Juan Pablo Suarez Riano Juan Pablo Suarez Riano

Ways to give emphasis
Upper intermediate - B2 level

Description

In this interactive and student-centered lesson, learners will engage with different ways of adding emphasis to their speech in English. The focus will be on the use of intensifiers such as "absolutely," "completely," "really," "so," "far," and "such." The lesson will also cover the use of auxiliary verbs for emphasis, cleft sentences, emphatic questions, and the specific usage of "so" and "such" for intensification.

Materials

Abc Google forms link
Abc Google slides presentation

Main Aims

  • To provide clarification, review and practice of ways to give emphasis in the context in certain situations.

Subsidiary Aims

  • To facilitate comfort and fluency in using emphatic English expressions in conversations.
  • To enhance the ability to comprehend spoken English and identify emphasized expressions.
  • To develop skills for understanding written English and context.
  • To expand vocabulary with a focus on intensifiers and emphatic expressions.
  • To improve understanding and usage of certain grammatical structures for emphasis.

Procedure

Warmer/Lead-in (3-5 minutes) • To set lesson context and engage students

1. Introduce the Topic: Begin by introducing the topic to the class - "Different ways of giving emphasis". Give a brief explanation of what it means to emphasize something in language. 2. Setting Up the Task: Explain to the learners that they will be talking about a common situation related to losing things. Write or display the question - "Do you often lose things? What? What about the people you live with?" and clarify any vocabulary or grammar issues if necessary. 3. Break Out Rooms: Divide the students into small teams and send them into breakout rooms. Instruct each team to discuss their experiences regarding the given topic. Ask them to focus on the types of language or phrases they use when they are emphasizing something. 4. Monitoring: During the breakout room discussions, visit each room to monitor and provide assistance if needed. Encourage students to use the target language - different ways of giving emphasis - during their discussions. 5. Feedback: At the end of the five minutes, bring everyone back to the main session. Ask each group to share some of their thoughts or experiences. Highlight any particularly good use of language and clarify any common mistakes or misunderstandings.

Exposure (8-10 minutes) • To provide context for the target language through a text or situation

1. Gist Task (3 minutes): • Introduce Ex 1 and inform learners that they will listen to a conversation between two characters, Hannah and Dan. • Tell them their task is to answer the question "What has Hannah lost?" which is available on Google Forms. • Play the audio (or read the conversation aloud) without interruptions. • After listening, learners fill in their answers in the Google Form. 2. Pair work (2 minutes): • After learners have submitted their answers individually, ask them to compare answers with a partner in Break Out Rooms. • Instruct students to discuss any areas of disagreement and come to a consensus. 3. Open Class Feedback (1 minute): • Call the class back together and discuss the answer as a group, highlighting any interesting points from the discussion. 4. Intensive Listening Task (2 minutes): • Introduce Ex 2. Ask students to listen again to the conversation, this time focusing on the missing words that provide emphasis. • Share the instructions and questions for the intensive listening task through Google Forms. The task is to write in the missing words in the conversation and analyze the effect of these words. Questions include: "Does the conversation make sense without these words? What effect do these words have?"

Clarification (8-10 minutes) • To clarify the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language

Introduction (1 minute): Introduce the concept of 'giving emphasis' in English, highlighting the different ways this can be done: through intensifiers, auxiliary verbs, cleft sentences, emphatic questions, and the use of 'so' and 'such'. Meaning and Form (4 minutes): Ask learners to access the provided text on Google Slides or Google Forms and read through the descriptions and examples of different ways of giving emphasis. During this time, circulate virtually to check understanding and offer assistance as needed. Check Understanding (2 minutes): After students have read the provided materials, conduct Concept Check Questions (CCQs) to assess understanding. Ask questions like: "What kind of words are 'absolutely', 'completely', 'really', 'so'? When do we use them?", "What is a cleft sentence? Can you give an example?", "What does 'so' and 'such' emphasize in a sentence?" etc. Pronunciation (3 minutes): Highlight the pronunciation aspects of the target language. Demonstrate how the emphasis changes the sentence stress. Play audio examples of sentences with emphasis (you could record these in advance) and ask students to listen carefully to the stress and intonation. Interactive Practice (2 minutes): Share a Google Forms link where learners are asked to rewrite sentences, giving emphasis using the structures they've learned. This interactive activity gives learners an opportunity to apply their knowledge and to check their understanding.

Controlled Practice (8-10 minutes) • To concept check and prepare students for more meaningful practice

1. Introduction (1 minute): • Introduce the controlled practice activity to the learners. Explain that they will match sentences and then modify the sentences to make them more emphatic. • Share the link to the Google Forms where they will complete the task. 2. Individual Work (2 minutes): • Students complete the matching and modification tasks individually on the Google Forms. • As they work, move around the virtual room (if possible), checking their progress, clarifying doubts and offering assistance as needed. 3. Peer Check (1 minute): • After the students complete the individual tasks, ask them to send their answers to a peer via private messages in the chat box. This step encourages cooperative learning and peer feedback. 4. Class Feedback (1 minute): • Bring the class back together and ask some volunteers to share their answers. Confirm the correct answers and provide the correct emphasis for each sentence. Answer any questions or clarify any difficulties that came up during the activity.

Free Practice (8-10 minutes) • To provide students with free practice of the target language

1. Introduction (1 minute): • Introduce the controlled practice activity to the learners. Explain that they will match sentences and then modify the sentences to make them more emphatic. • Share the link to the Google Forms where they will complete the task. 2. Individual Work (2 minutes): • Students complete the matching and modification tasks individually on the Google Forms. • As they work, move around the virtual room (if possible), checking their progress, clarifying doubts and offering assistance as needed. 3. Peer Check (1 minute): • After the students complete the individual tasks, ask them to send their answers to a peer via private messages in the chat box. This step encourages cooperative learning and peer feedback. 4. Class Feedback (1 minute): • Bring the class back together and ask some volunteers to share their answers. Confirm the correct answers and provide the correct emphasis for each sentence. Answer any questions or clarify any difficulties that came up during the activity.

Feedback and Delayed Error Correction (2-5 minutes) • To promote learner autonomy and reinforce correct language use by addressing common errors.

1. Observation (2 minutes): • While the students are performing the role-play, observe and take notes of their use of the language, particularly their use of the emphasis phrases, noting down both good examples and errors for later feedback. 2. Positive Feedback (1 minute): • Start by praising the class for their efforts and highlighting some of the excellent uses of the emphasis phrases that you noted. 3. Delayed Error Correction (2 minutes): • Show the errors you noted without mentioning who made them. Elicit corrections from the class. If nobody can correct an error, provide the correction yourself. Explain the corrections as necessary.

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