Teaching Oral Skills Communicatively | Page 59

. The main body Tasks Time Activity Procedure Justification Materials Task 1 3 min Students work in pairs. They look at some pictures which they have to identify. Then they are asked to relate the pictures to their personal experiences and discuss with their partner about them. Two pictures showing a hotel room and a hotel reception Task 2 2 min Task 3 3 min Students are informed that they will listen to a dialogue. They are asked to make guesses about very general characteristics of the dialogue such as the number of people speaking and the topic of the conversation First children work individually. They listen to the dialogue after they have been informed about what is expected of them to do. Then, in pairs, they try to answer the questions. This is a pre-listening activity which is used to help students activate relevant scripts and to relate the story to their personal experiences something which increases motivation. There is also a speaking element. Students use the pictures as a prompts to talk about personal experiences something which all children like doing. Another pre-listening activity. Students are given a general purpose for listening. This helps them create certain expectations something which facilitates comprehension. Comments The teacher has to accept all reasonable guesses. This is a while- The listening listening activity. text Children listen for general meaning without the need to pay attention to every detail. Knowing in advance what to pay attention to makes listening a purposeful activity. Working in pairs gives students the chance to consider what their partner has comprehended 59