Second Conditional / Improbable Events
Pre-Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide practice of 2nd conditional in the context of improbable events
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide fluency and accuracy speaking practice in a conversation in the context of ghost stories
Procedure (37-45 minutes)
We'll start with the animal theme introduced by James. I'll draw an elephant on the WB and ask about favourite animals and if they could choose, which one they would like to be? We will then work through the grammar with the following questions: "Is the question about a real situation or an unreal situation? (unreal) (is there a big possibility of you becoming an animal? no - unreal) Is the question about now or the past? What tense is used in the If-clause? (time = now / tense = past simple) To show that the situation is unreal, use past tense." Drill with "If I was an animal, I’d be an ______ ." "If she was an animal, she'd be an _____"
We'll try to get the class to fill up an incomplete If-clause on the WB - a famous person (politician, pop star, etc) / a fictional character - … who would you like to be? (quick round of pair work) - fairy tale, soap opera, harry potter. This will be done in PW. We will get some feedback (if x was a famous person, who would he/she be?). Extension option: if they are good/bored I will try getting them to imagine who they think their partner would be.
I'll introduce ghosts and haunted houses with a picture and demo the exercise with "If you (can) ____ talk to a ghost, who (you choose) _____ ?", then give them the hand-out and let them discuss the questions with each other ("find out who wants to come back as a ghost", "find out which ghost they would like to talk to"). This controlled exercise will provide some written practice.
I will introduce the lexis for deserted village (using a picture of the desert) and earthquake, relating it to flood and the overall subject of natural disasters. Then try to move from the subject of earthquakes ("Do they often happen in Turkey?") to my not having been around the country much, but that I would like to (TL). I'll give the students a short text about Kayaköy after asking them whether they have been there before (practicing TL from last course) and ask them to read to answer the questions "What is special about Kayaköy?" and "If you could, would you like to go there?". After reading the text, they will flip the hand-out over to find some questions to discuss with each other. We will get feedback on this.