IT WORKS IN PRACTICE More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which have all
worked for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself – and then send us
your own contribution.
All the contributors to It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp will
receive a copy of Blended Learning by Pete Sharma and Barney Barrett,
published by Macmillan. Macmillan have kindly agreed to be sponsors
of It Works in Practice for this year.
Participative production Translation
The following techniques are particularly relevant in encouraging Translation isn’t too popular these days, but
participation and language production in a class of young learners. I find it useful and popular with students at
1 3 a university faculty of food and chemical
Catching Timed vocabulary
confidence lists technology, where I teach ESP.
Use a ball game to encourage You can use timed vocabulary I include at least one listening activity
reluctant learners to speak up. Toss games to start off a lesson as well during each lesson as I find listening
a ball to students when you want as to activate recently-acquired comprehension is one of the most important
them to answer a question or speak vocabulary. Divide the class into
skills my students need to acquire.
on a certain topic. The student groups of four or five and give
answers while tossing the ball back them two or three minutes to come The following is a technique I use as a
to you. This technique is not new, up with as many words as they can listening activity.
but I find it very useful because the related to a particular topic. For
I read a text (this can be any text taken
immediate conscious focus of the example, after teaching a lesson on
from a magazine or a textbook, written in
students is on catching and work, you can ask students to write
throwing the ball, and, as a result, down as many jobs as they can. either technical or general English) to my
they begin to use vocabulary and With older students you can students, sentence by sentence, very slowly.
language structures confidently, create more of a challenge by My students then have to translate it
almost without realising it. asking them to list synonyms of a sentence by sentence into their native
word you have been teaching. For language. The advantage is that I can repeat
2 Playing with example, they could be asked to the sentence as often as needed until they
puppets list words with each letter of the are able to translate it. I help them only
Use puppets in storytelling and re- alphabet that can be used in place occasionally with unknown words.
telling activities to encourage of the word said – answered,
I first introduced this activity in December,
effective communication. Simple begged, claimed, denied, etc.
puppets can be made from pictures using a text about Christmas which I knew
These games can simply be used everyone would enjoy. The students were
cut out and stuck on to lollipop
as a warm up to the lesson. Any eager to translate it, and listed every word
sticks. Once you have told a story
topic that gets students thinking they didn’t understand. When we had
using the puppets, let smaller
and working in groups works finished, they asked me to use this method
groups of children retell the story
really well. I once got my students
using the puppets themselves – or more often. When I finally asked them as a
to think of as many different ice-
they could use them to tell stories homework task to write about our Christmas
cream flavours as they could. You
of their own. The atmosphere of traditions, everybody prepared it properly
can imagine how much they
play brings spontaneity and a sense using all the new vocabulary they had learnt.
enjoyed that!
of openness to this speaking
Shaheen Subhan Magdalena Horakova
activity. Hyderabad, India Bratislava, Slovak Republic
42 • Issue 54 January 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •
Catchy conversations
Here are two conversation techniques that have worked for me.
1 Disappearing conversations texts, but these can also be used if you wish. The texts should
When studying a structured conversation with beginner-level be on the same topic but should give different information.
students, we usually want them to practise the conversation The students read their passages, take a few notes if they want
several times in order to help them to internalise the to, check with you if there is anything they don’t understand
language. One way of doing this is to use a speaking circle and then hand their papers back to you. They then form pairs
where students change partners after practising the within their groups and take turns to relate the content of the
conversation once or twice. They thus get the experience of passage they have read to their partner.
talking and listening to more than one person. To make the
The listening partner each time should make sure they
activity more challenging and more fun, we can also use the
completely understand what they are being told and should ask
time-honoured technique of slowly erasing the conversation
questions, ask for clarification, and so on, when necessary.
from the board.
When both students have spoken, they switch partners with the
Start with the whole conversation written up. Then, when the other pair in the group and repeat the activity. Finally, they
students change partners, erase a few words, then a few more, switch partners again. At the end of this stage, all the students
and continue until all the words are erased. Let them practise in the group should know all the information.
a few more times with no hints on the board. This works well
Finish with a team quiz, specifying that each question you ask
in smaller classes, too, where students may only have the
can only be answered by the students who heard about, rather
opportunity to talk to a couple of other students. Interest
than read, the relevant information.
remains high despite having fewer partners.
This activity forces students to express themselves well, to use
2 Intensive communication communication strategies for getting across and acquiring as
Put the students in groups of four. Give four reading passages much information as they can, and to listen actively. By the
to each group so that each student in the group has a third time of explaining their text, students have really
different text to read. The passages can be about any topic you improved their way of relating the information and improved
wish, such as customs in a particular country or an their strategies for understanding the information.
environmental issue. The activity works less well with narrative Carla Wilson
Hiroshima, Japan
‘I nominate ...’
This is a simple technique which keeps students interested First ask one student to read out the answer to the first
during the ‘checking answers’ stage of a lesson, as well as question, make any necessary comments, and then ask him or
promoting student-centred learning and fostering a good her to nominate a student for the next question. This student
classroom environment. will then give the answer and nominate a student for the
following question. And so on.
It can be used after students have completed an activity,
for example a grammar exercise they have done for I have found that this handing over of power to students, be
homework or reading comprehension questions they have they adults or young learners, really motivates them, and as a
done in class. Once students have compared answers in result they listen more carefully to the correct answer, as well
pairs, the answers need to be checked with the whole class. as to each other. In my experience, learners are also incredibly
perceptive as regards asking a range of individuals in the
So what is this technique? As a variation to the standard
group to give their answers, including both stronger and
technique in which the teacher nominates a student to give
weaker students, ensuring that there is full class participation.
the answer, here the students nominate each other.
Marta Sabbadini-Essinki
London, UK
• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 54 January 2008 • 43
