Firstly, let me start by acknowledging the influence of Jimbo's English Teaching in Japan Blog. I saw his blog and realised that I could get alot more out of my job if I experimented more and tried to improve my methodology. Lets say I was inspired to be a better ALT.
I was interested in Jimbo's discussions of Task Based Learning. He uses the following definition for the word "task".
" A task is an activity in which a person engages in order to attain an objective, and which necessitates the use of language."
(Van den Branden, K. (Ed.) (2006). Task Based Language Education: From theory to practice. CUP.) Quoted in Jimbo's Blog. Here
I am just a lowly amateur but I have decided to adapt the Page 56 of the Oral Communication text-book "Birdland" into a task based activity. The chapter is entitled Habits/Customs and the first page sees the main characters Shin and the overly prudent exchange student Lisa in conversation.
L "Shin, what time do you usually go to bed?"
S "I usually go to bed at around Two O'clock"
L "Two O'clock? What do you do until so late"
S " I usually study until midnight. Then I watch TV"
L "Don't you think you should go to bed a bit earlier? I have to go to bed before midnight?
This is the relevant part of the dialogue which I want to build from. The Target Language is in bold. Lets get into my plan!
THE TASK
Negotiate together only in English and fill out a 'Dream' daily routine.
The students will work in a group of four. They must create a new "Typical Day" for themselves. This new schedule will be their 'Dream Schedule' and should include daily activities which all members like. They must fill out a schedule in English. It must include contributions from all members of the group and they can only talk in English!
LESSON PLAN
Greet Students etc.
Ask a few random questions about their routine.
LISTENING ONE
---------------
Read the dialougue with from page 56 with JTE
Students to listen and they must cover the conversation.
Read Questions
Then Repeat Dialougue
Then Check answers.!
KARUTA USING TARGET LANGUAGE AND VOCAB
Organise the Students into groups of four. They should join their desks together and sit at one big table made from their joined desks.
Each table is supplied with a set of flash cards with the following cards.
Students at this level SHOULD know all of these words. If not I will be sure to pre-teach them the next time.
Everyday Actions: Take a bath, take a shower, go to school, wash hands, play soccer, walk the dog, brush teeth, wash hair, play the recorder, go to bed, exercise, play cards, eat dinner, study
THESE CARDS ARE FROM ESL FLASHCARDS.COM, Click Here
Adverbs of Frequency: Sometimes , Always, Occasionally, Usually Click Here
Times of day: 6.00 AM 7.00 AM . 8.30 AM , 11.00 AM, 12.35 PM, 7.00 PM, 3.35 PM, 9.00 PM 12.00 AM
1) Students spread the flash-cards around the desk. Face Up or Face down it doesnt matter. It should look like this.
2) I read a sentence using the Target Language
eg They always study at 7.00 PM.
I always get dressed at 6.00 AM
I usually take a bath at 9.00 PM
We sometimes play soccer at 11.30 AM
I always go to school at 8.30 AM
We usally cook dinner at 7.00
I always go to bed at 7.30
Students must pick out the study card, 7.00 PM and Always. They will be racing the other groups
They then all stand up
First three groups will get 3,2,1 point respectivly!
At the end I get everyone to repeat the sentence.
Part II - PREPARING FOR THE TASK
LISTEN AND WRITE
=================
In this activity, the students will work individually. They will listen to a model conversation which will be a model for what I want them to produce to complete their task. They will listen twice and fill out this sheet.
A) So,.. What time shall we wake up?
B) Lets wake up at 7.30
A) No, I want to wake up at 8.00
B) Ok lets do that
A) I want to go shopping every day
B) oh ok, what time shall we go shopping
A) Lets go shopping after dinner?
B) What time do we have dinner?
A) We always have dinner at 6.30
A) I want to play sports at 1.00
B) No we are studying at 1.00 until 2.00
A) Ok
Draw Attention to Useful Phrases which are stuck the wall
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following phrases will be stuck to the black board using magnets.
What time shall we _______________
I want to _________________
Yes
No
Ok
First
Next
Lets wake up at 7.00
TASK (Decide on a Dream Schedule) Dream Schedule Sheet here
MUST INCLUDE: Study, wake up, go to sleep, clean house. PLUS FOUR MORE
1)Explain to the students their task
2) Each group member must contribute one idea.
3) It is not a holiday so they must include activities like school or job.
4) THEY CANT SPEAK JAPANESE. THEY MUST USE ENGLISH TO COMPLETE THE TASK
5) They must write a summary of their new daily schedule in the bottom. The summary should be similar in style to the summary on page 58 of Birdland.
Ok thats all for now. This was hastily and definitely not perfect. It took me ages to make the flash-cards.
I will let you know how it goes.............
No comments:
Post a Comment