NOTES FROM "TECHNIQUES FOR CLASSROOM INTERACTION" BY DONN BYRNE - LONGMAN
WHAT IS CLASSROOM INTERACTION?
1.Six different kinds of classroom interaction:
classroom 1: drill
getting the students to repeat the same sentence pattern over and over again, with just a small change each time,
the students don't have to think as teacher tell them what they should say,
the students don't make any mistakes (unless they repeat something incorrectly),
the teacher is working with the whole class together,
classroom 2: playing a language game
the teacher is working with the whole class, trying to get them to produce correct sentences (for example in the form of questions),
he also wants to get a lot of repetition,
this kind of activity is more interesting than drills because afterwards students can be easily divide into pairs or groups to carry on practising on their own,
classroom 3: a short dialogue on the board
the teacher wants to make sure that the students get a lot of individual practice - that's why he divides them into pairs,
he doesn't want the students to make a lot of mistake so he has given them a model, in the form of a short dialogue,
classroom 4: writing a questionnaire
the students are working in pairs,
the teacher hasn't given them a model,
he isn't checking what they are saying and what they are writing - there is hope that the students will check one another or ask the teacher if they have any doubts,
this is like 'real-life' activity,
classroom 5: having a discussion with the class
the teacher is working with the whole class,
he wants to get the students to talk, to give their ideas, and he wants them to keep on talking,
classroom 6: playing a game in order to win a sum of money
the students are working in groups,
the follow-up activity - deciding what to do with the money they have won,
we don't know what kind of language the students will come out with,
we hope they will use as much as they know - even if they make mistakes.
2. Some conclusions:
whole class versus pairs or groups: whatever the size of your class, you can teach the whole class together or you can divide the students into pairs or groups,
teacher control: you must decide if you want/need to control what the students are doing; when you are working with the whole class it is easy to control everything, but if you divide the students into pairs or groups, you can't expect to control the students to the same extent,
what is your goal: accuracy or fluency?: accuracy activities: classroom 1, 2 and 3 -> to make sure the students get something right - 'practice' stage of the lesson, fluency activities: classroom 4, 5 and 6 -> to give the students opportunities to use the language they have learnt (to use it freely), even if they make mistakes - 'production' stage of the lesson.
A MODEL FOR CLASSROOM INTERACTION
1. Two approaches:
whole class teacher controlled accuracy activities |
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APPROACH A: many teachers prefer to teach the whole class together; the teachers are right to make sure that their students learn 'the language' - particularly if they are going to be tested on this in the examination.
pairs and groups learner directed fluency activities |
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APPROACH B: the teachers believe that the best way of learning is interaction with one another; their classes are not too large and their students are well motivated - they want to learn.
BALANCED APPROACH:
In practice, we will probably need to use both these approaches: to give the students practice in grammar and vocabulary (accuracy work) and opportunities to use the language (fluency work) through a combination of class work, pair work and group work.
TEACHER CONTROLLED
WHOLE CLASS
A C
B D
PAIR WORK GROUP WORK
LEARNER DIRECTED
2. Four areas of interaction in the model:
A - accuracy activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class:
drills and language games,
easy to do with the whole class,
they are usually intended to provide practice in specific bits of language,
B - accuracy activities directed by the learners and done in pairs (occasionally in groups):
mini-dialogue practice,
the students work in pairs, using a model provided by the teacher,
it is intended to provide practice in grammar and vocabulary,
C - fluency activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class:
discussion activity,
important is how the teacher interacts with the class or gets the students to interact with one another,
D - fluency activities directed by the learners and done in groups (occasionally in pairs):
discussion activity and language games (having won a sum of money, you should tell what do you want to buy),
the students are encouraged to use language freely.
3. How do I provide my time between accuracy and fluency work?:
at an elementary level, you will probably want to spend more time on accuracy work in order to build up the learners' knowledge of grammar and vocabulary as quickly as possible:
| focus on accuracy | fluency |
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at an intermediate or advanced level, you will be able to spend much more time on fluency work:
| accuracy | focus on fluency |
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4. In what order do I do these activities?:
you must decide yourself, taking into account your teaching situation and the level at which you are working,
at an elementary level and working with a large class, you can safely follow the order of the activities in the model:
C
A B
D
you will generally need to start with some class work and pair work (for accuracy practice) before going on to do some kind of fluency work,
at an intermediate or advanced level, you should be able to move from fluency to accuracy work - after the students had a go at using the language, you can decide what they need to learn or relearn.
5. Teacher roles:
A - your main job is to make sure that the students know what they have to practise and to see that they practise it effectively - your role is that of CONDUCTOR,
B - your job is to organise the activities so that the students can practise in pairs and to carry out some checking while they are doing it - your role is that of ORGANISER and MONITOR,
C - your job is to get the students to interact - your role is that of STIMULATOR,
D - your job is to set up the activities and be available for help and advice if the students need and ask for it; it is unnecessary to check these activities - your job is that of MANAGER and CONSULTANT.
ACCURACY WORK WITH THE WHOLE CLASS
1. Class arrangement:
in a traditional classroom, the students sit in rows, so that when they do oral work, they have to speak at the backs of one another's heads,
if you can't rearrange the classroom, you should keep in mind that your students should look at one another while they are asking and answering questions.
2. Ways of teaching the whole class:
T:S - working with students individually: drills and language games: if you don't want to get some students bored, you should keep in mind:
do it briskly and don't let it go on too long,
let the students ask you questions too,
choose students at random in the class, so that the students won't know whose turn it is going to be next,
S:S - getting the students to work with one another (but under your direction): open pairs, dialogue repetition, question and answer work, controlled drills; you should keep in mind:
do it briskly and don't let it go on too long in a large class,
instead, move on to pair work,
doing chorus work: dialogue repetition and controlled drills; you should present a grammar and some new vocabulary and then give all the students a chance to say something through chorus work; also you should make sure that the students know which group they belong to before you start to practise; some points to keep in mind:
speak clearly and repeat sentences, etc. if necessary,
speak at normal speed,
choose material for repetition carefully: sentences must be short enough for the students to say together,
use gestures to tell the students when to start; indicate stressed syllables with a downward movement of the hand,
control the noise level: signal the class to make less noise or get them to stop and start again,
listen out for mistakes and correct them - stop the repetition and give the model again,
doing team work: language games; the students are divided into two or more groups, similarly to the example of chorus work, but the aim is different - a student from each team in turn tries to make a correct guess and so score a point for his team; some points to keep in mind:
make sure that the students do not get too competitive and so get out of control.
3. Whole class work: points to keep in mind:
stand at the front of the class (the students must be able to see and hear you - don't move around more than necessary),
look at the students (it is easier to control them if you have 'eye contact' with them),
look interested in what they are saying (don't forget to smile),
watch the students while they are talking (Are they interested/bored/tired?),
control the class clearly and economically (don't talk more than you have to; use simple instructions such as: All together! Stop!, etc.),
make sure the students get enough practice (do a mixture of chorus and individual work, then move on to pair work).
EXAMPLES OF ACCURACY WORK WITH THE WHOLE CLASS
1. Drills:
doing drills in chorus - mechanical drills in chorus; controlling the students through keywords or pictures,
making drill more meaningful - allowing the students some choice in what they say, but in that case you should use these drills: T:S or S:S,
points to watch:
make sure you do drills in a lively way,
don't forget that one reason for doing drills is to help the students use language more accurately,
correct the students when they make mistakes (by giving a correct model again).
2. Exercises:
activities in the textbook which are based on a text the students have studied; they are often in the form of questions and answers, right-wrong statement and sentences for completion, etc.,
points to watch:
not to waste a lot of class time, it is much better to let the students prepare the answers first in pairs and then go over the exercise with the class (all the students will be able to do something at the pair work stage).
3. Language games:
they usually practise a bit of grammar or vocabulary or pronunciation - but in the form of a game,
sentence building - the students, playing individually or divided into teams, have to add a new word each time they say the sentence, and of course they also have to remember all the words already used - it continues in this way until one of the players makes a mistake,
guessing game/guessing about pictures - the students are trying to find out something they don't know - the situation can be real or imaginary; you can also get the students to make their guesses in different ways, for example they can use question tags.
4. Listening:
the students can interact with you while you are talking - you can do below activities with the whole class,
picture description - describe a picture but make deliberate mistakes while you are doing it - the students have to correct you,
picture dictation - talk about a picture which the students cannot see and ask them to draw it while you talk - the students can ask questions about anything they don't understand,
describe and note - talk about the picture which the students cannot see and ask them to make notes while they are listening - the students should ask questions if something is not clear; afterwards you can ask them to compare their notes and draw the picture (working in pairs) or to give an oral description of the picture or to write a description of the picture (working in pairs),
Word Bingo - a vocabulary revision activity - ask the students to give you the items in the set you want to revise, write them on the board and add some of your own; afterwards ask the students to choose any six words and to write them down in a box; tell the students to listen carefully while you call out the words in the list in any order; the first student to hear his six words read out shouts out 'Bingo' and is the winner.
5. Writing:
ask students to write to one another in class (for example to ask for personal information) - they can actually communicate through writing and learn where to put the address and the date or how to start and finish a letter,
join the activity as it is one way of finding out if mistakes are being made and the students enjoy finding out about you too.
6. Controlled conversations:
you will sometimes get a chance to do this at the beginning of the lesson but it is important to do it also during the lesson - from time to time at least,
this kind of activity can show the students that the language they are learning can be used to talk about something personal.
ACCURACY WORK IN PAIRS
1. Why pair work is necessary (advantages of pair work):
by dividing your students into pairs for just five minutes, each student will get more talking time during those five minutes than during the rest of the lesson,
the learners get a chance to work independently (this is good for motivation and good preparation for group work - when they will take responsibility for what they do),
they can face and talk directly to one another (it is much closer to the way we use language outside the classroom),
pair work provides some variety during the lesson (two or three short pair work activities are a good a way of breaking up the lesson).
2. What exactly is pair work?:
open pairs - the students talk to one another across the class under the teacher's control,
fixed pairs - the students work with the same partner in order to complete a task of some kind (they may change partners, either to repeat the activity or to do something connected with it),
flexible pairs - the students keep changing partners (each student may have to interview several others in order to find out some things about them); it is important to decide whether you can let the students stand up and move around the classroom freely or ask them to talk with the students sitting around him.
3. How to organise the class for pair work?:
the important thing is for the students to be able to form pairs quickly and without any fuss,
not to waste too much time, get the students to work with a neighbour and only move a student if it is absolutely necessary,
if three students have to work together for pair work, they will have to take turns; it doesn't mean that one student is doing nothing while the other two are talking - they should check one another.
4. Problems with pair work (disadvantages of pair work):
the students will make too much noise (if the noise is not likely to disturb the class next door - just ignore it; however if you must control the noise level, stop the activity and ask the students to start again but more quietly),
the students will make mistakes (since your aim is accuracy, you must try to prevent mistakes as much as possible - give the students a clear model and practise it before they start on their own; if you find that the students are making mistakes, stop the pair work, repeat and practise the model again and then let the students carry on),
the students won't work properly (you should take steps to deal with situation when some students do the activity improperly, for example they chatter in their mother tongue),
some students will not be willing to do the activity in pairs because they expect the teacher to "teach" them (you should be prepared to justify procedures like pair work, group work, games, songs, etc. - if the students understand why they are doing something, they will probably do it better).
5. Pair work: points to keep in mind:
divide the students into pairs in the most convenient way possible,
make sure the students know exactly what they have to do (give a clear model and adequate preparation, explain in the mother tongue if necessary),
keep activities simple (remember that fifteen or twenty pairs of students have to be able to get it right - the first time),
don't let activities go on too long (stop the activity when most students have had enough practice - you don't want students sitting around, getting bored and restless),
carry out selective checking (this will tell you, in general, how well or badly the students are doing),
control the noise level as necessary,
provide feedback (you may want to tell the students immediately how well or badly they have done; don't forget that the students may want to ask you questions or tell you what they think of an activity).
EXAMPLES OF ACCURACY WORK IN PAIRS
1. Controlled conversations:
the teacher gives the students short model dialogues to practise - they can modify them in various ways when they practise in pairs,
write the model on the board and get the students to say it after you - at first in chorus, then in 'open pairs' across the class,
examples: give keywords for alternatives, draw a picture on the board, draw a map on the board, give the students information in tables, get the students to talk about themselves.
2. Role play activities:
they involve pretending - the students are asked to imagine that they are someone else or somewhere else,
role play is a way of taking the students out of the classroom for a while and showing them how English can be useful to them in certain situations,
some points to keep in mind:
it can be difficult for some students to pretend to be someone else or to be somewhere else ,
keep the situation simple,
provide essential language.
3. Games:
the most effective games are guessing games - the students are trying to find out something they don't know,
in this kind of activity you can use: small object picture sheets, small picture cards, getting the students to make their own pictures, etc.
4. Questionnaires and quizzes:
these are an effective way of getting the students to ask real questions,
you may have to prepare the class for this activity - you should check if the students can ask the interview questions correctly,
this type of activity can involve flexible pair work to let the students to find out some things about a few students instead of just one - your partner.
5. 'Find a partner' activities:
these involve 'flexible' pair work because each student has to fine a 'mate' of some kind - someone who has made the same decision or who has the same likes and dislikes,
each students has to ask a number of students in turn.
6. Other skills:
listening - the students can get used to listening to one another (not just to the teacher),
reading - the students can be asked to correct one another's exercises or homework from time to time,
writing - the students can write notes and letters to one another in class or can write questionnaire/quizzes or can do other types of writing activity which focus on accuracy such as completing or writing texts, etc.
FLUENCY WORK WITH THE WHOLE CLASS
1. Fluency work – the learners can use the language freely – to express their own ideas and to say what they want. This kind of work prepares the students for using language in the real world outside the classroom.
2. Why do fluency work with the whole class?:
the teacher should show the students that they can do things with the language – especially talk,
instead of being a teacher, you’ll have to be an ordinary human being.
3. Talk to your students!:
you can interact with the students as it allows the students to exchange ideas with you,
you can listen and respond to their ideas,
you may be their only way with the living language.
4. How you can help the students?:
knowing what their language level is, adjust what you are saying to suit the students,
get the students to interact (encourage the students to join in the discussion),
get everyone to join in (make sure that the most talkative students don’t dominate the activities; encourage everyone to join in),
listen to their ideas … (make the students feel that their ideas are just as interesting and just as important as yours),
listen to their language too (don’t correct the students; instead, make a note of any serious mistakes and reteach these points in a future lesson).
5. How often and how long?:
it depends on the level of the class and on the activity itself,
you probably won’t want to do class fluency work as often as accuracy work with the class or pair work – but it doesn’t mean that it is less important.
EXAMPLES OF FLUENCY WORK WITH THE WHOLE CLASS
1. Conversations:
you need to ask them about what they have been doing or to find out their opinions about something typical - the weather, a popular TV programme and so on,
you can do this by deliberately making use of certain bits of language learnt in a recent lesson - this is accuracy practice,
also, you can talk to them in a relaxed way to encourage them to join in without worrying about mistakes - this is fluency work.
2. How does it help the students?: (advantages):
they hear a live speaker who is interacting with them,
they can get a better idea of what they can do with the language,
it helps to create a better relationship between you and the students.
3. When?
you can do it at the beginning of the lesson,
you can do it when there is a minute or two at the end of the lesson - you can fill in with something personal,
it can sometimes be done during the lesson because of something you have come across in the textbook or a reader.
4. Discussion: what is it?:
any exchange of opinions or ideas which leads to elicit a string of suggestions and objections.
5. Some problems: (disadvantages):
not all the students will be able to join (as we had with conversation) - so you should do a discussion in groups so that everyone gets a chance and wants to join in - class discussion can be a very useful follow-up to this:
| students exchange ideas and come to conclusions - GROUPS | students compare ideas and discuss them - CLASS |
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6. How to start a discussion?:
discussions like conversations can just happen and this is a good thing because both you and the students will talk naturally,
you should also provoke discussions from time to time.
7. How do you do that (provoke a discussion)?:
topics:
giving the class a 'topic' to talk about is the traditional way of starting a discussion,
we must find some way of involving the students to discuss a 'topic' - some possibilities:
questions,
provocative statements,
a text to read,
visual material,
play a song or read a poem and ask the students if it is good or bad, etc.,
show a picture and ask the students what do they think about it, etc.,
show an object and ask the students what it is used for, etc.,
play a short sequence of sounds and ask the students what do you think happened, etc.,
play a very short conversation and ask the students who is speaking, etc.,
present a problem and ask the students how they will deal with it, etc.,
sharing knowledge - asking the students to share their knowledge is a very good way of getting them to talk in a class situation.
8. Simulation:
a kind of discussion activity with introducing some role play by giving the students parts to play,
the students have to play certain parts according to the instructions they have been given.
9. How do we involve all the students in the class?:
you cannot give everybody in the class a speaking role - the simulation will become too long and too complicated,
you cannot do it in groups because it is more complicated than discussion and you will normally have to supervise it,
you should try to involve everybody in some way; you can divide the class into those groups of people:
main speakers - they will do the most of the talking and they will provide most of the interaction,
minor speakers - they will join from time to time by asking questions or by interrupting the speakers,
reporters - they won't take part in the discussion, but they will have to listen and take notes (they will come to the meeting in order to write about it afterwards),
audience - they won't take any active part in the meeting; they will sit and listen but they can react by cheering, etc.
10. Are simulations worthwhile?:
they require more preparation and organisation than straightforward discussion,
they need more time,
you have to prepare role cards, assign roles, guide the students in preparing for their roles and see that they keep to their roles during the stimulation.
11. Games:
there is a need to use games because they encourage the students to use language freely and will also keep the students interested,
they should provide some excitement and perhaps suspense.
12. Organising the class:
you can have two teams playing in front of the audience:
AUDIENCE
TEAM A TEAM B
the students in each team are interested because they want to win,
the students in the audience are interested because they want to see who wins and how quickly,
you can have five to six students who have to answer questions or try to find out the answer in front of the audience:
PANEL QUESTION MASTER
AUDIENCE
the important thing about doing games is to keep everybody involved in some way.
13. Guessing games:
you can use a lot of visual materials with plenty details; the students have to find out as much as they can about a picture by asking any kind of questions; they can take notes or even draw a picture,
Twenty Questions - the players are allowed to ask up to twenty questions in order to find out the answer,
What's my line? - one player or more thinks of an occupation; he can give a clue by miming an action connected with his work; then the students ask the questions in order to find out the answer,
Who am I? - one player pretends to be a famous person; the students ask the questions in order to find out the answer,
Where do I live? - one player or more pretends that he comes from a famous city; the students ask the questions in order to find out the answer.
14. Memory games:
Can you remember the picture? - show the students a picture with quite a lot of details and ask them to study the picture for a minute; then turn it round and divide the class into two teams; let them take it in turns to say something about the picture; give one point for each correct statement,
Can you remember the story? - tell the students a story with quite a lot of details; divide the class into two teams and ask them to take it in turns to tell you bits of the story in any order; give points for correct answers,
Alibi - the students have to establish that they could not have committed a crime because they were doing something else; ask the students to work in pairs and agree in as much detail as possible what they were doing at a particular time; then question two of students one by one in order to find out if their alibi is true.
15. Story-telling: why it is a good classroom activity?:
students almost always enjoy listening to stories,
they listen with attention because they want to know how the story goes on and how it ends,
they can even work out what happens next.
16. Points to remember:
don't read the story (it doesn't matter if you change the story or leave something out - you are the story-teller and the story is what you make it),
watch the faces of the students (the expressions on the faces of the students will tell you if they are interested or bored or puzzled; it can indicate you that you should repeat something or say something in a different way).
17. Where do you find stories?:
there are plenty of traditional stories which can be used,
you can also make up your own story.
18. What do the students do?:
you mustn't test them through asking questions,
you can ask them to draw a picture of the people in the story or of some of the events,
you can invite them to tell the story in their own words or to make up a similar story,
as a follow-up activity, you can give the students the outline and ask them to make up their own stories.
19. Other skills:
listening - the students have to listen to each other during class fluency activities, otherwise they can't take part,
instructions and explanations - in the early stages of the course, you will probably have to explain things in the mother tongue, but, as the course progresses, try to explain everything in English and even conduct the whole lesson without using the mother tongue at all,
listening to recorded materials - it is important for developing fluency; the students need to be able to understand much more than they can say - it can even build up their confidence,
deductive listening - to get the students to listen and talk, you present the students the text line by line; pause after each sentence and ask the students to tell you what they think is happening or is going to happen,
writing - the students have to produce their own texts and must choose or be given a partner to write to (it can be done as homework and then be checked during the lesson).
FLUENCY WORK IN GROUPS
1. Pair work and group work:
there are two important differences: size and type of activity,
size:
groups should consist of four to eight students,
pairs consist of two students,
type of activity:
you may want to do pair work two or three times in a lesson,
most fluency activities need the environment of a group and in any case will usually go on for ten to fifteen minutes or even longer.
2. Forming groups: mixed or same ability?:
mixed ability groups - with fast and slow students together - are better for fluency work:
the students do help one another - because the kind of work they have to do involves cooperation and collaboration,
some students will even correct mistakes made by another students,
same ability groups - the students (slow or fast) can go at their own pace during doing the activity:
the faster ones will finish the work more quickly or can work at a higher level,
it can widen the gap between the fast and slow students in the class,
you will have to find special tasks for each group and prepare each group separately.
3. Who controls the groups?:
the students themselves control the groups,
you must give the students a suitable activity and you must make sure that they know how to do it,
if the students want advice, let them ask for it,
for some activities, you should choose the leader who will have to act as 'reporter' to the class at the end of each session - but the students should can take turns to do this.
4. Problems with group work:
too many students in the class (the more students, the more necessary group work becomes),
the desks can't be moved in the classroom (there is always some way in which you can get the students to work together in groups),
it takes up a lot of time (you won't be able to do group work every lesson, but try to do some group work once a week - to get the students a chance to use what they have learnt),
the students won't talk in English (it is part of your job to see that activities are roughly at the right level; the students will use their mother tongue but this is natural if they want to communicate),
the best students will do all the work (in general, most students work harder in groups because they are more involved; but it can happen that some students will be lazy or that one or two students will force their ideas on the rest of the group),
the students will make mistakes and the teacher won't be able to correct them (they will make mistakes but the students often correct one another; they will also use a lot of correct language),
how does the teacher know if his/her students are learning anything? (you can tell the students how well they are doing from the way they do the activities and the language they use).
5. Group work: points to keep in mind:
form the groups in the simplest way possible (don't move desks more than necessary; try to get four to eight students in each group),
have mixed ability groups (this should be the normal practice),
select the activities for group work carefully (don't give the students activities which will frustrate them because they haven't got the language to do them adequately),
present the activities carefully (make sure that the students know exactly what to do before they divide into groups),
don't interfere with group work unless something is seriously wrong (let the students take responsibility for what they are doing),
don't correct mistakes (make a note of anything serious and reteach it in another lesson),
stop group work at an appropriate moment (you should stop the students at the end of the time you have given the students),
show results (get the groups to report what they have done),
follow this pattern of work:
PRESENT AND EXPLAIN ACTIVITIES (Class) -> ACTIVITIES (Groups) -> REPORT RESULTS AND DISCUSSION (Class).
EXAMPLES OF FLUENCY WORK IN GROUPS
1. Discussion:
any exchange of opinions or ideas which leads to elicit a string of suggestions and objections.
2. Interpretation activities:
the students have to decide what they think something means,
it can be done through:
pictures - it always tells a story; this is a good way to get the students to talk as they can all give their ideas and argue with one another (first discussion stage); they can also be asked to try to agree on one interpretation (second discussion stage),
dialogue work - pictures of this kind will often lead on to dialogue activities; the group can produce the dialogue which the people on the picture can have and act it out to another group,
types of pictures - you can use any kind of picture but try to find some that will encourage a lot of different ideas,
pictures of faces - they can be especially useful; you can ask the student's to decide about the person's age, nationality, marital status, education, occupation, hobbies, personality, etc. - like acting a short biography,
single object pictures - give the students a situation concerning one thing (for example a bike outside her front door, a pair of scissors in somebody's bag) and ask them to make up a story around these things,
strange stories - ask the students to explain strange situations,
short dialogues - the students have to say who is speaking, where they are and what they are talking about,
speech bubbles - use them to ask the students to decide on the place or give the students the place and ask them to say who is speaking and about what or give the students several places and ask them to suggest a different interpretation for each,
sounds - the students listen to some sequences and decide what is happening,
headlines - the students have to make up a story to fit the headlines,
doodles - the sort of drawings people make just to pass the time.
3. Problem-solving activities:
present the students with some kind of problem which they have to solve,
'survival' situations - the 'problem' the students face can be how to alive or live as comfortably as possible:
Desert Island - give the students a list of objects which they can use on the deserted island and ask them to choose five the most useful things and to explain their choice, etc.,
how to survive for three weeks in the desert, in a boat at sea, on top of a mountain, etc.,
finding differences and similarities - give each group a pair of similar pictures and ask them to make a list of the differences and similarities or give the students pairs of words and ask them to make a list of the differences and similarities,
forming groups - give the students a list of words and ask them to divide them into groups according to whether, for example, they are dangerous/not dangerous, domestic/wild, etc.,
grading - the students have to put items in order of preference, importance, size, etc.,
deciding on qualities - the students have to decide what qualities they would expect to find in, for examples, a friend/a husband, etc. or put a list of qualities in order,
working out consequences - the students have to discuss and decide what they think would happen if, for example, we didn't need to eat, etc.
4. Planning activities:
they get the students to talk in order to make certain decisions,
planning a park - ask the students what they want to have in the park and how they want it to look; they must draw a detailed plan for this and afterwards the groups can compare their plans,
planning a club - draw a plan of a building on the board and ask the students to suggest some facilities they would like their club to have, for example, snack bar, etc.; afterwards the groups have to work out their own final list of facilities and decide where to place them in the building.
5. Invention activities:
the main purpose is to get the students to use their imaginations in order to talk,
you can draw a window on the board and ask the students to imagine what the room on the other side is like, who is in it and what they are doing, etc.
6. Games:
with the exception of 'Alibi', all the games which were used for class fluency work cqan be played in groups,
describe and draw - one student has to describe a picture so that the others in the group can draw it as exactly as possible; they can ask for more information while they are doing this; finally the students who have drawn the pictures compare their versions with the original and discuss any differences,
find the difference - the students have no idea how their pictures are different and therefore have to ask all sorts of questions to find out what the differences are,
complete it - each player or pair of players has one picture and therefore knows part of the story; they should try to work out the story by exchanging information - first trying to get the pictures in order and then working out the details of the story,
use it - the students exchange opinions; the students have two sets of cards placed face downwards on the table; each student takes, for example, an occupation card and tells the others what it is; each student in turn then picks up an object card and says how he would use it in his work, etc.,
board games - give the players a list of objects; explain the situation - while you are walking down the street at three o'clock in the morning, with, for example, an axe in your hand, you meet a policeman who stops you and asks what you are doing with it - you must give him a good reason.
7. Role play:
they involve pretending - the students are asked to imagine that they are someone else or somewhere else,
you should remember that some students don't find it easy to pretend to be someone else;
at the end of this activity, the students compare their ideas across the class,
incomplete dialogues - give the students the beginning of a conversation and ask them to continue it for themselves,
role instructions - similar to the activity above; the students are given some instructions what they should do and half the students act, for example, as travel agent working out details of special cheap holidays, and the other half discuss some holidays they would like,
scenarios - like stories, they describe what happens but they do not include any dialogue; they give the students plenty to talk about.
8. Project work:
it involves some kind of research and the production of some kind of document; it also involves a lot of discussion,
it can take up a lot of time,
one popular form of project work is to get the students to produce a class magazine once a term or once a year.
9. Other skills:
the students have to talk when they are doing a reading or writing activity so they have to listen to one another all the time,
listening - the students can collaborate on tasks related to listening activities - they can discuss what they heard or what they think they heard,
reading - the students can compare their opinions/ideas about a topic,
writing - the students have to make notes; there is also the material which they can write for other groups to use, for example, they can write questions on a text which they can exchange with another group.
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
TEACHER CONTROLLED WHOLE CLASS ACTIVITIES |
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A C C U R A C Y |
PAIR WORK GROUP WORK LEARNER DIRECTED |