anv examples oflanguage that shows the attrtude ofthe speaker to what he or shehas heard, e.g. agreement or disagreement. Particularly wherethere is disagreement, do€s rhe speaker sound abrupt, aggressive orimpolite? If so, why? Would any of the following expressions helpto make the discussion sound more friendly?

- Erm, well, I'm not sure about that. Pnhaps . . -

- I can see zt:hy you think that, but . - -

- No, I'm sorry, I don't think that's really true.

- Yes,but. . .

- I hntno it's dfficuh, but . . .

- Don't you thinh . . .?

Discuss with your group how the discussion could be improved.

PROCEOURE

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Follow the procedure on page 122. Make sure'your students irelistening to an appropriate section of the tape.

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Feedbacktask 9

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to the needs ofa panicular level).

To focus on giving a talk.

Suitable with any pre-prepared talk aiming at giving information.

,1

LEVEL

AIM

USE

PREPARATION .\{ake photocopies ofthe following task sheet for your class.

TASK SHEET I Lisren ro rhe recording of a talk prepared by another group.2 During the first listening answer the following quesrions as you

llisten:

a. Does the ralk sound interesting?b. Does it sound fluent?c. Is it easy to understand?If the answer to any of the questions is 'no' or .it couid be better,,try to decide why. These questions m.ight help you. Dibcuss rhem i

ln your group.a. Are there too manv breaks and hesiutions?b. Is rhe voice too flat?c. Is rie pronunciation and srress difficult to understand?d. Does the speaker say and do enough to hold rhe listeners'

al tentlon ?

e. Is rhe information presented in an order that rs easr ro follorr / i

Trv to find examples on the cassette to support vour decisions, anddiscuss how vou could improve the raik. Ask your teacher for helpif necessarv.

3 When we give rhis kind of ralk it is important rhat it has a clearbeginning, middle and end. This helps us ro follow and understandwhat the talk is abour. Lisren to the talk again and decide whichsection is the introduction, which section gives the maininformation, and which is the conclusion. How did you decide?'Wrire down the words and phrases thar helped to rell you. Did youhear any of the following?In the introduction:- The topic of my talh is . . .

- I'd like to begin by . . .

- I shall diztide m1 talhintoX parts.

- First ofall I'd lihe to . . .

- As an introd.uction to my talh . .

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I'1 FEEDBACK

In the main body of informarion:- Firuly,...- Second.ly,. . .

- The adaantage of . . .

- The disadvantage of . . .

- The most importdnt thing to remember is . . .

In the conclusion:- I'd lihe to fnish. concludet summaize bv .

- I- eis go through the main points againj . . .

- I hope that what I haoe satd zu l - . .

Ifnecessary discuss how the talk could be made clearer.4 Listen to the talk a third dme and pick out examples where youthoughr rhe speaker did well. Get together with the students wh,,recorded the talk and tell them about vour discussions_

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PROCEDURE Follow the procedure on page 122. It may be worttr taking thestudents through an example of a good taik at some stage."

LEVEL

Feedbacktask 10

Elementary to Advanced (adapt to rhe needs ofa particular level).

To focus on how we use communicarion strategies to carrv onspeaking.

Suitable with any discussion.

PREPARATION Make photocopies of the task sheet over the page for your class.

PROCEOUFE Follow the procedure on page 122.

USE

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l.t6 FEEDBACK

iFt'

tTASK SHEET Listen to the recording you have just made. Did anv ofyour grouphave trouble finding the right words at any point ofthe discussion?When? What happened? Discuss the following:a. Did another speaker take over?b. Did the others help you by giving you time to think?c. Did another speaker help you by giving you the words you

needed?d. Did you use a word that was similar in meaning to the one you

wanted, e.g. the word 'shop' instead of 'department store'?e. Did you invent a new word?f. Did you paraphrase or describe the thing you didn't know lhe

word for? For example, 'a bus that takes tourists'rather than 'acoach'.

g. Did you use your hands to describe what you were rrying ro say?h. Did you use a word from your own language?i. Did you do something else? What?Inventing words, paraphrasing, using your hands, etc. are allexamples of communication strategies, and good communicatorsuse these to keep talking.

Could you have used any ofthese stategies at any point of therecording? When we have trouble finding our words we often loseour chance lo speak. Using communication strategies can help us toavoid this-

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Direct feedback

Although the use of feedback tasks reduces student anxiety aboutcorrection, students will continue Io expect the teacher to give themdrrect feedbaik on their performance. A full rrearment of error isbeyond the scope of this book. However, a few general points canbe made-

In fust language acquisition, mothers often indicate approval of achild's communicatively appropriare but badly formed utreranceprior to expanding or modifying ir. For example:

Child Daddy go supermarket.Mother Yes. Daddy's gone to the supermarket.This is a technique which is used by some language teachers today,and although it does nor highlighr rhe source ofthe error ar all, itcan be a useful technique to adopr when the focus is on fluency.

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Many srudents find it very threatening to speak a foreign languagein public, and this form of correcdon will tend to encouragestudenrs to take risks because it is less inhibiting than more overtcorreclion techniques.

In conversation teaching teachers should always aim ar minimalintervention during fluency activities. This means getting studentsused to delayed feedback so that, again, they feel at ease ialking arIength and taking risks. Error treament can then occur at a larerdate or time, as long as it is not left for more rhan a week.

Post-lesson error treatmentThere are a number ofways in which this can be organized. Oneway would be for the teacher to try to make notes oferrors whichoccur during group work. Teachers should be clear about what theyare concenlrating on, (e.g. verb forms)- Using a grid or checklisrcan help to focus the attention and makes the task easier. The notescan then form the basis of a subsequent discussion. The mainreason for not leaving error treatment for too long is that it isimportant that students can still remember the context in which t}teerror was made. Teachers should also make sure that the notes areofinterest to other students by focusing on points ofgeneralinterest. The main rrap to avoid is merely telling the studenrs whatthey should have said. A combination oftiese tasks might be usedto avoid this happening:

- Put up a list of utterances which occurred during theconversation and ask students to decide whether they are corrector not.

- Ask students to decide whether the utterances were appropriateor not in the context in which they occurred.

- Ask students to decide whether cenain pronunciadons werecorrect or not.

- Put up a list of incorrect forms and ask students to correct them.- Ask students to work out the correct pronunciation ofwords on

the board.- Ask students to work out a range of appropriate alternatives for

words or expressions used at certain points of the conversation.- Ask students to use expressions which were correct, but

inappropriate, in a more appropriate context.Essentially this is a process whereby srudenrs are being giveninformation on which they can base a subsequent performance, butthe general principle we favour is to try to ensure that students areable to perceive where the error lies by making an effon to find theright form. It goes without saying thar answers must be madeavailable, although tlere is no reason why reference books shouldnot be used so that students can try to solve their own problems.Comments should always be elicited from the studenr; rhemselvesfirst.

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An alternative to pencil and paper work is to base post-lesson errorfeedback on a recorded extract of one of the group tasks. Theprocedure is for the teacher to listen carefully to the extract, with aview to selecting a very short section for exploitation. The teachershould then aim to transcribe the tape. It is very difficult to noredown exactly what is on a tape and for teaching purposes it is notimportant to aim at 100 per cent accuracv. However, teachersshould avoid the temptation to regularize what was said, sincehesitations, false starts, etc. are perfectly narural. The transcriptioncan lhen be given to students) so that they can read ir whilelistening to the tap€. They can then work out the errors and correctthem, and the teacher can drill and practise the correct forms asrequired. Transcripts take a long time to prepare and work throughproperly, so a page or two provides plenty of marerial. Transcriptsof tape-recorded exracts are widely' used rn Community LanguageLearning, and readers might wish to consult an account of this forfurther ideas in this area, (e.g. Rod Bolitho in Practical EnglishTeaching, March 1983). It is possible to get students to listen to theextract without a rranscript. If this is done it needs to be highlydirected, as it will be very difficult for anyone to get more than afew words down (with the possible exception of the studenrs whomade the original recording). The quality of home recordings isusually not very good so a transcript should be used at some point,in order to ensure students do not become frustrated and bored.Remember, never to be entireiy negative and use these sessions tobring out positive features ofthe students' performance as well.

In general then the teacher should a.im to:

I Encourage students to formulate their orvn judgements whereverpossible.

2 Be constructive and encouraging. Mention good things as well asbad. and alwavs nrake concrere sugge\tions for improvement.3 Help students to see whv thev have succeeded or failed.4 Focus on a few things of inrerest to everyone and deal with veryindividual problems separately.

Video-based feedback

The increasing availability of video cameras has meant that it ispossible to use video recordings as a basis for feedback. \When videois used to record presentations or talks, students often try harder,since television is still a medium which has some novelty value.However it can be very difficult to get good film of narural smallgroup interaction outside a studio with only one camera, and in thisrespect video has its [mitations. The main advanrage of video-based feedback is that it allows for the possibiliry of focus onparalinguistic areas, such as the use ofgesture, facial expression,

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etc. which can be so important in communication. Areas to look ourfor include:I Hand movement - speakers who wave their hands around in anuncoordinated way distracr from the message. At the same time,good speakers will use their hands to reinforce a point.2 The speaker's gaze - it is ven disconcerdng ro lisren ro someonewhose eyes are fixed on the floor or the ceiling. Speakers should tryto make eye contact wirh the people thev are ralking to.3 The speaker's facial expression and its suitability for rhemessage.

4 Body language - persistent swaying or fidgering is verydistracting. Ve tend to show inrerest by leaning for*'ard in thedirection of the person we are talking ro. Smiling and nodding, aswell as making encouraging noises, will give the impression we arelistening and make the other person well disposed towards us. It isimportant for non-native speakers to look interested if they wantnative speakers to talk to them.

The feedback tasks mentioned earlier can also be used on videorecordings of students.

For classroom purposes, t}le rule must be that any of the areasmentioned above should only be a source for comment when theteacher is confident thar ir is possible to make concrete suggestionsfor improvement. For example. some speakers deal with theproblems ofexcessive hand movement bv putting a free hand in a

pocket or hiding their hands from view of the people they aretalking to. Suggestions such as this are relativelv easr for thestudents to follow. However, comments such as, l'ou'z'e got q stlb)expresston should always be avoided. Thev are unhelpful and willtend to inhibit students even if we subsequentl) follou' them upu'ith positive suggestions. Our self-imagc is verv important ro us,and this is an area where we should alwal-s tread carefully. Asalways, it is better to get student reaction first, and if students fail torealize what they look like to others, it may not be worrh pursuingit. This is a specialized area, so it is importanr that people developtheir orvn personal style. Limit discussion to areas $ here it ispossible to give simple direct advice. Finally, some students can beverv self-critical. and it is therefore very important to be positive asoften as possible.

Feedback on the group process

All the feedback tasks we have looked at ro date have concentraredon what people sav. However, a lot ofconversation work occurs ingroups, so it is worth reflecring on how efficiently and effectivelystudents are able to work in groups.

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The advantages of group work include:

- an increase in the quantity and qualitv of the interaction bet$'eenstudents;

- the development ofinterpersonal skills;- an opportunity for student autonomy and responsibilitl':- an opportunity to accommodate a varietv of learning st-"-les and

strategies.

Although these advantages are widely accepted, teachers shouldnever lose sight of the fact that working with others can be a

stressful experience. There is always a potential for conflict. One ormore ofthe students may try to dominate a group. Antagonism orwithdrawal can quick.ly build up, and working with others can be a I

threat. Although reachers should avoid becoming amateur grouprherapists or psychoanalysts, a watchful eye on the roles thatstudents adopt in group work can be helpful. Some of the mainrvpes of role are as follows:Leader - someone who tries to direct and control the

group. maybe in a dominaring or insistent '

fashion.

Harmonizer - someone who tries to keep things going bymaking positive comments and encouragingothers.

Blocker - someone who continually seeks to criticize orresist whar other people sav.

Avoider - someone who tries to be non-commitral and who iscontent Io tbllou'others to thc point of norcontributing ar all.

The risk is clearly that dominant or negative members of a groupprovoke withdrawal or disconrent. A certain amount ofconflict isinevitable and natural as people ger used to working with eachother. However, tensions can persist or develop to the extent thatthe learning is hindered. When this happens, it is usuallv apparent,but there is no instant solution. Sometimes a change in thecomposition ofa group works wonders. Sometimes the teacher hasto speak to the people involved. Perhaps the best thing is roencourage students to talk to each other about the way they took' pan in particular tasks so that students become aware ofthe u'ay inwhich their behaviour may be affecdng others. If this is done a lotof problems simply do not reach crisis point. Ve can do thisthrough special tasks, such as the ones which follow, or moresimply by putting up the following type ofinstruction aI rhe end ofa period:

Spmd fz:e minutes discussing hmo you might haxe done the tash morequich$ and effciently.

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The important thing is to encourage students to see that groupwork is a collaborative activity, so rhar if they co-operare, everyonebenefits.

Acknowledgement.lVlike Breen of the University of Lancasrer encouraged us to thinkabout the group process.

Feedbacktask 11

Upper intermediate and above

For students to consider how they behave in meetings.

Make photocopies of the following task sheet for rhe class.

LEVEL

AIM

PFEPABATION

TASK SHEET Moves

I Seeking information

2 Giving information

3 Suggestingroriginating

4 Positive reaction:

- buildingiadding

- supporting,'personallyfriendlv

5 Negadve reaction:

- blocking/objecting

- attacking/personally hostile

5 Summarizing/guiding

Frequency

Photocopiable O Oxford University Press

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PROCEDURE

FEEDBACK

I The task sheet is an observation grid. The rhings we say inmeetings can be identified as falling into a very simple range ofbehaviours or moves. The objecdve is to ideniify each coniriburiona participanr makes, so thar a picrure ofwhat people did in ameeting can be built up. So in this short example:A !7hat about production Tom?B Well, we're dealing with urgenr orders now bur we should be

able to start on the new project soon.A Vell, we could work overtime.Student A seeks information and suggests something, so his or hersheet would be marked twice, in the following way:

-

Moves

I Seeking information

2 Giving information

3 Suggesring/originaring,

etc.

Frequency

Student B's sheet (not illustrated) would be marked once in box 2.(giving information).

2 Show your students how the system works by going through ashort transcript of a meeting. Once rhev understind tie svsre-m rtcan be used in rhe following wavs:a. Srudents can go through a recording ofa meering or discussion

in order to focus on the conrriburions made by rhe parucipants.b. Observers can use rhe sheet to look ar how seiecred'rndrviduals

perform during a meeting.The following points might emerge in a discussion of t_he results ofan observation:

- negative or blocking behaviour inhibits group discussion andmakes participants anlagonistic to the originitor;

- birilding conrributes to a very positive impression of the personwho does this r:egularly;

- someone who is prepared to give ideas and make suggestions isconsidered a valuable member of any group;

- chairpersons and group leaders should seei information far morethan they give it (up to eight rimes more often is consideredappropriate).

3 -Ifyou are.lucky enough to have several students in vour classwho are prepared to give ideas and make suggestions ,'h".. ;;;-valuable members. You should therefore spiiad them arounJ.However, if there is no one prepared to do this some for* oi-outsrde input will be needed.

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4 Once your students get a feel of how they are behaving, they canattempt specific goals, e.g. increasing the number ofpositiveremarks they make in a discussion.

AcknowledgementThe list in the task sheet is based on work disc ussed in DeoelopingInteractiae Shillsby Neil Rackham, (Wellens Publishing, l97l).

Feedbacktask 12

Intermediate and above

To look at the patterns of interaction within a group.

Brief the observers.

I Divide the students into groups of 6ve and nominare one srudenrin each group as the observer. The observer should then take apiece ofpaper and draw circles to represent each of the othermembers of the group, e.g.

He or she should then write the name of one of the members of thegroup in each circle.2 The students should then be given a discussion task or problemsolving task to complete which should potentially involve as muchinteraction between different members of the group as possible.

LEVEL

AIM

PREPARATION

PROCEOUFE

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Each time somebody speaks the observer should draw an arrow onhis sheet from rhe name ofthe speaker in the direction ofthe nameof the person the speaker is addressing. If he or she is speaking tothe group in general, the observer should draw an arrow poinringaway from the group.

As each person starts speaking the observer should begin to countto 6ve and then draw the arrow as indicated. The observer shouldthen begin counting again if the same speaker is continuing anddraw another arrow. This will help to discriminate between rhosewho speak conrinuously and those who speak briefly.

Using the information gathered by the observer the group should:a. list in order who spoke the most down to who spoke the leasr;b. list who spoke the mosr ro whom down to who spoke the least to

whom. This should include speakrng ro rhe group as a whole.

On the basis of rhe informadon listed the group should hold adiscussion of dre following poinrs:

Why were the lines of communication as they were?Were the lines of communication effective for completing thetask, and ifnot, why not?'Was everyone happy with the way they participated?What things do you rhink rhe group should pay attention ro inthe future?

AcknowledgementThis is taken from an idea by Virginia Samuda and AnthonvBruton in L, Gas Applied Linguistics PraTecl. Universiry ofLancaster.

.€4

:

I

a.b.

c.d.

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t.r5

Gillian Brown

Gillian Brown andGeorge Yule

J. Coates

MalcolrnCoulthard, DavidBrazil andCatherine fohns

Malcolm Coulthard

David Crystal andDerek Davy

H. P. Grice

J. J. Gumperz

E. T. HalI

William Littlewood

H. Sacks,,E. A. Schegloff andG. Jefferson

Richard W.Schmidt and JackC. Richards

Henry Widdowson

Bibliography

Background readingLstming to Spoken English. London: Longman, 1977 .

Teaching the Spoken Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversiryPress, I983.

'Language and sexism' in a report from the Committee forLinguistics in Educarion.

Dicourse Intonation and Language Teaching. London:Longman, 1980.

An Introduction n Discourse Anallsis. London: Longman,1977 .

Adz;anc e d C ono er sational E ng lish. London : Longman, I 975.

'Logic and conversadon'in P. Cole and J. Morgan (eds.) Syzlaxand S emantics Volume 3: Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press,1975.

'Sociocultural knowledge in conversational inference' in M. Saville-Troike (ed.) Georgetoun Unixersiry Round Table on Languages andLinguistics. Wash.ington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1977.

The Silent Language. New York: Doubledal,-Anchor, 1959.

C ommunicatiae Language Teac hing. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1981.

'A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking forconversation.' La nguage 5014, 197 4.

'speech acrs and second language I earning-' Applrcd Lmguistics,Vol. I, No. 2, 1980.

Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 1978.

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l{6 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Assessment

B. Carroll Testing Communiatioe Performance. Oxford: PergamonPress, 1982.

Keith Monow 'Communicative Language Testing: Revolution or Evolution?' inC. J. Brumfit and K. Johnson (eds.). The Communicatioe Approachto Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.

Ideas for warmers and controlledactrvrtres

Donna Brandes and Gamesters' Handbooh: t40 Games for Teachers and Group Lead,ers -Howard Phillips London: Hutchinson, 1979.

Alan Maley and Drama Techniques in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CambridgeAlan Duff University Press, 1978 (new edition 1983).

Gertrude Caing and S fuing in the Foreign Language Class. Rowley, Mass.:Moskowitz Newbury House, 1978.

Jane Revell Teaching Techniques for Communicatil)e English- London:Macmillan, I979.

Mario Rinvolucri Grammar Games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Mario Rinvolucri znd, Grammar in Acaoz. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1983.Christine Frank

Sources of useful listening materialAlan Maley and Variations on a Theme. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityAlan DuII Press, 1978.

Rob Nolasco Lktming (Elementary), Oxford Supplementary Skills series.Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Mary Underwood Whai a Storyl Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976.

Mary Underwood Hazte You Heard. . .? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979.

Ideas for pronunciation teachingAnn Baker Tree or Three? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

Ann Baker S hip m Sheep? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1977 (newedition l98l).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY I{7

Ann Baker Introducing English Pronunciation (a Teacher's Guide to Tree orThree? and Ship or Sheep?). Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1977.

G. Broughton er a/ Teaching English as a F oreign Language. London: Routledge &Kegan Paul, 1978.

Roger Gower and Teaching Practice Handbook London: Heinemann, 1983.Steve Walters

B. Haycraft The Teaching of Pronunciation. London: Longman, 1971.

Peter Hubbard, A Training Course for TEF L. Oxford: Oxford University, HywelJones, Press, 1983.

Barbara Thorntonand Rod Wheeler

' Colin Mortimer Elements of Pronunciation. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1976.

Michael Swan Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.

John Trim English Pronunciation lllustrated. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press, 1965.

Sources of fluency activities

Christine Frank, Challenge to Thinh. Ox[ord'. Oxford Universiry Press, 1982.Mario Rinvolucriand Marge Berer

Friederike Klippel Keep Talking. Cambridge: Cambndge University Press, 198'1.

John Morgan and C)nce Upon a Time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 198J.Mario Rinvolucri

Rob Nolasco Speahtng (Elernentary), Oxford Supplementary Skills series.Oxford: Oxford University Press, i987.See also books by Maley & Duff, Moskowitz, and Brandes &

- Phillips (op. cit.).

Material on working in groups

M. L. J. Aims and Techniques tn Group 'I'eachtng. Society for Research intoAbercrombie Higher Educarion (S.R.H.E.), Report no. 2, 1970.

D. Barnes From Communication to Curriculum. London: Penguin, 1976.

E. Berne Games People Play. London: Penguin, 1964.

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148

P. Buckley,V. Samuda andA. Bruton

Gillian PorterLadousse

Neil Rackham

Rod Bolitho

E. W. Stevick

E. W. Stevick

BIBLIOCRAPHY

'Sensidzing rhe learner to group work' in pructical papns in EnglishLanguage Educatian, Vol. I. Insdrute of English LanguageEducation, University of Lancaster.

Role Play, Resource Books for Teachers series. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press, 1987.

pmelopinE Interactizte S hilk. Norrhampton: VellensPublishing, 1971.

Introductions to Community LanguageLearning'But where's the teacher?' in Pracric al Englih Teaching,March 1983.

M^emory, Meaning and Method. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House,1976.

Teaching- Languages - A lVay and Vlays. Rowley, Mass.: NewburyHouse, 1980.

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