pp. 16-25 Ostening how to ... say hello natural Erglish saying hello listening people introducing themselves grammar be positive and negative vocabulary jobs grammar a / an
wordbooster
countries and nationalities numbers (1)
reading questions, questions
grammar questions with be reading an e-mail natural how are you? vocabulary drinks natural EnglW1 Would you like . ?
help with pronunciation and listening
pronunciation sounds listening asking for help natural ErgHsh asking for help
test yourself!
revision and progress check
pp.26-33 reading have you got one?
vocabulary technology natural English thing(s) reading rhe tech shop grammar have got — have
natural English giving opinions (1)
wordbooster
personal things possessive •s adjectives (1)
listening how to . ask for things Can I .. . ?
grammar this, that, these, those
listening classroom talk natural saying you aren't sure writing note writing
help with pronunciation and listening
pronunciation word stress listening information words
test yourself!
revision and progress check
in unit one . |
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in unit two . |
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in unit three . |
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in unit four . |
istening you and me
vocabulary noun groups 'ocabulary daily routines grammar present simple rammar present simple with natural a lot (of) frequency adverbs listening transport survey ading Who reads most? natural English get Where do people read?
grammar wh- questions òatural about an hour week wordbooster telling the time „wordbooster natural English asking the time days, months, and seasons leisure activities time phrases with prepositions reading how to ... listening how to
talk about likes and |
talk about your family |
dislikes |
vocabulary families |
natural English likes and dislikes |
natural Engfish asking about |
grammar present simple with |
family |
he / she |
grammar my, your, etc. |
reading Workers of the World |
listening people talking about families natural English (do something) together writing about families |
extended speakinghelp with pronunciation how active are you? and listening
collect ideas pronunciation sounds /ö/ and listen do an interview listening weak forms write a paragraph natural saying thank you
test yourself! test yourself!
revision and progress check revision and progress check
one two wordlist p.131 three p.132 four wordlist p.133
2
units one to ei ht
in unit five |
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in unit six . |
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in unit seven . |
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in unit ei |
ht . |
pp.50-57 ading breakfast time
butary breakfast food ural EngW1 What do you have for... ?
mmar countable and uncountable nouns mar some / any
'reading Round the world at
8.00 a.m.
•ng write about breakfast time
'ordbooster
NturalEnghsh What kind of . ?
'djectives (2)
Qistening how to order food
grammar can / can't 4 verb listening ordering food natural English ordering food natural Enghsh asking for more
ended speaking hays on the menu?
Ilect ideas
test yourself!
revision and progress check
•sion |
pp.58-65 reading a day out
vocabulary tourist places past simple was / were reading I'm a guide natural English both
wordbooster
past time phrases verb + noun collocation listening how to talk about [ast weekend natural Engfish How was ... ? grammar past simple: regular and irregular verbs listening talking about the weekend natural English showing you are listening writing weblogs
help with pronunciation and listening
pronunciation sounds /o:/, /3:/, and ID/ listening prediction (1)
test yourself!
revision and progress check
pp.66-73 heading biographies
vocabulary life story grammar past simple: negatives reading Before she was famous.. natural •sh link words: then / a r that grammar past simple: questions
wordbooster
appearance natural English quite and very character
listening how to talk about people you know
grammar object pronouns natural English What's he / she like ? listening people talking about their teachers natural English When did you last ... ?
extended speaking people from your past
collect ideas prepare an interview interview tell a story writing
test yourself!
revision and progress check
pp. 74-81 reading I got lost!
vocabulary getting around natural EngHsh way reading Excuse me, where's Paris? Excuse me, where's Bath? grammar•how much / many
wordbooster
prepositions of place come and go; bring and take
listening how to ... get round a building
grammar there is / are listening asking for directions natural English asking for directions natural English well vocabulary directions
help with pronunciation and listening
pronunciation sounds /J/, /tJ/, and Ids/ listening prediction (2) natural English asking people to speak slowly / speak up
test yourself!
revision and progress check
five six wordlist p. 135 seven p.136 eight wordlist p.137
in unit nine |
reading backpacking reading babies
vocabulary hotels |
natural English giving opinions |
natural English I (don't) think so |
grammar something, anything, |
listening booking hotel rooms |
nothing, etc. |
natural English Would you |
listening offering help |
prefer ? |
natural English offering help writing explaining problems and offering help |
extended speaking |
help with pronunciation |
my kind of hotel |
and listening |
grammar have to / don't have vocabulary action verbs to/ dol have to ? natural English talking about can / can't (permission) ages reading Youth hostels: reading Watch your baby grow! frequently asked questions grammar can / can't (ability) natural English normally natural English quite / very well writing an e-mail wordbooster wordbooster parts of the body numbers (2) common phrases money listening how to listening how tooffer help book a room
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nine p.89
revision
nine ten wordlist p.139
grammar comparative adjectives -reading Quicker than a car?
natural How long does it take? Ntural English agreeing and disagreeing wordbooster
shops and products natural get buy) adjectives (3)
listening how to recommend
natural English recommending: should + verb listening people talking about
holiday places grammar superlative adjectives writing correcting a text
extended speaking town survey collect ideas
prepare a survey listen do the survey compare answers
test yourself!
revision and progress check
eleven p.140
in unit ten . |
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in unit twelve . |
natural English How about you? reading The luncheon of the boating party grammar present continuous
wordbooster clothes telephoning
listening how to . use the phone natural English mostly grammar present simple vs continuous listening phoning friends natural English phoning a friend natural English telephone introductions writing a conversation and a message
help with pronunciation and listening
pronunciation consonant groups listening being an active listener natural English showing you (don't) understand
test yourself!
review p.113 activities |
revision and progress check iwelve
revision twelve wordlist p.141
nine to fourteen
in unit thirteen |
in unit fourteen . |
teacher pp.114-121 pp.122-129 development
a new lifereading that's incredible! chapters
Get a new life natural How many times . ? how to mmar be going to + verb;grammar present perfect use the board
Erghsh + verb What are you reading breakersKing of the record p. 146 natural English tonight? -natural reacting to website ng filling in forms surprising information how towww.oup.com/elt/teacher/ grammar present perfect and develop learner naturalengtish rdbooster past simple independence Extra class activities and
p.153 resources and links to the rb + preposition student's site. English Do you ever P wordbooster how to .
•nds Of film opposites also available
natural English test booklet |
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communicate with feelings low-level learners
'listening how to invite someone listening how to p.160 igtural EngHsh inviting and say what you feel how to responding vocabulary fixed phrases select, organize, and listening people arranging to go natural English special greetings present vocabulary at to the cinema listening someone giving a lower levels
natural English have a + adj + noun |
how to . |
test booklet |
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help low-level learners |
Unit-by-unit tests for |
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with pronunciation |
grammar, vocabulary, and |
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p.174 |
natural English plus seven skills tests. Common examstyle questions in 'exam focus' sections throughout. |
reading writing skills |
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Complements the natural |
test yourself! |
test yourself! |
English reading and writing syllabuses. |
revision and progress check |
revision and progress check |
— an extra reading lesson |
utended speaking help with pronunciation language reference key
(s go out! and listening pp. 181-183
Ilect ideas listening to a song 'invent information pronunciation linking
bractice le play reading & writing skills resource book
for every unit of the
'teen review p.121fourteen review p.129 student's book
•sion activitiesrevision activities — material related to the
student's book by topic
— develops real life reading
Thirteen wordlist p.142 fourteen wordlist p.143 and writing skills useful
for work or study
— advice on text types and skills
Before we established the language syllabus for the elementary level of natural EngHsh, we wanted to be sure that what we set out to teach learners corresponded to what they actually needed to learn at this stage in their language development. So, instead of starting with a prescribed syllabus, we began by planning a series of communicative activities with certain criteria:
— they would have to be engaging, purposeful. and achievable — they would need to stretch the limited resources of elementary learners
— they had to include different topics, and past and future time frames as well as the present
— they should cover a range of activity types (e.g. giving and exchanging information; service encounter role plays; sharing experiences; telling simple stories, etc.)
We then wrote the activities. Initially, we produced more than we needed, and after trialling, we eliminated those which did not work as well as we had hoped or overlapped with others which were richer in language or more successful. Those that remained became the activities which you will find in the extended speaking activities and it's your turn! sections in a much refined and reworked form, thanks to the learner data and feedback from teachers. Here are two examples from the
We
asked teachers to use the material with their elementary classes, and record
small groups doing the activities. We also piloted them ourselves with small
groups. In all, we recorded over one hundred learners from at least a dozen
different countries. In our earlier research (at intermediate and
upperintermediate levels) we had done a limited amount of piloting of native
speakers doing the relevant activities, but at this level we didn't think it
would be of great benefit. However, following on from our experience at the
higher levels, we did pilot the activities with learners above the target
level, so we recorded pre-intermediate level students as well.
After transcribing the recordings, we had a considerable amount of data al elementary level, but also data at the level just above elementary. As with the previous levels, the comparisons were fascinating, and knowing what could be achieved just above the target level was very informative in helping us to identify the most useful, relevant and achievable target language for elementary learners. At that point we were able to start writing the student's book.
To summarize. the development of the course involved the following stages:
I devise the extended speaking activities / role plays for trialling
2 trial and record elementary and pre-intermediate learners
3 transcribe and analyse the data
4 select appropriate language for the syllabus
5 write the learning materials
what is natural English?
Throughout the course we have tried to identify language relevant to the needs of learners at each respective level. For the most part, that has meant the inclusion of high-frequency language used naturally by native speakers and proficient users of the language: if a word or phrase is used frequently, it is likely to be useful in a range of everyday communication.
However, not all language used naturally by native speakers is necessarily suitable for many foreign learners, and that includes some high-frequency language. Our own classroom experience has taught us that many learners find it difficult to incorporate highly idiomatic language into their own interlanguage, and a word or phrase which sounds very natural when used by a native speaker can have the opposite effect when used by an L2 learner — it sounds very unnatural. We have, therefore, tried 10 focus on language which is used naturally by native speakers or proficient speakers of the language, also sounds natural when used by L2 learners. So, at this elementary level for example, we want learners to use high-frequency and relatively informal ways of thanking people such as thanks and thanks a lot; but we have not introduced the more colloquial phrases such as cheers or ta.
How does anyone decide exactly what language will fulfil these criteria? It is, of course, highly subjective. As yet, there isn't a readily available core lexicon of phrases and collocations to teach elementary learners on the basis of frequency, let alone taking into account the question of which phrases might be most 'suitable' for learners at this level. Our strategy has been to use our own classroom knowledge and experience to interpret our data of elementary and pre-intermediate level
language use, in conjunction with information from the Longman Grammar Of Spoken and Written English, a range Of ELT dictionaries and data from the British National Corpus and The Oxford Corpus Collection. In this way, we arrived at an appropriate language syllabus for elementary learners.
what else did we learn from the data?
These are some of the general findings to emerge from our data, which influenced the way we then produced the material.
level of confidence
Most learners at this level (but by no means all) lack the confidence to experiment with language. This showed up in the trialling with some learners treating communication activities as language drills. Of course, learners need controlled practice to help them to produce language accurately and more automatically, but they also need opportunities to use language freely — to develop fluency by thinking more about they are saying than they are saying it. For this reason, we felt that freer speaking activities were still relevant to this level, and we have included them throughout the book in it's your turn! at the end of every lesson, and extended speaking activities at the end of every unit (from unit three onwards).
When learners engage in genuine communication they will inevitably make mistakes. Throughout the notes in the teacher's book, we have tried to anticipate errors and minimize these, but at the same time we believe that mistakes are part of the learning process and should be viewed constructively in the classroom, i.e. what can we learn from them for future productive use?
length of turns
Throughout the data we saw evidence of very short turns (even shorter than at the pre-intermediate level). This is to be expected, but we have tried to extend utterances by building into activities a lot of planning and rehearsal time. In addition, we feel that structuring speaking activities is essential to ensure that learners have plenty to talk about. Listening models or teacher models which show students how they can develop topics are also instrumental in encouraging more output and longer turns.
listening and pronunciation
At this level, more than any other, we found that learners had difficulty understanding one another (particularly in multilingual classes). Apart from cultural misunderstandings, problems seemed to arise from two sources: poor comprehension skills on the part Of the listener, and / or lack Of intelligibility through poor pronunication on the speaker's part. We have addressed this issue throughout the elementary material, but with an extra focus (at the end of alternate units) in a new section called help with pronunciation and listening. See
grammar
Many elementary learners have 'studied' grammar such as the present and past simple, but it was clear that productive use is still exceedingly difficult. There was a lot of simplification throughout the data, and many learners at this level are only truly comfortable when operating in the present simple, and even then inaccurately. We also found that learners were uniformly poor at asking questions, and their use Of modal verbs was almost non-existent.
In response you will find considerable attention is paid to all of these areas.
vocabulary
The most obvious shortcoming was the lack of familiarity with high-frequency phrases in a number of everyday situations. For example, we found that learners weren't able to ask about people's weekend (How was your weekend?), order food in a restaurant (Could I have some more... / another.... please?), reassure people (don't worry), etc. The language in the natural English boxes is the most obvious way we have tackled this shortcoming, but you will find a number Of common lexical chunks throughout the wordboosters and other vocabulary development exercises.
how to use key features of natural English
• natural EngfiTh boxes
• wordbooster
• staged listening
• help with pronunciation and listening
• test yourself!
• language reference and practice exercises
• reviews
• workbook
• teacher's book
• skills resource book • test booklet natural English boxes
Most of the natural English boxes consist of natural English phrases. They normally occur four times in each unit, with one or two boxes in each main section, and often one in the wordbooster.
what do the natural English boxes contain?
These boxes focus on important aspects of everyday language, some of which fall outside the traditional grammatical / lexical syllabus. They include:
— familiar functional exponents, e.g. suggesting and responding
(We could go to the cinema. Yeah, that's a good idea.)
— communication strategies, e.g. asking for help (Sorry, can you repeat that, please?) high-frequency words in spoken English, e.g. get, quite / very, mostly
— common features Of spoken English, e.g. vague language
(thing), qualifying (a bit)
— lexical chunks, e.g. Have a nice time, Anything else? What's the matter?
The language here is presented in chunks, with each box containing a limited number Of words Or phrases to avoid memory overload. The words / phrases are practised On the spot, and then learners have the opportunity to use them later in freer activities, e.g. in it's your turn! or the extended speaking activity.
These boxes have been positioned at a point within each cycle where they are going to be of immediate value, and most of the phrases are recorded to provide a pronunciation model. There is an instruction before each natural English box providing learners with a task to highlight the forms and / or focus on meaning, e.g. Listen and complete the questions or Match the questions and answers (in the box). Beneath each box there is a controlled practice exercise to focus on pronunciation and consolidate meaning. and in many cases this is followed by a personalized practice activity. In the classroom, you could vary the presentation of the language in the following ways:
— If the target phrases have been recorded, you could ask learners to listen to them first. They could do this with books shut and treat it as a dictation, then compare their answers with the student's book; or they could listen and follow in the student's book at the same time, and then repeat from the recording or the model that you give them yourself.
— You can read the phrases aloud for learners to repeat; alternatively, you can ask individual learners to read them out as a way of presenting them.
— You can ask learners to read the box silently, then answer any queries they have, before you get them to say the phrases.
— You could write the phrases on the board or OHP for everyone to focus on. Then ask learners about any problems they have with meaning and form of the examples before practice.
— You could sometimes elicit the phrases before learners read them. For instance, ask them how they could ask for directions. or what they would say when offering food or drink. Write their suggestions on the board, and then let learners compare with the natural English box. In some cases learners will know some important phrases, but they may not be very accurate or know the most natural way to express these concepts.
— Once learners have practised the phrases, you could ask them to shut their student's book and write down the phrases they remember.
If you have a weaker class, you might decide to focus on only one or two Of the phrases for productive practice; for a stronger group, you may want to add one or two phrases Of your own.
— For revision, you could tell learners they are going to be tested on the natural English boxes of the last two units you have done; they should revise them for homework. The next day, you can test them in a number of ways:
— give them an error-spotting test fill gaps in phrases or give stimuli which learners respond to — ask them to write two-line dialogues in pairs
The workbook provides you with a number of consolidation and further practice exercises of natural English (and, of course, other language presented in the student's book — see below for more details).
— As the phrases are clearly very useful, you may want to put some of them on display in your classroom. You could also get learners to Start a natural and vocabulary notebook and record the phrases under headings as they learn them. You should decide together whether natural (rather than literal) translations would be a useful option for self-study.
wordbooster
Wordbooster is a section in each unit devoted to vocabulary development. It is almost always divided into two parts, each one focussing on a different lexical area: at least one is topicbased, the other may also be topic-based or focus on collocation, e.g. verb + preposition, or verb + noun.
why wordbooster?
Throughout the other sections in each unit, you will find vocabulary input which is practised within the section. The wordbooster sections have two main aims:
— they present much of the key vocabulary that learners will need in the how to... lesson. and I or the extended speaking activity at the end of the unit.
— they also cover topic areas and linguistic areas which sometimes go beyond the immediate requirements of the fourteen units and so help to provide a more comprehensive vocabulary syllabus. The wordbooster section is designed to have a different feel from the other more interactive sections in the course, and it provides a change of pace and activity type.
how to use wordbooster
Each wordbooster will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete, and it can be used flexibly.
You don't need to do the whole wordbooster in one session. As it is divided into two sections, you can do one part in one lesson, and the other part in a later lesson. In other words, you can use this section to fit in with your own teaching timetable. For instance, if you have 15-20 minutes at the end of a lesson, you can do one of these sections.
— You can do some of it in class, and some of it can be done for homework.
— Encourage learners to record the language learnt in these sections in their natural Engfish and vocabulary notebooks.
In the natural English course. listening is a very important component in all four levels. Much of the recorded material is improvised, unscripted and delivered at natural speed, and where practical, this approach has also been adopted at elementary level. At the same time, there is a balance of scripted material as learners at this level adjust to the demands of natural, spoken English.
As with other levels of the course, we have included a threephase listening section in each unit:
tune in: a short extract from the beginning of the main listening. This gives learners the opportunity to tune in to the voices of the speakers and the content of the listening passage with a simple accompanying task.
— listen carefully: the main listening passage. Students hear the introduction (tune in) again, and then the rest of the passage, with a more detailed task.
listening challenge: a further listening passage (cither a continuation of the main listening, or a parallel listening passage) in which the listening tasks are less guided and more open.
how to use staged listening
— As the listening material has been staged in order to ease learners gently into the main listening and build their confidence, it is important to use tune in and listen carefully as in the student's book. However, listening challenge can sometimes be used at a later stage if it is not a continuation of listen carefully, e.g. in unit 7 (T7.8).
At a certain point in the listening cycle, the student's book indicates the best point at which to go to the tapescript (p.146 — p. 156). Following the tape-script after one or two attempts at listening is a valuable way for learners to decode the parts they haven't understood; it is not only very useful, but also a popular activity. You could encourage learners to make a note of new vocabulary from tapescripts, especially as the recordings are a source of natural, spoken English.
help with pronunciation and listening
This is a new section for elementary level.
Pronunciation sections aim to help learners improve their ability to produce mainly sounds and word stress more accurately. In some cases, the sounds may be isolated for teaching purposes, but in the exercises, the sounds are contextualized in sentences. As learners work through the material, they build up a knowledge of phonemic symbols, which are gradually incorporated within the rest of the material in the phonemic transcriptions of new vocabulary items. The activities are all short and self-contained.
Each listening section aims to develop a particular listening subskill:
— asking for help if you don't understand
- listening for key words
— recognising weak forms
- predicting content
- understanding features of connected speech - being an active listener
how to use help with pronunciation and listening
Each help with pronunciation and listening section will take approximately 30-45 minutes to complete.
- You don't need to do all of it in one session. As it is divided into two sections, you can do one part in one lesson, and the other part in a later lesson. In other words (as with wordbooster), you can use this section to fit in with your own teaching timetable. For instance, if you have 15-20 minutes at the end of a lesson, you can do one of these sections.
— Both sections recycle previously taught language, so it is advisable to use them where they are positioned in the course, although in most cases, it is possible to reverse the order of the two sections.
— As the students build up a knowledge of phonemic symbols, try to incorporate them in your own teaching, e.g use them to highlight difficult sounds in new vocabulary items. You can refer learners regularly to the phonemic chart at the back of the student's book p.158 for further consolidation.
— At the beginnning of each listening section, there is a speech bubble which highlights the subskill learners are going to practise. These subskills have been described in very simple terms so that learners can understand them, and it is important to make them aware of the specific aim of each section.
test yourself!
Test yourself! is an end-of-unit test or revision activity enabling learners to assess their progress, and consider how they performed in the extended speaking activity. It is a short, easily administered test covering lexis, natural English phrases, and grammar from the unit in a standardized format: producing items within categories
— gap-fill
— correcting errors how to use test yourself!
You can use it either before the extended speaking activity, for revision purposes, or as an end-of-unit lest. You may want to give learners time to prepare for it, e.g. read through the unit for homework, or make it a more casual and informal revision activity. Make it clear to learners that their answers in the test should only include new language from the unit.
The test can be used in different ways: — A formal test. Ask learners to complete it individually, and then collect in their answers to mark.
— An informal test. Ask learners to complete it individually, then go through the answers with the whole class.
— A more interactive test. Ask learners to complete it in pairs. Go through the answers with the class, or ask a pair to mark the answers of another pair.
— You could get learners to complete the test individually or in pairs, then they can check their answers by looking back through the unit. Asking learners to search for answers in this way may not give you as much feedback on their progress, but it may be more memorable for them as learners.
— You could give the test for homework. Learners can then use the unit material as they wish.
Refer learners back to the checklist of the language input at the beginning of the unit. They can then tick which areas they feel more confident in. This is an important way for you to discover which areas they feel they need to revise. You may still have language reference and practice exercises, workbook exercises, and review sections which you can use for this revision.
language reference and practice exercises
The language reference section contains more detailed explanations of the key grammar and lexical grammar in the units, plus a large bank of practice exercises, which have been included for two main reasons:
— they make the language reference much more engaging and interactive.
— they provide practice and consolidation which teachers and learners can use flexibly: within the lesson when the grammar is being taught, in a later lesson for revision purposes, or for self-study.
Most of the exercises are objective with a right-or-wrong answer, which makes them easy for you to administer.
how to use the language reference and practice exercises
— Use them when the need arises. If you always tell learners to read the language reference and do all the practice exercises within the lesson. you may have problems with pace and variety. Rather, use them at your discretion. If, for instance, you find that the learners need a little more practice than is provided in a grammar section, select the appropriate exercise (e.g. unit one, be positive and negative: do exercises 1.1 and 1.2 in practice). Areas of grammar are not equally easy or difficult for all nationalities. The practice exercises provide additional practice on all areas; you can select the ones which are most relevant to your learners.
The practice exercises are ideal for self-study. Learners can read the explanations on the left, then cover them while they do the exercises on the right. Finally, they can look again at the explanations if necessary. You can give them the answers to these practice exercises which are at the end of this teachers book pps.181-183.
— If learners write the answers in pencil or in a notebook, they will be able to re-use the exercises for revision. Some learners also benefit from writing their own language examples under the ones given in the language reference. They can also annotate. translate. etc.
reviews
Review sections occur at the end of every unit in the studenes book. These activities revise the main grammar, vocabulary and natural English. Some of them can be done individually, but there is an interactive element in most, which is designed to help learners to consolidate their understanding and ability to use the language productively. They have not been constructed as objective tests.
how to use the review
You have several options:
— you could use the review sections as they occur, i.e. review each unit when you have completed it.
— you could use individual activities within a review section at different times, e.g. use a review grammar activity after you have completed the grammar section in the unit, but possibly save the natural English review activity for a later lesson.
— you could do some activities in class and set others for homework.
In other words, the review sections have been designed so that you can use them flexibly to fit in with your teaching programme.
workbook
The workbook recycles and consolidates vocabulary, grammar, and natural Enghsh from the student's book. It also provides language extension sections called expand your grammar and expand your vocabulary for stronger or more confident learners. These present and practise new material that learners have not met in the student's book. Another important feature of the workbook is the say it! sections, which encourage learners to rehearse language through promoted oral responses. There are two other regular features: think back! (revision prompts) and write it! (prompts for writing tasks). You can use the workbook for extra practice in class or set exercises for learners to do out of class time. The with key version allows learners to use the workbook autonomously.
teacher's book
This teacher's book is the product of our own teaching and teacher training experience combined with extensive research carried out by Oxford University Press into how teacher's books are used.
The teaching notes are presented as flexible lesson plans, which are easy to dip into and use at a glance. We talk you through each lesson, offering classroom management tips (troubleshooting), anticipating problems (language point), giving additional cultural information (culture note), and suggesting alternative ways of using or extending the material (ideas plus). In addition, each lesson plan provides you with the exercise keys, a summary of the lesson contents, and the estimated length of the lesson.
At the end of each teacher's book, there's a photocopiable wordlist of natural Enghsh phrases and vocabulary items for each unit of the student's book. This is a useful reference for you, and a clear, concise record for the learners, which they can annotate with explanations, translation, pronunciation, etc. and use for their own revision.
teacher development chapters
You'll find the teacher development chapters after the lesson plans, starting on p.146. These practical chapters encourage reflection on teaching principles and techniques. At elementary level the areas covered are:
— how to use the board p.146
— how to develop learner independence p.153
— how to communicate with low-level learners p.160
— how to select, organize, and present vocabulary
at lower levels p.167
— how to help low-level learners with pronunciation p.] 74
The chapters are regularly cross-referenced from the lesson plans, but you can read them at any time and in any order.
Each chapter contains the following features:
— think! tasks for the reader with accompanying answer keys
(see p.146)
— try it out boxes offering practical classroom ideas related to the topic of the chapter (p.151) natural EngHsh student's book extracts to illustrate specific points (see p.165) follow-up sections at the end of each chapter providing a short bibliography for further reading on the topic (see p.166).
This book also contains a photocopiable key to the student's book language reference section (pps.181—183).
For reference, a pronunciation chart on p.14 shows the pronunciation syllabus across the elementary student's book.
in the reading and writing skills resource book?
The 64-page photocopiable resource book contains 14 reading lessons and 14 writing lessons, i.e. one reading lesson and one writing lesson for each unit of the elementary student's book, on a similar theme. Each lesson lasts between 30 and 60 minutes and is accompanied by easy-to-use teacher's notes.
The reading lessons are based around a range of authentic texts from website and newspaper articles to e-mails, recipes. and letters. The aim is to expose students to a number of different and accessible text types whilst giving practice in •real world' reading skills. It includes the basic reading skills on a regular basis, but slightly more challenging ones are also introduced in the later units. Here are some of the skills you will find (the headings on the student's pages have been simplified for the level): - predicting
— activating background knowledge
— reading for gist
- understanding the main points
- reading for specific information
- reading for details
— responding to the text
The writing lessons are based around model texts which students then analyse for relevant features of language and style. Students are helped with ideas and planning, and each lesson culminates in a writing task that can be done in class time or set for homework. Regular spell check boxes focus on key points as they arise in the model texts. The writing lessons are divided into the following areas:
-how to write personal information
—how to write short messages —how towrite about likes and dislikes
—how towrite about daily routines
—how towrite a restaurant review
—how towrite about a day out
—how to write about life events
-how to write directions
—how to .. write about places
- how to write about an experience
-how to write about transport in two places
-how to describe a picture
—how to write invitations
-how to write cards
In addition, students are encouraged to assess their own progress in reading and writing by using the self-assessment chart at the back of the book. There are also vocabulary diaries for students to keep a record of new words they have encountered in the reading and writing lessons.
The interleaved teachers notes are set out in a simple grid with answer keys and guidance notes clearly visible at a glance. There is advice on particular text types and how to help students develop their reading and writing skills. The ideas plus boxes give suggestions on how to exploit the material further.
how to use the skills resource book
The reading and writing skills resource book is designed to be used in class to supplement the natural English elementary studenrs book. It can be used to build on and extend the reading and writing skills already covered in the student's book, or as a stand-alone reading and writing course. It is also intended that the elementary level will prepare students for the kinds of reading and writing skills that they may meet in the pre-intermediate, intermediate, and upper-intermediate skills resource books.
The elementary test booklet provides photocopiable unit-byunit tests for the grammar, vocabulary, and natural Enghsh syllabus, and skills tests for every two units at the back of the book. The skills tests cover reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The listening tests re-use the student's book material but exploit it using different tasks. 'Live' dictations are also provided if you wish to use listening material which will be entirely new to the students.
The test booklet also contains exam-style question types in regular exam focus sections. These appear at the end Of each unit test and throughout the skills tests. The aim is to give students practice and confidence in tackling common exam-style questions. An answer key is provided at the back.
writing in natural English
student's book
•unit onepersonal information
unit two write a note
p.20
unit three write about your partner
unit four write about a member of your
•unit fiveabout what you have for breakfast
unit six write a weblog
write about somebody from your past
unit eight write directions
it nine write an e-mail about a hotel
unit ten write about a problem
eleven write about a place
unit twelve write a telephone message
p.100
nit thirteen fill in a form
unit fourteencards
skills resource book
write personal information
messages
write about likes and dislikes
write about daily routines
write a restaurant review
write about a day out
life events
write directions
write about an experience
write about transport in two
write invitations
elementary
skills / tasks
read a letter, understand capital letters and full stops, complete a form, write about you, spell check writing task: a letter to a host family
think about the topic, understand requests, organize sentences, spell check, make requests writing task: a message to a flatmate
think about you, read an e-mail, understand and and but, use commas, write about you, spell check writing task: an e-mail to a classmate
think about the topic, spell check, write about daily routines, order sentences, order ideas, use your ideas writing task: an article about another person
think about the topic, read a review, understand adjectives, understand it, spell check, use because writing task: a restaurant review
think about the topic, read a narrative, understand because and so, spelt check, use punctuation writing task: an e-mail or letter to a friend about a day (or night) out think about the topic, spell éheck, understand an autobiography, order information, use articles writing task: a short autobiography
understand directions, use punctuation, use prepositions, spell check, write directions writing task: directions to your house or flat for a classmate
understand different texts, describe a place, use words that go together, use punctuation, spell check writing task: an e-mail to a friend describing two hotels
understand a story, understand time markers, order a story, spell check, check for mistakes, talk about the topic writing task: a story about a special experience
think about the topic, understand a description, understand they, spell check, make sentences, talk about the topic writing task: a short article describing and comparing transport in two places
talk about the topic, describe a picture, spell check, use articles, write about a picture writing task: a description of a picture or photo
talk about the topic, understand invitations, use prepositions, understand replies, write sentences, spell check writing task: an invitation to a birthday celebration
understand what the text is for, understand style, use set phrases, spell check, talk about the topic writing task: a thank you or congratulations card
pronunciation in natural English elementary
book stress p.g stress p.9 forms p.ll you ... ? lwod jai p.12 stress p.18 stress p.19 |
help with pronunciation and listening sections (units: 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14) pronunciation listening Sounds (the alphabet) p. 19 asking for help p.13 /el/, Ir./, and "e/ intonation p. 13 word stress p.21 key words p.21 |
|
...? /dja/ p.24 stress p.26 stress p.34 /ta'geða/ p.36 spelling problems, e.g. sausages p.39 W, /i•J, /er/, and /æ/ p.42 and can't /ka:nt/ p.43 p.44 p.51 tense endings with /ld/ p.51 p.64 p.67 you prefer? prrf3:/ p.76 law, /er/, and /o:/ p. 79 spelling problems, e.g thumb /9Am/ p.82 and shall 1 ,'jalal/ p.84 /sm3:1a/ than /ðan/ p.87 stress p.90 /SUd/ p.91 p.92 /maosli/ p.99 stress p.107 we? 'Jal wif p. 108 p.112 p. 113 stress and intonation p.115 |
sounds /ð/, 19/ p.37 weak forms p.37 |
|
sounds /o:/, /3•J, and ID/ p.53 prediction (1) p.53 |
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sounds /J/, /tJ/, and Id3/ p.69 prediction (2) p.69 sounds and spelling /o:/, W, and 10/ connected speech p.85 p.85 |
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consonant groups p. 101 being an active listener p.101 listening to a song p.117 linking p.117 |
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student's
unit one word word weak would
unit two word sentence
/ð/ p.19
unit three do you word
unit four word W p.35 together
unit five sound /
/'SDS1d31ZJ sounds can /kan/ I'll lad/
unit six intonation past
unit seven word
unit eight intonation linking
unit nine Would
/wod ja
unit ten sounds sound / I'll
unit eleven smaller word should silent t
unit twelve mostly
unit thirteen sentence Shall
unit fourteen contractions intonation word
extended speaking
During the extended speaking activity at the end of each unit, note down examples of .
• good language use
• effective communication strategies
(turn-taking, interrupting. inviting others to speak, etc.)
• learner errors
• particular communication problems
Make sure you allow time for feedback at the end of the lesson. You can use the notes you make above to praise effective language use and communication or, if necessary, to do some remedial work.
Photocopiabte @ Oxford University Press 2006
in unit one ...
listening how to ... say hello
p.16
wordbooster countries and nationalities numbers (1)
p.20
reading questions, questions
to . . . say hello 75—90 mins lead-in • If this is your first lesson with the class, you will probably start by introducing yourself and calling the register. The students won't remember many of the names (unless they already know each other), so the lead-in has a dual purpose: to present two natural ways of introducing oneself; and for students to find out the names of others in the group. Ask the class to look at the pictures and make sure that they understand that 2 people are meeting at the college for the first time. play the recording for exercise 1. The task is very simple but students may not know hi. With a multilingual class, you can explain that hi is common in spoken English, especially among young people. If you have a monolingual group and you speak the learners' mother tongue, see the troubleshooting box on the right. • Play the recording again (exercise 2) and elicit an accurate pronunciation model of meet you. Practise it before learners work with a partner. Students need to be aware at this very early stage that the way we say words in connected speech may be different from the way they are written down. See the language point on the right for ways of saying hello. While the students mingle in exercise 3, move round and monitor. In the early stages of an elementary course some learners may feel quite nervous, so it's important to give lots of praise and encouragement. |
listen to this • Put the students in pairs. See troubleshooting on the right. The students can probably deduce the answers to exercise 1 from the pictures, but don't confirm their answers yet. Play the first part of recording 1.2 (exercise 2) and elicit the answer. The purpose of this short initial listening is so that the students can tune in to the voices of the speakers with a simple task. If they can, they will feel more confident about the whole conversation, especially as it begins by replaying the first part. In other words, learners are not suddenly exposed to a long passage with unfamiliar voices and an unknown topic. • When you are ready, move on to exercise 3. The answers to exercise 1 are not in the same order on the recording, so the students may need to listen twice. • You will have to do recording 1.3 as the students need the information to talk about these people in the grammar section that follows. Before they listen, get them to read the sentences first. The names Tim and Jim may be unfamiliar, so show them how they are pronounced. Play the recording (exercise 4). Students can check in pairs while you monitor. If some answers are wrong, play the recording again. If not, go through them with the class. The last stage involves playing the recording while students look at the tape-script. We wouldn't recommend this until you have already exploited the recording for comprehension, but many students enjoy listening to and reading the tapescript, and it can help them to realize that words they recognize when written down may sound different in spoken English. |
help with pronunciation an listening pronunciation: sounds the alphabet listening: asking for help |
|
p.22
test yourself!
p.25
wordlist
p.130
-introduce yourse using natural EngHsh phrases
listen to two people meeting for the first Itime
'focus on be positive -and negative learn and practise jobs oyocabulary focus on a / an
(Calk to another stude
About
yourself
'xercise 1
students |
see tapescript p. 146 exercise 2 et you /'mi:t ju/
Gercise 2
Paris
•ercise 3
Harc is 21, a student, single.
is from Canada, a teacher, married. (exercise 4
3 university an English teacher 4 America
troubleshooting use of the mother tongue
During the course you wilt need to point out certain language as being either formal (generally used more in written English) or informal (generally used more in spoken English). Students need to be aware of this stylistic difference, and the words formal and informal. To explain this in English to elementary learners might be difficult, so this is an occasion when the use of the mother tongue is a sensible option. The difference between hello and hi is largely one of style — hi is more informal.
'Want to know more? GO to learners p. 160
language point saying 'hello'
Even at elementary level, some learners may already know how do you do? or how are you? If so, you may need to explain that how do you do? is now reserved for quite formal situations. How are you? is the most common way of greeting people, but only when you already know them.
troubleshooting pair work in listening activities If your class is not used to pair and group work, you may need to explain the purpose of it, in the mother tongue if necessary.
Pair and group work can be used in many different types of activity, and for different purposes. In listening activities, it can be used:
- before listening, e.g. to predict what might be said, to brainstorm vocabulary that might arise, to arouse interest in the topic through discussion or personalization, etc.
- after listening. e.g. once students have listened to a recording, they compare answers to a task with a partner. This can give them confidence before they give their answers more publicly in open class. You can monitor this stage to assess how well individuals have understood the recording, which will indicate to you whether they need to hear it again. After that, pair / group work can be used to practise the content of the listening (dialogue practice or role play), to give opinions on the topic, etc.
Want to know more? Go to pre-intermediate teachefs book, how to do pair and groúóZL$ -work p.146
grammar be • The students were exposed to he's (he is) in the previous exercise, but now they have to say it themselves in exercise 1. This is also their first exposure to phonemic script lhi:z/. Highlight the /i:/ sound and then model it in he's. You could then put the sentence on the board: Marc's from France, and he's ??? Elicit a correct answer from the class then write it on the board. If you are confident the class understands, put them in pairs to write three more things about Marc, beginning he's . If not, elicit one more answer from the class before the pairwork. • Repeat the procedure for she's in exercise 2, but let the students write down all four things about Jennifer in pairs. Check the answers — ask a number of students to pronounce the correct answers as you check — then go on to exercise 3. As this is the first table for students to complete, you could do it from the board as a class. Use a different coloured pen (or chalk) for the different forms of be and elicit the answers from the class as you write it up. Collaborative work like this using the board is very good for class rapport. Yant to know more? Go • As you go through the table, point out that contracted forms are very common in spoken English, but say that contractions in positive short answers are not used or ¥4&-s-ke4). For the alternative negative forms, see language point on the right. • You could do exercise 4 round the class and then in pairs. It is important at this early stage that students are reinforcing correct answers when they work in pairs, and it will help their confidence to grow. For exercise 5, again model it first before the pairwork. • Exercise 6 is a continuation of the previous exercise, but this time students have to write the questions, which provides a change of pace. We have suggested two sentences for exercise 7, but you could increase it to four or five. Finally there is the language reference section. This contains not only a fuller explanation of the grammar the students have just studied, but also additional exercises. -want to know Gou language'eferencea'eggi |
vocabulary jobs • There are certain gender issues with this vocabulary. See language point on the right. Students can do exercise 1 individually, then you can check the answers with the class. Point out that we need the indefinite article with the names of jobs, and if any of your learners are likely to make this mistake, write correct and incorrect examples on the board: The choice between a and an is in the next section, so don't worry about it at this stage. • At the same time you can start to focus on the pronunciation. We have marked the stress on the first example. You can illustrate this by saying a word with the correct stress then saying it with the wrong stress. Make it absolutely clear which is right, then test your students to check they can hear the difference. • Play the recording (exercise 2). At the end check the answers and drill the correct pronunciation. When they work in pairs in exercise 3, they have to put the words back into short sentences. • Although the students haven't come to present simple questions yet, many will be familiar with the form, and you can teach the question What do you do? as a fixed phrase or vocabulary item. You can paraphrase the question as What's yourjob? If your students are still at school I college you could choose one student and ask him / her about the future. (Perhaps write a future year on the board.) Put a question mark by it and say doctor? teacher? what? Teach the question and answer What do you want to be? I want to be a (doctor). Some students will already know the name of their job in English; others will have to look them up in a bilingual dictionary or ask you for a translation. • When they do exercise 4, it is possible that other students won't understand the name of the job they hear. What should the speaker do here? See troubleshooting on the right for a suggestion. At the end, you could add some of the new jobs to the board if you think they are useful. |
Gercise 1
•Marc's from Paris, he's 21, he's a business student, and us single.
exercise 2 from Toronto, she's a business teacher, and §h€s married.
exercise 3
I'm a teacher I'm not a teacher
Hú a doctor
She's a student She isn't a student
exercise 4
Jennifer isn't Ottawa, she's from Toronto. She's a business teacher. She's from Canada. She isn't single, she's married.
Marc isn't from England, he's from France. He's a business student. Marc isn't married, he's single. He isn't 24, he's 21.
Tim's from America. Tim isn't a business teacher, he's an English teacher. He isn't from Toronto, he's from San Francisco.
exercise 5 |
|
|
.1 Yes, heis |
3 No, he isn't |
5 Yes, she is |
No, she isn't Gercise 1 |
4 No, she isn't |
6 NO, he isn't |
'1 a housewife |
6 a journalist |
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a shop assistant 7 an office worker |
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a waiter 8 a police officer |
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a lawyer 9 an engmeer |
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a businessman / woman 10 an actor |
'exercise 2 engineer, office yorker, niter, layyer, Nice officer, businessman / woman, shop assistant, actor, ioucnalist
language point form problems with be
You need to highlight these forms very clearly as there are common problems from Ll transfer, e.g. omitting the pronoun (is-a—teachev) or omitting the verb (she teaehe¥). The other common error is mixing up the pronouns he and she. This error can persist for a tong time with some students, so you may need to correct it quite firmly.
The language reference on p.130 points out the two different ways of forming a negative in the third person (he / she isn't or he's / she's not). We have only included one form here, but you could highlight the alternative form. Both are common in spoken English.
language point gender in 'jobs'
Some jobs have the same word regardless of whether the job is performed by a man or woman, e.g. lawyer and journalist. Other jobs make a distinction between the sexes, e.g. waiter / waitress, businessman / businesswoman, or the more recent distinction between housewife and house husband. A third group have forms which may or may not denote the sex, e.g. an actor can be male or female but an actress can only be female; a firefighter can be male or female but fireman is only male. For the police there are three possibilities: policeman, policewoman, or police Officer.
We have given just one form in most cases — the most common form — but you may wish to discuss this with your class, particularly if you teach in a country where the 'less' common form is actually more frequent, e.g. if 'waitresses' are much more common than 'waiters'.
troubleshooting unknown lexis
If student B doesn't understand student A's job, tell student A to try to explain it using gesture or paraphrase. They may struggle to do this with some jobs, but most low-level students have to deal with this problem at some stage, so it's not a bad idea to present them with this kind of challenge. With a monolingual group, we would also suggest you allow the use of translation as a last resort if paraphrase and gesture don't work.
grammar a / an
• Draw your students' attention to the schwa la/ with a and an. Model the sound to show them how these words are usually pronounced.
Ask learners to do exercise 1. They may realize that the answer is already in the list of jobs vocabulary; if so, good for them. Check their understanding by asking for further examples (office worker and journalist are two from the list above, but they may come up with others, e.g. an artist, a doctor). This is a simplification of the rule governing the use of a / an. For more detail, see language point on the right. Do exercise 2 for students to test their understanding of the rule, and the exercises in the language reference if you want further practice.
speaking i€s your turn!
• While students complete exercise 1, monitor their writing to check their answers and spelling. Those still at school or university can put student in the 'job' category. You could also add a category about 'age'. Il's a sensitive issue, but if you are sure it won't cause offence, you could include it. The pair practice is there to build their confidence.
• Exercise 2 provides more practice but in a group Of three the dynamic changes, with potentially more shifts in turn-taking between the individuals. Finally, in exercise 3, students have to move from first to third person for another shift in the type of practice. Note that students need to say that's and not this is as they are pointing somebody out and not introducing them. Do the can you remember activity. See troubleshooting on the right.
Learners could complete the middle column in exercise 1 in pairs, but tell them not to fill in the nationalities at this stage. Understanding is not usually a problem with the names of countries, but pronunciation is, so they can check by listening to recording 1.5 (exercise 2), which gives them a pronunciation model. Afterwards, give them a minute to repeat the words quietly to themselves (this is sometimes called a 'mumble drill'). You can move round and listen while they do this.
• They can do exercise 3 together. Check their answers, then play the recording (exercise 4). This time the students underline the main stress. Check the answers.
Vant to
• Finally they can do exercise 5. We have included two more useful chunks of language which they can learn as fixed phrases (1 don't know and I'm not sure); they may need them during the activity.
• For more work on the use of the definite article or zero article with the names of countries, see workbook, expand your grammar, p.6.
At this level learners can never have too much practice with numbers. They need to know them and use them, but also process them when they are spoken quickly. In exercise 1 students have to do this with phone numbers, then practise them in exercise 2. For the pronunciation of O (zero), see language point on the right. The exercise also provides practice in contrastive stress as student B corrects a wrong number given by student A.
• The natural box teaches another fixed phrase (What's your phone / mobile number?) along with the confirmation of the number (Yeah / Yes that's it.). This is very straightforward but learners are not always good at providing this type of response. After they complete the task (exercise 3), get them to stand up for exercise 4 and move round the class. If they can't remember their number (phone or mobile), tell them to invent one. Monitor and help I correct where necessary.
• You could turn exercise 5 into a race — the first pair to finish puts up their hands. The answers (exercise 6) are on a recording to provide further pronunciation models. For further practice see ideas plus on the right.
Uercise 1
Put an before words that begin a, e, i, o, u, e.g. actor, engineer
Put a before all other letters, e.g. zaiter, teacher
2
l a 3 an 4 an 6 an n you remember |
7 an |
|
meet 3 an |
5 |
thirty |
from 4 do 'exercises 1, 2, 3, and 4 |
6 |
isn't ('s not) |
COUNTRY |
NATIONALITY |
|
'France |
French |
|
Germany |
German |
|
Japan |
Japanese |
|
Spain |
Spanish |
|
Argentina SA |
Argentinian |
|
China |
Chinese |
|
Italy |
Italian |
|
•Brail SA |
Brazilian |
|
Thailand |
Thai |
|
Eland |
Polish |
|
86tain exercise 5 |
British |
|
She's Brazilian. |
4 It's Chinese. |
|
'2 It's British. |
5 She's Japanese. |
|
He's Italian. |
6 Theyre Argentinian. |
•exercise 1 tape-script p. 146 exercise 3 Re tapescript p. 146 •exercise 6 see tapescript p.145
language point o / an
The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation rather than spelling. Thus:
— we can use an before a consonant if it is silent or pronounced as a vowel: an hour (silent 'h') an MP (the M is pronounced /em/)
— we can use a before 'u' when it is pronounced /ju:/, or 'o' when it is pronounced
a uniform a university student a one-week stay
troubleshooting recycling
We have included a short can you remember activity at various points in each unit because elementary learners are inevitably exposed to a lot of new input each lesson, and it is easy to forget things in an unfamiliar language. This is another form of recycling in addition to the extended speaking activities, and review and test yourself! sections. These activities occur either at the beginning or end of a lesson. They could therefore serve as a warmer or a way of winding down, but provide you and the Learners with a quick check on what they can remember from either the last lesson or the one just finished.
language point the number 'O'
The number O is usually pronounced /ao/ in phone numbers in British English but zero in American English. British speakers normally use zero when they are talking about temperature, e.g. ten degrees below zero. In mathematics, the number O is usually written as nought /no:t/, 0.7 (nought point seven). However, if someone used zero in all of these contexts, they would be clearly understood.
ideas plus maths
Put about fifteen numbers on the board, then teach + (and) and - (minus). Students can then give each other little maths tests using the numbers, e.g. What's fifteen and seven? Twenty-two.
questions, questions 75-90 mins grammar questions with be Can you remember ? provides some quick revision, and also ensures that students don't have their heads in their books to start the lesson. Make sure they shut their books or cover the wordbooster page opposite. Elicit an example first. then give pairs one minute. Check the answers at the end. Direct students to the first column of the table in exercise 1, and elicit the answer to the first question, i.e. Are you a new student? Students can compare answers or work together on this exercise. Play the recording to check the answers to exercise 2. Stop the tape after each one, elicit the missing words and write them on the board, or invite a stronger student who may appreciate the challenge, to ensure that the answers are absolutely clear to everyone. Encourage students to write the contractions for is; you could also remind them that contractions are normal in spoken English. However, we don't usually write the contraction for are. Give students a minute to think about their answers in exercise 3. If necessary, pre-teach I don't know and I'm not sure: see troubleshooting on the right. Before students work in pairs in exercise 4, see troubleshooting on the right. After exercise 4, do the language reference and practice exercises or set them for homework. |
read on • This first reading activity in the book is deliberately simple; students should be able to relate easily both to the content and the text type. For many learners (particularly those with Roman script). reading is more accessible than listening as they can process the text in their own time. Nevertheless, you don't want students to be reading in great detail, so the simple questions in exercise 1 do not rely on a detailed understanding of the text. Give them about two minutes, and make clear that they only need to answer those two questions at this stage. • Exercise 2 focuses on word order in questions. Check answers as a class before students ask and answer in pairs. Check the answers to exercise 3 at the end. • The context continues in exercise 4, in which students listen intensively to the short dialogue. The language is likely to be familiar, although students do not always know Fine, thanks at this level. Focus on the pronunciation in exercise 5 and drill the weak forms la/, land/, or use the tape as a model if you don't feel confident about your own pronunciation. Students can mingle for exercise 6 and practise the dialogue with lots of students, using their own names. See ideas plus on the right. |
vocabulary drinks • Go over the first example in exercise 1 with the class, then give students time to work individually, or in pairs. Either go over the answers yourself, or you can use the recording in exercise 2 both to check the answers and provide a pronunciation model. Make sure that students are stressing the phrases correctly, i.e. mineral water, not See ideas plus on the right. The test your partner activity, which occurs throughout the course, gives you a chance to listen to pairs, monitor and correct, and gives them the opportunity to practise at their own pace. When students do it in pairs, make sure they both test and answer; don't let it go on too long. • In exercise 3 the students' main difficulty is likely to be with the pronunciation of would you (see exercise 4). For the pronunciation of 'WI, get students to say 101, then IUd/, then round their lips at the beginning and say it. Please is not compulsory, but low-level learners will sound polite and friendly if they usc it. Practise the conversations in short, class drills before students practise in pairs. |
speaking it's your turn! • This final activity gives students the opportunity to use the language studied in this lesson and the wordbooster. Make the context clear in exercise 1, perhaps using the name of a local café. Work through the flowchart together as a class, eliciting examples of what students might say at each stage. When students are ready, put them in pairs for exercise 2. During this stage, monitor the pairs quickly to check that they are on the right lines, then go back and monitor more carefully, noting down good examples of language use and any breakdown in communication. For exercise 3, they could stand up, find a new partner, and try the conversation without the book. At the end, some pairs act out their dialogues. Give praise for good language, and a little correction of errors. See troubleshooting on the right. |
revise countries and nationalities focus on questions and answers with be read an e-mail -practise asking how people are using natural Enghsh phrases
focus on drinks vocabulary offer and accept drinks 'role play a conversation about your class
can you remember see p.9 exercise 1 see tapescript p. 146
exercise 1 el her mother 2 Polly and Daniela exercise 2
1 Why's she here?
What level's her English?
How many students are in her Class?
Where are they from?
5 Who's her boyfriend? 6 Wherds he from?
exercise 4 see tapescript p. 146 exercise 5 bow are you? / and you /anju:/.
mercise 1 white wine (3) orange juice (2) mineral water (1) black coffee (5) tea with lemon (6) red wine (4) diet coke (7) hot chocolate (8) exercise 3 see tapescript p. 146 exercise 1 .%uld you /wudja/
can you remember
1 are; Fine / Very well
Would; please
Are; not
troubleshooting I don't know/ I'm not sure
Ask the class how many students there are in the school - they will probably answer I don't know. Reinforce this with a gesture — in many cultures, a shrug and upturned hands conveys the meaning. Then ask a question they are more likely to have some idea about, e.g. how many teachers are there in the school: 5,15, or 25? Someone will probably say 'five, I think'; you can then ask, Are you sure? to which the answer will be 'no'. That way you can teach I'm not sure. Some nationalities will understand I'm not certain if you write it on the board.
troubleshooting demonstrating pair activities
Tetl the class you are 'a new student' and let them ask you the questions. Invent your answers. Then students ask and answer in pairs. Tell them to swap so that they both ask the questions, and after the first time, suggest that the students answering the questions shut their books. After more practice, they can work with a new partner, and try again without their books.
ideas plus extending the natural Enghsh phrases
For some classes, the contents of the natural English box will be new, and they will have enough to work on. You may have a class who could be stretched further, in which case you could extend the phrases. You could ask students to think of different ways of saying some of the phrases and feed in new ones:
Hi / Hello;
How are you? / How are things?;
Fine / Great / I'm OK / Not bad;
And you? / How about you?; Very well / Excellent
ideas plus vocabulary notebooks
If you haven't done so already, you could suggest that students keep a notebook for vocabulary; a ring binder is useful because it allows new topics to be added or new vocabulary on existing topics. Allow time for students to copy down the drinks vocabulary, and add any extra information, e.g. a translation of new items, or highlighting the stressed syllables. You could highlight these on the board for the drinks vocabulary. You could suggest they start a new page for each topic, write a topic heading to make it easier to find, and leave space so that they can add new items as they learn them over time.
Want to know more? GO to how to independence (record keeping) p. 1
troubleshooting changing the level of challenge
You can adapt this type of activity to make it easier or more challenging with a very low-level class. For example, you can do the flowchart as a dialogue build. Elicit each line of dialogue, drill it, then elicit the response, drill it, practise the question and answer, and then elicit the next question, and so on. This is very controlled, but it may help if learners need a lot of support. Another controlled approach is to elicit the dialogue onto the board, with students practising as you go. At the end, rub out several words from each line. Students practise it until very few prompts are left on the board. At the other extreme, with a strong group, you could elicit some of the questions plus one or two responses, then let the students loose.
• Most learners have problems with certain letters. To some extent, this depends on their mother tongue, but many learners confuse E / I and J / G, and have problems with the individual letters H, R, Q, W, X, Y, and Z. In addition, the alphabet isn't necessarily the same in all Roman script languages, e.g. Greek does not have some of the same letters. If your students aren't familiar with the alphabet, use the recording in exercise 1, and spend plenty of time on it. Alternatively, write the letters on the board, ask students to call out letters, and focus on the ones that they make mistakes with.
• Exercise 2 draws students' attention to the pronunciation of letters in same sound groups. Do an example together, e.g. fell, then put students in pairs to do the rest and monitor them.
• Exercise 3 is the first time phonemic script has been introduced, so if students are unfamiliar with it, make it clear that this is a pronunciation system, and demonstrate that letters and sounds are not always the same in English. Write on the board some words they know (especially where the spelling is different), e.g. lei/ say, Asia, Spain; /i:/ tea, coffee; /el engineer, boyfriend. Make sure students cover the coloured letters when they do the exercise. They will gradually learn the sounds during the course, and you can direct them to the alphabet with examples on p.159 for future reference.
• Begin exercise 4 by teaching and practising the question How do you spell ...?This will be essential classroom language in the future. Get different students to ask you the questions, then spell your answers while the class writes them down. At the end, write the answers on the board so that they can check their spelling. Then ask students to work in pairs on the same exercise. Make sure they only spell (and don't say the names first), and that they cannot see their partner's work. At the end, they both check the spellings. See ideas plus on the right for a spelling game.
Want to know more? Go how
This section appears frequently in the student book, and aims to provide extra support: firstly to help learners with listening sub-skills, e.g. listening for key words in unit 2, p.21; secondly to help them with listening strategies, e.g. in this lesson, asking for help when they don't understand. Students often find listening very demanding, and it can help them tremendously to feel that they can ask to play a recording or part of it again, and it is important to let students know that it is perfectly all right to ask for this. Of course, you don't want a situation to arise where one learner wants to hear recordings again and again while the rest of the class switches off, so if you sense that is happening, tell the student that they can listen again in the break.
Point out the 'Important!' comment: it explains the aim of the section, and contains useful advice. Once students have done the matching activity in exercise 1, use the recording to focus on can Ikan/ and intonation in exercises 2 and 3, and provide time for controlled practice. See ideas plus on the righ t.
Set the scene for the listening activity in exercises 4 and 5 by focusing on the photo of Susannah and the receptionist at the college, then refer them to the form. You can either play the tape and monitor how they get on, or pause the tape to allow them time to write, but either way, students will probably need I want to listen again, so encourage them to use the language in the natural English box.
Check the answers to exercise 4. Students can listen again at the end with the tapescript on p. 146. For extra speaking practice, students could practise a similar conversation as a little role play. They could try to remember the receptionist's questions and interview each other, using the form as a template, and writing down the answers they are given.
exercise 1 picture 1: Sorry, can you play that again, please?
exercise 2 /kan/ exercise 4
Suzannah Clarke; British; 27; 26, Cooper Rd, Oxford, OX4 6JQ; 565688
students
one review 45 mins ideas plus spelling game Yant to kmw more? Go to the introduction on p. 10 for Ways of using the review section.
Before the lesson, write words on pieces of paper, one for each student; choose words they find hard to spell, or items you want to revise. In the lesson, put studenE into two teams, with half the board each and a board pen per team. Distribute the words, but don't let students say or show their word to anyone. Each team sends one student to the board (a scribe). One student spells a word for their scribe, who writes it up, then hands the pen to another team member.
You can make it a race to introduce a bit of fun.
When one team has spelled all the words correctly, they have won. You can do this with several teams with a large class, but put large sheets of paper on the wall.
ideas plus notice boards
Learners need quite a few survival phrases to help them with their learning in class.The phrases in the NturalEnghsh box are very useful, and it is worth keeping a record of language like this displayed in your room for students to refer to. You can add from this page 'How do you spell and you will also be able to teach and add other classroom language as time goes on:
How do you say What does this word / X mean? Where's the stress?
I don't understand that. Could you explain it again? Encourage students to write the phrases in their vocabulary notebooks under •classroom language'. They can add more phrases as they learn them. test yourself!
Encourage learners to use test yourself! to think about their progress in a positive way as well as doing the test activities. At the end, tell them to look at the unit contents on p.6 and tick the language they can use. This will reinforce their sense of achievement.
toknow more? GO to the introduction on p.9 wa test yourself!
Qest your vocabulary any six of these: housewife, engineer, office worker, waiter, lawyer, policeman, businessman / woman, shop assistant, actor, journalist British, Japanese, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian, French black coffee, mineral water, orange juice, red wine gap-fill
t' meet 2 isn't Gor correction |
3 How,• Fine 4 Would |
I'm an engineer. |
3 I'm not sure. |
If you taught more countries in the wordbooster section, add the first two letters to the ones in exercise 1; you could write the letter pairs on the board. Explain the activity with a couple of examples, then monitor as students write their countries and nationalities.
• Demonstrate what to do in exercise 2 by doing the activity with a student in front of the class. Monitor the pair work and correct any pronunciation errors.
vocabulary countries and nationalities
France / French, Japan / Japanese, Spain / Spanish, Argentina / Argentinian,
Britain / British, Thailand / Thai, China / Chinese, Germany / German, Poland / Polish, Italy / Italian
grammar be
• Go over the first example, then give students time to work alone or in pairs. Go over the answers. Alternatively, write the words for each sentence on cards, cut them up and give each pair a jumbled sentence to a) rearrange and b) add a verb. Set a time limit of thirty seconds, then all the pairs pass the jumbled cards to the next pair.
grammar be
1 How many people are in your class? 2 Are you a new student? 3 Is Catherine married to David? |
4 1'm not from Germany. 5 The class isn't in room two. 6 What's your phone number? |
All the natural EngfW1 exercises in the review sections are designed so that learners can check their answers by looking back at the natural English boxes in the unit. This encourages them to use their course book as a revision tool and resource.
• Exercise 1 is a very straightforward, gap-fill exercise, and when students have finished it, demonstrate how they can check their answers in exercise 2 by referring to the boxes on previous pages. Monitor the pair oral practice; students can try to memorize the dialogues together, then A can have their book open, read their part of the dialogue and B responds from memory.
numbers and the alphabet
• Before the lesson, write a list of random letters of the alphabet, and random numbers between 1 and 50. [n class, demonstrate on the board what to do: draw a similar grid, and fill in some numbers and letters. Many students know the game, but clarify for those that don't that they have to listen and try to cross out one line (horizontal or vertical). Demonstrate this on the board if necessary. For exercise 2, read your list aloud, alternating between numbers and letters, giving students time to check their cards.
Organize groups of four or five for exercise 3 and appoint a 'teacher' in each group. Students draw up new grids, with different numbers and letters. Meanwhile the •teacher' writes down the random numbers and letters as you did. Monitor the 'teachers' to check that they are pronouncing the letters correctly while playing the game.
What's your phone number? 4 Is he a teacher?
in unit two .
reading
have you got one?focus on technology vocabulary technology
p. 26 • You can go straight into exercise 1 or see ideas plus on the right. Some of the vocabulary is international, and the advert itself will guide learners to the meaning of any new items through the visuals and written features of each product. The advert is largely based on an authentic text, and students will
p. 28 have to cope with some unknown vocabulary. However, most Of it is incidental and should not impede their ability to carry out the tasks.
listening Check the vocabulary answers, then focus more on the pronunciation (exercise how to 2). Highlight the pronunciation of abbreviations. The majority are pronounced for things letter by letter, with the main stress on the last letter, e.g. TY and DVQ.
There are potentially one or two new words in the questions. We don't think they will create any difficulty for learners, but you could check the meaning,
e.g. using gesture to explain take a photo and a board drawing for TV screen. As exercise 1 involves scanning the text to find specific information, you could set a time limit to encourage students to do this rather than read word for word. With time limits, we feel the best strategy is to set a strict limit, e.g. two minutes, but then allow the limit to drift a little if nobody has quite finished. You can follow up the development of this skill with ideas plus on the right. p.33
•
Exercise 2 has been recorded in
the dramatic style that you often find on television or radio. It provides
practice in picking out key information. Play it again if students are
struggling, as numbers can cause receptive problems.
• Exercises 3 and 4 focus on the word thing(s), which is one of the most common wordlist nouns in English and invaluable to low-level learners as they can use it when
p.131 they don't know the name Of something, e.g. Can you give me that thing? What's this thing?
grammar have got have)
• If your learners already know have, tell them that have means the same as have got. As an alternative to exercise 1, you could take in several pictures. Hold one up and say, I've got a (e.g. car), then hold up another and say, I haven't got a (e.g. boat). Repeat both sentences, then elicit them to the board. See language point on the right.
• Exercises 2 and 3 provide controlled practice in pairs and allow students to personalize the language. While students are writing their sentences for exercise 3, move round and help with any queries.
• Exercise 4 consolidates the different forms of have got. Students can work alone or in pairs while you monitor. At the end, highlight that you don't use got in short answers (Yes, I have / No I haven't H.
• Before exercise 5, teach make as a noun: you could write What make is it? on the board. Direct the students back to the advert on p. 16 and say:
This is a computer. What make is it? It's a SYNTAC. What make is this laptop? It's a . If you restrict the examples to electrical goods, you can avoid the subtle distinctions between make (e.g. of computer) and brand (e.g. of soap powder).
• When students have completed exercise 5. they can check their answers by listening to recording 2.3 (exercise 6), then practise in a controlled way before they personalize the language by talking about products they own in exercise
7. For this stage, do a quick example with one student.
thin s
exercise 1 |
ideas plus warmer |
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1 computer, 2 laptop, 3 printer, 4 digital camera, |
If you prefer to start with a warmer, you could choose a different electrical item |
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5 mobile (phone), 6 CD player, |
yourself and take it into class, e.g. an MP3 player. Ask the students if they know |
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7 DVD player, 8 TV |
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what it is; if not, tell them and say something about it, e.g. you can store 80 / 1,000 songs on it, you can play it for eight hours, you use it a lot (on the bus, at the beach, etc.). Don't expect students to understand every word, but doing this, you will be able to provide them with a little simple listening. |
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exercise 1 |
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ideas plus extending reading skills |
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The Tech Shop |
5 yes |
The Internet is full of adverts similar to the one on p.16 of the student's book, so |
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2 €875 |
6 digital camera + mobile |
if you wanted to provide more practice to develop the learners' ability to scan a |
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€800 |
7 66 cm |
text, you could set similar tasks around selected pages from either of these |
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j4 no |
8 CD player + TV |
websites (both are well-known electrical retailers in Britain). |
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exercise 2 |
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www.dixons.co.uk |
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1 printer - €100 |
4 CD player - €20 |
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digital camera — €95 |
5 TV - €500 |
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mobile (phone) - €95 exercise 4 see tapescript on p.147 |
6 DVD player — €60 |
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leercise 1 |
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language point have and have got |
trve got; I haven't got |
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For the examples in this lesson you could use either |
exercise 4 |
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have or have got. We have chosen to focus on have got (rather than have) as it is the most common way |
rye got I haven't got Have you got |
of expressing possession and relationships in spoken |
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He / She's got He / She hasn't got Has he / she got |
English, although this is not used in exactly the same |
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ewe / Thefve got We / They haven't got Have we / they got |
way in American English. |
•exercise 5 see tapescript p.147
speaking it's your turn!
• Students have just personalized the target language by talking about the things they own; now they have an opportunity to express their opinion. In exercise 1 they are introduced to the most common way of giving an opinion in English, i.e. using think. You may want to highlight the preposition in the question form, and the fact that we express the negative as I don't think it's rather than
. Once again, students are being exposed to present simple forms before they have studied the tense formally (it is the grammar focus of units 3 and 4), but we don't think it will cause any difficulty, and at this point learners can still learn the forms as items of vocabulary (not grammar). The plural form (laptops) is also used here. For more practice of plurals, see workbook, expand your grammar, p.n.
• After practising the sentences in exercise 2, give the students a couple of minutes to plan what to say. You could move round the class and help them. Put the students in small groups, and get one group to do a quick demonstration. If you are teaching a monolingual group and you speak their mother tongue, you could explain that this is an opportunity to exchange opinions and shouldn't just be viewed as a language exercise. In other words, students should feel free to express their opinions and disagree with others if they wish. While the groups are talking. move round and make notes for later feedback. Give lots of encouragement when you see learners really trying to experiment with the new language. They may find it difficult at this stage, but very satisfying if they feel able to express personal opinions in a new language.
personal things
• When you have checked the answers to exercise 1, you can focus on the pronunciation (exercise 2). You could pause the recording and get students to repeat, or just let them listen and repeat quietly to themselves before drilling some of the difficult items around the class.
• Exercise 3 provides controlled practice as well as recycling language from the previous lesson. For further practice see ideas plus on the right. For more office vocabulary, see workbook, expand your vocabulary p. 11.
possessive 's
The use of possessive 's sometimes falls within the grammar syllabus, but we have included it here as it can be practised very naturally. You will notice we have also included the most common mistake learners make with this structure. See troubleshooting on the right.
• Highlight the correct and incorrect forms on the board, drill the correct questions to practise the forms, and then let learners study the picture to find the answers to exercise 1. As they work in pairs in exercise 2, move round and monitor to make sure they are using the possessive 's correctly and pronouncing it clearly. For the memory game (exercise 3), make sure that students don't look back at
p. 18. At the end, see how many sentences each pair got right.
adjectives (I)
• When students have completed exercises 1 and 2, highlight the value of recording opposites together in their notebooks, and encourage them all to do it. In fact, they could make this a section in their notebooks where they record common opposites and synonyms — they can probably include one or two synonyms for great and terrible already.
• Students usually know a few colours at a very early stage, so exercise 3 checks some common ones, plus several more they may not have encountered, e.g. grey or pink. It is very easy to practise these in future lessons by asking students to identify colours in the classroom.
jexercise 1 see tapescript p. 147 On you remember?
Have; haven't |
2 |
Has; has |
3 think; think |
'ercise 1 |
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ideas plus Kim's game |
bag |
8 |
newspaper |
For this you need some examples of many of the objects in exercise 1, plus a few |
rubber |
9 |
travel card |
more objects that aren't there. Arrange them all on a large tray and put a cloth over |
'3 dictionary |
10 |
pencil |
it. Remove the cloth in front of the students and let them study the objects on the |
pen |
11 |
piece of paper |
tray for one minute. Then put the cloth back. Students then have a further minute |
keys |
12 |
coursebook |
to write down the names of everything they can remember on the tray. |
magazine notebook |
13 14 |
lighter briefcase |
Please bear in mind that there is a further memory game in the next section; you may not want to play two memory games in one lesson. |
1 |
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troubleshooting displaying errors |
next to her dictionary |
3 |
English |
Some teachers are still uneasy at seeing errors on the page or on the board, even |
yes |
4 |
blue |
when they are clearly crossed out. This may be a hangover from the behaviourist |
approach of the 1970s when everything possible was done to prevent students from uttering incorrect English. However, we think it is valid to show errors which we know from experience are highly likely to occur; and this example the-pee-of-Peeb is definitely one of those. Anticipating likely errors often has a strong resonance for many learners; and seeing how the structure is expressed in their own language also gives them a clear guide to meaning.
•erase 2 tapescript p. 147 exercise 3
(1) black, (2) white, (3) grey, (4) blue, (5) red,
6) pink, (7) green, (8) brown, (9) yellow, (10) silver
jÞractise making requests using natural phrases
to . . . ask for things 60—75 mins lead-in • You can either do can you remember ? as suggested, or 100k at ideas plus on the right. When we make requests, we either ask someone to do something, or we ask someone's permission to do something. You could begin by making one or two requests of students in the class, with gestures, e.g. Emilio, can I look at your notebook, please? Then play the recording, and go over the answers. Demonstrate the verb borrow by asking to borrow a student's pen. (At this stage avoid teaching lend.) This is the first time students have focused on sentence stress, so in exercise 2, exaggerate the stress and highlight that can and at are weak. Drill the questions and answers. Model and practise the pronunciation of the vocabulary items in the pictures in exercise 3 and demonstrate turn on / off using classroom objects. Then ask students to complete the gaps. Check their answers, then practise the questions and answers across the class. Students extend their practice of requests using prompts in exercise 4. Do one or two with the class, then let them work in pairs, and monitor / correct them. Where possible, they should do the action, e.g. hand over their rubber. You could teach other suitable requests, e.g. open I close the blind / curtain. |
grammar this, that, these, those • You could Start by acting out with a student in front Of the class. Stand next to him / her, point to his / her bag and ask, Is this your bag? (Yes.) Then point to something further away, and ask Is that (Miguel's) dictionary? (Yes.) Show with a gesture that this refers to something near you, and that something further away. Do the same for the plurals. Then go on to exercise 1. • Check exercise 2 carefully, and drill the questions, focusing especially on this / and these /ör.z/. • The table in exercise 4 checks the forms, and then students practise again as a check Of the concepts I forms in exercise 5. Monitor this pairwork carefully and correct any errors. • For exercise 6, demonstrate what to do, reminding them about possessive 's. Make sure that there are enough things on the tables to talk about. See ideas plus on the right. |
listen to this The task in exercise 1 tests learners' ability to discriminate between similar-sounding sentences. These also form part of the longer passage in listen carefully, so learners are getting some support before they listen. Play recording 2.10 and let students compare their answers to exercise 2. Monitor and if you see any wrong answers, play it again. • Exercise 3 is a further listening based round teacher talk, this time from the end Of the lesson. After checking the answer, let learners listen with the tapescript. As the listening task involves 'homework', this may be a good time to discuss the subject with the class. See troubleshooting on the right. The natural Enghsh box contains four valuable high-frequency phrases which students can learn without analysing them grammatically. The focus Of exercise 4 is on the omission Of sounds in connected speech which can create listening problems. If learners aren't aware of the elision of the 't' here, they may not realize that the phrases are negative. It's not essential for learners to produce the same elision when they are speaking, but they will need to recognize it receptively. Play the recording several times so that learners can hear the phrases spoken naturally before practising them. The game in exercise 5 should give learners an opportunity to use some of the natural Engh+ phrases. Monitor and make notes in the pairwork. A strong class could make up their own questions. |
writing The messages in this section revise language from this unit, and students also become familiar with a simple text type (messages) and proofreading. See ideas plus on the right. It provides a framework for a writing game. Tell students what to do in exercise 1 and monitor. Go over the answers on the board, as students may not pick up all the errors by listening to the feedback. For exercise 2. students work alone. If you prefer, they can prepare different notes in pairs, and then swap them. You can extend the topics to include some general knowledge questions as practised in the listening challenge pairwork activity, or they can make any requests from earlier in the lesson. If they produce different types of message (e.g. Would you like a coffee after the lesson?), so much the better. Manage the time and ensure that everyone is either writing or responding to a note. |
focus
on grammar: this, that, these, those (listen to a teacher giving instructions
to a glass
'Write notes to each other, making requests or asking for þnformation
Qanyou remember ? see p. 18 exercise 1 •see tapesaipt p. 147
exercise 3 rl fan •2 window / door
'exercise 1
A this 3 those that 4 these exercise 2 /51s/, /öæt/, /öi:z/, /ðaoz/
3 radiator
4 light ideas plus pictionary
For this activity, you could include vocabulary from the wordbooster and the electrical products from the first lesson. Divide the class into two teams, and say you are going to draw things on the board. Start to draw, and the first person to shout out the correct answer from either team gets a point. Draw two or three items quickly, e.g. a pencil, a lighter, a laptop, and don't spend more than five or ten seconds on each one. Students can shout out as soon as they think they know what it is. Don't worry if you aren't a great artist; it will show students that they can play the game without great ability.
Put students in small groups with a set of prompt cards face down (names of objects, or any other drawable items they know). Students take turns to take a card and draw the object; the student who guesses first (and pronounces it accurately) wins a point. Monitor to correct pronunciation and help where necessary.
ideas plus vocabulary extension
This might be a good point to feed in any new vocabulary items needed, e.g. folder, ruler, pencil sharpener, etc. Monitor and praise their efforts. An alternative would be to tell students to put several of their things in the middle of the room, and then everyone stands with a partner and tries to guess who owns each object.
exercise 4
this pen these pens that phone those phones |
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Gercise 1 |
troubleshooting homework |
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1 1 haven't got my book. 2 What page is it? 3 1 haven't got a pen. |
The amount of homework that students do witl |
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exercise 2 |
depend on the type of class it is, the age of the |
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I Brazil 2 Wha€s the capital of Brazil? 3 yes 4 27 |
students, the time available, and other factors too. |
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•exercise 3 |
We think learners can benefit hugely from studying |
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finish the questions in exercise 9. Read pages 45—55 on Argentina. |
between Lessons, but you need to consult with the |
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exercise 4 |
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group about the time they think they can devote to |
Ino |
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homework as well as the type of homework they like doing. (It's a good idea to start with tasks your |
exercise 5 |
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students will enjoy.) If they are able to buy the workbook, this will provide them with a wide range |
3 a computer |
5 |
it depends |
of relevant tasks to consolidate their learning, and in |
2 Ukraine 4 dictionary |
6 |
things |
some places to extend their learning. To find out more about homework tasks, go to |
Lima 3 CD player |
5 |
it depends |
how to develop learner independence p.153. |
Poland 4 businessman |
6 |
students |
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exercise 1 |
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ideas plus proofreading |
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André |
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This writing activity is a first introduction to proofreading, focusing on punctuation |
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rve got some difficult French homework this weekend. |
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and capitalization. To encourage your learners to proofread their homework before |
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Can I borrow your French / English dictionary, please? |
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handing it in, give them two minutes alone to read their work and see if they can |
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•Thanks, Caroline |
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spot any errors. Proofreading can also be done in pairs (i.e. checking their partne(s |
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Olga |
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written work); this can be very productive, but it is wise to do this when students |
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the school phone number? I can't remember. |
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know each other quite well, and be careful that no one is too negative or takes |
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Yuri |
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offence. It helps to give students something concrete to look for, e.g. spelling, |
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can you remember |
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third person 's, punctuation, etc. |
pese; those
• For exercise 1, either use the recording or your own voice as a model to highlight the five different word stress patterns. If necessary, exaggerate the stressed syllables. Then. either go on to the sorting activity in exercise 2, or use the word stress game in ideas plus on the right. After the game, ask students to rearrange the words into the stress patterns as in the table.
• The vocabulary items are then practised in context in exercise 3. Either use the recording or your own voice, or if you prefer, see if students can produce the sentences naturally without a model. If you do this, you may need to correct or 'mould' their sentence until it sounds more natural; then other learners can repeat it. fry to use students who are close to the target sounds as models.
listening information words
• Begin by pointing out the •important!' comment, and demonstrate the meaning of louder, e.g. read the 'important' sentence, exaggerating the volume of the information words. You could do the same with one or two other sentences from earlier in the unit, e.g. in a Ntural Engfish box. Then give students lime to read the text in exercise 1. They should be able to guess what it is quite quickly from the contextual clues.
• Explain that the information words in the first paragraph have been underlined, and you could then play that part of the recording (exercise 2) so that students can hear that the underlined words are louder (i .e. more strongly emphasized). Then play the second part and tell students to underline the louder words. Go over the answers at the end: write up the sentences on the board and elicit which words should be underlined.
• Exercise 3 provides more practice in identifying key words. This time, a woman is talking about a different object and students have to listen and choose the words she uses. Play the recording two or three times if necessary, and monitor their answers as they listen and tick. Check the answers to this and exercise 4. It would be worth letting students listen again to the second recording with the tapescript as suggested; answer any queries at the end.
test yourself!
•st your vocabulary
1 TV, mobile (phone), printer, computer, CD player, laptop
2 rubber, newspaper, dictionary, briefcase, lighter, travel card, notebook easy, dangerous, tate, noisy, cheap
'gap-fill
•1 borrow 3 got
4 haven't
arrect the errors
I don't think it's necessary.
vocabulary adjectives (1)
• Pair students up for exercise 1, then tell them to look at their respective pages, but not look at each other's page. Give them a minute to write the opposites of their adjectives, then read their answers out: they will be able to check each other's answers.
• Demonstrate what to do for exercise 2. Each pair needs to look at both sets of adjectives and decide which they can use with the nouns, e.g.
film: interesting, boring, great, or terrible. Monitor the pairs as they work, then at the end, go over the answers with the class.
vocabulary adjectives
1 cheap / expensive; noisy / quiet; difficult / easy; safe / dangerous: hot / cold; early / late; interesting / boring; great / terrible
2
grammar questions and answers
The dialogues in exercise 1 revise language from different parts of the unit: asking for things, have got, possessive 's, and vocabulary. The first part is a simple check of understanding: tell students to look at the pictures first, play the first dialogue and ask which picture it relates to. Then play the rest of the recording and check the answers at the end.
• Exercise 2 is a dictation. Play each dialogue, but pause it and allow enough time for students to write; replay the questions as necessary. They can compare with a partner after each dialogue, or at the end. Go over the answers, and then move on to exercise 3, which is a memory exercise. Students can check their answers in the tapescript p.147.
• When students give the answers to exercise 1, listen out for pronunciation (e.g. weak forms) as well as word order problems.
ideas plus word stress game Before the lesson, write all the vocabulary items in exercises 1 and 2 on separate flashcards. Stick them on the board randomly with blutak. Put learners into three teams, each with a different coloured boardpen. One member from each group goes to the board and marks the stress on any word (e.g. with a box above the stressed syllable), then hands the pen to the next member of their team to mark the stress on any other word. The winning team is the one who marks the stress correctly on the highest number of words. At the end, tell them if any words are incorrectly stressed, and see if the team can correct them. more? Go to how to use the board p.14b |
Want to more? Go to the introduction on p. 10 for ways of using the review section, vocabulary personal things
• Students should be able to complete this crossword quickly and by doing it with a partner they will get oral practice as well, e.g. asking each other how to spell words, or correcting spelling. Be ready to teach How do you spell / write ...?lf you like, set this up as a race: who can finish fastest?
vocabulary personal things
1 CD player 4 lighter 7 notebook 10 key
2 printer 5 magazine 8 bag
3
'2 David's book t3 1 don't remember.
f. Are these your keys?
in unit three .
you and me |
focus on noun grou |
vocabulary noun groups |
p.34 |
-focus on present simple |
You could start from the board. Write Towns and villages are places where we . |
wordbooster |
and wh- questions |
and see if anyone can provide the correct verb to finish the sentence. Students |
telling the time |
listen to an interview |
can them complete the rest of exercise 1 in pairs. For an alternative way of |
leisure activities |
about transport |
doing the activity, see ideas plus on the right. |
p.36 |
talk about your own |
• The recording (exercise 2) allows students to check their answers but is largely |
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transport survey |
there to provide a pronunciation model, as some of the words are difficult to |
reading |
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pronounce, especially in the plural form, e.g. place Iplers/ and places l'plersrz/. |
how to talk |
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For exercise 3, you could pause the recording after each key word and get the |
about likes and dislikes |
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students to repeat it several times before test your partner. |
p.38 |
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grammar present simple |
extended speakin how active are |
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The sentences in the table are very important: they illustrate the grammar, |
you? |
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present a number of valuable lexical phrases, e.g. stay at home, take the bus, study |
4 |
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English at university, and are the basis for all the controlled practice in this section. Give students time to read through the list and ask you questions |
test yourself! |
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before they do exercise 1. Note that a lot and a lot ofare previewed here but |
p.41 |
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highlighted more substantially in the natural English box that follows. • Students will be studying the negative form later, so make it very Clear they |
4 |
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should only read 'true' sentences to their partner in exercise 2. You could demonstrate this by writing the first section about homes on the board, then |
wordlist |
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ask one of the students to come out and tick the appropriate sentences as you |
p. 132 |
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say the ones that are true for you. While students work in pairs, move round and monitor. |
The listening in exercise 3 will familiarize the students even more with the list of sentences as well as providing listening practice.
After students have listened and completed the natural ErgHsh box for exercise 4, highlight the structure on the board: VERB + a lot a lot NOUN
These Structures are not only very high frequency in spoken English, they also avoid the problem of whether the noun is uncountable or countable (with much and many).
Put the example of the negative form in exercise 5 on the board. If necessary, add a second example and practise the pronunciation with the class. Students could first say some of their negative sentences to the class and then tell a partner. See language point on the right.
The final part of this section focuses on questions. Play recording 3.4 (exercise 6) and elicit the pronunciation of do you. After some controlled practice, students can then consolidate the different grammar forms by completing the table in exercise 7.
Exercise 8 returns to the table once again as learners interview each other on the complete list of questions. fry to mix the pairs so that learners are with a partner they don't know very well. Demonstrate first with a confident student before the pairwork. If you want more controlled practice. you can go straight to the language reference and practice exercises, but we suggest you give learners a break from the grammar and return to it later. For an alternative activity see ideas plus on the right.
Gcises 1 and 2 see tapescript p. 148 exercise 3 I'v111d3tz/; /'plelsrz/; /'bnsrz/; /'Dfisrz/; /'fæktrrz/;
J/'haonz/
Gercise 3
Jonathan: live in a town, work in an office, drive to work, listen to music exercise 4 •see tapescript p. 148
exercise 6
/dju/
enrcise 7 PRESENT SIMPLE
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negative |
I / You speak Spanish. |
I don't speak Japanese. |
We/ They live in a town. |
We don't live in a village. |
DO you speak English? |
Yes, I do. |
Do they live in a flat? |
No, they don't. |
about ou
ideas plus words on card
Instead of using the book, put the words and phrases from exercise 1 on pieces of card - one colour for the individual words in columns 1 and 2, and another colour for the phrases in column 3. Make enough sets for students to work in pairs or groups Of three, then let them sort out the cards into correct sentences.
language point present simple
The need for the auxiliary do in the negative and interrogative forms of the present simple is a problem for a number of nationalities. These mistakes are common:
(spoken with rising intonation)
These errors can be quite persistent as a result of Ll transfer, and in the next lesson learners will also meet the third person forms.
ideas plus use of the mother tongue
This is only suitable with a monolingual group. put the students in pairs and ask them to write five sentences in the present simple, including affirmative, negative, and interrogative. For example:
I don't walk to school, I drive.
DO you work in the centre Of town?
The pairs then pass their sentences to another pair, who have to translate them into their mother tongue on a separate sheet of paper. This piece of paper is then passed to a third pair who have to translate them into English. The third pair then compare their sentences with the ones written by the first pair. Are they identical? If not, who has translated incorrectly?
This idea is based on one from Shelagh Deller and is quoted in full in the chapter how to communicate with low-level learners p.160.
• First, look at troubleshooting on the right, then do exercise 1. Students will hear this first part again in listen carefully and this should help them with exercise 2.
• Exercise 3 is a continuation of the same interview. When students have answered the questions, they can listen with the tapescript, which will also help them with the natural Engfish box in exercise 4. This is the first time wc have focused on get (with the meaning to reach or arrive at a place), but you could point out that students will encounter it many times during the course with at least four or five different meanings. It is one of the most common verbs in spoken English, although far less common in more formal written English. You can also explain that learners have two possible and equally acceptable ways of answering the question, i.e. using a prepositional phrase (e.g. by car) or a verb (e.g. I drive).
• Let them mingle freely for exercise 5 to get as much practice as possible.
grammar wh- questions
• Students could complete exercise 1 individually then check in pairs. With a monolingual group you could test their understanding by asking for a translation of each question word.
• Exercise 2 provides controlled practice, which students will need as they are going to personalize the questions in a freer way later. Check they are forming the contraction of do you /d3a/ correctly. Use the language reference and practice exercises now, or set them for homework.
Learners can do exercise 3 in pairs. This is the basis for their own transport survey, so you could get them to make a grid in their notebooks where they can write in answers for different students.
speaking it's your turn!
• Students don't need to write their answers for exercise 1, but the next activity will work more effectively if they can reproduce the questions without constantly looking at their notes. You could, therefore, give them a couple of minutes to try and memorize the questions. Monitor exercise 2 and make notes for feedback. See ideas plus on the right.
Some elementary students know how to tell the time in English, although some times are hard to say (any that occur after 'half past', and times with odd minutes, e.g. 10.07). See troubleshooting on the right.
• You could quickly revise the time on the board using digital times, e.g. 2.00; 3.15; 4.30, etc. to check what students know, or go straight into exercise 1 as a diagnostic activity, done alone or in pairs.
Go over the answers either yourself or using the recording in exercise 2, and practise the times. The natural English box in exercise 3, Have you got the time? is a polite way to ask a stranger the time. You can point out that Excuse me is the correct way to attract a stranger's attention (you could act this out as a mime). Many students think that it is more polite to say Sir? or Madam? to attract attention, but in British English the listener would find it strange. Drill the question and answer.
• In exercise 4 students cover the words and use them as prompts to practise the dialogues.
• For exercise 5, ask pairs to sit facing each other, and go to their respective pages. They first complete three clock faces alone, then they take turns dictating their six times to each other. Demonstrate an example with the class (i.e. you say a time, a student writes it down digitally — 4.50.) Monitor the pair work and correct where necessary. At the end, students check their answers together. leisure activities
• Any choice of activities is rather arbitrary, so when learners have completed exercises 1 and 2, elicit any other activities they do in their own country and put them on the board, e.g. baseball or flower arranging in Japan. This vocabulary is practised again the next lesson in the context of likes and dislikes. In the oral practice stage, check that students are saying the •ing form correctly.
rexercise 1 26, BA2 exercise 2 NAME:
ADDRESS:
WORK ADDRESS:
TRANSPORT: REASON:
DISTANCE:
LEAVE HOME AT GET TO WORK AT exercise 3
Andrew Roberts 26 Kipling Avenue, Bath, BA2 4PH history teacher King Edward School, North Road
buses are terrible three miles
8.00
8.15
troubleshooting preparing to listen
When low-level learners are listening, they shouldn't have to read very much at the same time, otherwise the demands of one skill will interfere with the other. For this reason, you need to make the context very clear, e.g. use the picture, and give them plenty of time to read the form and ask any questions they have about content. You should also point out the glossary. When they are really familiar with the categories and content, you can move into the listening.
yes. Saturday morning supermarket, Sunday morning football, cinema in the evening
•exercise 1
What How far 8 Why
Where 6 When
4 How 7 When
-exercise 3
Where do you live?
2 How do you get to school? 53 How far is it?
you remember live 3 take work 4 go
Gercise 1 tapescript p. 148
tapescript p. 148
Percise 1
ravelling 5 skiing 6 computer games cooking 8
4 When do you leave home?
5 When do you get to school?
6 Is transport cheap or expensive?
5 |
listen |
You could put some of the results on the board, e.g. the most common way of |
6 |
go |
getting to class; the furthest distance anyone has to travel; the longest journey (in time); the cheapest / most expensive journey, etc. Do the results show that it is easy for most learners to get to class, or is it difficult? troubleshooting teaching the time If your students have never learnt how to tell the time in English, try to get a large clock (e.g. from a toy shop). A simple, step-by-step approach is as follows: • teach and practise (one / two, etc.) o'clock teach quarter past; hatf past and practise with a range of hours teach five / ten / twenty / twenty-five past and practise with a range of hours start with quarter post six, and contrast it with quarter to seven — practise different times with Eve to O'clock quarter past and quarter to (bear in mind that twenty / quarter to the hour are more difficult) — past • teach five / ten / twenty / quarter to to pa St quarter past twenty-five to You can this with a board diagram: twenty to twenty-five half past |
going to the gym |
9 shopping |
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driving dancing |
10 sightseeing |
ideas plus
swimming
reading how to talk about likes and dislikes 60—75 mins |
talk aboûi likes a -dislikes using natural Engfish phrases grammar present simple with he/ she read a text about people who work for a sandwich company
talk about someone who works in another country
• The natural box in the lead-in introduces learners to two modifiers: really and quite. These will allow them to talk about their likes / dislikes in a more subtle way. You could start with the recording as suggested in exercise 1 or for more local colour, make up your own sentences using the names of cafés they know. Put the names on the board, and say something about each one, e.g. 1 really like Café Carlo, I quite like da Gianni, I don't like ..., etc. Intonation and facial expression can help with meaning, and you can add a •marking code' such as ticks or smiley faces to show the degree of likes / dislikes next to each one. Then ask if they can remember your sentences, and write them next to the prompts. Provide controlled practice and get students to give opinions.
• Before the practice activity in exercise 2, highlight the -ing forms in the examples by writing them on the board in a different colour or underlining them. During practice, correct errors with the verb form,
e.g. I quite like cook. DO some examples in class using the wordbooster pictures, then students can practise in pairs. For further practice, see ideas plus on the right.
grammar present simple with he / she
• TO introduce the third person singular, focus students on the sentences in exercise I. You could also use some examples from the previous activity and put these on the board, e.g. Markus likes swimming, but he doesn 't like going to the gym. Ask the same question: why likes / doesn 't like, not like / don 't like? Drill the sentences. and elicit a sentence about a female student, too. See troubleshooting on the right.
• Explain what to do in exercise 2, but don't tell the students the answers about yourself at this stage or you will remove the guessing element. Monitor the writing activity, correcting only grammatical errors. When pairs are ready, they can work with another pair (exercise 3).
For exercise 4. elicit questions so that students can check their anwers. You can then complete the table in exercise 5 together. It's worth checking that students have filled the table in correctly.
• Exercise 6 provides students with personalized practice in third person questions and short answers, so set it up carefully by eliciting some questions and answers from the group. Highlight the weak form of does /daz/ in the question form. If students go beyond the prompts in exercise 2, so much the better. At the end, leave a little time for students to check the answers to their questions. Remember to use the language reference and practice exercises p.133 now or later.
• At the beginning. you could ask students if they would like to live and work in London or any Other city abroad. What job would they like to do? This would lead into the topic Of the text which is based on a large UK sandwich bar chain. Exercise 1 checks understanding of the introduction, reformulating the information in simpler syntax. Check the answers, then move on to the gist task in exercise 2.
• Exercise 3 provides further practice with the present simple, third person singular. When you go over the answers, you could write the full answers on the board, e.g. Suzette lives with herfamily. Rub out all the verbs, put students in pairs with their books shut and ask them to try and remember all the sentences. Exercise 4 simply focuses on the preposition in in time expressions.
speaking i€s your turn!
• Now it is the students' turn to talk about someone they know. Most people know someone (a friend, relation, etc.) who lives abroad, or in another city. You could describe someone you know (keeping it simple, of course) following the questions in exercise 1 as a model. Give students a couple of moments to think of someone, then ask for a show of hands to check that they have done so. If they haven't thought of anyone, don't worry. There should be enough people in the class to start the speaking activity.
• Ask for a volunteer to be interviewed by you, using the questions in exercise I. DO your best to encourage them to speak as much as possible, and ask simple follow-up questions to keep it going. Then get students on their feet talking about their friends. Monitor and encourage them to talk to different people.
• At the end, ask one or two students to say something to the class about their friend I family member (choose a strong student). Give students some positive feedback, and put a few language examples that you collected on the board for praise or correction. See ideas plus on the right.
exercise 1 see tapescript p.148
uercise 1
We say likes / doesn't like for the third person: he, she, or it.
exercise 5 present simple he / she / it
He / She speaks Thai.
He / She doesn't speak Thai. qgestiQns and short answers Does he / she speak Thai?
Yes, he / she does. No, he / she doesn't.
5 doesn't like |
7 studies |
6 wants |
8 wants |
exercise 1 29 c 17 exercise 2 Suzette Langland exercise 3
1 lives 3 doesn't work L2 makes 4 wants exercise 4
can you remember Do; Does; likes / hates; doesn't ideas plus further practice
Students are usually happy to talk about their likes and dislikes, and certainly need accuracy practice. For more practice (either at this point, or as a revision activity later) draw a table on the board with five categories: sport, free time, places, music, actors. Students copy the table, and then write two things in each category which they really like / quite like / don't like / hate. For example, under music, you could write playing the guitar and Celine Dion. Don't write or say what you think of these. Students complete their tables, then tell each other in small groups about their likes and dislikes, e.g. I really like playing the guitar. I don't like Celine Dion. Encourage them to say Me too! if they agree.
troubleshooting using the board
The present simple usually causes no problems of concept, but students do make a lot of mistakes with form. You can use your board to highlight form relationships
Highlight the s or es in a different colour so that students can see how it occurs throughout the third person forms.
ideas plus writing
Put students in groups of three or four. They invent a place where they all work together in an English-speaking country, e.g. a hotel in New York. Each person then writes a short personal profile for themselves, saying their name, why they are there, what they want to do (as in the sandwich bar text). Go round and help students as they write; pair up students from different groups to work together if you prefer. When they have finished, they look together at the other two or three profiles in their group and give feedback (e.g. what they like or think is funny). You could get them to turn their work into a noticeboard display for others to look at.
like this:
|
DQ you work in an office. |
on Saturdays? |
He / She works. |
he work? |
|
I don.:t work on Sundays.
He doesntt work
collect ideas complete • It is important at the beginning of this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top of the page a questionnairewhich tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should
-listen to people talkingwhich appear in the unit. also give them time to look back at the can you remember boxes
@bout the questionnaire íinterview a partner
íwrite about your partner to it not active. Jump up and down and point to 'not active'. This is fairly simplistic but should be adequate to convey the basic message.
• While pairs are doing exercise 1, make sure they don't start filling in the final section at this point. Check the answers carefully as the questions are the basis for their later interview. then let students complete exercise 2 individually (using dictionaries if necessary) while you move round and help where necessary — some learners will need particular items of vocabulary.
• Exercise 3 is a •dry run' and should help to give learners confidence for the later interview.
• Play recording 3.11 for exercise 4. Students should be able to answer the gist questions quite easily but might need to listen more carefully to complete exercise 5. At the end, students could look at the tapescript, which gives them a model of how to develop their interview.
• The recording above should now help the students with exercise 6, but you could provide more examples on the board and move round and offer further assistance if necessary. Encourage learners to use a range of wh- question words: if they can think of more than one for each yes answer, so much the better.
• During the interview (exercise 7), help if necessary. but generally adopt a low profile and position yourself in the room where you can hear most of the pairs, then move to a different position. Make notes for later feedback, and give particular praise to students who really used the interview for genuine communication. At the end have a show of hands: who is very active, quite active, not very active?
• There are exercises on link words in workbook, expand your grammar p. 18. They will help the students with this particular writing activity, as it involves linking together three or four pieces of information.
• Check the students all understand contraction before they do exercise 1. This exercise revises the present simple, have got and be. Monitor students as they work alone to help you assess their progress and to see who needs extra help or clarification. This will be useful when you go over the answers; use the board for extra clarity.
• Exercise 2 is a writing exercise as students have already talked about friends living in different places earlier in the unit. Encourage students to use the text as a model, and help with any queries they have. At the end, they could swap their pieces of writing and do some peercorrection
grammar present simple
1 've (have) 3 's / is 5 're 7 works 9 doesn't 6 live 8 wants 10 likes vocabulary noun groups and leisure activities
• You could do this activity as a race in pairs. Encourage students to think about their reasons in order to expand their speaking time and practice.
vocabulary noun groups and leisure activities a water is a drink. d office is a building.
b transport is a topic. e house is a place where you live. c flat isn't a drink. f dancing isn't a game. natural English
• Students could write the sentences out, and then compare with the natural boxes.
The recording puts the times in context, so students will need to listen selectively to the short conversations. Replay the recording in exercise 1 as necessary, and pause it to allow time for students to draw the times.
Exercise 2 is a 'test your partner' type drill. Demonstrate what to do test yourself! with another student, then monitor the pair work.
test your vocabulary telling the time
1 office and factory (places where we work), rice and 2 nine thirty / half past nine 5 eleven fifteen / quarter past eleven bread (things we eat), bus and train (forms of 3 six thirty / half past six 6 quarter to eight / seven forty-five transport), flat and house (types of home). 4 quarter past seven / seven fifteen
2 six thirty / half past six, eight fifteen / quarter past eight, nine forty-five / quarter to ten, ten fifty / ten to eleven
.3 shopping, swimming, skiing, travelling
gap-fill lot 2 at 3 does 4 really
Correct the errors
1 play a lot of football.
•2 How do you get to school?
Excuse me, have you got the time? Does he speak German?
in unit four . . .
reading habits
p.42
wordbooster days, months, and seasons time phrases with prepositions
p. 44
listening how to talk about your family
75—90 mins vocabulary daily routines • You could start by pre-teaching / checking the meaning of the items in the table, e.g. look at the pictures and match them with the phrases. Alternatively, you could mime some of the actions and elicit the phrases. Ask pairs to order the phrases in exercise 1. See language point on the right. Some variations are possible in the answers, e.g. some people get up and read the paper; some have breakfast when they get to school / work, etc. Make it clear that different answers are acceptable. • The listening activity provides consolidation of the vocabulary, but also leads into the grammar (frequency adverbs) in the next section. If necessary, replay the recording in exercise 2, pause it when checking the answers, and again when students have to listen and note the times in exercise 3. • Exercise 4 provides oral practice of the vocabulary, but also revises times and the 3rd person singular. DO some practice with the whole class first, eliciting a range of sentences and correcting errors. Students can then work in pairs. You could make it clear that students should listen carefully to each other and check that they are using 3rd person s. |
grammar present simple with frequency adverbs • If students work in pairs on exercise l, they can 100k at one student'S tapescript and the other's exercise on page 32. Always and never are likely to be known already; the item students are unlikely to know is hardly ever almost never). In fact, it is a very high-frequency item and worth learning early. When you go over the answers, you could elicit and write them on the board in a context, like this: 100% always usually / often sometimes watch TV in the morning. hardly ever 0% never Practise the pronunciation of the items, especially usually l'ju:3ali/. • Exercise 2 focuses on the problem of word order. At this stage it is important to keep it simple, so Stay with the affirmative forms. Write the basic two sentences in exercise 2 on the board, and use a flashcard with ALWAYS on it to show visually where the adverb goes in each sentence. • Students can do exercise 3 alone or in pairs, then practise together at the end. For more practice go to the language reference and practice exercises, or see ideas plus on the right. • Exercises 4 and 5 provide opportunities for more extended, personalized practice. Demonstrate what to do with exercise 4 with some examples Of your own, then monitor as students complete the table. • If you want to make it challenging. tell students you want them to talk for one minute (or thirty seconds) and do it yourself as a model. You could give them a little time on their own to rehearse it in their heads before they tell their partner. If it goes well, tell them to do it again with a new partner. Monitor, noting down good language use and errors, and go over these at the end, being sure to praise any sustained speech. Van-t to morež Goo how |
m help with pronunciation and listening pronunciation: sounds /ö/ and /0 listening: weak forms |
p. 46
test yourself!
p. 49
wordlist
p.133
'focus oh daily routinè4:j vocabulary
focus on present simple; with frequency adverbs
read a survey of people's reading habits Aisten to some people describe their routine
talk about daily routines
talk
about their own reading habits and find ut who read; most
exercise 1 vpossible order:
getup, have breakfast, read the paper, leave home, get to school / university / work, have lunch, get home, have dinner, watch TV, go to bed exercise 2
Holly's day: get up, have breakfast, leave home, get to school / university / work, have lunch, get home, have dinner, watch TV, read the paper, go to bed aercise 3
She gets up at 6.30, leaves home at 7.30, gets to work at 8.15, has lunch between 1.00 and 2.00, gets home about 6.00, and goes to bed before 11.00
exercise 1 'always, usually / often, sometimes, hardly ever, never exercise 2
Put always, sometimes, never, etc. after the verb be. Put always, sometimes, never, etc. before most other verbs. exercise 3 see tapescript p.148
home life
language point zero and definite article
These very high-frequency phrases contain a number of pitfalls for learners:
- have breakfast / lunch / dinner: zero article in English, but many learners say
- get / go to school / work / bed: also zero article in English (compare: go to school
— the institution / to study, with go to the school — to the building)
- get / leave home: zero article, but we say leave the house
— read the paper: (the speaker and listener understand which one we mean: the daily paper)
Be prepared to highlight and correct errors with these forms.
ideas plus substitution drill
A good way to provide extra oral practice here would be a variable substitution drill. You begin with a basic sentence on the board, e.g. I never have dinner in a restaurant. Students repeat it, and then they have to change the sentence depending on the word you give them. So, if you say, Often, they say, I Often have dinner in a restaurant; you say lunch, they say I often have lunch in a restaurant. Here is a sequence that will work with the above sentence:
often — lunch — 1.00 — he — go out — hardly ever — in the evening — I — sometimes am tired — she
See pre-intermediate studenes book p.75 for a student-centred example of this activity type.
read on • Exercise 1 is an opportunity for free speaking, and leads into the topic of the text. Set up the small groups, or do the activity as a mingling exercise. Don't worry about mistakes; let students say what they can. Keep the activity quite short, as students will be doing a survey about reading habits at the end of the lesson in speaking it's your turn! • Students should be able to complete the table in the text (exercise 2) by reading the paragraph. Alternatively, you could preteach the jobs, write them on the board, and see if students can predict who reads most they read the text. • Exercise 3 highlights useful phrases in the text, and students can write them in the spaces provided, under the pictures. Students can compare with a partner for exercise 4 before you go over the answers together. The natural English box contains language from the article. For more information, see ideas plus on the right. A typical error here would be an day or an hourF* day. You could do exercise 6 as question and answer practice in pairs. |
speaking it's your turn! • This activity gives students an opportunity to talk more fully about what they read, where they read, and how much they read. The table in exercise 1 is self-explanatory, so tell students to start writing some ideas. You could add some extra ideas, e.g. the books or magazines that you read, and where / when you read most. Monitor as they write and help where necessary. • Exercise 2 can be done as a survey. See ideas plus on the right. The activity could be done as a mingling activity if you prefer. While students are talking, check that everyone is involved and note any examples of good language use or errors for correction. • At the end, have a feedback stage. Students say who reads most in their group and why, and you can then praise them for what they managed to communicate, and go over some errors on the board at the end. However, make sure that students finish the lesson feeling confident about what they have contributed, rather than concerned about their mistakes. |
wordbooster 30—45 mins days, months, and seasons • We would expect learners to know some of these already, so this section is designed to fill the gaps and focus on pronunciation. • When the pairs have completed exercise 1, you could drill the pronunciation of the more difficult items, e.g. January "'d3ænjuar1/, February l'februarl/, and Wednesday / •wenzdel/, plus any others which present particular problems for the nationalities you teach. Go through the example for exercise 2, then play recording 4.3. Pause it each time and try to get the whole class to shout out the answer. You can replay the recording several times, pointing to a different student to answer each time, or asking for a different volunteer each time, but keep the pace lively. When students can answer quickly and accurately, let them play the game themselves in exercise 3. See also language point on the right. |
time phrases with prepositions • Many learners find prepositions notoriously difficult, but at least there are some rules with time prepositions. Check the answers to exercise 1 carefully. With a monolingual group, you can test understanding by asking for a mother tongue equivalent in each case. • When learners have completed the table in exercise 2, use exercise 3 to test their knowledge, making sure they have covered exercises 1 and 2 first. They can compare answers with a partner. For exercise 4, see culture note on the right. If some of the questions do not seem relevant to your class, e.g. if skiing is not a popular activity, feel free to amend some of them so that they are relevant and will generate discussion. While students are writing their answers, move round and monitor. Give praise when they use prepositional phrases correctly, and point out any opportunities to include phrases they have not used. |
exercise 2 accountants, secretaries, taxi drivers, lawyers, priests
exercise 3 |
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1 in bed |
4 on holiday |
2 in the bath(room) |
5 in work breaks |
3 on the way to work exercise 4 |
6 in the living room |
1 true |
4 true |
2 false 3 false |
5 true |
can you remember see article pps. 32—33
exercise 1
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday spring, summer, autumn, winter aercise 2
1 March |
5 Tuesday |
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2 September |
6 Saturday |
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3 June 4 Friday exercise 1 |
7 winter |
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1 on |
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7 week |
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5 winter |
8 moment |
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6 weekend |
9 between |
exercise 2 at a time, on a day, in a period
exercise 3 at the weekend, during the week, in the spring, in April, between 6.00 and 7.00, on January 2nd,
Monday, at 11.00 0'clock, at the moment
ideas plus text search
You will notice that both the listening and reading texts in this lesson are used for 'text search'. In grammar exercise 1, students have to identify examples of frequency adverbs from the tapescript and then plot them according to meaning; and in exercise 3, they have to check their answers to a grammar exercise with the tapescript. In the reading text, they have to find examples of the language in the natural English box, and also check their answers to can you remember in the article.
We feel that this approach is useful and adult, and we hope it will encourage students in the future to use texts to learn new language and find examples to consolidate their knowledge.
ideas plus survey
Put the students into small groups. You could provide each group with a photocopied grid, with columns for different students' names to be added. They can then note key information when they ask each other.
language point use of articles
Here and below you will notice the definite article is sometimes used. We don't use articles generally when talking about days or months (See you on Monday; I'm going in September), but we can use them with seasons of the year:
go skiing in (the) winter. It often rains in (the) spring.
There seems to be a free choice here.
culture note opening and closing times
Opening and closing times for shops can vary considerably from country to country. Your students may be interested to know the usual custom in Britain and how it may differ from their own country.
Traditionally, shops opened from 9-5.30. For religious reasons, they were closed on Sunday and many also closed one afternoon during the week (often Wednesday). That has all changed over the past thirty years. Few shops close one afternoon a week, and many are now open on Sunday - small convenience stores which sell a range of essential goods open all hours, while large shops have restricted opening hours (usually 10.00-4.00). Many large shops also stay open until much later at least one day of the week, e.g. until 8 p.m., and some supermarkets are now open 24 hours.
In the past, a few shops closed at lunchtime, but that is rarely the case now.
»cabula+ý fami
þsk about each other's families using natural phrases
to . . . talk about your family 60—75 mins vocabulary families There is a wide range of lexical items here, but you can fill whatever gaps are necessary for your learners, e.g. partner, stepfather, etc. Before you start, see ideas plus on the right. See how much the students either know or can deduce in exercise 1 without any pre-teaching. If students work in pairs there will be some discussion, in which case you can provide a pronunciation model for the more difficult words, e.g. niece Ini:s/, daughter I'do:ta/, nephew /'nefju:/, parents /'pearants/, and cousin • Play recording 4.4 (exercise 2), then allow time for students to practise individually. Exercise 3 reinforces the pronunciation and teaches students another phonemic sound: IA/. • The natural English box revises have got. Students will sound more natural if they can link the words together like this: Have you gotuany brothersvand sisters? Move round and monitor while students write in exercise 5, and when they stand up to talk in exercise 6, encourage them to ask follow-up questions. |
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grammar my, your, etc. • The grammar focus also makes use of the family tree, which should now be familiar. Check their answers to exercise 1 before they complete the table in exercise 2. The problem with possessives is not generally one of meaning but being able to use thern promptly and accurately, so the key is really practice. Exercise 3 begins this process while providing a check on meaning as well, but you can also use the language reference and practice exercises, or make use of the photos brought in. |
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listen to this • The listening continues with the theme of Mandy's family. Students should now be able to spot the 'new' information easily in exercise 1 • For exercise 2, make sure students read through the sentences before they listen. Move round and monitor their answers and play the recording again if they are having problems. • After exercise 3, students can listen with the tapescript. See ideas plus on the right. • The natural EngHsh box (exercise 4) focuses on together. This is a useful high-frequency item, but one that low-level learners rarely know or use. While students are doing exercise 5, move round and monitor before the pairwork activity. |
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speaking iYs your turn! • If your students require more support, see troubleshooting on the right. • With confident students, give them a minute or two to think about questions they want to ask using the prompts in exercise 2. Make sure they listen carefully to the answers, as they will need the information in the next exercise. Exercise 3 serves a dual purpose: it provides additional practice, but also makes additional use of the information that students gathered in exercise 2. |
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writing • If you want to provide extra writing practice, you could get learners to write about a member Of their partner's family in class, then write about a member of their own family for homework. Use the example first to show them how they could structure the information in their paragraph. For more work on this, see natural English elementary reading and writing skills resource book p.30 |
(grammar:
possessives y, your, etc.
sten to Mandy
Aescribing her family
'talk
about families about a member of your family
exercise 1 ideas plus family photos
2 brother and sister The whole lesson is based round a family tree and some family photos. If you have
3 girlfriend and boyfriend a set of photos of your own family, bring them to class and ask the students to do
4 mother and daughter the same. This will give you the raw material for additional practice of all the
5 husband and wife language in the lesson at different stages (family vocabulary, possessives, have got, 5 aunt and niece and together), and is likely to be very motivating as it will be relevant to the 7 uncle and nephew students' own lives.
8 grandmother and grandson
9 cousins 10 parents and children exercise 3 husband, uncle, mother, grandson, cousin, brQther, grandmQther exercise 4 see tapescript p.149
exercise 1 |
exercise 3 |
This is our sister, Susie, with her hus-baad boyfriend, Richard. |
1 his girlfriend's name is Susie. |
This is our GO-US$-A brother, Michael. |
2 her children's names are Lucy and Mark. |
exercise 2 |
3 his daughter's name is Lucy. |
my sister |
4 her tvän siste(s name is Carole and her husbands name is |
he his daughter |
Damian. |
she her brother we our father |
5 their brothefs name is Michael, and their niece's name is Lug. |
they their son
exercise 1 ideas plus using a tapescript
Susie is 25; Michael is 34. One of the reasons for using a tapescript of spontaneous English is that it will exercise 2 provide natural examples of vocabulary items that occur most frequently - or may 1 Mandy's got a lot of cousins. only occur - in spoken English. In recording 4.6 good examples are: loads and wow
2 Her husband is an actor. (both informal), actually and away (for showing distance). You could write these
3 She works in a university. words on the board, get students to underline them in the tapescript while they
4 She teaches computer studies. listen, then they can try to explain the meaning with a partner. With a monolingual 5 She sees her parents Monday to Friday. group, they could also write a translation equivalent if they cannot find a suitable exercise 3 English word or phrase. In this context, good answers would be:
1 yes loads lots), wow incredible), actually in fact), and away from here).
2 She teaches computer studies at the university.
can you remember possible answers troubleshooting providing extra support daughter, uncle, father, cousins, sister, wife, brother, On the board, write the name of someone in your family, then ask learners in pairs aunt to write questions to ask you using the prompts in exercise 2. Monitor their writing, then answer questions round the class so that all the pairs get an opportunity to hear a range of questions as well as your answers. At the end, write some of their questions on the board.
With the model you have provided and the questions they have written down, the students should be able to do the activity for themselves.
• Many learners have problems with these sounds, often producing Idl or 'z/ instead of /ðl, and Is/ or It/ instead of 101. Ordinal numbers (third, fourth, etc.) often contain these sounds, and although students' failure to produce the 191 correctly in a date is unlikely to affect intelligibility, it is worth encouraging students to incorporate these problematic sounds into their sound system.
• You could begin with a focus on the voiceless sound, 19/. Write some pairs of numbers, e.g. four / fourth, ten I tenth, six / sixth in two columns (A and B) on the board. Say one word in the pair, and they have to tell you which word you are saying. Then show how the 10/ sound is formed: stand with your profile to the class, and put your finger at right angles to your lips to show that your tongue can just touch your fingers, and get them to do the same. (See diagram on the right.) Provide plenty of controlled practice, and monitor and correct pairs working together on the words you write on the board.
• Explain what to do in exercise 1, then monitor the pair work. You can use the recording to check or elicit the answers in exercise 2.
• Focus on the voiced / voiceless pair distinction in exercise 3, using the recording Or your own voice if possible. To help students hear the difference between voiced and voiceless, you can tell them to touch their throat (it vibrates with a voiced sound).
•
Point out the difference between
spoken and written English with dates, and then go on to the information gap
activity in exercise 4. You can ask students to circle as many dates as you
like. Sit the pairs facing each other, and make sure they don't look at each
other's calendars when they dictate the dates they circled. It would also help
if they circled the dates they hear in a different colour. Monitor the activity
and bring it to an end before it loses momentum. See ideas plus on the right
for another activity.
exercise 1 a sixth seventh d second third g nineteenth twentieth b fourth fifth e thirtieth thirty-first h first second c twelfth thirteenth f seventeenth eighteenth i third fourth listening weak forms
• This section focuses on a common listening problem for most learners: making sense of weak forms in connected speech. For more information on the schwa 'al, see language point on the right.
• Focus first on the examples in the speech bubbles, highlighting the pronunciation of the three weak forms, i.e. say 'Are la/ you English?' rather than 'Are la:' you English?' then focus on the questions in exercise 1 and play the first extract. Check the answers, then play the remaining dialogues..
• Exercise 2 focuses on the weak forms. Students should be able to complete most or all of the gaps, but monitor and see how they are coping; this will determine whether you will use the recording for students to check answers, or whether you will need to teach from the recording. Use the recording in exercise 3 to check and model the weak forms. Pause the recording and replay it as required so that students can identify the pronunciation of the weak forms.
• In the natural English box, Thank you (very much) is a little more formal than Thanks (a lot), but both are common in spoken English. practise in pairs.
exercise 1 1 3.15 exercise 2 see tapescript p.149
grammar present simple with frequency adverbs
ideas plus important dates Write a few dates on the board that are important to you, e.g. a family birthday / celebration, an anniversary, a day which is important for the country, the date of your next holiday. Don't write what the dates mean. Get the students to ask you about them, e.g. Why is December 1st important? Explain your answers in simple language and teach new vocabulary items where necessary, e.g. birthday, wedding, holiday. Then tell the students to write down five or six important dates for them. Put them in small groups to ask each other about the dates they wrote. |
language point schwa ,/a/ The schwa /a/ is the most common unstressed vowel sound in English. It occurs in many common grammar words, e.g. and, of, for, at, but, to, etc. as well as auxiliary verbs such as does, have, are, can, must. In connected speech, the cumulative effect of the schwa creates problems for many learners who are more familiar with the written form. Few languages have a comparable sound, and some learners seem to think that the prevalance of the schwa in spoken English suggests incorrect or lazy speech. It is important to tell them, in their mother tongue if necessary, that even the most educated speakers use the schwa all the time. |
test yourself!
test your vocabulary
1 niece, parents, grandson, wife, nephew, cousin, uncle
2 in, on, on, at, at
3 have lunch, read the paper, go to bed, leave home, watch TV
gap-fill 1 any 3 their 2 welcome 4 ever
error correction 1 She often goes to the cinema.
2 1 can see John and his wife.
3 He always has t-se lunch at 1.00.
4 1 watch TV for about two hours a night.
• This activity is the basis of an interview: students can find out what they do alone, with the family or with friends. First, ask students to do exercise 1: this will revise some vocabulary from the unit. Go over the answers, and ask them to fill in ideas of their own, helping if necessary. Students should be able to complete their answers quickly. Put them with a partner for exercise 3, but first, demonstrate the activity with a student. Be sure to ask them why they do things alone I with particular people: this will make the activity more challenging and ensure that students don't treat it as a drill. Monitor the pair work and make notes for feedback on good language use and any specific problems.
• Bring the activity to a close, then let students compare in small groups. Who does most alone, with their family or with friends, and why? Do some quick feedback on language data you collected using the board.
vocabulary time phrases with prepositions
•
• Pair up A and B students for exercise 2, and do the first example together so that they can see how they can check each other's answers. Make sure they are reading aloud rather than just looking at each other's answers: this will provide more listening practice.
Either use the activity as it is in exercise 1, or for fun, write the jumbled words on numbered flashcards. Put students in pairs, tell them the topic of the vocabulary, then give each pair a jumbled word card. They have fifteen seconds together to decipher the word and write it down. Clap your hands, and students have to pass on the word card, and so on. Check exercise 2 as a class.
• Deciding on the missing words (without possible answers in a box) is quite challenging. If exercise 1 is very hard, put the missing words randomly on the board.
• Normally students would be able to check their answers with the boxes in the unit (this is deliberate: it helps students use their course book for revision), but in this case, the examples are different from those in the boxes, so go over the answers before students ask and answer in pairs.
natural Engfish
Do you work eight hours a day?
2 DO you watch TV ten hours a week?
Have you got any brothers and sisters?
4 Do you sleep seven hours a night?
Have your aunts and uncles got any children?
6 DO you and your parents live together?
in unit five .
reading breakfast time
p.50
wordbooster food adjectives (2)
p.52
listening how to ... order food
p. 54
breakfast time 75-90 mins vocabulary breakfast food To start the lesson with a speaking activity, see ideas plus on the right. Students will know some of the items in exercise 1 already. They can work in pairs, using dictionaries to check new items, or arrive at the meaning of some items by a process of elimination. Monitor and help with items they don't understand. Note that the picture does not include all the items. As you check the answers together, focus on the pronunciation and practise them orally, or use the recording as a model in exercise 2. Certain items are quite difficult here: ham / jam are easily confused, cereals "al, sausages /rd31Z/, sugar 'J/, butter IA/, bacon lei/, and heney IA/. There are also four words with the /d3/ sound: sausages, orange, juice, and jam. Can students identify them? At the end. tell them to cover the words and test each other using the pictures. Exercise 3 is an 'odd one out' puzzle. Do the first example together, then put students in pairs to finish. They may struggle with the explanations, but let them try and express the ideas. The natural English box in exercise 4 highlights have meaning eat / drink, this is actually more common than eat here. When students listen, focus on the underlined words which are stressed, and get them to copy the stress patterns. When students mingle in exercise 5, you could ask them to find one person who has a similar breakfast, and one who has a different kind of breakfast. |
grammar countable and uncountable nouns • Present the grammar as suggested in exercise 1, or see ideas plus on the right. Before students complete the phrases in exercise 1, you could test them on the concept: do we say a or some for jam, rice, milk, cornflakes, bread? Check students understand the concept, then ask them to do exercise alone or in pairs. • Exercise 2 shows that although some items are uncountable, they can be expressed in a countable way through the phrases a cup / glass / piece of... Ask which phrase they would use for tea / cheese / coffee / apple, etc. • Exercise 3 contextualizes the grammar in dialogue form. You could do a 'disappearing dialogue' practice activity. Write the dialogues on the board with the gaps filled in. Tell students to shut their books, and practise the dialogues from the board with a partner. Gradually rub off words from each dialogue; meanwhile students keep practising and have to remember the missing words. Keep going until you only have one or two words left in each line. |
grammar some / any • There is obviously a link between the two grammar sections. See language point on the right. • You could elicit the answers to exercise 1 together and give students time to write them in. Point out that we usually use any in questions and negative sentences, and we use some with countable and uncountable positive statements. Ask students to finish your sentences with any other nouns, e.g. Teacher: I want some Student: coffee. Teacher: Yes. Teacher: I haven't got any Student.• oranges. Teacher: Yes, etc. • Students can work alone in exercise 2, then compare with a partner. Exercise 3 gives students the chance to use some and any in a personalized way. Feed in any other vocabulary they might need. At the end, ask a few students to tell the class what they want / don't want. |
extended speaking on the |
whats menu?
test yourself!
p.57
wordlist
p.134
learn breakfast food vocabulary; students ask what people want using natural English phrases focus on countable and uncountable nouns; some and any
read about breakfast in o Madrid and Moscow interview a partner about breakfast time
•rite about their breakfast
exercise 1 1 coffee 6 tea
2 cornflakes / cereal sausages
3 rolls 8 orange juice
4 cake 9 bread
5 eggs exercise 3
Coffee, because you drink it, but you eat cornflakes and other cereals.
c Sugar, because it's sweet, and rolls and bread are both bread.
Toast, because butter and cheese are both made from milk.
Cake, because you eat cake, but you drink tea and orange juice.
Bacon, because honey and jam are sweet, but bacon isn't.
exercise I |
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1 some |
some |
5 |
some |
some |
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exercise 3 |
4 an |
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8 |
some |
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1 piece |
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3 |
some; piece |
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2 glass exercise 1 |
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4 |
cup; some |
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singular: sandwich plural / countable: eggs uncountable: ham exercise 2 |
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1 some 3 an |
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5 |
some |
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2 any 4 any |
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6 any |
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café culture
ideas plus speaking
Put some statements on the board for students to think about. Are they true for them? Why / why not? e.g.
I like breakfast. I haven 't got time for breakfast. 1 always have breakfast.
Tetl students about yourself, but don't go into any detail over food you eat at this stage. For example, I like breakfast at the weekend, because I've got a lot oftime. but on weekdays, I'm always late and tired, and I don 't really enjoy breakfast etc. Then get students on their feet to tell different people their feelings about breakfast. Praise any attempts at conversation, and don't worry about errors at this stage.
ideas plus using realia
Presenting and practising language using realia (i.e. real objects) is likely to be vely motivating and memorable for students. Even flashcard photos of food will bring the presentation to life. If possible, collect some empty packaging, e.g. plastic butter tubs, milk cartons, an egg box, etc. and a few simple food items such as apples, oranges, or biscuits.
Plan carefully how to use the realia to illustrate the rules: apples are good for countable nouns, sugar and rice are useful for uncountable nouns. Chocolate(s) and cake(s) can be both countable and uncountable, so are best avoided at this early stage. Tea and coffee are also tricky: e.g. I like coffee [U] vs I'd like a coffee [C] = a cup of coffee.
For extra work on this area, see workbook, expand your grammar countable and uncountable nouns p.26.
language point some / any
At this level, it is important to keep the presentation simple, so we suggest you keep to the rules in the table in exercise 1. However, it is worth remembering that it is possible to use some in questions:
offers, e.g. Do you want / Would you like some chocolate?
requests, e.g. Can I have some sugar, please?
We suggest you avoid confusing students with this information at this stage. In how to order food on p.43, requests with some are introduced functionally, e.g. Could I have some more water?
Introduce students to the topic of the text with exercise 1. Then go on to the gist task in exercise 2. You could set a time limit of a minute so that students don't try to translate every word.
• Let them read more carefully to find the answers to exercise 3. They could compare with a partner, before you go over the answers. See culture note on the right.
• At the end, you could ask students to talk about their country. Is breakfast similar or different from breakfast in Madrid or Moscow? Ask them to talk about breakfast in general, otherwise it will overlap with the speaking activity in speaking it's your turn!
speaking it's your turn!
This stage (exercise 1) brings together various elements of the lesson in one speaking activity. Give students time to think through what they are going to say in English, and ask you about any vocabulary they may need. The better prepared they are to speak, the more confident they will feel.
• For exercise 2, start by getting students to ask you about your breakfast using the questions in exercise 1. Expand your answers, so that they will try and do the same themselves. Then get students to mingle and interview each other. Monitor and make notes on good language use and any communication problems. Bring the activity to a close while learners are still engaged, and do feedback on content and language. Praise good communication. See ideas plus on the right.
• The text in exercise 1 is a model for the students' own writing in exercise 2. Focus on the questions in speaking it's your turn! before they read about Céline. Notice that there is a lot of recycled language in the text: the present tense, adverbs of frequency, time expressions, and vocabulary.
• Students can do exercise 2 for homework, or they can write in class (in which case you can monitor and assess their writing ability). At the end, ask them to proofread their work, perhaps with a partner. See ideas plus on p.31. Correct it using a simple marking scheme.
Yant to know more? Gotoÿe•intermediate teacher•sb0ókOw
• Students can work alone or in pairs for exercise 1; let them use dictionaries if possible. In feedback, clarify and practise any pronunciation difficulties, e.g. onion See language point on the right.
• Exercise 2 ask students to think of logical prepared foods. Before they begin, make it clear that some words can be used more than once, e.g. a cheese sandwich or tart. See the possible answers on the right, but there may be different answers in your teaching context. For more on chips, see language point on
p.55.
• Exercises 3 and 4 focus on specific sounds and introduce some more phonemic symbols. Put these in four columns on the board and add the first example, i.e. vanilla. Let students work together, then use the recording or elicit the answers and add them to the board. Do the oral practice at the end, highlight these sounds in the phonemic chart on p.159 of the student's book.
• The natural English box in exercise 5 focuses on a very common question which is in the extended speaking activity for this unit. You could extend the practice in exercise 6 so that students ask about meat, drinks, wines. etc. See also workbook, expand your vocabulary food groups p.28.
• Students will know some of the adjectives in exercise 1, so they should be able to deduce new items and match them accordingly. Focus on the categories too, as these contain useful lexis, e.g. service.
• Exercise 2 gives students a chance to memorize the items. During this stage, you could encourage them to mumble the words to themselves, while you monitor and help with pronunciation.
• Exercise 3 provides some natural listening practice. You can suggest that students look at the categories in the table and tick the ones talked about. Then they listen again and note down what they say. Avoid personalized practice at this point because students are going to do this in the how to lesson.
exercise 2
Andrés has breakfast in a café; Ekaterina has breakfast at home.
•exercise 3 |
|
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1 Moscow |
3 Moscow |
5 Ekaterina |
-2 Madrid |
4 Madrid |
6 doesn't have |
exercise 1
Yes, she does.
can you remember ?
some sausages, some cereal, some tea, some coffee, a cup of coffee, a glass of / some juice, a piece of / some cake, some bread / a piece of bread, eggs,
exercise 1 cheese, chicken, onion, apple, mushroom, steak, bacon, fish, potato, ham, chocolate, tomato, peas, strawberry
exercise 2 possible answers: cheese / ham / bacon sandwich potato / mushroom / tomato / pea soup vanilla / chocolate / strawberry ice cream steak / chicken / fish and chips apple / strawberry / cheese tart exercise 4 see tapescript p.149. exercise 5 natural English see tapescript p. 149.
exercise 1 awful; dirty; uncomfortable; slow; expensive; unfriendly
exercise 3 see tapescript p. 149
a e cu ur
culture note breakfast
Traditionally British breakfasts are a significant meal (catted 'the full English / Scottish / Irish / Welsh breakfast'): cereals, fruit juice, tea or coffee, and a fried breakfast of egg, bacon, sausage, and tomato, with toast and marmalade. In practice, few people have time for this kind of breakfast these days, and most people tend to have cereal and / or toast / bread with jam / marmalade and tea or coffee (usually referred to as a 'continental breakfast' in hotels). Porridge has recently seen a revival, as a quick and nutritious breakfast meal.
ideas plus multilingual groups
With a multilingual group, students could make a mini presentation to the class of their national breakfast dish / dishes. Put students from the same country together to prepare the presentation; if a student is preparing a presentation alone, you could talk to them and help where necessary. Students find this very motivating as they want to show their country in a good light.
language point lexical selection
Food is a very broad lexical area, and it can be difficult to decide which items to select for elementary students. A key criterion is usefulness, which is a reason for teaching vanilla: ice cream is a popular food almost everywhere, and vanilla is probably the most common flavour, yet few students seem to know the word.
Some items need to be learnt because they are taboo: for example, many Muslim learners don't eat ham or bacon, so it's important that they recognize these words in order to avoid ordering them. Other items will be useful because students will need them for the extended speaking activity on p.45. We suggest you look ahead to this activity, and decide whether you need to present other food items which are likely to occur in a café menu in your teaching environment.
Want to know more? Go to how to select, organize. and present levels p.167
focus on can / can't
talk about bars and restaurants
to . . . order food 60—75 mins grammar can / can't + verb As the topic of the lesson is ordering food, can you remember here is a timely way to lead in. The task in exercise 1 should be very straightforward for learners from Europe or South America, but students from other cultures may find it more difficult. See culture note on the right. Students could do exercise 2 individually or in pairs. Notice the use of you here to mean 'people in general'. We can also use one with this meaning, but it is more formal and sounds less natural. You could explain this to your students if you wish, or if anyone asks. Exercise 3 is just a quick check, but it is important to clarify this meaning of can for general possibility, as learners will soon encounter can being used to express ability, e.g. 1 can swim but I can't drive. If learners do exercise 4 in pairs then compare with another pair, they will be getting a lot of oral practice as well as consolidating their understanding. Move round and monitor this activity and focus on their pronunciation. Exercise 5 has been included because some nationalities have a problem producing the weak form in can Ikon/ and the long vowel in can't Ika:nt/. This can make it difficult to distinguish between can and can't and occasionally lead to a complete breakdovvn in understanding. Exercise 6 allows some freer personalized practice. Students could do this in pairs or groups while you listen. If you feel they have had enough practice, do the language reference and practice exercises later. Exercise 7 provides more practice of can but this time the topic is even more personalized and you can allow the conversation to move to wherever the students take it. Bear in mind they will be talking about the school café or one nearby in the extended speaking activity, so try to ensure that learners do not choose these places to talk about now. |
listen to this • The natural Erglish box (exercise 1) highlights a common use of will. See language point on the right. Learners also need to be familiar with the common question Anything else? as it is used in a wide range of service situations. The reply (No, that's all, thanks) is the type of response that you want your learners to be able to produce fluently and with confidence. • Before students practise the dialogue in exercise 2, you could give them a quick discrimination exercise similar to that in grammar exercise 5 on the previous page. Write I have (A) and I'll have (B) on the board, then say four or five sentences using one or other of the constructions. Each time, the students must say which one they hear. • When the students describe the pictures in exercise 3, you may have to clarify the difference between British and American English. See language point on the right. • Play recording 5.8 (exercise 4). Check the answers, then replay the recording for exercise 5. These questions will form part of a later speaking activity, so make sure the students use them accurately. • The second natural English box in this lesson highlights another language convention, this time asking for 'more of something' (languages often have their own special way of doing this). Students first listen and complete the questions in exercise 6, then analyse the difference in exercise 7. In fact, this recycles the distinction between countable and uncountable nouns that learners studied in the previous lesson, and is tested again in exercise 8. • Listening again with the tapescript will consolidate the new language from the lesson and provide students with a model for the role play to follow. |
speaking iYs your turn! • Put students in pairs to prepare the waiter's questions together (exercise 1) as this is the more difficult role. You can move round and monitor at this point to make sure they are getting the questions right. Give students a minute to think about their roles for exercise 2, and warn them now that they will be swapping roles at the end so that each student has an opportunity to be both. When the pairs have done the role play twice, you could mix the pairs so that it can be repeated. In our experience this is the type of role play that students are quite happy to repeat, as they recognize its value and relevance. |
listen to someone ordering a meal practise ordering a meal using natural phrases
role play a
restaurant situation
1 b exercise 2 1 b exercise 3 |
Opening times Pubs used to have strict opening hours - they weren't allowed to open before 10.30 a.m. and weren't allowed to stay open after 11 p.m., except in special circumstances, e.g. New Yeats Eve. These laws were relaxed in Scotland some and the same As a |
can you remember culture note bars and restaurants see p.42 In Britain generally, the distinction between a café, a pub, and a restaurant is exercise 1 becoming less apparent. This is largely due to three factors:
You can = it's possible; you can't = Ys not possible
exercise 4
2 you can read a paper in a café;
3 you can't watch TV in a restaurant;
4 you can't have coffee in a restaurant without eating;
5 you can meet friends in a bar;
6 you can have dinner in a restaurant; 7 you can't drink wine in a café.
exercise 5 see tapescript p.149
exercise 1 see tapescript p. 149
exercise 4 The woman orders the meal in picture 3. exercise 5 1 Do you want 2 What would you like exercise 6 another; some more exercise 7
She says another because a glass is countable; she says some more because water is uncountable.
exercise 8
1 some more |
3 some more |
5 some more |
2 another |
4 another |
6 another |
years ago has recently happened in England. result pubs no longer all open and close at the same time, and some (especially in city centres) now open much longer hours.
2 Facilities
Many pubs now offer restaurant-quality food, and this has resulted in some pubs having the appearance of a restaurant rather than a traditional pub, where people used to drink but not have a meal.
3 Children
In the past, pubs were almost exclusively for adults, and children under 16 were not allowed in (or occasionally at the age of 14 if accompanied by an adult).
This too is changing. Some pub landlords are happy for accompanied children of all ages to go into pub gardens, and some are relaxed about children in the pub, especially at lunchtimes and in certain areas Of the pub, but is at the landlords' discretion. They are not allowed to drink alcohol and must leave by 9.00 p.m.
language point will
Unless they are taught otherwise, most learners use the present simple in this situation, and many also use the wrong verb, e.g. I-take or The use here of the modal verb will with the verb have may therefore require a lot of reinforcement. The meaning is essentially I would like, but students simply need to know that in English we use I'll + have when we are ordering food.
language point British and American English
You will have to point out the following difference: British English American English chips fries
can you remember
What would you like?
Would you like (X) or (Y) with that?
What would you like to drink? Anything else?
Can I have (steak)?
Can I have another (glass of wine)? Can I have some more (water)? cnsps chips / potato chips
Unfortunately this difference is made more confusing by the fact that fries is now increasingly being used in British hotels and restaurants, and in Europe, many crisp packets have 'chips' written on them.
ideas plus revision
Before students do the extended speaking activity on p.45, you could do a vocabulary revision activity for homework. Devise a wordsquare containing food vocabulary items from the unit, and give them a copy for homework. Give them also a blank grid, and students invent their own wordsquare including different food items (about 6-10). In the next lesson, check the answers to the one you gave. Then students swap grids with another student and solve their puzzle. If anyone hasn't done it, they can pair up with someone who has.
Want to more? Go to how to encourage learner independenOkGjtit vword review) p. 158
extended speaking what's on the menu? 45—60 mins |
ideastatk about; café you know pare a menu for ur own café
'Ole play ordering and wing food in your
• It is important at the beginning of this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top of the page which tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should also give them time to look back at the can you remember boxes which appear in the unit.
• Exercise 1 is just a warmer, but if you feel your students have spent enough time talking about local cafés and snack bars, you could omit it.
For the extended speaking activity we would suggest that your students use the local currency as they will be familiar with the prices in their own country. See language point on the right.
Students could work in pairs or small groups for this activity. Go through the instructions carefully and suggest that students write out all their ideas on a separate piece of paper for exercise 2, and only complete their menu (exercise 3) when everything is finalized and they can produce a very neat copy, which everyone will be able to read. Remember that each student will need a copy of their menu for the role play later. You could supply them with some blank card or coloured paper and pens to help them produce an attractive menu.
• Give students plenty of time for exercises 2 and 3. Some pairs may need several minutes to establish a bit of momentum; if necessary you could intervene and give a bit of help. Generally though, just move round and monitor their discussion, and note down examples of good language use as well as important errors for later feedback.
When you are ready for the role play (exercise 4), you could try to organize the room so that it resembles a restaurant. Seat all the customers and then get waiters to move round the room. Make sure the waiters have their menus available.
If you want to extend the role play, you could move round the customers and feed in a few complaints for them to make to the waiters, e.g. they have brought the wrong sandwich; the soup is cold; the beer is warm; the coffee tastes horrible, etc. You could also extend the role for the waiters by suggesting an extra item on the menu that they should tell the customers about, e.g. a different type of soup, a new type of sandwich, additional drinks, etc.
At a certain point students can swap roles (exercise 5) so that they all have the opportunity to be both customer and waiter.
You could bring the class together for exercise 6 with some general discussion about the different features of the café each customer visited.
café culture
five review 45 mins
language point currencies and plurals Some currencies take a plural 's' in English, e.g. one dollar / ten dollars; one pound / five pounds. When the euro was launched, it started with a capital letter and the official plural was Euro (no However, corpus evidence now indicates a clear preference for one euro / ten euros. In parts of Asia and Eastern Europe we tend not to pluralize currencies, e.g. five yen (Japanese); ten baht (Thailand), twenty zloty (Poland). The Czech and Slovak Republics, Denmark, and Norway all have koruna / krone which we wouldn't pluralize unless we translate them as crowns (in which case we would). You may need to check whether the currency your students will be using takes a plural 's' in English. Note also that we say five euros fifty (not five euros |
• Give each student five minutes to work on their part of the crossword individually (exercise 1). You could then pair up A students so that they can check their answers together. Then pair up A and B students for exercise 2. Make sure they read their clues to their partner, so that the partner has a chance to answer. Don't let them just look at each other's crossword.
vocabulary food across: 2 bacon 5 Jam 7 piece 8 chips
9 beer 13 potato 14 meals 15 cream
16 cup down: 1 apple 2 bread 3 cheap 4 mce
5 juice 6 mushroom 9 butter 10 bill
• You could do this as a competition with a three-minute time limit (use it flexibly), or you could do it in stages using the board or a flipchart:
write down two things you could do in a then add restaurant. Students have a minute before you add the next thing (bookshop), and so on.
grammar can / can't
1 in a restaurant, you can eat a meal and drink wine; in a bookshop, you can look at books and buy books; in a hotel, you can sleep and have a meal. In most classes, you can't smoke and you can't eat or drink, and in some classes, you can't speak your own language; on a plane, you can't smoke or use a mobile phone or take a pair of scissors.
• Students could do exercise 1 in pairs to make it more communicative.
natural English
line 2 a piece of cake line 4 can I have line 6 all line 3 What kind of cake? line 5 Anything else?
grammar countable and uncountable nouns
test yourself! • There are two ways you could do this. One is to follow the instructions
in the student's book with pairs writing down the time it takes them to test your vocabulary complete each section (the scoring system makes it clear the number of
1 vanilla ice cream, chicken soup, strawberry tart, answers they have to find in each section). Or use the ideal timings chicken / steak / fish and chips, a ham / cheese, given in the book and see how much pairs can accomplish in the time etc. sandwich (you shout out when they have to move on to the next section).
2 dirty, slow, uncomfortable, excellent / great, unfriendly grammar countable and uncountable nouns
3 butter, cheese, coffee, soup, bread, sugar, toast tea, juice, butter, sugar, toast, jam, ham, cheese, soup, a roll, a sandwich, an egg, a sausage, an apple, honey, a tomato, a mushroom, an onion,
gap-fill |
|
a strawberry, an omelette |
1 any 2 piece 3 some |
4 kind |
2 uncountable nouns: tea, juice, butter, sugar, toast, jam, ham, cheese, soup, honey |
error correction |
|
3 an egg, an apple, an onion, an omelette |
-1 rd like some cheese. |
|
4 butter /'bnta/, honey /'hAni/, mushroom /'mAJrum/, onion /'Anjan/ |
2 What do you have for the breakfast? |
|
5 sausage /'SDS1d3/, omelette /'Dm11t/ |
3 1'll have steak and chips, please.
4 Can I have another glass of water, please?
six in unit six ...
reading a day out |
(QCarnLÇð&buta |
vocabulary tourist places |
p.58 |
about tourist places |
As a lead-in to the lesson, you could ask learners to think about the best tourist |
wordbooster |
focus on was / were |
place in their area / country. What is it, and why is it so good? Students can |
past time phrases |
read and talk about a |
then talk in small groups. |
verb + noun |
text about a tour guide |
• The vocabulary in exercise 1 is self-explanatory, but the items do cause |
collocation |
talk about people and |
pronunciation difficulties: the letters which are not pronounced in chutch, |
p.60 |
places using natural |
castle, squate, and fountain; word stress in cathedral and palace, and the |
|
English phrases |
underlined sounds in statue ltJ/, museum li:/, and palace 111. Students can work |
listening |
|
together and use dictionaries to check new words. If there arc other useful |
how to talk |
01k about a day out |
items relevant to the context you are working in, e.g. temple, shrine, zoo, art |
about last weekend |
the past |
gallery, etc., teach them. Make sure students get plenty of practice and correct |
p.62 |
|
their pronunciation mistakes. |
elp wit |
|
Students should be able to work together in pairs (or groups of three) to think |
pronunciation an |
|
of different places for exercise 2. Elicit one or two local ones, then monitor the |
listening |
|
group work. Don't worry if students are unable to produce eight examples. See |
pronunciation: |
|
language point on the right. |
sounds /o:/, /3:/, and ID/' |
|
• Rearrange pairs to listen to each other's examples. |
listening: prediction |
|
grammar past simple was / were Start by looking at the picture of the bus tour and ask students if they know |
test yourself! |
|
where Brighton is. (You can explain it is a town by the sea in the south of |
p. 65 |
|
England which has a lot of tourists and is very popular.) See if pairs can complete the speech bubbles in exercise 1 before they listen. They may not complete all the gaps in the same way as the recording, but it will focus them on the meaning. If they ask about the meaning of was / were, say these are the past tense of be, but don't get too involved in the grammar as this comes up in |
wordlist |
|
the next exercise. |
p.135 |
|
• Students can compare answers to exercise 2, then work alone or in pairs on |
exercise 3. See ideas plus on the right.
• Exercise 4 is a discrimination exercise, which has been included because the weak forms /wazl, Iwaznt/, /wa/, and the strong form Iwa:nt/ are quite difficult to distinguish in connected speech. You could do one example first. Write the following on the board:
2
The student was / wasn't in the lesson yesterday.
Say one of the sentences, ask the students which one you said, and then circle it. Use the recording for the rest of the exercise. If students are having problems, encourage them to ask you to play it again. (You could refer them to the natural English box on p.13: asking for help.) When you go over the answers, contrast the pronunciation of any examples they got wrong, i.e. say both sentences, then isolate the pronunciation of both forms, e.g. Irzl, Iwaz]. For extra practice, ask different students to read a sentence aloud; the class has to say which verb they used. Students can then play this game in small groups. • In exercise 5, students need to know the names of other students in the class. If you have a large class of students who have joined recently, let students ask the names of anyone they don't know, or quickly write all the students' names on the board. Monitor the pair work, and when they have finished, rearrange the students for exercise 6. At the end. elicit a few questions for all the class to answer, and let students ask each other the questions they couldn't answer.
exercise 1
DI church 5 cathedral 9 palace
2 castle 6 bridge 10 fountain
3 statue museum 4 square 8 market
exercise 1 see tapescript p.150
exercise 2 was, wasn't, were exercise 3 1 be
2 was; were; He was late yesterday; We were at school last Monday.
3 was; wasn't; I was a tour guide for two years; We weren't happy with the food - it was terrible.
exercise 4 see tapescript p. 150 language point definite and zero article
We don't think it is necessary to worry learners at this stage about when the article is / isn't used with place names. However, here are a few guidelines:
-
use the for most museums, galleries, statues and individual landmarks, e.g. The
British Museum, The Louvre, The Statue of Liberty, The Sphynx.
- no article is needed with most churches / cathedrals, squares or bridges, e.g. St Anne's Church, Milan Cathedral, Times Square, Charles Bridge.
- some places are less consistent, e.g. Buckingham Palace but The Palace of Versailles. Markets don't usually have the article when they have a specific name,
e.g. Portobello Market; but may require an article if the market only refers to the type of market it is, e.g. The Flower Market.
ideas plus an analytical approach to grammar
In exercises 2 and 3, learners are encouraged to think about grammar and work out the rules from the examples in exercise 1. To do this they have to make hypotheses about language and notice how the grammar is structured. It is an approach that many adult learners find challenging and more memorable, and in this case they also create a written record of the rules themselves.
If your learners are not used to working in this way, approach it gently, and go through the questions together. You can also put a table on the board for students to complete with was / were / wasn't / weren't:
negative
She / It late yesterday. She / It there yesterday.
we / You / They
they late yesterday? he
teacher's book
We / You / They
Yes, they |
/ No, they |
Yes, he |
/ No, he |
• Refer students to the picture of Matthew on the bus, teach tour guide, and ask where there are tour guides (in tourist buses or on excursions). Then check students understand the phrases, e.g. knows a lot (more common than the adjective knowledgable), looks nice and speaks useful languages. Funny is an essential word for this text because Matthew is funny, and this would be a good point to teach joke, which comes up in the article. Get students to compare answers with others.
• Although the answer to exercise 2 is subjective, he obviously fulfills the criteria in exercise 1. You could ask students to decide which criteria are true of Matthew. (The only one we don't know is whether he speaks different languages.)
Exercise 3 is a text search activity; students can compare answers on this.
• For exercise 4, which gives students a chance to react to the content, give them time to think. Monitor the group work, and make notes on any phrases you could teach / go over afterwards, e.g. you can / can't make a lot ofmoney, you meet people, it's not hard work, you learn a lot, etc.
• Both is a very high-frequency word and not one that learners pick up early in their learning. AL this stage, the word order with both is simple as students are only using examples with be in present and past forms. Play recording 6.4 in exercise 5, and focus on the pronunciation of both. Give oral practice.
• After the text search in exercise 6, move on to the puzzle in exercise 7. Students can do this orally or in writing. In feedback, check they are using the correct form of be. See ideas plus on the right.
speaking it's your turn!
• Students are being asked here to produce quite a long chunk of personalized language. This is challenging although the framework in exercise 1 will help them to produce a coherent and logicallyordered piece of discourse. Give them time to think of a day out, and if any are having difficulty, help them with some ideas, e.g. a day in town. See troubleshooting on the right.
• You could ask students to rehearse what they are going to say in their heads in English before they speak to a partner (exercise 2). This activity can be done in pairs as an interview, but it can also be done largely as a monologue, with the listener occasionally asking a question. Do it once in pairs as a rehearsal, then get students on their feet, talking to different people. You could ask them to listen and decide which is the best day out. Meanwhile, monitor and make notes for feedback at the end. Find out which weekend people liked best, and give praise for good language use.
• Pairs can compare their answers to exercise 1. They will probably understand most of the phrases, but you may need to clarify the concept of ago = before now, e.g. (Saturday) was three days ago. Although they will recognize the phrases, most learners use them very inaccurately, so it is important to spend time on them. See also workbook, expand your grammar p.33. and six review on p.54. See ideas plus on the right.
• For exercise 2, give students thinking time. You could also do this as a mingling exercise. They ask each other, either to find someone with three similar answers, or someone with three different answers.
Students can match the verbs and nouns in exercise 1, or you could prepare word cards for pairs to do the matching activity — this makes it more of a game. See language point on the right.
When you have checked the answers to exercises 1 and 2, tell pairs to cover the words and try to remember the phrases together using only the pictures. Or give them two minutes to memorize the phrases, then shut their books and, with a partner, write down as many phrases as they can remember. Less confident students can cover the right-hand column and try to remember the collocates from the verb prompts. Give examples of your own for exercise 3. Students can do this exercise orally or write some sentences. Monitor and correct errors, then put students in groups to exchange information.
exercise 2 yes
exercise 3 |
|
1 Matthew |
4 Charlie Chaplin and Cary Grant |
2 Ho Chi Minh |
5 Queen Anne |
3 Nelson and Napoleon |
6 Clare |
exercise 5 see tapescript p.150
exercise 7
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were both (in the) Beatles.
Halle Berry and Al Pacino are both American / actors.
Chianti and sake are both alcoholic drinks.
Pele and Maradona were both footballers / are both South American.
The Louvre and the Prado are both museums.
Stalin and Lenin were both Russian.
Nelson and Napoleon were both short.
Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse are both Disney cartoon characters.
ideas plus adapting the material
For many learners, the people and things in the wordpool will be familiar. However, if you think your students may struggle to produce sentences, you could give them some key words on the board, e.g. food / drinks / cartoon characters. You coutd also make up your own wordpool to produce items that will have local significance for your learners, e.g. use local actors / drinks / food, etc. Finally, as a revision activity, you could ask students to make up their own wordpools in pairs. Give them prompts: food, drinks, actors, places, sports people, and famous people from history (you need a few of these to practise were). Monitor as they produce their wordpools, making sure they spread the pairs randomly on a sheet of paper. Then each pair swaps with another pair, and has two minutes to write correct sentences. Return the sheets to the original pair for them to correct.
Spaghetti and lasagne are both food / pasta / Italian.
tan you remember vocabulary p. 47
exercise 1 yesterday morning / afternoon / evening last night / week / month / year a few days / a week / ten days ago in 1998 / 2005
exercise 1 and exercise 2 go for a walk (10); wash the car (7); go shopping (1); stay at home (3); do homework (4); go out with friends (11); play cards (6); meet a friend for a drink (5); clean the flat (8); go to a party (2); do nothing (9)
troubleshooting making notes
Many students like to make a few notes: it focuses their thoughts, and gives them a chance to plan what to say in English. However, discourage them from writing complete sentences, or the speaking activity will lack spontaneity. Demonstrate by making a few notes on the board; use the questions in exercise 1 as a framework. Talk through the notes as you write, and keep to simple words / phrases, not sentences. Give students time to make notes, and check that they are doing so effectively. At this point, help them with any vocabulary they need. When they talk to a partner in exercise 2, they should be able to manage without notes, or if they then mingle, and do the exercise again, they shouldn't look at their notes.
ideas plus timelines
Draw a timeline on the board with some dates on for students to copy:
write last write last write yesterdays write today's year, eg. 2005 month, e.g. March date date Pairs can then discuss where all the time expressions should go (i.e. yesterday morning, o few days ago, etc). While they are doing this, they will be using the phrases, and that provides additional practice. Ask students to come up and write a phrase on the line, then check all the answers at the end. They can copy the phrases onto their own line.
language point verb + noun collocation
Some of the collocations may require some checking:
- go for a walk: this means a short walk, e.g. an hour, not a days walk.
- go shopping: NOT ee-tø-shopping
- stay at home: NOT stay-in-home The opposite of stay at home is go out.
— do nothing: this often means relax (at home).
- meet sb. for a drink: here, meet means get together with sb.
— do homework: homework is uncountable, so NOT homewoçks. Also, students may think this means housework.
'skand ååswer àb the weekend using Inatural English phrases
to talk about last weekend 60—75 mins lead-in • For exercise 1, tell the class your favourite day and put them in groups to do the same. • Exercise 2 can be done by a process of elimination. See Language point on the right. • Play recording 6.5, then get learners to practise the dialogues in the same way (exercise 3). After that they can mingle and ask others about their weekend. |
|
grammar past simple regular and irregular verbs • If your students are not familiar with 'weblogs' in exercise 1, tell the class more about them. See culture note on the right. TO put the weblogs in context, ask the students in pairs to describe the pictures. • Exercise 2 allows for a quick reaction to the texts, but try to get learners to give reasons. Look at the examples in exercise 3 so that learners realize that regular verbs can add -ed or just -d. • Exercise 4 highlights the additional syllable in the past tense with regular verbs ending in tor d, e.g. wanted and decided. Students are also often taught the difference between past tense endings pronounced 'd/ or It', e.g. cleaned Ikli:nd/ vs liked /latkt/. In our experience this is seldom a problem, although learners sometimes cannot hear past tense endings in connected speech. For example: a) I clean them I b) I cleaned them a) I like them / b) I liked them You really don't need to worry about these differences; even native speakers often only realize it is a past tense through their understanding of the context. Exercise 5 concentrates on irregular forms. Three (bought, saw, thought) include the sound /o:l, and it is worth focusing on this as it comes up again in the next help with pronunciation. Advise students to keep a section of their notebooks for irregular past tenses, and add more as they encounter them. For the test your partner activity which follows, though, remember that this is the first time learners have met regular and irregular verbs together, so don't expect 100% accuracy . • Exercises 6 and 7 both provide further consolidation and practice of the past simple tense. |
|
listen to this • Exercise 1 gives a taste of the two recordings which follow, and gives students a chance to tune in to the voice and the content: an account of their last weekend which recycles the past simple. • When you are confident the students have understood the beginnings of the recordings, go on to exercise 2 (check the answers), and then exercise 3. Move round and monitor to make sure their sentences are correct. At the end, elicit sentences from most pairs. Who got the most? • exercise 4 is a third account of someone's weekend, only this time students do not have the support provided by an incomplete diary: they must listen and decide what is relevant. • The responses in the natural English box are very important. See language point on the right. |
|
speaking iYs your turn! • Give learners time to compose their thoughts in exercise 1. They could look back at the weblogs and tapescripts 6.7 and 6.8 to pick out useful language. Move round and help where necessary, and move on to exercise 2 when you feel they are ready. Stay in the background but take notes for later feedback. |
|
writing • Students could do this in class or at home, and once again, use the weblogs to help them. See also ideas plus on the right. |
focus on regular and Frregular verbs
isten to people talking; bout their weekend âalk to other people About your weekend
)write a weblog about
'your weekend
exercise 2 1 b 4 d
exercise 1
Il I had a lovely weekend.
The children loved it.
My weekend was 0K but a bit boring. That was a bit boring too.
exercise 3
+ ed: wanted, played, watched, stayed, washed
+ d: loved, decided
exercise 5 .had, bought, went, saw, got, thought, did, met
exercise 6 |
|
Il had |
5 stayed; watched |
•2 wanted |
6 thought |
bought |
7 decided; washed |
4 went; saw |
8 met |
exercise 1 yes
exercise 2
Wigt: Saturday evening: went to a party at her sister's. Sunday morning: 1 went for a walk 2 met of her sister's friends for lunch
Saturday: stayed at home. Sunday: 1 watched his son playing football. 2 watched a film.
aercise 3 see tapescript p. 150
exercise 4
Federay•. went to the cinema; the film was lovely.
an you remember was / were. had, did, decided, went, bought, met, got
language point not and a bit
One very common feature of spoken English which is illustrated here is the use of a negative (not) with a positive adjective (very interesting), and a bit with a negative adjective (boring). Native speakers often use these combinations when they want to express a fairly negative opinion of something:
What was it like? Not very good / nice. A bit boring / slow.
culture note weblogs
There are websites on the Internet where ordinary people - they don't have to be famous - can write about anything they like. This may be something quite obscure but is just as likely to be a very mundane topic such as a typical day in their life or what they did last weekend.
These websites print material in a wide range of languages Gust click on the country you want to access), and if you would like to see what they are like, in English or your own language, try this website: www.blogqers.com
Your elementary students will find the English entries too difficult for their level, but some of the weblogs in English would make very interesting reading material for higher level learners.
language point learning to respond
Learners at this level, and higher levels too, need to be constantly reminded that providing feedback as a listener is a fundamental part of communication, and without it the speaker may be puzzled or even annoyed. The basic problem seems to be that low-level learners are concentrating so hard on trying to understand the incoming message that they sometimes forget responses that they would make instinctively in their mother tongue. In English, yeah and right are probably the two most common ways of doing this, and you should try to get learners into the habit of using these basic responses, not forgetting either the importance of maintaining eye contact as a listener.
ideas plus class weblog
You could set up your own class weblog in different ways: create your own Internet website where students can write weblogs: create a document on a school computer which students can contribute to; bring in a large class diary which students can write in.
Learners could write a weblog each week, or whenever they want. Even those who don't write much will probably be keen to read what others have written.
• Students have already had several past tenses with the 13:1 sound, e.g. bought and saw, but the contrast here with 13:1 is a common problem for some learners. The back Of the tongue is more raised for the 13•./ sound and the lips are more rounded; for the /g:/ sound, the lips are more neutral and relaxed.
• When you have checked exercise 1 and drilled the pronunciation round the class, put learners into pairs. GO through the example for exercise 2 carefully, then let them work together. Move round and monitor, then play recording 6.9 (exercise 3), so they can check their answers and practise orally. Exercise 4 provides further consolidation.
exercise 1
exercise 2 1 August
exercise 4
/D/ Thursday what first want shops coffee
listening
prediction (I)
• Prediction is a key skill in listening and often used in one's mother tongue. In a foreign language though. some learners concentrate so hard on trying to understand the individual words that they sometimes overlook this important skill.
• Start by getting learners to do a prediction exercise. See ideas plus on the right.
• Explain the situation in exercise 1 very clearly. If you have used ideas plus, you could ask the learners for an example rather than showing them the one in the book. They can then work in pairs and you can write their ideas on the board. Play recording 6.10 (exercise 2). If the correct answer is one they have predicted, they should get the answer easily because they will be expecting it. And this is the key to prediction: the more students can predict successfully, the easier listening becomes. The converse, however, is equally true: if students find it difficult to predict successfully — this may happen for cultural reasons — listening is more difficult.
• Continue with exercise 3. If exercise 1 was difficult, elicit another example before the pair-work.
• Exercise 4 introduces a new situation which is less predictable. In other words, students may have to think of a wider range of possible problems in order to include the correct answer in this case. When students do exercise 5, it would be interesting to see whether their ability to predict the correct answer contributed to their understanding of the recording.
• The natural English (exercise 6) box highlights high-frequency phrases used in tapescripts 6.10, 6.11 and 6.12. See if students can first complete the dialogue correctly, then let them use the tapescripts to check their answers. Afterwards they can practise with a partner. Monitor their pronunciation and make sure they say /wAri/ and not /wori/.
exercise 2 His train was late. exercise 3 There were no taxis.
exercise 5 There were lots of people in the shops; she didn't have her credit card. exercise 6 see tapescripts p. 150
six review 45 mins
ideas plus prediction Tc tune (earners in to the idea of prediction, divide the class in half and write these sentences on the board: The restaurant last night was terrible. Our holiday in Spain was fantastic (choose a different country if you work in Spain). Tell the class that each sentence is the opening remark made to them by a friend. What do they think their friend is going to say next? Ask one half (in pairs) to write down ideas for the first sentence, white the other half do the same for the second. After several minutes, ask each half to shout out their ideas. Write them on the board. Do the other hatf agree? You should end up with two lists which contain some / all of these predictions (plus others): Restaurant Holiday food wasn't good great weather service was slow excellent hotel / villa possibly too expensive good food too crowded / noisy / not expensive full Of smoke friendly people; lots to do not enough room and see |
Elicit a couple of examples for exercise 1, then monitor and help While students are writing, and supply vocabulary if necessary. You Can remind students where the irregular verb list on p.158 is in case they want to refer to it.
Demonstrate what to do in exercise 2 by supplying a few sentence endings of your own and ask students to guess the time phase; then put them in pairs. Student B can look at the time phrases in exercise 1 if they need to.
This exercise collects together a number of common errors. Let students work alone or together. You could suggest at the end that they minute to check their answers in the wordbooster on p.50, then go through the answers together.
vocabulary past time phrases, verb + noun collocation
1 evening 3 last week 5 at 7 go shopping 2 a few days ago 4 in 6 do 8 went home natural English
• Once they have finished exercises 1 and 2, students could practiSe the dialogues in pairs until they can say them without looking.
Make it clear students have to choose any nine past tense forms for their grid in exercise 1. Check they are filling them in correctly, and if they make a mistake, refer them to the irregular verb list on p.158 to correct themselves.
When students are ready, explain how to play the game. Demonstrate on the board with an example (write up a few past tenses, then call out the infinitive form of one of the verbs, and cross out the past tense form, or ask a student to). Tell them to shout 'BINGO' when they have crossed out nine. Read out the infinitive forms in random order until someone calls 'BINGO', then ask them to read their past tenses aloud to
test yourself! check.
• Arrange small groups of four or five for exercise 4, nominate a bingo test your vocabulary caller and tell students to draw up a new grid to complete. castle, palace, cathedral, market, church, bridge,
museum r2 last night, a week ago, in 2000, yesterday evening possible answers: go out with friends, play cards, wash the car, go shopping, stay at home, go for a walk
!gap-fill
we 2 both 3 went 4 ago
error correction
1 1 did a lot of homework last night.
2 We decided to stay at home yesterday.
3 Were you late for school this morning? 04 She bought the car in 2004.
You could begin by pre-teaching was born. Tell the class where / when you were born, e.g. Iwas born in a town near Milan; I was born in 1980. Highlight the form and the pronunciation Iwaz/. Students can then make sentences about themselves. If you think anyonc would be sensitive about saying when they were born, don't ask them. Then go on to exercise 1. using the pictures to help with the meaning of some of the phrases in the box. There are a few new verbs here, but students will be able to complete most sentences by a process Of elimination, as they are in a predictable chronological order. See ideas plus on the right.
Use the recording in exercise 2, or supply the answers yourself. In any case, give students an oral model, drill the past forms, then get them to practise in pairs. A test your partner activity would be suitable here: student A says a sentence beginning and student B (whose book is shut) completes it. Monitor and correct common errors, e.g.
and the pronunciation of grew(up) lgru:/, became lbl'kelm/, and wvrked /wa:kt/.
test yourself! • Exercise 3 focuses on the infinitive forms of the verbs in exercise 1. As part of
p.73 learner training, you could ask students to write the infinitives and past forms in a list in a section set aside for this (sce unit 6 p.62). Remind them about the irregular verb list on p.158.
wordlist p. 136
• Students focus on The negative form of the past simple in exercise 1, in a dialogue which relates back to the vocabulary in the previous section. If you think your students need more support, ask them to look at the sequence on
p.55 and tick the verbs they hear, i.e. be born, grow up, leave school. go to university. Then play the recording again for students to complete the gaps. They haven't come across didn't before, but they should be able to pick it up as it is repeated several times. Monitor to see how they are coping, then replay the recording as necessary before they compare and check in exercise 2. Go over the answers at the end, and write didn't leave and didn't go on the board. Highlight didn't + verb, NOT •—pas4--4Æ-p4-e. See language point on the right.
• The forms are consolidated in exercise 3; go over the answers quickly. Use the board so that students can check their spelling.
• Exercise 4 is a past simple negative drill done in pairs, which practises listening and transformations. The aim is to help automaticity. Demonstrate the first example with a student in front of thc class, then organize pairs facing each other, and make it clear they mustn't look at each other's books: they have to listen and transform the Sentences.
• Give students time to think about their answers to exercise 5. Point out they will need to use positive and negative forms, and demonstrate by talking about your own life. fry to include examples with more information to extend the speaking. Students will be focusing on past tense questions later in the lesson, so don't get them to ask each other qucstions at this point.
all in the ast
exercise 1
2 in a small village |
6 in a school in Scotland |
3 school at 18 |
to an engineer |
4 to university |
8 a baby |
5 a teacher exercise 3 grow / grew up; leave / left; go / went; become / became; work / worked; get / got; have / had
ideas plus processes
Learning words and phrases in sets of sequences or processes is useful in a number of ways. A logical sequence (such as a life story) can make it easier for students to understand new items, as the chronological order helps with meaning. Secondly, it is much easier to memorize a coherent and recognizable sequence than a random list of items: learners can relate it to their lives, and they have a ready-made written record. Thirdly, it is useful for testing and practising (for example, you can provide the phrases jumbled for students to put in order). Each learner can then rehearse a sequence of phrases, which provides volume of practice.
As they progress, there are many sequences and processes that students can learn like this. In unit 4, students learnt a sequence of daily routines. They can also learn vocabulary in processes such as buying clothes, making a drink or a dish, making a phone call, writing a letter, getting ready to go out, etc.
exercise 1 •see tapescript p. 150 exercise 3
You didn't want it; He didn't get the job; She didn't buy the book; We didn't go there yesterday; They didn't do it.
exercise 4
•1 1 didn't see her yesterday. |
5 |
He didn't work on Sunday. |
2 She didn't become a doctor. |
6 |
They didn't go to school. |
3 We didn't leave early. |
|
She didn't have chicken for dinner. |
4 They didn't buy a new car. |
8 |
They didn't get married. |
1 1 didn't get to work late. |
5 |
She didn't do her homework. |
We didn't have lunch in the park. |
6 |
She didn't grow up in Paris. |
They didn't want to go. |
|
He didn't go to the cinema last night. |
4 He didn't meet me at the station. |
8 |
I didn't clean the flat yesterday. |
language point did / didn't
The past simple negative form is quite straightforward: didn't + verb. There are no irregular forms or -d / —ed endings to worry about or pronunciation issues, and the forms are the same for all persons. However, some learners tend to simplify the forms, / and the auxiliary verb do (does / did) simply doesn't spring to mind. For this reason, you may need to highlight and practise question forms extensively.
Did is clearly a past time marker in questions (Oid you see her yesterday?) and negatives (We didn't do it), but it is only used in the positive form for emphasis, e.g. I'm sure I did turn that light off. Steven Pinker in 'The Language Instinct' (Penguin 1994) suggests that 'the past tense ending -ed may have evolved from the verb do: He hammered was originally something tike He hammer did.' This may not help elementary learners, but it is interesting for teachers to know.
• Exercise 1 aims to activate students' knowledge of the topic to help prediction and motivation. Most will have heard of Harry Potter, but may know little about the author. See ideas plus on the right. The task in exercise 2 encourages learners to read for gist understanding. You could set a time limit, e.g. a minute and a half, then let students compare answers.
• Exercise 3 further checks understanding of the text. In feedback, ask students to give reasons for their answers, e.g. I was born in 1965 — this is true: the text says J K Rowling was born near Bristol in 1965. Throughout the lesson reading skills and language work are integrated: exercises 1, 2, and 3 are skillsfocused, while exercises 4, 5, and 6 are language-focuscd but rely on the context of the article. Focus on the examples in the natural English box (exercise 5). Write them on the board, and then check understanding, e.g. you could also ask students to plot the sentences on a timeline. Focus on afterthgl: show with arrows on the board that that refers back to went shopping. Point out the punctuation: two sentences are linked with a full stop and capital letter for the link work / phrase, but two are linked by comma + and. Practisc the sentences in the natural English box orally.
• When you have checked the answers to exercise 6, students can practise in pairs: A says a sentence, e.g.
I sold my computer, and then I bought a laptop; B uses a different linker, e.g. I sold my computer. After that, I grammar past simple questions
Go over the answers to exercise 1, and highlight the form: did + verb, not did
Students could do exercise 2 together. Monitor and see if they have understood the was I were and did.
Students won't be able to answer all the questions in exercise 3, but they will find out the rest of the answers in exercises 4 and 5 in an information gap reading activity in pairs. At this point, however, they can only tell you the answers to questions 2, 5, 6, 9, and 12.
For exercise 4 make sure students don't look at their partner's text. When they have finished they need to check which questions they can now answer. Go over the answers together.
speaking it's your turn!
This gives learners the opportunity to use the simple past in a personalized way. For exercise 1, students could ask you the questions, and you can check accuracy, especially in the follow-up questions, e.g. Did you go on holiday? Expand on your answers to provide a model for the students to follow. At the end, give pairs a minute to think of questions to ask you. For variety, do exercise 2 as a mingling activity. Monitor and make notes on good language use, and give feedback using the board. Listen for any interesting experiences that students could tell the class. See ideas plus on the right.
• Some elementary students will know some items in exercise 1, but they may make errors with the verb form have got. For others, there may be a lot of new language. They can work in pairs, but demonstrate first with some cxarnples. See ideas plus on the right.
• In exercise 2, focus on word stress in the longer words and the silent r in dark, hair, short, and beard.
• In exercise 3, students will already know very, but quite is likely to be new. After checking understanding through the pictures, focus on the pronunciation of quite Ikwatt/.
• In exercise 4, make it clear that they mustn't write the students' names. Monitor, correct, and help with vocabulary. You could pin the texts on the wall and let students read them and identify the descriptions.
• Students will need some of the vocabulary in exercise 1 in the next lesson (describing teachers). Go over the answers together, and drill the pronunciation of the items. For more work on vocabulary connected with character and appearance, see workbook, expand your vocabulary p.38.
• Exercises 2 and 3 provide an opportunity for learners to give their opinions. Do one example together. and encourage them to think of examples or reasons for their opinions. See ideas plus on the right.
1 e s
ideas plus biographies The Internet is a great source for biographies of famous people and useful reading material for your learners. Now that they have some basic vocabulary describing stages in people's lives, and studied the past simple, they may be able to follow some simple biographies of people who interest them. (If they know some of the facts already, it will encourage them to read and make the task easier.) Go to www.biography.com. where there are 25,000 biographies of people from many different countries. |
exercise 2 Three: she worked for Amnesty International; she taught English, and French.
exercise 3
1 yes 3 yes (some students may not be sure) 5 yes
2 no 6 yes 8 yes
exercise 4 was; wrote; grew up; left; went; had; met; got married; came back; did; became; sold; made
exercise 5
She went to Exeter University. After that, she moved to London. She also did a teaching course and then became a French teacher. exercise 6 possible answers
Ifinished my homework; and then / after that, I went fór a walk.
I worked in Poland for a year, and then / after that, I went to Korea.
We got married six months ago, and then / after that, we bought a flat.
We played computer games, and then / after that, we went out for a drink.
exercise 1 exercise 4
Did she go to university? Yes, she did. Where did she get married? Student A can answer these questions:
She got married in Portugal. 3 French 8 She knew a family called Potter Wasshe a teacher? Yes, she-was. Were they happy? No, they weren't. 10 Yes — to a doctor called Neil exercise 2 Student B can answer these questions: 1 is 4 did 7 did 10 Did 1 Joanne 4 two years
2 Did 5 Was 8 did 11 Did / Does 7 because her sister lived there did 6 did 9 did 12 does 11 Yes - a boy called David, and a girl called MacKenzie.
ideas plus writing Students could write a short personal biography for homework using the vocabulary on p.55. To begin with, suggest a structure which they can use to talk to a partner: when / where they were born, where they grew up and went to school, when they left school, etc. If your students are still at secondary school, you might ask them to include information about their family, which different schools they went to; where they travelled to and when, etc. |
can you remember
They didn't want to see me. Did they want to see me?
Why did they want to see me?
Did she get married last year? When did she get married? She didn't get married last year.
Where did he have dinner? He didn't have dinner at ndds. Did he have dinner at Nando's?
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'talk tð Jphotos you possess ifocus on object {pronouns 'describe other people using natural English phrases Âisten people talkin about a teacher from itheir past
(talk to other people (about one of your old iteachers
how to . . . talk about people you know 60-75 mins
• If you can bring in either a photo album with pictures of family and I or friends, or better still photosof you as a baby / child (students will love this), this would be a stimulating way to introduce the student discussion, as well as providing motivating listening practice.
grammar object pronouns
• There are certain predictable problems with Object pronouns. See language point on the right.
• Let students look at the photos before exercise 1. If they need extra support, let them listen once to see who the people are, then again to complete the sentences. Check the answers and make sure that students can hear exactly how the different pronouns are pronounced.
When you go over the answers to exercise 2, you could write several complete sentences on the board to put subject and object pronouns clearly in context. For example:
He told me yesterday She met them at the station. We found it in the park.
•
• The natural English box introduces: What's he / she like? to enquire about character and I or appearance. We use What does he / she look like? to ask about someone's appearance. At this stage the latter question is best avoided, as students may get confused.
• In the further practice (exercise 7), listen to the pairs and help with any specific vocabulary needs.
• The photos show four subjects being taught, but you can teach more. See ideas plus on the right.
• Elicit the answers to exercise 1. Exercise 2 invites them to predict the opening to the listening — following on from the focus on prediction in the previous unit — and in this case there is a fairly predictable discourse structure that learners should recognize, i.e. starting with the teacher's name and the subject. If these two are not predicted, it may indicate a difference in the discourse structure between English and their Ll. which could make prediction quite difficult. If so, you will need to give more support to your students in pre-listening activities. Play recording 7.7 for students to see if their predictions are confirmed.
• Give students time to read through the sentences in exercise 4 then play the recording. Play it again if necessary and check the answers before Glen's story. Finally move on to the listening challenge (exercise 5). By this stage students will be familiar with the interview format.
• The language in the natural EngHsh box has appeared several times in the previous two tapescripts, so students shouldn't find the task difficult. You can highlight the fact that the 't' in last is not pronounced, and they will sound more natural if they do the same. They can search for more examples in 7.7 and
7.8 (exercise 6) to consolidate their understanding, before practising the language in exercise 7.
speaking it's your turn!
• If your students all know each other well, see troubleshooting on the right.
• The students shouldn't need too much time or help with exercise 1 as the previous listening gave them several clear models. Move round and help learners while they prepare.
• When students mingle for exercise 2, they should use the first question to start the interview, and then select from the others if their partner doesn't give them the relevant information. You could interview a strong student yourself to provide them with a model.
• While they are talking, make notes, and at the end bring the class together for feedback on their findings,
e.g. Which character adjectives were used a lot to talk about teachers? Were there any funny stories to share? Finish with language feedback, balancing correction with examples of good language use.
exercise 2 |
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T/ me you / you he / him exercise.3 |
she / her |
they / them |
1 it 3 us |
5 me |
7 you |
2 him 4 them exercise 4 |
6 her |
|
1 it 3 him |
5 it us |
7 it |
them 4 them |
6 her |
8 them |
'exercise 1 see tapescript p. 151
exercise 6 see tapescript p.151
exercise 1 '1 geography 2 music
language point object pronouns
These are some of the problems your learners may have:
• In some languages object pronouns are not used, resulting in this common error:
A Is the food OK?
B Yes, I like. (like it)
— Subject and object pronouns may be the same in the students' mother tongue, or they are simply confused:
1 saw they. I don't like she.
- There may be differences in word order, with the object pronoun coming before the verb in the students' mother tongue:
She me asked.
- Finally, there is the difficulty of hearing certain object pronouns at the end of sentences, especially when the 'h' is omitted from him 11m/, her /3:/, or with the weak form of them /öam/. Exercise 3 highlights this problem and provides additional listening practice.
ideas plus extra vocabulary
drama 4 maths Opportunities sometimes arise to teach additional
exercise 2 |
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vocabulary; this may be the right moment |
The teachefS name and the subject he taught. |
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further school or university subjects as students may |
exercise 4 |
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need some of them in speaking it's your turn! later. |
Lynnds teacher: |
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Taking your cue from the photos in the |
'1 geography 3 sìrict |
g |
didn:t tike her |
book, bring more pictures or diagrams to class which |
2 wasn't attractive 4 threeyears |
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illustrate other subjects, e.g. a photo of a battle |
•Glen's teacher: |
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(history), a photo of different composers (music), someone painting (art), a graph showing inflation or |
-3 funny -4 four or five |
5 |
liked her (very much) |
interest rates (economics), sentences in a foreign language (e.g. German), and so on. Make |
exercise 5 |
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photocopies, then see if pairs or groups of students |
Juliets teacher: (accept any of these, but students Will probably not get all ofthem) |
can identify the subjects. Many are similar in |
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she talks about her English teacher, Grace Benn; she was serious, clever, interesting; |
different languages, so the main focus may, in fact, |
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•Juliet was scared of her because she was strict. She Was her teacher for two years. |
be pronunciation. |
to teach
She last saw her 25 years ago. exercise 6 tapescript p.151
an you remember ...7 works near me / you / him / her / it / us / them
troubleshooting adapting material
If your students are likely to choose teachers who may be your colleagues, both you and they might find this a rather sensitive subject to discuss. Equally, if the students are the same age and know each other well, they might choose teachers who everyone knows - in this case the activity won't be as successful.
If either of these situations apply in your teaching context, you could extend the the idea of a 'teacher' to include anyone who has given some form of tuition or training in the past, e.g. a football coach, a scout leader, etc. If learners think more laterally, they should be able to choose someone who is neither your colleague nor someone that the other students will all know.
extended speaking people from your past 45—60 mins |
ideas nswer questions about Id friends
nterview a partner bout their friend your partnds storya
@rite your own story
It is important at the beginning of this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top of the page which tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should also give them time to look back at the can you remember boxes which appear in the unit.
• This first section provides learners with a framework which will help them when they come to do the extended speaking activity. Exercise 1 is an opportunity to recycle language from the wordbooster, while exercises 2 and 3 test students on a text which gives them a model for the activity. After checking the answer to exercise 2, see if students can explain thc meaning of go out with sb be boyfriend and girlfriend) and heartbroken very sad). Both items are guessable from the context and not difficult for learners to paraphrase. While the pairs work on exercise 3, move round and monitor.
• As the interview is designed to practise the past simple (among other things), make sure the students choose someone they don't see now (exercise 4). When they have chosen someone, their partner can start working on relevant questions to ask them. Allow plenty of time for exercise 5 and move round to check that everyone has a wide range of questions to ask. Most will use the prompts to form questions, but do encourage learners to think up other questions as well.
• When everyone is ready, the pairs can interview each other (exercise 6). There may be quite a lot to remember for exercise 7, so you could let learners scribble down a few key facts (but not complete sentences). When they have finished, they can move on to exercise 7; they should obviously correct any information that their partner gets wrong, or add any important information they have omitted / forgotten. Monitor throughout these stages, and again in exercise 8, making notes for feedback later (language and content).
• When you are satisfied everyone is very familiar with their partner's story, move on to exercise 8. Bring the activity to a close while it still has momentum, i.e. don't let one pair carry on if everyone else has finished, and finish with some class feedback on both content and language use. The content might involve you asking students for more information about particular people, while the language feedback should include important error correction as well as positive language use. It is important for learners to go away feeling encouraged by their efforts and the fact that (given their level) they have sustained a conversation.
Students could do the writing (exercise 9) in class or at home (probably depending on available time) but it would be nice to put the stories on the classroom wall or noticeboard for others to read. You could also ask them to guess who wrote each story, and who they were describing (i.e. the student in class whose friend it was).
• Exercise Ion p.62 provides learners with a model for the activity they do afterwards. Go through the example dialogue with the class. By now, students should havethe idea Of pictures which are similar but not identical.
• Put the pairs together for exercise 2 and direct each to their set of pictures. Make sure they dorýt look at, and can't see, each other's, then explain they have to describe their pictures to each other in order to find the differences (as in the example in exercise 1). The pictures are
-numbered, and it is important that each person specifies the number of the picture when they Start the description. At the end, elicit the answers and correctany errors.
exercise 2
1 As man is young, B's is older.
2 Xs woman has got long hair, B's has got short hair.
3 A's girl is thin, B's is a bit fat.
4 A's man has got a beard, B's hasn't.
5 Rs woman is young with blonde hair, B's woman is older with white hair. 6 Rs man has got a moustache, B's hasn't.
• Ekercise 1 may take Students quite a lot of time and some will certainly need help Organizing their ideas. If some finish before others, you could pair them up to proofread each other's work and correct any mistakes.
•When the Whole Class is ready, move on to exercise 2.
•Students Could do exercise individually, then check with a partner before going on to exercise 2.
test yourself!
your vocabulary short, attractive, beard, blonde, thin, beautiful serious, interesting, lazy, nice, clever
-was; grew; got; had
11
brrect the errors
When did she become a teacher? doesn't like her.
He I |
didn't go out last night.
When did you tast see him?
in unit eight . . .
reading
I got lost!
p. 74
wordbooster prepositions of place come and go;-bring and take
p.76
listening how to . get around a building 78
tvronunciationvan listening: pronunciation sounds: ,/d/, /tJ/ -and /d3,Q listening: prediction
test yourself!
p.81
wordlist
p.137
tyou getlost cus oóùð&btilary ng around 'sk forañd ji directions in the stree using natural Ergfish phrases read two Qoties 'people Who got tost
any
{interviev o tuden&s
• You could start the lesson with your own anecdote about getting lost. This will be motivating for the students and provide excellent listening practice.
• You may have to teach the phrase get lost. See troubleshooting on the right.
• You can then ask students when and where this happens to them and carry on with exercise 1. Come back to any interesting or amusing stories.
• You could use exercise 2 now or later for useful recycling.
Although learners may be familiar with some of these verbs, the list in Why do people get lost? includes a number of phrases which may not transfer easily into the learners' mother tongue. See language point on the right.
• You could do exercises 1 and 2 at the same time, as the pictures illustrate and reinforce the meanings of the sentences, and should help learners. Check the answers, and drill the pronunciation.
• Exercise 3 is a chance to personalize the sentences. Go through one or two examples with the class, then put students in pairs or small groups.
The natural English box continues the theme and highlights common phrases for asking for directions. The main focus is this use of way, but also the important phrase excuse me (to attract someone's attention) and the use 01 wrong referred to earlier. The task in exercise 4 forces students to listen carefully, and at the end you can explain that the words in brackets are optional in all these sentences — students need to be aware of this. Replay the recording and practise the pronunciation (exercise 5).
For exercise 6, you could brainstorm five places near the school as a class on the board, then put learners into pairs for the practice activity. Move round and monitor, and notice if any of the students are able to reformulate the sentences in different ways which are also correct. For example: Can 1get to the post Office this way?
• Exercise 1 is for students to gain a general understanding. Let the class read and familiarize themselves with the questions first. then set a time limit for reading the text, e.g. two minutes. to force them to read quickly for gist and not read word for word using a dictionary (extend it if they are struggling). Check the answers before students read the article again and complete exercise 2. You may be interested to know that, despite sounding highly implausible, both stories are actually true. Does anyone in the class know of similar stories?
All the words in the glossary for this text are extremely useful. You could give learners time to look at the items again (and any others in the stories) and ask you any questions. The next section focuses on grammar, but some of the practice makes further use of these stories.
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exercise She got lost in Beijing. She couldn't read the streeÿ signs in Chinese. |
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troubleshooting teaching through a situation You could use translation with a monolingual group: alternatively, you may have to build up a situation, e.g. draw a simple street map on the board, show the place where you wanted to be, then explain: you went along a street, you didn't know the street, there was no name, and soon you (look around confused and bewildered) got lost. Repeat the phrase, write it on the board, ask students for the tense of got and what the infinitive of the verb is. You can then check their understanding by asking them what a person can do in this situation ('ask someone in the street' is the most likely answer). |
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exercise 1 They ask fordirections but don't understand themï they forget-to take a map; they get on the wrong train; they get off at the wrong station; people give then the wrong directions; they fotget the way; it's dark and they can't Seethe road. signs -exercise 2 they get on the wrong train 02 they forget the way 3 they get off at the wrong statiory they forget to take a map - they ask for directions but they doh't understand them 6 people give them the wrong directions iYs dark and they can't seethe road signs fhey•don't ask for directions exercise 4 see tapescript p. 151 |
language point wrong This is a very high-frequency word in English and comes up in the natural English box in exercise 4. As an adjective, it has a number of different meanings: — in the context here, it means 'not the one I wanted or intended', e.g. I got on the wrong train; I went the wrong woy (opposite right). In some other languages this meaning is expressed in a completely different way or with a different adjective. - another closely related meaning is 'not correct', e.g. That's the wrong answer. (opposite = fight). — it can also mean 'a problem', e.g. There's something wrong with (the phone). With this meaning, the opposite is not right. (The opposite is: There's nothing wrong with the phone.) You don't need to go into this detail with your learners now, but it is useful to be aware of the potential problems they may have with this word. |
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exercise 1 a and c 2 b and c exercise 2 Dover France (Calais) place near Switzerland on the border Luxembourg' 15 Belgium 16 Netherlands (Rotterdam) Germany (Bonn) |
75 |
•n in our wa
grammar how much / many?
• Exercise 1 revises countable and uncountable nouns, which is the basis to understanding the difference between (how) much and (how) many. See language point on the right.
• Students should complete the table quite easily through a process of deduction, and the table also highlights the fact that none, quite a lot, and a lot can be used equally with countable or uncountable nouns.
• First nominate A / B pairs, then put As and Bs together to work on exercise 3. Make sure everyone has the right answers before moving on. Move round and monitor the pairs while they are doing exercise 4, and refer them back to the text if you notice any incorrect answers. Finally, establish A / B pairs and let them ask each other their questions (exercise 5).
• Speaking it's your turn! provides freer personalized practice of how much and how many. If you feel your students are ready for this, set the language reference and practice exercises for homework.
speaking it's your turn!
• While practising the grammar from the previous section, this is a much freer activity to end the lesson. Some students may keep to the verbs provided in exercise 1, but encourage pairs to think up their own examples and give them the support to do this. When the pairs have written at least five questions, they can interview other students (exercise 2). Let them interview more people if it is going well. Finally, send them back to their original partner to discuss their findings (exercise 3).
The position on the map guides learners to the meaning of the different prepositions for exercise 1, although we would expect them to know some of them already. If you are familiar with your learners' Ll, you will be aware which concepts are likely to cause most difficulty, but a common problem is in and on because they are used in a similar way. See language point on the right.
Praclise the pronunciation of the sentences round the class, then divide the students into pairs for test your partner. Students wili get freer practice of these prepositions in the next lesson.
• These verbs are together as they share the same conceptual problems. See language point on the right. Students could do exercise 1 in pairs. When you check the answers, clarify the basic concept for your students, i.e. come / bring express a movement towards the speaker; go I take express movements to other places (often away from the speaker). Use gestures to reinforce the concept.
• In exercise 2, A I B pairs have to listen to a recording and follow instructions (involving the use of all the target verbs). If any of the pairs make a mistake. stop the recording and go back to the beginning. Do this until all the pairs can carry out the instructions accurately.
• Exercise 3 is a concept check. Students complete the tapescript they have just listened to.
none |
not many |
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quite a lot |
a lot |
none exercise 3 |
not much |
|
quite a lot |
a lot |
1 How many? |
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4 |
How many? |
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2 How many? |
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S |
How many? |
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3 How much? |
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6 |
How much? |
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1 How many? |
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4 |
How much? |
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How much? |
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5 |
How many? |
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-j How much? |
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6 |
How much? |
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exercise 2 language point expressing quantity
We normally use much and many in negatives and questions: much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with plural nouns:
I haven't got much money. Do you know many Spanish people?
In affirmative sentences we normally use a lot (of), which can be modified by quite:
We've got (quite) a lot of bread.
(NOT There were many people is possible but very formal.)
In replies to questions beginning how much or how many, we often use a lot, quite a lot, not much, and not many. We can use these phrases without a noun if the meaning is clear.
Not much / many is similar to a little / a few, but often more negative: How many are there? Not many. less than I hoped or expected) A few. better than nothing)
To emphasize a negative without a noun we use none:
How much food is there? None.
How many students come to the lesson? None.
1 not many |
quite a lot |
5 a lot |
2 none Studgnt_g |
4 quite a lot/ a lot |
6 none |
1 a lot |
3 none |
5 not |
exercise 4
not much- 4 not much none
'tan you remember get off at the wrong station get on the wrong train Which way is the station? 'ask for directions How much money have you got?
Gercise 1
The hotel's next to thé bank.
'The bank's opposite the cinema.
The cinema's between the shop and the café. rhe car park's behind the hotel. The hotel's near the church.
language point in and on
Both describe the position of something, but we normally use in meaning 'within' a room, building, area, city, etc., and on to refer to the 'surface' Of a room, area, etc.
The statue's in_front of the park.
•The laws in the park.
The boaes on the lake. 'The parks at the end of the road.
eercise 1 come 2 go 3 bring 4 Cake
•exercise 3 tapescript p. 151
It's in the kitchen. |
but |
It's on the kitchen floor. |
We sat in the field. |
but |
We sat on the grass. |
We went in the river. (swimming) |
but |
We went on the river. (in a boat) |
Some examples illustrate how closely the concepts overlap. We would probably prefer we got on the train, but we could also say, we got in the train.
language point come / go and bring / take
Students may find these verbs difficult for several reasons:
- their own language may use a single verb to express bring take.
— the conceptual difference Of movement towards or away from the speaker can be more complex than that. Come or bring can describe a movement towards a place where the speaker will be in the future (but isn't there now). For example:
Can you come and pick me up at home ot six? (i.e. that is where I will be then.) - bring and take are transitive, e.g. Bring it to me (not 8-àR¶-te-me).
- all four verbs have a range of meanings in English which do not always transfer to the learners' LI using the same verbs.
listening how to . . . get around a building 60-75 mins |
talk about the ssroom
iask for directions usi
(natural Erghsh phrases
glisten to people asking for and-giving •rections m vocabulary for irections, and ask fot nd give directions und the school
-directions for'S dents to follow
grammar there is / are
• Can you remember revises the prepositions from the wordbooster on p.66, and these will be useful throughout the lesson. Do the activity as suggested, or try the following: write the prepositions from the wordbooster on the board, and ask pairs to draw simple diagrams to illustrate the meaning of any five of them. Do one yourself to demonstrate. Pairs then swap their diagrams with another pair to work out which prepositions are being illustrated.
For exercise 1, let students ask you for vocabulary they need, or pre-teach I check a few items relevant to your classroom, e.g. map, board, clock, bin, etc. Bring the class together after pairwork, elicit and correct the sentences.
Make sure students don't look up when they do exercise 2, as it's a memory game. Check the answers. The sentences in exercise 2 include singular, plural, positive, and negative examples of there is I are, so students can make deductions when they do exercise 3. Do the table together using the board if you think they need extra support. Remind them about some I any with negative and question forms.
• Exercise 4 provides controlled practice of the sentences in the table; you can drill these yourself without the recording if you prefer, but highlight and practise the linking and weak forms in the examples. Students practise question forms in exercise 5. Monitor and correct as they write. Get two students to read out questions for the class to answer before pairwork. See ideas plus on the right.
•
• The language in the natural English box in exercise 2 forms part of the listening material which follows. Point out the use of Excuse me to attract attention (NOT Excuse me, s-i¥44#444+Æ), and bear in mind that library a place where you can read books and study) is a false friend in a number of languages (librería = bookshop in Spanish). provide plenty of practice of these directions. You could write prompts on the board, e.g. toilet, bookshop, or other vocabulary you may have taught if you used ideas plus.
• The students listen for gist in exercise 3. Stop and check each conversation. Then go on to exercise 4.
• The short text in exercise 5 will make the recording more accessible for learners. so let. them read and absorb the information before listening.
• The natural English box in exercise 6 focuses on well. a high-frequency item in spoken English. Here. they notice it so that they will recognize it in natural conversation. If you are near the end of a teaching period, you could stop at this point and come back to the directions vocabulary in the next lesson.
• This section provides language input On directions around a building. Once you have checked the answers to exercise 1, model the phrases orally for students to repeat, exaggerating the stressed words I syllables. Students can then do a mumble drill (i.e. say the phrases quietly to themselves while you listen and correct). See language point on the right.
• The practice in exercise 2 revises the earlier natural English box, vocabulary for directions, and there is I are. Elicit and drill a couple of dialogues with the class before pair work. Monitor and give feedback while the students are working together. You can also encourage students to give directions in their building, but you will need to think about it in advance.
• This is a writing game. You could write your own example on the board. similar to the one in exercise 1, but adapting it to the building you are in; see if students can work out where they are. Help them with new vocabulary as they work individually (or in pairs). At the end, collect in the writing, redistribute the sheets, and then (in exercise 2) students can work in pairs to decide where they are, noting down the answers. They pass the directions to the next pair and read a new one. See ideas plus on the right.
O
ideas plus extra practice For further practice of there is / ore, use the language reference and practice exercises. Here are two more suggestions: 1 change the topic: students could prepare questions to ask a new partner about their home, e.g. Is there a phone in your bathroom? Are there any chairs in your bedroom? For this, they will probably need to ask you for new words or use dictionaries. They then find a new partner and ask the questions. 2 grammar brainstorm: you coutd ask students to brainstorm sentences using there is / are on different topics, e.g. What is/ isn't there in the school building? What is/ isn't there in the street outside? For more information, go to how to use the board p.146, try it out grammar brainstorm. |
ün you remember behind; On; in; next to; in front of; between; near; at
(the end)
exercise 1 and exercise 2
This will depend on the clasSroom.
exercises 3 and 4 see tapescript p. 152
exercise 2 see tapescript p.151
exercise 3
1 No, becausè the coffee bar doesn't have hot food.
-2 Yes, because the receptionist makes.the copies for him.
exercise 4
1 true conver<ation 2 |
2 true |
3 false |
false |
false |
6 true |
exercise 5
The woman wants the lift because she has to take some books to the library. The ureceptionist gives her directions — go-upstairs to the second floor, along the •corridor, turn left and the library is the second door on the right. She thanks the Jreceptionist.
language point typical errors Here are some typical problems for students with the phrases in exercise 1: — turn left / right: the pronunciation of turn /t3:n/ often causes problems; many learners Say turn / — it's on your left / right: clarify the difference between movement (turn left) and location (on your left); some learners also say it's on your left side. — go upstairs / downstairs: in some languages, these phrases are translated by two separate verbs, e.g. French monter (go upstairs) and descendre (go downstairs). Notice also the pronunciation /steaz/ and word stress: go |
Uercise 1
1 go upstairs 6 it's at the end of the
2 turn left corridor
'3 go along thetorridor 7 Dies the second door
4 do downstairs on your right
5 turn right 8 it's the first door on your left
ideas plus following instructions You could turn this writing game into a further activity. Once students have written their directions, they find a new partner. Student A gives the piece of paper with his / her directions to B. A leaves the room and goes to the destination. B then reads the directions and has to leave the room and end up at the same place as A. They then return to the class, B leaves the room, and the activity is repeated. |
you remember right,' along; on; floor
• The sounds IIl, ltJ/, and Id3/ are often confused. See language point on the right.
• Use the recording in exercise 1 or model the phrases orally yourself for students to repeat. Isolate the sounds, e.g. say Ill, then Polish. Listen to individuals and correct where necessary.
• Exercise 2 is a puzzle: there are three words which fit each category, but learners have to put them under the appropriate sound. As they work together, they will be trying out the sounds and practising the pronunciation of the words quite naturally. Monitor and help where necessary. For more oral practice, get pairs to read their answers to another pair. Go over all the answers at the end.
Speaking on the phone in a foreign language is particularly challenging, given the lack of visual clues. It can be very helpful, though, if learners try to anticipate what a speaker might say to them in a highly predictable conversation such as a service encounter (buying a ticket, etc.). If they can predict some of the language. they can then also plan in advance the answers they might give.
Start by looking at the 'important" instruction, then tune students in to the context with exercise 1.
For exercise 2, clarify that they only need to tick questions the Trainline person will ask, and not questions they might ask themselves. Do a couple of examples together before pairwork.
Before you play the recording in exercise 3, set the scene using the picture. The questions asked by the trainline person are not identical to the ones on the page, e.g. he asks, Which date to travel?, but learners should accept that the questions are more or less the same. Pause the recording occasionally to give students time to tick the answers, and if necessary, replay it. Then play the recording for exercise 4. This recording could be the basis of a role play. First, let the students practise the conversation in pairs, using the tapescript. Then pairs make travel plans, using the table below.
YOUR TRAVEL PLANS from
Students then find a new partner. Student A asks the appropriate questions in exercise 2; student B answers using information from their travel plans.
The language in the natural English box (exercise 5) is useful for students' survival skills, so they should keep it in their vocabulary notebooks. Refer them to tapescript 8.10 to find the phrases in context.
exercise
exercise 2 Questions 1, 3, 5, 6, exercise 3
exercise
1 London- (Euston)
3 Tuesday 10th June
language point If/, /tJ/, and /d3/
Many learners have difficulties with these sounds. For example:
/f/: some learners, e.g. Chinese and Greek, say /s/, i.e. so instead of show
Other learners, e.g. Spanish, say /tJ/, i.e. chopping instead of shopping
/tf/: some learners, e.g. Arabic, Chinese, French, Greek. and Portuguese, say /J/, i.e. mash instead of match
/d3/: some learners, e.g. Chinese, German, and Turkish, say /tf/: i.e. tune instead of June
Other learners, e.g. Arabic, French, Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish, say /3/ i.e. ,/br13/ for bridge /bnd3/
To help learners with /f/, make a long shhh! sound (as if telling someone to be quiet, with a gesture). Notice that this sound is continuous.
For/tf/, make a sneezing sound ('achoo', then isolate the /tf/ (unless it is culturally unacceptable). Remember that this sound is voiceless, and not continuous.
For./d3/, add voice to the sound above.
For all three sounds, the tongue is raised near the roof Of the mouth.
test yourself!
Gt your vocabulary ask; take; get; off its the second door on the right; it's at the end of the corridor; go upstairs and along the corridor; go downstairs and turn right.
near, opposite, next to, in front of
gap-fill
2 way 3 there 4 slowly
Grect the errors
Come here and bring your book with you. How much money have you got?
think there are two tables in room four. Els there any food?
grammar how much / many?
For exercise 1, monitor and correct while students are writing the questions. To make the activity more challenging for a stronger class, don't let them look at the table. Write the first two columns on the board (i.e. how much r' many and the nouns) and then elicit a couple of possible past tense questions similar to the ones in the table. Students then work in pairs and write their questions. Monitor and help.
• You can do exercise 2 in pairs,.or as a mingling activity. Monitor and give feedback.
grammar how much / how mony?
1 How many phone calls did you make yesterday?
2 How many people did you speak to yesterday?
3 How many hours of TV do you usually watch in the evening?
4 How much English did you speak last week?
5 How much bread do you eat day?
6 How much money have you got with you today?
7 How many times did you go out in the evening last week?
• Exercise 1 gives learners practice in listening to and following directions.
Make it absolutely clear that the conversations all start from reception. Check the first answer and if students have managed it well, play the rest of the conversations, pausing for them to label the rooms.
• Demonstrate what to do in exercise 2 with a student in front of the class, then put students in pairs to practise together. Monitor and correct errors at the end.
vocabulary directions see tapescript p.152 grammar there is / are
• Go over the examples in exercise 1 on the board, revising the different forms, i.e. singular and plural, a and not any. You could adapt the examples to make them relevant to the town you are in, and make sure that one or two are false. Monitor while students work together, and encourage them to write their own ideas (supply any necessary vocabulary).
• Rearrange the pairs for exercise 2. Monitor and give feedback.
• Most learners should be able to tackle this exercise, but if you think they need extra support, you could write the missing words randomly on the board. At the end, students could practise the dialogues.
in unit nine .
reading
reading backpacking 75-90 mins
backpacking
p. 82 wordbooster numbers (2) money
p. 84
listening how to book a room p. 86 extended speaki my hotel
test yourself!
p.89
wordlist
p. 138
would like to visit focus on have doht have to/ do have t?? -can / cgn't
(peimission)
read and exchange •information about youth hostels talk about what you normally do on holiday using natural EngHsh phrases read.aboùtayoUth hostel and write an ue-mail 'talk to OÙ1ers abouta perfect hostel
• Give students a few moments to think about the questions. The best way to encourage more speaking is to give an example yourself, especially if you say why you want to go to the place and where you would stay. At this point you could also feed in vocabulary to help them, e.g. youth hostel (which will be useful in the next section), apartment, villa, camping, and if you are in the UK, B 0B (bed and breakfast). See culture note on the right.
If you get learners on their feet to talk, you can extend the pair work into a mingling activity. Listen, and at the end, ask One or two students with interesting ideas to tell the rest of the class.
• The pictures provide a guide to meaning for the phrases in bold in exercise 1. Make sure that students have understood these before you focus on the grammar. The sentences contain the target grammar, but students will probably be able to understand the meaning. If anyone asks about have to, say it means must (most learners know must) but tell them they are going ro study the grammar in a minute.
• For exercise 2, look at the first sentence in exercise 1 together, and ask the students if it is true about a hotel. Then let them work on the rest in pairs.
• Exercises 3 and 4 focus on the concept Of have to / don't have to. See language point on the right. You can use thc concept questions in these exercises as they are, or with a monolingual group, write some examples on the board, e.g. You pay the bill when you leave. / You clean the hotel room. Ask students to translate the underlined words.
• Learners can cither complete the table in exercise 5 alone or with a partner. Go over the answers carefully using the board or an OHT if you have one. If you prefer, leave the table until the end of exercise 7.
• Exercise 6 is a further test of concept. If learners get examples wrong, e.g. You dêH.4-ka-ve4e pay for drinks, ask them if it is necessary to pay for drinks, and can you leave the hotel and not pay for drinks?
• Demonstrate the question and answer practice in exercise 7 in front of the class, then monitor the pair work. Make a note of any concept or form problems, and deal with them on the board at the end. Go on to the language reference and practice exercises at this stage if learners need more practice.
es to stay
culture note accommodation and backpacking
Types of accommodation vary considerably from country to country, so teach learners what is most relevant to their context. In the UK, youth hostels are common everywhere and provide good basic accommodation and a friendly atmosphere. In the past, guests weren't allowed to travel there by car, but nowadays there is a less rigid approach. A 8 8 B (bed and breakfast) is another economical option: some are just a couple of spare rooms in someone's house, but they can be on a much larger scale (but usually cheaper than a hotel).
Backpacking (the subject of the lesson) is usually for young people (18-30). In the UK, it is common for 18-year-olds to take a year out (a 'gap year') and go backpacking overseas, sometimes with teaching / work placements, adventure activities, etc. Certain organizations, e.g. Raleigh International or Project Trust, organize the travel and work for the students. They then return to resume their studies at college / university back home. For more information go to wwwtGapYearDirectory.co."k
exercise 1
exercise 2
Sentences 1 and 4. Someone cleans-the room for you and cooks your breakfast (a cleaner / chambermaid and a chep.
exercise 3 F- its necessary
exercise 4 yes 2 b - ies not necessary exercise 5
You / We / They have to |
I / You / We /They don't |
|
He / She / It |
has to |
have He / She / It doesn't to ort n |
Do you |
have to |
Yes, you do. / No, don't. |
Does she exercise 6 |
|
Yes, she does. No, she doesn't. |
1 don't have to |
3 don't have to |
g don't have to |
have to |
4 doNthaveto |
6 have to |
language point have to / don't have to
Many elementary students will have come across the verb must before. If they have, you can use this to teach have to in the positive form. We wouldn't advise you to start explaining the difference between must and have to at this stage; it is simply too subtle for this level. We focus primarily on have to in this lesson because it is more common in conversational English than must, and it is important for students to start using it.
Don't have to is more complex. If learners think that must means the same as have to, they will assume, incorrectly, that don't have to means the same as mustn't: In fact, don't have to means don't need to / needn't / isn't necessary. In the context of this lesson, learners aren't given the Opportunity to use mustn't, so there should be no reason for them to try to use it. With a monolingual group, you may feel that translation of the example sentences, as suggested Opposite, is the clearest way to deal with the concept.
Either do exercise 1 as suggested. or teach the meaning using the picture and the definitions in the answer key opposite.
• Don't tell students the answers to the FAQs in exercise 2, as they are going to read and find out in an information gap reading activity. Guide them to the glossary tor new vocabulary in the FAQs.
Organize the pairs for exercise 3, and make sure students are not reading their partner's text.
Continue with exercise 4. Students will have learnt some new vocabulary from their text. so they may need to explain it to their partner, or you could go over the glossary items yourself first. See ideas plus on the right.
Learners have already learnt usually in unit 4, so normally (exercise 5) should be easy to understand. Highlight the word order in the examples in the natural English box so students can produce accurate examples in exercise 6. Give them time to think of examples before they talk to a partner.
• Finally, exercise 7 gives learners a chance to talk about their experiences. Ask for a show of hands: who has stayed in a youth hostel? Group students accordingly. Monitor while they mingle.
• Ask learners to read the web advert for the Arpacay Hostel in exercise 1. Then explain that Milly is at the hostel now, writing to her family.
• Students could work alone or together on exercise 2. Monitor as they write, helping and correcting where necessary. Alternatively, set the writing activity for homework. If you have a strong class who also have Internet access. you could direct them to www-hostels.CQm to choose their own hostel and write an appropriate e-mail. Other students could then read both the advert and e-mail.
speaking Ys your turn!
• For exercise 1, students can decide where their hostel is and give it a name. The activity obviously practises can / don't have to, but gives learners some choice over the content. Monitor the pair work, and check that they are using don't have to accurately. Put pairs together (exercise 2) to tell each other about their hostel. If they talk to different pairs, they can decide which hostel they prefer. Give feedback on the content and language work at the end.
• This section contains different types of numbers. See language point on the right.
• Give students a moment to look at the four items in exercise 1 and ask them what each one is (a credit card, a hostel price list, a restaurant bill, a supermarket receipt Ins'i:t/). Then point to the missing numbers and tell students to listen and complete the information given in recording 9.1. Replay as necessary. Let them compare with a partner, then go over the answers. Students can then work out the totals together.
• Highlight and practise some of the numbers I amounts orally. Then demonstrate exercise 2 with a learner. Students can then do the same dialogues in pairs.
money
In exercise 1, pairs can help each other with the new vocabulary in bold, but they may need dictionaries. Some items will already be known (especially if you pre-taught bill and credit card in the previous section). Make it clear which two texts they must refer to. See language point on the right.
• When students find a new partner, they will be asking them questions with new vocabulary, and may need to explain the meaning to each other. Do the first question from exercise 2 as a class, i.e. get an A student to ask the B students the first question, and vice versa. Then monitor as they work in pairs. and help il students are finding it hard to explain. If they use translation, make sure it is accurate.
-exercise 1
Backpackers are people (especially young people without much money) who travel around an area on foot or on public transport, Often carrying a backpack.
youth hostel isa cheap place where travellers, especially young people, can stay •for a short time.
exercise 3 answers for Student A:
2 normally you haùe to bring your towels and anything you need for washing.
Sometimes sheets / a sleeping bag.
04. normally yes
usually yes exercise 1 Yes, she does. |
3 |
normally no |
5 normally yes |
7 no |
translations, definitions or drawings. |
cheap |
3 |
friendly |
5 Internet |
|
|
comfortable |
4 views |
6 went |
|
|
16 yes in most large cities, but some close at certain times no answers for Student B:
a
ideas plus text vocabulary
The information gap texts and the website adverts in writing contain useful vocabulary. Students could link them under different categories. For example: facilities. single /family room, laundry, kitchen, terrace, toilet, shower sheets, towel, sleeping bog, (cooking) equipment
yerh ± noun collocation: share a room, clean your room, wash / dry clothes, book a room (online), stay in a hostel, cook breakfast / dinner; do some cooking
Students can record these in their notebooks with
tan you remember |
|
You don't have to do it. |
Does he have to go? |
She has to go now. |
I don't have to work today. |
Do you have to pay? |
He-doesn't have to do it. |
•xercise 1 see tapescript p.152
The total restaurant bill is €26.18
(subtotal €23.80 + €2.38 service). The supermarket bill is £7.95.
'xertise 1
3 €3.82 5
2 €26.18 |
4 €22 |
|
|
no |
|
4 |
yes |
it cost £67.50; he saved £7.50 5 £30.90 no
language point numbers / amounts
— card numbers / phone numbers: these are read as separate digits, i.e. four nine two four. Remind students that O is pronounced /au/.
- amounts: we express certain currencies in the following way: 1 euros: eight euros; seven euros fifty, NOT / The 'M in euros is pronounced.
2 UK currency: the same rule applies: £2.90 two pounds ninety. People also say two ninety. For 65p, you can say sixty-five pence or sixty-five 'p'. See also language point on p.57
language point common problems
1 Students sometimes confuse buy and pay. If you say I paid for the apples, you are focusing on the action of giving someone money; with I bought the apples, you are more interested in the fact that you have got the apples.
2 Change (n) is uncountable. You can teach the meaning with a simple situation:
you bought a chicken; it cost €4 ; you gave the man €5; your change was €1.
3 Save in B2 means spend less money. You could give an example: The plane ticket is normally €50, but I got a special price of €35, so I saved €15.
4 Some of the verbs in exercise 1 are irregular: pay/ paid; cost/ cost; buy/ bought; sell/ sold; spend/ spent. You could highlight these on the board before students do exercise 2.
listening how to . . . book a room 60—75 mins |
hb€e vocabulary italk about hotels using natural Erglish phrases listen to someone booking a hotel room by phone
practise short conversations using natural English phrases
role play booking a hotel room
• You could ask students in pairs to describe what they can see in the pictures before looking at the questions. That way, students will get some speaking practice and you will be able to see how much they know or don't know. Then get them to answer the questions in exercise 1.
Exercise 2 recycles not only the hotels vocabulary but also there is and has got from the previous unit. If the majority of your students have not stayed in a British hotel, they may be interested to learn a bit more about them. See culture note on the right.
• There is always a danger when you personalize in this way that someone in the class won't be familiar with any hotels. If it is a single student, we would suggest you ask them to invent information about an imaginary hotel; if it applies to several, you could put learners in pairs, with at least one student in each pair being able to describe a hotel (the other student can then learn about this hotel). While students are doing exercise 3, move round and help with any additional vocabulary they need.
Some learners may know the phrases in the natural Enghsh box. Play the recording twice if necessary (exercise 4) so that students can hear the stress on think, then practise the pronunciation round the class. A common error with the negative form is ukiÆk4ae. If you think your students are likely to make this mistake, you could highlight it on the board now.
Finally, let them work on exercise 5, exchanging questions and answers about the hotel they made notes on in exercise 3, and using the phrases from the natural English box where appropriate.
The task in exercise 1 encourages students to listen carefully, but the real purpose, as in previous tune-in sections, is to ease students gently into the listening by giving them the chance to get used to the voices and feel confident about the content.
• The matching in exercise 2 recycles vocabulary from earlier in the lesson and the wordbooster.
• As the listening (exercise 3) focuses on a service encounter which will probably follow a predictable path, exercise 4 gives learners a chance to use their knowledge of the world to predict likely questions the caller will ask. While learners work in pairs, move round and monitor, and help where necessary. If some of the pairs are not predicting the questions that come up, you could elicit questions from the class and put them on the board; this should help the weaker pairs.
• Play recording 9.4 (exercise 5). You will probably need to play it once for students to check their answers to exercise 4, then a second time for them to get all the answers.
• The focus of exercise 6 is pronunciation, as students find it difficult both to hear and recognize, and then produce the target language in the natural EngHsh box. You don't need to analyze Would you ...P for students at this stage. See language point on the right.
• Go through the example in exercise 7 with the class before putting them into pairs. Move round and monitor. paying careful attention to their pronunciation.
speaking it's your turn!
• Show students the flow chart. You could elicit the first exchange between receptionist and caller so that everyone understands how to turn prompts into dialogue, then allow students several minutes to think through the conversation (exercise 1). If you want to build in more security, you could put two As together and two Bs together so they can compare their side of the conversation before the role play.
• Put As and Bs together for exercise 2. In order to reproduce more accurately the conditions of a telephone conversation, seat students back to back: this not only removes the visual support they would have in face-to-face conversation, it also makes it a bit harder to hear each other.
When they have finished, give students two minutes to think through their new role for exercise 3, then put them back in pairs. You could leave the pairs as they are or change them round. For a further option, see ideas plus on the right.
exercise 1
a double room |
5 Yes |
2 yes |
6 Yes |
33 yes |
7 Yes |
Yes |
8 No |
exercise 4 see tapescript p. 152
exercise 1
Could you give me some information, please?
Yes, of course. How much is a double room?
exercise 2
exercise 3 1 yes 2 yes 3 no
;ian you remember Do I have to pay a deposit?
Is breakfast included?
She has-to go now.
DI think so / I don't think so.
Would you prefer a doubte or a twin room?
culture note hotels in Britain
As with every other country, hotels can vary enormously in Britain, but there are certain characteristics which overseas tourists may not be familiar with.
- The term 'en-suite' is widely used in Britain to describe a room with its own bathroom.
— Bathrooms in British hotels almost always have a washbasin, toilet, and bath, but may also have a shower (a shower alone is unusual). Bidets are less common than in some countries.
- Breakfast is usually included in the price, although some hotels may charge extra for a full cooked breakfast (see p.53 for details of British and continental breakfasts).
— Tea- and coffee-making facilities are a common feature of hotel rooms, but you often only find a minibar in more expensive hotels.
language point Would you prefer ... ?
Students are already familiar with the phrase Would you like You can explain that Would you prefer is similar but is used when someone says you can have two or more pessibilitieç and you say which one you want (from the possibilities). At this stage it's probably not a good idea to get involved in the difference between Would you prefer and Do you prefer ... ?, so try to make sure with any other examples you provide that you are clearly offering them a choice to make now between two or more things (and not asking them which they might prefer in general).
ideas plus increasing the level of challenge
If you have a strong class and you feel they were able to handle the role play without much difficulty, you could increase the level of challenge for the second role play by introducing one or two less predictable elements. For example:
— tell all the receptionists to raise at least one problem when the caller wants to book, e.g. they can't have a double room for three nights - two nights is possible, but for the third night you've only got two singles.
- tell the callers to ask a question the receptionist won't be prepared for, e.g. Can
I bring a dog? (If not, say it's a problem. If yes, can the dog sleep in the room?) Have you got no-smoking bedrooms? (You hate smoking.) Ask about Internet access at the hotel. (If it isn't available, where can you go to use the Internet?) As soon as you introduce unpredictable elements into a conversation, you immediately raise the level of challenge, as students now have to think on their feet and cannot rely on previously prepared answers.
extended speaking my kind of hotel 45—60 mins |
nventa hotel and ta about it ctise asking questions play get information and book
- It is important at the beginning of this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top of the page which tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should also give them time to look back at the can you remember boxes which appear in the unit.
If your students did not have a lot to say about hotels in vocabulary exercise 5 in the previous lesson, you could omit exercise 1.
•
• As students are going to exchange information and respond to each other's ideas in a few minutes, this seems an ideal place to introduce them to lwo ways of making a suggestion and two common responses. Play recording 9.6, and practise the pronunciation of the sentences. Then put learners in pairs to complete exercise 3, while you monitor.
• Students can work with the same partner for exercise 4, as long as both have invented the same type of accommodation; let them compare their ideas. Move round, encouraging the use of the natural English phrases where necessary and praising students who use them accurately and without prompting. Tell them they must agree on one set of ideas and then complete the table for exercise 5.
• Do the example with the class for exercise 6, and possibly elicit one more example from a student. Then put them back in their pairs to compile a lisl of questions. This is important preparation for the role play.
Although exercise 7 is similar to the one at the end of the previous lesson, many students enjoy the chance to repeat a speaking activity, and in this case it is based on their own hotel, so the information will be different even if some of the questions are the same. Working with a different partner will also make the activity slightly different. Monitor and make notes for feedback. If you notice any common errors or anything going wrong with the development of the conversation, you could do some feedback and correction at the end of the activity before students repeat it in exercise 8. Bring the class together at the end for their comments (exercise 9) and give some more feedback.
test yourself!
your vocabulary sixteen, seven pounds fifty, ten per oh-seven-three-two-four-six
02 any four of these: cost; buy; sell; a double room; pay the bill; pay by Is service included?
'ap-fitt
2 have; don't
Grect the errors
Do you normally stay at home in the evening?
Robbie doesn't have to work this Saturday.
We could paint the living room pink and green. She has to get the bus at 7.30.
grammar have to / don't have to / do I have to ... ?
• Get the students to read through the table. do the example with the class, and make sure they are clear about the three types of sentence (especially jobs they both have to do). Then put them in pairs for the timed activity (exercise 1).
•
grammar have to / don't have to
Alex has to go to the supermarket, but he doesn't have to make the dinner.
Alex has to wash the car, but he doesn't have to feed the cat.
Simone has to clean the flat, but she doesn't have to wash up.
Simone has to make dinner, but she doesn't have to go to the supermarket.
Simone has to feed the cat, but she doesn't have to wash the car. They both have to make the breakfast, go to work, pay the bills.
vocabulary money and numbers
After students have. completed exercises 1 and 2, check the answers. You could finish with some pronunciation work: drill some of the complete sentences around the class, then put learners into pairs to practise.
• After studentshave done exercises 1 and 2, you could add a further stage. Can they reverse all the responses to the questions? In other words, changing a positive response into a negative one, and vice versa. Suitable answers in this case would be:
No, thanks. 3 Yes, 1 think so.
2 Yes, I think so. 4 No, thanks.
in unit ten . . .
reading
babies
p.90
wordbooster parts of the body commotl phrases
p.92
p.94
etÞ -pronunciation listèning
pronunciations sounds and•spellinj listening: connected speech
test yourself!
p.97
wordlist
p.139
?Qålk
know and listen to people talking abòüt þabies \tearn acfOn verbs vocabulary 'ead about idevelopment Stalk about Chilkfa development using natural English phras DfócuS cqn/:càì'tu
Fay •how well ýðu can do things-using natural
(English phrases Wyour qiliifð<
erg to•nswer
• The lesson will be more interesting, and generative, if you and the students can bring to class a photo of a baby you know. You could suggest this in one 01 the lessons before starting this unit.
• You could pre-teach a few items of vocabulary (both speakers use cute in the listening that follows). Use your photos to feed in adjectives such as cute and beautiful. It should be easy to teach noisy as well. Talk about the baby in your photos, answering the questions in the student's book. This provides a model for students to do the same in exercise 1. Students who have brought photos can use them at this point. If any learners cannot think of a baby, see troubleshooting on the right. Move on to exercise 2 and play recording 10.1 vocabulary action verbs
• The choice or lexical items in exercise 1 is largely dictated by the article that follows, although most are very high frequency and students will already know a few, e.g. walk and sleep. Students could use dictionaries here.
• You could do exercise 2 from the board rather than the book. Put the three phonemic sounds on the board and see if you can elicit the sounds (someone usually knows Or guesses 'al/ and /erl but you may have to provide 10:1 yourself). When you elicit the sounds, repeat them yourself and ask for a word containing that sound. Do this for all three. When you are satisfied the students know the sounds and can produce them, let them do the exercise individually or in pairs. Check the answers. For test your partner, see troubleshooting on the right.
• Students who are parents themselves will be familiar with the topic and should be able to answer the questions in exercise 1. Younger students, or those without Children, may have to guess most Of the answers. This disparity doesn't matter. More knowledgeable students will be interested to see if their answers are confirmed in the text, while less knowledgable students will probably be motivated to find out the answers.
• Elicit answers from the class, but don't confirm any. Let them read the article and do exercise 2 for themselves. See ideas plus on the right.
• Exercise 3 demands a closer reading of the text. Tell students to underline the relevant parts of the article when they write their answers. If any answers are Wrong, their underlining may indicate where and why comprehension has broken down, which may help you do some remedial reading skills work.
• Talk them through the natural English box. The easiest approach is to contrast the correct ways or expressing age with the common mistakes which have been crossed out. Students then return to the article for more consolidation and practice of the phrases (exercise 4). Conduct a quick feedback and move on to exercise 5. There are two ways you can approach this: put more knowledgeable students with less knowledgeable students so that each pair will be able to answer at least some of the questions; or keep them apart. With the second option, more knowledgeable students will discuss their answers, while less knowledgeable students will have to guess. You can then mix the pairs so that less knowledgeable students can see how accurate their guesses were. You could finish with the answers below, which come from these websites: wwyv hþç.çQ. www_bahycentre_co.uk
hands
•exercise 2 troubleshooting students having nothing to say
Oliyia: the woman upstairs; Owen; three days old; he |
If one or two students cannot think of a baby they know, there are various options: |
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has a little nose and big,eyes, and looks like his mum. |
- ask them to think of one they knew in the past. |
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Rogel.• Victoria and Tom; Ruby; four or five months |
— invent one. |
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old; she sleeps all the time and has lovely blue |
- work with others; listen and ask them more questions about the baby they know. If you have a majority in this position, you could simply talk about a baby you know, omit exercise 1, and move on directly to exercise 2. |
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exercise 1 |
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troubleshooting Losing inhibitions |
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steep |
6 crawl |
To make the most of the test your partner activity, ask students to give you a verb |
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cry |
7 throw (5th) |
to mime. If they see you crying or crawling round the floor, it should generate some |
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smile |
8 walk |
laughter and put them in the right mood for the activity themselves. Students will |
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pick sth:up |
9 |
play (with Sth) |
sometimes need to supply an object, e.g. throw (your book) or play with (your |
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taugh exercise 2 Val/ cry, /el/ play, wave walk, crawl uercise 1 / |
10 |
wave |
pencil). |
ideas plus personalized discussion |
•1 15-16 hours a day |
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3 3—6 months |
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If lead-in exercise 1 generated quite a lot of |
10-12 monthS exercise 3 |
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4 7-9 months |
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discussion, you could extend it after students have read the article. Put them into groups and write a |
true true |
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5 false |
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few question prompts on the board. For example: |
true true exercise 5 |
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6 false |
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Do you agree with all the answers in the article? Is the article true about all babies? |
Children can walk when they are about. a year old, They can run at about three. |
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Are you surprised at any of the answers? |
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They can speak when they are about three Or four: |
When are babies more or less interesting? |
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They can read at about seven. |
With some groups, this will generate a lot of |
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They can write when they are about seven. They can dance at about two. They can Swim at about five or si£ They can wave when they are about one (a) year old. |
discussion — even at elementary level. |
grammar can / can't (ability)
• For a different introduction to this section, see ideas plus on the right.
• Students have already met can I can't for requests and possibility, so exercise 1 should be easy. • Exercise 2 provides practice of can I can't and also recycles vocabulary from earlier in the lesson, plus information gathered from the article. Check the answers and listen carefully to the students' pronunciation: get them to produce the weak form of can /kan/ and a long vowel in can't /ka:nt/.
• Monitor the pairs in exercise 3. Check the questions are correct and that students know the answers to their questions. You could ask them to read their questions to you: are they using the weak form of can? Before the question and answer activity, do one example together and remind them that the weak form Of can is not used in short answers. Then mix the pairs for the activity and monitor carefully. Quite well and very well arc used frequently with can / can't in spoken English. The task in exercise 4 gives students a chance to show they understand the meaning of the different phrases. The one requiring the most attention is I can't swim very well. The meaning here may not be entirely clear, even to a native speaker, as it might mean anything from I can swim OK to I swim quite badly.
• Play recording 10.2 (exercise 5) and get students to practise their pronunciation of the sentences. If you have a strong class, you could teach at all to emphasize a negative, e.g. I swim at all. Then move on to exercise 6, which involves personalized but controlled practice.
• There is more practice in speaking it's your turn!. so you could leave the language reference and practice exercises for another time, or for homework.
speaking it's your turn!
• Exercise 1 extends the topic of the lesson to include children, adults, and animals. pairs should be motivated for the listening in exercise 2 to check their answers. Before moving on to exercise 3, see language point on the right.
• Il your students know each other quite well, it shouldn't be difficult for them to think up questions to ask, although they may need help with new vocabulary. If, on the other hand, you think they will struggle to think up questions, provide some yourself but leave gaps for pairs to fill in a student's name. e.g. Can speak (French)? can_drive? well? Whichever option you choose, combine pairs (exercise 4) so they can ask each other their questions. You could award points to make it a bit more competitive; some classes like this.
• Exercise 1 is self-explanatory. Check the answers and practise the pronunciation orally around the class. Exercise 2 provides an additional focus on pronunciation, but this is probably essential for most classes; some of these words continue to cause problems for learners at many levels, especially stomach, tooth, foot, and mouth. Go through the examples carefully, then let students continue. Play recording 10.4 (exercise 3) for students to check their answers and consolidate their pronunciation. Finish with the test your partner activity after demonstrating yourself with a student.
• If students still want to know other parts of the body, teach a few more. Don't let this go on too long. otherwise some students will be overwhelmed or end up learning items of marginal value. See also workbook, expand your vocabulary (aches) PSI.
common phrases
Students should learn words in bold as fixed phrases (some are obviously more fixed than others), and they will meet most of them again in the next lesson.
If you let students use dictionaries in exercise 1, you nccd to warn them about multiple meanings in a dictionary entry. See language point on the right. Check the answers and practise the pronunciation. For exercise 2, move round and listen while students practise, then tell them to shut their books. Ask each pair to write down all the phrases they can remember in one minute (be flexible with the timing). Elicit their answers onto the board and let other students correct any errors.
exercise 1
Babies can smile at 4-6 weeks.
They can't walk at six months.
Can they walk at six months? Yes, they can. / No, they can't.
exercise 2 At six months:
they can smile, laugh, play with their feet; they can't crawl, throw things, walk or wave goodbyev exercise 4 natural English A I can't swim.
1 can't swim very well.
I can swim quite well. 4 1 can swim very well.
exercise 2 see tapescript p.153 On you remember seep.79
exercise
arm 2 back 3 shoulder 4 ear S head 6 hand 7 thumb 8stomach 9 chest 10 neck 11 leg 12 foot 13 toes
.J4 mouth 15 teeth 16 nose 17 hair 18 eyes 19 fingers exercise 2 see tapescript p. 153
aercise 1
1 need; fine |
4 |
lift; kind |
'2 look; terrible happened; broke |
5 |
matter; wrong |
ideas plus personalized introduction
Write (or draw if possible) four actions on the board, e.g. speak Italian; play the guitar; make a cake; fall in love quickly. If possible, choose imaginative or suprising ones which will capture your students' attention. Put two ticks next to those actions that you can do very well, and crosses next to those that you can't do very well. Point to each action, and to yourself at the same time, and elicit the target sentences from the students without saying anything. Drill the sentences around the class. The temptation with can / cont is to focus too much on pronunciation and neglect meaning. Try to make this light-hearted and don't correct students' pronunciation too emphatically.
language point use of the article
There is so much to learn about the use of definite, indefinite, and zero articles, that we decided at this level (and in natural English pre-intermediate) to approach it on a little-and-often basis. If there is something relevant to say about the use of articles which learners could put to immediate use, we focus on it briefly. In this way, we hope that learners will gradually build up an understanding of articles without being overwhelmed by their complexity.
This particular focus is on the use of the zero article in English when we are talking about things in general, from babies to bread to life, and so on. This is often different in other languages, so you may want to go to the language reference and practice exercises for further practice before the freer speaking activity.
language point using dictionaries
When students use dictionaries, they often assume that the first definition they meet is the one they need. In fact, the meaning they are looking for may be further down the entry, so tell students to read through the dictionary entry carefully to find the meaning that fits their particular context. In this exercise, for example, students probably won't find the correct meaning of look untit definition 2 or 3 in most dictionaries; and they could easily make the mistake of tooking up the definitions of lift as a verb, when in this case, they actually need the entry for lift as a noun.
ånd
questionnaire using natural English phrases
cus on something; anything, -nothing, eÿc. listen to people offering help role play offerinÀ. help write an e-mail
how to . . offer help 60—75 mins
• As a way into the lesson, see ideas plus on the right. Give students time to think about their answers to exercise 1. Most of the difficult vocabulary has just been taught in wordbooster, and there is also a preview of something, anything, nothing in the next grammar section. Let them make notes, as there is a brief digression before they discuss their answers.
• The natural English box contains a practical way for learners at this level to •speculate' in English. Play recording 10.5, then students can complete the task (exercise 2).
• Exercise 3 is challenging for this level. Go through thc example with the class, and then in the group work give lots of encouragement. Don't be too worried about accuracy.
grammar something, anything, nothing, etc.
• Exercise 1 is a fairly straightforward text search. Sce troubleshooting on the right. You could elicit the answers onto the board in three columns across the page (positive. negative, question). This mirrors the table students are asked to complete in exercise 3, so it will be redundant if you put it all on the board. For exercise 2, let pairs work through all the questions together, or take it one question at a time. followed by feedback.
By completing the table in exercise 3, students now have a clear written summary. As a concept check with a monolingual group, you could ask them for a translation of each word.
• Exercise 4 is a testing exercise which also provides controlled practice. Students could do it individually or in pairs. After you have checked the answers (and clarified any problems if necessary), practise pronunciation in exercise 5, focusing on IA/ in something, nothing, no one, and someone. GO on to the language reference and practice exercises if you want more consolidation.
• Students may make mistakes with the present continuous in exercise 1. Don't worry; it is coming up in unit 12. In the meantime, just let students convey what they can as this will tune them in to the context. Play recording 10.6 and see if students can answer exercise 2.
• Give students time to write their answers when you play the conversation for exercise 3. The listening challenge (exercise 4) is a similar context but with different speakers. Give learners time to read the summary, then elicit a few predictions. Play recording 10.8 for students to complete.
For the natural English phrases, see language point on the right. Play the recording several times (exercise 5), then practise with the class before putting them in pairs. If you want to check or reinforce the conccpt, you could do several mimes and ask the class to shout out suitable offers of help. For example: pretend to carry a large box to the door, which is closed. (I'll open the door.) Let students look at the tapescripts to find more examples of the natural English phrases (exercise 6).
speaking it's your turn!
Organize the pairs and let them think about their situations. They have the language to explain their problem, but they need to respond quickly. Refer them back to the relevant natural English box.
• Students can do exercise 1 individually or in pairs. Before they start, you could teach the name of the country, i.e. Hungary, and point out that Zsuzsa and Feri are both Hungarian names. After checking the answers, you could focus on language used in an e-mail. See language point on the right.
• Exercise 2 is morc fun if you don't have A I B pairs sitting next to each other. Divide the class in half and organize pairs so that they are on different sides of the room. Each person can then write their e-mail, fold it up (so others can't read it), pass it until it reaches the chosen partner. They read it, reply. and pass it back. This way, you will have a number of different e-mails across the class.
a s
•xercise 2 -you can help; she doesn't want.any help |
ideas plus describing pictures The lesson develops the theme introduced in the second section of wordbooster. You could, therefore, begin by returning to the pictures on p.82. Ask students to describe what they can see. For example: |
• A woman is in the street at night and the weather is terrible.
— Another woman doesn't 100k well; she feels terrible.
These descriptions will tune learners in to the lesson and may help them with the questionnaire they are about to do.
exercise |
troubleshooting an analytical approach |
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someone; nothing 4 •anyone; nothing |
In the preceding section, students encountered the |
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no one 5 something; anything', nothing |
grammar they are going to study now, and many of |
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anyone; something; nothing |
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them may have used the language quite successfully. |
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•exercise 2 |
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This is now an opportunity to reflect on it in a more |
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•1 someone; no one; anyone |
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analytical way. Many adults like this type of |
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i2L a) positive b) questions |
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approach, but some learners may not be used to it. |
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3 a) anyone here. b) I don't |
anything on Sundays. |
If you think this is the case, take them through the |
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-exercise 3 |
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different stages slowly and carefully. |
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PEOPLE |
THINGS |
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someone |
Something |
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no one / not anyone |
nothing / not anything |
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Is anyone there? exercise 4 |
DO you want anything? |
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someone 3 something -2 anyone 4 anything; nothing |
5 someone 6 anything |
7 'no one |
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exercise 2 |
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language point I'll |
and shall I |
A woman in the kitchen is cooking [cutting |
and Shall I |
are both commonly used to make offers. Shall I is offering |
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vegetables: |
help in the form of a question, so it is more tentative. I'll is an affirmative, so |
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A man With a broken leg is in his living room. |
conveys more the sense that the person is going ahead with their offer. |
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An old woman is watching the TV in her living room. exercises |
Both forms are followed by an infinitive without 'to'. (NOT |
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1 buy some milk 3 make her a sandwich |
This is one common interpersonal use of will (others include requests and |
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2 post some letters |
promises), not to be confused with the use of will / shall to talk about the future. |
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exercise 4 |
A common difficulty with these phrases is actually hearing them. Students have to |
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1 computer 4 printer 2 bring it downstairs 5 No, its OK, table |
be prepared for the contracted form I'll and the weak form of shall. |
exercise 1
O Hi Feri,
(2) Don't worry. (3) I'll take your sister fo the hospital. (4) Give me her phone number, (5) and can speak to her this evening,
(6) Have a good day in Budapest, wishes, Zsuzsà
language point style in e-mails
In general, e-mails are more informal than letters and there are fewer set conventions. E-mails to friends are more informal, while business e-mails are semi-formal or formal depending on the relationship / context; but people are more flexible about greetings. so, you can begin Dear Pete (or Dear Mr Conrad in a more formal e-mail), but Hello (Jim) or Hi (Susie) are very common in e-mails to friends. At the end, you can sign off with Best wishes, All the best, or Bye for now; some people just write their name.
pronunciation sounds and spelling /ao/, /u:/, /A/, and /U/
• You could start this activity from the board. Write the first phonemic symbol laol on the board, model it, check students are producing the right sound, then elicit words which contain the sound. Do the same for the other three sounds, then students can open their books and do exercise 1 alone or in pairs.
• Play recording 10.9 (exercise 2). Students will be able to check their answers from the recording, and you could tell them to tick the words in each column as they hear them. They can then tell you the missing words.
• Exercise 3 is a similar activity for students to do in pairs. Move round and monitor their pronunciation while they do it.
listening connected speech
• You could introduce this section using ideas plus on the right.
• Exercise 1 brings together a number of phrases which are difficult to recognize in connected speech because of weak forms, contractions, or elision (the disappearance of a sound usually in connected speech, e.g. the omission of 't' in I can 't do my homework). Here students listen to the phrases in isolation, but in exercise 4 they will have to pick them out in connected speech.
• Recording 10.11 (exercise 2) introduces the listening with an outgoing answerphone message. If you used ideas plus, students can compare the message with their own outgoing answer-phone message. Afterwards move on to exercise 3. When you check the answers, ask students why they chose a particular picture. This will tell you more about the listening process and which clues the students were able to make use of to arrive at their answers.
• Play recording 10.12 again for exercise 4. Can the students identify the phrases from exercise 1 in connected speech? They can check their answers with the tapescript, and you could let them listen again and read the tapescript at the same time.
ideas plus answerphones Write these questions on the board: Have you got an answerphone or voicemail? - Do you get many messages? - Who leaves messages on your answerphone? Students could discuss these questions with a partner or in small groups, followed by some brief class feedback on the language they used and / or some of the more interesting information that came out of the discussion. You can then ask students to write down their outgoing message on their answerphone in their own language, and see if they can translate it into English. With monolingual groups, students can work in pairs or small groups to do this. It may be interesting to compare their messages with the one they are going to hear in exercise 2. |
grammar something, anything, nothing, etc
• After students have done exercise 1, check their answers.
• Provide a mode] for the first question for exercise 2. Get a student to ask you the question, so you can answer; then ask a different student the same question for them to answer. If the student gives you an interesting answer, ask a follow-up question to get more information. It is always a good idea to show learners how they can extend any speaking activity of this sort. Put learners in pairs for the activity and monitor carefully. Give feedback at the end.
exercise 1
1 anything 3 anything 5 anyone 7 anything 2 anyone 4 anything 6 anything 8 anyone
vocabulary action verbs and parts of the body
•
Pair up the students and direct them to their set of questions at the back of
the book. It is vital that each student not only knows the correct answer to their
questions but can also read their sentences aloud clearly, so
that their partner will understand them without the need for repetitionaTo
ensure this happens, you could give each student about three
minutes alone to find the answers and practise saying the questions,
then put an A student with another A student (the same for B-students),
so they can check both their answers and their pronunciation. Monitor and
correct any errors you hear.
• The activity in A / B pairs works most effectively if it keeps up a good pace. Students can take it in turns to ask their questions, and you could impose a five-second time limit to answer (students can count slowly from 1 to 5 when they have asked their question). This will probably provoke some light-hearted disputes but it usually adds to the fun of the activity and maintains the momentum. At the end, find out which pairs got all their answers correct.
• You could check the answers to exercise 1 before students do exercise 2; or let students do both exercises at once. At the end though, pair up students to practise the short dialogues together.
test yourself! |
exercise 1 1 What happened to Joe? 4 You don't look very well 2 What's the matter? 5 Can I give you a hand with that bag? |
64tyour vocabulary |
3 Do you need any help? |
smile, laugh, wave, play |
exercise 2 |
Can I give you a lift? There's something wrong with my car. |
I - b |
Thanks, that's very kind of you. Ehands, legs, feet, eyes, ears, shoulders, thumbs |
natural English • Go through the example and make sure they know what to do. The purpose of all the natural English review exercises is to give learners a |
well 2 2 Shall 3 anything 4 anyone |
reason for looking back through the book, and to get them into the habit of doing this. You could set similar tasks yourself: write five |
rrect the errors |
questions on grammar, vocabulary, or natural English. Students answer |
I can to speak French. |
the questions then go back to the relevant page(s) or unit(s) to check |
Babies can walk when they are IO-12 months. |
their answers themselves. This is all part of encouraging students to |
1 think it's better to say nothing. Dorftworry. I'll help you. |
become more independent learners. |
reading
from A to B p.98 |
using adjectives :focus comparative |
wordbooster |
adjectives and talk |
shops and products |
about bikes / |
adjectives (3) p.100 |
motorbikes read about unusùalx |
listening how to |
forms of transport |
... recommend |
Xiscuss statementsa |
p.102 |
using natural Enghsh |
tided |
phrases |
test yourself!
p.105
wordlist
p. 140
Some of the vocabulary items in exercise 1 are being revised, but a few will be new. You can either pre-teach these, or encourage students to use dictionaries to check meaning. These items will be useful throughout the lesson. See troubleshooting on the right.
Go over the answers 10 exercise 1, and practise the pronunciation of the more difficult items, especially safe, exciting, and unusual. You could then do a 'test your partner' activity: tell one student in each pair (with their book open) to test their partner (book shut) on the opposites, then swap.
For exercise 2. start with an example for the whole class. Which words could they use to describe a motorbike? (There is a a photo on the page if this item is new.) Elicit their answers, then do the others either as a class or in pairs.
grammar comparative adjectives
• Exercise 1 provides an oral lead-in to the grammar; you could also ask students if they had a bike when they were young, or if they think bikes I motorbikes are practical where they live.
• The two examples in exercise 2 are model sentences for comparatives. Students should be able to understand them from the context using the pictures. Check the answers, and then copy the two sentences onto the board. Highlight the grammar: comparing with short adjectives, e.g. small, say adjective + er, and for long adjectives, e.g. expensive, say more + adjective. Don't go into more detail at this stage. as students will analyze the rules more thoroughly in a few minutes. See language point on the right.
Highlight the pronunciation in exercise 3 using your sentences on the board. Play the recording and underline / than, and add the la/. Give students plenty of oral practice of these sentences. See ideas plus on the right.
• In exercise 4, students will be using the comparative form throughout. At this point they have to understand and use the comparative forms given, but later they will have to produce their own examples. Organize the pair work (i.e. all A students together, answering the questions, ditto for B students). Monitor and check their answers. The answers are deliberately not all factual: some call for opinions (hence the answer key).
• Reorganize the pairs for exercise 5. This time they have to listen and respond more spontaneously. At the end, do a few questions and answers across the class.
• The table in exercise 6 focuses on the rules of form. Students at this level have oftcn come across these before, and in controlled conditions manage comparatives quite well, but havc more difficulty using them spontaneously.
• Students can use the adjectives from the table in exercise 6 or their own ideas for the gap-fill in exercise 7. Demonstrate with examples that they need to write true and false sentences. Monitor and correct where necessary, before students work with a partner. If they need more practice at this point, use practice exercises on p. 141, but to provide variety, it might be advisable to go on to the reading.
est of all |
exercise 1 easy / difficult," practical impractical; common / unusual; useless / useful; safe / dangerous, fast / slow; boring / •exciting
exercise 2
The bike (IQZ_çms) is smaller-than the motorbike (MI-CDS) •
'2 The moQorbike (€10.4_99) is more expensive than the bike (€389).
•exercise 4
a bike |
e bike |
motorbike |
could be either |
c motorbike d could be either |
g could be either |
motorbikè |
e motorbike bike |
c bike 'd bike exercise 6 |
g either |
adjective |
comuratiye (than) |
big |
bigger |
fast |
faster |
safe |
safer |
easy |
easier slower more useful |
practical |
more-practical |
Itommon |
more common |
ungercus |
more dangerous |
•comfortable |
more comfortable |
gwd |
better |
bad |
Worse |
troubleshooting abstract vocabulary
There are a few abstract items in exercise 1 which learners may not know. They can use dictionaries to find the meaning or, with a monolingual group, you can use translation. Alternatively, you can explain the items yourself. This has the advantage that learners are listening for a real purpose, and if they have to work harder to process the meaning, it may be more memorable. However, you need to convey meaning very simply and clearly. Here are some suggestions:
- common/ unusual: use local examples to help (adapt them to your context),
e.g. In (Spain), (Juan and Maria) are common names, i.e. a lot of people are called (Juan and Maria). (Eulogio) isn't a common name: Ys unusual. Common true for a lot of people / in a lot of situations; unusual is the opposite.
— practical/ impractical: you could use another local example (if this is true).
e.g. Bikes are practical in the centre of town, but they/re impractical if you want to go from (Zurich to Geneva). A different context: Short hair is very practical if you do a lot of sport; long hair is impractical. Practical = good and useful for a particular situation.
language point anticipated problems
The most common problems are:
— using the adjective form alone, e.g. is Gheep-tkaa — using more + all adjectives, e.g.
— using more and -er, e.g. meæ-£#eapev-thaa
— using that instead of than
Spelling causes some difficulty, especially doubling a consonant, e.g big / bigger and adjectives ending in -y. Go over all the answers carefully, writing them on the board so that students can check their spelling.
ideas plus drilling
When drilling example sentences, you often need to isolate important features to help learners receptively and productively. Here, the -er ending and the weak form in than /a/ are difficult for students to hear in natural speech, and they are not likely to notice them unless you draw attention to them. Once they have listened to exercise 3, you can break the sentences down to focus on specific pronunciation
problems, like this:
Teacher: |
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Students repeat (chorally and individually) |
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smaller |
ss repeat |
|
than /ðan/ |
ss repeat, etc. |
|
smaller than |
ss repeat, etc. |
The bike's smaller remember to check individuals
The bike's smaller than the motorbike choral and individual drill Try to maintain the weak forms and contractions throughout your drill. Vary the choral drilling with individual practice: this is important, as some learners may be pronouncing inaccurately, and it is very hard to detect in a choral drill. Choral drilling gives volume of controlled practice and if you keep it tight and pacy, it can also be fun. Individual practice and your monitoring of each learner's pronunciation is more important, however.
read on
The article in this section takes a light-hearted look at traffic problems. If this style of article is culturally unfamiliar to your students, you may need to explain that it is meant as a joke. Exercise 1 isa gist task. In exercise 2, learners can read the texts quickly first to get the gist, then go back and scan for the answers. Ask them to underline the parts Of the text which relate to each correct sentence; you may need to do the first one together to demonstrate this. Check the answers with the class at the end.
• Many learners have difficulty expressing How long does it take? (natural English, exercise 3), as this meaning of take need a particular amount of time) does not translate literally into some other languages. With a monolingual group, you could use translation to highlight the meaning Of take. Drill the questions and answers.
Brainstorm ideas relevant to your teaching situation in exercise 4, and put them on the board. Get learners to ask you a few questions first, then move on to pair practice. See ideas plus on the right.
speaking it's your turn!
• You could use the exercises in the order suggested in this section, or reorganize them: start with exercise 2, teaching the language in the natural English box, then go back to exercise 1, thinking about the sentences, and finally, do the speaking practice in exercise 3.
Check that students understand the statements in exercise 1, then ask them to consider the statements and their reasons, and think of their own statement(s). See troubleshooting on the right.
• There are two classic errors you can anticipate with the language in the natural English box in exercise 2:
¥.»æ-a-9¥-æ and Or or just depe»d. Listen out for these mistakes.
• Get students on their feet for exercise 3. Monitor, make notes, and encourage students to move around. At the end, have a class vote on each statement. Give feedback on language use.
shops and products
For exercise 1, students can use dictionaries if available. Do the first example together, and point to the picture of lamb as a possible answer to the first gap to encourage them to use the pictures. Go over the answers. If students have different ideas for the gaps, write them on the board and check the class understands them. This is a useful way of expanding their vocabulary. See language point on the right.
• Use the recording in exercise 2 to focus on word stress and sounds. Demonstrate the first example, pausing the recording to allow them time to underline the stress. Check the answers and practise pronunciation Of the different shops.
• The use of get meaning buy in the natural English box (exercises 3 and 4) is very common. When students have practised a few examples in exercise 4, A could test B, then they can swap.
Get the class on their feet for exercise 5, demonstrating first with two learners. The answers could be places, names of shops, etc. This will be fun for most classes, but if it is culturally inappropriate, don't use it.
adjectives (3)
• You can ask students to use dictionaries for exercise 1, or if you prefer, pre-teach a few items yourself,
e.g. healthy, lucky, rich, poor. The likelihood is that learners will come up with some stereotypical standard answers for each adjective + noun. although you may have some imaginative learners who produce something more original or humorous. Monitor all the students and check their answers are relevant; if not, explain the meaning again to that pair. Don't go over their answers yet.
Now use recording 11.5 (exercise 2). Pause after each answer and sec if their answers are the same. If not, students should call out their answers, and the class can decidc if they are correct or not.
• Exercise 3 is a simple way to practise the adjectives. Do a few examples with the class, then students continue with a new partner. You can decide whether B students should have their books open or shut. Swap roles so they both take turns at guessing. See ideas plus on the right.
Gercise 2 best exercise 3
1 cheaper |
3 faster |
5 didn't do |
2 faster |
4 wasn't |
6 didn't feel |
exercise 4
tan you remember more common, faster, more comfortable, bigger, better, more interesting, easier, happier
exercises 1 and 2 possible answers þutche(s: chicken and lamb h beef / pork shop: tables and chairs / beds / sofas
Ws: bread and cakes Shoe shop; shoes and, boots ßcord shop: cassettes and CDs
Chemist: aspirin and toothpaste shop:.shirts and trousers / jackets / skirts wpermarket: sugar and coffee / vegetables / olive oil depaffient store:.clothes and furniture / toys / perfu me
Office: envelopes and stamps
exercise 3 means buy
exercise see tapescript 11,5 (p.154) for possible answers
ideas plus speaking
For extra speaking practice, get students to talk about these forms of transport in relation to their town / city. You could include a few others, e.g. a sports car, an electric bike, a family (saloon) car, etc. Different forms of transport (public and personal) are appropriate in different places, e.g. in a hilly city, a bike isn't very useful, but in a flat city it is; in an old town with narrow streets, a bike is fine, and an electric bike is even better because it's quicker. Put students in small groups for discussion, then at the end, they can tell the rest of the class the best and the worst form of transport for their town (in their opinion). They will almost certainly need to use comparative adjectives at some point during this activity.
troubleshooting getting ideas
Some learners may not find it easy to think up statements. If so, try these suggestions:
— do it as a brainstorm in small groups (more ideas will be generated).
- give them some topics as prompts, e.g. compare two sports, two animals, two local places.
- give them some 'first words' to complete, e.g. Dogs are / English grammar is
/ Swimming is
language point possessive 's
In English, we can use possessive 's to talk about shops simply by referring to the shopkeeper and adding 's. e.g. bakeHs (shop), butcher's (shop). 'Shop' is understood in these examples and doesn't need to be said. In the case of chemist / chemist's, native speakers sometimes use chemist to refer to the shop, probably because it takes more effort to pronounce the -st's ending /sts/. (Incidentally, chemist (3) is a false friend in some languages, e.g. Polish, where it means a shop that sells chemical products.)
We also use 's in the following examples:
I'm going to the / dentist:s. = doctor's / dentist's surgery
I met him at Steven's. — Steven's home
ideas plus extending the activity
In another lesson (or with other levels), you could repeat this activity type as a warmer. Make a list of suitable nouns / adjectives you want to revise, e.g. a dangerous sport, o gQQdzlQQking actor, a red (green / white, etc) vegetable, a çley_et politician, an attncti_ve sportswoman, etc. Dictate your prompts, then students work in pairs to come up with examples. You could write your own example for each one, and in feedback, award points: one point for a suitable answer, two points if the answer is the same as yours, and a bonus three points for a clever or funny answer. Proceed with the peer testing as in exercise 3.
ítalk recommend using' naturalfngHsh phraSes
'listen to a radio holiday programme focus 0m superlative 'adjectives talk about places to visit in your correct spelling Plistakes in a letter
how to . . . recommend 60-75 mins
• You will need to pre-teach recommend. See language point on the right. Go through the example in exercise 1 and make it clear that you want students to use recommend in their answers.
• Play recording 11.6 (exercise 2), then check the answers. Explain that should is an important verb in English and commonly used for recommending. If you have any recommended places on the board, ask a student to make a sentence using should. play recording 11.6 again (exercise 3) to focus on pronunciation. Drill the sentences round the class, then let them practise quietly on their own.
Exercises 4 and 5 provide more personalized practice of should + verb and don't + verb. Give students time to complete the table in exercise 4, while you help with language or ideas. Create small groups for exercise 5 and monitor. Use the language reference and practice exercises now, or come back to it later.
• Look at the questions for exercise 1 together and check they understand presenter (a person who introduces different parts Of a TV or radio programme). play recording 11.7.
• Students listen to the whole passage in exercise 2, but the task only requires limited information. Exercise 3 is more demanding, and before you play the recording a second time, give students time to read through the sentences. They could compare with a partner before you check the answers.
• The final recording (11.7) asks one of the listeners to the programme to choose his favourite destination. Play 11.8, and check the answers. Afterwards let students listen again with the tapescript.
grammar superlative adjectives
All the speakers in the previous recordings used superlative adjectives, so exercise 1 is a chance to see how many students can remember what was said. You could elicit the answers (don't confirm any), then send students to tapescript 11.7 to check for themselves.
• Exercise 2 tests learners' powers of deduction. From just two examples, can they see an underlying rule? Some will find it quicker than others, but in pairs there is a good chance that at least one student in each pair will work it out. Check the answers carefully at the end, then use exercise 3 to confirm and consolidate their understanding.
• Exercise 4 highlights a common feature of pronunciation. See language point on the right.
play recording 11.9 and check the answers. If there are any problems, play it again until students can tell whether the 't' is omitted or not. Then they can practise saying the sentences in the same way.
• Pair up students for the writing activity (exercise 5) and monitor their sentences. When you are happy with what they have written, mix the pairs for the speaking activity (exercise 6). For extra practice, students could write about others in the class, as long as you don't have any students who might produce rather insensitive comments.
speaking it's your turn!
• Give Students time to think and make notes (exercise 1). Monitor the discussion in exercise 2. paying special attention to the use Of comparative and superlative adjectives, plus the use of should.
• The letter contains common spelling errors (especially words which double a consonant in certain forms), but you could produce your own texts with common errors your students make.
• If your students are exposed to a lot of American English, they may confuse British and American spelling. In this letter, traveled (with a single 'l') would be correct in American English. The differences are not very significant, but we suggest that students try to be consistent in using either British or Arncrican spelling. To get the students to do some wxiting, see ideas plus on the right.
can you remember |
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language point recommend |
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see p. 90 |
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You could explain that when you recommend something, you tell people about |
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exercise Q |
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something you think is good (Or good for them). For example: |
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see tapescript p.154 |
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Teachers often recommend dictionaries for students to buy. Forming sentences with recommend is difficult at this level, so the only productive use we are including is question + a noun, e.g. Can you recommend a record shop? Students may want to say I recommend, deter them from doing so; it sounds over formal. Principally we want students to understand the concept of recommend in order to teach one use of should, which follows shortly. |
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exercise 1 |
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exercise 3 |
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-1 The Travel Show |
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1 |
in winter 2 by water bus 3 restaurants |
exciting places for a holiday exercise 2 Venice, Crete, and Cairo exercise 1 1 most romantic n2ò friendliest exercise 2 |
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Agaker_Z: exercise 4 Venice |
1 |
in late spring 2 by car by boat 2 go shopping language point elision Elision refers to the disappearance of a sound in connected speech. In unit 10, we had the example |
ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE |
SUPERLATIVE |
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r can't do it, in which the 't' in can't is elided, i.e. |
L happy happier |
the happiest |
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omitted. The most common elisions in English occur |
beautiful more beautiful |
the most beauCiful |
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with 't', although you also get the elision of the |
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•interesting more interesting |
the most interesting |
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schwa la/ in unstressed syllables in some common |
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hot hotter |
the hottest |
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words which are notoriously difficult for learners of |
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expenswe more expensive good better |
the most expensive the best |
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English: interesting, vegetable, comfortable, and so |
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bad worse exercise 3 |
the worst |
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If students are not prepared for this feature, they may fail to recognize certain words in connected |
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Use comparative adjectives to compare one thing with one other thing. |
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speech, and are likely to pronounce them either |
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Use superlative adjectives to compare one thing with other things in a group. exercise 4 no 02 no U3s 4 yes 5 no •exercise 5.possible answers is the most attractive 4 is the smartest / Oldest woman 7 L is the tallest is the oldest A5 is the fattest / ugliest is the youngest / shortest 6 has the longest hair arciseA ideas plus pair dictation |
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incorrectly or in a way that sounds unnatural. |
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beautiful; weather; biggest; there; stopped; travelled; Put the students in A / B pairs: A closes their book and writes down what B reads. |
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Italian; friend; Swiss; doctor B reads the first part of the letter in the student's book (from and then to for a |
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an you remember? night). They should spell Zurich and Lucerne for their partner. Then they change |
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the most expensive; the oldest; the best;' the Worst; roles for the second part of the letter. At the end, they can compare their writing |
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the most beautiful; the most comfortable; the with the letter. Have they spelt everything correctly? |
extended speaking town survey 60-75 mins
repare a survey abo your town
isten to interviews' þbout New York -go the-survey and ask and answer in groups rid pairs
• It is important at the beginning of this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top of the page which will tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should also give them time to look back at the can you remember ? boxes which appear in the unit.
• In this extended speaking activity, learners have the opportunity to use language they have learnt in this unit: comparative and superlative adjectives, 'shops' vocabulary, recommendations, agreeing, and disagreeing. We wouldn't expect them to use the language accurately and fluently, but be generous in your praise of attempts to use the language and communicate effectively. Make notes for feedback at the end, and aim for a balance of good language use and errors to correct. In monolingual classes there may be differing opinions for exercise 1, in their likes / dislikes and the reasons. Give students time to think, then compare with a partner.
• With multilingual classes you have a choice. They can talk about their home town or city, which would make the conversation an information gap about towns in different countries. Alternatively, they could talk about the place where they are studying at the moment, in which case, see ideas plus. The second suggestion would lead more neatly into the rest of the extended speaking activity, but you may prefer to let students talk initially about a place they know very well.
prepare a survey
• For both mono and multilingual classes students will need to prepare survey questions (exercise 2) about the town / city they are studying in. See troubleshooting on the right.
The opinion survey gives three example questions, all using the superlative form. Make it clear that students need to produce questions with superlatives, and elicit one or two more example questions using the vocabulary provided (including their own ideas). Although they decide on the questions together in their groups, each student needs to write them down, as they will be interviewing a different student in exercise 7. Monitor this Stage carefully, and help and correct where necessary.
• Give learners a moment to write notes for exercise 3 and encourage them to think about their reasons.
• The recording in exercise 4 gives students listening practice, but also is a model for the interviews. Don't spend too long on this stage. The focus should be on the student interaction which follows.
exercise 4
What do you think is the most interesting tourist attraction in New York?
What about the most dangerous area?
What about the most famous café or restaurant? What's the busiest street?
exercise 5
Roger and Lorelei L have different ideas about each question.
For ease of class management students continue in their groups for the survey in exercise 6. However, to make the activity more challenging, you could do it as a class mingle, with each person interviewing three new students. This would add to the spontaneity as learners would be answering questions they hadn't planned. Monitor carefully and make notes for feedback later.
• In exercise 7, learners work with a new partner. With a large class, you could extend this to two or three partners, but as always, bring the activity to a close before they lose interest and concentration.
compare answers
• This gives students the chance to 100k at the survey results together and extract some key information. You will need to demonstrate with another student what to do. Finally, when they have exchanged ideas with another pair, bring the class together for feedback. You could also have a vote on the best / worst thing in their city. See ideas plus on the right.
ideas plus writing
You could ask students alone or in pairs to produce a handout or notice on these lines:
OUR TOP FIVE PLACES IN (name of place) restaurants We think the best restaurant is 'Belve&re' near the church. The food is excellent and not expensive.
tourist attractions The most interesting place to visit is the Motor Museum. There are cars from 1900 to the present day and it's only €5 for sttKkntS.
etc.
Provide a short model on these lines for students to follow. Help and correct while they are writing (word processing would be ideal for this). In the next lesson, stick the notices around the room or circulate them for everyone to read.
troubleshooting short-stay multilingual classes
Ifyou are teaching a multilingual class in an Englishspeaking country, you can do the town survey with your learners as long as most of them have been in the country for a little while (at least a few weeks). If your students arrived very recently (e.g. a week ago), they may have very little to say. If this is the case, you could do this speaking activity later in the course, when it would be more productive. Even if you wait a few weeks, students will still benefit from the language practice, and they may have stronger opinions about the place they are staying in. In fact, this activity could be done with students at pre-intermediate or even intermediate level.
test yourself!
test your vocabulary
1 slow, poor, impractical, useful, common shoe shop, butche(s, bakers, record shop, chemist, department store
'3 healthy, lucky, busy, modern, popular, wonderful
gap-fill most 2 should 3 than 4 more
error correction
1 The R*os-t nicest way to see the city is by boat.
2 Jack's bike was cheaper than I thought.
13 He's the most important person in my office. Seven is my lucky number.
estof I
grammar comparative adjectives
This is a quick revision activity: learners have to produce not only adjectives with the opposite meaning, but also in the comparative form, and some opposites have different forms, e.g. more difficult — easier. Notice that less + adjective is also possible, e.g. less expensive I difficult / boring. You could teach less at this point. Go over the answers at the end.
grammar comparative adjectives more expensive / cheaper; safer / more dangerous; more difficult / easier: worse / better; more boring / more interesting; younger / older; quieter / noisier; smaller / bigger; colder / hotter grammar superlative adjectives
In exercise 1, students have to write superlative sentences. Look at the example first, highlighting the use Of in (the longest river in the world). See if students can work out the other record breakers in pairs. Monitor and help with vocabulary.
• Use tapescript 11.1 for learners to check their answers. Pause after each description to answer both questions in exercise 3.
grammar superlative adjectives see tapescript p.155 natural English
The extra (incorrect) words inserted into sentences 1—6 are in fact common errors. This could be set as homework, which you can check in class in the next lesson.
• You can do exercise 2 with pairs working together, or ask pairs to shout out their answers and see if other students agree.
in unit twelve ... reading who are they? 75—90 mins
reading who are they? p. 106 wordbooster clothes telephoning
p.108
listening how to use the phone p.110
ronunciation an istening pronunciation: • consonant groups listening: being an active listener
test yourself!
p.113
11 wordlist
p. 141
talking about their
atatk about your friendÝ using natural English J phrases read about a painting and talk about-it focus on the present continuous (happening
îdescribe another painting using the çpntinuous
Most people have at least one group of friends they can describe in this activity. See ideas plus On the right.
Recording 12.1 (exercise 2) is a model for the students' own conversations. You could use this after exercise 1, or if you prefer. reverse the order, i.e. tell students to read the questions in exercise 1 and listen ror the answers. They can think about their own friendship group after that.
• The box in exercise 3 contains an example of ellipsis: How about you? It avoids unnatural repetition. Elementary learners Can probably say And you? which is natural, but How / What about you? are extremely common; even if they don't use it immediately, they need to understand it.
• When learners mingle in exercise 5, check they sound as natural as possible. One possible pitfall is that the listener may ask questions which the speaker has already answered. Encourage them to talk to different people. At the end. ask them to tell the class anything interesting they round out about a classmate, then give some quick feedback on language. You could also have a show of hands: how many people have friends of the same sex I a different sex I similar age group / different age group?
The short quiz in exercise 1 has three functions: to tune learners in to the topic; to motivate them to read and see if their guesses were accurate; and finally, to check understanding. It doesn't matter if they guess wrongly: they will find out the answers when they read. Tell students to cover the text when they answer the questions. It would be advisable to pre-teach painting (n) (use the picture). paint (v) (mime it), and painter (n) (elicit or give examples Of famous painters, but avoid Renoir). Don't give the answers to exercise 1 at this point. as students have to read the text in exercise 2 and find the answers.
• Students can work with their partner again on exercise 2. Go over the answers together.
• For exercise 3 learners have to look at the numbers around the painting and say who the people were. This could be done in pairs or as a group. See ideas plus on thc right.
• Students have the opportunity to give their opinion of the painting in exercise 4. You could give them some prompts to discuss: do they like the colours, the place. the people? Some learners will have more to say than others. If it is only a few minutes of class time, this is reasonable, but don't spend too long on it if some students are not very involved.
-exercise 2
'Roger-has a group of four friends. There are three -men and one woman. They are all the same age.
They go to a cinema club together and they meet -Once a month.
þxercise 2
exercise 3
Alphonsine Fournaise / Alphonse's sister
Atine Charigot / Renoiys girlfriend
Charles Ephrüssi / banker and art colleaor
Jules Laforgue / poet
Maggiolo / Italian journalist
7 _Angèle / actress
Gustave Caitlebotte / artist and closefriend of Renoir
f iends
ideas plus getting students to talk
You may need to prompt some students with one or two ideas, e.g. school/ college friends, friends from work, neighbours, a group with the same interest — a sport or hobby. You could start as suggested in exercise 1 by letting them think about their own group, or you could get students to ask you questions about a group of friends you have. Tell students to think about their answers, and how to say them in English. This will help them to speak more fluently in exercise 5.
ideas plus vocabulary in texts
Some new vocabulary items are explained in the glossary, and this will help students to read more easily. However, other items are not explained because it isn't realistic for learners to read a text in which every word or phrase will be known or explained. Students also need to recognize that, most of the time, they only need to understand the main points in a text, and that can be achieved without understanding every word. Nevertheless, many learners like using texts to increase their vocabulary. In this instance, they could underline any unfamiliar items and try to guess the meaning with a partner. They can then check in a dictionary, or you can go over the items at the end. Possible items might include boating, close friend, top hat, banker, art collector, jacket, poet, greatest (although some Of these may be cognates in their language). Encourage students to record new words in their notebooks, or they may be quickly forgotten.
grammar present continuous
• Even though the form in exercise 1 is likely to be new for some learners. it shouldn't interfere with their understanding, and they should be able to answer questions 1—6. You could set a time limit ofa minute for pairs to do exercise 1 together. Go over the answers.
• For exercise 2, tell students to 100k at the examples to help them with form. Use the board or OHP to go over the answers to check spelling as you do this, practise pronunciation Of the forms. See language point on the right.
• Exercise 3 uses the painting again to practise the present continuous. Encourage students to use contractions, except are which is rarely contracted. If they work alone on the exercise, encourage them to compare in pairs, reading the sentences aloud rather than showing them; this will provide more oral I aural practice. Check the answers with the class.
• The listening activity in exercise 4 is intended to simulate the sounds of the boating party. Most vocabulary will be known, but students may ask you how to say cough. Play recording 12.3, and ask them to remember what they hear, e.g. Someone's laughing; people are talking. Elicit one or two sentences, then see what pairs can produce. Replay if necessary. Pairs could call out their answers or write a sentence each on the board. Look at them together and elicit any corrections.
• Finally, in exercises 5 and 6, students practise questions and short answers. Monitor and correct as they write. Use the language reference and practice exercises at this point or later. See also worbook, expand your grammar for verbs rarely used in the continuous p.62.
speaking Ys your turn!
For exercise 1, students can make notes. Help with vocabulary and encourage dictionary use.
The game in exercise 2 will require a little demonstration. Get one group of three to come to the front, and ask one student to read a sentence: have the Others got the Same sentence? If so, no points are awarded, bul if no one else has the sentence, that student gets a point. put the rest into small groups and monitor the activity. At this point, or for revision in a later lesson, you could use your own postcards or pictures of suitable paintings, but make Sure the vocabulary load is manageable.
• This section develops the clothes vocabulary from the previous lesson. Students will probably know some clothes items already, so for exercise 1, give them a moment to match words to pictures (but deter them from writing on the pictures, or exercise 2 will be difficult). They can then work with a partner and a dictionary to check the other words. Drill the pronunciation, especially where phonemic script is provided. See language point on the right.
• For exercise 2, elicit an example sentence about the first picture, e.g. In picture B, she's wearing a green jacket, then tell learners to cover the words and work in pairs. Monitor and correct, and elicit examples at the end. Students could write descriptions for homework.
• Demonstrate what to do for exercise 3 by sitting back to back with a learner. This activity may be noisy as people sitting back to back tend to shout! Swap students so that they use different vocabulary with different people.
• This section prepares learners for the next lesson. You could pre-teach a few items in a e.g. I phoned my sister yesterday; she was out. I left a message. Please ring me! She rang me back at 1.00. Check understanding and practise the sequence. Then do exercise 1 which tests basic understanding of the text.
• Exercise 2 focuses on a more detailed understanding of the new items. When you have done exercise 3, go over all the forms of the items on thc board for students to copy into their notebooks, e.g. to phone someone / the line is engaged busy)
After listening to the recording in exercise 5, students can focus on their pronunciation. See ideas plus on the right. See also workbook, expand your vocabulary p.61 (mobiles).
exercise 1 language point present continuous
In some Languages, the continuous forms exist, e.g. Spanish and Portuguese (although they may be used differently). In other languages, e.g. French, Greek, Turkish, Russian, there is no equivalent form, so these learners tend to overuse the present simple,
e.g. can't help you now because I WêFk.
There are many potential errors with this form: - omitting the verb be,
• confusing simple and continuous forms,
e.g. a blue shirt.
• confusing the two different but correct negative forms: He's not / He isn't eating; They're not/ They aren't toughing.
• spelling: most verbs add -ing, e.g. going, staying, but some verbs ending with a consonant-vowelconsonant, double the consonant, e.g. swimming, running; verbs ending in -e drop the -e and add -ing, e.g. smiling. See language reference p.142.
true 3 false 5
He / She's You / We / Theýre |
working. |
Are you / we / they As he / she |
working? |
{2 true 4 false 6 exercise 2 fm
true true
negative
I'm not
He / She isn't working.
You / We / They aren't
shut-ansyets Yes, We / they are. No, he / she isn't,
saying, swimming, smoking, working, playing, sitting, smiling, talking, studying,
are sailing 3 isn't wearing |
S is standing |
7 aren't eating |
is drinking 4 is looking exercise 4 possible answers |
6 is sitting |
8 vis smoking |
-getting, living exercise 3
someone-is laughing; someone is playing the piano; someone is singing; people are Leating; people are-drinking; people are speaking French; Someone is coughing
tan you remember
-Someone is people are sailing, talking (to each other), laughing, sitting / standing, drinking, wearing (hats / a jacket, etc.) / playing with a dog
exercise
.The man on the left is wearing aoat, a suit, trousers, a shirt and tie, and shoes. -The man on the•right is wearing a.hat, a T-shirt, jeans, trainers, and is holding a jacket. The woman on the left is wearing a hath a jacket, ka dress, and shoes. The woman on the right is wearing a top, a jumper, skirt, and boots.
uercise 1
•four times
•exercise 2
The line was engaged.
He left a message on the answerphone. He left a message with the secretary.
Uercise 3 call, phone, ring back
language point clothes vocabulary
- Jeans and trousers are plural nouns in English not a-jeegs-k#ouseÆ.
- Students often confuse skirt and shirt because they sound similar. Shirts can be worn by men or women.
- A top (a shirt, t-shirt, or blouse) is usually worn by women. However, top in compound nouns, e.g. pyjama / tracksuit top can be worn by men or women.
- A suit can be worn by men or women (a jacket + skirt, or jacket + trousers).
- A dress is only worn by women. The verb get dressed applies equally to men or women: He got dressed in a hurry.
— Jumper/ sweater have the same meaning. Jumper is used in British English: sweater is used in British or American English.
ideas plus reading aloud
Learners can practise pronunciation in their own time using short texts like this. Simplified readers often have accompanying recordings which students can use as pronunciation models. Point out the sense groups marked on the tapescript with slashes, and ask students to listen and notice them. Then they should focus on words which they find hard to pronounce (perhaps checking with you or a dictionary), for instance, lawyer, engaged, minutes, answerphone, message, and busy. After that, they can either listen and repeat the recording (you will need to pause it), or read the text at the same time as the recording. Finally, let them practise with a partner (monitor and help here). They can follow a similar procedure in their own time: record themselves reading, then listen to their efforts.
listening how to . . . use the phone 60-75 mins |
•mobile phones using &tural Enðish phrases
focus on present simp nd present continuous listen to two phone oconvérsations and practise parts of them using natural Enghsh phrases
Write part of a phone conversation andüi message in reply hole play a phone -sonversatipn
• With recent inventions, new words enter the language. See language point on the right. Direct learners to the relevant part of the flow chart in exercise 1 and let them think about their answers. There is a focus on mostly coming up, so if anyone asks about the meaning now, just explain quickly that it means 'usually' or 'most of the time'.
• Exercise 2 highlights mostly in the natural English box. Few students seem to know or use it, yet it is a high-frequency word. Play the recording and make sure they recognize that the 't' is omitted. They can practise the dialogues then discuss their answers (to exercise 1) in exercise 3. Finish with feedback
grammar present simple vs continuous
• If you think your students might need some initial help with exercise 1, you could elicit the answer to the first sentence before asking them to complete the others; alternatively, put them in pairs to do the exercise. Check their answers, then move on to exercise 2. Students should now be very aware of the contrast between the two forms, and this is made explicit in exercise 3. After exercise 4, you could elicit further examples of things that happen on a regular basis (e.g. we have a test at the end ofeach month), and things that are happening now (e.g. we're listening to you), Or in a temporary period including now (e.g. we 're studying the present continuous in this lesson).
• Exercise 5 is an opportunity for the students to test their understanding Of the difference between the two forms. The real focus is on the present simple vs present continuous, so if you think your students may struggle to find the correct verbs as well, put these on the board. For more controlled practice, go to language reference and practice exercises on p.143; for freer practice. see ideas plus on the right.
• Play recording 12.6 (exercise 1). Ask students to give a reason for their answers.
• Move on to the natural EngHsh box and exercise 2. First highlight the common mistakes, then ask students to complete the dialogue. Play the recording again for students to check their answers. You could use the recording again as an intonation model.
• For exercise 3, get learners to read sentences 1—6 first. If necessary, remind them about out in sentence I (z not here), and be back in sentence 3 return). Then play the whole conversation and monitor the students' answers. Go through the answers, then play it again for exercise 4.
• The listening challenge (exercise 5) is Trisha's return call. Play recording 12.7 and check answers. You can then let students listen with the tape-script, but for further exploitation, see ideas plus on the right.
• Exercise 6 continues with a natural Erghsh box containing common phrases used in more formal telephone introductions. Play recording 12.8 and check the answers. My name's is a little more formal and is used more in first meetings.
writing
• This section recycles a lot of the language from the lesson. In exercise 1 monitor while students discuss their answers. Point out that they only need one word for each gap. Check their answers before they practise the conversation in exercise 2.
• Finally, let them write the message (exercise 3). You could ask several pairs to come and write it on the board. Are they the same / correct? Are there any other answers that would also be correct?
speaking it's your turn!
• The role play is similar to the written conversation in exercise 1, but this information gap makes it more demanding. Give each student time to prepare what they can (exercise 1), helping where necessary. Then put them in pairs, seat them back to back so they cannot see each other, and monitor their conversations. Students could swap roles and repeat the role play with a different partner. Give feedback at the end.
tan you remember |
language point evolving vocabulary |
|
phone, ring, answerphone, phone number, engaged, |
Now that mobile phones are an everyday part of our lives, people just refer to them |
|
leave aimessage, call, mobile, no answer, |
as a mobile (phone being understood). Similarly video recorders and DVD players are |
|
be out |
called videos and DVDs, with the context making it clear whether we are referring to |
|
íexercise 2 |
the machine itself or the tape / disk used in the machine. We can now use the word text as both a noun and a verb: |
|
Let's send him a text. |
Text me when you get there. |
|
exercise 1 |
|
ideas plus personalized practice |
1 is sitting 3 is talking to / is phoning |
|
In pairs, students produce four sentences about |
-2 is wearing 4 is eating |
|
themselves: two describing something they are |
-exercise 2 |
|
wearing today, and two describing something they |
present simple |
|
often wear. However, the sentences don't have to be |
exercise 3 |
|
true. Then they write four sentences about another pair |
exercise 4 |
|
(decided by you so that each pair has one other pair |
present simple; present continuous |
|
to write about). When they have finished, the two |
exercise 5 |
|
pairs get together. Pair A reads their sentences, and |
-1 's reading 4 do you normally start |
pair B has to say whether they are true. |
|
2 sleep 5 wears; wearing |
Caroline is wearing white trainers. (false) |
|
Is Claudia doing; 's watching |
Serge Often wears black trousers. (true) |
|
exercise 1 |
ideas plus features Of spoken English |
|
yes (She says his name first. She says 'hi'.) |
Write these four words on the board: |
|
exercise 3 |
hello yes thank you (very much) goodbye |
|
1 true false (after lunch) 5 true |
Tell students to read tapescripts 12.6 and 12.7, and |
|
Q ftlse (a wedding) 4 true false (642 1680) |
find different words used to express these four |
|
exercise 4 |
concepts. The answers are: |
|
Trisha, can you phone Emma after 3.00? Her numberis 6421680. |
hello: hi/ hiya yes: yeah /yep |
|
•exercise 5 |
thank you (very much): thanks (a lot/ so much) |
|
i a-hat, a dress and shoes |
goodbye: bye / bye-bye |
|
2 She wants the phone number of a restaurant |
Some of these words are extremely common (hi, yeah, |
|
•3 727 9946 |
thanks a lot, bye), others less so (hiya, yep). They are |
|
exercises 2 and 6 See tapescript p. 155 |
all features Of informal English (and mostly spoken). |
•exercise 1
Is thatStefan? / Oh, hi, it's Magda. / Fine, thanks. Is Kasia there? / Yes, please, Could she ring me this evening? I get home from work at 7.00. / les 545 9931. / Thanks very much. / Bye.
exercise 3 sample answer Kasia: Magda phoned / rang. Can you ring her this evening •after (7.00)? yer number is (545 9931)
Jcan you remember
Can speak to / Could I Speak to .
Its ... / My name'S
• First, look at language point below.
• You could write the words in exercise 1 on the board, underline the consonant groups at the beginning and briefly explain that it is common in English for two consonants (sometimes three) to occur together, so it is important to practise them. Play recording 12.9 through without stopping while learners listen (they will almost certainly mouth the words quietly as they hear them). Play it again and pause the recording so that learners can repeat the words. Check their pronunciation by listening to a few individuals, then let them practise on their own or with a partner. Meanwhile, you can move round, listen, and correct where necessary.
• Exercise 2 provides pronunciation practice, although students also have to find a suitable word for each gap. At the end, play recording 12.10 (exercise 3), so they can check their answers and hear another oral model. When they practise themselves, it is more fun if they can maintain a good pace. They can do this if they alternate saying the sentences with their partner.
language point consonant clusters
Consonant clusters can occur at the beginning of a word (e.g. sneak, train), in the middle (e.g. April, customer), or at the end (e.g. want looks). They commonly include two sounds together, but sometimes three (e.g. scream, street); they are also very common across words, e.g. that3 true, I cadtsee.
Consonant clusters can be difficult for learners, especially if their Ll has few of them, e.g. Japanese. Other nationalities find certain clusters difficult in certain places, e.g. the initial cluster sk/ st/ sp, etc. (e.g. school) does not occur in Spanish.
A common mistake is a tendency to put a vowel sound between the consonants, e.g. saying stop as /satnp/; or in the case of ceftain initial clusters, to put a vowel sound before the cluster, e.g. saying Spanish as /aspæmJ/. If this happens with your students, get them to repeat a cluster quickly (e.g. ststststststst) until they can produce it without an intrusive vowel sound. Then move on to words, e.g. stop, start, stay, stand.
• Introduce the idea of active listening, i.e. point out the advice in the speech bubble. Ask students what they can say if they don't understand someone, and write their answers on the board.
• Introduce Jean-Louis in the picture and play recording 12.11 (exercise 1). Elicit an answer (see if others agree), and if they are all correct. move on to exercise 2. When you check the answers, highlight the response that Jean-Louis makes to show he doesn't understand.
• In exercise 3, students can compare with a partner before you check the answers. Repeat the procedure for exercise 4, then direct students to the tapescript to complete the natural Engfish box (exercise 5). If you want more oral practice, see ideas plus on the right.
ideas plus role play Divide the class into A / B pairs and give each a role card below. Tell them that they should only use the information in brackets if the other person doesn't understand. Give them a few minutes to prepare. You could put all the As in one group to prepare, and all the Bs in another. This preparation time gives students confidence. situation 1: You stop someone in the street. You want to go to Café Zero. You listen to their explanation but don't understand their first directions. You also have a problem with the name of a place they tell you. situation 2: Explain that the museum is 400 metres (a five-minute walk). It's on this road and is just after the newsagent (a shop that selts newspapers). situation 1: Explain that Café Zero is the third turning on the left (the third — show with yourfingers - road on the left). It's just after the florist (a shop where you buy flowers). situation 2: You stop someone in the street. You want to go to the museum. You listen to their explanation but don't understand their first directions. You also have a problem with the name of a place they tell you. When they are ready to start, tell them that As start situation 1, and Bs start situation 2. |
test yourself!
kest your vocabulary skirt, shirt, tie, boots, hat, jeans, top, jacket, T-shirt, coat, suit, dress, jumper, trainers
2 answer; number; phone; messageï possible
IMng, swimming, studying, getting, smiling
mostly 3 engaged about 4 mobile
•error correction
He's having lunch at the moment.
She isn't wearing a hat today.
Hi. Is that Pamela?
My name's / les Mark Andrews.
vocabulary clothes
First check that students understand the meaning of waist, then put them in pairs to do exercise 1. You could set a time limit to make it more competitive, e.g. three minutes (or two if you want to be more challenging). Check the answers, then go on to the pronunciation focus (exercise 2). Students can practise the phrases at the end.
vocabulary clothes exercise 1 three things you wear on your feet: shoes, boots, trainers three things you wear below your waist: skirt, trousers, jeans six things you wear above your waist: shirt, top, jumper, tie, T-shirt, hat three things you wear above and below your waist: dress, suit, coat, jacket
exercise 2 a black jacket; a red
dress; brown trousers; green jeans; blue shoes; a dirty shirt / skirt; a hot
top; a nice tie.
grammar present continuous and present simple
Divide the class into pairs and make it clear which phrases each student in the pair has to mime. Give them a couple of minutes to think about and prepare their mimes. When they start the activity (exercise 1), tell them they must answer quickly. If they get part of the answer, the first student should prompt them (as may happen with 'drive to school').
For example:
A (mimes driving) B: You're driving.
A: Yes, where?
B: TO work
A: No, (etc).
• For exercise 2, there are a number of things you need to point out before students start:
— they have to make some changes (putting some of the verbs in the third person and using the correct possessive form, e.g. my, his, her, and their).
— they have to put the adverbs (e.g. always and often) in the correct place in the sentences.
— and finally, although they should provide a logical answer in each sentence (always clean my teeth is a logical answer to question l, whereas always play cards seems rather unlikely), there will be more than one possible correct answer, and in some cases, a number of possible answers.
• When students have completed the sentences, they can do exercise 3, and you can round up the activity with class feedback.
natural English
• Students can do exercise 1 individually or in pairs. If they work individually, they could Compare with a partner before they check their answers (exercise 2). As three of the four questions involve short dialogues, they could practise the dialogues in pairs. If you would like to make it more challenging, ask them to write and practise at least one more line from A and B to each dialogue. At the end, listen to several pairs acting out their extended dialogues.
in unit thirteen . |
reading a |
reading |
(talk abòut |
a new life p.114 |
-go and live abroad read about a TV |
-'wordbooster |
programme which helps |
verb + preposition kinds Of film |
people to move abroad |
p.116 |
focus on.be going to vand might 4 Lverb |
listening |
talk about yourown |
how to ... invite |
plans using natural |
someone p.118 |
English phrases in a form about |
extended speaking |
plans to live abroad |
let's go out!- |
talk about these plans |
,120 test yourself!
p. 121
wordlist
p.142
new life 75—90 mins
lead-in
• If you know people who have moved abroad, you could start by telling the class about them. Then the students can talk in pairs or small groups.
For exercise 1, check their answers, then ask about programmes in their country. They needn't restrict their answers to helping people to move abroad: it could be helping people to find a job. lose weight, etc.
Get the class to read the statements for exercise 2, and check they understand. Students can then read the rest 01 the article and complete the task. You may be interested to compare the different ages that children attend primary and nursery schools with other countries. Sec culture note on the right.
Exercise 3 is a personalized response to the article. Give learners time to prepare their ideas, then put them in groups. Monitor and give feedback.
grammar be going to + verb; might + verb
• It is quite difficult to talk naturally about future plans using be going to + verb without the need for might + verb, as some plans are less certain and more speculative than others. We hope that the two concepts, side by side, will help to reinforce each other. See language point on the right.
Students should be able to answer the concept question in exercise 1. If anyone gets it wrong, ask them this question: Is Mike having lessons in Polish UAL'?
Let learners work in pairs on exercise 2. Check the answers before exercise 3.
• Play recording 13.1 (exercise 4) once for students to check their answers to the previous exercise, then play it again and ask them to listen carefully to the pronunciation in questions 2 and 4. Elicit answers until someone says it correctly iganai, then drill it. Explain that this form is common in spoken English. It is not essential for your students to produce it themselves, but they need 10 be able to recognize it when they are listening. When they practise, therefore, let them use either form — as long as they pronounce it correctly.
• The focus of exercise 5 shifts to might. Concentrate on questions 2 and 3, and ask students to give reasons for their answers. If they can't, explain it yourself,
i.e. the article says both of these things might happen, which means perhaps / maybe / it's possible.
• Exercise 6 checks both concepts, and exercise 7 is a chance for students to test their understanding of the difference in meaning.
• The questions in the natural English box in exercise 8 are in the present continuous. However, we would advise you just to teach What are you doing (tonight)? as a fixed phrase and point out that it is the most common / natural way of enquiring about someone's plans (usually in the near future).
elicit the correct date for the first item and write it on the board, like this: tonight (l Ith October) tomorrow and so on. Go through the example in exercise 10 so that students are clear they should use the language from the natural English box in each gucstj.on, but either I'm going to + verb Or might + verb in their |
• Write the words I phrases in exercise 9 on the board in a vertical column, then
•exercise 1
Because Melissa and Scott help them find a -home and? 160k for jobs abroad.
exercise
T true false -5 false 2- false 4 true
They refer to the future.
exercise 2
I'm |
|
I'm not |
/ She's |
gping to do it. |
He [She's not |
lans
culture note schools in different countries
Your students might be interested to compare the facts for their country with both Poland (the subject of the article) and Britain.
In Poland, nursery school is usually referred to as kindergarten. (This word is also used in Britain, but less so than in the past.) It starts at the age of three and continues to the age of six, when pupils begin their first compulsory year of schooling (still in kindergarten / nursery school). They start primary school at seven, and continue until thirteen, when they go to lower secondary school. In Britain, children can go to nursery school (also called pre-school) from two until five, with the time spent there usually increasing as the child gets older.
Compulsory education starts at the age of five, when children go to primary school. At eteven, they move on to secondary school.
language point be going to and might + verb There are potential problems with both of these structures:
- be going to becomes more of a problem when
you / We / They're |
We / You / They're not |
way Of expressing both concepts in their Ll. For the moment, avoid any mention or contrast with |
|
Are you / they he / she |
going to do Lit? |
Yes, I am. No, he isn't. |
will; just focus on be going to to talk about plans / intentions. Plans are about the future, and |
|
|
Yes, they are. |
you can't be certain about the future, but be going |
exercise 3 |
|
|
to expresses the fact you are fairly sure about |
Is; to |
3 'm; to |
|
these plans, usually because you have made a |
Are; going |
4 going; areo't |
|
definite decision to carry them out. |
exercise 4 |
|
|
- problems of form are similar to the present |
Learners meet will and the present continuous to going todo it. express the future, especially if they only have one
Jn sentences 2 anth4, the Speaker pronounces going tQ.as /gana/ continuous: omitting the auxiliary, e.g.
and getting used to two negative forms in some
exercise S |
|
|
|
cases, i.e. she isn't going to / she's not going to; |
yes |
3 not sure |
|
|
we aren't going to / we're not going to, etc. |
'2 notsure exercise 6 |
4 yes |
|
|
— the concept of might is not difficult (it describes something that is possible in the future), but few |
the future •exercise 7 |
2 sure |
3 |
possible |
languages seem to have an equivalent verb, so learners often need a lot of practice. Instead, they |
is going to |
- u3 A might |
5 |
might |
tend to say, or |
2 are going to 'exercise 8 |
4 is going to |
|
|
perhaps4-work The pronunciation /malt/ also needs reinforcement. |
see tapescript p. 156
• Filling in forms is the kind of writing people often do in real life, and it is also the kind of exercise type which regularly appears in public exams. For this reason, you might like to extend your students' knowledge of the more formal language commonly used in forms. See language point on the right.
• While students are completing their forms, move round and help with both ideas and language. and check their spelling.
speaking it's your turn!
• Explain thal this speaking activity only applies to your plans from the previous section, not the personal information. If students work in groups of three, two students ask questions while the third answers; this should ensure a lively pace and put a bit more pressure on the person answering. Encourage students to ask follow-up questions to the information they are given. If they can do this, the conversation will be less predictable and closer to genuine communication.
• Monitor and make notes during the activity and conduct feedback at the end, commenting on the students' use of language studied during the lesson, and anything else Of interest.
• Some of this language will be revision, or at least fairly familiar, so students should be able to have a go at completing exercise 1. Ever is previewed here, but there is a focus on it in the next exercise, so don't explain it now unless you feel you have to.
• Let students use dictionaries with this exercise, and if they have access to monolingual dictionaries, they should notice that prepositions which commonly follow certain verbs are shown in bold within the entry for the verb, along with example sentences. This is an important piece of dictionary training and will help to prepare students for more extensive monolingual dictionary use at a higher level.
aWant to
• When you go through the answers, remind students to keep a record Of these verb + preposition combinations in their notebooks (with examples), and point out the weak forms of the prepositions for 'fal and to Ital. Students will get practice in a few minutes, but you can still drill phrases to check their pronunciation of the weak forms, e.g. wait for buses and trains, listen to the radio, etc.
• play recording 13.3 (exercise 2), and sec language point on the right.
• For exercise 3, you could drill the questions to check pronunciation, then do one or two examples in which students have to give truthful answers. When you are satisfied, put them in pairs to ask and answer the questions. At the end, move on to exercise 4, which brings together the use of ever with the verb + preposition combinations from exercise 1. For greater variety, you could form small groups for this activity. Move round and monitor while they are talking.
• Students will probably complete exercise 1 by a process of elimination and calculated guesswork. You can confirm their answers or correct them at the end, and practise the pronunciation. especially the words which have phonemic transcriptions.
• Give students time to think about exercise 2 and encourage them to provide examples of films within the genre they like; this will make the activity more interesting. You could also suggest they tell their partner (or partners, as this is also a suitable small group activity) about the kinds of film they •hate'. This may provoke more disagreement and animated discussion. For a further suggestion with monolingual groups, sce ideas plus on the right.
can you remember Theyre going to live in Krakow.
MiWs going to learn Polish.
Eva's going to phone some companies.
They might buy some furniture.
£va might get a job more easily. Tomas might go to nursery school.
exercise 1 1 pay 5 spend listen 6 100k 3 agree 7 wait
-4 speak 8 think
exercise 2 go to tapescript p.156
exercise 1
01 comedy 5 romantic comedy
2 musical 6 thriller war film 7 cartoon
4 action film 8 horror film
language point ever
The meaning Of ever in this context is •at any time' (now, the recent past. and the distant past). It can be used in the affirmative with if, e.g. Ifyou ever come to Paris. give me a ring, or in negatives. e.g. Nothing ever happens round here. However, it is used mainly in questions (as in the natural English box). and it would be sensible to tell students only to use it in questions at this level.
Ever is sometimes confused with frequency adverbs. In fact, there is a different assumption behind a question with ever. Compare:
Do you have breakfast in bed? (Does it happen at all?)
DO you have breakfast in bed? (Does it happen occasionally or Often?) Do you have breakfast in bed? (Is it your normal practice?)
In other words. ever involves less certainty and less knowledge of the other person. However, this is a not an easy distinction to make in English with elementary learners; you would be wise to avoid it.
If you speak your learners' Ll. and you know there is a clear equivalent, we would suggest you use translation either to teach ever or check that students understand it. This introduction to ever should also help you in the next unit. when it is recycled in present perfect questions, e.g. Have you ever worked abroad?
ideas plus translation
With a monolingual group, you could ask students to write down the names of five or six films in their mother tongue. Elicit examples and write ones on the board which are not too difficult to translate into English. When you have five or six, put the students in pairs or smatt groups and ask them to translate each one. When they finish, they can compare with others, and you can end with a class feedback to see who had the most accurate / best translations. It might also be interesting to explore whether or not these films had the same title when they were released in English-speaking countries. You can find out more about films with your students using various websites. One of these is (not surprisingly this gives information about alt the films that have won Oscars). Another useful site is
language point language used in forms
WRITTEN |
SPOKEN |
surname |
Whaes your surname / fim.ily name? |
date of birth |
When were you born? |
marital status |
Are you married or single? |
occupation |
What's your joÞ?/ What do you do? |
There are certain words and phrases which appear regularly in forms. Here are a few with their spoken English equivalents.
which has a list of 250 top film titles.
listening how to . . . invite someone 60—75 mins
Qatk åboû€fhe last fi you saw. focus on, typical questions about a film .invite someone to do something using natural English phrases
listen to someone inviting a friend to the cinema •practise making plans using natural English phrases
role play to the cinema
• Start exercise 1 by telling students about the last film you saw (at the cinema, on TV I DVD Monitor the mingling activity and do a quick feedback.
• Exercise 2 contains 'frequently asked questions' about films / the cinema. They will be useful in the extended speaking on p.109. l, 3, 4, and 5 may be less transparent:
What's at the cinema? Where's it u? on = showing What's the film = tell me the topic / Story
Focus on the film advert first (you could teach advert at this point), and show how students can work back from the answers to fill the gaps in the questions. See culture note on the right.
If you use recording 13.4 (exercise 3) as an answer key, focus on the stress in the questions. Ask students to listen again and undcrline the stresses, like this: What's at the cinema? What kind offlu is it?
Drill I practise the questions, then students can practise the questions and answers in pairs.
• In exercise 4, students could compare answers with a student who read the same text. Rearrange the pairs for exercise 5. At the end, ask them which film they prefer and why.
For a different way into this section, see ideas plus on the right.
In exercise 2, check that students stress the underlined syllables and pronounce Would you lwudja/ and Do you /d3a/ correctly. It would be advisable to do some drilling before any pair work.
Elicit a dialogue for the first picture in exercise 3, using the natural Enghsh phrases. Then get students to practise their own dialogues in pairs. This is quite a controlled practice activity, but there is freer practice of invitations in speaking it's your turn! and the extended speaking activity on p.109.
• To tune students in to the characters in the listening, focus on the photos in exercise 1. Ask them to say as much as possible about the people, e.g. their age, possible jobs, what they're doing at the moment, what they're wearing, etc: all useful revision of the present tenses. play the beginning Of 13.6 and check the answer. If students don't get it right at this stage, replay the recording, and ask them to think how we know they are friends. (They use each other's first names with no introduction; their language is informal, e.g. How are you doing? = How are you? (informal); they sound friendly, e.g. Gina, hi! Finally, Gina asks Toby if he's free that evening, which would be unlikely in a British business context.)
• Exercise 2 revises phone introductions. Replay the recording if necessary.
• Ask learners to look at the notes in exercise 3. then play the recording once. Play it again, pausing to allow time for students to complete the notes. They can then compare with a partner.
• Read the statements in exercise 4 before listening. They Can listen again with the tapescript.
• The natural English box includes questions with shall. See the language point on the right. Check students' pronunciation of the questions (in exercise 5), especially shall we ...? IJawi/ before they practise in exercise 6.
speaking it's your turn!
• Students working together on exercise 1 will probably have an idea about a current film or even an old one. You can always change the context from cinema to TV or DVD. See ideas plus on the right.
• Exercise 2 provides some quick revision of the frequently asked questions, and is self-correcting.
• Exercise 3 is a rehearsal stage. As pairs have planned their film information together. they can concentrate on producing a coherent dialogue. To simulate the phone conversation, seat pairs back to back. Go On to exercise 4 so that they do the activity with a new partner who doesn't know which film thcy are being invited to. This stage is more unpredictable, and there is a greater chance that communication will break down. Monitor and give feedback at the end.
exercise 2
2 What 4 Who 6 When
3 What 5 Where 7 How
"exercise •.1
•see tapescript p.156 exercise 3 possible dialogues Would you like to/ DO you want to go to the cinema/ go and see a film? go swimming tomorrow? watch a video / DVD? go for a drink?
go [out] for a meal [lunch / dinner tomorrow? / have -a meat-together tomorrow? o dancing?
exercise 1 They're friends.
exercise 2
Hello, is that Toby? Who's that?
It's Gina. Are you free this evening?
exercise 3
A — Toby saw it last week. 2 City of God les about two boys who grow up in Rio de Janeiro, What kind of film? It's athriller„ Where's it on? The ABC.
exercise 4 8.30 a 67.45 3 in a bar.
exercise 5
On you remember
Inviting and. responding:
Would you like to / Do you want to (go out)?
Yes, great / OK.
Sorry, I'm bit busy / I can't tonight' Maybe tomorrow.
Making plans together:
Where / When shall we meet?
Mow about ..2 Fine. / Yes, OK.
culture note film classification
The British Board of Film Classification classifies films in the United Kingdom particularly to protect children. These symbols appear on films, videos, and DVDs, and you will see them on any cinema website that you visit:
U: Universal. A film suitable for anyone over the age of four.
PG: Parental Guidance (some scenes may be unsuitable for young children).
12 / 12A: '12' films are not suitable for the under twelves; however, under twelves can see a '12"' film if they are with an adult.
15: not suitable for under fifteens. 18: not suitable for under eighteens.
ideas plus picture dialogue
Find some interesting colourfuL pictures Of two people from a magazine and stick them on the board. Students often appreciate romantic intrigue, so pictures of a man and a woman would be good. Elicit details about their ages, nationalities, interests, etc. Explain that the man would tike to ask the woman out on a date and elicit what question he might ask her; then elicit her response, and slowly start to build up a dialogue. Try not to impose anything yourself, but rather gather it all from your students. You could also conduct this activity as a 'disappearing dialogue', i.e. once you have a dialogue on the board (with necessary corrections made), drill it a few times (especially for weak forms) for students to learn, then start rubbing off sentences. Students then re-build the dialogue in pairs.
language point shall
In conversation, shall is used typically to ask for decisions, and make suggestions and offers:
When / Where shall we meet? (asking for a decision)
Shall we meet at the post office? (making a suggestion)
Shall I shut the door? (an offer) [See also language point on p.95] These uses Of shall (volition) are far more common than predictions in spoken English, e.g. I shall be vety happy to leave this place.
Shall is normally only used in the first person, singular or plural; use in Other forms is archaic, e.g. You shall go to the ball!
Learners sometimes come to class believing that shall and will are only used to talk about future events. It is probably more useful, however, to teach them the functional uses suggested above.
ideas plus film information
If your class has Internet access, you could ask them to work in pairs and do a little research on cinema websites for ideas for speaking it's your turn! These sites provide a little synopsis of films and their classification, actors, times, etc. www.odeon.co.uk (go to the site and choose a cinema branch in any town) wywzreadingçinemasom,au (Australian cinema)
If your students don't have Internet access, you may be able to find film information in English newspapers and magazines.
extended speaking let's go out! 45—60 mins |
uld like to go-to rite information abou€ our activity others to your ctivity_
• It is important at the beginning or this activity to let learners read the boxes at the top Of the page which tell them what they are going to do in the lesson, or tell them yourself. This will enable them to get the whole picture. You should also give them time to look back at the can you remember boxes which appear in the unit.
• In this extended speaking activity, learners are going to create information about an event, and invite other people to go with them. They should end up with a diary Of activities for the weekend. TO make this activity realistic, it would help if you could find some brochures or adverts for the type of events your students might enjoy, e.g. classical or pop concerts, musicals, operas or plays, and relevant sporting events. You may need to adapt one Of the information forms, e.g. on p.}28 to make it suitable. This realia would help to tune learners in to exercise 1. They don't need to decide on a specific activity at this point, only the activity type. Help them find a partner for exercise 2. See troubleshooting on the right.
• For exercise 3, explain that students have to invent information about their chosen event. Direct the pairs to the relevant pages (and check that they are on the right page). With their partner, they should talk about their event in more detail, then complete the information. The day is given for each event so that students will be able to attend different events in the role play at the end. Monitor and help with language and ideas where necessary. If you think students need extra support, you could demonstrate first by working through a sample event and form together.
• In exercise 4, students rehearse the conversation they will have in the role play which follows. At this point, there is no information gap, as each one in the pair knows about the event, but the role play will be more spontaneous. However, the practice stage allows students to think about the language they will need to use and how to develop the conversation. Start them off with the first few lines as in the example, then set them working in pairs. Monitor carefully to check that they are asking questions,
e.g. Where's it on? and that they are making arrangements to meet. If not, give feedback 10 that pair, or to the class if necessary. See troubleshooting on the right.
Focus on the diary in exercise 5. Tell students to complete the information about their own event in the diary. Then get them up mingling and inviting others to their event. Remind them that they can say 'yes' Or 'no' to the invitations. If they accept an invitation, they need a little time to complete the diary for that event before they move on to invite someone else. Monitor and check that students are working on the right lines, and that everyone has a partner — if you have an odd number, create one group of three. Allow plenty of time for this stage so that students can find out about as many events as possible. Make notes on their language use.
• When most people have finished, ask them to go back to their first partner (the one they planned the event with). They should tell them about their plans for the other days. Students have the opportunity to use be going to here. You have a choice: either get them to do the activity and see whether they use it (i.e. an informal, diagnostic test) or you can remind them about it before they begin (i.e a straightforward oral practice activity). Monitor the pair work, and at the end, give feedback on any notes you made during the lesson, including the use of be going to in exercise 6 if appropriate. You should consider the activity successful if the students managed to exchange information and make arrangements. In that case, give them plenty Of praise.
ans
troubleshooting class management To help students find a partner who chose the same activity, put notices in three separate corners of the room (concert / musical / sports event). Tell them to go to the appropriate corner. Once there, it is easy for them to pair up. If you have an odd number in one corner, make a group of three; if you have odd numbers in two corners, do the same, or perhaps ask if one student would mind moving to another group. |
grammar be going to / might + verb
For exercise 1, start by eliciting or reminding students of the difference between be going to (a plan, you decided about it before now), and might (a possible plan). You could put a couple of examples about yourself describing your own evening on the board. Give learners a moment to think, then move on to ask and answer with a partner or in small groups. Monitor and correct errors.
troubleshooting dialogue modeling If your group is not very strong, it might be sensible to build a sample dialogue together. You should take A's part in the example in exercise 4, and the class takes a's part. Prepare an imaginary event yourself, and invite the students to it, then elicit responses from the class (asking for more information), and then ask again if they want to come; if so, decide where and when to meet (Where / When shall we meet? etc). Try to keep the conversation natural and tell students not to write the conversation at this stage. They now have a model of what to do, and can work in pairs practising their conversation. Monitor and give feedback. |
Give a couple of examples of your own for the table in exercise 2, then give them time to work alone. Monitor and help / correct. If they can't fill every slot, it doesn't matter; they can say 'I don't know', or they can invent something.
Demonstrate what to do for exercise 3 with a learner in front of the class, then put them in pairs to ask and answer.
Exercise 1 is straightforward, and it contains distractors which are typical errors, e.g. W-ket-d-.a-ye"-d04e44-$--y-k-p Students can work alone or with a partner. You could ask them to practise the dialogues in pairs in exercise 2 until they Can say them without looking.
• Do the first example together, then students can work alone or in pairs. They will sometimes need to change the word form, e.g. waiting.
vocabulary verb + preposition
1 speak to 3 waiting for 5 spent €200 on 7 pay for
2 think of 4 listen to 6 looked after 8 agree with
test yourself!
hest your vocabulary to; with; on; for
(any four): comedy, romantic comedy, musical, war film, cartoon, action film, horror film tonight; tomorrow; this weekend; next week
gap-fill ever 2 to 3 on 4 shall
error correction
1 1'm going to phone my parents.
2 We might see a film.
What are you doing tonight?
I want to go there the next week.
in unit fourteen . . .
reading
that's incredible!
p.122
Wordboostei opposites feelings
p.124
listening how to ...say what you feel p:126
With pronunciationan listening listening: to sopg pronunciation: tinking
test yourself!
p.129
wordlist
p.143
gbbd bad experiences using natural English phrases focus onthe presenV_ perfect (generaU experience)
read about axecord breaker and react using natural phrases focus on .preSeF£ ìperfect vs, past simple iinterview people abo their experiences
• For more about the approach to grammar in this section, see troubleshooting on the right.
• All the Statelnents in exercise 1 could have positive or negative consequences; they are intended to be subjective and promote discussion. Put the first sentence on the board and check that students understand it refers to past time: I've never been to a dentist (in my lite, before now). Ask students if the idea is good or bad. Elicit ideas from the students, then give them a few moments to think about the other statements.
• The natural English box in exercise 2 focuses on once, twice, several times. You can
do the exercise now, or if you prefer, come back to it after the discussion in exercise 3.
Demonstrate what to do in exercise 3 with two students in front of the class. A reads a statement; B responds, then A responds to B's idea. Put students in pairs Or threes and check they are on the right lines. At the end, bring the class together and discuss the statements which provoked most interest.
grammar present perfect
• Students now focus on the forms in exercise 1. You could do this as a class, or give students a few moments to think about the answers before going through it. In any case, do one or two examples Of question 1 together (underlining the forms). Questions 2 and 3 are crucial concept questions. After question 3, you could also ask, 'Is it important when they happened? (No — we aren't interested in when.) With a monolingual group, you could contrast this use of the form with the learners' mother tongue. See language point on the right.
• The table in exercise 2 highlights the regular and irregular past participles.
Break and run are in the tead-in exercise, and the other irregular verbs occur in the next exercise. When you check the answers, focus on the pronunciation Of the past participles, especially been 'bin/, driven /drwm', and written Iritn/. Remind learners that there is an irregular verb list on p. 158. Encourage them to commit these to memory and test themselves.
• For exercise 3, remind students that he / she is followed by has, not have.
Students can write their answers using full forrns, i.e. I have never driven abroad. This is acceptable, as in exercise 4, they focus on contracted forms. Here, drill some of the sentences, focusing on the contractions.
• Look at the first examplc in exercise 5, then if your students need more support. elicit all the questions orally from the class. Point out that in questions, we use ever, not never. Ask them to write the questions, so that you can monitor and correct, or check them on the board at the end. Finally, in exercise 6 students use the questions in a personalized practice activity. Get them to ask you all the questions first, so that you can demonstrate the short answers and check their pronunciation at the same time. Monitor the pair work, and at the end, students can ask and answer across the class. You could move on 10 the language reference and practice exercises, but there is more practice later in the lesson, so it might be advisable to change the focus at this point and go on to read on.
Aercise 2 Olce; twice; several times
gercise
've been; 've broken: "ve run; haven't learnt; •ve lived; 've worked the past +3 no
0 exercise 2 stayed; been; broken; run; driven; writteó,• seen; met
exercise 3 |
|
V has been |
4 1've beep |
12 1've never driven |
5 haveh't seen |
has writtery |
6 ,rve never met |
exercise 5
72 Have you (ever) driven abroad?
Hasyour teacher (ever) written book?
4: -Have you been to university?
Have you seen Gladiator?
Have you ever met anyone famous?
feelin s
troubleshooting previewing grammar
By the time they've reached a good elementary level, students witl have met a number of grammatical forms above their level, either through reading or listening. The present perfect is likely to be one of these, and some learners may have tried to produce it by translating from their own grammar system in Ll.
The statements in exercise 1 preview the present perfect for general experience. Learners need to understand the statements (which shouldn't be too difficult), but they don't need to use the form at this stage; the discussion doesn't require them to do so. For this reason, you don't need to analyse the forms here; this happens in the next part of the lesson.
language point present perfect
This first introduction to the present perfect focuses on the 'general experience' use (actions / situations happening at some point in a time up to now). For some learners, e.g. Russian and Polish, there is no equivalent form in their mother tongue, so they have to learn both a new form and a new concept. In other languages, the form exists, e.g. French, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, and German, but the use is often different: the present perfect can be used with time adverbials,
For most learners, there are Other difficulties:
— the need to learn forms Of irregular past participles.
— contractions: I've / he'S/' they've, etc. In speech, these are sometimes very difficult for students to hear: compare He's stayed there. / He stayed there.
— he's / she's: the contraction could be is or has.
— sometimes learners use be instead of have (perhaps through Ll transfer. French and Italian use be with some verbs in the perfect form) : Ske-is-4iÆbed-Meøt
See language point on p.125 for more about be/ go.
Pre-teach record (n): if you break a record, you do something faster, longer or better than before. See ideas plus on the right.
Try to ensure that learners only read the first paragraph for exercise 1. Before exercise 2, direct students to the photos, and focus on vocabulary related to his records, e.g. jump / pogostick / carry / brick. Students will only need these items receptively, so just check understanding. Then do exercise 2. Students may not remember all the answers, but it should be motivating for them to read again and check. Exercise 3 links with the grammar from the previous section.
• For the natural English box in exercise 4, play the recording then explain the positive connotations incredible / amazing!) and the negative connotations (That's ridiculous /just stupid!). You could give further prompts for students to respond to, using the phrases. Invent some (untrue) information about yourself, e.g. I've got ten children; They don't eat fruit or vegetables, etc. Get them to use a wide voice range to show surprise. Do an example for exercise 5, then students can work in pairs.
grammar present perfect and past simple
• You could take a break between the reading and this section. If you do, quickly ask students what they remember about Ashrita. Move on to exercise 1 which is a quick comprehension check, then focus on the forms in exercise 2.
For exercise 3, you could write two examples on the board:
He 130 kmS with a bottle Of milk on his head. He mile on a pogostick in 2001.
Elicit the names of the forms, then ask students to underline the correct answer in exercise 3.
• Exercise 4 includes simple dialogues which reinforce the difference between the tenses. Complete the first gaps together, then students can work alone or in pairs. Go over the answers using the board so that students can check their spelling. You can use the dialogues for oral practice. See language point on the right.
speaking it's your turn!
• Elicit a few ideas from the class for the question beginnings in exercise 1, then monitor as they work in pairs. Each student needs to write the questions, as they will be interviewing different people.
• Demonstrate what to do in exercise 2, using the example dialogue with one of the students. Be sure to use one or two simple past follow-up questions. Get one student to ask a new partner a question across the class, and if the answer is positive, check whether they use the past simple in the follow-up questions and answers. If not, correct them at that stage. See ideas plus on the right.
• The vocabulary in exercise 1 is mostly recycled in the next lesson. Students will be able to work out some of the opposites by a process Of elimination, and they can do the rest by telling each other what they know in pairs, and using a dictionary. Go over the answers. Give them a minute to study the opposites quietly, then set up the test your partner activity. See ideas plus on the right.
Learners will need some of the past forms for the next lesson. Refer them to the irregular verb list on
p.158. Check their pronunciation, especially done 'Al, found /ao/, won caught /o:l.
• As some of the adjectives in exercise 1 are difficult to explain, the pictures are provided to help with meaning, and the contexts in exercise 2 should also reinforce understanding. You can give students a few minutes in pairs to match the words and pictures, but go over them all together and drill the pronunciation of the items where phonemic script is given.
• When students have done exercise 2, they should record the vocabulary in their notebooks, including the prepositions in brackets. They are not expected to use the prepositions at this stage. We have included the most common collocations. e.g. nervous about, but others can bc found in a dictionary, e.g. nervous of.
exercise 2 |
|
|
1 49 |
3 130 |
5 80 |
2 75 |
4 20 |
|
exercise 3
ideas plus a class record In many countries the idea of unusual records is familiar; if not, your students could look at www.guinnessworldrecords.com to see records of people from many different countries, or wmw-aqhrita.cçm the website for the man featured in the text. To illustrate the idea of breaking a record, and for fun, you could have a non-blinking contest in your class. Tell the students that you have a record Of 20 seconds of not blinking (mime this) — the longest time you have gone and not blinked (shut your eyes). Ask students to work with a partner; they have to beat your record. Students time each other; at the end. they call out their times. How many people broke your record? You can then put the following on the board to teach the phrases: My record was [201 seconds. [Natasha] broke the record. She didn't shut her eyes for [45 seconds]. |
has travelled: has done; has walked; has juggled; has broken ('has done' is irregular)
language point be/ go These verbs often cause problems for learners, particularly with the present perfect. Compare: Mark's been to Peru. — He went there and came back again; he isn't in Peru now. Mark's gone to Peru. — He went to Peru and he's still there. |
exercise 13
1 July 2001 2 Oxford 3' October 1999; 138 kms
exercise 2
The past simple, because we are giving specific information about when / Where these things happened.
exercise '3 present perfect; past simple
•exercise 4
1 Have you ever been; went; did you stay Q Have you ever been; was m3 1've never been; Have you been; went; was,• was
can you remember met, been, broken, learnt, seen/ driven, written, run
exercise 1
2 fail |
4 find |
6 |
lose |
land |
•3 forget |
5 finish |
7 |
mss |
|
•exercise 2
see irregular verb |
p. 158 |
|
|
exercise 1 |
|
||
1 frightened |
3 |
surprised |
5 nervous |
excited Iaercise 2 |
4 |
angry |
6 sad |
|
3 |
surprised |
pleased |
angry |
4 |
frigtened |
6 sad |
7
8
7
8
ideas plus follow-up questions
Put these follow-up questions on the board when you do exercise 2.
How many times? Was it difficult? When did YOU do that? Who wCs it? Did you like it? How long were you there? Why?
Get a student to ask you a question, e.g. Have you ever studied art? Say you have, then ask the class which follow-up questions they could use. Elicit one or two more follow-up questions so that they get the idea of extending the conversation.
ideas plus opposites This exercise provides the verbs in context, as the opposites may be different in another context, e.g. lose/ find (your keys) and lose/ win (a match); also, take off / put on (a jacket) and (a plane) takes off/ lands. Encourage your students to record these opposites in_context in their vocabulary notebooks. As your learners are approaching pre-intermediate level, you can also revise adjectives, e.g. a light / dark colour; a light / heavy suitcase; a hard / an easy exercise; a hard / soft bed |
pleased embarrassed
listening how to . . . say what you feel 60—75 mins |
nervous embarrassed 1k'àbðúQ uestioñnaire about
'feelings Ufocus on fixed phrases nd natural Enghsh ihrases for special reetings
isten to a person. èexplaining her fears @bout a plane journey
Âactise language in -special situations using natural frtghih phrases
"rite messages for greetings cards
The situations in the questionnaire are hypothetical, but as the students don't have the necessary language (would / might) to discuss them hypothetically, wc have placed it in the 'here and now', so they can talk about them using the present tense. It should still sound natural.
• Write the examplc on the board (You're going on holiday tomorrow. How do you feel?). Underneath, Write the first part of the replies, e.g. Ifeel... . and I'm quite , and elicit adjectives which could finish each sentence. Then direct them to the questionnaire in exercise 1. They can use adjectives from the wordbooster in their answers, but you may also need to teach relieved. See ideas plus on the right. Give them time to think about their answers, then they can work with different partners (exercise 2). At the end, find out the differences in their answers.
• Students can do exercise 1 individually and then compare with a partner, before you play recording 14.3 (exercise 2) for them to check their answers. It's quitc possible that they will get the correct answers without necessarily understanding all the phrases, so you may need to clarify and consolidate. See language point on the right.
•
• The natural English box highlights more fixed phrases: greetings and responses on special occasions. Play recording 14.4 ror students to complete the task (exercise 4), then let them practise in pairs. If your learners don't celebrate Christmas, omit it from the practice phase (exercise 5), and substitute a relevant festival.
• Get students to describe the picture in pairs (exercise 1), then play the first part of the recording (exercise 2). This will help to tune students in to the voices. The task in exercise 3 is a synopsis of the conversation (but with errors) to ease them into the subject matter. See ideas plus on the right.
• Ask Students to read the summary. This includes a new Structure (preposition + •ing, e.g. Of travelling), but it shouldn't present comprehension problems. The present continuous for future is also here (is going to England). Students learnt be going to + verb in unit 13, and if anyone asks about this, explain that if the verb is go, we normally omit it in spoken English, i.e. I'm going to Spain.
• Play the recording while students complete exercise 3. play it again if they can't correct all the errors.
• For the listening challenge (exercise 4), ask students to predict what the woman is going to say, write a few of their ideas on the board, then play recording 14.6 to see if anyone predicted it correctly (this will almost certainly answer the two questions set in the studenes book). Finally, let them 100k at tapescripts 14.5 and 14.6 to find vocabulary from earlier in the lesson (exercise 5).
If greetings cards are not very common in your students' culture, see culture note on the right.
• Tell students to cover messages a—c and just look at the cards. Elicit reasons why people might send a
'good luck' or •congratulations' card, and write their ideas on the board. Then they can do exercise 1.
• The students have already learnt have a good time, so the additional phrases in the natural English box should be straightforward. Let them find the phrases (exercise 2) and then practise the phrases and responses with a partner. Exercise 3 is a chance to test their undelStanding and practise them again.
• Exercise 4 returns to the greetings cards. It's more enjoyable if they are a surprise, but if you let students decide who to send cards to, some students may not receive any. You could write each pair's names on pieces of paper and give one piece to each pair; everyone will receive a card, but they won't know who it is from until it arrives. Help while students are working. When everyone has finished they can do exercise 5. Finish with some brief feedback. Has anyone received a funny Or inappropriate card?
can you remember see p.114 exercise 1 possible answers
excited |
5 frightened / nervous |
2 angry |
6 pleased / relieved |
3 nervous / excited |
7 angry |
4 embarrassed / happy / surprised exercise 1 |
8 sad |
1 Have a good time. |
4 Good luck! |
2 Congratulations! |
5 Don't worry. |
3 Thays a shame! exercise 4 |
6 rm really sorry. |
see tapescript p. 155
exercise 2 1 Danny and Alison
2 It's Alison's birthday. í3 A present — a•book about India exercise 3
The woman is going to India next week,' she's not feeling excited abóut it. She's frightened of travelting by plane because she's had one bad. plane journey. The man says she should ask,her doctor for something to help her relax. She thinks that's a good idea, exercise 4 1 yes
'2 no, because she met a nice man on the •plane and talked to him thetime.
exercise 1 1 b 2 c exercise 2
Have a great day! Have a fantastic holiday!
exercise 3 possible answers;
Il Have a nice weekend! 3 Have a lovely birthday! Have a good time! 4 Have.a nice evening!
can you remember have a good time; that's a shame; don't worry; congratulations; I'm really sorry; thanks a lot; thats great; happy birthday / Christmas /New Year
ideas plus relieved
To illustrate the meaning of relieved, describe a situation in which you were worried or frightened, e.g. before a driving test, on a horrible flight. Then show how you felt when the worry / fear disappeared, e.g. sigh, drop your shoulders, etc.
language point fixed phrases
Here are some useful points about the fixed phrases:
— really is used to add emphasis, e.g. I'm really sow; it was really great.
— that's a shame (used to express your sadness and disappointment at something you've been told) has the same meaning as that's a pity. Both are common.
- don't worry is often used to reassure people that everything is OK, especially when someone apologizes to us.
- have o good time means (in this context) 'enjoy the holiday. We use the construction have + adjective + noun a lot, and students are going to meet several more Common expressions with this construction later in the lesson. All of these phrases provide learners with natural and appropriate responses in a range of situations. Encourage students to reproduce them fluently.
ideas plus unsupported tasks
This might be a suitable alternative with a strong class who have managed the previous recordings without too much difficulty.
As the introduction to the recording does not prepare students for the content (and as this is the last unit), you could try playing the rest of the listening passage without providing any further support, i.e. don't show them the summary in exercise 3. Just play the recording, and at the end, put students in pairs to tell each other what they have understood. Monitor their discussion, and you may learn quite a lot about the parts they have and haven't understood, and you may also discover (from their conversations) why they have not understood something.
We generally provide a lot of support in listening tasks, especially at lower levels. in order to develop listening skills and build confidence. At the same time, learners sometimes have to cope in situations where they don't have the background knowledge Or support to help them. Occasionally we need to do the Same in class.
culture note greetings cards
Greetings cards are increasingly popular in Britain and there is a wide range of them. Most people send cards at Christmas, and some send cards at New Year. Other occasions include: birthday cards; anniversary cards (usually wedding aniversaries); good luck cards (e.g. before an exam); congratulations cards (e.g. passing an exam or having a baby); farewell cards (when someone is leaving a job or an area); sympathy cards (sent to relatives when someone has died); get well cards (for someone who is ill); Mothefs Day and Father's Day cards (one day a year); Valentine's Day cards (February 14th when boyfriends and girlfriends exchange cards and others send cards to boys or girls they are attracted to); and so on.
Do your students send any of these cards in their country? Are there other cards they send?
• You could start by playing some other music, but preferably something your students will enjoy. Then using the board rather than the book, explain the word lyrics and rhyme (you can use the example from the book). Write the other words on the board and let students complete exercise 1.
• Play recording 14.7 (exercise 2) and check the answers. You could then elicit a brief reaction. Do they know this song and who originally performed it? Do they like it? Why I why not? If most of the students enjoyed it, play it again and encourage them to sing along with it; some students are very willing to join in like this. Afterwards, you may want to say something about the language used in the song. See language point on the right.
•
• When students are listening to English, they may think they have heard one word, and then discover that, in fact, it is three or four, e.g. a student who hears festival when the teacher is actually saying first "fall. Words are commonly linked together in English and it is a particular problem for 142 listeners.
• Explain the way in which words are linked in English. Rather than reading from the student's book, you could again do this using the board with one or two examples from the song. Then tell students to open their books and follow the linking while you play the first verse again (exercise 1).
• Monitor the pairwork in exercise 2, and when everyone has finished, let them listen and check their answers. You could go round and check them for yourself as well. Finally, they can ask and answer the questions with a partner (exercise 3). Monitor again to see how effectively they are linking words together. In most cases, linking words together is easier than not linking them, but at the same time, students have to ensure that they are intelligible to their listener; it's no good if they link words together in a stream of sound and other people can't understand them. At this stage, it is important to keep their pronunciation clear while also trying to sound natural.
exercise 2 haveuanuegg.
language point language in songs A common feature of song lyrics is that words or phrases may get shortened in some way (often to fit in with the music). In this song it happens twice: because is shortened to cause /kaz/ (this happens a lot in spoken English); and I've got to is abbreviated to got to. You may also have noticed that there is a grammar mistake. In the second verse, I lay On my bed should be I lie on my bed (lay is the past tense, but here it is describing something that happens regularly). This is not uncommon in songs, although you don't have to point it out. Then there are the images, e.g. his love is written on the wind, meaning it's everywhere and in constant motion; the idea is repeated more simply in the next line. |
grammar present perfect and past simple
After exercise 1, check that students have the correct verb in each gap and with the correct past participle form. Drill the questions round the class to check their pronunciation, then let them work on exercise 2. They will probably need several minutes to think about their answers (both ideas and language). When they start the activity, move round and monitor closely and make sure they are switching correctly to the past tense when they recall specific events from the past. Finish with some feedback on their language use, and let students add up their scores (exercise 3). Who is lucky in the class? Who is unlucky?
missed a train forgotten to take your passport failed an important test left your bag broken your arm lost a lot of money
Student: |
I'm 21 today. |
You: |
Oh, happy birthday! |
Student: |
Thank you. |
You: |
so, what are you doing tonightfor your birthday? |
Student: |
I'm going to... ., etc. |
When they have had sufficient time to extend at least one of the dialogues, listen to some examples. If you are pleased with them, why not give them more time to extend others?
• Direct students to p.127 and give them a few minutes to write down
.their answers. For the pairwork activity, they can take it in turns to read
a sentence, and when they have finished they can repeat the activity, but this time, reading the sentences their partner did first time round. test yourself!
1 failed 5 land test your vocabulary 2 lost 6 missed catch / miss; win / lose3 finished 7 win / find
2 nervous; pleased; surprised; frightened 4 forgot 8 did badly
Happy; Good; New; Don't
gap-fill has 3 Congratulations!
4 Have
error correction
1've only seen her once tigae.
2 Has he ever learnt to drive?
43 She hasn't ever stayed in a hotel. or She has never stayed in a hotel.
Yes, I went there last year.
one wordlis
your language
natural English saying hello Hello / hi.
I'm / My name's... Nice to meet you.
What's your phone number?
What's your phone / mobile number?
It's .
How are you?
Hi, how are you?
Fine, thanks. And you? Very well, thanks.
Would you like ?
Would you like (a drink)?
Yes, please.
A (glass Of wine), please. No, thanks.
asking for help
Sorry, can you repeat that, please?
Yes, sure.
Sorry, can you play that again, please? Yes, of course.
vocabulary jobs housewife engineer waiter Office worker lawyer police officer actor businessman / woman journalist shop assistant
drinks orange juice mineral water diet coke black coffee tea with lemon red / white wine hot chocolate wordbooster
countries and nationalities France / French
Germany / German
Japan / Japanese Spain / Spanish
Argentina / Argentinian
China / Chinese
Italy / Italian
Brazil / Brazilian
Thailand / Thai
Poland / Polish
Britain / British numbers (1) 1-5
6-10
20 / 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 / 80 / 90
100 / 125 / 405
two
language
natural English wordbooster
thing(s) personal objects
What's this thing? pencil
How many things (are in the picture)? notebook
dictionary
giving opinions
What do you think of (laptops)? briefcase
maganne
I think (thefre expensive).
course book
I think (they're useful).
rubber
I don't think (theyre necessary).
newspaper
Can I...?/Canyou ? bag
Can I (borrow your pen), please? travel card
Yes, sure. lighter
Can I (100k at your paper)? pen
Yes, here you are. key
Can you (open the window)? piece Of paper
Yeah, Of course.
adjectives
saying you aren't sure cheap / expensive
rm not sure. interesting / boring
I can't remember. hot / cold
I don't know. easy / difficult
Ithink (Ys Beijing). safe / dangerous
vocabulary noisy / quiet
great / terrible
technology
similar / different
computer
early / late
laptop
light / dark
printer
digital camera colours
TV black
to player white
DVD player grey
mobile phone blue
red pink green brown yellow silver
your language
natural English
a lot (of) . (I play tennis) a lot. (I drink) a lot of (coffee).
get (z arrive at a place) How do you get to work?
By car.
How do you get to school / university?
By bus / train.
I walk.
I cycle.
asking the time
Excuse me, have you got the time, please?
Yes, it's (7.30).
Sorry, I haven't.
likes and dislikes
I really like (shopping). I quite like (swimming).
I don't like (cooking).
I hate (going to the gym).
vocabulary noun groups
Towns and villages are places where we live.
Basketball and tennis are games.
Coffee and beer are types of
drink.
Buses and trains are forms of transport. Offices and factories are places where we work.
Rice and bread are things we eat.
Houses and flats are types of home. activities swimming skiing cooking shopping driving dancing travelling sightseeing going to the gym computer games telling the time It's (three) o'clock.
It's half past (three) / (three) thirty.
It's quarter past (three) / (three) fifteen.
Ifs quarter to (three) / (three) forty-five. It's twenty to (three) / ten past (three).
glossary cosmopolitan (adj) permanently (adv) rain (n)
natural English
about an hour a day about seven hours a night about an hour a day about thirty-five hours a week asking about family
Have you got any brothers and sisters?
Yes, I've got two brothers and a sister.
Have you got any children? No, I haven't.
do sth together My sister and I live together.
My brother and father work together. Can we have lunch together?
saying thank you
Thank you (very much).
You're welcome.
Thanks (a lot). That's 0k.
vocabulary
daily routines get up have breakfast read the paper leave home get to work / school / university have lunch get home from work / school have dinner watch TV go to bed
families father and mother parents and children son and daughter brother and sister incle and aunt nephew and niece tusband and wife
language boyfriend and girlfriend cousin grandmother / grandfather grandson / granddaughter wordbooster days, months, and seasons Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday Friday
Saturday
Sunday
January, February
March, April May, June
July, August
September, October November, December
spring, summer autumn, winter time phrases at three o'clock on Monday on the 20th June in August in the summer at the moment at the weekend during the week between 5.00 and 6.00 glossary survey (n) accountant (n) secretary (n) priest (n) read for pleasure on the way (to work)
@
five wor 1st
language natural English
What do you have for
What do you have for breakfast / lunch / dinner?
I usually have
What kind of ?
What kind of (soup have you got)? What kind of (ice cream do you like)?
ordering food
What would you like?
I'll have (chicken), please.
OK. Anything else? NO, that's all, thanks.
Excuse me, can I have another (glass of wine), please?
Sure.
And can I have some more (water), please?
Yes, of course.
vocabulary breakfast food
orange juice cake cereals coffee cornflakes rolls bread sugar butter cheese toast ham
eggS sausages honey jam bacon
@
food cheese / ham bacon sandwich tomato / pea potato / mushroom Soup vanilla / strawberry chocolate ice cream steak / chicken fish and chips apple / strawberry cheese tart adjectives describing restaurants excellent / awful comfortable / uncomfortable friendly / unfriendly clean / dirty fast / slow cheap / expensive glossaries menu (n) croissant (n) be in a hurry cabbage (n) porridge (n) get (sth to eat) (v) snack (n) the bill (n)
natural English verb + noun collocation go shopping both
(Tom Cruise and Sean Penn) are both actors. go to a party stay at home Theyre both (American).
(Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela) were do homework go out with friends both presidents.
wash the car
How was ? play cards
How was your weekend?meet a friend (for a drink) It was lovely / great.clean the flat nice / fine.go for a walk a bit boring / not very interesting.do nothing terrible / really bad.
glossary listening with interest joke (n) Oh, yeah?famous (adj)
Oh, right.chef (n)
(I'm) sorry I'm late ex-girlfriend (n) Cm) (really) sorry I'm late.shout (v)
vocabulary
tourist places church castle statue square cathedral bridge market palace museum fountain wordbooster
past time phases yesterday morning / afternoon / evening last night / week / month / year a few days ago / a week ago / ten days ago in 2005
seven wordlist
natural English link words
We had a drink, (and) then we went to the cinema.
I went shopping. After that, I met my sister for lunch.
quite and very He's quite tall.
He's got very long hair.
What's he / she like?
What's he like?
He's quite funny.
What's she like? She's very nice.
When did you last ?
When did you last (see him)?
Two weeks ago.
When did you last (speak to her)? Yesterday.
vocabulary life events was born grow up leave school go to university become (an engineer) work in (a school) get married (to sb) have a baby
physical appearance tall / short thin / (a bit) fat beautiful attractive good-looking he's / she's got... long / medium—length / short hair blonde / brown / dark hair he's got a beard / a moustache
character funny / serious interesting / boring clever / stupid hard-working / lazy nice / horrible strict / relaxed glossaries move (v) unfortunately (adv) unemployed (adj) sell (v)
use of way
Excuse me, is this the right way to (the bus station)?
Yes, it is.
Excuse me, which ways (the town centre)?
Ys that way.
Can we get to (the park) along here? No, (sorry), thaes the wrong way.
asking for directions
Excuse me, where's (the coffee bar)? is there (a photocopier) on this floor? is there ( a lift) here? (on the first floor). No, I'm sorry, there isn't.
well
Is the library this way?
Well, it is, but iYs closed at the moment.
asking people to speak slowly / Speak up Sorry, could you speak slowly, please?
Yes, sure.
Sorry, could you speak up, please? Yes, of course.
vocabulary getting around ask for directions give directions understand directions take a map get on the wrong train get Off at the wrong station forget the way you can't see (the road signs)
directions turn left / right go upstairs / downstairs go along the corridor Ys at the end of the corridor
Ys the first / second door on your right / left wordbooster
prepositions of place at (the end Of the road) on (the lake) in (the park) next to (the bank) near (the cinema) behind (the station) in front Of (the hotel) opposite (the school) between (the shop and the pub)
come and go; bring and take come here go to the window take your books home bring that to me
glossaries border (n) journey (n) foreign (adj) hungry (adj) thirsty (adj)
c)
nine wordlis your language |
natural English
normally
I normally (wake up early).
Normally, (she doesn't eat breakfast).
Do you normally (go on holiday in July)?
(don't) think so Has the hotel got a bar?
Yes, I think so.
Is there a pool?
NO, I don't think so.
Would you prefer ?
Would you prefer a double room Or a twin?
Would you prefer en-suite? Yes, please / NO, thank you.
suggesting and responding
We could call it ('Paradise Hotel').
Yeah, that's a good idea.
Lees (have a French restaurant). I'm not sure about that.
vocabulary hotels a single room a double room a twin en-suite bath / shower Internet access parking swimming pool gym restaurant
Is breakfast included (in the price)? numbers (2) expiry date total
(10) % service
(10) % extra
$10 per person money spend (money) pay (the bill) cost change (n) [U] buy / sell save (money) service credit card pay a deposit share the bill
glossaries book (v) (in advance) member (n) share (v) common (adj) tidy (adj) hand in sth (v) sleeping bag (n) towel (n) need (v) equipment (n)
natural English talking about ages
(Babies can smile) at about four to six weeks.
(Babies can smile) when they are about four to six weeks old.
quite / vew well
I can (swim) very well.
I can (swim) quite well. I can't (swim) very well. I can't (swim).
giving opinions I think Ys better to (say nothing).
offering help
I'll (help you with the cooking).
No, iYs OK, thanks.
Shall I (clean the bathroom)? Thanks very much.
vocabulary action verbs Cry sleep play (with sth) pick sth up smile walk laugh throw crawl
parts of the body head hair eyes nose ears mouth tooth / teeth
neck shoulder chest back arm hand fi nger thumb stomach leg foot / feet toe
common phrases Do you need any help?
I'm fine.
You don't look well.
I feel terrible.
What happened?
I broke my leg.
Can I give you a lift?
That's very kind of you.
What's the matter? There's something wrong with (this drinks machine).
glossary grow (v) birth (n) vision (n) recognise (v) spoon (n) draw (v) o
e I even
natural English |
adjectives (3) |
How long does it take? |
popular |
How long does it take |
healthy |
to (walk to the station)? |
lucky |
to (get to Rome)? |
modern |
by (scooter)? |
busy |
It takes (an hour / a long time). |
common |
Not long. |
wonderful rich |
agreeing and disagreeing Bikes are safer than motorbikes. |
poor |
I agree (with that). |
glossaries |
It depends. |
healthy (adj) |
Computers are more useful than TVs. |
tired (adj) |
Yes, that's true. |
battery (n) |
I'm not so sure.
get buy)
What can you get in a
Where did you get that shirt?
recommending should + verb
You should go and see (the museum).
You should visit (the art gallery). Don't go to (the Royal Hotel).
wordbooster shops and products butcher's furniture shop bakeHs shoe shop record shop Chemist clothes shop supermarket department store post office lamb toothpaste olive oil perfume stamps
@
natural English
How about you?
Have you got a group Of friends you go out with?
Yes, my old school friends. How about you?
mostly
When do you use your mobile? Mostly at weekends.
phoning a friend Is that (Tom)?
Yes, speaking.
Oh, hi. It's (Emma).
telephone introductions
Can / could I speak to Mr Brown, please?
Yes, who's calling / speaking, please? Its / My name's (Pauline Johnson).
showing you understand / don't understand 0K / Right / 1 see.
Sorry? Pardon?
Could you repeat that?
clothes shoes jeans
Skirt top suit shirt trainers dress tie jacket jumper
t-shirt trousers wear (v)
telephoning ring (v) call (v)
(the phone is) engaged answerphone leave a message (phone) number as soon as
possible
ring sb back there's no answer (He / She's) out.
glossary enjoy yourself (v) railway (n) relax (v) sail (v)
Owner (n)
©
natural English
What are you doing tonight / tomorrow / this weekend? rm going to (see a film).
I might (go shopping). Nothing much.
Do you ever
Do you ever (speak to your family in English)?
DO you ever (eat Chinese food)? inviting and responding Would you like to go out tonight?
Yes, great.
DO you want to go for a drink?
Sorry, I 'm a bit busy / I can't tonight. Maybe tomorrow.
making plans together When shall we meet?
How about eight o'clock?
Where shall we meet?
At the station.
Fine.
Yes, OK.
kinds of film comedy romantic comedy thriller musical war film cartoon action film horror film
@
verb + preposition look after sb /
sth wait for sb / sth listen to sb / sth agree with sb / sth pay for sth spend
(money) on sth speak to sb think about sth / sb glossary hope (v) get a job
primary school (n) nursery school (n)
how many times? (I've been in hospital) once.
(I've broken my leg) twice.
(I've lived alone) several times.
reacting to surprising information
Thays incredible / amazing / ridiculous / just stupid!
special greetings Happy Birthday! Thank you.
Happy Christmas! Thanks — you too. Happy New Year! Same to you.
have a + adjective + noun Have a nice day / evening.
Have a good weekend.
Thanks — you too.
Have a lovely holiday.
Have a great time. Thank you.
vocabulary fixed phrases Thays a shame!
Don't worry.
Congratulations! Good luck. rm really sorry.
Thanks a lot.
Have a good time.
wordbooster opposites do well / do badly pass / fail an exam remember / forget someone's name lose / find your keys start/ finish a book win / lose a football match catch / miss a train planes take Off / land
feelings frightened (Of) nervous (about) sad (about) excited (about) surprised (at) pleased (with) angry (with sb / about sth) embarrassed (about sth)
glossary incredible (adj) currently (adv) record (n) meditation (n) break a record depend on (v)
how to . .. |
use the board |
p. 146 |
how to .. . |
develop learner independence |
p.153 |
how to ... |
communicate with low-level learners |
p.160 |
teacher development chapters
how to .. .
select, organize, and present vocabulary at lower levels p.167
how to . .. help low-level learners with pronunciation p.174
how to use the board
1 What can go wrong?
2 Principles of good boardwork 3 How can the board be used?
4 Students' use Of the board
5 The overhead projector (OHP)
1 What can go wrong?
Ask a group of teachers to name one area of their teaching they aren't very proud of, and it's almost a certainty that 'poor boardwork' will appear on the list. Is that because principles of good boardwork are a low priority on some teacher training courses? Is it because good boardwork is a difficult skill to master? Is it that we know what we should be doing but have forgotten? Or are we just too lazy to bother? And does it matter anyway? think! 1
Do you think iYs true that teachers' boardwork is generally poor? Is yours?
If you answer 'ye< to either of these questions, what do you think the reasons are? And does it matter? Think about these questions before you read on.
think! 2
What do you think of this board? Write down at least three things about it (good or bad), then read on.
seuow-x boy
Poor boardwork and board awareness can let our teaching down in a number of ways.
an empty board
If we make little use of the board, our students will either try to , write down what we say and get much of it wrong; or they won't write things down at all, in which case they may have little record of what has taken place in the lesson. The board in think!2 isn't empty, but it is under-exploited.
a cluttered board
If you usually write on the board a great deal, aren't in the habit of rubbing things off, and haven't given prior thought to what the board should look like, the result could be a cluttered and confused board. Once again, this may be reflected in the notes your students make, which may be equally confused.
a shapeless board
As the lesson unfolds, the board should tell us something about the content and focus of the different stages. Do you have a clear idea about the content or focus of the lesson shown by the board on the left?
poor handwriting
Students need to be able to read your handwriting. If it is illegible, they are likely to copy words down incorrectly. Some teachers think that capitalization makes handwriting clearer, but it really should be avoided, as students won't realize when capitalization is necessary: for example, with days of the week and months.
cleaning the board
It's important not to clean the board before students have had a chance to write things down. On the other hand, you need to prioritize your boardwork, otherwise it will become cluttered. If it's important, leave it there; if not, rub it Off.
obscuring the board
Don't stand in front of the board if you want students to see it and write things down.
timing
to |
As a general rule, try not to spend too long writing on the board, especially with your back turned to the class: students get restless and the lesson loses momentum. If you need to write a lot (and don't have access to an OHP, which is better for extensive notes), make sure your students have something to do while you're writing, or engage them in your writing process. For example, stand back at certain points and ask them to predict the next word you are going to write; or ask them how certain words and phrases are pronounced as you are writing. Whatever happens, you should allow plenty of time for students to copy things down from the board. It is easy to underestimate the time they need.
Presenting new language using the board rather than from a book or handouts has several advantages. The students are looking at you or each other, and they do not have their heads buried in books or paper. This usually creates a more lively classroom atmosphere and helps to build rapport among the group. When the students are looking at you, it is also easier to assess whether they understand what you are saying. In other words, you will get more signals telling you whether you need to repeat or elaborate on something.
These advantages, however, will be largely nullified by inadequate, illegible, or confused boardwork. And good boardwork starts with planning. If you are going to present new language from the board, it needs to be clear. This means giving careful consideration to the information you are going to include, how it's going to unfold during the presentation, and what you want the board to look like when you finish. One method is to map out the different stages of your boardwork on paper beforehand. It may sound like over-zealous lesson planning, but for an important area of grammar this could be the crucial part of your lesson plan. For inexperienced teachers, it is certainly worthwhile as well as a useful discipline. (See the example of a grammar presentation using the board in the next section.) To be fully effective, other aspects of board use also need some thought.
think! 3
During the lesson itself, most teachers have their own boardwork habits. As you read through the following suggestions, tick the ones you do regularly, and put an asterisk* next to any that you think would be a good idea.
— If the previous teacher hasn't cleaned the board, do it at the beginning of the lesson.
— Ask a student to tell you the day and the date, then write it in the top right-hand (or left-hand) corner of the board. For low levels, this is useful language revision in a meaningful context, and if students do the same in their notebooks they have a chronological record of the lessons. This may help them to retrieve information at a later date.
— In the other top corner Of the board, you could write a very brief description of the lesson so that the students know what they are going to do. Adult learners in particular often appreciate this, and in some schools I colleges, it is standard procedure. Here is an example:
— Use the centre Of your board for the most important input in the lesson.
You may have certain vocabulary planned, but there are always new words and phrases that arise during the course Of the lesson. If you section off a column down the righthand side of the board and use it only for this purpose, it won't clutter up the rest of your board or get in the way 01 planned boardwork.
Students will have a clear record Of vocabulary that has arisen, and they will be more aware of the additional vocabulary they are learning. One of the dangers 01 incidental vocabulary that is scattered all over the board is that it may be quickly rubbed off and forgotten. 11 you put it all on the board in one place, and keep a record of it yourself, you can return to it in future lessons and revise it. One very simple activity is to ask learners if they can remember any of the incidental vocabulary from their last lesson (point to your right-hand column). If not, how many words or phrases can they find by looking in their notes? It is useful to have two coloured board pens or pieces 01 chalk. Colours can be used for phonemic transcriptions and I or marking stress on words. Don't overuse them, however, as multi-coloured boards can be off-putting and difficult to read.
classroom time to explain it clearly, and put any key information on the board, e.g. page numbers. exercise numbers, time to complete it, when you want it completed by, whether you want it handed in, etc. If possible, try to use the same part 01 the board for this each lesson, then students are more likely to notice it. — Monitor your students while they are copying from the board. Even thc most diligent students occasionally write things down incorrectly, and if you go round and check what they are writing, it gives them a chance to ask you if there is anything they don't understand. to |
— Regular homework is not feasible for every student or every group, but we believe it is very valuable. Leave enough
3 How can the board be used?
The board is probably the most widely available teaching aid. Many teachers do not have computers, OHPs, or videos, but you can usually rely on a classroom having a board. It is also an extremely versatile teaching aid: it can be used to present new language and / or prompts for practice; it is often essential for correction; it's a notice board for important information; it provides a record of the lesson; and most importantly, it is a forum for interaction and discussion between the teacher and learners. We will now look at some of these uses in more detail. presenting grammar
In a traditional oral-situational presentation, the board is used for recording and analyzing model sentences only after concept and pronunciation have been fully dealt with. Issues of form need to be highlighted on the board, and these can be built up with the students.
My fives village.
Who Aces he live wi¼? He live wiHA us.
However, there are other ways of using the board for presenting grammar. One common approach is the use Of contrasting sentences to highlight the difference between tenses: in this case the present simple and present continuous at elementary I pre-intermediate level. We are assuming that students are familiar with both forms, but have not looked at them contrastively. Once you have chosen your examples (these are from elementary student's book unit twelve), write the sentence beginnings on the board, allowing plenty Of space around the examples to add more information later. In this instance, the sentence endings (at one o'clock every day and at the moment) are on cards, so you can ask students to match the correct beginnings and endings.
at one o'clock every day. |
have
at the moment. |
My are
Underline the tenses, and ask students the name of each one. You can add this terminology to the board using a different coloured pen or chalk. Ask students how to form the present Continuous (am / is are + -ing).
at one o'clock every day. |
My have lunch
at the moment. |
My
to
Ask students which tense we use for things that happen often, usually, normally, every day, and which tense we use for something happening now. Add the answers (which are concept reminders) to the board. You can also draw a timeline for each
Give students time to ask questions, and time to copy what you have written.
Finally, you can ask students to add two true sentences after each example, for instance, beginning My brother / The student next to me / My wife with a sentence ending of their choice (e.g. I usually go to bed at eleven o'clock. My sister is working at the moment.) Monitor this writing too. Elicit several of these sentences, and write them under your own examples. Alternatively, you can then add another pair of examples for students to complete, e.g. She usually dinner alone, but today she with friends.
For revising grammar, you could have a spray diagram on the board. This is a different approach, and learners with strong visual memories often find them helpful. Put your grammar focus in the centre of the diagram, and then draw branches with headings. The example below for have got would be suitable for elementary revision, and includes forms and uses. Make sure that the writing on the spray diagram is horizontal so that students can read it and add to it. Provide the skeleton of the diagram, with some parts missing, and ask students to complete it in pairs. At the end, go over it on the board so that
vocabulary
It's not uncommon for new vocabulary to occupy quite a lot Of the board. Some Of this will be planned vocabulary, but just as much may be incidental vocabulary that arises during the lesson. For this reason, it's important to be disciplined about the lexis you put on the board. While you cannot strictly control what your students will take away with them from the lesson, it is a reasonable assumption that they will take more notice of vocabulary you write on the board, and less notice of an item that is quickly paraphrased then dismissed. There are some students who want the teacher to write down gyer_Y new item of vocabulary. This Can be time consuming and the lesson flow may be greatly disturbed if you stop to write everything. Having decided something is worth putting on the board, you often need to show how the word is pronounced, including the stress for longer words. Many items will need an example in a typical context, especially if you want to highlight information regarding collocation or syntax (in this example, smile is often accompanied by the preposition at).
,/sHa1V v svMileA HAis
At low levels in particular, vocabulary teaching will involve a lot of visual material. If you are good at drawing, this is a great asset which you should utilize as much as possible. If you are not, but are still keen to try, you are taking more of a risk. Some students find feeble attempts at drawing very amusing, others view 'stick' drawings as rather patronizing. The solution is to know your audience, but the safe option is to use visuals prepared by your school, or compile your own bank of material (photos or other people's drawings) which you put On the board, e.g. with •Blu-tack'(a blue, sticky material used to attach paper to walls). See section 4 'Students' use of the board' for ways of exploiting visual material on the board.
The board is also useful for word families which you can often elicit from the learners.
VERB NOUN
pronunciation
Learners need oral models to help with pronunciation, but you can use the board to provide visual support in several ways:
— writing phonemic symbols for specific sounds or transcriptions Of whole words, using a different colour, if possible, to distinguish phonemics from the orthographic form
/M
Sen
— highlighting word stress. Dictionaries usually do this with a vertical dash before the stressed syllable [bl'fo:l, but boxes or circles over the stressed syllable are easier ror learners to see and copy. If you wish, you can add smaller boxes or circles over unstressed syllables:
remewvbev
— drawing arrows above sentences to indicate intonation patterns:
,ÅeeS leave? Really?
showing linking between words:
SOh
— indicating silent letters:
If you have the necessary talent, you could also draw diagrams of the mouth on the board to show the shape of the lips or the position of the tongue needed to form particular sounds.
Here is an activity to revise pronunciation using the board.
try it out word stress game
While the class is occupied, choose 20 or 25 words with word stress problems for your learners. Write them randomly all over the board.
Divide the class into three groups and give each group a different coloured board pen. One member from each group has to come to the board and mark the stress on any word they choose. They cannot get help from other members of their group. They then return to their group, hand the pen to the next member, who does the same. They should do this as quickly as possible to score more points. The game continues until the stress has been marked on all the items.
The teacher then goes through the pronunciation of the words and the group with the most correct answers is the winner.
correction
During a student-centred speaking activity, teachers sometimes need to provide on-the-spot help or correction, but often choose not to interrupt learners too much when they are talking. Instead, they note down examples of student language use for feedback afterwards. (For this you can use the feedback checklist on p. 15 of this teacher's book.) The board is the ideal place to conduct feedback: the whole class is brought together after the pair or groupwork around a focal point.
The feedback is quite likely to contain new vocabulary, but also some examples of student error. One Strategy is to start by writing these errors on the board. Some teachers dislike this on the grounds that it may be reinforcing the error, but we feel it is justified as long as the students are first given the opportunity to correct it themselves, and the teacher (Or a student) crosses out the mistake and writes in the correction very clearly.
3ðeS
She eke every
We would agree that it is not a good idea just to correct the error Orally and leave it uncorrected on the board. One also has to be sensitive with this type of correction, Some learners are very embarrassed if their mistakes are made public to the whole group. Make sure you know your students well before putting errors on the board, and make it clear to the class that they are a collection of mistakes.
games
In classroom team games, you will need your board to keep the scores, but there are a number of useful games based around the board: 'noughts and crosses' is very popular and an enjoyable way to revise grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation. A variation on this is 'Blockbusters'. This is a larger grid, which means that there are more questions, and therefore more practice. Copy the grid below onto the board (or if possible, copy it onto an overhead transparency.)
TEAM
to
Divide the class into two teams. You will either need to prepare plenty Of revision questions in advance (either grammar, vocabulary, Or natural English phrases), or you could set the class the task of devising questions themselves. If you do this, give each half of the class a different set of units from the coursebook as the basis for their revision questions. Then give them examples of the types Of questions they can prepare, such
What's the opposite of ...?
What's another word for
What's the past tense of
What's the answer to this question: 'How was your weekend?
In the game, team A will proceed across the board from left to right; team B proceeds from top to bottom. TO Start, team A chooses a numbered square (e.g. number 15). Team B asks one of their questions, and if team A gets it right, you put a letter A in square 15. B cannot pass through that square. Then team B chooses a square (say, number 13) and answers their question. This continues until one team has reached the other side and won the game.
4 students' use of the board
think! 4
Do you encourage your learners to write or draw on the board in your classes? If so, when, and how much?
Do your learners ever use the board themselves spontaneously and unprompted by you? If so, when and how?
Who does the board belong to? Most teachers would agree that its purpose is to serve their learners, and yet some may feel that the board is really their domain. In fact, the board might best be described as •public property'. Learners should have free access to it in the same way that we can also encourage them to have some control over the tape recorder. They can use the board in two ways. Firstly, to respond to input from the teacher: you ask them to label something on the board, or write up an answer. Secondly, they may need to take the initiative and write something on the board for themselves:
— to clarify a problem (two homophones, for instance)
— to make an announcement, e.g. write the time, date, and venue for a class social event
— as part of a student presentation
Encouraging students to feel that they have free access to the board can help to foster a co-operative atmosphere, one in which problems and solutions are aired and shared.
Nevertheless, there are problems with asking learners to write on the board. It's a professional requirement that you make sure that your writing is legible, but it can be difficult to deal with unclear student handwriting: it needs tactful handling, and you need to check that other learners can read / understand what a student has written. In addition, you don't want students to spend a long time writing on the board or the pace of your lesson will suffer.
Finally, you may have Some learners in your class with literacy problems in the mother tongue, or dyslexia. These issues require sensitive handling, and you should only ask such students to write publicly if you feel they have a good chance of doing it well (for example, they have written the answer on paper already and you have checked it). Thcy will, of course, need extra support and time to read what is written and copy it down. (See Linda Taylor's article on dyslexic learners in follow up.)
Here are some simple ways in which you Can encourage learners to be involved in the board work when focussing on vocabulary (the examples below all focus on clothes vocabulary from elementary student's book, unit 12 wordbooster p.98). These are just example activities, and we are not suggesting you do all of (hem. It goes without saying that you need to allow time with some Of the following activities for students to copy at the end.
visuals
Use 'Blu-Tack' or board magnets to fix pictures Of clothes items to the board in a vertical column (or two columns), leaving space to add (he written form alongside later. In pairs, students discuss which ones they know. Elicit the answers from the class, then ask different students to come up and label the ones they know. Check the spelling as a group, and encourage them to ask you how to spell any remaining words.
drawing
Write the vocabulary items on the board; ask students to come and draw any items they know next to the words. provide plenty of pens so that several can work at once, and make sure as many students as possible have a chance to draw. Clothes items are not very difficult to draw. Correct any misunderstandings and practise the pronunciation of the words. Then rub out the written words. In pairs, students look at the pictures and try to remember the words.
categorizing
Make flashcards, writing the vocabulary items on different cards. Draw a table on the board with the following headings: MEN, WOMEN, and BOTH. Distribute the flashcards and ask students to stick their word(s) under the appropriate heading; tell them they can ask each other if they aren't sure. When they have finished, tell (he class to 100k at the board: is everything in the right place? Alternatively, use these headings: ABOVE THE WAIST and BELOW THE WAIST; or WARM WEATHER, COLD WEATHER, and EITHER.
pronunciation
Prepare flashcards containing individual phonemic sounds relating to the vocabulary you have taught. (For clothes items, diphthongs are a good focus: "al/ in tie, 100/ in coat, /ao/ in trousers, let/ in trainers, etc., but you could include some vowel sounds too: in trousers / jumper, /u:/ in shoes boots / Suit, etc.) Put all the picture cards on the board, distribute the sound cards, and ask students to stick them next to a word with their sound. Then ask students in pairs to look at the board and see if everything is correct. They will probably pronounce the words together to check, so some natural 'drilling' will be happening in this activity. Feedback on any errors at the end.
brainstorming
Put students into small groups, with a section of the board each, and a pen per group. Give them two minutes to write up any clothes items they know. (They may not know many, but between them they will come up with at least a few.) At the end, ask them to sit down and 100k at all the lists. They can ask about any items which were not on their own list. You could also use this as a revision activity.
try it out grammar brainstorm Divide your class into groups Of three or four. If your class is small and you have a large board, they can all use different parts of the board for this activity. With a larger class. some groups can use part of the board, and provide others with large sheets of paper pinned to the wall or noticeboard. Depending on the structure you want students to practise, choose three or four different topics: for instance, to revise there is / isn't/ are / aren't, you might have: - What is there / isn't there in the classroom? — What is there / isn't there in the building? - What is there / isn't there in the street outside? - What is there / isn't there in the town? Put each question in a different part of the board. Each group stands next to a question, with a board pen; they have two minutes in their group to write as many true sentences as possible about their question. (e.g. There's a large board; There are about twenty chairs; There aren't any pictures on the wall.) Tell students to stop, and move on to the next question. They read what has been written already, and add as many other sentences as possible in two minutes. Make sure a different student does the writing. Move on again, until students are back at their original question. They read and decide whether the sentences are a) true and b) accurate. They should make any necessary corrections. At the end, go over all the sentences, dealing with any problems. This activity can generate a lot of oral and written practice, and it can easily be adapted to practise other structures. |
exercise answers
If your students are working in small groups on revision activities or a number of exercises, you can ask them to put their answers on the board. This is particularly useful when you have pairs or groups who have finished Carly: it gives them something to do while the rest of the class is finishing. Letting students collaborate on answers that they write up is also less threatening than asking one student alone to write the answers. At the appropriate moment, bring the class together and ask them if they agree with the answers on the board. Clear up any errors as you go through them.
student surveys
If your learners are carrying out a class survey as a speaking activity (for example, on reading study habits, free time activiÍies, likes and dislikes), it can be satisfying if the results are compiled on the board in a table. While students are working, draw a table On the board So that they can fill in their information at the end. This is easiest (o manage if learners simply have to tick boxes or write numbers Of people rather than full sentences.
Want to know more? Read Chalkboards vs computers in the lanauage classroom by Lindstromberg in follow up
5 The overhead projector (OH P)
Not everyone has to an overhead projector, and those that do may not always see them as a blessing: some are heavy and cumbersome to move around, and OHP pens seem to disappear into thin air. Having got it into the classroom (few schools are lucky enough to have one in every room), you then have to position it in the classroom in such a way that you won" be blocking your students' view, and you have to get it into focus. In fact, most Of these potential problems are easily overcome, and while OHPs lack the versatility of a board (you can't get as much information on a transparency) they do have certain advantages over a board. First and foremost, you can prepare your overhead transparencies (OHTs) in advance. This saves you a lot of class time, and it can look more professional. For one thing, it gives you a chance to produce good quality drawings; and if you can't draw, you Can Copy illustrations onto your OHT. You Can also photocopy typed / word processed material onto an OHT, which is quite an asset for teachers with poor handwriting. In this computer age, that probably applies to an increasing number of us.
OHPs are very' suitable for language presentations such as the one we demonstrated earlier contrasting the present simple and continuous. You can start with your transparency and add
to it gradually, or overlay other transparencies which have additional information.
OHPs provide a very quick way Of doing feedback on exercises, or after a speaking activity.
try it out error correction Have an next to you during your next lesson. keep a record (discreetly, if possible) of learners' mistakes during the lesson on the OHT. Ten minutes before the end, put the OH T of all the mistakes on the projector with a piece of paper over the errors. Reveal the errors one by one, and either encourage students to come and make corrections on the OHT itself or directly on the board where the errors are projected. As always, when providing class error correction, reiterate that they are class (not individual) errors. |
For students, writing on transparencies may be easier and more practical than writing on the board. With a picture Story, for instance, you could give each pair of students an OHT. They write a different part of the story onto their OHT, thsn at the end they put their transparency on the OHP for the rest of the Class to read.
You don't need to use OHPs that often to feel comfortable with them, but they require a bit of practice. You have to make sure your writing is large enough for all the students to be able to read it clearly, and at the same time you need to be aware of how much information an OHT can accommodate. It is easy to make the mistake of trying to write too much onto one transparency, with the result that it's cramped and difficult to read. Generally, it is more effective to restrict the information on each OHT, and use more than one if necessary. Finally, you must remember not to remove your OHTs before the students have finished reading or copying down the information.
conclusion
In this chapter we have looked at:
— features of poor boardwork
— principles of good boardwork and its contribution to effective learning
— different ways the teacher can use the board different ways the students can use the board
— effective ways that an OHP can complement boardwork
We suggested at the beginning of the chapter that teachers were often prepared to admit that their boardwork was less than perfect. Our suspicion is that boards are such a mundane and ubiquitous piece of equipment, that we easily overlook them or fail to appreciate their value; they're not that exciting when compared with some other teaching aids. However, if they were all removed from our classrooms, we would very quickly realize their significance and the extent to which we all rely on them. We hope this chapter has served as a small reminder Of that.
follow up
Dobbs J 2001 Using the Board in the Language Classroom Cambridge University Press
Byrne K Board Organising in English Teaching Professional (issue 22)
Fletcher M DIY Picasso in English Teaching Professional (issue 17)
Mugglestone P 1981 Planning and Using the Blackboard Macmillan ELT
Lindstromberg S Chalkboards vs computers in the language classroom
Humanising Language Teaching at www.hltmaq.ro.llk March 2002
Taylor L Learning from Dyslexia in English Teaching Professional
(issue 17)
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1 Introduction 2 Classroom training
3 Self-access
4 Homework
1 Introduction
We need our students to become independent learners with the capacity 10 continue learning effectively outside the classroom. And we need them to do this for one very simple reason: there isn't enough lime inside the classroom for them to learn (and be able to use) everything they need to know. Some learners are fortunate in having the necessary mix of skills, determination, and motivation that enable them to carry on learning without the assistance of a teacher, but others are more dependent. 11 may be that they lack the skills, the discipline, or perhaps the inclination, but in one way or another, there are those Ihat find it difficult to make the leap from classroom student to autonomous learner. That is why we need to consider how to use time inside the classroom to develop the attitude and skills which will benefit learners outside the classroom.
Here are some areas where teachers can help learners to become more independent:
— training students to keep accurate records of what has been studied in class
— developing learners' dictionary skills
— helping learners to use grammar and vocabulary practice books effectively developing effective learning strategies (e.g. for handling spoken and written text)
— encouraging learners to use a self-access centre (or study at home)
— providing purposeful homework
think!
Think about the list above with reference to the students you teach. Which areas do you think they need to work on to become more effective independent learners?
We have already talked about the development of learning strategies for reading and listening elsewhere, so the focus of this chapter will be on the other areas.
Want toknow mare? Go to upper-intermediate teachers book, how to teach readina 0.167 and intermediate teacher's book. how íto teach listeningp.150
2 Classroom training
Classroom training towards learner autonomy starts with basic classroom procedures such as the use of pair / group work, and students testing or correcting themselves / each other. With these activities, learners begin to realize that you arc not the only source of knowledge in the classroom; they can learn by themselves and from each other in many ways. Other teaching techniques (encouraging learners to deduce meaning from context, and guiding students to understand language rules instead Of just explaining them) also indirectly encourage learners to take an aaive and more autonomous approach to their learning.
With more overt or direct learner training, there are potential dangers that we need to guard against. The first Of these is 'preaching 10 the converted'. Don't waste time in the classroom trying to develop skills that your learners already possess. Some low-level learners are quite capable of using a dictionary, for example, and many advanced learners have reached that level by having developed / acquired a range Ol' successful learning strategies. so if you are planning to spend classroom lime on accurate and effective record keeping, start by looking at your students' notebooks to see how well they organize their work, and then decide what the most appropriate help would be. In addition, learners shouldn't feel they are using valuable classroom time simply to be told learning. Their reason for being there is to learn the language, so you need to ensure that time spent on learner training involves student interaction and / or some language input as well.
record keeping
The information that students write down in their notebooks is a record Of what they have learnt. They may have a course book and a number of handouts that you have given them, but their notebook is a personalized Of their learning and represents a significant personal investment. If it is clear, systematic, and fairly comprehensive, it will help the learner during the course but benefit them even more in time to come. Information in the notebook can be retrieved at a later date; if it's not there, it may be forgotten.
Some learners are naturally very organized and systematic, but we can probably help the majority with just a bit of time and a few basic classroom procedures.
think! 2 Look at these samples from two students' notebooks. Which one is better, and why? How might the better one be improved? |
Some students don't bother to write down new vocabulary in their notebooks, while others (such as the first one above) write things down but in a rather haphazard way. As this lexical set relates to verb prefixes, the student could have organized it in a more systematic way. He has included a lot of useful translation, but the forms are mixed up (infinitives and past tenses), there is no information about pronunciation Or collocation (e.g. retake an exam), and no contextualized sentence examples. Some words have even been copied incorrectly.
The second student has not used translation at all, preferring instead to use English to explain the meaning of new items, e.g. a lack of something = not enough, and in one case, a sentence example. He has also included opposites, collocation (get on / off train, bus), and a phonemic transcription to remind him about the pronunciation Of One of the words. He doesn't specifically include the grammar of the items, e.g. (v) or (n), but by the way he has written the items down, he clearly has an awareness of grammar, e.g. using a full infinitive and the indefinite article. The sample would be improved with more contextualized examples, e.g. due (to), and we think that both samples would benefit from headings for ease Of reference, i.e. verb prefixes for the first sample, and at the airport for most of the second sample.
to
How the learner chooses to show the meaning of a new word or phrase (translation, explanation in Ll or L2, or just a sentence example) will depend On the item itself and the preferences of the individual learner. There is no right answer, although a lot of translation is to be expected, especially at low levels. As learners become more proficient, we would hope to see an increasing use of L2 as a way of explaining some new words and phrases. For example: filthy (adj) very very dirty
My car is absolutely filthy - I must wash it.
This is a straightforward example to show learners that they don't always need to rely on the mother tongue. For other items, admittedly, learners will have to use Ll, either with a direct translation or explanation / definition.
It isn't always essential to include information about grammar and pronunciation. Student notebooks are personalized records, not dictionaries. What they write down about a new item should be their decision, although there will be times when you need to highlight issues that they may not be aware of, e.g. the fact that advice is uncountable, or do you fancy (a drink)? is informal. Effective records do need time, though. Writing in a second language is more time-consuming than in the mother tongue, so you will need to create spaces in your lessons for learners to write things down. It is very easy to misjudge this aspect of lesson planning and execution.
While learners are writing things down, this is an opportunity for you to move round and see what their notebooks look like. You may be surprised to discover how Often students are unable to copy down the correct spelling of a word from the board, although unclear handwriting by the teacher may play a part in this as well. Also, don't be in a hurry to remove important information from the board, and remember that many students will copy information straight from the board regardless of how it is organized, so chaotic board work will be reflected in their notes. For important language input, it is worth giving some thought to how you want it to appear on the board. If you are relatively inexperienced, you could write it out on paper first to see how it looks.
We recommend that students leave a generous amount of space between information in their notebooks. This will give a less cluttered feel to the notes and make information easier to retrieve at a later date. As their knowledge increases, they can return to earlier entries in their notebooks and add further information, e.g. an additional meaning of the item, or perhaps other words that commonly collocate with it.
You can suggest that students divide their notebooks into sections, with pages allocated to different topics, e.g. food, work, education; and further pages devoted to linguistic categories, e.g. present perfect, simple past, phrasal verbs or adjective + preposition, etc. In fact, learners can organize the book in any way they like, provided it is a system that works for them.
There are some students who write notes diligently but never revisit them. This is a great shame, as much of the value of effective record keeping lies in the ease of retrieval it allows at a later date. You can get learners into the habit of doing this with short classroom activities. Put students in pairs, then ask questions about vocabulary from previous lessons which you think they may not remember. See who can answer the questions by referring to their notes, and how long it takes them. This type of activity illustrates the value of recycling, and will demonstrate to learners whether their record keeping is sufficiently comprehensive.
try it out vocabulary notebooks
As a classroom speaking activity, you could put learners in small groups, ask them to exchange notebooks and spend five minutes looking at them. Then, give them time to discuss the notebooks. Do they like the way other people have organized their notes? Do they do anything differently, such as using drawings or grids or spray diagrams? People learn in different ways, and students often discover through this activity that there are different but equally valid ways of organizing their work. Sometimes they may pick up interesting ideas from other students, which they go on to use themselves. This activity has the added benefit of recycling language from previous lessons.
Finally, record keeping need not be something that students do on their own. On longer courses (exam courses are ideal for this), we have used a class vocabulary box. For this, you need to provide a flip top box which contains a large number of cards (you can start with 100), and alphabetical dividers.
In each lesson, one student (a different one each time) is responsible for writing down new vocabulary on the cards: the word or phrase on one side of the card, and on the reverse side, an explanation (perhaps a translation in a monolingual class), part of speech, relevant grammar information, phonemic script where necessary, and an example sentence. The card is then filed alphabetically.
The vocabulary box makes students take responsibility for their learning, and they enjoy using it. Before a lesson starts, they can test themselves or each other. You can use the cards at any time for quick vocabulary revision with the whole class, or for pair testing.
dictionaries
think! 3 Which of the following do you do with elementary learners? discourage them from using dictionaries in class ask learners to use their own dictionaries advise learners on a good bilingual dictionary (with a monolingual class) — advise learners on a good monolingual dictionary to use / buy - show learners how to use dictionaries |
Whatever your attitude to dictionary use, there are likely to be some learners who bring a bilingual dictionary to class (printed or electronic). Their dictionary is their safeguard, and as long as they are not using it to check every new word, this is perfectly reasonable. You obviously want to avoid a situation where students no longer listen to your explanations and revert automatically to their dictionary instead; but in a multilingual class where there may be no recourse to their mother tongue, learners may feel they have to check cer:ain words in the dictionary if your explanation still leaves them puzzled (and this happens to the best of teachers). Similarly, for productive skills work, bilingual dictionaries can provide the students with the means to express an idea which they may not otherwise have the language to express. We wouldn't discourage learners from using dictionaries in class, but you need to have a clear policy on when learners should use them.
Initially, you may need to advise learners on the best dictionary for them to use. At elementary level, students usually turn to
bilingual dictionaries: they are familiar and the definitions are immediately accessible. If you are working in a monolingual teaching situation, you are in a good position to advise learners on the best bilingual dictionaries to buy. (They vary considerably in quality and accuracy.) At a certain stage in their learning, especially in a multilingual situation, you can encourage more monolingual dictionary use. This can start when the learners are still elementary or pre-intermediate, especially for exploiting phonemic symbols or visuals, but we think intermediate level is the time when monolingual dictionary use starts to become more practical and effective. (See follow up for suggestions.) It's also worth remembering that learners need different dictionaries at different stages in their language learning and for different purposes.
dictionary training
If you are beginning to use monolingual dictionaries with your students, you will probably need to familiarize them with dictionary features. This is best done little and often over a period of time. To motivate students in the first place, a dictionary quiz is an enjoyable introduction; you could make it a competition between groups.
think! 4
Look at the exercise try it out. Which dictionary features are being highlighted in sentences 1—8?
try it out four true, four false This activity and worksheet is adapted from Dictionaries, by Jon Wright. (see follow up) It is suitable for intermediate learners, and takes 30—40 minutes. Students practise dictionary skills and become familiar with a range of information in dictionaries. 1 Give students a copy of the 'four true, four false' worksheet (see below) or write a similar one of your own. Students complete it in pairs, using a dictionary. 2 Check the answers, and ask students how they found the activity. Was it difficult? 3 (for advanced levels) Tell pairs to make a similar worksheet using one double-page of the dictionary, and include at least one question about: spelling, meaning, pronunciation, and grammar. Monitor pair work. 4 Pairs swap worksheets with other pairs and answer them. FOUR TRUE, FOUR FALSE 1 Deer and sheep have no plural form. 2 Fast-faster-fastest are comparative and superlative forms, with fastly as the adverb. 3 Scissors and biro have different stress patterns. 4 People can be over the moon. 5 You can meet a friend in midnight. 6 Loft and basement mean the same. 7 An escalator will take you to another floor in a building. 8 Comb has a silent letter. |
A common mistake learners make when checking the meaning of a new word is to read the first definition and assume it is the correct one for their particular context. For example, a learner comes across a new word, odd, in this sentence:
There was an Add number ofpeople in the group, so .
The first dictionary definition in the Oxford Elementary Dictionary is given as •strange or unusual'. If the learner doesn't look any further, they will assume that the meaning 'strange / unusual' either refers to the people (which is feasible) or the number (which is in itself a little Odd). The second definition is as follows:
Odd O. /nd/ adjective (odder, oddest) 1 strange or unusual SAME MEANING peculiar: It's Odd that he left without telling anybody.
2 not able to be divided by two: 1, 3, 5 and 7 are al' odd numbers. oppoSlTEeven
To encourage learners to scan several definitions of a headword until they find the appropriate one, you can give them some sentences with a new item highlighted:
She was after the journey.
I had a light breakfast.
This wine is very
Ask students to look in their dictionaries and find the correct definition for the underlined word. In the Oxford Student's Dictionary, they will need to read several definitions for each of these words to find the appropriate one. You can then ask them to check which other meanings of the words they already know. It's important to remind students that they often need sentence examples to illustrate meanings fully, and the examples will probably help the learners to remember the item.
know more?
phonemic script
There are several reasons for teaching phonemic script to learners. not least that it can help them to develop an awareness of the sound system of English, both receptively and productively. In terms of learner autonomy, knowing phonemic script means immediate access to the pronunciation of any item in their dictionary. Students don't need their teacher to tell them how every word is pronounced; they can find out for themselves. In the long term, the rewards can be significant. As with dictionary skills, we would suggest introducing phonemic script gradually and making the activities short and achievable. (This is the approach we have taken in natural English, either incidentally during language focus activities, or in discrete slots in the 'Help with pronunciation' sections.) When you feel your learners are ready to start using a monolingual dictionary suitable for their level (or a bilingual dictionary with phonemic transcriptions), you can highlight the benefits of knowing phonemic script with the simple activity which follows.
Give students a worksheet with the table on the right above. Five words are in the wrong place, and they have five minutes in pairs to discuss where the misplaced words should go and check their answers in a dictionary. They have to aim for 100% accuracy in the exercise — nothing less will dol You can produce
to
your own exercise using items your learners often find difficult to pronounce.
Many learners are keen to buy a grammar or vocabulary practice book for further study at home. This is certainly worth encouraging, but you may need to advise learners what is available, and recommend a suitable one with an answer key. The best way to encourage supplementary practice is to set material from a grammar or vocabulary book for homework. If it is successful, you can then recommend the book for self-study. Some attention to terminology will be helpful though, and The Good Grammar Book and English Vocabulary in Use (see follow up) teach relevant terminology or provide a glossary of terminology for learners. The Good Grammar Book also has a •test yourself' section which is very useful for self-study.
If students are using a practice book alone, working their way systematically through the book may not be the best approach. Eventually it is likely to become monotonous and de-motivating for most learners, and some sections simply won't be relevant. We feel it is better to suggest that students either focus on areas they have found difficult, or do practice exercises to consolidate language studied in class. Encourage them to check their answers in the key at home, and allow some class time to help them with any queries they have. If they are prepared to work hard out of class, then they deserve the encouragement and support.
Coursebooks are generally accompanied by a workbook which is largely intended for self-study. No coursebook designed for classroom use can hope to achieve everything, given the space constraints on the page, and the time constraints of the course. Workbooks, therefore, are valuable in that they provide additional practice and consolidation of language studied in class. Workbooks for adult courses generally have an answer key at the back, which also encourages learner independence.
in school
Study facilities in schools come under a variety Of titles: selfaccess centre, self-study centre, listening centre, library, etc. They also come in many shapes and sizes. Some are very generously equipped, with computers, videos, cassette recorders / CD players, reference books, readers, language exercises, and so on; others may just have a cassette recorder for listening to tapes and a small selection of books. Some schools have nothing at all.
If you are fortunate enough to have a self-access centre (SAC), you should certainly do everything you can to ensure your learners derive the maximum benefit from it. Take them to the SAC yourself (don't just tell them about it), show them how 10 use the different resources, and then give them some time to explore the facility. One of the great assets of an SAC is that students can personalize their learning, using resources and materials that match their needs and interests, whether it is watching videos / DVDs, doing computer-based language exercises, or just reading as widely as possible. While they are exploring the resources, this gives you an opportunity to talk to and advise different learners on the appropriate level Of books or cassettes for them, or whatever it is they want to do.
After a thorough induction to the SAC, follow it up by giving the class a homework task that involves using the resources in the centre. Here is one idea:
try it out self-access cent-res This will get learners started, and the choice of activity allows for different learners' needs and interests. The classroom feedback is really a chance for you to see how well they have done, and how best to encourage them to continue using the resources. Ask learners to do one of the following: 1 Choose a song they like, listen to it and transcribe it, then rub out some of the words. Bring the gapped version to the next lesson. (You will need to photocopy it for the other students.) The class listens to the song and completes the words. OR 2 Choose a book (a reader), read the first chapter, and be prepared to tell one or two other students about the story so far. OR 3 Choose two language exercises based on some recent grammar they have studied. Write their answers on a separate piece of paper and check them using the answer key. Bring the exercises to class and give them to another pair to complete. (The student then checks the answers given by the pair.) |
Most important of all with an SAC is that you keep up the momentum and don't forget about it after the initial encouragement. Monitor your students' personal use of the facility and talk to them about things they have done. It is probably too much to expect everyone to make effective use of the SAC, but with frequent reminders and encouragement you may be able to influence the majority. Even if the numbers using it are limited, the benefits for those that do may be considerable.
Many schools now have Internet access for students, and il so, you may be interested in how best to exploit it with your learners. You can find a range of interesting ideas on the OUP Teachers' Club website at this address:
www.oup.com/elt/teacher/natura[english
Click on •Internet lesson plans' and you will find ready-to-use Internet-based lesson plans with Teacher's notes and worksheets, on topics such as improving listening / speaking / reading / writing skills, using news websites, producing weblogs, developing students' vocabulary on the Internet, etc.
at home
If your school does not have a self-access centre, you need 10 find out what resources the learners have at home and what may be available to them in their local town. An increasing number Of learners will have computers with Internet access, and one very simple thing you can do is to direct them to the natural English students' website where there is a wide range of activities to supplement the coursebook at the following address:
www.oup.ççm/e(t/naturalenglish
In many parts Of the world, satellite television Channels in English are available, and students can easily find news, sport, and music channels which may interest them. Films in English are sometimes shown on television or at the cinema, and with Ll subtitles they can be accessible even to low levels. If you scan thc TV listings and local papers regularly, you can alert your students to any suitable films that are being shown. You might even arrange a class trip 10 the cinema. Most DVDs come with a choice of languages, including English, as well as subtitles in English; the combination of an English soundtrack and English subtitles is an excellent way of supporting independent viewing.
You can now buy English language newspapers in most places, usually within 24 hours of publication. If you buy a paper in the learners' LI and find an interesting international story (or better still a local story that may make its way into English language newspapers), photocopy it and ask them to buy a newspaper in English the next day. Learners can read the story in their mother tongue so they are familiar with it. then read the same story in the English language newspaper. In class they can talk about the Story, or you could use it to focus on a particular area of lexis. Whatever you do, you have given learners an idea and a procedure which they can follow for themselves with different stories, especially ones that will be of particular interest 10 them (e.g. the report Of a European football match between a team from Britain and a team from their country).
If resources in English outside the classroom are very limited, you Can still ask learners to do something in their own language, e.g. read part of a newspaper or watch a particular TV programme, which they then discuss in class in English.
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4 Homework
think!
When did you last set your students homework?
Was it to finish off class work because you had run out of time? Did it link to the previous lesson, or was it preparation for a future lesson?
Was there an incentive for the students to do it?
Do you write personal comments on your students' homework?
Do you ever forget to give it back?
Think about these questions before you read on.
For many adult learners, an English course is something they have to squeeze into their own limited free time. Fitting in lessons is hard enough, so incorporating time for homework as well may be out of the question. For other learners, homework may be feasible but it still has to compete with other extra-curricular activities, and may be low down their list Of priorities. They may also have memories of homework from schooldays which may not have been a pleasurable experience. Part of the reason for any reluctance to do homework may not be the work itself. but the use we make of it. Looking back on our own experience, we realize that we have often failed to give it the attention it deserves. Without careful planning, it is so easy to use homework to complete an unfinished classwork exercise, or do an exercise that we didn't do in class because it wasn't very interesting (but would be fine for homework). In other words, it is very easy to treat homework as a dustbin, or as Michael Thompson says, 'a receptacle for the unwanted and unloved' (see follow up). Even when the homework has been carefully chosen, you can find yourself in the position of having to rush through an explanation of what you want the students to do because you've come to (he end of the lesson. Without the necessary time to explain the aim Of the homework, students may not appreciate its value.
All of this is a shame because homework can have an important part to play in language learning. Apart from the obvious one that it can be used to practise and consolidate work that goes on in the classroom, it also forms a bridge between lessons, which is especially important for students only studying a few hours a week. If they complete homework tasks, they continue learning outside the classroom and they keep English Licking over in their minds. And the more they do it, the more independent they become, and the more likely they are to carry on learning. How do we successfully tap into this potential? With an adult class, the first step is to consult the learners on the feasibility of homework, and the amount of time that can be devoted 10 it. Most students recognize the potential benefits of homework, and if they arc personally involved in negotiating the amount of homework they do, they are more likely to respect it. This may mean that students do different amounts of homework, in which case you can set a minimum amount for everyone to do, with optional activities for those who have more time.
to . ..
In her book Homework (see follow up), Lesley Painter sets out the following goals that she wants homework to achieve:
Students should feel homework tasks are useful.
2 Tasks should be interesting and varied.
3 Work should include not only written tasks, but tasks focusing on all skills.
4 Individual students' needs should be met, which means varying homework tasks for different students.
Students' attitudes to homework should be improved, for example, by allowing Them to contribute ideas by designing their own tasks.
6 Language should be liberated from the classroom.
It'S a challenging manifesto, but if we can achieve half of these things, learners may approach homework in a completely different light. Here is one idea we have adapted from Lesley Painter's book, which shows that more interesting homework tasks don't necessarily involve extra work on the teacher's part.
try it out word review
Photocopy a blank word square grid, e.g. 100 squares made up of 10 x 10. Assign individual students or pairs a different area of vocabulary that you have studied recently, e.g. food vocabulary for one pair, irregular past tenses for another pair, and so on. Each pair then has to write ten words (or more) from their lexical area into their square; the words can be vertical or horizontal (or diagonal if you want to make it more challenging). When they have done that, they have to complete all the empty squares with random letters. When they come back to class, they give their square to another pair, who have to find the target words.
One of the key concepts above is variety, so it may be helpful to consider the different types of homework we can set. Here are some of them.
consolidation
Written exercises to consolidate grammar and vocabulary studied in class are probably the most common form of homework. There is nothing wrong with this and learners will generally consider such exercises useful. The important thing to remember is not to rely too heavily on this one type Of homework, and when you choose exercises. look for interest and variety (and check first to make sure they are suitable).
preparation
Students can use homework to prepare for the next lesson, e.g. reading a text or writing questions to ask a classmate. However, if the success of the lesson depends on every student successfully completing the homework, there is a risk of the lesson becoming derailed. With this type of homework, therefore, you should have a 'plan B', i.e. a way in which the lesson can still be successful without every student doing the homework. This isn't being defeatist, just pragmatic. In the case of learners preparing questions, you can put a student who hasn't done the homework with two who have. Reading a text, in our experience, is not always successful as a homework task: some read and study the text; others read it but forget the content by the time of the next lesson; a few don't bother. It is usually more successful if you can provide a concrete task for the text, e.g. blank out half a dozen carefully selected words and ask students to read the text and decide what the missing words arc.
writing
Guided or free writing is a common homework task as most teachers and students look upon writing as a solitary occupation which is best done outside class, although it needn't be. Writing also Comes at the end of many coursebook lessons and may be given ror homework if the teacher runs out of time. Writing is a Very demanding skill and some learners find it particularly difficult to know how or where to Start. We think these homework activities are sometimes more successful if you can make a Start in class, perhaps with students working together, and then ask learners to carry on and finish the task at home. Another suggestion is that you do the homework as well and give it to your students to mark. This would not be very appropriate for grammar exercises, but for a piece or writing such as a description or a holiday, it would be very suitable. We know of onc teacher who did this with a class that were generally reluctant to do homework, and it proved remarkably successful.
try it out e-mail account
I set up a special e-mail account (not my personal one) and asked students to write me an e-mail on Sunday evening, outlining what thefd done during the weekend. only replied with one or two lines, but students enjoyed the sense that they were getting some individual attention, and really appreciated the fact that I was giving up my own time to do it. It worked very well.
Julia, London.
personal interests
Homework is a great opportunity for students to personalize their learning and follow up their own particular interests. Vou can Start this Off in class by asking students to think about the subjects that interest them, e.g. music, politics, etc., as well as the language learning activities they enjoy doing, e.g. listening to tapes, doing language exercises, writing stories, and so on. (Lesley Painter includes a photocopiable questionnaire you could use for this purpose.) Ask students to commit themselves to something specific they are going to do for homework, and tell you what it is. In the next lesson, put students in small groups to talk about what 'hey did. Sometimes this will result in them recommending activities to each other. You could also ask them to write a short summary of what they did. Be very encouraging, whatever they manage to do.
speaking buddies
With some classes, you may be able to extend their speaking practice outside class by setting paired speaking activities. Students can do these either On the phone, or in a coffee bar before the next lesson. Encourage them 10 pair up with another student they enjoy working with, and set some simple speaking tasks. For example, play a game such as "TWenty Questions', or talk for ten minutes about their families, or talk about TV programmes they like. Alternatively, ask each pair to prepare something 10 talk about in class over the coming weeks: perhaps they can write a set of questions for the class to discuss, Or prepare a short talk together. They may simply want to do their homework together and compare answers. Again, remember to follow up in class any speaking homework that you set.
It is worth remembering that nothing is more discouraging for learners than to do homework which the teacher forgets to go over or acknowledge. If you teach a lot of different classes, keep a record Of any homework you set to remind you. It is easy to neglect homework feedback with the demands of the syllabus and the constraints on classroom time, but we do think it is important to include time for feedback in your lesson planning.
conclusion
In this chapter, we have looked at:
— ways of encouraging learners to keep clear and accurale records or what they have learnt guidance on dictionary training, and the use of grammar and vocabulary self-study guides how 10 promote self-access, both in school and at home
— Ille importance of homework, and the different types 01 homework you can give
Nol every learner wants to be independent, and some simply do not have the time to devote to English outside the classroom. Nevertheless, the guidance and encouragement you provide in these areas or developing learner autonomy can have substantial benefits for many learners.
follow up general
Painter L 2003 Homework (Resource Books for Teachers) CUP
Thompson M Time Well Spent in English Teaching Professional (issue 31) Wright 0 1998 Dictionaries (Resource Books for Teachers) OUP grammar practice
Swan M and Walter C 2001 The Good Grammar Book (with answers)
OUP
Murphy R 2002 English Grammar in Use: A Self-study Reference and
Practice Book for Elementary Students Of English CUP vocabulary practice
McCarthy M and O'Dell F 1999 English Vocabulary in use: Elementary CUP dictionaries
Oxford Essential Dictionary
Oxford Photo Dictionary
Oxford Studenes Dictionary
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners
answer key think!4 p.155
Sentences 1, 4, 7, and 8 are true.
Dictionaries include a great deal of information about grammar, as can be seen in sentences 1 (nouns which don't change form from singular to plural), 2 (comparative and superlative forms and adverbs), and 5 (the correct preposition for this phrase is at). Clearly sentences 4, 6, and 7 focus on word meaning.
Sentences 3 and 8 focus on pronunciation: 3 on stress marking /'srzaz/, /•barrau/, and the silent letter in comb is apparent from the phonemic transcription /kaomi.
to...
1 Use Of the mother tongue
2 Classroom language in English
3 Purposeful teacher talk
1 Use of the mother tongue
think! 1
What was your experience of learning a foreign language when you were at school? Did the teachers use your mother tongue (MT) all or most of the time?
What about you now? What's your policy on the use of the mother tongue with low-level learners?
Anyone learning a foreign language forty years ago probably had a teacher who used the mother tongue for instruction almost all the time, employing the grammar translation method. This was certainly the case for most pupils in British schools, and in some schools in Britain and around the world, it is still true. Up to the 1970s, grammar translation was the prevailing method, although some teachers experimented with direct method and audio-lingual approaches, both Of which discouraged the use Of the MT. By the 1970s, more teachers were starting to use the audio-lingual method, based largely on behaviourist models of learning. This involved students listening to models and then repeating them, chorally and individually. Any explanations in either the mother tongue or L2 Were largely frowned upon. In the 1980s and 1990s, teachers following the communicative approach tended to operate largely in L2, but with an increasingly flexible attitude to use of the MT. Of course, in some teaching situations, use of the mother tongue is not feasible, e.g. in a multilingual classroom where English is the lingua franca, or in classrooms where the teacher doesn't speak the students' own language. However, for many teachers around the world who speak the students' mother tonguc and work in a monolingual environment. the use of the MT is an important issue which continues to arouse strong feelings. Let's look briefly at some of the advantages and disadvantages in a monolingual setting.
advantages of using the mother tongue (for teachers and learners)
It is quicker and easier for the teacher to give instructions and explain new languagc in the students' mother tongue. There is less likelihood of students' misunderstanding an instruction or explanation in their MT.
— It is reassuring for (some) students to be in a classroom surrounded by 'heir mother tongue.
— Students can ask questions easily in their mother tongue, e.g. seeking a refincmcnt to an explanation the teacher has just given, or perhaps asking a question to satisfy their curiosity or thirst for knowledge. Il' learners have to do this in English. Illcy may fccl more inhibited and remain silent rather than risk speaking in English. This could have a very negative effect on both their motivation and progress.
— Students may have more energy to devote to understanding a rule or explanation if they are nol also trying to understand what is being said to them in English.
The teacher can focus on similarities and differences between English and the learners' mother tongue; this can be very fruitful, especially in anticipating or highlighting potential errors. Here is one idea you could try 10 encourage your learners to make positive use of the mother tongue.
try it out peer translation
Divide the class into small groups and give each group a specific language point you want them to test on other groups, e.g. the use of different frequency adverbs with the present simple. The group then writes four to six sentences which include the target language, e.g. I often go out on Saturday evening; I hardly ever have breakfast with my parents. Check their sentences are correct, then on a separate sheet of paper get each group to translate their sentences into their mother tongue. Again, check to make sure they are correct. Groups then exchange their MT sentences and translate them back into English. Finally, they return their sentences to the group who wrote them for correction.
This idea comes from Sheelagh Deller. See follow up.
disadvantages of using the mother tongue
If the teacher consistently uses the mother tongue, students will inevitably do the same. This will produce a classroom in which teacher and students are talking a lot English but not talking very much English.
— If classes are largely conducted in the mother tongue, many learners will remain inhibited about speaking in English.
— Students will be deprived of valuable L2 listening practice. This is particularly important in situations where the students may hear little or no English outside the classroom. Students are also deprived Of the opportunity to pick up a range Of useful words and phrases that teachers commonly use in classroom instructions and explanations (in English), e.g. first of all, let's have a look at, the main difference is that . . ., etc. As these types ol' phrases are repeated time and again, students often learn them with little conscious effort, and this can contributc significantly to the amount they learn in the classroom (see section 3 on teacher talk).
— In mother tongue classrooms, some students may not feel they are participating in an 'English' experience, and this could have a negative effect on their motivation.
classroom policy
It is reasonable to suppose that teachers will want their students to use English as much as possible, and as we have indicated above, this is only likely to happen in the classroom if the teacher uses English themselves as much as possible. At the same time, there are occasions in a monolingual classroom when the mother tongue can be used 10 good effect. For those teachers who speak the students' mother tongue, therefore, it may be a case of establishing a clear policy with low-level classes as to when and why it is sensible or expedient for the teacher and students to use the MT.
For the teacher it may be:
— to explain something about their teaching methodology which learners might not understand with their current level 01 English, e.g. why they think it is beneficial for students to work in pairs or small groups; or why they want them to first read a text without using their dictionaries.
— to explain the rules of a game or clarify a particular language point. (This may be reinrorcing an explanation already given in English.)
— to provide an MT equivalent which would be difficult and time-consuming to explain in English.
to make comparisons between the MT and English which are of particular importance. (Again, this rnay be a combination of English and the mother tongue.)
For the student it may be:
— to repair a breakdown in communication during a pairwork activity, thereby ensuring that the activity can continue largely in English.
— to ask the teacher a question (e.g. seeking advice on the best dictionary to buy) or explain a reason for something (e.g. why they cannot come to the next lesson), which is beyond their current ability in English.
In the early stages of learning, it is perfectly natural for students who share the same mother tongue to feel embarrassed about talking to each Other in English, and many will switch back to their Ll periodically rather than struggle in English. To outlaw any use of the mother tongue in this situation would Seem, at best, very harsh. Teachers may be more successful if they adopt a tolerant attitude towards the mother tongue in the early stages of learning, while at the same time prompting and encouraging the use of English wherever possible. It is crucial, though, that the policy on MT use is made clear and that it is reached with agreement on both sides. Adult students are more likely to support a policy which they have helped to shape.
If you are not sure where the boundary between MT and 1-2 should be in your particular teaching situation (many factors such as age, class size, and your students' learning background will influence this), you could try this bit of classroom research.
Do you feel the use of the mother tongue is justifiable in most cases? Could they be doing more in English? This research may help you to clarify your policy on the use of the MT, and may also give you clear examples to show your learners how they could be making more use of the English they already have. |
Bear in mind that if your students are using their mother tongue, it may not be through any laziness on their part, or unwillingness to speak English. Have you given them an activity which they are not capable of doing with their current level of English? On a more positive note, students Can become so engaged in an activity that they reven to their mother tongue simply out Of their desire to express themselves, and we shouldn't reprimand learners for such enthusiasm.
2 Classroom language in English
some guidelines
Whether you use the learners' mother tongue or not, you still need to communicate in English some of the time, and this presents a challenge with low-level learners, even for experienced teachers. How can you communicate naturally, yet in a way that they will be able to follow? And how can you avoid speaking 'pidgin' English? Here are some guidelines:
different things. And if you repeal yourself a lot, you're probably wasting valuable time. Try not to speak unnaturally slowly. If you do, you may sound as il you 're addressing children. Having said that, you will probably need to slow your speech a little. — You can help learners by keeping the speed natural, blit pausing briefly al appropriate points 10 let them take in what you've said. Use your voice to highlight key words whcn you're speaking. This will involve making them slightly louder and longer. and may also include very small pauses around the key words. — Avoid letting your voice fall away completely at the end of sentences. Low-level learners tend to think Illat cwerything you say is important, and they may worry that they have missed something. to |
— Try to say things once, but clearly. If you say the same thing in several different ways„ learners may think you are saying Try to pronounce 'naturally': in other words, keep in natural features of connected speech. Use contractions and weak forms, link your speech naturally. and avoid distorting your pronunciation in order to make it easier tor your learners. IT you modify your pronunciation unreasonably, learners will be less able to understand natural spoken English when they hear it from others.
Use gestures, demonstrations, pictures, and diagrams 10 enliven your speech and make it more comprehensible.
— With low-level monolingual classes, you Could give the instructions twicc (first in English, then in the MT) and repeat this method until they are sufficiently accustomed to the English instructions and the MT is no longer necessary. A variant of this might be to ask learners to translate back the teacher's English instructions; just ask, Now what do you have to do?
language grading
If you are nol very experienced with teaching lower levels. you may need to monitor the language you use when giving instructions. For example, complete the gaps, write your answers in the blanks, and fill in the answers all express the same idea, but using different permutations with elementary learners can be confusing. Try and keep to one instruction to start with, and then gradually introduce different forms, checking that students understand. In this way, you will be expanding your learners' receptive vocabulary in a very natural way.
You also need to decide which items Of vocabulary will be easier for your learners to understand. This may depend on their mother tongue, but for most learners, find out is harder than ask, likely is harder than probably, and make up your mind is more convoluted than decide. The •harder' items are undoubtedly natural and extremely useful, but they Can be introduced over time. With regard to structures, try to talk to learners in 'the here and now' rather than using hypothetical language, and where possible, avoid indirect speech. For example, rather than:
Imagine someone stopped you ill the street and wanted to know if there was a post Office nearby. What would you say? you could say:
You 're in the street. A man asks you for the post office. What do you say?
think! 2 Look at these examples of classroom language which might confuse low-level learners. How could you make each One clearer? example Right, could you all get up, please, and go round and have a chat with lots of different people about theirfamilies. Say: Get up, please (with a gesture to show them to stand up). Ask three people about theirfamily. Demonstrate the activity before giving these instructions: ask a student about his / her family, and get a student to ask you about your family. This should ensure that the activity will be clear before they begin. 1 OK, I want you all to note that down. 2 Can anyone tell me what 'forget' means? 3 Can anyone tell me where you'd be likely to See a wardrobe ? |
4 OK, Ahmed, do you think you could ask Sami to go to the cinema with you tonight?
5 When you've finished reading the dialogue with your partner, swap so you each have o go at the different parts. 6 Don't let your partner see what's in your picture.
to answer key p. (66
Here are some examples of classroom language for instructions that learners often need to understand. AS you read. decide which Of the phrases you use most. DO you express these ideas with different language? Can you add to each category? getting started
Open your books at I turn to page 7; look at I do exercise 5; compare your answers with your partner; read the article on page 23, etc.
— exercise rubrics
Circle I underline / Cross out / tick the right answer, etc., complete the grid / table / form / Sentence I phrase I gaps, etc.
— focus on new words
What does X mean? What's another word for ? Is it the same as How do you Say How do you spell / pronounce write
— Checking instructions
Do you have to write? (no) HOW many questions do you have to ask? (six)
— class organization
Work with your partner / in pairs / groups offour; find a new partner, move your chairs; sit facing your partner; don 't Start yet: change roles; get up and talk to different people. etc.
— winding down
Can you stop. now, please? Finish the exercisefor homework: that's it for today, etc.
Quant to know Dre-intermediateteacher's book, how £0 go pair and group,WOrkÞ. 145
terminology
How much terminology do you use with your learners at lanéuage clarification stages? How much should you use? There is no simple answer to this, and to a large extent it will depend on your teaching context. In some teaching situations, learners will be familiar with some grammar terminology (e.g. noun, verb, subject, object, etc.), and they would expect it to be used in class; indeed, they might be rather shocked if it weren't. In other situations, learners will find the use of terminology baffling and intimidating. so you may have to avoid it even if you have a personal preference for using it. The greatest difficulty can be in multilingual classrooms where learners not only have different degrees Of knowledge, but also different expectations about the use of terminology. In general, it seems sensible to avoid overloading learners with too much terminology, but to introduce new terms as and when you fecl
just how clear and effective his instructions were. He then wrote a commentary on the extract, which we have included. The aim Of the lesson was to give students speaking practice through a role play. Before this extract, he had established the context carefully using board drawings and characters, and organized the learners into groups for the activity. By this stage, they had a clear idea of what to do in the role play, and there was some language on cards on the board (including some conditional sentences) which they might need to use. In David's own words, the students were •raring to go' at this point.
Teacher OK. Listen to me for two minutes. Max, Ali, wait a minute and then you can speak. OK. Now I'm going to give you maybe ten or fifteen minutes to practise the situations. This is you (indicating board drawings). 0K? Now, you're actors today. You are actors. OK? So here we have Ahmed is very scared, (general laughter) and they're not laughing (indicating two others in Ahmed's group). Don't laugh. Don't laugh, Hedvika — you're really angry. OK. She's very angry. OK? And 100k at Joe (moving to another group). Look at Joe. How do they feel? (indicating other members ofJoe's group.) Student 1 Unhappy.
T A little bit unhappy, yes. And over here, what are we talking about?
S2 Travelling.
T Travelling. Where do you want to go travelling?
S2 Disneyland.
T Disneyland. Where do you want to go? (indicating another studen t) S3 par-is.
T Paris. OK, now, listen. You are actors. Actors. so I want you to practise the situation once. And then talk about it. Mrnm, (indicating speaking) that was good, that was OK. Next time you should be angrier, or you should, I don't know . something. Talk about it. Practise again: da, da, da, Cia, da (indicating speaking with hands). Talk about it. Practise again: da, da, da, da, da, da. And at the end, when you've got it perfect, you can come here and act (general nervous laughter). OK, so you can use these if you like (starts taking the cards with conditional sentences off the board). So I'll give you these. If you want, you can use these. If I can get them off the board. You can use these to help you (handing them Out). OK, so begin preparing now. Don't 100k at this too much (indicating cards just handed out). OK, so you can use them, but speaking, practising. Ten minutes!
commentary
[this has been abridged]
The aim Of the teacher talk in this extract is to for a student activity. The students actually went on to carry out the activity with no problems, but whether or not this was a result of this particular passage of instruction is debatable. In fact, I think this passage could have been reduced to a few lines with the same end result. I believe this unnecessary length stems from two psychological factors on my part: a) an almost manic desire to make sure that everything is absolutely 100% dear; and b) not giving the students enough credit (especially at the lower levels) to be able to understand things which are succinct and to the point and not repeated time after time. In fact, this passage is a real eye-opener for me, and makes me wonder how
much class time I waste with superfluous and long—winded instructions. Not only that, how do the students feel about this? Frustrated?
they will benefit from them. In the long term, we believe that the use of certain terminology can save you time and, of course, will help students to make better use of dictionaries and grammar books.
think! 3
Which of these items of terminology would be •useful for your learners to know as they proceed through an elementary course? contraction negative plural syllable collocation verb subject / object noun adjective uncountable noun subjunctive preposition modal verb pronoun present perfect definite / indefinite article
|
||
a real example
Finally, let's look at an example of some real instructions from a lesson with a pre-intermediate, multinational class. The teacher (David) recorded the lesson because he wanted to See
Humiliated? Grateful?
how to
language grading
I think the language I use in this passage is pitched at about the right level. The grammar of my talk does not seem to be simplified, but my pronunciation is definitely graded towards the level. Not only am I speaking more slowly than I usually do, but I am omitting weak forms and replacing them with full forms, which makes the speech sound quite unnatural.
density
The final passage in the extract is simply too dense. At no time do I pause to check understanding. With hindsight, I would have put the following on the board: 1) Practise the rote play, 2) Talk about your practice, 3) Practise again, 4) Talk about it again, 5) Act in front of the class. This would have made the explanation much clearer and easier to
repetition
At certain stages, I begin to sound like a parrot!
Don't laugh, Hedvigo. Don't laugh You're really angry
She's really angry You ore actors today You are actors
The question is, what effect does this have on the students? It can't be very good for their listening skills. I wouldn't want them to become 'repetition dependent'! In many cases, the input they receive from their teacher may be the only input. If so, it should be as natural as possible. questions
The students know the answers to the questions I ask, but they are checking questions (making sure that the students have understood the instructions) and are thus justifiable.
echoing
In this extract, the 'echoing' effect is glaringly obvious. My copying what the students say serves no purpose -'the students had pronounced the words correctly and produced the correct response, so there was no correction or reformulation.
Student 1 Unhappy.
T A little bit unhappy, yes. And over here, what are we talking about?
52 Travelling.
T Traveling. Where do you want to go traveling?
S2 Disneyland.
T Disneyland. Where do you want to go? (indicating another student)
S3 Paris. T Paris.
This is the area of my teacher talk that I find the hardest to work on. I don't even hear myself doing it, and this makes it difficult to cut out. 0K / 0K?
This word appears eleven times in a short space of time, and since listening to this tape of my class, rve become acutely aware of how much I use it when teaching. On closer examination, I use it in different ways:
— as a discourse marker; to mark the beginnings and ends of ideas. For example:
S3 Paris.
T Paris. OK, now, listen.
1 then go on to another area of instruction. I think this is useful for students and makes it clear that something new is coming.
- as empty checking Of concepts and instructions. A student will almost never call out, 'No, I don't understand' in response to these.
- to keep things moving along at a steady pace.
David is an excellent and very successful teacher. He is very self-critical here (perhaps too much so), but he learnt a great deal from recording his teacher talk. We are extremely grateful to him for giving us permission to use these extracts.
try it out record yourself Try recording yourself a few times when you are teaching a class. You don't need to tell the students what you are doing; this is just for your benefit. If you are reasonably near the tape recorder, it will pick up your voice enough to listen back after the lesson and evaluate it. Take a couple Of short extracts where you are talking and the students are responding. Do you think your language is graded to their level? — Does your delivery sound natural? (vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation) — Do you talk unnecessarily, or are your instructions succinct? — Do you repeat what the students say, or repeat yourself? DO you think the students understand? DO you give them time to think and respond? — What do you think is the best feature Of your talk? — Is there an area you would like to improve? You don't need to write anything down. Over the next few lessons, try to work on the area you were least satisfied with. |
3 Purposeful teacher talk
We imagine many teachers can recall lessons on teacher training courses in which they were reprimanded by their trainer for too much TIT (teacher talking time) and not enough SIT (student talking time). It is a common criticism that teachers sometimes talk at the expense of their learners and deny them adequate time to practise what they have studied. In many cases the criticism is probably quite valid: long-winded instructions and grammar explanations can be counter-productive.
However, the pendulum has shifted in recent years and more has been written about the positive role of teacher talking time in student learning — or 'QTTT' (Quality teacher talking time) as a colleague of ours calls it. This is most acute at lower levels when learners struggle to understand the majority of spoken English they are exposed to outside the classroom. Here, the experience of the teacher has a vital role to play. They will know how to grade their language to the learners' current level, and they can use body language, gestures, and classroom aids to support what they are saying. They can also judge whether the students have understood, and if not, react accordingly, either by repeating what they have said or reformulating in simpler English. These are just some of-the advantages the teacher has over the use of audio tapes in the classroom. And, of course, the students can interrupt the teacher if they haven't understood and ask for clarification. With an audio recording they can ask their teacher to repeat the cassette / CD, but they won't have the benefit of possibly hearing the message again in simpler English,
The teacher then is the main source Of comprehensible input for learners, and as such it is worth considering the different kinds of teacher talk in the classroom, and how it can be used productively. (Unfortunately, there is unproductive teacher talk as well.) more? Go pee-inúVmediateteaCheH¶boók, how to
social talk
The beginning Of a lesson, when students are drifting into class, is a real opportunity for you to chat with your students. Apart from the obvious greetings, you can ask them about their day / weekend / week (depending on the time between each Of your lessons), and let them ask you questions too. This is 'real' communication, and some of the most valuable speaking and listening practice learners can have. It also helps you to get to know your students and establish a good rapport with them. The end of the lesson is a further opportunity to enquire about their plans for the evening / weekend, and possibly talk about events in your local town.
Social talk of this kind doesn't have to be confined to the beginning or end of a lesson. A brief diversion often serves as a natural and useful break between other classroom activities, especially if they have been quite intensive and without much speaking or listening involved. You may be able to take advantage Of the learning opportunities that arise in the •chat'. Don't interrupt while students are talking, but make a mental note Of lexical or structural problems and come back to them later.
However, as a general rule don't let the chat go on too long, otherwise students may feel you are wasting time.
teacher models
Before students engage in a pair or group activity, it is often useful and sometimes necessary to demonstrate the activity yourself. This not only helps them to see what is required in the activity, but also provides valuable listening practice for which they are likely to be very motivated, as they are going to do the same activity themselves afterwards. For example: speaking Ys your turn!
1 Think! Think about a teacher you had in the past.
What was your teacher's name?
What did he / she teach?
How old were you?
What was he / she like?
If you prepare the task yourself, you could start by getting the students to ask you the questions about a teacher you remember from your past. The students will almost certainly be interested in your replies, and if that interest takes them beyond the rubric they were given so that they ask further follow-up questions, give special praise. This will be motivating and demonstrate to the whole class just how the activity can be fully exploited. The lesson notes in the first part Of this teacher's book suggest a number of places where you can do this.
The same would be true for anecdotes: students are more likely to be interested in a true story told by someone they know, e.g. their teacher, than by a stranger talking to them through a cassette recorder Or CD player. For this reason, we Often Suggest that you supplement audio recordings of anecdotes with one of your own. You could tell your own story before students listen to the recording (if it is not dissimilar, it will then make the recording easier to understand), or you might conclude the activity with your own anecdote.
listen and 'do'
A popular classroom listening activity is where learners are given instructions and have to carry them out (often called TPR: Total physical Response). This could be a recording in which students have to carry out physical exercises. For example:
Stand up.
Take three steps forward. Stop.
put your hands on your head. Lift your left leg.
etc.
The advantage Of the teacher giving the instructions (rather than a recording) is that they can see how well the students are carrying out the instructions and adjust accordingly by making them easier or more difficult.
A drawing dictation is another example of this. Tell the students to take out a plain piece of paper, then start the dictation. For example:
Draw a river across the middle ofthe page — quite a big river.
Now draw a small boat somewhere on the river — anywhere you like.
To the north of the river, on the right-hand side of the page, there's a castle.
To the left of the castle, there's a small lake, just a little way from the river.
Around the lake there are two small houses.
To the south of the river, on the left-hand side, there are two or three hills.
etc.
While you are giving the instructions, move round the class and monitor the drawings. Then tell students to compare their drawings with a partner's and note down any differences between them, like this:
My lake is bigger than Alicia •s. Our houses are on different sides ofthe lake, etc.
how to...
live listening
'Live listening' would include the purposeful teacher talk activities we have suggested in this section, in which learners can listen and stop you, ask questions, react, etc. But you can also invite English speakers into your classroom which can help to motivate your learners, provide another voice, and bring variety. In her excellent article in English Teaching Professional, Jacqueline McEwan (see follow up) describes how she has encouraged English-speaking, non-teaching friends and family members 10 assist her lessons in a variety of ways. For instance, knowing that her mother was coming to visit her while she was working in Spain, she asked her elementary class to prepare some questions for her mothcr, then interview her. Another group in Bolivia listened to a friend of hers talking about some differences between the US and the UK. A third group were very motivated to listen to an American friend talking about the street language teenagers use in the United States. Even in quite remote places, there may be English speakers who would be willing 10 visit your class; it is often a fascinating experience for the visitor too. Careful preparation is needed both with the lesson and the students, but it can be very rewarding for learners to be able to understand and interact with a new speaker of English.
conclusion
In this chapter we have looked at:
— the advantages and disadvantages Of using the MT in the
classroom
— the need lor a clear classroom policy on use Of the MT
— some practical guidelines for giving instructions in English
— a piece or classroom research a teacher carried out into teacher talk
— reasons why teacher talk is important, with purposeful examples
The use of teacher talk (including, in some cases, use of the mother tongue) is a very personal subject. The best advice we can give is to do what David did: record yourself talking to students in the classroom and then try to evaluate your performance honestly. This is probably one of the most valuable learning experiences you can have.
follow up
Harmer J 2001 The Practice of English Language Teaching (third edition) Longman
Wajnryb R 1992 Classroom Observation Tasks Cambridge University Press
Nunan D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall
International (Chapter 10 Focus on the Teacher. Classroom
Management and Teacher-Student Interaction)
DellerS 2003 The Language of the Learner in Engtish Teaching
Professional (issue 26)
Winn-Smith B 2001 Classroom Language in English Teaching Professional (issue 18)
McEwan J Be my Guest! in English Teaching Professional (issue 26)
how to
answer key think!? p.162
Note down is harder to understand than write down. A simpler instruction would be Please write that in your books, accompanied by a mime of handwriting if this is the first time you have given this instruction.
2 Ask a direct question: What does forget' mean? or better, ask What's the opposite of forget'? to make things easier.
3 Again, ask the concept check question directly: Where do you see/find a wardrobe? or ask a more focussed question, e.g. Dc you find a wardrobe in a kitchen or o bedroom?
4 Ahmed, ask Sami to ga to the cinema with you tonight.
5 When you finish the dialogue, change + gesture with your hands to indicate pairs swapping.
6 It isn't easy to make this instruction much simpler, therefore you have to accompany the instruction with a mime, or use a pair at the front of the class, and show how one student mustn't show their picture to the other. think!3 p.153
The terminology you use will obviously depend on teaching context. Where there are particular grammar problem areas for (earners (e.g. the definite article for learners whose MT doesn't have articles) you will probably focus on this area a great deal. and so the label would be a useful shortcut in correction. Most of the terminology in the think! box is used in natural English elementary at appropriate stages. However, we don't feet that it is worth teaching collocation, modal verb, or subjunctive at this stage; and subject / object, or pronoun might be more suitable for language groups who are familiar with this terminology in their MT. (For instance, in our experience, Italian learners are often familiar with grammar terminology because of their learning background.)
1 Selecting vocabulary
2 Organizing vocabulary
3 Presenting vocabulary
For many teachers, the vocabulary taught in the classroom will be largely determined by the coursebook they are using or other materials chosen by the institution where they are working. Even so, teachers will have to spend time on incidental vocabulary as it arises in classroom activities, and almost inevitably they will take vocabulary material into the classroom to supplement and extend the vocabulary selected by others. On some courses, especially shorter courses, teachers can often choose their own coursebook, or use their discretion about which parts of the coursebook they use. In other words, directly or indirectly, all teachers make some decisions about the vocabulary they teach and / Or the amount Of time and emphasis they wish to place on different lexis. And if they have the opportunity to influence the choice of coursebook in their particular school or college, they should have a view about the relevance and value of the vocabulary in the coursebooks available to them.
So, what are the principal criteria influencing lexical selection?
think! 1 Before you read the next section, look at this list of lexical items. Which ones might you teach to an elementary group of learners? Think about your reasons for teaching them, or not teaching them. Then read on. passport eyebrow guess the meaning interest rate bloke leave character stand up forty although bill key |
usefulness
If students need to use a word or phrase, then it's useful. In the classroom we can make informed decisions about the vocabulary that's useful, starting with words and phrases that form part of everyday classroom interaction between teachers and students, and between students themselves, e.g. pen, page (27), look at the board, can I use / borrow how do you spell that? and so on. For this reason alone, guess the meaning and stand lip from the list above would both be useful items to teach.
It
is less easy to decide what vocabulary students will need outside
the classroom, but most learners (and especially those at
lower levels) will want to be able to engage in everyday conversation
about their lives: their home, school / college / work, relationships, social
life, interests, and so on. Therefore, I a verb such as go out (e.g. Do you
want to go out this evening?) is likely to be more useful for general English
students than a very to specific
topic-related verb such as excavate. In our experience. most learners also want
to be able to manage basic service encounters in shops, hotels, restaurants,
and railway stations. This provides a solid reason to teach a word such as bill
(or check in American English), as anyone who travels in an Englishspeaking country
(or another country where English is commonly the lingua franca between people
who speak a different L I) is likely to need the word in a hotel or restaurant.
This example raises another important issue: are students learning English
principally to communicate with native speakers Of English? (If so, is it to
communicate with British people, Americans, Australians, South Africans, or
whoever?) The truth is that in many cases, people want to use English as a
Lingua Franca (ELF) with other non-native speakers Of English. How does this
impact on the English we teach? Some would say that these learners don't need
the kind of informal language that appears most frequently only between two
native speakers of English.
think! 2
Do you think the word bloke is a useful word for elementary students to learn? Is it only useful for learners studying in the UK? Or would learners in their Own country also benefit from learning it? Why / Why not?
Think about these questions before you read on.
Although the word bloke is quite high frequency, it is one of those informal words which does not transfer easily into an elementary learner's inlerlanguage, as the rest of their English does not exhibit the sarnc informality. In other words, it Can stand out as sounding a bit strange. The meaning is also more than adequately covcrcd by the equally common and more globally familiar word guy. Does this mean we shouldn't teach
it? For learners studying in Britain, it is certainly a useful word to know receptively, if not productively, and it seems perfectly reasonable to us to teach the word to students if it comes up in class. Whether you would select the item for low-level learners in the majority of teaching contexts is more questionable.
In a general English class, your learners may not have any specific needs, or may not be able to identify any. However, with a fairly homogeneous group sharing the same specific needs, e.g. English for business, it is vital that you find out as much as possible about the situations in which they are going to use their English in order to determine the most useful language to teach. And for this type of group, a relatively low-frequency word such as interest rate may be extremely useful. It is unlikely, however, to be a high priority for students in a low-level general English class.
frequency
It is logical that frequency will be an important factor in selecting lexis, with high-frequency items being generally more important than low-frequency items. Since the development of computer Corpora (large databases Of Spoken and written text), we now have much more acxurate and detailed information about the relative frequency Of words and the linguistic contexts in which they most typically occur. Some of that information is now widely available in dictionaries for learners of English, So teachers can make more informed decisions about lexical selection than was the case ten years ago. A good example of this from the think! I box is key. Instinct and common sense may tell us that the noun key is likely to be a high-frequency item (it is), but what about key, meaning lery important, as an adjective? In fact, it is also a high-frequency item. This doesn't mean we have to teach the adjective to low-level learners — frequency is not the only determining factor — but with this new information we may be more inclined now to introduce this meaning of key at a fairly low level.
Unfortunately, dictionaries based on computer corpora don't tell us everything we would tike to know about frequency. They tell us that leave (another word in our list above) is a very high-frequency word, and presumably a word we should teach, but what meanings of leave should we teach? I The train leaves in five minures. depart)
2 She wants to leave her husband. (2 separate from)
3 He's decided to leave hisjob. (z quit)
4 You can leave your hag here. put for a period of time) 5 She left her homework on the bus. forgot)
Dictionaries usually (but not always) list different meanings of a word in order of frequency, so we can generally assume that those listed at the beginning of an entry are the most common. On that basis, leave meaning depart is more frequent than leave with the meaning forget. But how much more frequent is one meaning over the other? Dictionaries don't tell us that. Neither do they give us information about the frequency of phrasal verbs or idioms. So, if frequency were our only criterion for selection, we wouldn't know whether to teach lake up (start doing an activity) before give up Stop doing an activity), or that's a shame before that's a pity. Going back to the earlier example, we think there is good reason to teach most if not all or the above meanings Of leave at an early stage: several are very closely related (leave one's partner and leave one'sjob both involve permanent separation), and we suspect all of them are high frequency. We would certainly consider them all useful.
Reliable information about word frequency is extremely useful to syllabus designers and language teachers, but it is unwise to accept this information uncritically or follow it slavishly; there are other factors to consider.
teachability
It may seem like a poor excuse to decide against teaching a word on the grounds that it is too difficult to teach, but that is exactly what we may have to do some of the time with low-level learners. Words that we can draw (e.g. circle), point to (e.g. door), or demonstrate (e.g. kick or sneeze) are easier to teach than most items requiring a definition or explanation. Abstract words are especially difficult with low-level learners. In our earlier list, character falls into this category, as do verbs such as pretend and behave. Should we ignore them? Sometimes we may have to, but we cannot totally protect learners from 'difficult'
to
vocabulary. On some occasions, wc have to be prepared to spend lime on a word, and also recognize that our first explanation may not be adequate; but with further exposure to the word in different contexts, learners will gradually form an understanding. Of course, the most obvious way round this problem is translation. There may be a straightforward one-to-one equivalent, but even if there isn't, an explanation using the mother tongue is likely to be more successful than one using 1-2. It is difficult to argue against using translations in situations like this, provided it isn't the only access thal learners have to the meanings of new words.
learnability
Some lexical items will be similar in form and meaning to words in the learners' mother tongue. From our list, passport is one obvious example, and for many learners the same might be true of hotel, telephone, taxi, restaurant, and tourist, although there may be differences in pronunciation. It makes sense to introduce as many of these cognates as possible at low levels, as it is a quick and easy way to increase learners' vocabularies. In terms of motivation, it is also encouraging to discover that some things are the same in a foreign language.
expediency
We may decide to teach some words that, on their own, are low frequency, but form part of high-frequency sets of words. Thus, Saturday and Sunday, and forty and fifty, are relatively infrequent (i.e. not in the top 2,000 words) but they belong to frequently occurring Sets (i.e. days of the week and numbers). Students are unlikely to need every number from 1—100, but we can safely forecast that they will need some of them, and so there is a case for teaching not just frequent words, but frequentlyoccurring sets of words. Similarly, if you are using a picture to teach ten or fifteen parts of the body, it is very easy to add another five simply because they are there and form part of the set, and students may want to know them anyway. This is how words such as eyebrow often get taught at an early stage when, in actual fact, they are probably not that useful.
Likewise, words that arc unfamiliar to learners will often come up in the texts they are reading or listening to in the classroom, and we may have to deal with them. even if they don't fulfil the other criteria mentioned above, such as usefulness or frequency. However, while expediency is the reason for quite a lot of incidental vocabulary teaching, it should not be a major determining factor in the vocabulary we select for teaching purposes.
2 Organizing vocabulary
Il is important to remember that the vocabulary we set out to teach our students is not necessarily the vocabulary they will learn. In fact, no two learners usually acquire the same vocabulary from a particular lesson. One learner may remember the word zip, having seen it in a text; another will forget it but remember get upset from a story told by the teacher; yet another will recall catch a cold from the lesson, but have no memory of either zip or get upset. The learners' take-up of new vocabulary may sometimes appear rather random and haphazard, but we still believe it makes sense for us to organize vocabulary for teaching purposes:
— presenting vocabulary in meaningful groups means you are covering vocabulary in a systematic way
— organized vocabulary teaching will help students to keep organized records of their learning, and this may assist later retrieval
— organized vocabulary teaching also means you know what you've taught. which in turn means you can revise and test that vocabulary
Vocabulary can be organized in many different ways, but in the classroom there are probably three major Organizing principles (which may overlap):
— items related by topic or theme (e.g. health. weather, education)
— semantically related items (e.g. synonylns, opposites)
— linguistically related items (e.g. link words, phrasal verbs, noun suffixes, word families) Let's 100k at these in more detail.
items related by topic or theme
In any language course. grouping items by topic is one of the most common organizing principles, mainly because units in coursebooks are Often topic-led. Texts (both written and spoken), grammar, speaking, and writing activities Can all be woven around a topic, and the lexis within that topic then becomes the main thrust of the vocabulary input for the unit. But topics can vary considerably in scale. For example, if you brainstorm the topic of daily routines (commonly taught in elementary coursebooks), you'll probably come up with ten or twenty key phrases (get up / get dressed / have breakfast / go to work, etc.). Compare that with the topic of food, and you'll find it quite difficult to limit the number Of items; just 100k at the number Of vegetables alone in the Oxford photo Dictionary. This can present real problems when you're teaching. How do you decide which food vocabulary, clothes vocabulary, Or relationships vocabulary to teach? You have to make judgements based on the criteria mentioned in the first part of the chapter (usefulness, frequency, teachability, etc.), and inevitably you will find that once you are in the class, your learners will ask you for some of the very items you eliminated!
Topic vocabulary is often needed to support the practice of grammar or functional input. For example, activity verbs are taught and then practised with like + -ing; weather vocabulary often accompanies be going to; drinks vocabulary is used to practise offering and accepting hospitality.
think! 3 Which grammatical structures or functional language might you teach alongside these vocabulary topic groupings at elementary level? friends andfamily sports / games countries / nationalities entertainment animals physical appearance |
answerkeý þ'117"
semantically related items
Semantic groupings include items which are related to each other by meaning, and for teaching purposes the most important are probably synonyms, and antonyms (opposites). Synonyms are rarely, if ever, wholly synonymous. The similarity in meaning between two items usually has to be qualified in one or more Of the following ways:
— difference in style, e.g. purchase is more formal than buy
— different collocates, e.g. you can describe people as shy, but animals as timid different coverage (breadth of meaning), e.g. boring is more general in meaning than dreary
— different grammar, e.g. say (intransitive) bilt tell (transitive)
— similar in one context but not another. e.g. VOU can talk about having a wonderm or delicious meal, and you can see a wonderful film, bul you don't usually talk about seeing a delicious film.
Antonyms are also a useful way of organizing vocabulary, particularly when teaching adjectives, e.g. lidllt / dark, clean / dirty. It is also a very comlnon organizing principle when we want to introduce prefixes, e.g. friendly / unfriendly, honest / dishonesl, etc. Reversing an action is a different kind of oppositeness, but one which wc often exploit to teach a variety of verbs, e.g. planes lake off / land; we can pm on / take off a jacket; we gef on / gel Offa bus, etc.
linguistically related items
A further grouping is one in which the focus is on lexical grammar. This may be at word level, in terms Of word formation:
— prefixes, e.g. un + adj; in + adj
— suffixes, e.g. -lion, -ness
— compound nouns, e.g. credit card. post office
or the syntactic features Of items:
— adjective + preposition, e.g. interested in. tired of
— verb patterns, e.g. decide I want + to do. enjoy + -ing
— link words, e.g. so, because
— phrasal verbs, e.g. put st/l on, wake up
— uncountable nouns, e.g. homework, information
It is undoubtedly useful to focus on specific problem areas such as these, but the disadvantage is that it can be Very difficult to provide natural and communicative practice of items within these categories: they have simply been selected because they share a linguistic feature. A further difficulty with such groupings can be one of level. For instance, in order to create a substantial set of items to focus on separable / inseparable phrasal verbs for low-level learners, it is not easy to find items which are useful productively and which will also lead to communicative practice. In this case, it is better to deal with useful phrasal verbs (e.g. grow up, slay in, turn on / off) as they arise, and leave the linguistic focus until students are more able to deal with it.
Inevitably, there are many important lexical items that do not form part of a convenient set for leaching purposes. We have tried to overcome this problem by introducing natural English boxes which enable us to focus on one or two items at any one
to |
time. Have a look at the box on the following page.
5 pronunciation Listen again and repeat. Copy the intonation.
6
(i.e. all nouns), it is a challenge to think of ways to practise this, beyond identifying what people in the class are wearing, or what they wore yesterday. If you widen the range of items you teach and include verbs and / or adjectives / phrases (with a corresponding reduction in the number of nouns), you have more scope for practice: shopping dialogues, discussing what to buy, questionnaires on clothes shopping and spending I habits, talking about how clothes suit / don't suit / fit / don'tfit, etc.
Once you consider putting vocabulary to communicative use, you start to realize that aside from needing single words items, you also need the words they collocate with, as well as phrases. Word spray diagrams can often give you this more rounded and balanced set of items within a topic, and they can be particularly useful for revision purposes. Below is an example focussing on sightseeing.
These diagrams can be fun to use, and they provide a very useful vocabulary record for learners. In the classroom, you could give them a skeleton copy of the diagram with some vocabulary items missing for students to complete, or provide a list of vocabulary items for students to put in the correct categories. They can work in pairs to share their knowledge and use bilingual dictionaries to help them. Alternatively, you could put category headings on the board and then build up the diagram by eliciting relevant vocabulary and teaching some new items as you proceed.
try it out word spray diagrams Devise your own word spray diagram called In a café to include a range of suitable vocabulary for elementary level, and try to incorporate single words and phrases. You could include vocabulary from units one and five of natural English elementaty. When you've finished, compare your diagram with the One in the answer key on p. 173. |
A further issue is that vocabulary is often organized within a single word class, e.g. all nouns, all adjectives, or all phrasal verbs. There is a logic to this, but the downside is that it can be restricting, particularly in terms of providing communicative practice. For instance, if you only teach items of clothing
SIGH<SEEING IN THE CITY Exctase QIAesHcnS'Me, where's Places be / in+-eresHh3 cycwaea / cheap / expensive |
to ...
vocabulary sets in texts
Within authentic texts, you will find topic-related vocabulary running all the way through the text, but you rarely find a convenient lexical set at the right level for teaching purposes. More commonly, there will be a number of smaller sub-sets. The items may not be in the same word class, they aren't always obvious, and they may not be of the same order of frequency. For example, you might find brown rice fuels the central nervous system, leseweiqht, and in the same authentic text. Some of these items are accessible to low-level learners and very useful, but others are lower frequency and less of a teaching priority.
4 think! Read the text below. Find two lexical sets, and list the items included in each one. |
How far do we walk in a day?
We asked people to measure the distance they covered every day. The results were surprising.
Total mileage = 6.7 miles (14,541 steps).
Elli Sioufi, 34, is a language teacher at Dulwich College. She is single and lives in Camberwell.
'I was up at 7 a.m. and, because I live in a studio flat, I didn't walk around much before leaving for work by car. The college is a large campus. It takes a brisk, five-minute walk to get from one end to the other, and most of the buildings are multistoreyed with only staircases for access. By morning break time, I was surprised to see that I had already walked 1.3 miles, simply by moving from lesson to lesson and making a few trips to the photocopier. Having to cover for a colleague meant that I had to cross the school three times — the round trip each time was 0.6 miles. By the end of the afternoon (I had been coaching cricket and walking to and from the classrooms) the total was 6.2 miles. I drove to do some private tuition and then went home. Pottering around, I managed to do another 0.5 in my flat. In some ways I wasn't surprised at the total distance, because I feel that I'm walking a lot at work — but I wouldn't have guessed at more than, say, three miles.'
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When you are working from texts, you have to deal with lexis in this way: taking in items from different, although often related, topic areas. However, in discrete vocabulary teaching slots, it is sensible to balance your approach and sometimes focus on larger lexical sets, especially those which are likely to be of most relevance to your learners. Otherwise. vocabulary teaching may become too fragmentary, and learners may not have a very clear grasp Of what they arc learning.
As low-level learners are operating With limited language resources, it is a huge advantage if you can convey the meaning of a word or phrase visually. This involves one Of the following techniques:
drawing a picture or a diagram
— showing a picture I photo of the item
— using realia, i.e. showing the object itself
— illustrating the item through mime and gesture
think! 5 Look at these lexical items. Which technique(s) above would you use to teach each one? socks smile orange hardly ever soap key bridge leather rise peanuts whisper foggy |
Dictionaries often contain very useful visuals. Not only do they have pictures of groups Of items, e.g. buildings, fruit and vegetables, kitchen equipment, etc., but they sometimes include theme pictures which have been drawn to serve a number of purposes. So, a street scene might allow you to focus on types of vehicle, different shops, features of roads, verbs of
movement, even prepositions.
Unfortunately, visual aids can only teach a restricted number of
items, and if we rely on them too much (because it's easy), our learners may get a distorted lexicon. To return to an earlier example, a picture is a quick and easy way to teach parts of the body, but if we end up teaching toenail, thigh, elbow, and forehead, we may not be providing low-level learners with the most useful and important vocabulary. If students really want to know these words, ask them to find out for homework.
verbal techniques
For many important high-frequency items, you can only show the meaning through other words. The most important of these
— definitions / explanations
— synonyms and opposites
— contextualized sentence examples
— example situations (guiding the learner to the meaning)
171
Definitions / explanations work very well for some items, but a difficulty arises when you end up explaining an item using words of comparable difficulty, e.g. using become aware of to explain the verb realize. Learners are unlikely to know either, and this can be a drawback when low-level learners try to use a monolingual dictionary.
think!' Some Of these words are relatively easy to define, others are more difficult. Which are the relatively easy ones? Why are the Others difficult to explain to elementary or pre-intermediate learners? sofa reliable hungry chef equipment excellent unemployed valuable grow up |
ansWei keyp.
We have already talked about synonyms and opposites which can be used to graft on new vocabulary to existing knowledge. For example, two items that are usually acquired very early are happy and beautiful; to these we can easily add sad, unhappy, and ugly, or even delighted very happy) and gorgeous very beautiful). In this case we are exploiting both the use of opposites and 'partial' synonymy.
With some items of vocabulary, two or three contextualized sentence examples are the best way to introduce the meaning. Link words such as so and although are often presented in this way. Here are some examples for one meaning of still:
I bought my car in 2001, and I Still have it.
My grandfather is Seventy, but he Still plays tennis. I'm at university, but my brother is still at school.
Learners not only have different examples to reinforce the meaning, but the sentences also illustrate the syntactic features Of an item; here, it is the position of still in the sentence.
Using a situation to illustrate the meaning of a word can be time-consuming, but is sometimes necessary. It can provide the students with a clear, realistic, and memorable context for new vocabulary, and can have additional benefits. Here is an example. Can you guess the word being taught at the end?
The teacher tells the class a story I went to Greece last year. I had to go by plane and I absolutely hateflying. So, when the plane was in the air, I Was really how did feel? (elicits •frightened' from the students). Yeah, I was frightened. Then the plane started to land (motioning movement to indicate landing). The landing is the worst bit. I was terrified — veryfrightened. But, finally the wheels hit the ground — we landed — and the plane slowed down and stopped (accompanies the narrative with 'phew" and drops the shoulders). I was so
The teacher then provides the target word, and checks that the students understand it (e.g. asks for a translation or another situation where people feel relieved). Then the students practise it and the teacher writes it on the board, and so on. Apart from using the situation to teach the target item, the teacher has provided some useful listening practice, and in the course of the narrative, used another word which may be new, i.e. terrified. After highlighting the target word (relieved), the teacher could ask students if they remember the word she used to say she was 'very frightened', and focus on that. In other words, the situation can be exploited to teach several new words.
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Later, she could repeat the scenario, incorporating the two new items for consolidation / revision, only this time elaborating on the journey to introduce Other new items: she was so terrified, petrified in fact, that her hands were shaking (add mime to illustrate) and when the plane changed direction suddenly, she screamed (illustrate by screaming — students always love this).
When we use situations like this for teaching purposes, we are tapping into our learners' knowledge of the world, using either a situation they are all familiar with, or at least one they willbe able to identify with (you don't need experience of flying to be well aware of the common fear of flying). This will help to guide students to the meaning of the item(s), and also make the presentation more meaningful if they can see how the lexis fits i into their own lives.
Here is an example that utilizes our learners' familiarity with common everyday habits:
I With a partner, put the phrases in a logical order
(more than one is possible). Complete column one.
A How are you?
Whatever technique you use, it is important to provide further sentence examples, and better still if your learners can add one or two examples of their own.
conclusion
In this chapter we have looked at:
the main criteria for selecting vocabulary at lower levels some Of the principle ways Of organizing vocabulary for teaching purposes
— different visual and verbal techniques for presenting vocabulary
In the language classroom, vocabulary is everywhere, and there is a danger not just of overloading our learners, but of spending too long on vocabulary that is not very useful. For this reason, we need to exercise care and judgement in selecting the vocabulary that will be most useful for our learners, organize it in a way that will assist the learning process, and present it in ways which are most suited to the items we are teaching.
follow up
Thornbury S 2002 How to Teach Vocabulary Longman
McCarthy M 1990 Vocabulaty Oxford University press
Cairns R and Redman S 1986 Working With Words Cambridge
University Press
answer key think!3 p.169 possible answers: friends / family: have got sports / games: like + ing / hove you ever...? countries / nationalities: be / come from / be from entertainment: inviting and responding would you tike to . Yes, I'd love to.
animals: comparatives and superlatives physical appearance: have•got / be; what's "e /sþe like? think!4 p.171
There are possibly four to choóse from.
getting around: I didn't Watk around much; leaving for work by cat; a brisk five-minute walk, had walked; moving from lesson to lesson; making a few trips to cross the school; round trip; walk to and from drove to ...a,Ment home; pottering around; managed to do another 0.5; rm walking a lot. the school building(s): college, campus; buldings, multi-storeyed, staircases for access, school, classrooms work related vocabulary (woutd also include the schoól building vocabulary): morning break time, lesson, cover for a colleague, coaching cricket, db some private tuition time-related vocabulary: 7.00 a.m.; a five-minute Watk, by morning break time, by the.end ofthe afternoon think!5 p.171 draw a picture: key, bridge, smile (oranges are not easy to distinguish from otherfruits unless you can show the pitted texture) draw a diagram: rise (e.g. a sates graph)' hardly ever(a cline showing other frequency adverbs) picture / photo: socks, orange, soap, peanuts, bridge; leather, foggy realia: Socks, key, leather (e.g your shoes bag), soap, orange mime / gesture: smile, whisper, rise, think!6 p.172
We think these items are quite easy to e*ptain:
- sofa (large comfortable' chair for two or more people)
- chef (a chefis the person who Cooks in a restaurant)
- unemployed (if you are unemployed, you haven't got a job)
- hungry (if you are hungry, you want to eat)
! — excellent (very, very good) grow up (when people grow up they get and bigger)
to...
We think the other three are more difficult:
— reliable (usually involves providing one or two different contexts and examples; these need to be carefully chosen in case it is confused with punctual) equipment (it needs at least two examples to show the meaning, and.sometimes the examples of equipment may not be known either) valuable (easily confused with expensive, and difficult to explain without using the word worth which students may not know
try it out p170
evah3e /
ChoCol Aiee coke
red / whiFe wine
/ eish / Whisky, eec.
chickeh chips
IN A_ FooD
clean / expensive / vanilla ice-cven„
service is quick/ slew / / eeryible
Says
else? Yes, course.
Says
Can I have (Fhe /a please?
I have / soHe Mere / HAe bill, please?
Yes, please. / No,
(soup) have (A sandwich), please.
173
1 Pronunciation and intelligibility
2 Approaches to teaching pronunciation
3 Teaching phonemic symbols
4 Classroom teaching ideas
think! 1
In the classroom, do you aim for quite a high standard of pronunciation with (most of) your learners, or do you feel you are quite relaxed and tolerant of fairly poor pronunciation? Can you explain the attitude you have? If you are a non-native teacher, how confident do you feel helping your students with pronunciation?
Think about these questions before you read on.
A few learners may want, and indeed strive for near perfect pronunciation when they speak English, i.e. to be indistinguishable from native speakers. For these learners we should do as much as possible to help them realize that goal. The majority of learners though, would probably settle for something less demanding. They want listeners to be able to recognize and understand what they say, but have no great desire to try and pass themselves off as native speakers. And why should they? People who want 10 speak British, American, or Australian English don't necessarily want to sound British, American, or Australian. Their mother tongue accent is an integral part of their identity, and they may wish to keep it just as much as people from different parts of any country want to retain their own regional accents. Other learners, fully aware of their language learning limitations, may also recognize that it is simply not within their grasp to sound like a native speaker, even if they wanted to.
Intelligibility is increasingly seen as a valid and reasonable aim in pronunciation teaching. Bul intelligible to whom? Some might say that L2 learners should be intelligible to native speakers. However, we cannot assume that interaction between people speaking English to each other involves a native speaker. On the contrary, according to Jennifer Jenkins, for the first time in the history of the English Language, second language speakers outnumber those for whom it is the mother tongue (See follow up). Therefore, if your students' aim is to be intelligible to other non-native speakers, this will (or at least may) affect how you approach the teaching of pronunciation. For example, the pronunciation of the letters •th' is difficult for many learners, e.g. pronouncing 'the as 'z/ when it should be /ò,', or Is/ when it should be /G/, but you might be prepared to compromise on accuracy if it doesn't interfere with the speaker's intelligibility.
to . .
Where you draw the line, however, is not easy. A person's intelligibility is only as good as their listener. Some people may understand a person speaking English when others cannot:
— many experienced teachers of English are so used to different foreign accents that they can sometimes understand English that would mystify many other native speakers
— some people are also more accommodating and make greater allowances
— some learners whose languages are similar, e.g. Spanish, Italian, and Ponuguese, understand each other speaking English more easily than they would understand Japanese learners speaking English
— even the majority may gradually adjust to an 1.2 speaker's accent, however strong, over a period of time
Another issue here is that people (both native and non-native speakers) make judgements about the way others speak, so even if we understand what someone says, we can still react quite negatively if we feel they speak the language poorly. This may be a foolish response, but it's not difficult to understand. And there seems to be a particular prejudice when poor pronunciation is involved. There is perhaps a distinction between 'intelligibility and what Joanne Kenworthy calls 'comfortable intelligibility' (see follow up), i.e. an accent that is both intelligible and that has no intrusive, distracting, or even irritating features. We suspect that many learners would like to achieve this.
Ultimately teachers have to use their own judgement in the classroom. We probably need to find out first what our learners' goals and expectations are, and then try to ensure that the time and effort we spend on pronunciation corresponds with what our learners also want and expect. This is not easy, no matter how experienced the teacher. On the one hand, teachers may see a need for improvement which the learners don't share. On the other hand, some teachers, especially non-native teachers, lack confidence about their own pronunciation to feel justified in correcting others. Our own feeling is that non-native teachers still have the means and the knowledge to help learners with pronunciation, and there are plenty of published materials to support them. The position we have adopted in natural English is to highlight and practise most of the sounds, plus features of word stress, sentence stress, and intonation, so that: — learners are aware of them they at least have an opportunity to practise them and gel them right
— they can see the part that features of pronunciation play in the listening skill and their understanding of spoken English
Equally, we would adopt a pragmatic and, we hope, tolerant attitude towards the learners' performance in classroom activities.
We can approach the teaching of pronunciation in different ways:
discrete pronunciation slots in the lesson ranging from ten minutes to half an hour
— a shorter focus on pronunciation as an integrated part of the lesson, e.g. practising the contracted form I'll when teaching a meaning of will
— on an ad hoc basis when the opportunity arises for some useful teaching I correction
We should incorporate all three of these approaches into our teaching.
discrete pronunciation slots
We would advocate teaching learners the most important sounds through phonemic symbols (see section 3). Our preference would be to introduce them in short teaching segments (e.g. ten minutes) in the first few weeks of a course, and recycle them on a regular basis in future lessons. Similarly, we think that teachers need to devote some concentrated time early in a course to features of stress. Students shouldn't be over-burdened with terminology, but there is a strong case for teaching 'syllable' and 'main stress', with appropriate symbols to indicate stressed and unstressed syllables, e.g. boxes or circles. Again, you can then use these stress boxes / circles in future lessons on all new items of vocabulary with two syllables or more. We prefer boxes or circles because they are easy for learners to see, but most dictionaries mark word stress in a different way and learners need to be aware of this. The most common practice is the use of a superscript mark for primary stress, with a similar symbol below the line for secondary stress.
education plural) |
noun (no |
understand verb (understands, understanding, understood has understood) |
Learners need to know these things in order to make the best use of their dictionaries. In the classroom (particularly with low levels) we feel it is sufficient just to mark the primary stress on new words.
You might want to use discrete slots to focus on rules of word stress. Unfortunately there aren't very many of these, although learners may find it helpful to be aware of the following tendencies in English:
— the tendency, in two-syllable words, for the main stress to fall on the first syllable
— the tendency to stress the first word in compound nouns, e.g. credit card, tin opener
— the tendency not to stress prefixes and suffixes in English, e.g. unhappy, happiness (stressing the prefix is a common problem for German speakers Of English)
think! 2 Whenever you are providing a common pattern and not a rule, you need to have a good range of examples to illustrate the pattern, but also one or two exceptions so that learners do not go away thinking it is a rule. How quickly can you think of exceptions to the three patterns above? |
'o to answer key b.180
With monolingual groups, discrete slots will be useful and in some cases necessary to deal with specific MT problems.
think!3
If you teach monolingual groups, do your students share any specific pronunciation problems which need to be highlighted and analyzed in discrete pronunciation slots? For example, some learners sound bored or uninterested because of insufficient voice range and flat intonation. Japanese learners also find it difficult to hear the difference between Hr/ and I'll, and have difficulty producing these sounds.
In our experience, students expect to devote time to pronunciation, and usually enjoy it. Pronunciation activities can be used to warm up or wind down a lesson, and they are a good way to unite mixed ability classes. During the lesson, they can be slotted in between other activities to provide variety and a change of pace. This is especially valuable if you teach in the evenings and your lessons are an hour and a half or two hours (or more).
integrated pronunciation
Despite the value of discrete slots to highlight important features of pronunciation, we have to remember that pronunciation plays a crucial part in everything we say and listen to. Therefore, we need to maintain it throughout our teaching: highlighting pronunciation during input sessions of new grammar and vocabulary; focussing on it during controlled practice of grammar and vocabulary; integrating pronunciation awareness as a key part of developing the listening skill, (e.g. contractions, elision, and catenation in connected speech).
more?Gonprë-intermediate teachers book, how to ... Olegp gearner$understand:naturalspeech p.174
ad hoc pronunciation
You may not want to interrupt the flow of an activity too much to focus on pronunciation, but tackling a problem when it arises is an opportunity that may be too good to miss. Being constantly aware of these opportunities is also important for our teaching. We know from personal experience that when you are trying to cope with all the demands of classroom teaching, it is very easy to focus on pronunciation in short bursts, then forget about it for the greater part of the lesson. We need to try and keep it at the forefront of our minds, not least because on-the-spot teaching and correction can be very memorable and successful for learners. One way of reminding yourself is to make sure that you have a 'pronunciation' heading in your notebook when you are monitoring learners during speaking activities. If, at the end of these activities, you notice that your pronunciation section is often bare, it may indicate that pronunciation easily drops down your list of priorities (unless your students' pronunciation is flawless or there are reasons why pronunciation is not a priority with this class).
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Why teach them
In order to use phonemic symbols in the classroom, teachers have to know them and feel comfortable using them. This is the first hurdle 10 overcome, and teachers who weren't taught to use phonemic symbols during their training sometimes find it difficult to summon up the necessary willpower when they are qualified practitioners. Some teachers may be familiar with phonemic symbols but still prefer not 10 use them in class on the grounds that students already have enough to worry about without lhc additional burden of learning a new script. There is also a feeling that learning phonemic symbols is a rather academic pursuit that some students will find intimidating.
In view of these reservations, teachers should consider factors such as the age ot their students, their learning background, their needs, and the length of the course, before spending classroom time on teaching the symbols. However, in the long term and with most groups, we feel the time spent is worthwhile for a number Of reasons.
— Unlike many languages, sound-spelling relationships in English are lar from straightforward and learners cannot be hilly confident about the pronunciation or a word just l'rom seeing il written dawn. Using phonemic symbols, you can represcnl the sound or a word unambiguously in written form, given a little practice
— A knowledge 01 phonemic symbols means that learners Can discover [he pronunciation of a word from a dictionary without even hearing it. Moreover, they can do this ror themselves without anyone clsc's hclp; they are independent learners.
Learners can make good use or this knowledge in their own record keeping. We wouldn't expect them necessarily to write whole words in phonemic symbols, but they could Itse symbols to remind them or a difficult sound in a word. For example, a typical error with building is to pronounce it phonetically, i.e. [l a student writes /bil,/ above the word in their notebook, it will be a useful reminder of the pronunciation problem with that particular item. Some learners use symbols from their Lt alphabet as a memory aid. This can bc useful, but it won't enable them to make use or phonemic transcriptions in dictionaries.
— From the leachcr•s point 01 view, it can be helpful with the correction ol' sound errors, especially [or learners who can't hear the difference between two similar sounds from an oral modal (e.g. this /òlS/ and thin /01n/). Sccing the two sounds represented by different symbols can at least help the learner 10 locate the prccisc nature of the problem.
showing pronunciation ol' connected speech: weak forms in phrases, elision, catenation, and So on.
What are yen doing? /wntJjo/ How do say it? /d3a/
I can do it later. ,/kan/ I cauabelieve it. /ka:n/
Finally, wc believe thal most students are aware that pronunciation is a significant hurdle when trying to mastcr another language. They arc usually prepared to accept that il requires considerable practice, and some sludenls may afrcady bc familiar with many ol' the symbols, having learnt them at school or used dictionaries freqllently.
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go to answer key p.a80
how to teach with them
If you aren't familiar with phonemic symbols yourself, an easy way to learn them is actually to teach them (a few sounds at a time) to your classes. If you are unsure about the transcription of a sound, you can check it in a learner's dictionary. We think you will be surprised how quickly phonemic script becomes an indispensable part Of your professional toolkit.
Here are a few guidelines for teaching phonemic symbols to learners:
Avoid overloading them with too many symbols at once: it is tiring and potentially confusing to learn more than a handful of new symbols in a single session. Concentrate on two or three sounds at a time, give plenty of receptive practice before expecting students to produce the target sounds, and then revise them in subsequent lessons.
— Aim to teach 'little and often'. It can work very well as a warm-up or in the last Len minutes 01 a lesson. particularly when students have been concentrating on reading or studying 'heads down', doing a test, etc.
Students don't need to learn all the phonemic symbols actively — cspccially if the sounds are similar to those in their mother tongue. There's little point in setting out to teach sounds 'for the sake 0[ it', so decide what the priorities are for your learners, and concentrate on those. The symbols that may require more attention are usually the vowels because there are more Of them in English than in most languages, and they don't all look the way the sounds are spelt, unlike most of the consonants.
— Keep the focus and the activities simple and straightforward, and try to avoid teaching new vocabulary at the same time as new phonemic symbols, otherwise students will be pre-occupied with thc meaning of words and forget about practising the sounds.
— Think carefully before you introduce it to learners who have literacy problems or dyslexia, or who are not familiar with Roman script at all. You could easily confuse them by dealing with two writing systems at once, and we would not recommend this.
If you are not familiar with the sound problems of the learners you teach, listen carefully to them in class, and record them speaking so that you can listen in your own time to identify their problems. You will find a number of books that provide a guide for specific L 1 transfer problems: See Hancock (2003), Kenworthy (1987), and Kelly (2000) in follow up.
Wark to know mor& Go teachewbook. how teach phonemic script p.168
4 Classroom teaching ideas
sounds
general techniques
You can demonstrate sounds in the following ways:
— Show students what is happening to the shape of your lips and the openness of your jaw when making vowel sounds and diphthongs, and add a simple explanation to say what is happening. Demonstrate smiling (lips stretched for fi:/), expressing surprise (lip rounding for /u:/), and disgust (/3:/).
— Use diagrams of the mouth to show the positions of the organs Of speech (see Hancock 2003)
— Students can use mirrors to see if their mouth shape is the same as yours when forming a sound; and a sheet of paper or a lighted match held in front or the mouth will move when unvoiced plosives /p/, /t/, /tj/ are for the voiced equivalents 1b', /d/, and /d3/.
Get students to repeat the problem sound in a chain, for example /tju:/ 'choo-choo-choo-choo', and /d30/ 'ju-ju-ju-
— Try breaking sounds down, e.g. /ao/. Tell students to make la/ first, then /u/. Say both sounds apart and gradually bring them together to make /aU/.
— If students find it hardo distinguish voiced and unvoiced pairs, e.g. 'p/ and /b/, tell them to put their fingers on their voice box to try to make the vocal chords vibrate for /b/.
activity types
tick the word you hear
He doesn't want to live I leave here. Can you fill / feel it? Is that a ship / sheep?
etc.
sorting
Once students know a few phonemic symbols, you can revise known vocabulary and practise the sounds. In the activity at the bottom of the page, students focus on three sounds which are quite similar. The sounds are isolated and then heard and practised in phrases. Students then have to match the vocabulary items in the box with the correct meaning. For example, fish, chips, and sausages are all food you cook, but learners must also sort them by sound. To do this, they have to say the items and agree on the answers with their partner. Sorting is a very common procedure for checking pronunciation of sounds, and can be done using visuals or word cards.
odd one out
In this activity, students have to identify one underlined or specified sound which is different from others in a group. This can be a useful way of tackling sound / spelling problems.
Circle the words that don't include the sound W.
example
London Dublin
Thursday Sunday Monday
2 brother aunt uncle son cousin daughter
4 above out under cul shut put
|
pronunciation sounds /J/, /tl/, and /d3/ 1 Listen and repeat the sounds and phrases. If/' a Polish dictionary /tf/ a French picture /d3" the ßerman language 2 Work with a partner. Say the words in the box, and put them in the correct columns. dangerous teacher orange bridge sausa8e§ China church station Russia fish chips journalist cheap Belgium sugar 3 chef Sure chocolate |
nationalities food you cook sweet things you eat things in a town countries jobs adjectives Listen and check. |
Polish |
French |
German |
|
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e.g. sing / sink), and tick the one they hear. For example: 6 onion mushroom carrot live leave sit I seat fit / feet hit / heat ship / sheep
same or different?
In a variation on 'odd one out', students work in pairs to decide if the underlined sounds in the phrase are the same or different.
(Answers are given in brackets.)
Are the underlined sounds the same or different?
example Thursday the third — the same
February the eighth — different
Wednesday the second (s)
2 Monday the fQurth (d)
3 Friday the ninth (s)
4 Saturday the eighth (d)
5 Friday the fifth (d)
6 April the eighth (s)
7 October the fourth (d)
8 July the ninth (s)
9 August the fourth(s)
10 November the eleventh (s) running dictation
Make a list of minimal pairs which your learners find difficult to distinguish. Here are some examples for different nationalities:
live / leave |
work I walk |
want / won't |
hat heart |
soap / soup |
three / tree |
air I hair |
would good |
fry I fly |
pack / back |
wash / watch |
they / they're |
Write one of the words in each pair in phonemic script on a small piece of paper.
Write in normal sized handwriting; you don't want students to be able to read the 'words' from where they are sitting. Stick the pieces of paper on the walls around the room. Pair students up, and tell them to write numbers 1—12 on a sheet of paper. Student A in each pair gets up and reads one of the pieces of paper, goes back to their partner and says the word. B writes it down in Roman script. Student A mustn't try to spell the word for B, and mustn't look at what B has written. Then Student B goes to a different sound and returns to dictate it to A. At the end, elicit all the answers onto the board, asking students to spell out their answers. Pairs then look at any errors they made and decide where the problem lay. Was it the 'dictator' or the 'dictatee' who made the mistake?
try it out sound mazes
You will find more examples of sound mazes like the One below in English Pronunciation in Use by Mark Hancock (see follow up). You could also produce mazes like this one to focus on a particular problem your learners have with sounds, or even grammar (e.g. pass only on squares with irregular verbs) or vocabulary (e.g. pass only on squares relating to a particular topic). This can work well for output practice if students do it with a partner, so that they are saying the words together as they move from square to Square.
Find a way from Start to Finish. You may pass a Square only if the word in it has the sound li:/.
START
FINISH |
stress
We have talked about having discrete slots on word stress as well as integrating word stress as a regular part of vocabulary teaching. The following activities contain ideas for both approaches.
word stress revision
As a quick check when students are working on something else (e.g. reading a text), rub out the stress boxes / circles from vocabulary on the board, then get students to come up to the board and put them in again.
categorizing stress patterns
For a more extended focus on word stress, select a number of different word stress patterns; the number will depend on how difficult you wish to make the activity or how long you want the activity to take. Then ask learners to put a selection of words into the correct column according to the main stress. As you can see in this exercise, learners have already listened to examples of the different patterns.
1 Listen and repeat the words in the table. The stress is
00 00 000 000 |
000 |
listen repgat Italy remember |
engineer |
Write these words in the table above. |
|
complete computer understand English practise pronounce expenslve interesting difficult |
answer Japanese question |
2
3 Listen and repeat the sentences.
1 Can you complete the sentence?
2 Listen and repeat.
3 Remember to practise your English.
4 Vs difficult to pronounce 'interesting'.
5 I don't understand the question.
6 How do you spell 'Japanese'?
to
It is valid to take words out of context in order to highlight a specific feature (in this case word stress), but a more challenging and meaningful activity for the learners is being able to reproduce these same words when they are embedded in a typical context, as in exercise 3 here.
A variation on this exercise is for the learners themselves to find words that will fit particular Stress patterns. Witli some stress patterns, e.g. 000 or 00000, this can be very challenging, so the exercise type is suitable for any level.
correct my mistakes
You Can do short word stress activities with the whole group. For example, read out sentences in which at least one word is incorrectly stressed; the students have to correct you. Alternatively, make it into a game. Divide the class into small teams, then dictate ten Or twelve words with Stress patterns that students often find difficult. They have to write down the words, then in their team decide where the main stress falls on each one. With a pre-intermediate class, suitable words might be:
interesting comfortable Japan necessary computer vegetable opposite variety photographer salary advertisement receptionist word building
Word building tables are a useful way to increase learners' vocabulary, and to revise items by focussing on stress differences, e.g. telephone / telephonisl. Students can work in pairs to complete the table and mark the stress on all the words. Go over the words at the end and provide controlled practice. (Students can test each other.)
subject job u21itics politician economics maths history science architecture music
snap
The common card game 'snap' can be adapted for a number Of linguistic purposes in the classroom, and word stress is one of them. This game is obviously very suitable for younger learners, but adults can also enjoy the game, and it may be a fun way to finish a lesson on a Friday afternoon Or at the end of a long evening lesson. See the following try it out activity.
try it out word stress snap
Choose about thirty words which pose word stress difficulties, and write them on a sheet of paper. Make photocopies of them, then cut them up to create a number of sets of 'cards'. If you look after your cards (laminate them if possible), you can add more each time you play the game and end up with a very large number.
Divide the class into groups of three or four. Provide each group with a set of cards and get one group member to deal out the cards (face down) to the other members of the group.
One student puts down a card face up, and the other students in the group compete against each other to cover the word with another word with the same stress pattern, and shout 'snap' when they do it. So, if one student puts down remember (000), another student could cover it correctly with important or expensive, but not understand (000). The student who puts down a correct word first keeps the two cards in a separate pile, then starts the next round of the game. The winner is the person with the most cards in their separate pile.
intonation
Many learners will freely admit that they find learning prepositions difficult; for teachers. it's often the same with teaching intonation. It is, to say the least. a complex area, and we have often found ourselves in staffrooms where a group of teachers is unable to agree on whether a tone is rising or falling. And if teachers Cannot agree on what they have heard, what chance do learners have?
Rather than try to analyze different tones, it may be easier to look at the impact of the intonation pattern on meaning and mood in interpersonal exchanges. Is this person asking a question or just seeking confirmation? Does that person sound excited? suspicious? interested? bored? We can illustrate such differences in very short dialogues. For example. record the following dialogue in three ways according to the recording instruction:
A Would you like to go out now?
B OK (fairly disinterested) OR
B OK (slightly unsure. i.e. What did you have in mind?) OR B OK (really enthusiastic)
The single word response 'OK' will have a different tone in each case, but it is the mood which learners are most likely to pick up. Play the recording and ask them if 'B' sounds happy / bored / unsure, etc. After they have identified the correct mood, play the recording again. This time, can learners capture and Copy the mood? Then put them in threes. Two students practise the dialogue (B can respond in any way they wish), and the third person in the group has to identify the mood each time. While the groups are working, move round and monitor. If you need to correct, you can do so not by asking for a greater falling Or rising tone. but by asking for more enthusiasm, uncertainty, etc.
to...
This approach of asking learners to respond to a mood and copy it is a procedure we have used quite a lot. Here are two examples:
2 natural English Match a to d with I to 4.
How was your weekend? |
|
It was (1) lovely. How was yours? |
a fine |
It was (2) terrible. |
b great |
It was (3) nice. |
c really bad |
(4) A bit boring |
d not very interesting |
3 pronunciation Listen and copy the intonation. Then practise the conversations with three people.
4 natural Engh•sh pronunciation Listen and practise — copy the intonation.
"eactinga surprising information
That's incredible! That's amazingl
That'S ridiculous! That's just stupid!
5 Look at the pictures. What do you think Of each record? Use the phrases in the natural English box. Tell a partner.
When learners practise dialogues and responses like these, it sometimes helps to ask them to exaggerate their answers. You may think this will make them sound unnatural, but there is wider voice range in English than some other languages, and these learners need to be encouraged to stretch their voice range in order to sound more interested and involved in what they are saying.
conclusion
In this chapter we have looked at:
— some of the issues surrounding 'intelligibility' as a suitable pronunciation goal
— different approaches to pronunciation: as discrete slots; integrated with other language and skills; on-the-spot pronunciation teaching as it arises
— the advantages and disadvantages of teaching phonemic symbols
— guidelines to assist with teaching phonemic symbols
— ideas and activities for the teaching of sounds, stress, and intonation
The maxim 'little and often' probably applies to pronunciation teaching better than anything else. Almost everyone acknowledges its importance but it is easily sidelined when it has to compete with other language input and skills development.
follow up background reading Harmer J (2001) The Practice of English Language reaching Longman
(chapters 2 and 13)
Kenworthy J (1987) Teaching English Pronunciation Longman
Kelly G (2000) How to Teach Pronunciation Longman
Jenkins (2001) The Phonology of English as an International
Language Oxford University Press
Underhill A (1994) Sounds Foundation Macmillan ELT classroom activities
Hancock M (2003) English Pronunciation in Use Cambridge
Press
Hancock M (1995) Pronunciation Games Cambridge University Press
Haycraft B (1994-5) English Aloud 1 and 2 Heinemann
O'Donnell J and Fletcher C (1989) Sounds English Longman nswer key
1 There are many exception'to the first pattern, e:g. a report, uösxupset, but a very high proportion of content Words in English are either monosyllabic or stressed on the (approximately 85%).
2 pedestrian crossing, mbther tbngue
13 We may stress a prefix for emphasis:
A Were you happynbout that?
B No; We Wëré veryunhappy.
Suffixes are Sometimes stressed if they have been borrowed from other languages, e.g. engineez / domineer; maisonette /
J kitchenette,
p.176
Hereare Some Common problems; Qhey may be different fot the nationality lies you work with:
/r./— fer/ /eb' /tri/ piece; steak; Russia; radio; village; statue; place; factory;
/d3/ lei/ Van/ cousin; joke; April; foreign
to
What is that actors name?
2 Have you got Anna's rubber?
3 1 think the green car is David's. 5.1 [C] Singular Plural [U] Uncountable
4 When is your mother's birthday? apple sausages milk
4 aren't
6 re
7 isn't
8 aren't
10 re
1.2 isn't
2 're not
3 •snot
4 're not
5 isn't
1.3
2 an
1.4 Is she a business student? No, she isn't.
2 Are they from England? Yes, they are.
3 Is he married? No, he isn't.
4 Are you in this class? Yes, I am. 5 Is she a doctor? Yes, she is.
2.1 •s / has
2 've I have
3 Has
4 Have; have
5 's/ has
2.2 I 's got
2 hasn't got
3 hasn't got
4 's got
5 hasn't got
6 's got
7 've got haven't got
9 'vegot
10 hasn't got
2.3 lessons
2 countries passports 4 classes businessmen
6 nationalities
7 magannes
8 people
9 families
10 boxes
2.4 That
2 This
These 4 Those
5 That
2.5 1 is
2 possessive
3 is
4 possessive has
sandwich rolls ham unit three butter
toast
3.1 come jam
2 speak
5.2
3 live I work
2 somc
4
take
4 some
3.2 Do you come from Spain? an; an 2 Do you speak Spanish and English?
Do you live in Madrid? 5.3 Have you got any bread?
4 Do you work in an office? 2 We haven't got any pasta.toast for breakfast.
Do you take the train to work? 3 I usually have some brothers or sistcrs?
4 Has he got any
3.3 I don't come from Spain. Do you want any apples? 2 I don't speak Spanish and English. 6 want some jam.
3 1 don't live / work in Madrid. 7 Would you like a ham sandwich?
4 I don't work in an office. 8 I don't eat any butter.
5 don't take the train to work. 9 Do you read any newspapers at the
3.4weekend?
10 I never buy any coffee.
5.4 What can you eat or drink here?
Can you help me. please?
They can't understand you.
3.5 I When do you leave the flat? 4 A Can she give you S 100?
2 HOW far is it? B No, she can't.
3 Why do you play football? He can't work on Saturday, because he 4 Where do you live? always plays football, but he can work 5 How do they get there? on Sunday.
3.6 I watching
2 listening
3 studying
6.1 were
4 going 2 was
5 living
were
3.7 She never watches videos. 4 were
2 She does a lot of work in the mornings. was
She studies German. 6 Were
4 She goes there a lot. 7 was: were
She walks to work. was
3.8 She doesn't live in Germany. 9 was
2 He doesn't cat fish. I O Were
3 She doesn't play tennis. |
6.2 |
I Lucy wasn't very happy at school. |
4 He doesn't speak German. |
|
2 We weren't late for class this morning. |
5 She doesn't drink wine. |
|
The rood was nice but the waiters weren't friendly. |
unit four 4 The film wasn't very interesting.
Why weren't you in class yesterday?
4.1 I She is always tired.
2 1 usually leave home at eight. 6.3 I worked
She hardly ever listens to music. 2 played 4 They don't usually work on Saturday. 3 lived
5 1 never get home before six. 4 studied
5 liked
4.2 our
6.4 I I met her brother last year.
2 my; your her had eggs for breakfast this morning.
2 He
4 his 3 1 thought Joao was at home, but he wasn 't.
5 its
6 my She got up at 9.00 this morning. so she
4 was late for work.
7 their
8 her 5 1 saw him at the party last week.
10 their Photocopiable Oxford University Press 2006 181 |
9 his
unit seven
7.1 They didn't take the bus home.
2 She didn't get married last year. HC didn't leave home when he was eighteen.
4 I didn't grow up in Switzerland.
5 1 didn't study German at school.
7.2 did you go
2 did you meet
Did you watch 4 did you work
5 did you wash
7.3 Dictionaries arc very useful.
Eggs arc nice tor breakfast.
Museums aren't open in (he evening.
People go shopping at the weekend. Children start school at five.
7.4 1 me
2 him
4 her
5 them unit eight
8.1 1 How many? 2 How much?
3 How much?
4 How many? How much?
6 How much?
7 How many?
8 How much?
9 How many?
10 How much?
8.2 1 There's a
Is thcre any
3 There's an
4 Arc there any
There are Some
6 (s there a
7 Is there a
8 There isn't any
5 -1,
unit ten 12.3What's she wearing today?
2 Arc they having lunch now?
10.2 1 He didn't do anything. 3 I'm not working today. 2 We didn't buy anything. 4 We're not We aren't staying long.
3 1 didn't see anything.What's he doing at the moment?
4 Shc didn't drink anything. 12.4 1 rains
HC didn't tell her anything. 2 's studying
10.3anything; nothing 3 go
2 anyone; no one 4 play anything; nothing 5 's speaking
4 anyone; no one 6 come from
5 anything; nothing 7 are you doing
10.4Yes, everyone knows her. 8 wears
11.1 1 smaller than 2 hotter than friendlier than
4 correct Where are you going to live next year? better than 2 What's he going to do after school?
6 correct 3 She's not / She isn't going to buy that 7 cheaper than
8 bigger than 4 When's / is Julia going to Romania?
9 taller than 5 1'm not going to go by car.
10 noisier than 6 Are they going to stay at home
11.2Jim's nicer than David. tonight?
2 Tokyo's more expensive than Paris. 7 Are they going to work now?
Water's bettcr lor you than coffee. B No, they're not/ they aren't.
4 Africa's bigger than South America. 8 They're going to get married next year. In cities, flats are more common than 9 She's / is going to learn Japanese next
houses. yea r.
10 Are James and Fred going to the cinema?
11.3 1 She bought the most expensive picture in the shop. 13.3 2 1 live in the cheapest part of the city.
13.4 1 'm going to
2 might
're going to
4 might
3 It's the most dangerous part of the town.
5 Caroline was the most beautiful girl in our school. 11.4 1 the best |
4 He bought the most comfortable shoes in the shop.
2 the most expensive
3 the nearest 5 might
4 the worst the most important
11.5 1 go 14.1 1 eaten
2 visit 2 lived
9.2havc to 3 go 3 left
4 watch 4 gone
2 don't have
to 5 take run
has to
12.1 1 leaving 2 doing watching 4 making waiting 6 pu tting 7 starting 8 stopping |
4 doesn't have to6 donc don't have to unit twelve 7 made
8 broken
9.3 correct
9 drunk 2 Can I pay you tomorrow? 10 forgotten 3 You don't have to buy tea.
4 He can't go to the bank now. 14.2Has she been to South America?
5 She doesn't have to work today. 2 Has he ever stayed in an expensive hotel?
3 Has she ever broken her leg?
10.1 2 HC can run very well. 4 Has he read many books in English?
|
9 writing |
5 He can't play chess very well. |
10 slccping |
6 He can speak English vcry well. |
12.2 1 Where are you living now? 2 I'm not working today. |
He can't sing very well.Has she ever written a short story?
4 He can play the guitar vcry well
They are sitting in the kitchen.
4 He isn't having lunch.
4 They aren't studying at the moment.
Photocopiable Oxford University Press 2006
Hays you ever EQrked in Japan?
B No, I hay_ena. but I'd like to.
Has she ever her arm?
B Yes, she has, but it was a long time ago.
Has he ever made bread at home?
B No, he hasna, but there's always a first time.
4 A Haye you eaten Thai food? B Yes. I hay-e. It's fantastic.
Haye they in America before?
B Yes, I think they hay-e•
14.4 1 She has met my uncle before.
2 Did you go to the cinema last night?
3 What did you do last weekend?
4 1 have never met anyone famous. 5 They saw Jon at the airport yesterday.
Photocopiabte @ Oxford University Press 2006 183
natural Englis So tell me about
natural English
Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman have combined their expertise in vocabulary development with their own research into syllabus design to create a course which helps to promote a more natural use of language. Ruth and Stuart piloted communicative activities with elementary students and higher level learners to see what language knowledge and 'coping strategies' the higher level learners had been able to achieve. Structured around extended speaking activities, the resulting course teaches practical language, skills, and strategies.
What's different about it?
Grammar, vocabulary, and natural English
You'll find the familiar areas of grammar and vocabulary, with a new syllabus area called natural English - a collection of accessible, frequently-used English phrases for elementary learners, and how to use them.
Get better at listening and speaking!
All four skills are covered, of course, but speaking and listening are the most prominent. There's an emphasis on how to use real language: activities with thinking and rehearsal time, confidence-building practice, training in interaction skills, and task-centred speaking. Extra pronunciation and listening sections help students develop their listening skills.
In the teacheffs book . . .
Ruth and Stuart's specially designed lesson plans talk you through the material, giving classroom management tips and cultural information, suggesting extra ideas, and anticipating language problems.
And there are five teacher development chapters:
how touse the board how to develop learner independence how tocommunicate with low-level learners how toselect, organize, and present vocabulary at lower levels how to .help low-level learners with pronunciation
At elementary level . . .
• studenft book • teacher's book • workbook and workbook with key
• reading and writing skills resource book • test booklet
• two class cassettes/ audio CDs, student's audio CD
Online, the teache(s site, www.oup.com/elt/teacher/naturalenglish, provides extra classroom activities, downloadable resources for the teacher, teacher training packs, and links to the student's site.
On the student's site, www.oup.com/elt/naturalenglish, you'll find interactive resources, revision and extension activities, and specially selected web links.
UNIVERSITY PRESS
www.oup.com/elt
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