Aim: develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language on the topic.

Speaking Course

For Activate B 1

Carolyn Barraclough, Suzanne Gaynor

Pearson, Longman, 2008

By Anna Makarova

International O’key Language School

Introduction

While analyzing the course Activate B1, I have come to the conclusion that there are not enough speaking activities especially for freer practice. Unfortunately, not all students have an opportunity to practise freer speaking skill in English in everyday life except lessons. That is why I have decided to design some activities which may be motivating and useful for them.

This communicative course is designed for the course book Activate B1 written by Carolyn Barraclough and Suzanne Gaynor, Pearson, Longman for teenagers aged 13-15 of intermediate level, but may also be used with other textbooks of the same level.

Aims of the course:

It is aimed to give students freer speaking practice incorporating the language they have learned.

Course structure:

Each part of the pack corresponds to the number of the Student's book unit where you can find some activities for freer practice on the topic of the unit such as discussion, role play, debate, description and others, and develop students’ speaking for fluency with the functional language and grammar.

I tried to organize materials in a communicative way and hope your students will enjoy them. I will also be really thankful if you could give comments, suggestions or further ideas on this material. Please, send it to the address:

[e-mail]

Good luck with your work!

Anna Makarova

Unit 1 “A NEW YOU”

p.10

Activity: Debating about the features

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim:

· To give freer practice with modals must/should;

· develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language for giving advice.

Procedure:

Warm up

Do you agree that different professions need different treats of character? What treats do we need to be a reporter? A chef?

Group work

Work in groups of 3. Discuss the most important features of character for the following professions. Choose 3 essentials. Be ready to prove your point of view.

Profession	Necessary treats of character	Why these treats are necessary
A DJ
A farmer
A musician

Each group gets a list of 3 professions.

Presentation

Listen to each group and say whether you agree or not. Prove your point of view.

p.10

Activity: Are you a good psychologist?

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim:

· To give freer practice with modals must/should and you’d better giving advice;

· develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language (treats of character).

Procedure:

Pair work

1.Imagine that you are psychologists and your partner needs your advice about his/her future profession.

2.Think of two possible jobs for your partner.

3.Tell your partner which profession will be the best for him/her and why. What features and abilities your partners have to do that kind of job (name not less than three treats of character for each job).

4.The partners listen and say whether they agree or not and why.

5.Change your roles.

Feedback

Have you appeared to be good psychologists? Who agreed/disagreed with the profession? Why? Who found it strange/ surprising/ unpredictable?

p.15 Discussion

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Professions and Features of Character; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim: To give freer practice discussing the importance of intellectual and physical jobs.

Procedure:

1 Warm up

Class is divided into 2 groups (with the help of coloured cards or anything).

We can divide all the professions into two big groups. What are they? (intellectual and physical). What jobs can we call intellectual? Physical?

What about the present day? Which kinds of jobs do people prefer and why?

2 Debates

1) Take the card with the point of view you are going to prove.

1 person from each group comes to the teacher’s table and chooses the task they should prove.

CARDS:

Intellectual jobs are more important than physical ones.

Physical professions give us all the resources for life.

You have 5 minutes to think of your reasons.

2) We are going to listen to the presenters from the groups. Each group has 2 min. Take notes while listening, then you’ll have an opportunity to ask the opponents your questions.

3) Ask your questions. Don’t forget to be polite and tolerant to the opposite opinion.

4) We’ve heard both points of view and now you have 5 min to discuss everything in groups and present your final point of view. Have you changed it or not and why? Which kind of jobs is more important for our society nowadays? Choose another speaker.

5) Present your final decision. You have no more than 2 min.

Alternative version (more student-focused), esp.when there is a big group:

Let the sts discuss their reasons in groups and then pair up the opponents and have debates in their closed pairs. When the time’s up, they need to say which opinion has won and finally whether it coincides with their personal opinion / if it has changed their view of their future profession somehow.

Unit 2 “RULE THE SCHOOL”

p.25

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic School; should/shouldn't for giving advice, would for expressing opinion.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work/Individual Work

Aim: To give freer practice in grammar (should/shouldn't/would) using new vocabulary.

Grammar and functions: to practice grammar (should/shouldn't/would) and vocabulary (school rules); giving advice.

Procedure:

Before the class distribute the papers with the words (Minister of Education/ Teachers/ Pupils/ Parents) on the desks. Ask pupils to sit in groups (according to the coloured cards or apple-banana-plum-orange).

Work in groups.

What is changing in your life? In your school life? Would you like to change anything in your school? Write ideas on the board (the ideas are usually concerned with process of studying, uniform, canteen, subjects and school rules).

Think of the changes in your school life. Discuss all the points we’ve chosen.

You have the papers on the desks and only 15 min to. While presentations each member of the groups has to fill in the tables where each person in the group has his/her own task.

presenter	arguments	interesting facts/ideas	strange/unusual decisions	comments

The first column should be filled by everyone. Then you fill in only coloured part.

Discuss: which group was the most argumentative? Positive? Enthusiastic? What ideas were the most useful/ unusual/strange? What pieces of advice would you give to each group for further reports?

p.27

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Sport and Activities; phrases for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Group work/Pair work

Aim: To give freer practice in grammar (Present Simple) using new vocabulary.

Grammar and functions: to practice grammar (Present Simple) and vocabulary (sport and activities); giving advice.

Procedure:

Work in groups.

Imagine you are game designers in a famous corporation. You can design activities for any age/ sport ability/place.

School administration has many complaints about the organization of sport classes and after-school activities from pupils and their parents. You are asked to invent new games or activities to make school life more variable and exciting. You should prepare a detailed description of the activity according to the plan:

· Name of the activity

· Age available

· Equipment

· Rules

· Time (when and where it can be played)

· Number of participants

Draw the equipment or rules on the poster to be more argumentative and to make your ideas more visible. The best game or activity will be chosen by voting and will get a prize. A special prize will be given to the group that can use as many new words as possible.

You have 20 min for preparation and only 3 min to present your activity. Good luck!

Before the presentations name the nominations: unusual/sporty/funny/complicated/expensive… and prepare medals for each group. Think of the prizes for the winners.

Unit 3 “ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT”

Activity: Description of a room

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Room; would like for expressing preferences; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Pair work

Aim: develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language on the topic Room.

Procedure:

Warm up.

How much time do you spend in your room? What do you usually do there?

1. Work in pairs. Describe your room to your partner. The partner draws the plan of the room.

2. Say what you would like to change in your room.

3. Ask for advice.

4. Change your roles.

Activity: Discussion “Pocket Money”

Target language: Vocabulary on the topic Pocket Money; should/shouldn't for giving advice.

Interaction pattern: Pair work

Aim: develop sts’ speaking for fluency with the functional language on the topic.

Procedure:

1) Do you have any pocket money? What do you usually spent it on?

Brainstorm what we can do with pocket money.

2) Work in pairs.

Take statements one by one and say whether you agree or disagree with it. Give 2-3 reasons to prove your point of view.

1. Children of all ages should have pocket money. It helps to learn how to spend it.

2. Pocket money helps to save up for what you really need.

3. Parents must pay money for pupils’ good results at school. It motivates to study better.

4. Money is not necessary for children. Parents can buy everything themselves.

3) Come to a conclusion. Do pupils need pocket money? Why? Give reasons.

Unit 4 “RULE THE SCHOOL”

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