Entering a Lesson with Predictions (Part 2: Pre-Discussion Activities)

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(This article was originally published in MET (Modern English Teaching) in Spring 1986.)  MET website

In Part 1 ( • Entering a Lesson with Predictions (Part 1: Pre-Listening Activities) , I introduced how we can help student to focus on a particular day’s materials and to become personally involved in its content. We can do it through a “prediction process.” I also described two prediction activities as entries to listening activities.

In this Part 2, I’ll share two sets of “prediction activities” as entries to speaking/discussion activities. In the first one, the prediction activity is indirectly related to the speaking activity. In the second one, it is directly related to what they will be discussing in their groups.

Example of predictions as an indirectly-related “entry” to a speaking activity

Lesson plan:  The students were going to have group discussions about “fun.”

Prediction procedure (which preceded the discussion.) I found online a ranking of the 10 most fun countries in the world.

Step 1: A list of 10 countries in alphabetical order was given to each student. They then individually predicted the ranking of each one according to how fun the online survey found.  Next, they formed groups of three or four and shared their guesses (predictions) with the group members.

Step 2: The teacher read the rankings, as they had been listed in the online source. Students jotted the answers on their lists.

Step 3: Still in their groups, they compared how well they had predicted.

Step 4: The students then formed new groups of three or four. The students were given a list of discussion questions about “fun.” For example
1) Did you have fun last weekend
2) When you were a child, what did you do that was fun?
3) Do you think computers are fun?
4) Is there a country or city you want to go to for fun?
etc.

Observation: Even though the ranking of fun countries had no direct bearing on the discussion that followed, students appeared to automatically think broadly about the topic of fun.

Example of predictions as a directly- related “entry” to a speaking activity

Lesson plan: Students were going to discuss cheating. Before the discussion, they were first going to read an article about students cheating.

Prediction Procedure (which preceded the above plan)

Step 1: Before handing out the articles, a list of True-False questions concerning the information in the soon-to-be-distributed article was given to each student. For example:

According to the article …
1. 50% of college students said cheating was wrong.
2. 90% of college students said that they had cheated at some time.
3. Very young children cheat more than high school students.
4. Most parents think cheating is less serious than fighting.
etc.

Each student predicted what the article would say in response to questions such as these. Then in groups, they discussed the questions and their answers and arrived at a group decision regarding each. These were then put on the board

Step 2: Students were given copies of the article, which they then read silently.

Step 3:  Individual students summed up briefly for the class what the article had said in regard to each question. An acknowledgment went to that group which had most accurately predicted the article’s contents.

Step 4: In groups of three or four, students discussed cheating (using teacher-provided discussion questions) and shared their experiences.

In summary, the success of a language activity depends to a great extent on how involved students become in it. It has been our experience, and it is hoped that other ESL teachers will find the same, that by helping students to invest a part of them-selves at the “entry” into a lesson, such as was done with the “prediction procedure,” the chances for student engagment are enhanced.

This article was originally published in MET (Modern English Teaching) in Winter 1988-89.

David Kehe
Faculty Emeritus

• Fluency Writing: Reading, Speaking In Triads, And Listening Culminating In A Writing Task (REVISITED)

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                                          Integrating the four skills

(This posting includes a handout which you are welcome to use with your students.)*

This is the perfect activity for integrating four skills into one activity.  And it culminates in a writing task in which students focus on controlling their grammar and on their sentence style.  It’s also one in which students can practice those two aspects of writing without having to spend time thinking about what to write.

These fluency activities can be used throughout a term when instructors would like to have students work on their grammar in a writing context and/or when they would like to add some group work in their writing classes.  Also, it’s a good lead-in to teaching paraphrasing skills.

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• Entering a Lesson with Predictions (Part 1: Pre-Listening Activities)

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(This article was originally published in MET (Modern English Teaching) in Spring 1986.)  MET website

It mat come as a surprise to any number of teachers to realize that most students do not view their ESL class as the number one preoccupation in their lives. Students come into the class with a myriad number of matters on their minds: weekend plans, family problems, the test in the next class. To foster a classroom atmosphere conducive to students’ leaving behind their outside world and to their focusing attention on the lesson at hand (not to speak of their becoming personally involved in the subject material!) can be an exacting task. Many of us as teachers have seen the otherwise well-planned lesson go “awry”, or just not fulfill our expectations. It may always remain open to speculation as to the reasons why, but most would probably agree that a thoughtfully-prepared lesson does indeed deserve a proper “entry”.

In order to help students to focus on a particular day’s material and to become personally involved in its content, I have found a “prediction process” useful as just such an “entry” into listening and speaking activities. In brief, in the “prediction procedure,” my students make predictions about the content of an upcoming activity and then share their predictions, first in small groups and then with the class as a whole. By so doing, students end up not only focusing on the topic of the material at hand, but also investing a part of themselves in it; they have a “stake” in what follows

Following are detailed examples of this procedure as it was used in four actual classroom settings.  In this Part 1. the two  examples portray the “prediction procedure” acting as an “entry” to listening activities.

In my next posting, Part 2, the two examples describe the procedure as it leads into discussion activities.

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• Short, High-Interest Readings: # 4: “Starting a Conversation With an Attractive Stranger”

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(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

You are standing with a couple of friends at a party talking. Across the room, you notice someone who looks kind of attractive, and you think that you’d like to meet that person. Maybe if he or she likes you, you’ll be able to get a phone number, or perhaps have a date. You feel a bit excited but also nervous about approaching this good-looking person.

Feeling nervous is a common emotion in this kind of situation. We are often afraid that if we try to start a conversation, the other person will reject us. According to Jean Smith, a social and cultural anthropologist, fear of rejection is the most common reason why we decide not to start a conversation with an attractive person whom we’d like to meet.

However, according to Smith, we can overcome that obstacle if we think in a different way about our goal of being liked or of getting a phone number or having a date. (See complete article below.)

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the fourth article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

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