Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies (27 page)

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Template 1 – Essay highlighting advantages and disadvantages.

Paragraph 1:

Introduction

Topic sentence (general theme of the text)

Overview of what will follow

Paragraph 2:

The advantages

Topic sentence

Advantage A

Supporting points/ examples

Advantage B

Supporting points/ examples

Paragraph 3:

The disadvantages

Topic sentence

Disadvantage A

Supporting points/ examples

Disadvantage B

Supporting points/ examples

Paragraph 4:

Conclusion

Summary of the essay in different words.

Figure 11-1:

A template

Say which view I take

for a stan-

dard essay

You can make a practice activity worksheet out of the template by asking the class to put each heading in the right order until they achieve the appropriate layout.

If you combine this kind of template with some key vocabulary, the students will be in a great position to complete the task effectively.

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165

Subject: .............................................................................................................

Greeting:

Paragraph 1:

How are things?

Topic sentence

Details and examples

Paragraph 2:

The holiday

Topic sentence

Details and examples

Paragraph 3:

Plans to meet

Topic sentence

Details and examples

Paragraph 4:

Closing comments

I look forward to ....................

Closing Salutation:

Figure 11-2:

Structuring

Name:

an informal

email.

Setting the writing task and explaining

the stages

After preparing the students’ minds for the task, you need to tell them what it is, whether they will be working alone or collaborating with someone else, and how long they have to complete it.

Student follow three stages when writing: The first is drafting or planning, the second is actually writing and the third is reviewing. I cover each in the following sections.

Thinking through the drafting stage

For the first stage, drafting, students have already considered how to use a template to good effect (see ‘Building structure’ a bit earlier in the chapter), but still need time to gather their ideas. At this stage the student should also make sure that each aspect of the task will be covered in the text.

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Far too many students pick up a pen, start writing the main text cold and either run out of time or end up with an unsatisfactory piece of work. So although you may meet some resistance when you try to make students take this preparatory stage, it is better than the loss of morale that comes along with continually poor writing.

Set a specific time period for planning so that the students can then pause and compare their ideas. They are likely to notice points their peers have included which they have forgotten about. It also gives you the chance to step in and avert disaster.

Getting stuck in

If you set the task up well, there should be little for you to do at this stage except monitoring – without interrupting too much. Have an occasional look over your students’ shoulders but don’t say a word unless the student is hopelessly lost or asks for advice.

Have dictionaries available to increase the students’ independence. They should not have to depend on you for everything!

Keep the students abreast of the time so that they keep pushing ahead to the end. Students do get stuck on one point or another and end up wasting time, so remind them of where they should be in the task – ‘10 minutes to go! You should be on your conclusion now, ready to review your work.’

Doing final checks

Before handing in their work, students should be reminded to check it through thoroughly. Provide a checklist with points like these if it helps:

✓

Have I answered the question fully?

✓

Have I used the right layout?

✓

Is my spelling correct?

✓

Have I divided my work into appropriate paragraphs?

✓

Have I included an introduction and conclusion?

✓

Is my work clear (that includes good handwriting) and interesting?

Registering the Right Degree of

Formality

The formal word for showing the write degree of formality in English is
register.
It is an aspect of language teaching that you should not overlook. Any errors in this area are particularly noticeable when it comes to writing.

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As a general habit, indicate the register of an expression by writing (f) or (inf), that is formal and informal, after it on the board so that students are aware of how to use it.

Additionally, it is best to highlight expressions which are restricted to writing. For example, a very old lady who is not used to many of the advances in technology left me a telephone message ending with ‘Yours sincerely, Winnie’. Although a native speaker, she had not worked out the appropriate use of register nor whether the language of messages is transferable from letter to telephone. Do not let your students make this mistake.

Table 11-2 shows some basic differences between formal and informal writing to help you get started. In their notebooks, you could get students to set up a table of equivalent formal and informal expressions which they could fill in as they learn them throughout your course.

Table 11-2

Standards for Formal and Informal Writing

Formal Writing

Informal Writing

Never use contractions. Write the whole

Use contractions.

word.

Use verbs derived from Latin.

Use phrasal verbs.

Use passive constructions (eg it is done)

Use active constructions (eg he does it)

Never use slang

Use appropriate slang and common

words.

Table 11-3 shows some formal and informal language to share with your students.

Table 11-3

Formal and Informal Phrases

Formal

Informal

Dear Sir/Madam

Hi!

I appreciate…

Thanks

I would be grateful if you could…

Please could you…

Approximately

About

Due to

Because of

A great deal of

A lot of

Sufficient

Enough

Yours sincerely/faithfully

Best wishes

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Sample writing activities

Writing activities can begin with a single letter

✓ Emails

of the alphabet and later develop into formal,

✓ Formal and informal letters

lengthy texts. Try this list of activity types with

your classes. They can all be done individually

✓ Instruction sheets*

but those marked with an asterisk are also well

✓ Memos

suited to pair and group work.

✓

✓ Notices*. Students can prepare notices

Advertisements*

giving information for use in the classroom,

✓ Application forms

for example about upcoming events.

✓ Articles

✓ Poetry: Get students to write a short poem

✓

or limerick. You can provide a list of rhyming

Biographies

words to help them.

✓ Book/film reviews

✓ Projects*: Students can do more extensive

✓ Composition (setting out an opinion or argu-

work over a period of weeks on one topic.

ment)

They can use English to explore and explain

✓

something which interests them.

CV

✓

✓ Reports: After finding out information on a

Descriptions of a process or diagram

particular topic students can present this in

✓ Dictation. The students write down what

a concise and formal way as though they

the teacher reads aloud to practise their

were giving feedback to an employer.

spelling and punctuation.

✓ Stories

Choose the activities which your students are

most likely to need in the future.

Students who speak Latin-based languages like French and Portuguese tend to favour words of Latin origin instead of more common words and phrases –

‘establish’ rather than’ set up’, for example. This makes them sound too formal at times, so you can work on that with them to sound more casual.

Writing Case Study

Many teachers work in UK during the summer months when youngsters from all over the world descend on language schools expecting to learn English in six weeks and be thoroughly entertained in the process. Here is a lesson I used successfully in one such class.

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✓

Class Profile:
12 teenage students from Taiwan, Spain, Brazil and Turkey.

60 minute lesson

✓

Level:
Upper-Intermediate

✓

Materials:
Two copies of the school rules, tape, a prize, poster-size paper, dictionaries and extra marker pens.

✓

Problems:
Several pupils have illegible handwriting, mostly due to laziness. Most feel that writing is too passive and prefer to do lively activities.

✓

Lesson aims:
To undertake a collaborative writing activity which requires attention to handwriting and general accuracy. To have fun writing.

Get a copy of the school rules. Make sure they are written in words the students can understand or rewrite them to match your pupils’ level. Take the opportunity to embed some key vocabulary or grammar that you want students to notice.

Use normal A4 sized paper so that they cannot read what the document contains unless they are very close up. Prepare two identical copies and stick them to the wall in the classroom.

Then, follow these steps for a successful lesson:

1.

Pre-reading

task
(5 minutes):
Ask the students to brainstorm ideas about what they love/hate about their school back home individually in their notebooks.

Put the pupils in pairs of mixed nationalities to compare ideas.

Use their answers to spark a short class discussion. Find out how many mention rules as something they hate.

2. Writing activity 1-Dictation (30 minutes):
Divide the class into two teams of equal size. Arrange the room so that there is a clear space for them to dash to the wall and then back to prepared desks.

Have the two teams come up with team names and appoint a captain for each to keep order. Give each team a blank sheet of paper.

Explain that, one at a time, a member of each team will run to their copy of the rules, memorise a section without making any notes. They must then dash back to their team’s blank sheet and write down the section they memorised.

Do the title or the first line yourself as an example. Check that everyone understands the process and set a time limit for completing the dictation.

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The exercise continues until the entire document is reproduced accurately.

Whilst the activity is taking place, give encouragement and make sure that the work is legible.

When the teams have finished, award points for speed and accuracy.

Decide on a winner and award a prize.

As a class, discuss what they agree/disagree with from the rules and review the language of rules (do/don’t, must/mustn’t, should/shouldn’t and so on).

3. Writing activity 2 (25 minutes):
Divide the class into four smaller groups. Within these groups students must agree on five things pupils should do and five they should not do when learning English (allow for creative license). Make dictionaries available.

Give each group a large sheet of paper and a couple of markers. Ask them to write up a poster explaining their rules.

When the posters are complete, one representative from each group should give a short presentation explaining it.

Display the posters in class.

Chapter 12

What Accent? Teaching

Pronunciation

In This Chapter

▶ Asking students to ‘repeat after me’

▶ Displaying phonemes

▶ Adding stress

▶ Boosting pronunciation

▶ Getting the tone right

There’s nothing worse than studying a language for years only to find that nobody can understand a word you say. You write with ease but when you open your mouth, you’re met with blank stares. This is the experience of many a student whose teachers underestimated pronunciation skills. So in this chapter, I tell you how to teach good pronunciation.

Repeat after Me

Probably the simplest way of making students pronunciation conscious is by getting them to repeat all the new words they learn as well as the words they find tricky. Before you cringe, erase that picture of students sitting in rows reciting dull and meaningless sentences. Repetition can be incorporated into the normal flow of the lesson and can be used to raise energy levels at any level.