...making students write conversations and present them in front of the class. A couple times a semester, I'll do this activity based on some short, situational conversation in the book like telling a friend you're sick and can't meet them or you're angry/sad/embarrassed for some reason.
I will usually have them practice the conversation in the book a couple times and then tell them to make their own conversation. They can use some things from the book to help them but they can't copy; at least some things have to be different. I'll give them about 10 minutes to write 8 or 10 lines, memorize and practice speaking. I'll then give a reward to the teams that are funny, and interesting, as well as good at speaking.
The good?
The outgoing students seem to love it.
I like the challenge of trying to get them to be funny/interesting in English. There are usually at least a couple groups that do a really, really good job of it and it makes my day.
It's results based, with some peer pressure thrown in. No one wants to look like a dumbass in front of their classmates. If it's just the teacher listening, at least a few students just don't care and will do any stupid thing.
It practices writing, speaking, and listening.
The bad?
It can be a bit tedious in the weaker classes if no one is funny or interesting.
The weaker students really hate it. And I have some sympathy for them. But then I kind of wonder how they can't memorize 4 or 5 lines of simple dialogue when they've studied English for the last 6 or 7 years.
The deal?
I'm not sure if this is a worthwhile activity or not. Kind of a toss-up in my book and I'd like some opinions on what everyone else thinks.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment