Speaking about memorable events
Upper-Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide fluency speaking practice in storytelling in the context of memorable events
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide review and practice of expressing their feelings in the context of memorable events
Procedure (42-51 minutes)
T introduces himself and welcomes the students who attend the lesson. T leads in the students to the subject of the lesson, which is 'Memorable events' and tells them a story of his most memorable event from the past. The story is about his dream to become a pilot and how amazing the experience of flying small aeroplanes was.
T moves on to the slide with the box presenting different life situations. T tells the students to place the memorable events into the right place of the table. He also asks the students to place the usual events to the other side of the table. S work individually and give their answers on the forum of the class. T fills in the table with the students. Answers: Memorable events: a big football match, a demonstration, a big music festival, a big concert, a wedding of your sister, a special religious celebration, travelling to another country, climbing Kilimanjaro, having a baby, a special party; Everyday life events: shopping with your parents, driving to the post office, going for a walk to the park, making breakfast, taking a shower; T uses BO rooms to allow the students to discuss what memorable events from the list they have both been to. They have a minute. ICQ: Do we talk about the events that both of you have been to or only one person? Both. T conducts OCFB and the students share their answers.
T moves on to the slide with the meaning. T uses a Guided Discovery task where students have to individually decide which events from the six examples given are Positive and which ones are Negative. Then, they have to find a phrase that indicates their guess and place it in the correct column. S make their guesses and work on the task for about 2 minutes. T fills in the correct answers together with the students. 1a) Hello Matt, how was your grandma’s birthday last week? b) Hey George, it was extremely exhausting. I wanted to leave but my parents told me to stay till the end. 2a) Hello Sir, this is Ticket.com customer service. How do you feel about the Rolling Stones concert last week? b) Oh hi! It was the best event I have ever been to! 3a) Did you enjoy the demonstration last week? b) I am not quite sure. There were a lot of people but it went on for a bit too long. 4a) I heard that Real Madrid won the Spanish championship last Friday. b) Oh, man! I was there. It was absolutely fascinating! We celebrated with their fans till the late hours. 5a) Hi Sarah, I heard you were in Kenya last summer. Did you climb Kilimanjaro? b) Hello there, yes, we went with my husband. But I have to say it was rather disappointing. The view is not that spectacular. 6a) What did you like about your trip to Thailand, Max? b) It was very nice in general, but what I liked most about it was diving into very deep caves with crystal-clear water. Answers: 1. Negative. It was extremely exhausting 2. Positive. It was the best event I have ever been to! 3. Negative. It went on for a bit too long 4. Positive. It was absolutely fascinating! 5. Negative. It was rather disappointing. 6. Positive. What I liked most about it was diving T moves on to the slide with the CCQs and asks the students on the forum of the class to answer those questions. This stage of the meaning is to make sure that the students understood the meaning of the TL. CCQs: It was extremely exhausting. Are we tired after experiencing this? Yes. Was it a positive or a negative experience? More negative. It was the best event I have ever been to. Were there any better events I have been to? No. It went on for a bit too long. Did it take longer than I wanted? Yes. Was it boring? Yes. It was absolutely fascinating. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did it take all my attention? Yes. It was rather disappointing. Was it as good as I expected it to be? No. Did I like this experience? No. What I liked most about it was diving... Did I like any other things more during this event? No. T moves on to the slide with the pronunciation. T uses a Guided Discovery task where students have to predict the sentence stress and intonation based on two examples given and filled in by the teacher beforehand. T does this exercise with the students on the forum of the class. Answers: 2. Stressed words: went, bit, too, long. The intonation is rising and falling. 3. Stressed words: extremely, exhausting. The intonation is rising and falling. 5. Stressed words: best, event, ever, been. The intonation is rising. 6. Stressed words: liked, most, diving. The intonation is rising. T asks two more Guided questions about the intonation patterns. Answers: We use rising and falling intonation when we say things without interest. We use rising intonation when we say things with enthusiasm.
There are 3 tasks during this stage of the lesson if the time allows. T moves on to the slide of the presentation that contains Task 1. Task 1: Ask your partner about the most memorable event he or she has attended in their life and how they felt about it. Use a positive experience. Choose one of the events from the lesson or think of your example. T gives instructions to the students on how to complete the task. ICQ: Do we talk about a positive or about a negative experience? Positive. T puts the students into the BO rooms. S work in pairs on the task. They have about 4 minutes. 2 minutes per student. T monitors students' work by listening to their stories in the BO rooms. T moves on to the second task of the practice. Task 2: Ask your partner about the most memorable event they have attended in their life and how they felt about it. Use a negative experience. Choose one of the events from the lesson or think of your example. T gives instructions to the students on how to complete the task. ICQ: Do we talk about a positive or about a negative experience? Negative. T puts the students into the BO rooms. S work in pairs on the task. They have about 4 minutes. 2 minutes per student. T monitors students' work by listening to their stories in the BO rooms. T moves on to the last task. If time allows. Task 3: Choose one of your partners’ events that you found most interesting and tell a short description of this event to the class. S give short descriptions of the events they have found the most attractive, funny etc.
T moves on to the last slide where he makes notes on the language and the content of the students' work from the lesson. T gives suggestions on better language that could have been used during the lesson. T gives suggestions on better content that could have been used during the lesson. Each stage takes about 4 minutes. S repeat the suggestions of the teacher on the forum of the class.