ABOUT COMMUNICATION

A TD PRESENTATION

RICARDO CHAVEZ

From: Spratt Mary: Language for the Teacher CUP

STARTERWhat might these animals be saying to each other?

Communicating something? Are they communicating?

Look at the list below and tick those things which humans use to communicate:

Then compare your answers with a partner: Style of dress Gestures Listening Facial expressions Accurate use of language structures Eye movements

Which of these items contribute most to communication?

Number the five most important: Body posture Fluency Hair Style Vocabulary Behaviour Accent

Reading If your students of English went on an exchange

trip to an English speaking country for a month, which aspect of their communication in English would you expect to improve most? Choose from the list below and then discuss your choices with a partner.

Accent Vocabulary Fluency Accuracy in use of language structures Other (specify)

Look at the words below; put a * above the stressed syllable in each word or group of words

a) Exchange trip

b) Performance

c) Accent

d) Accuracy

e) Fluency

f) Vocabulary

g) Structures

h) Average

i) Improvement

j) adjectives

Explain the meaning of the words as if you were doing so to a group of intermediate students.

Read the article again and complete the chart below which summarises the research:

Number of pupils tested

Number of groups in study

Age range of groups

Amount of overall language improvement after stay of:-A month-Less than a month

Improvements in:FluencyAccuracyVocabularyAccent

Just over 100

15-19%

Talking points Talk about one or two of the points below with a

partner: Do any of these research findings surprise you? Why do you think accent seems to improve less

than other aspects of communication What benefits might you yourself get out of an

exchange trip? Discuss the benefits of any exchange trips you

have heard about.

ListeningA teacher might introduce a listening text with the following instructions: read them and fill in the blanks

“OK, now this time we’re going to listen a)______ the excerpt again but in greater detail. I want b)___ to c)___ the summary of the excerpt as you listen. OK? That’s right, fill d) ____ the blanks in the passage.”

“Now, before you listen again, e)___ you read the summary to make f)___ you understand it and to know what you’re listening g)___? If there are any words you don’t understand, just h)___me.”

Conclusions Look at the list of

the kinds of activities in this unit and find them and complete the columns. Discuss your answers with a partner.

What can you conclude from your answers?

Activity No

Enjoy Most

Useful

Reading for detail

Wk on word stress

Fluency pract.

Gap-filling

summarising

Opinion gap

Self awareness Act

Assessing written work Read the student composition. What is it

about? Correct the mistakes underlined in the

composition Why do you think the student made

mistakes a, c, e, f and g?

Grammar Complete the following

explanations which contrast three tenses:

‘When you’re talking about states or actions that only took place in a)___ and are now completely b)___, you c)___ the past simple tense. You only use the past perfect d)___ when there are two consecutive states or actions, and you want to stress that the e)___ one happened b fore the other.’

‘When you want to talk about habitual or continuig f)___ or states in the past you use the g)___ simple tense or used to. You only use the past continuous tense for past actions or h)___ that were i)___ as something else happened, that is, for background actions or states.’

The past simple

and past perfect tenses

The past simple and

past continuous

Explaining students:

Would any of the following students find the abovwe explanations helpful?

a. A teenage intermediate students with a little formal knowledge of grammar

b. An adult intermediate student with a good formal knowledge of grammar.

c. An adult intermediate student with no formal knowledge of grammar.

Discuss:- Are grammatical explanations helpful to students?- Would you correct all the mistakes in the composition you

read before, before returning it to the student? If not, which mistakes would you correct? Why? How?

Writing. Read this part of a letter from a T friend who is studying

Spanish

Write a letter replying to Sandra but stating your feelings about your present course.

I’m thinking of giving up my course – I don’t seem to be Making any progress. I can’t speak fluently or really understandRadio or TV programmes. I don’t know if I can wait six months

Before I go to Spain next year – I feel so discouraged now.What did you find helpful? I’d appreciate any tips!

Anyway, take care! Love Sandra.

Reading: Pre-reading: The pictures in your handout

illustrate the different stages of two consecutive language lessons. Look at them and, with a partner, work out what is going on in each picture.

Now read the passage in the HO which describes the two lessons. Were you and your partner right?

Vocabulary work: Look at the passage again. What is meant

in f) by: ‘spot remedial teaching.’ ‘a follow-up lesson?’• Look at the list below. Match the verbs on

the left with the nouns on the right. Some verbs may be matched with more than one noun:

activitya) To get into the teacher

b) To hold a recording

c) To consult a closed circle

d) To play back unfamiliar words

e) To write up remedial teaching

f) To play through a conversation

g) To do

* Now look at the pictures again and, describe to a partner what is happening in each stage of the lesson. Make notes, if you wish.

Talking points: Talk about one or two of the points below

with your partners: Have you ever experiences problems like

George’s? If so, what techniques did you use to cope?

Do you see yourself as ‘a performer, an entertainer’?

Do you see teaching as a vocation? Why?

Grammar: the habitual past Read the following sentences. Can used to and would be

interchanged? Could the past simple tense be used instead?

a. I used to work in a primary schoolb. At the beginning of my teaching career I would spend hours

and hours preparing lessons. Read the grammar rules below. Are they true of false? If

they are false correct them.a. Used to is used to contrast past habiltual actions, states or

situations with very remote past ones.b. Would, when used to refer to the past, is only used for

repeated past actions, not states or situations.* Tell your partner about what you used to do, or would do, in

your early days as a teacher.

Speaking Complete the chart about yourself I note form. Compare and discuss your answers with a partner using

the following expressions. Really that sounds dreadful Did you? That must have been exciting. I can imagine.Right Were you? Oh dear.

Reasons for becoming a T

Current teaching job

Non teaching jobs

Problems with teaching

Teacher training Pleasures from teaching

1st teaching job Future plans

Assessing oral communication:

Listen to the conversation between two students. Alberto from Italy and Maki from Japan. They are carrying out a task their teacher has set them . What do you think the teacher has asked them to do?

Which of the following difficulties did a) Alberto and b) Maki have? Which of these areas most aided or prevented their communication?

Pronunciation intonation Vocabulary grammatical accuracy Fluency other