TP6
Lower Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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To enable students to use functional language accurately and fluently for asking and giving directions.
Subsidiary Aims
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To clarify the meaning, form, and pronunciation of the target language related to directions. (In the M(A)FP stage)
Procedure (33-41 minutes)
First, I will start by showing a picture of a city map or a street with different landmarks (like a grocery store, post office, parks, butchery etc) If the class consists of more than two students then I will ask everyone the following question: “Have you ever been lost in a city? What did you do?” If the class only consists of less than 3 students then I will ask additional questions to the first one: What phrases do you know to ask for directions? And questions like: "Where is...?" "How do I get to...?" To end and connect this stage with the next, I will mention that when situations like this it is important to ask and give directions. I will continue to tell them that the lesson for today will be about asking for and giving directions.
Students will go into breakout rooms in pairs. They will have 5 minutes to have the written conversation and think about and answer with their partners the questions that follow: Conversation: Student A: Excuse me, how do I get to the train station? Student B: Go straight ahead and take the first left. The station will be on your right. Student A: Thanks! Is it far? Student B: No, it is just around the corner. Questions: What is Student A asking for?" Student A is asking how to get to the train station "What directions does Student B give?" Student B gives directions about the route (go straight, turn left, and the station is on the right). After the 5 minutes students will come back to the main room and I will ask a few of them to share with the class what the answers to their questions are. Afterwards I will follow asking the rest of the students to share the phrases that they think are useful for asking for and giving directions.
Meaning: To practice meaning in 2 minutes I will share a few typical phrases for giving or getting directions like: Ok, guys, we will be looking at the following phrases. With your partner you have to decide what the meaning of the phrase is. There is only one possible answer so think carefully: Excuse me, how do I get to...?" "Can you tell me the way to...?" "Go straight ahead." "Turn left/right." "It is just around the corner." I will ask them to go out into breakout rooms for 5 minutes and answer in(using google forms) in groups what they think each phrase means, we will go over the first question together. What does How do I get to the station? mean? What is the meaning of turn left/right? When someone says it’s just around the corner, what does that tell you? *If there are less than 3 students then we will do this activity by matching writing a definition in their own words and matching it with a phrase* depending on the pace of the class. After, Form: I will break down the structure of the phrases: "How do I get to...?" (question form, asking for directions) "Go straight ahead" (imperative sentence, giving directions) "Turn left/right" (imperative, command) "It is just around the corner" (informal way to explain distance) Then we will practice on creating the sentences for each type of form: Question form: Subject + verb + object (How do I get to...?) Imperative form: Verb + object (Go straight ahead, Turn left/right) Expressing distance: It is just around the corner. If it is a bigger class they will separate into breakout rooms and write their answers on their notebook or on their computer. If there are 2 students or less I will write their sentences on the board. Finally, For pronunciation we will turn off the microphones and as a group repeat the phrases of the conversation on the slide. I will tell them that I will be reading their lips and individually I will call on students to practice pronunciation. I will ask volunteers to read the parts of conversation out loud with the whole class. I will focus on emphasizing the importance of the stress in words for example in "great, thank you!" it is totally different to say great without stress which makes it sound sarcastic as of in a positive way that makes it sound greatful. I will model and drill the pronunciation of key phrases (paying attention to word stress and intonation, especially in questions). Also, I will focus on the rhythm of phrases like "How do I get to..." and the natural intonation in the imperative commands like "Turn left/right."
For the control practice, we will breakout into rooms again and we will work in pairs to fill in the gaps in google forms: Student A: "____ do I get to the post office?" Student B: "Go straight ahead and take the first left." Student A: "Is it far?" Student B: "No, it is______________." Student A: "Thank you!" Afterwards we all come back to the main room and check the answers as a class and ask them to practice the dialogue with the correct answers. I will take the opportunity to pay attention that there is accuracy in the form.
Finally, we go into breakout rooms one last time to practice what we have learned. I will set up a role-play activity where students will practice asking for and giving directions. I will pair students and give them a map of a fictional city or a set of landmarks. One student asks for directions (using phrases like "How do I get to...?", "Can you tell me the way to...?") and the other gives directions (using "Go straight ahead", "Turn left/right", etc.). I will be going into the different rooms to provide feedback on fluency and accuracy as needed. This will take about 8 minutes. Finally students will come back to share questions and comments and proceed to thank everyone and end with the class.