There are two inputs here: There are two inputs here:
Students will already have a lot of the vocabulary for this chapter, so this exercise helps them to discover that language. It is a useful teaching/ learning technique for students to access the reference material, rather than being "spoon-fed" by the teacher. It is the students who need to develop their conversation skills in English, and who need to develop their learning strategies for all their studies. Asking them to work on the input for this is part of the process of them taking responsibility for their own learning.
Students can work individually or in pairs, subsequently sharing information with others, looking in dictionaries, and finally asking the teacher if there is any unresolved vocabulary. This sequence is again typical of the thinking behind the book, in that the teacher is freed from "teaching" the input, and can move around the class, monitoring progress, and planning future lessons to meet the needs which appear.
This group of activities builds upon the previous brainstorming. "Household " cards (Teachers' Resource) are used for various games, all of which are designed to review and reinforce the relevant vocabulary.
In "Step 4", students are asked to add to their "brainstorming" list any new words they might have encountered during the card games, and in "Step 5" they are asked to make a new game with the cards, and to show it to classmates. This is always a useful follow-up with card games, and encourages the students to participate more in the activities. Making and explaining a new game provides opportunities for authentic use of English, though this can be quite difficult!
A sample page from the Teachers' Resource appears on the next page.
This activity continues to look at prepositions of location, asking students to identify the location and relationship of items in a room. This is in preparation for later activities, and ultimately for the one in which they describe their own room and the items in it.
This picture is also used for the next "preposition" activity, so that students can refer to the answers they have written on this page. above, below, left of, right of, in front of, in back of, behind, next to, beside, between, in, on, over, under, on top of, beneath, in the middle of, across from, opposite
See below for comments on the students' page relating to this activity.
See the next page of this book for comments on the students' page relating to this activity.
Students (in groups of four) are sharing a dormitory. Each person has lost various items.
Of 16 items in the room, each student (A ,B, C ,D) has 12 items missing, and have to ask other members of the group for the location of them. Each item will be absent from three pictures, so while students can take turns in asking for the location of any one of these, there will only be one who can answer at any given time.
As mentioned above, it will be useful to refer to the previous page for confirmation of the appropriate terms.
Students have a plan of a living room, and various furniture to put in it (they have just moved house).
This uses prepositions in an authentic manner, and it's important that students be encouraged to carry out this exercise completely in English, since there are many opportunities for simple but valuable practice in suggesting and agreeing.
See the next page of this book for comments on this activity.
See the next page of this book for comments on the students' page relating to this activity.
This picture is also used for the next "preposition" activity, so that students can refer to the answers they have written on this page.
This activity continues to look at prepositions of location, asking students to identify the location and relationship of items in a room. This is in preparation for later activities, and ultimately for the one in which they describe their own room and the items in it.
There are a number of "Co-operative Crosswords" in this book. Various formats are used, and in this one each student has a complete crossword, and has to explain every clue to his/her partner.
This can be a valuable means of rehearsing vocabulary and checking comprehension, since both participants will have to agree that the explanation matches the item itself.
Students will usually not be familiar with the terms "Across" and "Down" as used in crosswords.
Students ask each other about the picture (Montreal, Canada), and the questions gradually take them into talking about their lives and opinions on related topics.
It is important that students spend at least 15 minutes of the time allotted to each chapter in talking to each other in English. If they discuss a topic which has been the subject of various activities, they will have already rehearsed relevant language, and should be able to engage in conversation, adding this material to the non-prescribed language of the discussion. This will encourage them to notice that they are communicating in English, thus improving their perception of their oral abilities, and helping them become more self-confident.
Next Chapter of the Teacher's Notes
Links to the Students's Book
Contents | 1 | Skills | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Extra
Tell Me More - Task-based Conversation Activities
By Andrew Finch and Hyun Tae-duck
http://iteslj.org/t/tmm/
